Sound proofing under carpet + carpet sources

[rabbit]

is dynamat worth it and effective for sound attenuation? are there other good choices? where is best place to get carpet that matches the orig colors with a strong quality? cheers

[Conserv]

Carpet? @esty

 

Great quality, great fit. She’s also a very active forum member — and you’ll find lots of discussions regarding her carpets on the forum.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[Stevenc22]

I used fatmat under my carpet. I would only buy Etsy carpet. I bought from another vendor and the carpet was mediocre at best.

[jimk]

Look here and decide what you need.

https://www.b-quiet.com/

[esty]

be careful putting thick pad under any carpet you buy...it will cause it to fit poorly and shift around....i would not use 1/4", i suggest that you use 1/8 ....this is too thick -

 

 

[NYNick]

Don't even bother shopping around. esty is the place to go for your carpet.

 

I've come to believe there's a huge snake oil market for soundproofing and a lot of bad information regarding more is better. What I've come to learn is in fact just the opposite. Strategically placed soundproofing is much more effective than the "beer cooler" approach, and way cheaper too. People will say their full metal jacket approach is best: science proves otherwise. 

 

You're really talking about sound DAMPENING, not sound proofing. You can't sound proof a 2002. You can minimize some sound intrusion, but it's a 50 year old car and you can't turn it into a Lexus. Spend more time making sure stuff doesn't rattle and all your mechanical fittings are torqued properly.

 

Use your sound dampening material sparingly and intelligently. I used MLV I bought from HD and some E-Z Cool for insulation. Be careful on with the interior curves, like the transmission tunnel. Too much of either will complicate your carpet install.

 

More isn't better. Work smart and don't follow the crowds, especially those with vested interests.

[Mike Self]

Slightly contrarian...for many years I've used regular household carpet padding under my car carpeting--and even under rubber floor mats.  Back in the day the stuff to use was "waffle padding" which has a corrugated surface so air can circulate and allow things to dry out when wet.  It was dense so formed good soundproofing. 

 

It's been superseded by "rebond" padding, which is nothing more than cut up scraps of synthetic foam all glued together.  The thin stuff (7/16 or 1/2 inch) still works well, but be sure and get padding that has a thin skin bonded to one side, and place that side up and next to the carpet as it provides a moisture/water barrier.  It's a good sound deadener, and best of all it's cheap to free--you can often scrounge scrap pieces from your local carpet store.  

 

Two often overlooked places for sound deadening in a 2002 is the space under and behind the back seat.  Hang a piece of carpet padding on the two hooks that hold the seat back in place, and fill the space underneath the back seat with something--even plastic sacks full of styrofoam peanuts are great for sound deadening and are practically weightless.  Or you can use chunks of styrofoam or even chunks of foam rubber--so long as you don't have any back window leaks.  That will cut out an amazing amount of differential/rear axle noise.  

 

mike 

[NYNick]

Oh, I forgot to add I didn't glue anything down except on the vertical surfaces. This way i can pull everything up to air out the car if I ever have a disaster.

I like Mike's approach as well.

[jimk]

The system that was in the 2002 from the factory still is practiced today.  The first layer is adhered to the sheet metal to dampen and lower the vibration frequency.  The intermediate layer of foam rubber separating the first layer and heavy, rubber backed carpet disconnects the vibrating layer from the upper layer.  The upper layer, heavy carpet absorbed the low frequency noise,  A single layer won't get the job done.

 

Materials placed in the right spots get it done but doing it ourselves is impossible to find those places.

 

Dampening/absorbing sound at the source is most effective and lowest cost.  So new cars have the engine cover with sound absorptive material on the underside.

Edited July 7, 2021 by jimk
my bad spelling

[esty]

the best sound deadening is to stop the wind noise from the window/door seals and seal the pedal box and firewall openings into the cabin  

 

[rabbit]

Thank you all for the insight, much appreciation for that. There is great info here. I would have to agree that thin material will help the carpet to lay nicely. Interesting enough is that Ive considered that under the rear seat maybe the best solution is to use acoustic foam that is common in recording studios, kinda looks like an egg carton. On warm days, with the old AC blower on, would certainly add to the spectrum of noise, even overriding the quieter bits from the outside.   If I could only get my passengers hip to John Cage Im sure they would welcome the noise and view it not as disruption but as a orchestration that could only be produced by such a beast of a car. As for getting rid of the wind sounds I assume that means no passengers . cheers!

Edited July 6, 2021 by rabbit
spelling

[carlkkreienkamp]

A number of years ago I used"Q- pads " mfg,  by Fiber Glass-Evercoat Co. Cincinnati, Oh.  513-489-7600.

Evercoat  p# 100116.  self adhering "12X12"  panels.  1/16" thick. Was easy to work with. 

Applied 1/4" closed cell foam carpet padding from local pro carpet supplier on top.  Worked well.

[irdave]

I've been following @jimk's lead on many things, including the materials from b-quiet.  If you get the chance, you need to have a ride in Jim's car, it is so quiet!  Even with the s14 with the AFM removed.  It's so quiet.  My car is so much better than when I got it, but his car is amazing.

 

Oh, and @esty, that picture you posted is the adhesive / reflective material b-quiet has for under hood, trunk lid, those types of places, not for under carpet.  Their mass loaded vinyl (MLV) is thinner.