Sound Deadening - Where to apply for the best gains?

Hi all, I want to reduce road noise and improve the sound of the PCM . I am going down the 3m acoustic thinsulate mat and dynamat route. my thoughts were to attack the roof and rear wheel arches first and then to progress to the doors and floor. Is this the best order? I assume the hood is not worth sound proofing? What about the rear hatch?

If you are using sound deadening for better music from a after market system: The Floor, roof, rear hatch, under the engine cover, doors, fire wall behind the seats and the rear trunk. That is where it was installed in my car and my stereo sounds great. If I did not have dynamat in my rear trunk and hatch the two 8" subs would rattle everything.

you know a box of that weight aproximately about 15 lbs.. Lemon

Just use the dynamat SuperLite instead of the Extreme. 1/2 the weight so around 7 pounds instead of 15lbs. If you do not track your car do not worry about. If you do than that may be another story. I do not track my car I use it as a daily driver. What most spend on mods I spent and then some on a ridiculous stereo. To each his own.

Thanks Dave t. The main aim for me is to reduce road noise and as an added bonus the stock PCM system may sound better!? The 3M acoustic liner is very light (think cotton wool). I figure most of the road noise comes from the wheel arches so I am going to spray rubberised underseal and add dynamat /3m mat on the inside of the car. Out of curiosity which area did you have the main improvememt from? I intend to do the car in stages. I note dynamat super lite is 15% less efficient in comparison to dynamat extreme.

I had to do my rear hatch and trunk because the base from the subs caused a rattle. Back in the day Dynamat was also used for rattles as well. I also had to line the center brake light with Dynamat to eliminate a rattle the subs were causing. If you want to eliminate road noise you definitely want to do your floor and wheel arches. If you want better sound from your radio you want to deaden where your speakers are located. Here is the link to my stereo build. If you scroll through it you will see where Dynamite was used. http://www.planet-9.com/987-cayman-boxster-electronics/58307-yet-again-i-am-redoing-my-stereo.html

If your goal is help with music: engine cover, firewall, doors (with Dynamat ).

Just in case you haven't seen the article about one person's experience adding Dynamat to his car: Dynamat Xtreme and Dynaliner - Articles

"Where Dynamite was used"?! That's serious modding! :hilarious:

Spread the dynamite very carefully! Use a thin layer Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm interested too. I would like to make the cabin quieter and am not concerned about a few extra pounds. I'm old, feeble and lazy. What kind of shop might install the insulation material without messing up my upholstery? Any recommendations anywhere near (1000 miles or so) of Austin, Texas? Thanks.

It's very easy to do, the Dynamat is shiny aluminum on one side, the other side is self-adhesive. You cut it to size with scissors and peel the backing off. Attach it and use a wallpaper rolling tool to set it. Buy me a plane ticket and I'll be happy to do the work...

If you are going to do it yourself which is not hard at all all I recommend wearing a pair of heavy duty work gloves because the aluminum can cut up your hands really easy. On a 1 out of 10 difficulty scale I would rate placing the dynamite DIY PROJECT A 3. Taking off the plastic interior bits to get to the firewall is a pain but not difficult at all if you have patience. Door covers are a cinch to take off I believe there is an DIY in the article section you just need to understand how the clips work and you will not break them. A set of plastic interior tools make the project so much easier.

Hi all, Well I made the first step into this yesterday. I have applied Dynamat on both doors and the result is certainly noticeable! Removing the door cards is a 5-10 minute job but you do have to be brave and pull at the door cards to release the snap plastic fastenings. Note (snap) i.e that do break so it may be an idea to buy some of these before you start. Not necessary but certainly a precaution. I applied Dynamat to the door skin where the airbag is fitted and to the inner door skin right behind where the speaker mounts. I took a picture of before I applied and a video of the tin sound when knocked. Unfortunately, I forgot to do a video and pictures afterwards, doh! Essentially, I applied it to the large metal area behind the door pocket and then removed the larger speaker. I cut a large square of Dynamat and applied it to the speaker hole and then sliced with my blade in diagonal lines and folded back in those triangles that were created. This gave the speaker mount a double thickness. Make sure you cut holes for the screws! I did this as I stuck down the Dynamat . I found this the best way. I also cut a large square and fed this through the hole where the speaker mounts and applied it to the inner door skin. This way the speaker benefits from Dynamat behind as well as on the mount. Finally, I was able to cut a long thin strip and poke my arm into and along the door to stick it to the door sill. In total I used one and a half Dynamat sheets 18"x32". The difference is amazing on the road, the road noise is so much quieter. I have also had to adjust the sound settings on the PCM to add more bass. The sound is so much more clearer. I figure I have added minimal weight but achieved a good result! I will probably attack the floor next ...P.S I didn't see Dave T's tip about wearing gloves. Wish I had, it is sharp!

The engine cover and firewall are very easy, simply remove the carpet and have at it

Just a follow up on this. I have an 08 Cayman S and was looking to reduce the loud road noise from our crap streets and highways here in WA state. I ended up buying a butyl based sound deadener and installed in two waves. First, I covered the rear floor pan and whee wells and the firewall and engine cover behind the seats. It made a notable difference, but still could hear road noise bouncing around the car. I then pulled up the seats and main cabin carpets and did the front wheel well area, foot rest area, and floor pan under the seats all the way back to the firewall. Just took a drive and HOLY MOLY is it great. Road noise is significantly abated, music much more clear, but still clear engine noise at the higher rpm because I did not cover the rear engine cover. I could not be happier with the results. Total weight gain, maybe 15 pounds. Car feels much more solid.