RaamMat Finished

I finished the doors on my truck today. Here's some pics:

Put Raammat throughout the inside of the door. I doubled it up behind the speaker:


After that, I put some aluminum flashing over the holes to support the Raammat that goes over the door. They're held in place with 1/2" sheet metal screws.


Put the Raammat over the door panel side of the door:


Covered the result with a sheet of Ensolite:



There's a definite difference in the sound. It's much louder at the same volume setting and the bass comes through better. I have some before and after MP3's that I recorded with my digital recorder. When I play them back on the device, I can see that the volume levels are different. The original peaks at the heavy beat whereas the after is practically pegged the whole recording.
I set the volume to 21 for both recordings. The first recording starts out lower but you can hear it turn up near the beginning of the song. Here are the files if you want to check them out (It's Linkin Park). They'll have to be downloaded (about 4 megs each):
Before
After

I bought one role of Raammat and 6 yards of Ensolite. I have enough Raammat left over to probably do one side behind the driver's side passenger seat (for the sub that's coming). The ensolite I have a lot left over. I could have gotten by with 3 yards. http://www.raamaudio.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi

 

How does the ensolite stick on? Is it peel and stick or spray adhesive?

 

Adhesive spray.

 

What kind of spray is it? One thing I have noticed since putting in my luxury liner is the intense chemical smell that I can't seem to make go away. But I used 3M High Strength - maybe wasn't the right stuff... Leave the windows down for a bunch of hours and it seems to go away. But leave the windows up after that and it comes back.

 

Great post!

How long did it take ya to do everything? I am doing this same thing next week.

 

It was the stuff they sell on their site: V&S 1081 (link above). There's no smell that I can discern yet.

 

It took me about 5 hours per side (front & rear). One thing that would have saved me a little time would have been to use the flashing from one side as a template for the other (same with the ensolite). I had the driver's side door done and put back together before I thought of it.

 

Thanks! I might just order some from Second Skin before I do the doors...

Great job by the way!

 

Wow... I can really tell the difference between the two MP3 recordings! (nice song by the way)

I ordered some RAAMmat myself this week. Now I know I made the right choice. I used FatMat in the rear of the truck (down to the under seat storage), and I am disappointed with it. It is not easy to use, and the insulation was not the best. However, I feel that most of my road noise is coming from the doors and the roof.

Great post!

 

Anyone doing this should know there's a TW discount.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/deals-coupons/6255-raamaudio-sound-deadener-tw-discount.html

I didn't find it until now.

 

I can't get ahold of Rick at RAAMmat. I've been trying to get ahold of him to use the discount, but seems like since you ordered it the normal way, you just got ahold him pretty quickly. If anyone has talked to Rick, let me know how.

 

Nice job and glad you heard the improvement in sound! IMO this is a critical part of proper speaker installation that will move you one step closer to getting the "most" out of your new speakers. BTW, I'll be posting a tuning tutorial in the install tutorial at the top of the page as soon as I can but if you are ready to go to "the next level" in SQ now give me a call and I'll guide you through with some tips.

 

I still haven't heard back from him either so you know it's not just you. BTW, hopefully I'll hear something positive on Monday when I go by the shop *crosses fingers*.

 

Last I talked to Rick (11/21/08), he was slammed busy. I think that he was planning on working through the holidays. He hasn't been getting much sleep.

I would call, leave him a message, and shoot him an email. He will definitely get back with you.

 

I had an email exchange with him last week. With his son at school now he's been swamped. I was still able to get the discount by just mentioning the site.

 

Maybe you could send it back and do the install all over again???
Just playing man.. That sucks that you didn't know about the discount..

NICE WORK and pics. I bet it sounds great in person!

 

Ha! I'll just chalk it up to live and learn. Plus it'd be a b*tch to get all those pieces back into a roll.

Thanks. It does sound much better. I have a sub coming courtesy of the eBay 30% discount so it'll sound even better after that.

 

Thanks everyone. I'd never done anything like that before. It's really satisfying to put that much labor into the truck and have it turn out well. I'm sure a shop would charge a pretty penny to do all that. But doing it yourself is a good way to ensure it's done right and to the level that you want.

It's pretty easy to do (it just takes a while). I'd encourage anyone to do it. Just take your time and do it right. And clean the inside of the doors before you put the mat in. I was surprised at how much dust and dirt was in there.

 

Oh! That is an excellent point!!! I didn't even think about that!

 

My local shop charges 50 and hour plus the product product.