Finally sound deadened the Mustang
11-26-2009, 02:38 AM
#1
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Finally sound deadened the Mustang
I have a 2007 Mustang GT Coupe, and after about 40 hours of labor I finally finished sound deadening the entire car with Damplifier Pro. I used this guy's guide that was a sticky for a long time: Cookie Monster's Sound Deadening Thread
First I want to say thankyou Cookie Monster, your thread is invaluable. Basically he outlines everything perfectly, I would like to add a few tips though...
- Doing the doors is not totally neccessary, (EDIT) but can make the speakers sound much better. The plastic liner must be removed and reapplyed.
- The box cutter, and roller are pretty essential to the project
- If you have a spare car, I highly reccommend dissassembling the entire mustang, doing the entire job and then reassembling the car (Since my Mustang is my only car I wanted to be able to drive as I went through the project, so I did it area by area: seats, headlinder etc.. when I finally got around to the floorboards, this was the only part where I could not still drive the car, since the 2 front seats were out)
- The job is a 5 day minimum, that is if everything goes smoothly, It really helps if you have a partner for the dissassembly/reassembly
- The entire interior requires about 80 sq feet, so the bulk pack from Second Skin Audio is perfect.
- If you can pay someone to do this job DO IT. 1000 dollars is a bargain to pay someone to do the work for you, and that is about what most people would charge. 30 to 40 hours of slow labor is worth a grand if you have better things to do.
So finally, the results...
The car is much quieter. road noise and wind are greatly reduced. Also there is no more clanking sound from the tranny when you shift gears, it is a smooth silent shift. The speakers sound MUCH better, it is like having bought high quality speakers (I have the shaker 500). I won't say it is Lexus quiet, or BMW 7 series quiet, but it is right where I want it. I only used a single layer of Damplifier Pro for the whole car, where as Cookie Monster used Damplifier, then Luxury Liner, then Overkill. I think his is probably a little quiter than mine, but a single layer of Damp Pro was plenty for me. In all honesty I think anything more would be too quiet. For me, a single layer of Damp Pro was enough to make it smooth and comfortable, but not totally silent, I still wanted to hear the V8 rumble. Also, If you want full engine sound, do not sound proof the last 2 feet of the floorboards approaching the engine.
In conclusion, I reccomend this mod to anybody who likes The American Muscle feel and sound of the Mustang, but feels that the road noise and wind detract from the experience and want a more "BMW" quality.
First I want to say thankyou Cookie Monster, your thread is invaluable. Basically he outlines everything perfectly, I would like to add a few tips though...
- Doing the doors is not totally neccessary, (EDIT) but can make the speakers sound much better. The plastic liner must be removed and reapplyed.
- The box cutter, and roller are pretty essential to the project
- If you have a spare car, I highly reccommend dissassembling the entire mustang, doing the entire job and then reassembling the car (Since my Mustang is my only car I wanted to be able to drive as I went through the project, so I did it area by area: seats, headlinder etc.. when I finally got around to the floorboards, this was the only part where I could not still drive the car, since the 2 front seats were out)
- The job is a 5 day minimum, that is if everything goes smoothly, It really helps if you have a partner for the dissassembly/reassembly
- The entire interior requires about 80 sq feet, so the bulk pack from Second Skin Audio is perfect.
- If you can pay someone to do this job DO IT. 1000 dollars is a bargain to pay someone to do the work for you, and that is about what most people would charge. 30 to 40 hours of slow labor is worth a grand if you have better things to do.
So finally, the results...
The car is much quieter. road noise and wind are greatly reduced. Also there is no more clanking sound from the tranny when you shift gears, it is a smooth silent shift. The speakers sound MUCH better, it is like having bought high quality speakers (I have the shaker 500). I won't say it is Lexus quiet, or BMW 7 series quiet, but it is right where I want it. I only used a single layer of Damplifier Pro for the whole car, where as Cookie Monster used Damplifier, then Luxury Liner, then Overkill. I think his is probably a little quiter than mine, but a single layer of Damp Pro was plenty for me. In all honesty I think anything more would be too quiet. For me, a single layer of Damp Pro was enough to make it smooth and comfortable, but not totally silent, I still wanted to hear the V8 rumble. Also, If you want full engine sound, do not sound proof the last 2 feet of the floorboards approaching the engine.
In conclusion, I reccomend this mod to anybody who likes The American Muscle feel and sound of the Mustang, but feels that the road noise and wind detract from the experience and want a more "BMW" quality.
Last edited by ThaiCobra; 11-27-2009 at 05:19 PM. Reason: new info on doors!
11-26-2009, 02:44 AM
#2
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Also, quick question. Does the Shaker 500 include speakers underneath the rear seats?
Because it looks like there are 2 round black speakers there. But when I play the system they don't do anything. Are these 2 units broken? Or are these 2 not supposed to function with only the Shaker 500?
Because it looks like there are 2 round black speakers there. But when I play the system they don't do anything. Are these 2 units broken? Or are these 2 not supposed to function with only the Shaker 500?
11-26-2009, 09:19 AM
#5
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Since you were doing a section at a time and driving the car in between, you probably have a good idea about what sections of deadening gave the best bang for the buck. If someone wanted to do a partial job, which would be the areas you'd recommend that he do first? Also, how much weight do you think you added to the car?
11-26-2009, 01:28 PM
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11-26-2009, 02:23 PM
#9
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Congrats, i'm glad it worked out the way you wanted it.
To answer your question, yes, you do have speakers behind the back seats, under the rear window. To see how they're working, play something on the stereo and do the sound test that rotates to all the speakers. I believe you do this by holding 3 and 6 at the same time on the unit. That at least checks the radio signal strength, pretty sure it does the sound check right afterward too...
To answer your question, yes, you do have speakers behind the back seats, under the rear window. To see how they're working, play something on the stereo and do the sound test that rotates to all the speakers. I believe you do this by holding 3 and 6 at the same time on the unit. That at least checks the radio signal strength, pretty sure it does the sound check right afterward too...
11-26-2009, 02:32 PM
#10
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Honestly, for the weight issue... it can't be too hard to remove 40 or so pounds from the car to offset the amount added without removing anything important... even small things here and there replaced or removed should yield that easily. Also, people who sound deaden obviously have different goals then someone who is worried about weight anyway..