A quiet ride?

mbdyer12

I'm considering doing the entire car in some sound dampening material. I've read you guys mention stuff about secondskin audio or something like that.
First off I'm doing it because I want a quieter ride. I'm not really in it to stop rattles or what not, since I really dont have any. If I put this stuff on the entire floor, firewall, doors, trunk and headliner, can I get somewhat of a high-end Lexus-like quietness out of a 98 Accord? I'd like to avoid doing the headliner if at all possible. Would this make a significant impact?
Also, I'm on a budget but if I can get somethin like that I described above, I wouldn't mind spending a bit more. Could ya list the lower priced stuff and the higher priced stuff and list the pro's and con's to each? As you all know, if its cheap and works just about as good, make sure ya mention that.. haha. Thanks everyone

exalted512

ok i had this long post typed out, then my computer froze
so heres the shorter version:
get second skin
you wont find a better product for the price or better customer service for sound deadening material anywhere else
-Cody

mbdyer12

This is why you need that new computer...

But yeah, will it make the ride how I described?:cool:

exalted512

def., the headliner would probably make an audible difference, but if you dont want to do it, thats understandable
most of your noise, at least engine noise goes through your firewall, so you might want to double up in that area
-Cody

mbdyer12

Mmm... Good good. Was there a way to get it at a discounted price?

exalted512

tell him(Ant) you were recommended to his product by the car audio forums
-Cody

swerve

lol then he tells you to post a review on the forums and it looks really good saying u were recomended from there and u have 1 post.... (like myself) I haven't got word from him since

but second skin is worth so much more than what u pay for it, my trunk rattles like 95% less

exalted512

lol...just say from "the car audio forums"
that way it doesnt really specify which one
-Cody

mbdyer12

I've been looking around...I might go with the liquid stuff. I read that you can brush it on. This would seem like it would be easier to apply to everything. Anyone heard of Cascade's stuff? I'm thinking this. Anyone know how much I'd need for the interior of a car? That includes headliner, firewall, bottom, doors, rear deck, trunk. I'm hoping 1 gallon would be close.

neomagus00

you'd want it on real thick, so a gallon may not be enough. however, i'd still stick with the solid - it just seems more... well, solid

LittleCar_w/12s

Umm.... I wouldn't think liquid would be as great...

1: You'd need to remove everything from the car to avoid getting the roofing-tar like crap on it...
2: You'd need to have a very strong wrist, or take a long time doing it... People think painting is easy until they try it for more than 30 min's. After painting for 5 years, I could put it on with a 6" brush in an hour... but I still would use the sheets.
3: The car will stink for weeks if you use liquid sound dampener... I don't care how odorless they try to call it.
4: Sheets are much easier.

I hope you're convinced

Swerve: I just told Ant that Cody from sinton reccomended me He was like "ok cool!" ... I also told him his site kicks serious ****.

-Jerry

swerve

I do not think that he minded it, I just felt awkward (sp?) saying I was reffered but then only having 1 post... lol

-adam

bknauss

Cascade is the best stuff out there. Other companies to consider are raamaudio (raammat), brown bread, and dynamat along with second skin. Second skin seems to have good reviews, but someone representing the product spammed like a **** and was a real **** on some forums (carsound.com and soundillusions.net). I'll just stay away from them for moral reasons. Dynamat seems to be way overpriced for the performance. Brown Bread (and the other lines from that company) and Raammat seem to be the best bangs for the buck out there based on reviews. That's my 2 cents and you definitely don't need to buy into those 2 cents.

The liquid stuff might be nice in those areas where something is sticking up or if you want to take care of a large flat surface quickly. It will most likely eliminate all air (in theory) between the material and the car. The aluminum backed sheets are nice to work with when you have a heat gun, but it still isn't perfect over some geometries.

The best places to lay sound deadening down are:
-doors if you have speakers in them
-trunk where there are rattles. If you can't locate the problem(s), then lay down a couple layers over the entire trunk
-a couple layers on the floor and on the firewall area.

Thom

I HATE the Cascade mat. Years and years ago I bought a bunch of Dynamat (original and Super) for my Protege, and shortly after bought a bunch of Cascade (VB- whatever, mat and spray- on) for my wife's Civic. The Dynamat original sucks, it's a pain in the **** to put it in and I had a few spots where it came off the panel after a couple years. Maybe I didn't clean the area enough. The Super to this day sticks like crazy, I've never seen it pull off. The replacement for Super is the Extreme, which is WAY easier to apply. No cleaning, no heat, and it's almost impossible to remove (I know because I had an intern remove some for us). The Cascade in the Civic has the same problems as the Dynamat original, it pulls off and there's no chance of a second layer (or third) sticking for long. Dynamat Extreme will stick to anything, I've gone as thick as four layers on some places. It's worth a bit extra because of the time and frustration saved during install. Plus, no need for heat gun. Just make sure you wear gloves.

