Full BRZ interior disassembly for sound deadening - lots of pics, every panel off

[nalc]

It's probably not Lexus LS quiet. The real limiting factor at this point is the frameless windows. Road and engine noise are down significantly, but there's still some wind noise, and there's not much I can do about it.

I measured it around 85 dB with the app on my old phone at 65mph on the highway, and 78 dB after the sound deadening. I don't know how accurate that app is, so the numbers are probably off (I've already been challenged that there's no way the BRZ reaches 85 dB at that speed), but the 7 dB reduction is probably about accurate. Remember, it's a logarithmic scale, so 10 dB = 10 x as loud.

As a better example, I took someone for a ride who did not know that I had done any sound deadening, and he remarked that he was surprised how quiet it was. I'd certainly be up for doing an actual comparison with an accurate SPL meter, perhaps at a meet or some other event where we could compare my car to a stock car at the same speed on the same road.

As for the headliner, there is nothing securing the Thinsulate. It's just sandwiched between the headliner (which is actually quite stiff) and the roof. One nice thing about treating the headliner is that you lose the "rain drops on a tin roof" sound when it rains. Raindrops make practically no noise on the roof now.

I'll post a more detailed write up on it once I have a chance (maybe tonight), but for now the pics are available in the imgur album in the first post.

I paid about $600 for all the materials. In retrospect, my amount of CLD was a bit low (I used 45 and could likely have found room for another 5 without too much trouble), my amount of CCF was too high (I only used half of what I ordered, since there was already foam below the carpet), and my MLV and Thinsulate were right on the money.

I should also add that if you're doing any JDM interior pieces (like the kneepads or armrest), or if you're installing upgraded speakers, do them at the same time. Taking all these panels off makes those upgrades very fast and easy.

[White64Goat]

[TONYpepperon1]

This is a great write up. I'd also be interested in the rear deck. Any plans there?

[nalc]

Originally Posted by TONYpepperon1

This is a great write up. I'd also be interested in the rear deck. Any plans there?

I didn't touch it. I was not sure whether to do sound deadening on the rear deck and the rear seat backs, or to do it on the trunk floor and sides. I ended up doing it on the trunk floor and the sides of the trunk (mostly because I had sufficient MLV left), so I didn't do anything on the seat backs or the rear deck. I figure it's fine as is since it's between the sound deadened cabin and the sound deadened trunk.

[nalc]

Added the headliner and trunk info, all pictures are now linked directly to the thread and have descriptions.

[kmbkk]

Thanks for the DIY! It's a great write-up and I plan to do something similar next spring.

[j2digit]

[QUOTE=nalc;1389849]Imgur link to album with a lot of pictures

http://imgur.com/a/GvSzW#0


I ended up using approximately 80 sq ft of MLV (minus scraps, so probably 70 lbs into the car), 45 CLD tiles, 25 sq ft of 3M Thinsulate Acoustic, and 4 sheets of closed cell foam.

damnnnnnnnn,.............. 70lbs. are you serious? trying to cut down on weight but at least its quiet now......

[Mr.]

thats a lots of pix nice write up bra

[nalc]

Originally Posted by j2digit

damnnnnnnnn,.............. 70lbs. are you serious? trying to cut down on weight but at least its quiet now......

Frankly, the car doesn't really drive any differently (there's a bigger weight variation due to driver size, whether or not you have a passenger, and how much gas you have in the tank). Maybe it's a couple tenths of a second slower to 60, but at ~2830 lbs instead of ~2760 lbs, it's not like it's turned into a pig.

If it was a track toy or a weekend car, sure, this would be a silly mod. If you're at that stage when you're starting to remove spare tires, take out the back seats to save weight, etc, this isn't for you. But 70 lbs is a pretty reasonable price to pay to bring the noise levels down to "entry level luxury car" levels.

There seem to be to be two distinct groups of drivers on this board - those who view the car as a mini grand touring car, and those who view it as a minimalist sports car. I suppose it's a testament to the great design work done for this car that it's comfortable, reliable, and economical enough to be a daily driver, yet also has enough performance and style to be a weekend toy car. Personally, I daily drive this car, and I want all the amenities you'd expect in an entry level luxury car (Good sound system, comfortable leather seats, heated seats, quiet interior) without ending up with an overweight pig that handles like a bus and starts at $35K.

[j2digit]

but seriously though , i do like how you have vastly improved the sound quality of the interior and i have planned the same but not to the extent you did. i don't quite have the mechanical savy as you but i did want to insulate the roof and door panels better.

thanks for the great DIY on how to do this.

[Kirby64]

Nice DIY! Now you've made me get a quote for all this stuff from Don... I don't think my pocket book is going to thank you.

[l0aded]

wow amazing. I've been doing the exact same thing. Still waiting to do the floors though. Do you have any idea how much MLV it takes to do the floor by chance or much difference the floor makes?

[zinzan]

Yeah, awesome, in depth DIY on sound deadening.

Could you maybe post a "best bang for the buck/effort" list for those of us less inclined to go all out like you did?

Thanks,

-Z

[scionfrs2014]

Originally Posted by nalc

Imgur link to album with a lot of pictures

http://imgur.com/a/GvSzW#0

I did a complete sound deadening installation on my BRZ. Used CLD tiles, mass loaded vinyl, closed cell foam, and extruded butyl rope from Sound Deadener Showdown. I took a ton of pictures along the way. Hopefully this serves as a good resource for anyone else installing sound deadening, or for anyone who wants to take their interior apart.

I ended up using approximately 80 sq ft of MLV (minus scraps, so probably 70 lbs into the car), 45 CLD tiles, 25 sq ft of 3M Thinsulate Acoustic, and 4 sheets of closed cell foam.

For tools, you need a socket set (10mm for the rear seats, something bigger that I can't remember for the seatbelts, an E10 torx socket for the seats (Harbor Freight has a nice cheap set)), a Philips screwdriver, and a set of panel removal tools.

It's not quite a step-by-step guide, but I took a ton of pictures along the way, and I'll try to write out descriptions as I get a chance.

Can you kindly give advice - If I want to do sound deadening to reduce noise, but not to commit to the entire car, which part should I start first, trunk, door, roof, or body? Thank you so much.