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Quite a different response I got when I posted pics of it when I did it to my Camry lol. Had people calling it "sloppy" and "ugly". Nice to see someone who knows why it looks "sloppy" and "ugly".
And as for the fiber, I quite honestly added it mostly because I was already taking apart my door for my ambient lighting kit and dampening, so figured might as well install it too. But there's definitely a noticeable difference. Before the door was pretty well "soundproofed", but now if I sit in a parking lot and listen as cars drive by, I can tell I'm hearing the car that's in front of me, from behind and above me. Really makes me wish there was an option to have laminated back windows and a panoramic roof since after doing all the doors and pillars it's blatantly obvious those are the weak points.
I was thinking that the other day.. but more for safety. What cars if any offer a laminated back glass? Probably Rolls Royce, S Class etc? Not sure.
I don't care about sloppy/ugly, but more so effective. I wouldn't have added many metal mats as you did. it's more effective on the outer door skin as that's the part that's not stiff.
If you look at pics of factory LS door panels and even the prior ES IIRC, they use the white stuff but on the inside of the door panels as opposed to the metal on the door. My plan was to do it like factory and put it on the inside of the door card. (edit nevermind you did it on the door card too)
Now it could be a matter of cost but it also could've been a matter of supercomputer analysis, after weighing the cost benefit analysis. Sometimes if the chassis is so rigid, you need less and less band-aids to block sound. Too bad you couldn't do a before and after on an averaged out-decibel reading over a same stretch of road. but I wouldn't doubt it's quieter.
My personal car currently has three added metal mat squares on the exterior door skin and it made a noticeable difference in shutting the door.
The ultimate problem with our doors is the windows rattle around in the channel if they are partially down or all the way down.
Generally here's a tip: none of those mats are necessary where the steel has any sort of folds/structures to it. the ultimate goal of the mats are to prevent resonance/vibration. basically for flat sheet metal ie outer door skin. not for structured stamped parts. so much of the mats you have aren't necessary there on the metal door. it's just adding weight without any benefit. but like i said i agree on the white stuff
I was thinking that the other day.. but more for safety. What cars if any offer a laminated back glass? Probably Rolls Royce, S Class etc? Not sure.
I don't care about sloppy/ugly, but more so effective. I wouldn't have added many metal mats as you did. it's more effective on the outer door skin as that's the part that's not stiff.
If you look at pics of factory LS door panels and even the prior ES IIRC, they use the white stuff but on the inside of the door panels as opposed to the metal on the door. My plan was to do it like factory and put it on the inside of the door card. (edit nevermind you did it on the door card too)
I could have sworn the LS has laminated glass in the rear windows, but yeah safety definitely comes of concern at this point. Thankfully this car is pretty quiet stock, so not like I really "need" a quieter ride, just a weird obsession of mine :P
Originally Posted by E46CT
Too bad you couldn't do a before and after on an averaged out-decibel reading over a same stretch of road. but I wouldn't doubt it's quieter.
I was thinking about getting a decibel reader and doing some testing, but I found when I did it on my Camry it was a bit difficult since you have to compensate for wind noise which can vary based off of a million different factors and I just couldn't be asked.
Originally Posted by E46CT
Generally here's a tip: none of those mats are necessary where the steel has any sort of folds/structures to it. the ultimate goal of the mats are to prevent resonance/vibration. basically for flat sheet metal ie outer door skin. not for structured stamped parts. so much of the mats you have aren't necessary there on the metal door. it's just adding weight without any benefit. but like i said i agree on the white stuff
Yeah, the inner door was nice and solid. The outer skin, as you know, is the thin part that 100% needed the treatment. But I just figured I might as well add it plus the extra weight of the door makes it feel more premium. Doesn't do any harm aside from reducing my MPG by 0.01.
Agreed. The safety aspect to laminated glass can work both ways though. I saw a video the other day of a lady trapped in an RX350. She got into an accident and was trapped inside the car and the police were desperately trying to break the front-side window to get her free and they couldn't get in cause it's laminated. they eventually had to force the door open by tearing it off with hydraulic spreaders. impressive how tough laminated glass can be.
and you're right variations in wind direction and/or pattern could play a role. but if you chose two similar days with relatively little wind, and if the modification was meaningful, then you should be able to measure a clear difference. if you're at the point where you're having to split hairs as to whether or not something was worth it, it probably wasn't. But I'm sure your mod does block out some ambient noise from outside. just a matter if it's perceptible.
how much did the white stuff cost? You should line the spare tire well with that, or better yet, the bottom of the spare tire cover.
