How do I make this daily driver quiet?
#61
EO I'll send you a PM once I measure how much I have.
NA6 not sure how you plan to install it under the dash, since it needs nice solid/clean surfaces to stick to, as well as the car has insulation under there already. Pretty much impossible to do it under there (if you mean removing the dash like I did) I'd suggest multi-cell foam under there, not fatmat.
NA6 not sure how you plan to install it under the dash, since it needs nice solid/clean surfaces to stick to, as well as the car has insulation under there already. Pretty much impossible to do it under there (if you mean removing the dash like I did) I'd suggest multi-cell foam under there, not fatmat.
#62
Elite Member
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Birmingham Alabama
Posts: 7,930
Total Cats: 45
EO I'll send you a PM once I measure how much I have.
NA6 not sure how you plan to install it under the dash, since it needs nice solid/clean surfaces to stick to, as well as the car has insulation under there already. Pretty much impossible to do it under there (if you mean removing the dash like I did) I'd suggest multi-cell foam under there, not fatmat.
NA6 not sure how you plan to install it under the dash, since it needs nice solid/clean surfaces to stick to, as well as the car has insulation under there already. Pretty much impossible to do it under there (if you mean removing the dash like I did) I'd suggest multi-cell foam under there, not fatmat.
#63
If you don't go with the Magnaflow, the Racing Beat single exhaust is very quiet. I was hoping it'd be a bit louder on my 99' with the Flyin' Miata midpipe but it just doesn't have the volume I'm personally looking for at full blast but it might be just right for what you're looking for.
Last edited by Ciotti; 06-13-2012 at 12:41 AM.
#64
Elite Member
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 3,468
Total Cats: 365
Instead of making the car quiet you can make everything quieter. No amount of insulation will really do much for noise reduction in a miata.
I have used these etymotics for several years. Even with the hardtop on and the windows up, freeway noise is too high for me. They are inexpensive and effective, and pretty comfortable, but can sometimes cause the slight earache that wearing any earplug with expandable materials can give you after a few hours. Etymotic ER-20 earplugs.
Now that I am finally tracking the car consistently I have gone the custom, molded earplug route to be able to use them with the helmet. The molds took all of 20 minutes. I have had them for a week now, worn them for about 15 hours, with no discomfort at any point. Very effective noise reduction. Do a search for a Willoughby's dealer near you. If you want, you can have them mold earbuds into them. This is apparently a common request.
I have used these etymotics for several years. Even with the hardtop on and the windows up, freeway noise is too high for me. They are inexpensive and effective, and pretty comfortable, but can sometimes cause the slight earache that wearing any earplug with expandable materials can give you after a few hours. Etymotic ER-20 earplugs.
Now that I am finally tracking the car consistently I have gone the custom, molded earplug route to be able to use them with the helmet. The molds took all of 20 minutes. I have had them for a week now, worn them for about 15 hours, with no discomfort at any point. Very effective noise reduction. Do a search for a Willoughby's dealer near you. If you want, you can have them mold earbuds into them. This is apparently a common request.
#65
Instead of making the car quiet you can make everything quieter. No amount of insulation will really do much for noise reduction in a miata.
I have used these etymotics for several years. Even with the hardtop on and the windows up, freeway noise is too high for me. They are inexpensive and effective, and pretty comfortable, but can sometimes cause the slight earache that wearing any earplug with expandable materials can give you after a few hours. Etymotic ER-20 earplugs.
Now that I am finally tracking the car consistently I have gone the custom, molded earplug route to be able to use them with the helmet. The molds took all of 20 minutes. I have had them for a week now, worn them for about 15 hours, with no discomfort at any point. Very effective noise reduction. Do a search for a Willoughby's dealer near you. If you want, you can have them mold earbuds into them. This is apparently a common request.
I have used these etymotics for several years. Even with the hardtop on and the windows up, freeway noise is too high for me. They are inexpensive and effective, and pretty comfortable, but can sometimes cause the slight earache that wearing any earplug with expandable materials can give you after a few hours. Etymotic ER-20 earplugs.
Now that I am finally tracking the car consistently I have gone the custom, molded earplug route to be able to use them with the helmet. The molds took all of 20 minutes. I have had them for a week now, worn them for about 15 hours, with no discomfort at any point. Very effective noise reduction. Do a search for a Willoughby's dealer near you. If you want, you can have them mold earbuds into them. This is apparently a common request.
#66
EO I'll send you a PM once I measure how much I have.
NA6 not sure how you plan to install it under the dash, since it needs nice solid/clean surfaces to stick to, as well as the car has insulation under there already. Pretty much impossible to do it under there (if you mean removing the dash like I did) I'd suggest multi-cell foam under there, not fatmat.
