Prius sound proofing

I did this to all 4 of my wheel wells...it seems to help but it's a messy and expensive job requiring patience and roller tools:

 

^^^why dint u remove the inner fender liners & apply directly to the body?

 

I looked into that, but some of those panels can't be removed. In another mod, I did remove the plastic ones and embedded foam rubber inside them. So it's a combination of that plus the Dynamat. So far, it is a much quieter ride.

 

I reckon most of the noise is coming from the front where the strut tops are joined to the bulkhead with two black triangles of metal that are not insulated. The struts are rubber mounted but these triangles, which I guess are stiffeners for the strut tops, are bolted to the strut bolts without being insulated. My car is absolutely quiet on smooth roads but noisy on anything that's not perfectly smooth, at all speeds. I was thinking of taking these stiffeners off temporarily just to check this out, but I don't want to void the warranty.

 

I looked at those "triangles" but they are under the plastic cowling deep enough that there's no easy access to insulate them. How would you get to these triangle tops?

 

U would prob have to remove the Struts

 

Yep - too much trouble to experiment with.

 

I can't see why you would have to remove the struts, the triangles are just connected to two of the strut bolts.

 

The triangle sits between the strut & the strut tower on the car. There is no isolating material between the 2 & the only way to get something in between them is to remove the strut.

 

I think there may be some misunderstanding here as to what I mean by the strut. The strut is the suspension leg (macpherson strut) this is bolted to the strut tower by 3 bolts. The triangles in question are bolted to the strut tower by two of the strut bolts and to the bulkhead (firewall) so they are between the strut tower and the bulkhead, not the strut and the strut tower. What I was saying is that you don't need to take off the suspension leg (strut) to undo the triangle, merely unbolt two of the bolts at that end of the triangle. the other end of the triangle is more difficult to get at as looks like it involves removing the cowling and probably the windscreen wiper motor and the RH side acts as a mounting for the brake fluid reservoir. I guess these triangles are there to prevent the strut towers moving too much when cornering and braking (like a strut brace) so undoing them might affect the handling and the steering geometry, so I'll give it a miss.

 

^^^ I think what u are referring to are merely brackets for the windshield motor tray & brake fluid reservoir that are bolted to each inner & most foward bolt on the strut tower. I dont think these are a brace by any means.........but I could also be wrong

 

I agree, they may just be designed to hold the wiper tray up, but I also think they will give some degree of stiffness to the towers.

 

On my 2012 P2 I started my sound proofing project two days ago and I'll do the third door today. I used Dynamat extreme on the inner and outer skins. There's a YouTube video where superkhoakhoa sound proofed a Prius Plug-in using Dynamat and Dynapad on the door's outer skin. Dynapad is a sponge rubber material that can absorb water. It's not a good idea to use it where water can drip in from the widows. I plan to use it on the floor and in the back hatch quarter panels. It's light, water can't get in and I'm hoping the provide enough sound proofing in the back of the vehicle.

 

I got fed up with the noise and just traded traded the Gen 3 in for a Prius+ (UK version of the Prius v) vastly quieter than the hatchback.

 

Padding the doors made a big difference but the loud wheel thump is still annoying. We also have a 2013 Toyota Avolon hybrid and it quiter but it only gets about 38 mpg. The prius gets 50 mpg.

 

I used Dynamat on the floor pan and wheel wells and like you say, the road noise from the tires is still transferred into the cabin - especially at higher speeds (75 mph and over). I have a friend who got the Michelin Primacy tires and he says it makes a total difference. But you'd need to trade some mpgs for the quieter ride. When my OEM tires are due for replacing, I think I will investigate the Primacy.

 

tyres make a difference ...i got goodyear efficiency grip performance....B A RATED in europe b for economy a for wet
quiet as a mouse with no other soundproofing other than rattle seek and find and fix

getting great reviews in europe

 

I had Primacys on the Gen 3, so I don't think it's the tyres themselves.

 

But did you notice an improvement in tire noise at higher speeds?

 

It had Primacys when I got it and still had them on when I traded it so there was nothing to improve. It was quiet up to 25mph at which point which it started to get noisy then got noisier as the speed increased. It was the same type of droning noise as a worn wheel bearing but coming from all the wheels and it did it from new.