Sound Deadening Install. Looking for ANY advice

I'm going to tear the interior of my truck apart in a week or two, whenever supplies come in. I'll be installing sound deadening materials on the floor pan, on the rear of the cab, on the firewall, and between the roof and firewall. If I have leftover materials, I'll do the door panels, but its not a primary goal yet, I can always come back to them. I'm planning on three layers--butyl rubber (BR), closed celled foam (CCF), and mass loaded vinyl (MLV).

How should I attach the MLV to the CCF, particularly on the vertical surfaces such as the rear wall of the cab? I realize that many adhesives are incompatible with Vinyl and I would imagine that foam is not the easiest material to interface with. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Does the MLV need to be completely adhered to the CCF, or is it good enough to merely have it "hanging" or "draped" over it? My intuition tells me that 100% adhesion is preferred, but I haven't found a definitive answer anywhere.

Will the carpet fit properly after adding ~0.5" of materials below it? If not, does anyone have any advice for how to cope with this?

Honestly, any other general advice would be appreciated. I've never done this before.

 

Pretty much every sound deadening I’ve done was just peel and stick. Just make sure not to let it stick where you don’t want it too or it can get messy. And don’t let it stick to itself either. As far as putting carpet back it shouldn’t be a big deal unless you go with something really thick.

 

OP what’s the thought behind the three different layers? I’m going to be installing something similar soon but I’m only using one product.

 

IMO the doors are the most important part. You definitely don't want to skip that. I never did my roof (1st Gen), and never felt I needed to. Lots of folks like to seal the big holes in the doors as a first step (making removable panels).

Some CCF comes with adhesive already there - peel & stick. I used 3m spray adhesive (used thin neoprene on both sides of the MLV - neoprene is a closed cell foam). Keep in mind that 100% coverage is the goal with MLV, although it's not always possible. You want it as close as possible as it's your barrier layer. Good Velcro is a good choice for MLV adhesion to surfaces, especially doors, so it can be removed. There are good adhesives for other surfaces, but I'm spacing on those ATM.

CCF/neoprene, etc is your decoupler - keeps it from rattling against other surfaces. You also get some thermal benefits, but decoupling is the main goal. So it's going to be squeezed in between things. 100% adhesive coverage won't hurt, but it may not be necessary everywhere.

Can't tell you if the carpet will fit. I have a layer of MLV under my carpet and that's it. I've never felt I needed a decoupler or damper there as it doesn't seem to be terribly resonant. YMMV.

As for any other advice - make sure you have a roller for the CLD. You don't generally need 100% CLD coverage if you're using a good one. All this is easier if it's at least room temp in your work area as the materials are more pliable. Make sure you have plenty of time. This is going to take longer than you think - like days. A good knife and scissors are critical for good cuts. Get some butyl rope for hard to reach places. I also use CCF garage door seal to close up gaps in the dash & other rattly spots. Clean your surfaces before sticking anything to them.

Here's a good resource to thumb through before getting started: Sound Deadening Materials - Reference Information & Guide - ResoNix Sound Solutions

The Car Audio Fabrication Youtoob channel is also a good resource.

 

what's the goal here?

3 layers on a semi-rigid structure while skipping the doors seems entirely overboard acoustically, or seeks to achieve an entirely different final goal than simply sound damping.

 

I did second skin damplifier pro 2mm on the inside of the doors and back cab wall. That was plenty imo.

 

not all adhesive can be used with MLV. you might try to find some of this:

VELCRO Brand Industrial Strength - For Auto | Features Vinyl-Compatible Adhesive | For Use on Dashboards & Consoles | Automobiles, RVs & Boats | Size 2ft x 1 1/2in | Tape, Black

https://www.amazon.com/VELCRO-Brand-Industrial-Strength-Vinyl-Compatible/dp/B07FFP2135

 

I went with Dynamat Extreme for sound deadening and Dynaliner for thermal insulation throughout the entire interior. This was a huge project and needed to be broken up into multiple steps. You’ll definitely need to do the doors if you want the speakers in the doors to sound better, a lot of road noise come from the doors as well. I love the THUD sound when I close the door, feels like luxury.