NA6 not sure how you plan to install it under the dash, since it needs nice solid/clean surfaces to stick to, as well as the car has insulation under there already. Pretty much impossible to do it under there (if you mean removing the dash like I did) I'd suggest multi-cell foam under there, not fatmat.
#68
Elite Member
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Birmingham Alabama
Posts: 7,930
Total Cats: 45
Will be buying some of that ^. Looks useful for a lot of things.
I may be crazy, but I swear that after only applying fatmat to the lower part of the door on the passenger side, and to the spare tire well in the trunk, I can already hear a difference. I can't wait to have the whole interior covered. My door actually closes with a clunk now, not a soda can noise or a steel drum.
I may be crazy, but I swear that after only applying fatmat to the lower part of the door on the passenger side, and to the spare tire well in the trunk, I can already hear a difference. I can't wait to have the whole interior covered. My door actually closes with a clunk now, not a soda can noise or a steel drum.
#71
Elite Member
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Birmingham Alabama
Posts: 7,930
Total Cats: 45
I wish I could get the door apart and cover 100% of the shell, but I can only reach the bottom 9" under the bar running the length of the door. Above that there is window mechanisms and brackets in the way. A LOT of door left that is still tinny sounding, but it's still 10x better with just two layers in that area. Going from one door to the other it is very very noticeable. Ting ting, thud thud.
I have to figure out what will be best for the floor. Since my roll bar is removed, I have quite a few holes in the floor that are open to the outside. I'm scared water will splash through the holes and get under the mat and rot the floor out. Or will the tar push through the holes enough to seal it? Not sure what else to do short of putting bolts with washers through each hole. Then I have to deal with putting a bar back in eventually, probably using the same holes. So the mat will have to be peeled up in those spots to let the bar sit low as possible for hard top clearance.
I have to figure out what will be best for the floor. Since my roll bar is removed, I have quite a few holes in the floor that are open to the outside. I'm scared water will splash through the holes and get under the mat and rot the floor out. Or will the tar push through the holes enough to seal it? Not sure what else to do short of putting bolts with washers through each hole. Then I have to deal with putting a bar back in eventually, probably using the same holes. So the mat will have to be peeled up in those spots to let the bar sit low as possible for hard top clearance.
#74
Elite Member
iTrader: (37)
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Very NorCal
Posts: 10,441
Total Cats: 1,899
Now that I am finally tracking the car consistently I have gone the custom, molded earplug route to be able to use them with the helmet. The molds took all of 20 minutes. I have had them for a week now, worn them for about 15 hours, with no discomfort at any point. Very effective noise reduction. Do a search for a Willoughby's dealer near you. If you want, you can have them mold earbuds into them. This is apparently a common request.
Christ man, what are you using for an exhaust that you wear these on track?
I have to figure out what will be best for the floor. Since my roll bar is removed, I have quite a few holes in the floor that are open to the outside. I'm scared water will splash through the holes and get under the mat and rot the floor out. Or will the tar push through the holes enough to seal it? Not sure what else to do short of putting bolts with washers through each hole. Then I have to deal with putting a bar back in eventually, probably using the same holes. So the mat will have to be peeled up in those spots to let the bar sit low as possible for hard top clearance.
It helps. Anything that gives the door mass will help it not resonate. We did what you describe to my friends 95 Integra and it helped immensely. That was probably the worst car I've ever been in for road noise, even in its stock configuration
#77
I would add diagonal strips about 3" wide by however high you can get on the exterior door skin to add mass, while not being excessive, and then adding a foam layer along the entire inner panel of the door. And, hell, since you're already in there, go ahead and replace the sliders and grease the tracks so you don't have to worry about it down the road.
#78
If you already have the door panel off its super easy to get the entire door skin covered above the door re-bar. It takes three screws to get the window glass out. With it out you should be able to reach everywhere in there. Doin the full door skin and the areas just behind the door panel is ****. I did one and didnt have time to finish the other the same night. On the way to work, all high way, it was so deadened on the one side I felt like i had a clogged ear. Hush on one side football croud on the other. You can also use "great stuff" to fill in the open voids between panels and alot of the trunk area and around the fuel tank. Ive seen people fill in the hood and trunk support braces too.
#79
Elite Member
iTrader: (2)
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 3,468
Total Cats: 365
RE: emergency vehicles, I'm not worried there. With the etymotics in I feel I have a better chance of hearing sirens. They really cut down on the ambient background noise. The unscientific but still an empirical evidence test is that with the etymotics in on the freeway, I can hear the radio clearly at a lower volume setting than with them out. And - everyone in the hearing center assumed I was a motorcycle cop.
For freeway use I have discovered the molded plugs I currently have aren't very good. They aren't silicone, they are of some rigid plastic material. There are some frequencies of road noise at highway speeds that seem to set up a resonance in them. The etymotics are much better. I'm going to go back and check on silicone.