Is hushmat worth the effort and time?

[PaulBunyan303]

About to rip the speakers out and replace but figured I’d get a few opinions on the effectiveness of sound dampening for these trucks. Is the end result worth investing the time to do it? I have enough hushmat to do the entire thing but man am I losing the will to do it!

Thanks in advance!

 

[ogsuv]

Totally worth it to me, especially if you are taking the door panel off anyway. Improves the sound of the speaker, cuts down on road noise and keeps the stereo sound in the car. I like to do a 18"x18" piece as a minimum right behind the speaker in all my cars. I usually end up adding a 2nd smaller layer about the size of the speaker if I have any irregular shapes left, etc... I may have gone a little overboard doing several layers on my front doors, but it really does make a big difference. It adds a little weight to the door, but shuts solid as a rock.

 

[PaulBunyan303]

This is invaluable to me. Thank you. I take it the front doors have the biggest impact on noise and that is why you doubled them up? Anywhere else I should focus?

I will post before / after decibel readings from the app on my phone.

 

[nukegoat]

No, overrated

 

[PaulBunyan303]

2-0 for sound dampening, I'll start on it tomorrow.

 

[ogsuv]

This is invaluable to me. Thank you. I take it the front doors have the biggest impact on noise and that is why you doubled them up? Anywhere else I should focus?

I will post before / after decibel readings from the app on my phone.

Yes, I do think front doors are the biggest bang for the buck and makes the biggest difference, followed by the rear doors, tailgate and the rear wheel wells and 1/4 panels (only if I was taking that apart for another reason) Some people do the floors too, but the carpet and padding do a pretty good job. already.

I doubled (and tripled up) on the front doors because those speakers are also running off an amplifier. I like that I can hear my speakers clear as day, but outside it is pretty quiet. Same when I use bluetooth. I always laugh when I can hear people's phone conversations outside their car.

 

[Pucker5]

Do it! Two layers of any brand here mat

 

[SmoothLC]

Yes, although I'd add it's probably not worth doing the entire vehicle (like someone I know did lol).
I'd suggest in addition to the doors the rear cargo area, wheel wells, and front floor pans.
I used Dynamat Extreme, Dynaliner and Focal BAM. Truly overkill, but, the tunes sound great.

 

[PaulBunyan303]

That looks great, It probably provides better insulation from the outside temperature as well.

 

[planomateo]

Adding the LX weather strip to the bottom of the door will further reduce noise.

More evidence why the LX is quieter than the Land Cruiser

Having owned both a 2006 LX and Land Cruiser I always felt the LX provided a quieter ride than the Land Cruiser but never had any proof. Recently I installed a Attic Rack in both a 2006 LX and a 2006 Land Cruiser. The LX has more insulation in the ceiling also where the Land Cruiser uses raw...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[kgrove]

I added a little on my front doors when I had those off anyway and noticed a real difference in how the doors sound when shutting them.... more of a solid sound like I remember it when it was new. I don't know if I can really tell any difference while driving or listening to music however. Whether it's worth it is really a personal choice as everyone has different preferences for $$ for small improvements. It is not a massive difference, at least not by doing just sections of your doors. I've seen images here of people who basically lined the entire interior of the car with sound deadener, and maybe that sounds way better (way more work obviously).

 

[Patassa]

The best systems combine the mat (dynamat, etc) with mass loaded vinyl and some sort of foam decoupler. I did all three in my doors, not that hard, and HUGE increase in mid bass and my doors have zero rattles.

Dynamat is basically just adding mass to your metal panels, seems like a pretty inefficient way to add mass, but it's easier to stick those mats to the inside of your doors than it is to glue chunks of lead I guess. This will function to lower your resonance frequency, so your mid bass will no longer cause the door to "buzz".

Mass loaded vinyl actually stops/absorbs sound waves, so it's a great barrier to prevent outside sounds from getting inside the cab.

The foam decoupler is to prevent the vibrating door skin from loading up the vinyl with energy, so that the only energy hitting the mass loaded vinyl is the sound waves from outside. (in theory).

You can really geek out on this if you want but the short of it is

dynamat (or eqivalent) on the outer door skin, wherever you can get your hands inside there. don't bother covering the whole thing, you don't need a ton

then foam decoupler on the inner door skin to isolate the mass loaded vinyl from the door skin itself

then mass loaded vinyl covering the entire inner door skin, effectively sealing up all the holes

then the door panel

That's the formula in the car audio world.

The other thing I did was place wooden dowels between the inner and outer door skins, where it wouldn't interfer with the window operation to stiffen up the door and give it more structural rigidity, like you'd do with a speaker box. Flexing panels kills your bass/mid bass response.

At the time, this stuff was much cheaper than the name brand stuff and pretty much the same thing. I had a ton left over.
Amazon product ASIN B07ZKPVHCB

 

[turdfurguson]

Find someone with a Tacoma or 4runner, go take a ride, then come back and drive your LC. You will be so impressed with how quiet it is that you will decide to leave it alone. At least that was my conclusion when I owned all 3.

 

[suprarx7nut]

I'd go for soundskin or a similar 2 in 1 product, but yes sound deadener is a worthy endeavor.

I went full dork on my 99 and did the "SDS" method with custom cut vinyl/mass/foam on the entire floor and roof/walls. That was not worth the effort, IMO. It took WAY more effort than simple mass loaded foil stuff like dynamat and I'm not convinced the end result was much better. I never got around to the doors which was a dumb order of operations mistake on my part.

Anyways, yes do it. Take a look at sound skin if you haven't bought material yet.

 

[LndXrsr]

Odd tangent-ish question: has anyone tried a more insulation-like material with or without Dynamat (or similar) for added sound and temperature insulation without the hassle of sticking stuff to all the panels?

Wool is used in vans all the time, safe/easy to handle, and could easily be stuffed in doors and behind panels in the cargo area.

Wool Insulation for Vans

Insulate your van with high-performance wool for year-round comfort, moisture control, and road noise reduction in a safe, natural way

havelockwool.com

 

[YezusLX]

Currently doing NVX sound dampener a little thicker than competitors and cost is a little nicer to the wallet than Dynamat/Hushmat/Noico. (90mil and 40 sq ft box $100). Still allows for carpet and plastic to be reinstalled with no issues. Temp difference is noticeable as well. AC is not working as hard in the Georgia/Florida area. So far doors shut quieter than my 2015 GS350. Protip: buy a heavy wood roller and carpet/shingle shears and use gloves. Hope this helps your decision process.

 

[yj668]

Odd tangent-ish question: has anyone tried a more insulation-like material with or without Dynamat (or similar) for added sound and temperature insulation without the hassle of sticking stuff to all the panels?

Wool is used in vans all the time, safe/easy to handle, and could easily be stuffed in doors and behind panels in the cargo area.

Wool Insulation for Vans

Insulate your van with high-performance wool for year-round comfort, moisture control, and road noise reduction in a safe, natural way

havelockwool.com

I used 3M Thinsulate that's a popular material for camper vans the on floors 2nd row till rear. Along with 3M EDM1029 (thinner than standard CLDs).
Resonix CLDs + Blackhole tiles in the sides (doors + tailgate).

What have you done to your 100 Series this week?

Installed the new bumpers! Gah, do I ever need wheels and tires now.. I've got some OEM pieces for sale if anyone needs them.

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