SOUND DEADENING. TECHNICAL STUFF :)

[depz]

Hey all!

I want to sound deaden my 1998 316i coupe. I heard that the cheapest way to do it is to stuff the door panels and everything with cotton wool which is really effective and costs next to nothing. does it really work? is there anything that works better?
i dont really want to spend anything on it past £15 cos im a cheap arse


Any info/help/ideas would be well helpful and appreciated.

Depz.

[gixerdave1983]

hhhmmmmm....not sure about that one, every time you take the window down your gonna be compacting it and if its a wet window even worse!!

[depz]

so why doesnt dynamat do that?

what about sticking it to the sides with brown tape (you know the card board box stuff) or using foam carpet underlay??

Just a thought.

[carstereopro]

Dynamat and like products are water-proof rubber/butyl/asphalt based products.

they use mass to absorb vibrations and resonance.

It's not cotton that people use, its Polyester Fiberfill (stuff used in stuffed animals and pillows)

Fiberfill, Cotton or the like will insulate, but will not absorb vibration or resonance.

Also, it will absorb moisture and keep in in between panels. This will eventually result in premature rusting/corrosion within the spaces where it is used.

Stick with products designed to do the job right.

[wheelrub]

you should get the stuff they use in payphones around the base that shit makes it so u cant hear nothing

[depz]

what stuff is that? dont think we have the same foneboxes in the UK (ours are just metal dug into the concrete)

2 be honest ill probs just buy the dynamatt..just wondered if there were any alternatives.

[Audio Vermin]

The nice thing about Dynamat is it doesn't take much. You dont have to place the shit on the whole door for example. If you are savvy to do this take your door panels off (can you keep your speakers in place with the panel off)? If you can run your stereo while simultaneously pressing your hand in different places around your door. You should start noticing differences in sound as you do this. Feel for excessive vibrations to. When you hit a spot that makes a difference in the sound put a spot of dynamat. Typically you will want to put a piece about 8 to 10 inches square on the outer door panel right behind the driver (speaker). And then a bit around the perimeter of the basket where it mounts. But in all honesty if you are running subs and therefore crossing over the fronts at say 125 to 250 Hz region I would just baffle the boogers. XTC makes some baffles pretty cheap. With the baffles you can polyfill the insides a bit to soften the sound. Also if you have cheap speakers with steel baskets just putting a couple of strips of Dynamat along the basket legs will make a difference aso. I do this automatically. The goal is not to reduce vibration. It is to put the dampen the vibes to a frequncy that does not interfere with the audio.

[CrazyGhost]

You got yourself a BMW and you want to stuff it with cotton wool. Learn from my mistakes..... Buy the best and you will have less stress!

[justlikemusic]

Originally Posted by CrazyGhost

You got yourself a BMW and you want to stuff it with cotton wool.

Best quote ever.

I think what you want to stuff with cotton wool is the panels that are vibrating.

There is no problem doing that... however, cotton wool isn't going to do too much for sound deadening.

Carstereopro hit the nail on the head with his post.