Installing Sound Deadening Material

[Hulk311]

Before I bought the Verano I had a 17 year old Toyota 4Runner. I took out the interior and installed Damplifier Pro on the bare metal of the inside of the vehicle and Luxury Liner Pro on top of that. Underneath the vehicle, on the outside, I used my hands (with gloves) and put Spectrum Sludge into the bare metal of the wheel wells. I also put both materials into the doors as well.The results were that I had ZERO exhaust noise, even when flooring it, and absolutely ZERO tire noise, it didn't matter if I was going 25mph or 75mph. The only noise you could hear was from the engine because I didn't feel like taking apart the whole dash to install the material into the firewall as well as other cars passing me on the highway due to the fact that the glass was not as thick as the Verano's.

Now I'd like to do the same thing to the Verano, which is already a quiet car, but I bet I could make it quieter than a Lexus 430/460.

I need help with taking out the interior trim, etc. The 4unner was easy to do because it only had a couple of screws, bolts, etc. to take out. Not to mention that it was 17 years old so I didn't feel bad if the trim didn't exactly fit back perfectly after installing everything. But the Verano is really well put together so I don't want to mess anything up. So here are my questions:


1) How many screws are there to take out each of the plastic wheel well fender pieces? Also, is there bare metal underneath there or is there some kind of sound dampening material there already?

2) Can someone provide a photo of the Verano's undercarriage? I googled but was unable to find out what the Verano looks like from underneath. I'd like to install some Spectrum Sludge all along the body frame where the exhaust system runs.

3) Would is be possible to install a resonator in the exhaust system to further cut down on the exhaust noise? If so, what's a good brand/model? Would it hurt the gas mileage at all?

4) How many screws are there to take out the trunk trim? Where are they located?

5) Advice on taking apart the triple sealed doors? I'd hate to mess this part up.

6) Last but not least, how to remove the rear seats, as well as the front seats and carpet. I need to get underneath all of this to install the material.

Also, any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sal Collaziano]

Re: Installing Sound Deadning Material

...just saying I love your idea and I'll be following your progress...

 

[NormT]

Your nuts!
http://buickforums.com/forums/threads/28862-How-quiet-is-the-Verano

 

[Sal Collaziano]

Your nuts!
http://buickforums.com/forums/threads/28862-How-quiet-is-the-Verano

I guess it would be a lot of working for very little gain - but imagine having a Verano quieter than a Lexus LS...

 

[egpowers]

I wouldn't worry about the exhaust noise, I barely notice that at all now. I would think that if you have the factory Continentals, replacing those would get you a little quieter. As for the interior, I haven't started tearing into mine yet, I was recently searching for the FSM's for the car, found one source for $300 it was a set of 4 books, that might be your help.

 

[An old member]

I have done what you did to your last vehicle. this is the only underside photo I have of my car. But I focused on the simple mass loading technique form second skin . Butyl rubber + foil. 100mill versions. The trunk and front strut towers are really the only areas where road noise creeps in this car. My car is probably the quietest verano out... But you might beat me to it with your more throughout under layers with better quality materials. I added in total 90lbs to my Verano t in deadner alone so far.. The doors will be next I just dread taking them off as they feel so solid as is..

Tip, the verano has so many "water/ air pocket breathers" if you want to just seal them off most the road noise goes away.. They are in the bottom of our doors and in the trunk under each side carpet panels. BUT you risk cracking your window in bad climates when slamming doors shut as the pressure will literally not have anywhere to go in a already well seals car. You will also experience high ear pressure when rolling a window up or slamming a door.

Here is a video showing how solid my car is. The trunk inside in 100% covered in 2 layers of 100mill alone (and under carpet) Good luck on the deadning !!

PS: If anyone must know why I did this , it is for a sound quality competition car. I am making the car as solid as possible yet also able to adsorb standing waves.

[video=youtube;JnFCa-yD_7w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnFCa-yD_7w[/video]

 

[An old member]

BTW I would not add another res to the exhaust.
The motor is what is making the noise in the 2.4. Try mass loading the hood.
Mass load the trunk and if you do not have 6x9 bose woofers I suggest sealing all of those holes with whatever you feel works best. Just keep in mind the car needs to breathe well for the HVAC and door slamming + window issues.
Also the trunk vents are letting noise in from around the rear muffler.
The trunk trim is very easy to remove, maybe a total of 7-8 push pins per side.


