Cheap sound proofing solutions?

[Keeper96]

Hello

Does anyone have any suggestions for sound proofing a 90 on the cheap?

Thanks

Jamie

[Gazzar]

Flashband, apply to bulkhead and bonnet. Rubber mats, cut from cattle matting. Ear defenders. Road biased tyres. Set volume on music to eleven and promote premature hearing loss.

Basically add mass to the space between your ears and the source of the noise.

[landroversforever]

cheap camping mats make good heat insulation too

[Chicken Drumstick]

Hello

Does anyone have any suggestions for sound proofing a 90 on the cheap?

Thanks

Jamie

Or slightly less cynically

Sell Defender, buy one of these. You should end up with money in your pocket. So very very cheap as you gain...

As for Defenders. It largely depends what age, spec, trim and engine yours is. Along with anything it's had done to it.

A V8 pick up will be a lot less quiet than a Tdi hard top.

A CSW Td5 or Puma will be much better to begin with.

But if you have a Tdi, 2.5TD early Defender or Ninety, with gaps round the doors and no interior trim, then you are starting on a back foot to begin with.

[Keeper96]

I've already got a discovery! ?

It's a tdi 90 hard top and is just like to be able to talk when in the motorway haha.

I'll take the advice offered above

Thanks

[bodumatau]

the funny thing is that with ear defenders on you can actually hear what your passenger says.....

[muddy]

Heavy rubber mat in the back makes a huge difference.

[PaulN]

Considering the high prices being asked for some of the Sound Proofing Solutions that are out there for sale the OPs question is a good one.

I'd like to read some good ideas coming back too.

Having owned 3 Disco 1's I know the previous comments are quite right and sometimes I wish I hadn't changed to a Def for a lot of reasons but hey when I look back at 'Wolfie' (Roll cage and rag top) and drive it - well - it's a bit of a love hate thing really! and that's wot I got - plus others think it's a great looking truck too.


I'm still battling with the sound thing too…..can't come up with cheapo sources but if I say what I've done so far then someone may well pop in with a good source material for doing the same.


So if it helps you at all so far I've done is to use thick cow stall or horse box rubber for all the flat working surfaces in the back. Good work surface and a real noise deadener.


Every flat panel has had the cheapest self adhesive anti drumming black stuff put on.


As well as that I bought a single big sheet of closed cell foam and cut it to shape for all over the seat box (under seats too) and under the bonnet.

Carpet tile squares are good to absorb air born vibes too so I have cut and stuck these on my fitted tool boxes.

The tilt when driving with the back rolled up is surprisingly much less noisy than when it is down - lets the noise out I suppose !!

Cleaned and spray under sealed the wheel arches with German rubberised underseal stuff to deaden and protect.

There is also a proper fitted floor mat system (Wright Off Road - not cheap) and.............


It's still noisy!


Don't get me wrong it is a lot better than it was but there is still a lot of engine noise cummin in.


The engine, induction (hell of a thrum from here as it is a disco one), viscous fan and injection pump on my 300 all generate quite a din (not forgetting the exhaust but that's more outside) compared to my D1 300's.

So comparing to a Disco where there is more space and stuffing between you and the noise - I guess that it what has to replicated.



I'm still going to have to insulate doors (when they get refurbed) and then to sound proof behind the dash (with eggbox foamy stuff I'm thinking) and then 'tother side of bulkhead in engine bay too…..


I'm thinking engine blanket and/or individual DIY covers for the bits mentioned above oh and an electric fan so it only works and makes a noise when needed!

Then there's better AT tyres rather than MTs but that not a problem of noise for me.....



and so it goes on…..



(Oh! and maybe go back to a V8 as that's a nice noise!! )

[miketomcat]

With the best will in the world you will never make a defender as quiet as a disco for two main reasons.

1, a disco body is rubber mounted the defender is solid.

2, the panels on a disco fit, are joined together properly and seam sealed.

Sorry but if you want a quiet truck buy something else.

I bought this:

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=161549515932&alt=web

For my ibex but haven't fitted it yet and the truck is no where near the road.

Mike

[stephencdavies]

if i want piece and quiet while driving on my own, i will drive my A5. If my wife wants to come with, i'll drive my defender. although sound proofed to death. theres enough noise left to drown her out.

