Here is my DYI on Dynamat for the TSX, it was posted in the A/V section but I would like to to be added to the DYI section MODS.

Vasu is Hosting: Quiet

Thanks Vasu.


If you have some pictures or comments you wanted added, please let me know.

 

whoa, looking at the mid-range for pricing, it tacks on 46lbs. Not for those wanting to shave off the weight then.

 

Asphalt based huh...And your in Phoenix Heard that stuff will stink in high temps...

Good write up!

 

Nope, no stink however when it got realy hot it fell off of the rear deck lid as I did the top and bottem.

 

yeah that stuff is definitly not for saving weight which has been keeping me from doing it

 

That's a lot of work but good job.

 

Lotta labor & dynamat

 

And FYI it's "DIY" not "DYI"

Good work though - Dynamat can be a bitch to work with.

 

yeah i was waiting for somebody to say that, didnt wanna be the one to do it

 

now that's a friggin good process documentation... Very nice write up... That's a lot of hours spent doing the work and writing up the documentation.

Thanks a lot.

 

Sound deadining does wonders. IMO, I would look at a product that is not asphalt based. Application is the same, it will hold up longer, and is MUCH easier to work with.

 

"Brown Bread" is very good, and much more cost effective. Easier to work with, no smell, and just as effective in terms of performance, too.

 

Great write up Marcus! Man thats a bunch of dynomat! You might not be able to hear that sub in the trunk at all! I bet its a hell of a lot quieter!

 

Great writeup. This will go in the index for sure.

 

Anybody have anything to add to this DIY, maybe some pictures?

 

Zasker1, I'd like to meet up sometime and check out your dynamat setup as well as your mods. Are we still doing a Phoenix meet? I have a friend with a CL who might be interested in meeting up too.

 

I'd love to do a phoenix meet. let me finish my stereo install and set something up. Did you go to the autoauction in scottsdale?

 

I got a thing in the mail but passed on it. It sounded kind of scammy - "Rub off the number and if your number match you may have won a prize!"

Alright, that'll give me time to get my windows tinted up at Danny's Car Wash - Huper Optik Drei stuff. It's too freaking hot here, dry heat or not =)

 

Ug, dont use Dannys' I can get you my car guy, but I called every exotic car dealer and they had bad stories about dannys, they take their fleet cars there but not their personal ones.

I fly home from Vegas tomorrow and can give you my tinters number. He came highly recomended.

 

Hmm, do they do Huper Optik?

 

Conversations like this are better handled by PM.

 

I really can't understand the point of covering entire panels with Dynamat. It's designed to dampen vibration in metal panels, but you don't need to completely cover a panel to do so. Just a small square here and there will be just as effective. The effect is just like tapping a wine glass with a knife then stopping the ringing sound with your finger. You don’t need your whole hand to stop it, just touching your pinky to the glass is sufficient.

Absorption and damping materials are quite different.

The absorption benefits of covering the entire surface with Dynamat are minimal because the material is so thin. You'd need a dense foam material that is several times thicker than Dynamat to effectively absorb road noise. You can see this foam under the hood of the TSX and similar foam is used under the carpet.

Example of acoustic foam:



Rattles are usually higher frequency sounds, therefore the sound waves are much shorter and can be absorbed in thinner materials like Dynamat. Road noise sounds are much lower frequency, therefore the sound waves are longer, requiring thicker material to block the sound.

It’s a waste IMO to cover entire panels with Dynamat since it isn’t designed to be a sound absorber. Just use a small square on the panels you think are rattling and save your money. If the area you’re trying to dampen has some spare room, use a foam product and you’ll have much better results. You might be able to install foam on the inside of the fenders (behind the plastic wheel wells) to block some road noise.

 

Good Idea, I might have to try this.

 

w/Dan...That is exactly what Elduderino did on my front doors. Just small patches on the inner door frame and on the outer door metal.

 

I think that analogy is slightly misleading. By touching a ringing glass you're physically restraining it to the point where for it to ring again, you're entire body would have to vibrate. I'd argue that would be akin to welding braces to the offending panels. To use the wine glass analogy, I'd say it's more like applying tape to the glass to inhibit vibration, you'd need a fair amount.

However, I agree with your overall argument, if the panel isn't vibrating (i.e. an attempt to reduce road noise), applying these dampeners is a waste.

I picked-up a couple yards of foam a few weeks ago, but haven't had the time to install it. I'm planing on doing it this weekend. I'll post back in this thread if it was effective or a bust.

 

I don’t have the knowledge to have a scientific argument but I know from personal experience that covering everything makes a larger impact than just small sections. Last month I redid my 2000 accord that was previoly down using the small square approach to save money and the difference between that and covering everything is very noticeable.
I do fully agree with Dan that sound dampening and sound absorption are two very different thing and I would not consider what I have done to be sound dampening but the car is overall quieter than it was. What would be interesting for any person looking to do dynamat would be to buy a $20 sound meter and measure the ambient sounds at say 45mph and than do it again after the install.
One thing that is defiantly noticeable after this install is the little squeaks and rattles is louder and more noticeable I believe this to be because the ambient noise has been decreased.

 

feel kinda stoopid hearing the opinions above... but i am very happy with the product and the ambience of the cabin in any conditions now.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/647693/17

 

Spoon, did you get a chance to install the foam on your doors? Let us know how it turned out =)

 

I did have some time yesterday, but I got off to a late start and only had time to do the front doors before I ran out of daylight. I used this stuff: http://raamaudio.com/

It definitely makes a difference. However, it's not as dramatic as I had hoped. I suspect doing the other two doors will make an improvement (and I have just enough material left), but I think it would be better to do the floor, although I'm not in any position to do that at the moment (and slightly lack desire, seems like a lot of work). I say this because now, it seems like the road noise it really coming from under my feet, whereas before it wasn't as localized.

Also, so you know where I'm coming from as a reference point, my front doors are sealed (as much as can be) with Cascade VB2-HD (vinyl material) - http://img491.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vb2hd9tn.jpg. And some areas of the door panels have some VMAX.

I only took one picture with a flash (by accident actually) and the few others I took were too dark to make anything out. So, here a so-so pic for reference in case anyone is interested.

 

I was hoping you'd report that it was more effective to do the doors =( Not looking forward to taking everything out of my interior. Geeze, 10 hour job huh.

 

Well, not having done the floor, I can't say it isn't. I am just speculating that it would be equally, if not more, beneficial to do the floor, but I couldn't say for certain until I did. And I really don't think I'm up for it, seems like a lot of work for minimal payback. The foam makes a difference, just not night and day difference - wish I had some way to measure it so that it wouldn't be strictly anecdotal - but to pullout the whole interior and not have it so quiet as to think you've gone deaf just doesn't seem worth it to me.

 

Damn i remember this process it took for ever since i did the car in sections. and still is not 100% complete but good for now.