Thoughts on sound dampening, mat or spray?

[Hypertek]

Been dreaming about getting a Z soon, will be my daily driver slash project car. Gotta have a decent stereo (not for competition audio, but just personal enjoyment)... 

 

I think some sound dampening treatment would be great.   Now Im not sure if paints offer any heat isolation?? 

 

What have some of you guys used? Seems to me that paint would be cheaper and a bit easier to apply sprayed through a spray gun . But maybe the mat has better properties. Thoughts and opinions welcomed. 

[socorob]

I had the fatmat in my Sunbeam, and I didn't care for it. It's heavy and hard to install on surfaces that have lots of curves and crevices. As soon as I finish all the welding on my Z I will be trying out lizard skin on it. I've heard lots of good things about it, and know someone who has the spray gun for it already. It comes in both sound and heat so I will use both.

[jnewby]

             I went with Fatmat, I doubled up on the floor and doors, it works as advertised. I would try lizard skin if I had to do it again, just make sure you get all of the areas, and to wipe everything with paint thinner to promote adhesion.

[RebekahsZ]

Just remember, it was factory sound deadening that made so many of our beloved cars rust out. If you put stuff on the floor, please park your car indoors.

[socorob]

Lizard skin is basically a paint so it SHOULDN'T have any voids for water and air to get into.

[JCan]

To answer the question, Matt or Spray.  The mats are better then the spray.  This is because the mats are generally thicker then the sprays, more dense then the sprays, Additionally the mats have an aluminum skin on the top which reflects the heat back to where it came from.

 

Jim

Edited September 9, 2013 by JCan

[wickiewicked240z]

I have rammat throughout the car good stuff and it not expensive as dynamat. I also painted the inside of the z with "rust bullet" so i doubt any rust will show up. Rammat is located in Ontario,Cali. So if ur local you can just go and pick it up.

[socorob]

http://hytechsales.com/

 

I saw this place talked about on a few other sites but haven't been able to get in touch with them to find out more info. They apparently have a heat and sound all in one spray on that's half the price of lizard skin.

[Dat260Z]

I used a product called "peel n stick" bought from Home Depot for 16.99 a roll, used about 3-4 rolls for my 260z. I first applied POR-15 after scraping off the original sound deadening and then applied the peel n stick. Ill see if i can dig up some photos

[magnum44]

Same here, I used por15 on all the inside of my z then I used fatmat...I would use it again if I had to....

[jmarsh]

They both work, but in 2 VERY different ways.  typically speaking, the spray is designed to transfer the vibrations into low grade heat.

The mat is designed as a "mass loading" mat, which lowers the resonant frequency of the panel.

Foams are typically designed to absorb noise.

 

What works best?  A combination of all of them.

What is most expensive?  A combination of all of them.

 

I would suggest staying from the Home Depot/Lowes/home improvement store solutions.  These are typically designed as underlayment for roofing.....its a flat surface.  Typically, these are pretty thin; the adhesive is marginal, at best; harden over time; and are not designed for automotive use.  Just because its a cheap tire, does not mean a bike tire will work well on your car.  Depending on your climate, the home improvement stuff will become brittle in the winter (below freezing), harden over time, and fall off.

[ryant67]

I would say that it's best to do this job once, and do it right.  If you cut corners, it will likely end up costing you more money, time, and headaches in the long run.  And some of these stick on products are not fun to remove, once on.  

I did the soundproofing thing with my car last summer, and chose to go with a product called "Second Skin Damplifier" (http://store.secondskinaudio.com/damplifier-pro-80-sq-feet-shop-pack/), which is similar to Dynamat - it's a butyl stick on with a layer of aluminium.  I used about 70 square feet of the stuff on the interior, lining almost the entire floor, the doors underneath the door skins, and the trunk.  It added about 40lbs of weight to the car, but I figure that all of the tar I scraped out in prep probably dropped 15lbs, so the gain is only around 25lbs.  

I also added a layer of a a product called "Luxury Liner" (http://store.secondskinaudio.com/luxury-liner-pro-36-sq-ft-4-sheets/) as well.  It is what they call a mass loaded vinyl layer, which acts of a sound blocker.  I used about 34 square feet of it, and it's heavy stuff, around another 40lbs - but it's easily removable, so when I head to the track, I just lift it out, roll it up, and leave it at home.  

Basically, I went pretty nuclear with soundproofing on my car, and the net result is that I can barely hear my (very) loud exhaust when the windows are rolled up.  No heat transmission issues inside, and the whole car feels more solid and road noise is almost nil.  I also can hear a lot more of the engine now, and I view this as a good thing.  Generally the car is a much more tolerable place to be, which is important if you are using your Z as a daily driver.  

Prior to laying all of this, I removed all of the tar and paint of the floors with a scraper and some paint stripping gel.  I used rust converter to get rid of the little rust I had in the passenger floor, and then did the full POR-15 routine to ensure there was an impervious shield to moisture underneath the sound deadening.  It was a lot of work, but well worth the effort as I am planning on keeping this car for many years to come.  

Pics:

Edited January 14, 2014 by ryant67