Sound dampening for luxury quiet ride- Anyone try it?

[whiteGT]

I do a lot of highway driving and the cell phone conversations are much better when there isn't all that road noise. Got an app for my droid which makes it a sound meter so i could do some before and after testing. So here is what i have done so far and have noticed a ~ 6 dBA reduction in noise at 70 mph (35 psi stock 18 " GT pirelli tires) and it is noticably quieter.

After removing the interior i see Ford put goop in a few places on the sheet metal to attenuate noise and i added a material like dynamat (peel n seal from Lowes cause it is cheap and works great) to the floor, doors, roof , etc. and then jute padding where possible, ditto the trunk.

Next on the outside of the car i think i will remove the wheel well liners and try roofing cement as the sound dampening material against the metal before reinstalling the liners. Anyone try this approach? Also will do a trial with the Goodyear comfo tred tires on my 17" GT wheels (very quiet highway tire) since it fits the 2012 gt and will bolt right up to see if changing tires would make much of a difference! I suppose if i really wanted to get high tech i could try some type of Bose style electronic noise cancellation system inside the car? Anyone try a noise cancellation system?

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[PhantomX]

I did dynomat on the entire trunk to calm the road noise and it made quite the difference. The spare tire well is like a sub box and amplifies everything, that and there was no noise suppression at all back there. The next step is dynomat under the rear seat and doors. Should knock a few more DB off. With the GT500 mufflers highway cruising is great now. I also put some Nitto Neo gens on which are surprisingly quiet. I can use the Bluetooth at 80mph without issue and have taken several road trips with passengers and we can listen to any type of music clearly and with minimal noise. At the end of the day it's still a sports car so some noise is expected but this made it much better.

 

[chico_mustangs]

I actually like the lack of road noise mine makes, you can't hear it over my exhaust. Honestly I was and still am amazed at the lack of road noise for a Mustang compared to all the other ones I've owned.

How much weight do you think you are adding to the car with all your sound proofing? Mine is a fatty as it is so i would hate to add a bunch of weight to her.

 

[grnenvy]

I used Dynomat on my car under the rear seat and trunk area it helped.

 

[ViciousJay]

I actually like the lack of road noise mine makes, you can't hear it over my exhaust. Honestly I was and still am amazed at the lack of road noise for a Mustang compared to all the other ones I've owned.

How much weight do you think you are adding to the car with all your sound proofing? Mine is a fatty as it is so i would hate to add a bunch of weight to her.

5-10lbs max

 

[SicShelby09]

I have always been interested in this. I also thought about using plastidip on the inside of the door skins as a very thin layer of sound deadening. Not to mention the weight add would be next to nothing.

 

[my98stang46]

5-10lbs max

Shipping weight on 50sq ft of fat mat is 32lbs. Takes twice that to do a terminator from fire wall to trunk and everything in between.

I'll add that it's quieter than a tomb in my car now

 

[Strpperpolef150]

5-10lbs max

Sorry but you'll add way more than that.


If you want to do things right and make your car whisper quiet talk to Don at Sound Deadener Showdown. He will work with you, tell you what you need, and give you an instruction list. Sound Deadener Showdown - Your Source for Sound Deadening Products and Information

 

[kevinp]

I dont think the 2011 + cars are bad at all noise-wise, except for the wheelwells, fling a rock off a tire in there and it sounds like someone took a shot at you.

 

[acrbill]

pull the sound tube out and plug the hole and the car is really quiet. I think some sound deadening under the back seat would really go a long way to quiet it even more.

 

[kingnut]

i can see insulating the interior and wheel wells. i would not run minvan tires on my car though. grip and noise > less grip and quiet.

 

[kingnut]

also let us know how the roofing cement works in the wheel wells.

 

[acrbill]

The rear wheel wells actually have some sort of material attached that limits the sound of rocks kicking up.

i can see insulating the interior and wheel wells. i would not run minvan tires on my car though. grip and noise > less grip and quiet.

 

[ViciousJay]

i shit 32lbs... 32lbs aint all that bad

 

[kevinp]

The rear wheel wells actually have some sort of material attached that limits the sound of rocks kicking up.

Yea, but it doesnt do much, my 2010 didnt have that insulation there and its really no different when you hit some gravel. I'm sure it gets kicked up on the rear inner quarter sheetmetal or muffler. A couple times I thought someone threw a rock at the car driving down the road. DRs make it 100x worse.

Its not really a big deal, but Ford did a decent job of keeping the rest fairly quiet so it really stands out. My old 2006 GT was a lot noisier inside than this 2011.

 

[whiteGT]

All total i have probably added 55 pounds of sound dampening materials: peel n seal, jute and rubberized truck bed liner and about 45 man hours labor. I removed the wheel well liners to put in a layer of peel n seal today and the only other thing i may try is using a thick layer of roofing cement (and then put a piece of aluminum foil over it... essentially a super thick piece of peel n seal) in a few small spots on the undercarriage. Also today i used the goodyear comfo tred tires instead of the pirellis pzero neros , and like with everything else it makes an incrementally noticeable improvement. Here are the measurements in uncalibrated dBa's and for comparison measurement from a stock 2003 gt convertible:

2012 stock 2012 after all 2003 convert
tires psi 35 35 35
parked dBa 33 35
idle dBa 48 44 52
40 mph dBa 63 61 70
60 mph dBa 73 70 81
70 mph dBa 78 71 87

Now the car is about as quiet as most luxury cars and you can easily hear the wind blow at highway speed instead of just load noise. I have not disconnected the air intake sound tube from the engine bay. The stereo sounds better as well. Too bad the factory doesn't offer a "silence package" as it would be so easy for them just to spray another 30 pounds of "goup" to get the same results.

 

[Stormsigma]

They probably don't offer an option like that because I'd wager that less than a tenth of one percent of Mustangs would be ordered with it. Most people that care about their car being that quiet tend to bypass the Ford dealership on their way to the Lexus store down the way.:??: