[Hoopla]

I must say, my new Niro is quieter than my Prius V, but I would like to do a little more sound proofing. Has anyone done anything along this line?
I would like to make it a little quieter on the highway since that is the majority of my traveling.
I saw this site but not sure how good it would be. http://sharkracing.com/2017-niro-diy-soundproofing-kit/
I wouldn't want to spend the time and money on it just to find out it didn't make much of a difference.

 

[Dave]

Caveat: I have never tried to soundproof a car. But I have a home music recording studio, and that's my main hobby, so am somewhat knowledgeable about sound topics.

I would be skeptical that there would be much reduction in road noise from the use of this sort of installation. Most road noise is very low frequency, and low frequency = long wavelength. Long wavelength can pass through lots more material than short wavelengths ( = higher frequencies). This is why one can hear the booming bass from a car nearby but not any of the other frequencies. In addition, some of those lower freqs are transmitted via vibrations from physical contact between the road and the tires, and soundproofing like this can affect only soundwaves traveling through the air.

A lot of the noise will pass through the undercarriage and engine firewall, and this set of components can't do anything about that. Just judging by the photos and description, these materials would be a lot more effective at screening out higher freqs than lower, but I just don't think one would hear much of a difference owing to the prevalence of lower freqs in road noise.

Again, I have zero experience trying to dampen road noise in a car, so please take these comments with that in mind, and I'd be happy to be proved wrong.

 

[yticolev]

There is a 10 percent chance that you will hear a difference. Google noise reduction and you will find that it is a complex problem. Car manufacturers have a huge advantage here and can spend tens of thousands of dollars of computer modeling and empirical testing. That is not practical for a single car owner. Nor a vendor of soundproofing materials or techniques.

 

[KK6PD]

I checked that site out, these premade mats are about the minimal effort you could make and waste up to $300 bucks doing so! I would much rather spend that loot on Dynamat or equal quality sound deadening mat. Really good sound deadening requires that most of the interior where the noise comes through the body be stripped down completely so the adhesive mat can be laid with 100% coverage to be effective. While there is good sound deadening in my EX, the trunk area could use a layer of mat! There is a bit of noise coming from there. It requires a bit of driving with you as a passenger crawling around listening for noise sources. Well, how else are you going to know where to add mat!
As start, read this... https://soundproofexpert.com/quiet-road-noise-car/ then, Google... Auto Sound Deadening, there are many other sites and YouTube videos that can be read and lessons learned from!

 

[yticolev]

Nice link. Good to know there are less expensive things that Dynamat to try. I wasn't clear from that page if he was putting the mats under his carpet or on top though. I might try adding it in the spare tire area (no spare tire) but the tire noise is pretty equally divided front and back.

 

[Anthony LaGrasta]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/E-O-12-in-x-15-ft-Self-Stick-Foam-Foil-Duct-Insulation-FV516/100028603?keyword=foil+and+foam+insulation&semanticToken=20010+++>++++st:{foil+and+foam+insulation}:st++cn:{0:0}++insulation+{product}foam+foil+{productName_nostem}+foil+{productName_nostem}+

 

[KK6PD]

https://www.homedepot.com/p/E-O-12-in-x-15-ft-Self-Stick-Foam-Foil-Duct-Insulation-FV516/100028603?keyword=foil+and+foam+insulation&semanticToken=20010+++>++++st:{foil+and+foam+insulation}:st++cn:{0:0}++insulation+{product}foam+foil+{productName_nostem}+foil+{productName_nostem}+

Nice idea, but way too thin, unless you lay multiple layers. Might as well buy stuff designed for noise suppression in autos. Sometimes you have to pay a coupe of bucks for the right product!

https://www.amazon.com/Noico-deadening-automotive-Insulation-dampening/dp/B00URUIKAK Price: $63.99
Sound deadening material specifications: Nominal thickness 80 mil; Total coverage area of 36 sq.feet; Number of sheets in the stack 9; Nominal sheet Size 29,5x19,5 inch.

https://www.amazon.com/GTMAT-Automotive-Sound-Deadening-50mil/dp/B008KMOA60 Price: $199.99

Nominal 50 Mil Thick, 4 Mil Aluminum Shield, Sound AND Heat Insulation, Massive DB & SPL Gains, Overlap Layers for Additional Vibration Dampening, Flexible, Pliable, Malleable, Kill Unwanted Noise, Rattles, Vibrations, Impressive Bass Improvement.

