[font="courier new"]Well I finally(!) finished putting my car back together! I spent hours over the last week disassembling and reassembling my Mustang - and stuffing sound deadener in between! Was it worth it? I think so ...
My Results (yours will vary!):
* Rapping on the metal in most places made the car sound like a cheap tin can - sounds MUCH more solid now!
* The doors slam shut with an authoritative thump instead of giving off a cheap rattle
* Even the OEM Shaker 500 sounds GREAT now; highs and lows are much more sharper and clearer, and both bass and trebel sounds so much better - I don't think I need to change out the speakers or head unit
* A loud hailstorm outside? Noisy city streets? I couldn't hear the storm or ANYTHING else inside the car with the doors shut.
* I turned up the radio to a fairly loud setting, and I couldn't hear it outside of the car with the doors closed!
* It sounds as solid and noise-quiet as a luxury car now! If I had to estimate, I'd say it's 80% of the way to being "Lexus quiet"!!
* The ~2200rpm drone from my Magnaflow is gone ... and since I didn't deaden the metal above the muffler, I can still hear the sound of my muffler in the cabin when driving, and the sound of the motor. Other than that, almost nothing else.
My "How To" Guide
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Tools:
* Good set of professional quality SAE & Metric sockets + ratchets + socket extensions
* Screwdriver & Torx bits up to T-40-50
* Box cutter
* Shears
* Torque wrench
* Portable light (e.g. D-cell fluorescent lantern) - optional, but very helpful
Material Cost:
Second Skin Audio's Damplifier 80 sq ft - $187.20 (30 lbs) - Used to add mass to metal, and absorbs unwanted vibrations; the foil layer reflects unwanted sound
OverKill 36 sq ft - $43.13 (.468 lbs) - This is used to scatter the remaining vibrations that manages to pass through the Damplifier layer
Luxury Liner 36 sq ft $99.98 (I used ~27 sq ft = 27 lbs) - Used to absorb the last remaining vibrations that pass through the OverKill layer
Spray Adhesive 2 cans $23.94 - Used to attach Overkill & Luxury Liner
Panel Popper - $9.34 - Used to pull out pin-type retainers and trim
Wooden Hand Roller - $8.97 - Used to flatten Damplifier (saves your hands from cuts!)
Rags & Denatured Alcoh. $2.00 - Used to clean metal
How long:
* Over a period of a week, approximately ~30 hours total - cause I went slow & didn't know what I was doing!! Don't expect to use your car while it's torn apart (of course)
How I did it ('07 Coupe) w/my very sweet & patient girlfriend's help :
1. I did both doors first; Taking off the door trim panels was straightforward - follow all the steps in http://www.swaaggs.com/documents/door_trim.pdf
- After taking off the trim panel, I removed the plastic sheet that covered the metal & wires. I used this as a template for the deadener layers;
- Expect to take hours on each door! Unfortunately it has lots of hills and valleys, so you'll end up cutting pieces to fit.
- I used Damplifier+Overkill+Luxury Liner in the doors - it didn't really fit! There was so much material that the trim panels barely had any
more room to attach back onto the doors. I managed to get it all on, but I don't recommend putting on Luxury Liner like I did. If I could do it over again, I'd use a double layer
of Damplifier & a layer of Overkill on it instead.
- Watch out for the valleys on the metal near the bottom of the door; there are two holes that looks like moisture/water drains, so I wouldn't
cover them or the pathways.
2. READ AND UNDERSTAND the Airbag Safety instructions: http://www.swaaggs.com/documents/airbag_safety.pdf - then DISABLE the airbags!! (NOT OPTIONAL)
Wow!! What a wealth of information! Great info!! To attach photos just (don't use fast reply) click on the bottom left hand corner where it says Click here to upload! and you have the option of Embed picture in post you can click on that. When you click on that it will say select a file to upload and you can click on browse...after that it will say choose file and a box that says LOOK IN...just look in your photos you have on your computer in My Photos or Desktop or wherever then click open for whatever you want to attach then click ok. I hope that helps.
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08 Vista Blue GT Premium
“The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
General Douglas MacArthur
It's not as complicated as it seems - it just takes alot of time and attention to detail. Before this the only things I could do was to change the oil and filter
Wow! What a difference ... (Sound Deadening)
Don't expect to use your car while it's torn apart (of course)
