Had the doors on my 01 f150 supercab open the other day and was watching the door panel vibrate as the radio played(at not a very loud volume). Also I plan on getting the 50 series flowmaster but am concered about the amount of cabin noise. So I want to add some sound deadening material.

What works best? I want something that will improve the stereo sound(I'll upgrade the speakers at the same time) and reduce road noise.

I did a search on this forum and came up with a lot of Dynamat threads. Checked their website and while the claims are impressive so are the prices. Looked at some others (B-quiet and Brown Bead) and they seem to be compared to Dynamat. Is Dynamat the best or are there products that work as well for fewer $$- many are advertised as such but what is the reality?

I'll have plenty of time in January to work on this project as I'm getting laid off Dec. 31st. Which brings me to the price issue.

I'm interested in function and don't mind spending a little extra. I want what works best but I don't want to spend more than I have to. Spray-ons, mats, pads it's all so confusing. The way I see it once I choose one kind of material for the truck it's probably never going to be replaced. If I get a chance to use a second type of product it'll probably be on a different vehicle. So how does one compare functionality between products without relying on marketing hype?

Thanks
Tim

 

I've got JL Audio 4x6"s in all 4 doors and 2 10"s under the rear bench and I have no problem with noise. I think the actual door panel provides most of the sound deading and the film inside the door is a weather barrier. But anyway, dynamat is great stuff, as long as you don't mind the price!? They have small door panel kits that just go around the speaker opening and is supposed to increase the sound quality by making the panel more rigid. I would start with that and work my way up if needed.

 

I used the Brown bread on the entire floor and doors in my ext cab. The sound quality improved so much I almost miss hearing the Powerstroke. It could have been even better if I had not been lazy and did the firewall, rear cab and headliner. (it would have taken another whole role at $150.)

I have used dynamat in my 94 F-150 on the speaker area only and there was a big difference in just those little areas. So a comparison would not be fair.

 

Hi,
I did a lot of research on sound deadening, and I'll share the results with you:
(note: these are my conclusions, and I'm not an expert)
Three common types of noise control are damping, deadening, and barriers.
Damping is adding mass to stop vibration (Dynamat; etc.).
Adding dynamat to your sheetmetal helps stop it from vibrating- both from exterior noise and from the kick of your speakers. The vibration is equal to sound- by stopping it you are stopping sound both from without, and from resonating due to speakers. Any dead weight works to dampen vibration; dynamat and others are made of various stuff- some are sorta a tar and rubber mix, some are some kind of tar and fiber mix- a they have stickum so that they bond to the sheetmetal: dead weight. Some claim to convert sound to heat, I suspect this is just the description of what happens when any damping material stops an object from vibrating.

Examples of stock damping applications:
Under the foot areas of the driver and passenger carpeting in my F150 is a thick hardened black substance spread over the sheetmetal. This appears to be damping, and may also be heat insulation.


Deadening is acoustic elimination of sound waves (jute- the smooshed wool fiber looking stuff on the back side of the rear cabin wall carpeting; rebond- the made out of chunks of foam looking padding under some auto carpets; and acoustic foam- charcoal grey 2 lb. foam).
Deadening is the elimination of sound waves by absorption via a material that (in essence) has no structural integrity. Sound travels best through more solid matter; sound underwater travels much further than air born sound waves. Jute, for example, allows the sound wave to penetrate, but has no structural integrity to allow vibration transmission, thereby causing the sonic energy to be wasted as it tries to travel through it.

A Barrier blocks sound (the hard fiberglass headliner in newer f150's; composite blankets- layered foam/lead or neoprene or aluminum/acoustic foam). The layer of aluminum on dyna extreme is an example of a carrier. Acoustic web sites sell composite blankets constructed of (for example) a decoupling layer of foam with a thin lead layer, topped with a layer of acoustic foam.

If you put some dyna or others on your inner outer door skin and around your speaker, it controls transmission of outside sound and resonance from your speakers. It works well. there are reviews on the web that say different things regarding which is best; I used Dynamat because it appears to be the heaviest (dead weight).

I also added some damping to the rear cabin wall, the roof, and the rear pillars.

You could also add a layer of rebond under the carpet to eliminate a lot of road noise.

I made my own barrier "blankets" by spray adhesive bonding acoustic foam to neoprene. I put this on the door surface under the plastic panels.

I did more stuff, but that's just how I am. It all made a huge difference in quieting down the interior noise level- even at highway speeds- and it improved how the door speakers sound. It's hard to say at what point my efforts became overkill; damping some of the large sheetmetal ares, and maybe some padding under the carpet probably would have been sufficient.

Without having used both Dyna and Brown myself, though, I can't say which is better. They all have acoustic coefficient numbers and other scientific stuff, and dynamat does seem to have the edge. But it is very pricey. I've read that for the money, Brownbread is a much better value, but I suppose it amounts to "how good is good enough?"

 

Well said MC,
Remember that u cant sound deaden to much or u will take away from the music.
I got my vibration dampening from Mcmaster. com and I know Partsexpress. com has good pricing also.

 

Thanks for the responses. Brown bead is probably the way I'll go. It seems to have the right mix of function and price. I wonder what makes Dynamat so expensive?

As far as too much sound deadening- I was planning on only one layer in the doors, firewall and floors. On the floor I don't think I want to take the seats out and on the firewall I was going to leave the dash in. I am worried about not doing enough. But from what I can tell every little bit helps. So even if I just do part( the doors) I should "hear" improvement.

Thanks
Tim

 

The name!
Brown bread is exspensive also. Do ur reasearch and u'll find the right price for what u want. It cost me $30 to do my truck. This is what i ordered http://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/109/html/3240.html#.
Item # 9709T19
I ordered 2 rolls and it works fine.

 

I never thought to check my Mcmaster-Carr catalog. Looks like I have some more homework to do.


Thanks
Tim

 

Another trick is to use rubber undercoating and spray as much of the inside of the doors as possible. Don't block up the drain holes. You can get a gun cheap and cartridges at the paint shop.

 

try stuffing open spaces with the foam bed mats that you can get... i have a couple of those laying around, after cutting them up and stuffing holes with them, it seems to help out alot

just a cheap alternative to your expensive stuff