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Sound Deadening?

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128K views 107 replies 49 participants last post by  aiwasusan  
A
#1 ·
Has anybody tried adding Dynamat or similar to try to quiet the interior?

I've got the 148" low roof long body. There seems to be very little wind noise - a little from the A pillars. Most of the interior highway speed noise is road/tire noise.

Has anybody added Dynamat to the floor? Did it change the interior noise? What about doors and sides?

Having added Dynamat to my previous cars, I found it mostly quiets wind noise, but not road noise. So I'm curious if it's worth doing in the transit. Maybe there's already sound dampening already in the body.
 
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#2 ·
I've got a couple boxes of CLD tiles from Sound Deadener Showdown and 35 linear feet of Thinsulate from Hein ready to go in my van, but haven't got around to installing yet. I do have 5/8" horse stall mats on top of the factory rubber insulated floor mat. That being said, I've done a couple long weekend camping trips in it, and even with the bare metal high roof, it's remarably quiet. My kids and I can carry on a conversation without raising our voices. Pretty amazing for an empty cargo van. It's light years quieter than our Honda Element. We've just given up trying to talk while driving that ;)
JP
 
L
#4 ·
Dynamat

I'm doing a conversion and I decided to go all out on acoustic deadening. I was already impressed with the lack of road noise. I decided to use it on the floors and the ceiling along with the wheel wells anyway. Its amazing how quiet it is. Just finished a 2,500 mile road trip....SWEET!!!
What a comfortable ride even in the high roof and longest body.

I have the acoustic deadening but I'm also thermally insulating the floors, ceiling and walls for camping in summer and colder months.....batt, rigid, spray foam and Thinsulate are all used depending on the location.
 
D
#20 · (Edited)
lepelch said:
I'm doing a conversion and I decided to go all out on acoustic deadening. I was already impressed with the lack of road noise. I decided to use it on the floors and the ceiling along with the wheel wells anyway. Its amazing how quiet it is. Just finished a 2,500 mile road trip....SWEET!!!
What a comfortable ride even in the high roof and longest body.

I have the acoustic deadening but I'm also thermally insulating the floors, ceiling and walls for camping in summer and colder months.....batt, rigid, spray foam and Thinsulate are all used depending on the location.
Click to expand...
Any idea how much dynamat I should purchase/start out with? I looking to cover ceiling, walls and floor on a 148" med roof cargo. Thanks!
 
#5 ·
I think that the vehicle is very noisy. More noisy than my Suburban, Quest, or Expedition. I have just completed a complete sound deadening effort in the rear on my Transit. Floors, Walls, Ceiling and Doors. This made a huge difference in the rear. My next effort is to complete the front drivers area. When I removed all of the floor and paneling the only insulation I found was directly over the wheel well. It was only a 1/2 fiber mat. I used brands other than Dynamat with the same results.
 
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#6 ·
My ears were ringing when I got out of my old van, so to me the Transit is very quiet. I do have a solid ABS partition though. Mostly the (usually) amazing ride quality is what keeps things from rattling around I think. It's all perspective I guess. I've done nothing for noise reduction and don't see a need. Something I would like to know is if the side window deflectors cut wind noise driving with the window open.
 
#18 ·
alarmist said:
... Something I would like to know is if the side window deflectors cut wind noise driving with the window open.
Click to expand...

We have the WeatherTech window deflectors on our full size chevy van conversion (hi-top) and with the window cracked ~1" the driving rain may not get inside but it is a bit noisy! Still would not have a rig this this without. We use ours mainly in the campsite cracked about 1" for airflow and we have some no-see-um netting my wife cut and velcro'd on the inside window frame once in camp.


Thom
 
#7 ·
antran7 said:
Has anybody tried adding Dynamat or similar to try to quiet the interior?

I've got the 148" low roof long body. There seems to be very little wind noise - a little from the A pillars. Most of the interior highway speed noise is road/tire noise.

Has anybody added Dynamat to the floor? Did it change the interior noise? What about doors and sides?

Having added Dynamat to my previous cars, I found it mostly quiets wind noise, but not road noise. So I'm curious if it's worth doing in the transit. Maybe there's already sound dampening already in the body.
Click to expand...
DO NOT line your van walls and floor with Dynamat, Fatmat or other similar products. It is not needed. If you install Thinsulate against the van skin it will dampen the panel resonance and also block/absorb noise in addition to providing thermal insulation. It will save you money, weight, and effort.

3M Thinsulate is used by Honda and other OEMs. It has been thoroughly tested for vehicle use in all conditions and climates.

We are authorized by 3M to sell Thinsulate vehicle sound/thermal insulation. Please send a PM to get more information or request a sample.

Thank you,
Hein
Impact, Inc.
Hood River, OR
54l 49O 5O98
Heinvs(at)
Impact3D.com
 
#9 ·
I was a car audio installer for 8 years and worked on every thing from 68 Vette to late model Mercedes. Sound deadening on every car was a combination of an adhesive mat to add weight to the metal structure (Dynamat, Fat Mat, or some generic version. This will stop any vibration within the metal and reduce any sound. In addition a cotton/fiberous layer of material is laid on top of it. This further muffles any sound. I am also an Engineer that designs Helicopters. VIP helicopters like the S-76, Presidential VH-60, and Brunei H-60 Blackhawk use a rubberized mat against the aluminum skin and a fibrous mat on top.