Thom

Oh, and the liquid is a complete pain in the **** and didn't do any good in any of the cars I've tried it in.

MacLeod

I use Tsunami Silencer and have had very good results with it. I havent done the entire truck in it yet tho. I just go to Circuit City whenever I have $15 laying around and/or want a project for about an hour and buy one of their speaker kits which is in 2 12"x12" sheets then apply it to the doors.

Im not really doing it for sound deadening as much though as my beloved Dodge is pretty damn quiet for a rig its size. 98% of all the noise is coming from thru the windsheild from the extreme lack of aerodynamics! Its kind of like a prachute going backwards!

LittleCar_w/12s

Hehe.. It's good to see our forum guys posting again.
How are you Thom?
Anyway, Thom, have any of you, or maybe even your sponsored cars' owners installed with thes other brands:
SecondSkin, Fat Mat, or RamMat?
-Jerry

mbdyer12

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I'm kinda stuck on secondskin because of all the hype and positive reviews from everyone. I took a peek around the car audio forum and noticed a couple people talking about that "peel and seal" roofing stuff that sells at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. I don't like asphalt based stuff but I hear its a decent and very cheap solution.

Hey MacLeod. I hear ya bout the aerodynamics. The 92 Sierra I had was just as bad. I had a few times where I was driving 75mph on the freeway and all of a sudden a strong headwind (40+mph) hits my windshield and it literally slowed me down to about 60mph without me downshifting to keep my momentum. But still, trucks rule! I miss mine.

bknauss

Originally posted by Thom
I HATE the Cascade mat.

I should have said "Cascade has the best acoustic properties if you use the right product for the right application (or problem)"

neomagus00

can sound deadening help a drop-top? i believe that most of the considerable noise level in my car is created by the imperfect seals between roof and windows; as i run performance components (tires, turbo, tuning, etc.) i know that these contribute noise; will adding secondskin to hood/firewall/doors help in any appreciable way? or will wind noise overpower whatever silencing i am able to achieve?

LittleCar_w/12s

lol... you could apply the thinnest stuff to the canvas ..... Might sag a little
-Jerry

neomagus00

i thought about doing something like that, maybe putting the material in between roof layers, but i think that most of the air noise comes from the roof-windows junction, and after consideration i can't think of any way to silence that... maybe aerodynamics? above is mentioned truck aerodynamics, or lack thereof, and the resulting wind noise... the roof sticks about 1/3 inch out over the windows, to create an effective water-seal; maybe forming rubber to the lip would allow air to flow along a smooth surface instead of encountering a drop-off.. same idea as, say, an airplane, where it narrows to a point at the back instead of just chopping off, so the air flows along the body instead of slamming behind it (i assume this would create somewhat of a vacuum, and perhaps this is what creates noise).

any ideas? does this make sense?

Thom

Originally posted by LittleCar_w/12s
Hehe.. It's good to see our forum guys posting again.
How are you Thom?
Anyway, Thom, have any of you, or maybe even your sponsored cars' owners installed with thes other brands:
SecondSkin, Fat Mat, or RamMat?
-Jerry

I haven't tried any of the above, but I think Jose Perez (the silver Jetta from our ads) uses RamMat.

Thom

Originally posted by bknauss
I should have said "Cascade has the best acoustic properties if you use the right product for the right application (or problem)"

Even if it's the best at something, it takes forever to heat up and install, it stinks, and it's likely to fall off. For any rattles/ buzzes I've encountered in a vehicle Dynamat Extreme is the easiest fix. Cascade also had multi- layer foam for floors and some other other products that were fine (we use their power supplies for our demo cars), but the VB- 1 sucks.

exalted512

you know Thom, Ant from secondskin was looking for a sponsor...free sound deadening for all your vehicles:D
just a thought
-Cody

Thom

We get offers all the time- wires, sound deadening, etc. I like to stick with the people who take care of us (and who have for years). The only time we like to switch up sponsors are when a vendor can't help us anymore or if we're not happy with someone's product.

exalted512

gotchya...you should buy a couple sqaure feet of the STFU-80 they carry and compare it to dynamat extreme sometime--i have a feeling youll be pleasantly surprised
-Cody