Use Dynamat or not
 

OK, Here is the question, should I use Dynamat (or similar) or not? I don't want to weigh down my Nismo needlessly, I am just not sure if it is worth it.

Thanks for any input!

Bob

if you're going to change speakers it's a good idea to do it...the new speakers will weight more anyway.

if you're going to do just the HU like me, no need. i too dont want to add more weight on the car.

I am going to do door speakers and a sub, I wonder if a strip about 12" wide along the doors would be effective? maybe something like that in the rear?

I usually do the plastic door panel around the speaker opening when I change speakers to minimize vibration. That alone helps quite a bit.

Like I said earlier, and also stated here already. If you are going to put speakers in put dynamat in the doors if you are going to put a sub in put some in the trunk area as well. Personally I have drove in many cars and the Z is very quite compared to a lot of them. I do not think it is needed except for when the speakers are installed. Any other reason is sort of a was IMO.

If you are going to upgrade the stereo you need to forget about the added weight. You will be adding weight with high performance speakers, amplifiers, head units, cabling, sound damping, etc. To me, it's a worthwhile trade-off. The 1/10th of a second off my 1/4 mile times is insignificant to me. However, the increase in pleasure I get from driving my Z with an incredible sound system is significant.

:iagree::tup:

Well, I generally hate to throw opinions around about this type of stuff, because you generally only get several people who don't agree arguing about their personal taste, but it sounds like you're specifically looking for people's biased opinions, so here you are:

I wouldn't buy a sports car and look for ways to add weight to it. I mean, if I had wanted a nice quiet ride, with plenty of room for a sub in the back, there are much better choices.

When the 370 came out, I was putting it against competitors such as the Camaro, Challenger, Stang and etc. Nissan did something with the 370 that was a tad unique; they didn't give it a ton more HP than the previous model, but they kept the weight roughly the same. The camaro for example; sure it went up around a 100 HP since the last generation, but it also increased weight by over 400 lbs.

Why would I tell you about the camaro when you're asking about dynamat? Nissan engineers went through a great deal of trouble to give you a car with not a deuce-load of HP, but a car that has a great mix of HP and weight that makes it a contender against "bruisers" like the camaro, where the idea is "we will just keep throwing weight on, and try to make up for it in HP."

But, it's all personal preference, if you don't track your car, and if lbs don't matter to you, no one is going to give you crap for it. Huff said above that the loss of 1/10 in quarter mile is no big deal to him, but for others, they invest thousands into gaining that 1/10.

Well said frost! Me personaly I would still want a good sound system but as I said above the Z is already much quieter to other cars I have drove. So I would install speakers amp and sub with very little or no mat.

Great!! I have some great ideas! I like the "using less mat" option, so how would you place it? would you cover the whole door or just the bottom, or some thing like that? or maybe some thing else?

Thanks Bob

You can put it on the inside of the door. Make sure to clean the surface and do not cover up the bottom of the inside of the door that is were water drains. Just peal it off and stick it on than us a roller or spoon to push it on the surface.

To be honest I couldn't stand the road noise from the Z until I deadened it. The roads in Colorado are very noisy so I dealt with a constant roar. I did it primarily for driving comfort than audio performance. I have a performance exhaust system and it droned really bad with the windows up. Afterwards, the exhaust drone was gone and it is quieter than the stock exhaust now inside the car. It really gave the car much more refined driving experience by vastly reducing the road and exhaust noise to a very tolerable level. I do notice much tighter and more controlled bass than before. I also dont need to turn it up when I hit the hiway.

You can use smaller amounts of Dynamatt and applying it stratigicaly. Most people including myself use more than necessary. I used large sheets of it on the doors to both seal and deaden the door. I put in about 120 sq ft of it and about the same amount of ensolite.

I highly recommend using ensolite (1/8" dense closed cell foam) to apply all over to further aid in noise suppression. Its relativly inexpensive and its easy to apply. You just need scissors and a few cans off good spray adheisive.

:iagree:
I also think that everyone will have their own opinion, but 'm with 2fast. I have a base model with no mods and I found the road noise to be way too much. I know it's a sports car, but I don't intend to race it. I've added 40 sqft of second skin's damplifier in the doors, floor and rear area and then put 9 sqft of luxury liner in the rear area. The shipping weight of the package from second skin was 27 lbs. In hindsight, I wish I would have used the damplifer pro material.

The car certainly isn't luxury car quiet, but it's pretty reasonable and you can even hold a conversation with a passenger at freeway speeds. I think if you're adding sound equipment with the additional weight over the base stuff, then you're kidding yourself on keeping the weight off by not using the sound deadening materials. I suggest you go ahead and use the dynamat, add the sound equipment and just make sure you don't add the 150 to 225 lbs passenger.:bowrofl:

2fast and mototrmpt - Do you guys happen to have photos of your installs? I've never done this before and would love to see where you decided to lay strips down.

mototrmpt - Why do you think you should've used Damplifier Pro?

I got done an install yesterday actually part of it. It was a honda crv, the guy called me on the way home and told me the suv handled totally different, it was a lot heavier, seared harder, and did not accelerate as fast.

Now that was in a suv I can only imagine what it will do to a sports car like the Z.