You can see the installation of the Thinsulate in this video, take note of the dynamat/fat mat under the thinsulate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIIYoIzSLnQ
 
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#10 ·
hawkeng said:
Sound deadening on every car was a combination of an adhesive mat to add weight to the metal structure (Dynamat, Fat Mat, or some generic version. This will stop any vibration within the metal and reduce any sound. In addition a cotton/fiberous layer of material is laid on top of it. This further muffles any sound.
Click to expand...
I can see the benefit of adding weight to the metal panels to dampen out the noise. Does the fibrous material really muffle noise too? I would think it would need to be really thick and also heavy to do anything effective - like that dense heavy mats/blankets that movers use.
 
S
#12 ·
I started some acoustic treatment on my cargo van that will be used for contracting work. Main reason is to keep road noise down to make talking on the phone easy while traveling between appointments. So far the cargo floor has been covered with 80mil butyl under the rubber mat and the slider door, rear doors and walls have been treated with 80mil butyl and then covered with Bonded Logic UltraLiner (2" cotton insulation).

I took decibel reading on the same section of freeway at 70mph and before treatment and max DB was 92 and average was 71. After treating the back readings are only 77 max and 63 average so it's a big improvement.

Planning to do the cab floors, cab doors and above headliner but this will take a little more effort because there is more trim to take off for access. There won't be any of the cotton insulation in the cab doors because of moisture, but there is room to stuff some behind the door panels.

Rear floor and wheel wells:
Image


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Sliding door with panel and dust shield removed and then with butyl installed and finally Ultraliner installed:
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Walls with cargo panels removed, butyl installed and Ultraliner installed:

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It's been an easy and rewarding project and along with being much quieter, the doors now shut with a high-end car thud and don't sound like empty tin cans any more.
 
#14 ·
I didn't add any of the Ultraliner type materials to my walls, but in hindsight I should have. I will probably add it later. Looks really nice. My front cab is next for mine.
 
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#17 · (Edited)
Did you get the Load Area Protection Package 96D, ? If so any pics,and how do you like?
I was looking for the that black corrugated honeycome stuff they used on the side door..where can I buy it from?
Does anyone know where I can find the Ford load area protection? Can you buy it aftermarket,or if anyone has it,and can comment on how it is,would be great!
Thanks ,and looks like a great job!
 
#19 ·
Does anyone know an east coast source for the thinsulate? Nothing against Hein but shipping from OR to SC would be high.
If it was within a few hundred miles I might even make a road trip out of it and pick it up.
 
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#25 ·
i am guessing this is the same material sb930 used, and it is what i used, except the rubber looks like it may be thicker on what i bought? i did the whole rear floor and wheel wells, it quieted my van way down! http://www.homedepot.com/p/USEAL-US...p/USEAL-USA-Band-6-in-Aluminum-Foil-Self-Adhesive-Repair-Tape-8872AF6/202086180
(yeah i got to wonder about hein and thinsulate, he is not the little guy just trying to make a living that many people here think he is, he sells that stuff across multiple forums and the R value of thinsulate is almost as low as refectix)
 
#26 ·
I have Thinsulate installed and have no relation to Hein. http://moreysintransit.com/how-to-insulate-with-thinsulate/

I did the same experiment and recorded it and found the same results.

But I did it in 2 takes so probably not worth posting as it won't meet your requirements.

If there is some experiment or test you would like me to do let me know. I have no financial motivation for you to buy Thinsulate.
 
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#27 ·
Is there a document that shows the actual R value for Thinsulate? I want to see if the R value is linked to a specific assembly method. Reflectix is a perfect example of a product that has virtually no insulation benefits unless it is installed in a precise manner. BTW I have never seen anyone install Reflectix correctly, most just throw it in as another layer.
 
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#28 ·
If you read the Reflectix sales information it is pretty clear how and how not to install it.

Maybe I will qualify for your prize! I installed it in all cases with an air gap. Never as a layer between two other materials. Does it work. Dammed if I know. Have no interest in running any tests.
 
#31 ·
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#34 ·
http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/1055312O/3m-thinsulate-acoustic-insulation-sm600l-datasheet.pdf
http://www.impact3d.com/3M Thinsulate.pdf

So thermal R value is about 1.25 to 1.46 per centimeter thickness. So an R value of 5 to 6 for the stuff Hein sells. It goes without saying (but said anyway) that this is for uncompressed insulation. Just like fiberglass, it is the air trapped in the fiber that does the work, not the fibers. If you squeeze all the air out of fiberglass, it just becomes a hunk of glass. Loose fill, not jammed in is best.

From a sound deadening standpoint, Thinsulate is very good in mid to high frequency sound bands. Wind noise, rattles, clanks, whistles, voices, etc. These noise bands are the most harsh and annoying. In the video example above, the thinsulate does not attenuate the initial low frequency thump but eliminates the harsh oil canning as the metal springs back.

There is no one magic bullet, other than ear plugs or turning down your hearing aid, for noise reduction. You need to use the right tool to fix what you are trying to improve. Given the reality of large flat metal surfaces in a van, I think mat is a good place to start, but mat alone will not make your van sound like a Lexus. It will just reduce the booming enough so you can hear all the other noises that were masked.
 
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