[Mo Murphy]

I'd suggest embracing the noise, it's part of the experience.

Have you ever watched a dog chasing it's tail ? Well, that's what is like trying to soundproof a Land Rover ?

Mo

[simonr]

Most of the products advertised as sound deadening are practically worthless.

There are only a few ways to reduce the sound pressure level including:

* Absorption

For this, you need mass! Something which has too much inertia to move (vibrate) with the sound and is damped will turn the sound vibrations into heat. If it isn't heavy, it's not going to absorb the sound!

* Reflection

If the sound bounces around enough, it looses some energy with each bounce. It's really absorption - but the mass has more 'chances' at absorbing the sound.

* Displacement

Either pipe or reflect the sound somewhere else.

* Dilution

Generally this uses reflection to spread the sound over a bigger volume, reducing the pressure. The old idea of using egg-boxes to deaden sound is a combination of reflection, dilution (the boxes have lots of facets which reflect the sound in different directions) and absorption (even though they are not that heavy, they have to absorb much lower pressure levels. The higher the pressure, the more mass is needed).

* Isolation
Provide a layer which is a poor conductor of sound (damped) between you & source. Not really practical in any great way on a Defender.

A bit of carpet (what seems to pass for sound-proofing in the after-market motor industry) has limited effect. It will dilute a little and absorb a little as it hardly weighs anything.

Mass is the easiest to implement. Rubber / flexible polymers are good as they damp as well. A good cheap source is used conveyor rubber. Very cheap! I used to buy it from these people:

http://www.192.com/atoz/business/east-grinstead-rh19/conveyor-belts-and-systems/toogood-industrial/84192a98e9db82591b2c5a5771eed5ccc12916b6/ml/

Cover the load bed, footwells, seat box exposed panels, inside doors, under bonnet.

The stick-on weighted pads can work well to stop drumming (increase the mass of a panel). Inside the doors, hard-top sides & roof and under the bonnet.

Lead impregnated (probably not lead these days, but something else heavy) foam is great stuff. Sometimes you can find off-cuts which you can piece together. This is great inside the transmission tunnel and places it needs to deform around curves.

If you visit a show and look at the different materials on offer, buy the most dense / heaviest!

If you have enough money, I recommend the Wright Off Road matting. It's moulded to the shape of the cab of a Defender and is really easy to fit. It's fairly dense and looks good. It's pretty much the only off the shelf solution that is worth the money! I have this - and it's good!

Si

[Jocklandjohn]

Considering the high prices being asked for some of the Sound Proofing Solutions that are out there for sale the OPs question is a good one.

I'd like to read some good ideas coming back too.

Having owned 3 Disco 1's I know the previous comments are quite right and sometimes I wish I hadn't changed to a Def for a lot of reasons but hey when I look back at 'Wolfie' (Roll cage and rag top) and drive it - well - it's a bit of a love hate thing really! and that's wot I got - plus others think it's a great looking truck too.

I'm still battling with the sound thing too…..can't come up with cheapo sources but if I say what I've done so far then someone may well pop in with a good source material for doing the same.

So if it helps you at all so far I've done is to use thick cow stall or horse box rubber for all the flat working surfaces in the back. Good work surface and a real noise deadener.

Every flat panel has had the cheapest self adhesive anti drumming black stuff put on.

As well as that I bought a single big sheet of closed cell foam and cut it to shape for all over the seat box (under seats too) and under the bonnet.

Carpet tile squares are good to absorb air born vibes too so I have cut and stuck these on my fitted tool boxes.

The tilt when driving with the back rolled up is surprisingly much less noisy than when it is down - lets the noise out I suppose !!

Cleaned and spray under sealed the wheel arches with German rubberised underseal stuff to deaden and protect.

There is also a proper fitted floor mat system (Wright Off Road - not cheap) and.............

It's still noisy!

Don't get me wrong it is a lot better than it was but there is still a lot of engine noise cummin in.

The engine, induction (hell of a thrum from here as it is a disco one), viscous fan and injection pump on my 300 all generate quite a din (not forgetting the exhaust but that's more outside) compared to my D1 300's.

So comparing to a Disco where there is more space and stuffing between you and the noise - I guess that it what has to replicated.