I want to warn you . I took a long trip this weekend in my verano after it has had its mass loading and at night, long roads without hearing anything at all it can put you to sleep. You can almost hear your blood pump lol .

 

[Hulk311]

Hey Tyler, that's a lot of good advice. Here is what I plan on getting:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spectrum Sludge 5 gallons

Luxury Liner Pro 8 sheets (24”x54”, 1lb/sq ft) 72sq feet

Damplifier Pro 66.5 sq feet

Heat Wave Pro 4 ' x 6 ' (24 sq ft, 5 lbs) x 3 sheets

Thermal Block 6sq ft x 4 = 24sq ft (1 pound) 4 sheets

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

180 pound in total.



I've been driving a lot lately with the radio off and it seems, depends on the road surface of course, that engine noise is 60% and tire noise 40%. I plan on downsizing to 16" rims and quieter tires once these tires give out, only have 20,000 miles so far.

The plan is to put 3/4 gallons of Spectrum Sludge on the outside of each wheel well and the rest underneath the whole undercarriage. Damplifier Pro will go underneath the engine hood, trunk and under the carpet, making sure I cover the inside of the wheel wells as well. Any advice on lowering the engine noise? On the inside I plan on putting DP and then LLP on the firewall. On the engine side of the firewall, there's like a dozen different pipes going into the cabin, so I'll have to cut and tape the Heat Wave Pro.


Any tips on how to install LLP on the engine side of the firewall? I don't think it will stick to a vertical surface that's why I plan on installing 3 sheets of Heat Wave Pro there instead and putting Thermal Block as well (it will be the first layer facing the engine).

I also plan on taking off the engine cover and putting Heat Wave Pro and Thermal block on there as well, maybe installing it so that it goes down a foot on each side of the engine cover, making the engine noise go more down.

You said a lot of noise comes through the front tire strut towers. Should I just put some DP and Heat Wave Pro over it?


I've got a couple of questions for you on stereo components.

1) What kind of speakers do you have? I want to get these: CL-61A.2-25 PRO - CDT Audio Classic 2-Ohm 6.5" 2-Way Component Speakers
http://www.amazon.com/CL-61A-2-25-P...e=UTF8&qid=1429359590&sr=8-1&keywords=cdt+6.5

But according to Amazon they won't fit our cars? I would hate to cut up the speakers grills, should I just get 5.25" speakers instead?


2) How hard would it be to mount tweeters in the stock tweeter location (by the front of the glass)?


Here is an interesting video of how Buick's Quiet Tuning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8QzbFrx3D0



Anyone know where I can buy this type of material that is on the Lexus?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7yVKd4zHhI

 

[An old member]

When I mean noise from the strut towers I really mean the struts themselves. Kinda like a waddle clunk noise , almost every budget car has these cheap struts . I wouldnt know about installing anything on the firewall side, I did my hood tho.

Sludge is AWESOME, What you are doing to the verano is what I did to my tercel when I built a 10,000 watt sub stage in it lol.. I wish I remember the mounting depth of the door speakers =[ I use Morel Tempo 6.5s up front, then the 5.25 tempos in the rear. The stock Bose amp has no issues at max 45 volume with the speakers as their impedance is very close to the stock .

Take a look at the Buicks Wheel wells. We have the same material as the lexus. It really helps with the debris sounds coming off the tires. Instead of hitting hard plastic it hits what is pretty much a medium net.

I wish I could be more help with the install. It was years since I did the Tercel and I stripped the entire car to its chassis.

 

[Sal Collaziano]

We all need to thank Lexus for having such quiet Buicks. I know, some people are going one, two and three steps beyond what Lexus has done - but they really made an impact on the industry with their bank vault quiet interiors. Way back in the day they were using special materials on the inside of their cars to absorb noise. Of course, they did all the other stuff like window laminating but they definitely went the extra mile. I remember reading, years back, they had the Lexus LS so quiet that they began hearing undesirable noises coming from pushing various buttons on the dash board. They actually had to go back and re-do the buttons to prevent those noises.

 

[Hulk311]

Any tips on removing the following:

1) Hood liner

2) Wheel well fenders

3) Inside trim?

Which tools will I need?

 

[Hulk311]

Tyler, or anyone else, any tips on how to remove the interior trim, more specifically, the seats and carpet?