Sound Deadening

[bohunk]

I don't see eye to eye with a lot the people in the 240 section, but was wondering what else can be done to reduce road noise in my '89 hatchback? I already have the brown bread set in my mind, and recently considered filling the interior spaces with a hardening foam (a real one). Does the thickness (or lack of) of the 240's door glass and lack of an upper window seal attached to the door make my quieting attempts futile? Would new door and window seals be recommended? I want to be able to cruise at 80 comfortably.

P.S.
-I know this will add weight.
-I have considered a BMW, but I already own and love this.

[DanThaMan]

just turn your radio up and you won't be able to hear the road
Do you have the little thing that comes down when you close the hatch? it basically goes from the back seat to where the tailights are...and actually makes a pretty bug difference. Other than that, your best option would be to dynamat everything, and that will get pretty costly. It's an old car man, you're probly never gonna get it to BMW standards of comfort lol

[bohunk]

The back seats and the trunk cover have long since gone. I am considering covering it in sound deadening, just wondering if anyone has achieved their zen with the 240 or if they were never quite satisfied with the amount of road noise.

[laxands13]

ive heard of people stuffing packs of cotton balls (or something like that) in the inside of the quarter panel, if you know what im saying. also, heres a thread about sound deadening! pics are gon mostly, but the review is still there. sound-deadening-for-45-t465476.html?hilit=peel n seal

[LoserCard]

Haha removing the rear seats and lack of privacy cover increases your cabin sound by like 40%. Noisy as hell! If you want to do anything, get another privacy cover, and depending on if you want your back seats back in, put them in or make something to block off your trunk area.

[bohunk]

saw that thread laxa, to me it just turned into a big "does that stuff start to stink" and "whoa look at all that weight" discussion. Unfortunately it seems lacking. Loser there will be a partition going back in closing off the trunk. Does anyone know what actually makes big luxury cars quiet? Is it solely sound deadening, or does it all come down to tire choice, glass thickness and what not?

[zach-Ka]

^ been in my car for almost a year. No smell. There are more picture one the first page of my build I think....

[SX APPEAL]

Most 240 guys go in quite the opposite direction as far as comfort and quiet are concerned. I'm not sure how helpful we can be lol. I've heard of using dynamat. Tire choice definitely makes a big difference. I doubt you're going to get very far trying to find thicker glass for a 240. Dan and Loser are dead right about the rear seat and privacy cover though, those make a huge difference. Honestly though IMO this is a lost cause. For the amount you would have to spend to make it VW or Audi quiet, you could probably have bought a 10 year old VW or Audi.

[PEZi]

Dynamat your entire car

^ this

[bohunk]

Yes I will be installing B-quiet Ultimate, Hliner, and Vcomp on all surfaces. Appeal I am a little put off of buying a 10 year old Volkswagen, and older Audi are quite a far way from their current comfort standards. I figured thicker glass was a far stretch. So any recommendations other than sound deadening, quieter tires, and sealed trunk area? Anyone know where the majority of wind noise is produced on the 240?

[SX APPEAL]

sunroof and window seals. My sunroof latch is so old and busted I can't close it at all anymore without the most obnoxious screaming wind noise you've ever heard lol. So glad my S14 doesn't have one.

[Razi]

I layed down my entire trunk with sound deadening and that helped a lot, especially with the exhaust sounds droning in the trunk.
I've heard some people stuff some cheap cotton used for filling pillows, in their quarter panel, I might try that haha.

[SX APPEAL]

Like the new picture Razi ^^^

[bohunk]

I have heard about the pillow stuffing Razi, but surely there must be a better approach at that idea.

[Razi]

Like the new picture Razi ^^^

Thanks.

I have heard about the pillow stuffing Razi, but surely there must be a better approach at that idea.

Using Dynamat!

[costa_rican13]

i dynamated my trunk. it works well. also helps with my subs too.

