1Louder

I searched this forum and didn't see anything, but has anyone implemented any noise-reduction mods? I'm specifically talking about road noise, especially at higher speeds. Anyone swapped out tires that made a difference? Does the dealer "sound coating" spray work? Anyone do some more aggressive sound dampening?

CCColtsicehockey

you could take your car to an audio shop and have them dynamat your doors and under the carpet and the roof.

jlukja

There are a number of threads in Audio & Video Subforum that address sound dampening. To summarize what I've seen:
1. The OEM tires are very noisy, replacing them with quieter tires will help a lot. Suggest you look at Tirerack where tires are rated based on different criteria, including noise.
2. Sound dampening, especially in the doors, will also help. Dynamat and other materials help keep the outside noise from coming in but are used more for vibration control, to keep the door panels from resonating with the speakers. For a better sound barrier you want to look for foam type materials, they are better at sound insulation. You're welcome to insulate more than the doors. I've seen pics of members doing their whole interior (taking out the carpet in the cabin and trunk and lining every exposed surface). Its just a question of how far you want to go, how much you want to spend, and the incremental benefits you will hear (or not hear).
3. I've read that tint film on windows helps a little.
4. I've always wondered if a rubber foam spray coating on the interior of the wheel wells would help much with keeping the road noise down. Maybe you can try it and let us know?

Reach

Although I have not done it myself, I have read that if you are going to dynamat 1 area in the car only and want a significant difference, you should apply some to the rear top shelf. This area is supposed to account for a significant amount of in-cabin noise in the TSX.

AamirCWITR

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...ay.jsp?ttid=63

OEM tires are not noisy at all. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find any summer max or high performance tire on that website that is quieter than the OEM tire.

jlukja

Tirerack categorizes the Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 as a Grand Touring All Season Tire. Here is the survey of this tire versus other tires in the same category:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...speed_rating=Y

Note the OEM tire is rated #16 out of 17 overall and has a noise rating of 6.5

If you read reviews of different tires that members have posted in our Tires, Wheels, & Suspension subforum you will invariably see them mention that the tires they've selected are quieter than the OEM tires.

As an example, take the Avon Tech M500 , noise rating = 8.1, or the Bridgestone Potenza 960s , noise rating = 8.8, or even the Yokohoma Avid VS4 , noise rating = 8.3. All of these are popular with the members here.

wickedk24

I was thinking about doing that, just wish i had the cash for that

OhNoItsMe

I'm also interested in taking some noise reduction measures. Therefore, I would like to know, by the "rear top shelf," do you mean where the rear speakers are?

jlukja

BTW, Reach is also a moderator in our Audio & Video Subforum. He knows of what he speaks.

1Louder

Same question for me too.

Also, anyone ever hear about doing a dynamat in the doors and floor? Just looking at the material cost ($50 per 12 sq ft, so I'm guessing say $300 in material to do the doors and floor), and a TON of labor to remove the panels, seats, carpet and reinstall (say an 8 hr job), I'm bet this is like a $1000+ mod easy.

I think I can manage the rear top shelf myself if it's the area with the speakers...

jlukja

A person with your username should not be starting threads like this.

AamirCWITR

True, when compared to tires in it's class they are not that quiet.

I thought most people on the forum put on high performance all season or summer tires in place of the OEM tires????

I was thinking of that sort of tire when saying the OEM tires are quiet.

OhNoItsMe

Thanks for clearing that up jlukja.

Exactly, the problem was my ignorance and I needed to make sure that I understood what reach was referring to.

1Louder

HA! I suppose that's true. I just want it loud outside the car, not inside.

OhNoItsMe

Now comes question #2 and this may be of help to 1Louder also. Reach, what is involved in applying dynamat 1 to the top rear shelf? If I were to attempt this myself (and do it right), would I have to remove the rear top shelf, or do I have to crawl into the trunk

My interest in applying dynamat 1 to the rear top shelf is not just to reduce road noise. In my case when the volume is at reasonable levels and the music has some bass in it, something in the back vibrates/rattles. It's almost like the speakers are loose. I'm thinking that this might fix this little annoyance.

treez35

I have Toyo Proxes 4 and the difference in road noise from stock is unbelievable

Roffles

Haha, that's a load of bull. The OEM's are noisy to the point of being comedic. My Bridgestone Pontenza 960AS pole positions are twice as quiet (ultra high performance all season grand touring).

minkl81

iTrader: (2)

i've done dynamat to front doors, rear shelf, below rear seat, and trunk. but i don't know if it reduced the road noise. my catback is louder than road noise

don't use the spray stuffs. they don't help much compared to dynamats

jlukja

IMHO it doesn't matter which surface (top or bottom) you apply the dynamat to as long as you get good coverage. I'd pick the one I had better access to. Note that you can access the rear speakers by prying up on the speaker covers, you don't need to lift up the entire rear shelf cover. Also, there have been reports that the third brake light rattles on some TSXs so you may want to take a look at that as well.

grapeguice

This chart is awesome. I chose about as well as I could without seeing this information. Even though the Goodyears came out on top for the noise comfort and overall, I can't bring myself to buy them, but then again, I had always thought that Michelins were unbeatable until I drove the OEMs on the TSX. I'm happy enough with the Bridgestone LS-V that I ended up purchasing. The noise level on concrete is still too loud, but on other surfaces, the noise level is tolerable. Maybe I am getting older where the road noise is a big factor in my overall comfort level with my vehicle. Does this mean that my next vehicle should be a Lexus with their superior noise reduction techniques? Maybe the Acuras will get better in the next few years.

fast1

Potenza 960s here as well and there's a night and day difference- much quieter now. Now granted I was at 45K on the OEMs so they were shot and smooth as racing slicks when replaced.

jlukja

I agree, this is very good info. Just a caveat, though. This is results from surveys so its very subjective. Also, keep in mind the reported number of miles driven (last column on right). The Goodyears are no. 1 but based on a much much smaller sample of surveys than some of the other choices.

