Audio Upgrade Build

My goal for this audio upgrade is to get the best sound I can for a reasonable price, while maintaining factory control of the audio (I.E. steering wheel controls, factory head unit). After some research I found there were two main routes people were going; swap the door speakers and tweeters for slightly better ones and calling it good, or spend $1000+ on a vehicle specific kit (you probably can guess the one I'm referring to). I felt I could create a better system than the former while costing less than the latter.

*Note, this is a work in progress. I will update the thread as I progress.*

Step 1
The old adage that you shouldn't build your foundation on sand applies to a lot of things, audio included. In this case, the foundation is the mounting area of the speakers, and unfortunately vehicles in general are not good foundations for quality audio. I learned that if you have a lot of open space and vibrating metal around your speakers they wont perform to their full potential, they will have some distortion, and the bass response will suffer. Eliminating or reducing these issues is something that the professional audio installers of the world have solved with products like Dynamat. I used a different brand of material, but they essentially accomplish the same goal.

Installing sound deadening material is pretty simple, it just takes time and some finessing. Make sure you cover as much surface area as possible and seal off the holes between the inner and outer door panels. This will reduce vibration of the metal surrounding your speakers and will create a sort of sealed compartment to allow the speaker to create better bass. Even with the garbage stock speakers I noticed increased sound quality just from sound deadening.

Another benefit of sound deadener is reduced road noise, which wasn't as important to me, but since I'm running AT tires it's a nice perk.


There is a plastic moisture barrier sheet that covers the openings inside the door. Just peel it off and discard it.


Covering the inside of the outer panel can be tricky, but cover as much of it as you can. Most of the vibration comes from that panel.



Cut out the holes for wires, speakers, and door openers. Most of these can be felt under the Rattle Trap, then cut out with a utility knife.

Don't forget the panel behind the rear seats. There aren't any speakers, but a lot of noise comes through there and interferes with your listening enjoyment.

That's all I have for now. I have speakers and an amp on order but I'll wait to post about those until they get here. As I noted above, I already have better sound quality with just the sound deadener, so I'm pretty excited to see how it sounds with everything else done.

 

Looks like you’re off to a good start, I love car audio. I’m not as much an aficionado on SQ as power. I like the feeling the band is playing on the hood of my truck windows rattling ( mine and the cars around me ) , mirrors shaking and the ground quaking

 

@AZF1504x4 By the time I'm done, this system should cause some decent window rattling

 

Great job, I need to do the back of the cab on my truck.

 

I sound deadened my truck a little but did not do the same amount of coverage as you. I also retained the moisture barrier.

Is the moisture barrier a necessary thing if you sound deaden the way OP did?

 

not keeping the moisture barrier is going to make changing a window regulator or replacing a window a pain in the ass. I would personally do a layer of MLV such as your rattle trap and then put a layer of closed cell foam on top

 

I see you recommended foam over the MLV. Do you recommend just the exterior skin or both the interior and exterior?
I was thinking about applying foam to the actual plastic body panel itself. Do you think it's worth doing or a dumb idea due to adding to much weight to the plastic clips that hold it on to the door?

 

I figure if I ever need to do that I'll just cut out the access hole, replace the parts, and put another layer of MLV on when I'm done. The thought did cross my mind, but I haven't had to replace a window in a vehicle yet so hopefully my luck continues

 

The MLV seals off the same holes that the moisture barrier does, so no, it's not necessary to keep it there.

 

Couple of things:

You really don't have to cover the entire panels. Add enough sound deadening material to eliminate the hollow sound when you thump on the panels. Adding more just increases weight and cost with little benefit.

A lot of noise comes through those vents on the back wall. There is a post somewhere on the forum about putting some egg crate foam against those vents to eliminate the noise, but still allow for airflow. Not sure if you still have it apart, but if you do, it's worth the time.

Good luck with the project!

 

Thanks for the advise. I'll look into the vent thing.

 

just put the foam on the inside, between the door trim panel and the door itself. you dont want it on the outer skin as it'll absorb moisture and get all gross.