how to soundproof prius ?

I think that there might be some special paint that they might use to sound proof the interior. When you are driving it what sound do you usually hear the most? When I drive it, I can hear the sound of the tires on the pavement. Mostly when going 70 mph on the freeway when the pavement is cement and really old. There is some spray paint that can help, but it is done by a professional. My friend might do it for his subaru, but I don't know how much it would benefit a prius. There are also some mats that can be installed to absorb some of the vibration.

 

Spray paint, or spray-on undercoating?
I was thinking of spraying rubberized undercaoting into the wheel wells to help kill the noise of rocks, water and stuff being thrown around inside them.
The tire noise, I suspect, is transmitted from the tires to the suspension and then the unit body which acts like a giant drum head, resonating through the whole car.
That probably has to be attacked from the interior side of the sheet metal.

 

If you take a look inside the rear wheel wells (3rd gen) you should be seeing a fibrous liner in there already. I can't see how ashphalt based undercoat spray makes sense in there.

Similarly in the front wheel wells, there are plastic liners over at least 50% of the area. There's some areas of exposed metal, on the engine wall side. Not sure but I believe it's already got some undercoating on it.

 

It's called Dynamat. I also put it in my 09 Corolla with great results. The doors now sound like a high end luxury car when they close.

 

Hi Mendel!

That's why I was in the "thinking" stage. I hadn't yet put the car up on a lift, or even seriously examined the wheel wells.
The spray may have a good effect on these areas, as thickening the surface should reduce the "contact" noise of the water, gravel, whatever that strikes these areas. I'll bet that if you tap on these areas you'll hear that dampening would help.
So far as hearing sound from the outside (other cars, etc) manufacturers usually solve this by using thicker glass. I think that Ford called theirs "quiet glass" and was 50% thicker than standard. It was used on the front doors of the Lincoln LS, MKZ, and others. I don't think that we could easily replicate that.
The idea is sound - put a bigger barrier between your ears and the noise source.
Using Dynamat or similar material on the doors will attack 2 of your issues: transmitted noise from the outside world to your ears; sound from your car radiating to the outside world.
An added plus is how solid your doors will sound when you close them....

 

you need to strip out the entire interior of the car and add dynamat or other sound deadining product. big job. BIG. there are afew threads here from people who have done it.

 

a buddy of mine did the dynamat thing for his Matrix. pulled everything out of the cab; seats, carpet and center console, pulled the door covers off. it really did help but took TIME, know-how and a garage.

I don't have that much patience :/

 

trade up to CT200h?

 

A spray on lining would be the best for your inside wheel wells, something similar to a truck-bed lining. This would at least help minimize the sound from rocks. I have no idea of what would that cost though.

 

Several threads already on this, some over at audio section, many with pics. I just finished putting Second Skin Damplifier Pro mats in both front doors, under back seat and in trunk. Car is much quieter now, virtually all of the 'boominess' of the hatchback is gone. Doors indeed 'thunk'.

Wheelwells already have thick undercoat on them, so more probably won't help much. Tire drone is just inherent in the design I think and comes through more than just the well area. The matting did not seem to cut down on that noise very much.

But overall noise is down quite a bit, worth doing in trunk/backseat/doors.

edit: The snaps that hold the door panel in place are identical to the Snaps From Hell that hold the front footwell panels. Be prepared to pull so hard your mind starts telling you something has to give, or crack. Scary. Also kind of depressing to see the entire door panel is just one piece of injected/cast plastic, including the armrest (no wonder they don't raise it up). And the butyl rubber holding the plastic sheet is like roofing tar...a little will go a longgg way on clothes, tools, car upholstery, the cat.......

 

Maybe start with that little button at the top right of the page (Google search).

Search is your friend - there are more than enough posts on this topic.... If you search *really* hard, you might even find a current thread (hint - in a different Gen III forum) with a low cost version of Dynamat.

Easter is coming - time to find that carefully hidden egg..........

 

Would the noise be comparable to driving in a convertible with the top up? Is the road noise that unbearable for some?

Thanks!