The 8 Best Sound Deadening Mats

• GTMat Ultra. ...
• SoundQubed Q-Mat. ...
• Hushmat 10400. ...
• Kilmat 80 Mil. ...
• Thermo-Tec 14620. ...
• FatMat Self-Adhesive RattleTrap. ...
• Noico Sound Deadener. ...
• Dynamat 10455 Xtreme.

Google any of the above, you can see the specs and cost.

 

[KK6PD]

Here is another site with install info for Dynamat & other mat brands.

https://stereochamp.com/dynamat-review-and-dynamat-alternative/

 

[Dwag0n]

I had my last car, a 2016 Soul, almost completely soundproofed because of the stereo that I had put in. All 4 doors where totally soundproofed both behind the speaker and the inner side of the door panels. Under the front seats had a layer as the amps where mounted under the front seats. The trunk area had 2 layers of soundproofing (the hatch only had 1 layer) as the subwoofer was under the trunk floor in the spare tire well. It helped the stereo sound better but I was very disappointed that the road noise didn't really drop much. There was however a huge difference when I changed the tires. I had a set of Bridgestone serenity tourenza tiers on it and they made the ride considerably quieter.

and if you want a cheaper product check out the roofing material called peel and seal. It is basically the same stuff as many brands of soundproofing but can be had in a 100 foot roll for around $100.

 

[Roadkill401]

I will say that putting in some density to the floor will help soak up some of the sound. If you took a set of those heavy rubber mats and put them over top of the floor mats that come with the car std, you will find that the amount of noise in the cabin goes down.



I would say that Dynamat is good stuff to deaden the sound and you need to install it properly to get it to work right. That involves taking out the carpet that is on the floor and applying it directly to the metal floor so that the vibration that is transmitted through the road doesn't turn your car floor into effectively a big speaker.



I have used the stuff inside my home theatre in the basement. I wanted to have a movie room downstairs but found in my last house that you play anything and you hear it in the bedrooms that are two stories above. Why? the sound is picked up by the large central heat ducts and return air, and then the sound bounces the whole way through the house out to every room. Put the Dynamat onto the duct work (in my care the large return air trunk that ran through the media room) and the sound didn't propagate any further.

 

[KK6PD]

if you want a cheaper product check out the roofing material called peel and seal. It is basically the same stuff as many brands of soundproofing but can be had in a 100 foot roll for around $100.

Don't waste your money, this stuff is ROOFING MATERIAL, there isn't even a rating for sound deadening on their "Tech Specs" sheet.

"Peel & Seal® is perfect for hundreds of uses ranging from full-roof applications to patching gutters and vent pipes. Fully pliable and providing a secure seal at edges, corners and over gaps, it is ideal for roof areas that are often difficult to waterproof, including locations where ducts, vents, chimneys, or air conditioning units" per their site!



If you want good sound deadening, buy good sound deadening, not roofing materials....

 

[Dwag0n]

Of course it doesn't have a rating for it.. They are not marketing it for that purpose. But I can tell you from both using it in a car years ago and seeing others who have done it that it works.
You can believe me or not, but not everyone wants to drop a hundred bucks for a tiny bit of soundproofing for a door kit. How many things are used off label? ****, do you know how many drugs are used for things other than what they are labelled for? I went on a work trip a few years ago and one of the first things that was given to us after we got off the plane was viagra because of thin air!