Sound proofing recommendations

[DerekJ]

I know most of you guys over the pond are more concerned about blocking heat rather than sound but I’m hoping somebody has some good suggestions for the latter. My car is relatively stripped out plus it has straight cut gears, a side exhaust, triple Weber’s and a rally cam. The result is a lot of noise which is amplified by the hard top. I know Healey noise is great but I’ve reached the stage where I’d like a quieter cockpit when I’m driving to events.

Dynamat extreme seems to get good reviews. I’ve looked at some videos of theirs which show the product deadening the sound of symbols and doors closing with a thud rather than a tinny sound. I’m no physicist so I don’t know if deadening the resonance of sheet metal is the same as preventing engine and gearbox noise penetrating the cockpit or whether that requires a different product/solution. The gearbox tunnel is fibreglass so is not going to behave the same way as sheet metal.

Look forward to hearing your experiences, comments, ideas and suggestions.
cheers

 

[Bob_Spidell]

I just finished installing Kilmat in my BJ8 (after rust-converting and painting the floor pans). This is apparently a Dynamat knock-off that is considerably cheaper, and made in good ol' Russia! Quality was excellent, and 25 sq ft was sufficient to cover the floors, sans the firewall:



I covered the Kilmat with furnace insulation, glued Al surface to Al surface, then put new nylon Cocomats on top (got tired of the rubber floor mats sliding around). I haven't driven the car much but, certainly sound has been deadened as I'm now hearing sounds I didn't before (uh oh). I think doing the firewall, i.e. the inside of the pedal boxes would cut sound even more. I don't know how much of the noise in a Big Healey is due to floorpan resonance and not wind or exhaust--I have a loud one--noise, but is has to help some, and the furnace wrap cuts heat and keeps the Cocomats from sliding around (they have 'nubs' on the bottom):

https://www.homedepot.com/p/UltraTo...er-with-Recycled-Cotton-30000-11406/100656748

 

[HealeyRick]

You might take a look at Lizard Skin Sound Control: http://www.buzzweld.co.uk/lizardskin-sound-control-pack.html Probably add less weight than some of the conventional insulation materials.

 

[MarkP]

I went with LizardSkin as they have two products that are applied over each other. The Sound Control is sprayed on and can be applied at a desired thickness. Over that I applied their Ceramic Thermal Insulation for heat management. Another advantage is that the product does not absorb water/liquids vs mats. With interior out I masked off the area and protected areas I didn't want LizardSkin with painters paper. Overspray was minimal to non-existent due to the material itself.

 

[PHulst]

If you have a lot of spare time you can read all 1725 posts in this thread, but there was an exhaustive testing done a few years ago. Results are in this post:

https://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/3522882-post1725.html

Unfortunately it appears that the top rated material is now not available, as Sound Deadener Showdown's owner retired.
However, the site still has a lot of information regarding technique and application that I would recommend reading.

I hope that helps.

Add: I did more digging the diymobileaudio forum.
The new recommendation is Dynamat Extreme for the base layer.

 

[vette]

I also went with Lizard Skin. Two different products one a heat barrier the other a sound barrier. I'm very happy with the results. My interior stays pretty comfortable and never too hot. When you spray it on it is very wet and you think it will never dry, it is water based. But it drys perfectly.
This what it looks like:

 

[DavidThorn]

I am interested in this thread for a different reason.
I am not concerned about noise or sound deadening in my BJ 8 but I would like the doors to shut with a nicer heavy sound rather than the slightly tinny noise I get a present.

I have looked at various products which claim to help but they all talk of how light they are, I would have thought for a nice satisfying clunk some weight would be needed.

Any thoughts ?

David Thorn

 

[HealeyRick]

I am interested in this thread for a different reason.
I am not concerned about noise or sound deadening in my BJ 8 but I would like the doors to shut with a nicer heavy sound rather than the slightly tinny noise I get a present.

I have looked at various products which claim to help but they all talk of how light they are, I would have thought for a nice satisfying clunk some weight would be needed.

Any thoughts ?

David Thorn

I think you'd be looking for an anti-vibration material for the doors, something like this: https://designengineering.com/boom-mat-vibration-damping-material/ I believe the "thunk" comes from the deadening of the vibration of the outer door skin and it's cured by sticking material to the door. Healeys do have a distinctive sound when the doors shut, but it's certainly nor Mercedes-like.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

My BN2 has a very satisfying 'thunk' when you close its doors. I lined the inside with insulation that's like a thin bubble wrap with an aluminized sheet; otherwise, these early cars only have, I believe, a layer of leather or vinyl glued to them. I think any sound-insulating material--LizardSkin, Dynamat, etc.--would work.