[AZ89two4Tsx]

saw that thread laxa, to me it just turned into a big "does that stuff start to stink" and "whoa look at all that weight" discussion. Unfortunately it seems lacking. Loser there will be a partition going back in closing off the trunk. Does anyone know what actually makes big luxury cars quiet? Is it solely sound deadening, or does it all come down to tire choice, glass thickness and what not?

It's pretty much everything, minus the glass.

Luxury cars are heavier, sealed better, have softer suspensions, softer interior pieces, and loads of sound deadening.

If you want to make your 240 quieter, which is not an easy task really, strip the interior and put in some kind of material to absorb all the road noise. There's many choices from things like dynamat, truck bedliner, etc..... Also very important, make sure you have no air leaks. The a-pillar is usually the first place to look.

In my opinion, I wouldn't spend too much time on it. These cars are anything but quiet. At most I would dynamat the trunk and door areas and make sure all the carpet interior panels are in place.

[S13_love]

Imo, I would go with the dynamat.

[bohunk]

The Plan:
100ft B-quiet Ultimate for firewall, floor, doors, ceiling
40ft B-quiet V-Comp over Ultimate for lower firewall, floor, rear hatch wall
Hliner under the hood
New door/hatch seals

Still undecided on stuffing the quarter and foaming the cavities.

'89 240 can you indulge more info on these air leaks?

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Yeah, it's a cheap economy car with no real regard for road noise. I would re-do all the weather molding if you're going to go all out.

The little area where the window ends and the a-pillar is (where the mirrors are) is a notorious spot for air leaks, also where water gets in if you're at a car wash. Along with the dynamat and stuff, try using as many soft materials as you can in the interior. Even wrapping the dash would help or re-upholstering the door panels with thick foam.

It's just pretty much the wrong car to try to make quiet/comfortable though. Why do you want to do this? If you want something quieter, but still a 240, an S14 would be a better choice. But even it is still a cheap economy car.

[LoserCard]

If you have a sunroof you will most definitely have an air leak from your sunroof even if water doesn't come in. Broken window molding will create wind noise. Create a metal block off plate to enclose your door skeleton from the window regulator and stuff sound deadening in there. If you're still undecided about foaming the cavities, it will reduce overall interior vibration noises.

And if you want ULTIMATE road noise reduction to top it all off, invest in one of those new Noise Canceling head units for cars. I don't know how well they work, but noise canceling of any kind is awesome.

[-RJ-]

Can replacing all the old rubber bushings around the car make things quieter also? Like tension rod and subframe bushings?

[Razi]

I don't think those will do much for noise, it might actually add noise from the squeaking of the polyurethane bushings.

I know that some people fill the subframe with expanding urethane foam to stiffen it up, and I heard it kills a bit of driveline noise.

[-RJ-]

I wouldn't mind trying to get the vert a little quieter. As far as the cotton balls, that idea doesn't bad as long as the cotton balls dont get wet.

[Razi]

They shouldn't, you stuff em into that gigantic hole into your quarter panel.
It's covered by plastic panels in your trunk.

[-RJ-]

I want to do it to mine but my trunk gets wet

[Razi]

Worn out weather stripping?

I might actually stuff my quarter panels with some polyester pillow stuffing tomorrow, including the body panel next to my rear seats.

Seems like a good place to kill some noise.

The thing that annoys me the most is the creaking of the car when I go up driveways and such, but I've go to sort that out with some extra chassis bracing.

[-RJ-]

Worn out weather stripping?

Lack of a back window

[Razi]

LOL
Better get on that. :P

[bohunk]

Thanks for the help 89 240. I have decided to stick it out with my pig nose 240 because I'm not big on the S14 body style unless it were a '98. I nearly sold it and grabbed an E39 540, but decided that I loved the 240 too much and already owned it so I would make it what I wanted. I will be working on the dash, and securing any squeaks or rattles while it is out. Razi let us know how well that works for ya, good choice with the polyester by the way.