Here's how BMW does their doors. this is the current generation 5-series. no wonder it feels like a tank when shut.
then they have another layer of the thick padding on the module that fills that hole. (not pictured here)
also you bet a supercomputer analyzed the door and told engineers precisely where and how much of the sheet should be used and where it WON'T be helpful... $$$
Agreed. The safety aspect to laminated glass can work both ways though. I saw a video the other day of a lady trapped in an RX350. She got into an accident and was trapped inside the car and the police were desperately trying to break the front-side window to get her free and they couldn't get in cause it's laminated. they eventually had to force the door open by tearing it off with hydraulic spreaders. impressive how tough laminated glass can be.
and you're right variations in wind direction and/or pattern could play a role. but if you chose two similar days with relatively little wind, and if the modification was meaningful, then you should be able to measure a clear difference. if you're at the point where you're having to split hairs as to whether or not something was worth it, it probably wasn't. But I'm sure your mod does block out some ambient noise from outside. just a matter if it's perceptible.
how much did the white stuff cost? You should line the spare tire well with that, or better yet, the bottom of the spare tire cover.
I ordered 4, but only used about 2.75, and that was for all 4 doors and all 6 pillars. And there's definitely a noticeable difference, so I'd say it's worth the $225. Plus it works a bit as thermal insulation as well. Now, how much of a difference that really makes, who knows, but a 10% difference in the 115 degree heat in Phoenix, or the -10 degree freezing cold in Flagstaff, I'd say is not something to scoff at.
Here's how BMW does their doors. this is the current generation 5-series. no wonder it feels like a tank when shut.
then they have another layer of the thick padding on the module that fills that hole. (not pictured here)
also you bet a supercomputer analyzed the door and told engineers precisely where and how much of the sheet should be used and where it WON'T be helpful... $$$
Damn, that looks thick too. And that's funny looking at the 2 gaps on the top right and bottom left. You'd think by just looking at it you'd fill those in, but as you said, some simulation probably stated it'll effect resonance by 0.63% at the cost of $22 and 3 pounds of additional weight.
Yeah it's called asphalt sheeting or cement sheeting. it's pretty thick and heavy and hard. Most cars have that on the floor. i think we have it in the trunk on the bottom of the spare tire well. that's how car makers stop panels from flexing. it's applied by robot. so there's no guy sitting there cutting up pieces of dynamat lol
Yeah, when I did the floor and trunk of my Camry and trunk of my ES I saw that there as well. The spare tire well is another good example of "applied in a simulation". It's just sporadically scattered across it and is odd looking.
yep the camry and ES have a couple little squares. maybe one. i forgot. Same with my 2016 IS. one or two squares of the cheap stuff. all the germans are quite robust. i'm fine though after 7 BMWs, i'm tired of working on cars. I want to just roll with my 50 mpgs and not worry about tires, gas, brakes, oil leaks.
I took my ES doors apart today. The front door had one small square of sound deadener behind the speaker, similar to the LS500. The rear door had a rectangle piece almost double the size more centered in the door. Quite pathetic IMHO.
I added strips of the same basic material, actually too much. I wasn't going for 100% coverage but in hindsight I would have used about 25-50% less. I have lots because I am also going to put some in the RAV4 and I’ll still have some left I think. I will use less on the other side of the car.
Here's a pic. Blue stuff is what I added. I also added some foam soundproofing behind the front speaker.
I was mainly going for a good solid thunk noise when shutting the door and with any luck a bit of dampening on highway noise. I have other material for the back of the door cards (panels).
that should do it. one day in 20 years someone will open up the doors and wonder why there's amazon logos all over the inside.
i have about 4 Toyotas/Lexuses somewhere out there with this treatment. People out there got free door upgrade mods from me and they don't even realize it.
So I went through and redid the fiber mat in my 2 front doors. Instead of stuffing the door panel, tried placing it on the outer door skin which not only allowed my door panel to sit perfectly flush, but I was able to install more fiber inside the door itself, around 98% coverage. So hopefully it's pros all around. The only issue I could come up with is the window, but it opens and closes without any issues at all:
Maybe in the future, the adhesive will come off and cause issues, but the adhesive seems very strong since it's honestly a pain in the *** to install since it likes to stick to itself and it's nearly impossible to undo without ruining it.
11-21-22, 01:18 PM