To answer your question chibbell, look at my install thread and the other one that should give you an idea of how to install the stuff. Just take your time.

http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/...230-174057.jpg

http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/...230-150241.jpg

http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/r...l/DSC00977.jpg

http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/r...l/DSC00951.jpg

http://i483.photobucket.com/albums/r...l/DSC00949.jpg

:rofl2: Did you ask him if he had that same problem whenever he has a passenger in his vehicle too? Not saying the added weight wouldn't cause a slight performance decrease, but "totally different", somehow I doubt that. In my RSX I had the entire thing sound deadened with two different types of material, one for road noise and another for sound quality, and didn't feel any noticeable difference in the way it handled. Granted, it was hardly a sports car, but still, I doubt added 40-50 lbs is going to be that big of a difference in acceleration. (In my completely uneducated opinion, of course :))

Um we used over 4 boxes and we have not even gotten to the floor until today. Each box is about 50-80 pounds worth of dynamat. You start putting 50-80 pound boxes into a sports car it is going to handle differently.

A sports car would handle differently with an additional 200lbs, but an already pretty heavy SUV? I doubt that.

I also don't see a need to use THAT much Dynamat in the 370.

No matter what the car is I think additional weight will effect it.

I'm just saying that under most circumstances I think the effect will be minimal. Of course if you did add 200lbs throughout the Z, I think it would have an impact, but even then I don't think it would be too noticeable unless you are tracking the car. That said, the Z doesn't need 200lb's of sound deadener.

The damplifier pro is similar to damplifier except it's thicker and heavier which would provide additional sound deadening. In my old age (48) I would have preferred it to be just a bit quieter. Now I posted the damplifier pro comment prior to the trip I just took today from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas. During today's trip I noticed that the noise level was just about right and I would have to say I think I hit a great balance with the normal damplifier materials.

Bigaudio...nice install pics. I especially lilke your suggestion of using a big spoon to flatten out the materials. I purchased a wallpaper seam roller and found that pressing the materials down with my big thumbs worked will, but I would think the spoon would be perfect.

Sorry to pull this out from the dead, just took the Z on a road trip from Austin to Houston and there were certain roads where the noise levels were completely unbearable! I thought my hybrid was noisy because of the thin panels but the Z is VERY noisy on poor roads.

Good roads, it is very quiet, but the poor paven ones, the decibels are probably in the lower 90s+

So...I noticed that the rear of the car is particularly noisy, especially when raining. What other panels can I apply this to, to get rid of the road noise?

All of them, see my full install album.

after getting driven around in my pop's lexus for a week, i get back in my 370Z and lol'ed.

such a raw kinda car i luv the noise. :D

lol, I think you didn't mean road noise :p

Anyways, dynamat the best option or are there others out there? cheaper/better/lighter?

well my RE11's aren't THAT noisy so some road noise is fine in a sport car.

check with ms.pint. she use to sell GTMatt (i think it was called) and they were like a cheap replica of dynamat.
for me, dynamat only. why? not sure, thats wat ive always used.. lol

There are far better and cheaper options than Dynamat. The only reason people use Dynamat is marketing or blind brand loyalty. I used Raamat. Keep in mind, the Dynamat type product is only half of what you need. You also need to apply a thin layer of closed-cell foam over the dynamat to get it to really work. It's cheap and really makes a difference.

Okay, i'll start looking at the different options. Will keep you fellas posted!

I just got some new Continental DWs to replace the OEM Potenza's - supposedly they are quieter but I know the Z isn't known for its quietness :P

I love the current noise levels but when I am poor roads (could be often in houston) the noise is NOT bearable for long periods unless I used ear-plugs :p

Is anyone running the superlite?

Any difference in noise reduction?

Do you mean this?
Amazon.com: Dynamat 10612 18" x 32" Self-Adhesive Sound Deadener with SuperLite Tri-Pack, (Set of 3): Automotive


I am trying to find alternatives to dynamat as it does look like it will cost quite a bit.

I am interested in this "peel and seal" but then there is this video here about some guy using "Useal" from home depot:



Anyone seen this stuff? I'll have to compare it when I see it in person.

EDIT: need to stay away from any asphalt based deadeners like "Peel and Seal" as they will smell and/or other unwanted effects.

those tires are actually pretty good. very compliant ride.

will make your sport car feel like a wimpy sedan. :rofl2: ;)

I've used Streetwires mat and Hush Mat both work really good, but there is a price difference for sure. The lighter weight the stuff the less it does, and it needs the weight to reduce the vibration. However you don't need to cover every panel like me and a few others have to make a difference.
The other one you can try, not sure what pricing is like for you in the US, but Boom Mat from DEI, not the audio company. These guys, Boom Mat Acoustical Products | Exhaust Header Wrap and Thermal Performance Products | Design Engineering, Inc.

Oye, oye! Still has decent handling - I just don't think the Z handles like my old Bimmer (335i) though....still feels like a japanese car, but I'm not complaining much! Just trying to not get my ears to bleed on long rides :icon17:

Just way too much info out there!
Sound Deadening (CLD) Testing - Page 6 - Car Audio | DiyMobileAudio.com | Car Stereo Forum


Also, maybe I just need to apply the sealer or whatever to the underside of the wheel well liners? I haven't checked, but I'm assuming we have fairly thin panels.