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Sound proofing

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by bear4, Mar 25, 2012.

  1. bear4

    bear4 Junior Member

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    I believe I found an easy way to significantly improve prius soundproofing, which was a main concern for me at speeds over 70 mph - with stock tires the road noise was too much to tolerate, you actually have to raise your voice so your passengers can hear you. I was also trying to reduce the typical Atkinson engine droning noise from the rear compatment that can be heard at patial throttle

    I purchased a set of Weather Tech floor mats and 3 sheets of dynapad soundproofing material from Dynamat. I placed one sheet of dynapad over the spare tire inside the rear compartment, and two remaining sheets were cut to exact fit and placed on the floor under the weathertech floor mats. I was very much pleasantly suprised with the results - the tire noise and engine drone were reduced significantly, we could actually talk at speeds of 80mph. The total cost of this mod was about $500.00 weathetech mats included in this price, and I did not have to take anything apart.
     

    Attached Files:

    FallRisk, bisco and fotomoto like this.
  2. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Great idea bear. You might one to get some spray on contact cement and apply the dynapads to the back of the floor mats.
     
  3. Levelheadsteve

    Levelheadsteve Junior Member

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    Do you think it would work with regular floor mats? I can't handle the look of all-weather mats.
     
  4. Mike500

    Mike500 Senior Member

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  5. Scott1258

    Scott1258 Junior Member

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    Hey Bear,

    Do you think the majority of the sound proofing is from the dynapads, or do the WT mats add to the effect too? Let us know as I too am wondering if just adding it to the regular mats would work well. Thanks!

    Scott


     
  6. bear4

    bear4 Junior Member

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    The majority of the soundproofing is from the dynapad. The floor mats really don't provide any soundproofing, however, since weathertech mats fit so well, they completely hide the sheets of dynapad under them, so you cannot tell that dynapad is even there. The dynapad is almost 1/2'' think, it has four layers of composite foam and sound barrier material, and this setup works surprisingly well. I will post some more pictures later. The same will work with the factory mats, but they will not cover the dynapad sheets completely. Remember that the goal here is to cover as much floor and trunk area with dynapad as possible. I also placed smaller sheets of dynapad under the front seats making sure not to block the air vents.
     
  7. kknguyen1168

    kknguyen1168 Member

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    Bear

    may I have some pics that Dynapad that cover the trunk please, I bought the material like Dynapad but it is call GTMAT, I thought that I have to do all area that underneath the spare tire, but heard what you said, I would like to see it, I also plan to do all 4 inner doors and under the back seat, I may buy the weathertech mats so I cover the front seat floor and backseat floor. Please advice

    V/r

    Khoi Nguyen
     
  8. GoldPianoGarden

    GoldPianoGarden Bling Meister

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    I'm not at all crazy about the look and performance (holes, sloping sides to allow water to run off) of the Weather Tech floormats; however, I think my black Husky WeatherBeaters match the color scheme of my car perfectly, and keep anything from getting on the carpet, and they don't move --- so there's no need for those holes the others have that allow dirty water to run onto the carpet.
     
  9. jh87

    jh87 Junior Member

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    anyone else did the same as the OP for soundproof? I kind of doubt this method will make too much of a difference. I had done a much more work for my another car few years ago, including dynamat the doors, the whole floor after lifting up the carpet,and sprayed the wheel well, only to have a minor effect. It will be great if it works like the OP stated.
     
  10. kknguyen1168

    kknguyen1168 Member

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    jh87

    exactly you said, minor effect, I did all 4 doors, back seat, trunk, 12 spray can underneath the car" I did remove 4 plastic panel before I spray it", sprayed all 4 wheel, the best I can say that i did improve about 25%, but I will know better next week when my brother come to see me, he had 2010 too but did not do anything, I will ask him if he feel any different, I am in Florida now, I drive his car last couple day, I can say that a lot noisy than my car, let see what he say when he come to see me and drive my car.

    V/r

    Khoi nguyen
     
  11. jh87

    jh87 Junior Member

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    thanks for the input, please do update
     
  12. kknguyen1168

    kknguyen1168 Member

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    JH87

    I saw that you are in So Cal, may I ask how close to san diego, maybe we can meet to compare.
     
  13. kye04

    kye04 Junior Member

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    Any updates???
     
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    nope. but there are plenty of threads with sound deadening results.
     
  15. prinut

    prinut Pri Nut

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    One thing to keep in mind in evaluating the noise is the road. I definitely notice when I'm on some hwys, the noise level is higher and other's it's lower. On one stretch of road where the road is brand new, less than a month old and the road color is black, indicating that the tar on it is brand new, I did not hear much noise at all!!! The car was extremely quiet!!!
     
  16. zzrguy

    zzrguy Junior Member

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    How much weight does it add. I was looking at the Dynamat super lite it would be nice to have a solid sounding car. My old 240 wagon had no sound deading on the roof and it was load as hell I sprayed it with 3m rubberized undercoating it make a huge improvement.
     
    #16 zzrguy, Jul 26, 2015
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2015
  17. Toppcat

    Toppcat Member

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    I approach my sound proofing in a different way! First identified what kind of noise your after, next find the source. Different sound may require different solutions the prius cabin is very noisy, rattles, squeaks, wind, road noise, tire noise engine, etc. . Prius are just plain made cheap! I found the 3 d maxplier, floor mats does a excellent job sound deading . And fits like a glove.
     
  18. EngMarc

    EngMarc Member

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    I too was very frustrated that one couldn’t talk to people in the car nor on the hands-free phone at anything over lie 30 mph.
    I did a base dB test driving around 65 mph on a highway in my daily commute for a baseline.
    I then embarked on some research and finally ordered this on Amazon
    ”Noico Black 80 Mil 36 Sq Ft Car Sound Deadening, Butyl Automotive Deadener Restoration mat and Noise dampening Insulation
    Below is a before photo of one of the rear door panels inside which is stock on my 2013 Prius Model 5
    Stock Rear Door inside.jpg

    As you can see there’s very little between you and the metal door. On the metal door, there is a plastic air barrier which seems to be mostly to stop drafts. Other than that, this inside foam and felt are all there is for sound deadening.

    Below is my after shot. I applied the Noico to the inside of the door. I used Glad Stretch-n-Seal cut to fit over any sensitive electronics such as the small tweeter, window switch and door handle.

    After Applying Sound Barrier rear door inside.jpg

    After doing all four doors, I did another dB test on the same highway at the same 65 mph.
    Before: 95-98 dB
    After: 82-88 dB

    It’s a start but ideally, I’d like to get down below 50 dB if possible. My next feat is to do the same underlayment Noico under the carpet in the front and rear and under the rear seat and in the trunk area.
    Stay tuned….