I'm still going to have to insulate doors (when they get refurbed) and then to sound proof behind the dash (with eggbox foamy stuff I'm thinking) and then 'tother side of bulkhead in engine bay too…..

I'm thinking engine blanket and/or individual DIY covers for the bits mentioned above oh and an electric fan so it only works and makes a noise when needed!

Then there's better AT tyres rather than MTs but that not a problem of noise for me.....

and so it goes on…..

(Oh! and maybe go back to a V8 as that's a nice noise!! )

I bought a batch of 8mm thick closed cell foam sheets (minimum order £100 back then) to do my 110 about 10 years ago. You can get this from Kay-Metzeler and others in various locations. There was enough in that batch to do a double layer throughout the roof and sides, a sheet under a ply board in the rear tub, and various other spots, with enough left over to do a single layer in another 110. It needs to be well stuck on with high-temp glue (moreso if you vehicle is a dark colour as it can get incredibly hot in summer sun).

Result is brilliant (I still have it). Closed-cell foam is non absorbent so no condensation, dampness nor smells, van is warm, quiet and for the price was good value I think.

Easy to do, long-lasting and very neat (you can glue-form it around all the corners and ribs.

If a group of you found a supplier and pooled resources to buy a batch locally (its a pig to transport!) it should work out fairly good value I'd think.

[Snagger]

There are several elements to it.

Firstly, try to eliminate as much created noise as possible. Make sure engine and transmission mounts are in good order, the suspension bushes are good, fit isolation rings atop each road spring, use a sensible (not sports) exhaust and the least aggressive tyres appropriate to your vehicle operation. Make sure the engine timing and tuning is correct and that general maintenance is good to get rid of squeaks, rattles, rumbling bearings and so on.

Second, you need to add mass to resonating panels or assemblies. Seal adhesive lead flashing from DIY stores seems popular with good reports. This lowers resonant frequencies as well as absorbing energy.

Third, you need sound absorbent materials inside the cabin, and by and large these are synonymous with air and water absorbtion. Closed cell foam has the benefit of not soaking up moisture, but is far less effective at noise reduction than open cell foam as the vibrations penetrate the foam to be absorbed and reduced internally - they are reflected more by closed cell foam than open cell. This also applies to using rubber sheet or covering foam with vinyl; the most noise absorbent covering for the foam is carpet or cloth. Increased surface area and voids are also useful - look at anechoic chambers or theatres, cinemas and concert halls and they all have noise absorbent panels, cloth covered (as above) with hollow voids. The anechoic chambers have foam pyramids to increase surface area. If you don't care about appearance, bare undulating foam like used in packing cases is going to be the most effective surface you can have. Medium density foam will do the best job of absorbing and attenuating the sound, high density will reflect more of it, and low density will allow the sound to penetrate and be reflected by the backing surface without much attenuation by the material itself.

S, reduce the eminated noise, then line the panels with lead flashing and seal any panel joins in the floor and make sure door seals and such work. Then cover in medium density foam, open cell where it'll stay dry and closed cell where it may get wet. The more surface area and hollow sections of foam you have, the better, and try to use permiable covering materials.

The Wright Off Road matting system is a good product, and I have been pleased with the three kits I bought, but they are a compromise between sound deadening efficiency and robustnest. They are solid, so absorb little noise that has penetrated the cab and really just add mas tot he panels they cover. They do not absorb sound waves or attenuate them much - heavy carpet would do that better, but would also be harder to clean and soak up water, rusting foot wells. SO the best solution will depend on your vehicle, location and use.

[kayrannekker]

Try using acoustic blankets. They're of industrial grade quality, and are usually used around construction sites, so they muffle pretty much any sound.

[timc1967]

I have the Noise Killer kits:

- front end kit which includes interior bulkhead, floor, seatbox

- bell housing blanket

These were not cheap so I also got some foam and carpet for the rear tub from a foam supplier locally.

I found the foam did not really deaden much of the sound at all, and far more time-consuming to install. It also gradually came unstuck, despite buying the recommended spray adhesive.

The NK kits in contrast were all cut to size and were peel & stick where needed, which went on easily and is still there a year later. This means it was a one-time, minimal fuss solution. 

You can see various foam compositions but unless you know what you're getting it may not help.