 

Not skipping, just deferring to a later date. I’ll be upgrading the speakers in the future, so I’ll do all that at once.

 

I see there’s already some material on the floor pan from the factory. Does anyone know if the butyl rubber mats will stick to this material sufficiently?

It kinda of seems like a pain to remove it all, and unnecessary unless it interferes with adhesion.

 

The butyl mats are very sticky. They will stick on the original structure without removing the original minimal sound dampening material.

 

WEEEEEEEELLLLL… it all depends how deep you are willing to dive head first down the rabbit hole.

If you want an all-in-one solution, MLV and CCF fused together, go with Secondskin Luxory Liner:
https://www.secondskinaudio.com/sound-blocking/luxury-liner-pro, and also get their ridiculously sticky double side tape. That will work on B and C pillars as well as back wall.

Also look at ResoNix. Neither are budget friendly, but IMHO they are the best options out there.

Like I said, it all depends how crazy you want to get with it.

 

Some areas to be careful with:

-The aft panel has all sorts of standoffs, plastic pieces that line everything together... Try to maintain those.
-Same for the doors.
-The door entry plastic piece will not accomodate much extra thickness. If you add much material there it will not clip into place properly.
-for the aft wall, you can get a decent sound reduction from recreating the existing sound blocking blanket that holds with snaps. Just make it out of MLW. I tried to make it somewhat bigger but had to trim most of the excesses due to panel fitment.
-Most of the rear noise is coming from the two rear vents, you shouldn't block them but you can muffle the sound by creating an air filter over the vent inlet. After that the next step is a foam pool noodle at the lower section of the truck box to cabin frame area. It reduces road noise coming through the vents which are typically always open if you aren't recirculating air and have the cabin blower working.
-MLV under the headliner probably isn't giving you much in terms of noise reduction... The bigger source of noise is coming from the road. Killmat and some closed cell foam will do wonders there.
-if you are doing MLV for the doors, make a cardboard template that you alternatively fit on the door panel and the door itself. The various standoffs (plastic pins where the door liner touches the door frame) should remain clear if you want to use the stock retaining clips. The MLV gets inserted on all the door panel standoffs and will hold in place once assembled.
-Some brands of mass loaded vinyl can be held in place with two sided tape. Others just don't stick to anything.

Best of luck,

 

Killmat and closed cell foam,
Some steel grills to keep the vent inlet clear.
Some foam material to dampen the air noise.
The OEM blanket that can be reproduced.

 

I went ahead with doing butyl rubber and ccf on the floor, after panel, and roof. I installed a new carpet with MLV backing, and whenever I find the time, I’ll fit MLV to the aft panel. I put a piece of ccf foam over the entire aft vent, but cut ~1/8” slits in it to allow airflow, it seems to reduce a lot of noise though.
I haven’t reinstalled the aft panel or headliner, haven’t added MLV to the aft panel, and haven’t even touched the doors yet, but my truck is substantially quieter than it was before. I’m very satisfied so far.
To be clear, the noise never really bothered me, but I figure why stop at “good” when you can have “better”

 

Considering a vehicle isn't the best place for sound quality, let alone a moving vehicle, I think it gets to a point of diminishing marginal utility.

That's why I only did the inner doors and back cab wall.

 

I came to a similar conclusion. I am planning on doing the doors (inside, outside, and door panel) as well as in the dash areas that I can access. I may do the floors and headliner, but I'm not sure. This will be my first attempt, so I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. I prefer to use an "all in one" material, so I was leaning towards something from Soundskins. My hope is that with the doors (inner and outer surfaces) and door panels, and anything I can get to for the dash will be a good upgrade.

 

Sorry to go off topic slightly but, does your subwoofer enclosure go into your truck bed???

 

yes. typically known as a blow through sub box. every box has different advantages and disadvantages.

 

That is awesome! I had that idea when I had my extended cab s10 pickup as a teen. But I had no clue how to accomplish that back then.