Sound deadening entire 2001 mazda 3. Good idea?

[nguy3nha]

I'm thinking of getting someone to sound deaden the entire car, from the doors, roof, trunk, floor and engine firewall. I do a lot of highway driving and road noise just kills me. Would my car be quiet as a C350 afterwards with all of this work done? And how much would it probably cost if I were to get it done at a reputable sound deadening shop? (if there is one).

[Tozer]

Where'd you find a 2001?

[PEPSIGIXXER]

it would not be cheap and could potentially add a ton of weight which in turn will screw with your fuel mileage.

[Aitch]

First of all, let's assume you mean a 2011 Mazda 3. This is a good idea, as it will make the car quieter. Perhaps not as quiet as a Mercedes, as we're talking about doing all the flat accessible surfaces but not things like the firewall, inside the frame etc that Mercedes might have done.

I have no idea what it would cost but it will be significantly cheaper if you do it yourself. Having a shop do all the labour of ripping out your interior, laying things down, and putting it back together will at least double the cost.

[nguy3nha]

First of all, let's assume you mean a 2011 Mazda 3. This is a good idea, as it will make the car quieter. Perhaps not as quiet as a Mercedes, as we're talking about doing all the flat accessible surfaces but not things like the firewall, inside the frame etc that Mercedes might have done.

I have no idea what it would cost but it will be significantly cheaper if you do it yourself. Having a shop do all the labour of ripping out your interior, laying things down, and putting it back together will at least double the cost.

woops yes a 2011 mazda 3. So it wouldnt be possible to add soundproofing materials behind the engine firewall? Most of the noise is the engine. I think the engine is getting louder over time. When I first purchased the vehicle, I could not hear the engine idling and revving it was very smooth. Now it's much louder during idle and I would like to try to cut out as much engine noise as possible.

I could do the doors, floor, trunk and headliner myself, but if there is no way to add more material to the engine firewall then I might as well look past this.

[nguy3nha]

it would not be cheap and could potentially add a ton of weight which in turn will screw with your fuel mileage.

i would trade fuel mileage for a quiet car.

[Jackal]

Audio Heaven a sponsor does sound deadening work but it wouldn't be cheap if you want to do the whole car. PM them for a quote. $$$$

[Lockdown]

It's expensive and we have done a few of these in the last little while. To do the firewall, you are looking at more than you want to spend for sure.

If you're doing it yourself, strip everything out that you can and do both the paint and the mat.

There is a lot of labour involved in this and if you can do it yourself, you will save a ton.
Another thing you will have to consider is time.
You're looking at days not hours. If you're doing the paint as well, budget 3-4 days so you can do multiple coats while you have everything out.

You're in the thousands for a project like this.

[sube]

I did this to a Protege5 but because that was one noisy sucker of a car. To tell the truth the difference wasn't worth the time or expense. It took me 3 days and I did everything including the roof.
BTW I have a 2010 GT sport and I don't find this car noisy, I had a 2001 Subaru Legacy Gt before this and I thought that was quiet but the Mazda is more quiet for sure.

Pat.

[nguy3nha]

Yea, i think i'll pass then. Thanks for your honest opinions! I'm not prepared to drop down that much dough haha

[Sonic31]

I did the entire trunk & floor and partial door panels of my 06 3 sedan with B-Quiet extreme.

I got 50 sq ft for about $130 shipped to my door.

Took me a weekend to get it all in (but that also included some stereo install time as well).

Final impression, not a huge dramatic difference.

Car was a bit quieter, road noise was less but my base and music sounded MUCH better.

[dave2010GT]

I have done my entire car in dynamat, two layers on doors, one layer on the floor, one layer on the roof, two layers in the trunk. Made a very noticeable difference in road noise and sound quality for my music.

I used roughly 200 sq feet, it didn't make a huge difference in gas mileage but a noticeable one for sure. One of the best dynamat mods is the hood kit you can ge, haven't done it yet but plan to this summer.

This is VERY TIME CONSUMING took me about 3 weekends to do it as I had to install and re-install parts as I couldn't drive with the car in pieces.

Cost for dynamat was expensive as it is the best sound deadening equipment, I have used three different brands and wished I had just used dynamat in the beginning.

[TheMAN]

Where'd you find a 2001?

he found a rare prototype in a unicorn barn ;)

[JayJay18]

Ive done it, took about 150sqft and about $300 dollars.
If your confident and good at taking things apart 2 days is all you need. 8am to 8pm or later each day.
You will not see a significant improvement unless you do a complete system which includes mat, rubber and foam.
Even at that you have alot of problems with fitment when its done, mercedes and high end vehicles are manufacturer with this already in mind.
Unless you have 3000watts of audio i wouldnt but you might find someone that will do it for $400-500 labour, total cost around $800.

[Mty Mous]

First off, what is your budget for getting it done?
Is the goal to reduce the road noise only or also to upgrade your sound system in the future too?

What manufacturer / products have you read up or used?
Dynamat is good, but also look into CAE (Cascade Audio Engineering) among others.

[Noisy Crow]

Since you said the sound got worse since buying the car... I'm wondering if you have a failed motor mount or some other sort of mechanical failure.


Hmmm.... you haven't installed a CAI by any chance have you :P

[Mty Mous]

ok, was a bit busy earlier to type out the following, but just an FYI, you don't need to apply Dynamat Xtreme or similar type of product on the floor of the car, the reasoning behind that is the floor is plenty strong and has grooves throughout it, so its not going to flex or be weak like the door panels or roof's sheetmetal.

If you want to reduce the road noise from entering, you need to lay down stuff like Mass Loaded Vinyl Barrier between the car's floor and the carpet, that stuff help absorb the sound entering through the floorboard (need to cover completely from firewall, all the way to the end of the trunk, especially wheel wells).
For the Doors, you'll need to apply sound deadener like CAE V-max or Dynamat Xtreme, and then a layer of Mass loaded vinyl barrier on top.
The roof can make do with just a couple of layers of CAE V-max or Dynamat Xtreme.

The doors and the floor itself will make a difference in noise transmission from outside to inside, but the Mass Loaded Vinyl Barrier is key to making that difference, read up on it and do it right if you're going to go to the trouble of getting it done.

http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi
http://cascadeaudio.com/car_noise_control/v_max.htm

[liquidzyklon]

AS a few people above have posted, I got my car's door panel and trunk dynamatted and the different is almost non-existent. I've given up on making this car quiet since I will be looking to upgrade in the next 6 months. Next car will have to pass the quiet test prior to purchasing.