Reach

There are a number of things that can be rattling from that shelf area. Nuisances I've heard of in the past include the 3rd brake light, the seat belt tensioner (a black box that hangs down in the trunk), and the trunk torsion bars.

3rd brake light: seal the enclosure with a little hot glue or a lot of tape. I'd recommend the glue or a dab of silicone.

Seat Belt Box: this was an 04 specific thing if I remember right. I have an 06 and mine doesn't rattle... so i dunno!

trunk torsion bars: be sure these are causing the rattle first before you go about replacing them, because it can be a PITA project. However, you can replace the torsion bars with gas loaded shocks instead. moda_way and cccolts I believe have done this.

As for dynamatting the area, if it were me I would completely remove the top shelf (the plastic piece that snaps in. You'll need to fold down the rear seats and remove the side bolsters to do this. And, to remove the side bolsters the first time, you need to remove the entire rear seats, fun eh? Anyway, with the deck exposed, I would dynamat the entire area and then cut out the spots for the speakers if you are still using your 6x9s. (I'm not.)

Zasker1

Here is something I wrote up about a year ago on quieting the TSX vis dynamat: http://homepage.mac.com/vasu42/tsxdamp.pdf

Your going to pay through the ass to have a shop do this, you could do it yourself in a weekend.

vthree

iTrader: (1)

how do you remove the rear shelf.. after you have the side bolsters off and the little white clips popped out of the plastic part.. what how does the carpetted section come out?

AamirCWITR

I would take the survey results with a grain of salt.

I see inconsistencies with the ratings tire rack testers give to a tire as opposed to the survey results.

i.e Tire Rack test would rate a tire as being quieter than another tire, in the survey, the tire that was tested to be louder would be rated as a quieter tire.

I give more precedent to the actual tire rack tests and not the surveys.

Bigtimebooch

Okay, if you are truly serious, this is what you will want to do:

First, you will want to be aware of the difference between road noise and stuff vibrating in the car that are creating noises. Both have to be dealt with in different ways.

Dynamat is an asphalt based sheet that reduces vibrations in your car (if your trunk rattles because of a big woofer, you would want to use something like dynamat). This works by mass-loading. Essentially, you are adding weight to a part to reduce its resonant frequency to a point where either it is low enough that it can't be heard or shifted to a point where it doesn't vibrate as much. Either way, it will keep things form rattling very well. For some cheap dynamat type material, check out partsexpress.com. Search for sound dampening...sorry, couldn't get a link to work from that site.

It is a fraction of the cost of dynamat. It doesn't have a foil backing like dynamat and isn't quite as easy to form, but you can get the job done fine with a heat gun. First places you would want to add dynamat are the trunk lid (if you have a sub), the rear deck, and then the door panels. It wont cut down on road noise, but it will cut down on those odd vibrations inside the car.

As for road noise, this is much harder. Clearly, tires are a major source of noise, but after tires, you are stuck with going for materials that absorb sound. Note that the dynamat is NOT made to do this, though it will to some degree. This is where viscoelastic sheets, foams, and spray materials come into play. They actually absorb the sound energy and convert it to heat. Spray or paint on absorber is great for the inside of door panels though it is pretty expensive. Extra foam under floor can work wonders. The doors and firewall are also pesky places where road and engine noise seep in.

No matter what, it can be very expensive or a lot of work.

I would say figure out what the major problem is first. If you have some rattles, deal with them with dynamat. An easy way to pinpoint a rattle is to create a CD with various frequencies of sine waves and play it as load as you feel comfortable while the car is parked (preferably engine off). Just start going up and up in frequency until you notice something get louder or a certain spot start to buzz. Start pushes and touching around that area and see if the sound gets quieter. Repeat as much as you feel like.

Good luck!

Markks2000

1Louder,

First I have to admit I was a little shocked that you think the TSX is noisy. Believe me you don't know noisy until you drive an S2000! I find the TSX extremely quiet in comparison to what I've been driving.

Anyway, I used QuietCar http://www.quietcoat.com/ on my Honda S2000 and it worked as advertised. And it's lighter than Dynamat, cheaper, and much easier to apply. I can't say enough good things about QuietCar. I've recommended it to others and they are very happy as well.

Mark

1Louder

^^ Thanks for the link - I'll have a look. The TSX is much quieter than my previous car. However, at 60+ mph it's not as quiet as a car of that quality should be IMO. I'm suspecting after all that's been said in this thread (and thanks to all for the great info) that the first stop is tires. Problem is I'm too cheap to replace perfectly good tires, so I'll have to ponder my strategy. I don't think I'd go through the trouble with the doors unless I was replacing the speakers too - somthing I may do at the same time in the future.