Silence!

[Jesda]

I want my Q to be like a Jag -- moderately fast, moderately roomy, and most importantly... DEAD SILENT. I dont mind hearing the engine through the firewall; thats kind of nice.What I'd like to do is completely eliminate wind and road noise.

1. Softer tires.2. New door seals.3. Is dynamat worth the cost? Are there home-made alternatives that work equally well?

Thanks!

[twofortyesecks]

I had a buddy who owned a VW Golf and stuffed foam rubber behind any panel and in every crack he could get it into. It was more for car stereo but it really did reduce the noise.

Also, I have to say Hamburger-Helmet on your website is the best thing ever. I can't stop laughing.

[elwesso]

The Q is actually quieter than the Jags

honestly i see no reason to get new seals. For the price of new OEM (which you will poop your pants after hearing), you can get close to the same thing by adjusting your hinges and door striker.. maybe even upgrading to 94 glass... if you treat the rubber your in good shape.....

PLUS, I bet the OEM stuff has been sitting for 10+ years anyway!

Ive heard that brown bread is about as good.. It would take about 2-3 jumbo packs to do the Q, not to mention having to tear out all the interior... honestly, if your gonna go to the trouble, id save up for the dynomat..

Tires wont really help you much... What we can do (if you woudl have done a search in infiniti general) is to spray this stick on foam rubber stuff on the underside of the plastic cladding in the wheel well..... HUGE reduction in wind noise from that alone...

[Rex]

[PoorManQ45]

That's all and well Rex, but I don't think he needs butt plugs; he's talking about sound

[PoorManQ45]

I recommend Rubber in a can. It can be had at Lowes, Home Depot, or Menards(for you nothern boys). You need to take off the door panels, and spray this stuff on all the metal suraces in the door frame. Rubber works well as both an insulator of heat/cold and as a sound "repellant". It will stop any resonance from occuring, and it will help to suppress exterior noise.

[elwesso]

Would that stuff stick to the walls.. I can see when water gets in there from running down the windows it takes off some of that rubber stuff...

Also when it gets hot, i bet it reeks...

[Simmsled]

Dynamat and then use expanding foam for the joints between body panels in the gas tank area. (you know, the dead space under the rear speakers and behind the rear seats).

Because butt plugs will only get you so far.

[phuphyter]

I want to sound deaden my car too. I hear a lot of good things about eDead made by Elemental Designs.

edead v.1.se is a mat like dynamat and edead v.3 is a liquid that you "paint" onto your door panels. http://www.edesignaudio.com/edead.htm and there's a sale going on too: http://www.icixsound.com/vb/showthread.php?t=8872

heres another product: http://www.secondskinaudio.com/specialpricing.html

I also read about people using brown bread, peel and seal (a roofing laminate found at hardware stores supposedly), dynamat... i forget what else. i just lurk around the sounddomain and icix forums and read up on what others do.

[PoorManQ45]

Would that stuff stick to the walls.. I can see when water gets in there from running down the windows it takes off some of that rubber stuff...

Also when it gets hot, i bet it reeks...

I know what you mean. The rubber in a can is claimed to be rated over 300~500 degrees. So it'd be pretty "hardy"

[phuphyter]

PMQ, you got the specific name of the "rubber in a can?"

[PoorManQ45]

Hmm.. I can't seem to find the name of it. Your local hardware store should have it in stock though. It will be in either the insulation, paint, or tools section.

[phuphyter]

how do you apply it? is it in a pressurized can and just spray it on like spray paint or do you have to shoot it through a gun?

[mrflip69]

Either or... there's a spray gun version or an aerosol version. It's usually called Rubber Undercoating or something like that... I've used it on my door panels and it really helps insulate from temp/noise.

[phuphyter]

thanks. i went to home depot and lowes and couldnt find the roofing stuff. i'll see if i can find this rubber in a can.

how many coats did you use and where did you spray?

[elwesso]

Does anyone know if theres a DECENT alternative to dynamat sold in stores??? Not something spray on, however that maynot be bad for the wheelwells...

[PoorManQ45]

Either or... there's a spray gun version or an aerosol version. It's usually called Rubber Undercoating or something like that... I've used it on my door panels and it really helps insulate from temp/noise.

That's it! Thank you, I couldn't remember what the name was.

Wes: this is a descent alternative to dynamat.

Have you ever seen that expanding foam that they use to insulate houses with? You spray it on and it expands like 6-8inchs. That would be an excellent alternative to dynamat, but it might impeade the window track. Anyway, it would be cool to have you doors completely filled with foam. It would leave no air pockets. Excellent insulation and sound absorbtion.

[elwesso]

Sounds like your asking for rust.....

[PoorManQ45]

What do you mean?

[phuphyter]

the foam might not be the best solution to sound deadening because it might trap water in. thats my guess. the rubber in a can sounds good enough for me. i did some searching and most products are made for car weatherproofing / sounddeadening

[mrflip69]

I just sprayed 2 liberal coats for each panel (only used 1 aerosol can for both panels) I know it's a given, but let me remind you to let it dry completely before applying . As far as odors, I haven't noticed anything coming into the cabin, and this has been through 90 degree weather just fine. You can always get an air freshener anyway

Cheaper than Dynamat... well I've heard very good things about Brown Bread. I don't remember if it was self-adhesive though, which is well worth the convenience. Understand that it was developed by your average joe, interested in making an affordable and efficient Dynamat alternative. His profit margins are very slim, and if you're on a budget, ordering directly from him will save you tons... but it will be difficult to find this product in stock at your common retail stores. You could try your luck with some shops that specialize in audio installation though.

Also, I think the product that PoormanQ45 is talking about lacks the absorbant qualities found in typical foams. It's not spongy or porous, but very dense, rigid and light at the same time. This wouldn't be ideal directly inside the door though, because it WILL impede the window track. I tried doing something like this, experimenting with polyfill... and even a small amount kept the window from fully retracting.

[audtatious]

Has anyone used a DB meter with their car before and after installing Dynamat and such? I wonder if it really makes a difference in regards to road noise.

One of the audio magazines, 12+ years ago, did a test in a Z28. They took it on the highway up to 60mph and used a DB meter to get a base line (multiple locations within the cabin). Then, they proceeded to install a few thousand dollars of dynamat into the vehicle, putting it everywhere. They followed this with another 60mph run on the same road. Results showed no change on the DB meter. Of course, the stereo sounded much better since the panels were all "dead"... This was way before the spray-on materials were available.

I wish I still had that article somewhere....

[PoorManQ45]

Hm.. The road noise should be minimized, but in older vehicles, the window seals were a big problem

[phuphyter]

It depends where they applied the dynamat. Did they do the wheel wells, firewall, floor, and trunk as well?

[PoorManQ45]

Most people forget about the roof/ceiling of the car. This will let in/out alot of noise.

[audtatious]

They stripped that bad-boy out. Completely gutted. Installed a couple of layers everywhere, then put it all back together.

[Rex]

They stripped that bad-boy out. Completely gutted. Installed a couple of layers everywhere, then put it all back together.

So they did a crappy job of it, only applying it to half the places they should .

(excuse the sarcasm)

[audtatious]

So they did a crappy job of it, only applying it to half the places they should .

(excuse the sarcasm)

Who knows. You would think that writers of magazines, who compete in IASCA, would have a clue as to what is needed.

Oh well, doesn't matter.