One of the most important aspects related to the comfort of the car, but also to the safety of the passengers, is the soundproofing of its interior. This involves placing materials with special properties that isolate sound and vibration.

Car soundproofing is done by adding special materials inside the doors, on the floor, hood, and ceiling to soundproof, but also to solve the serious problem of resonance.

Unfortunately, many modern cars do not have a very well-designed soundproofing, unlike luxury brands, where this chapter is treated with the utmost care. For the driver, sound insulation is extremely important for certain frequencies while driving, in order to isolate the noise produced by the engine, especially for diesel engines.

The resonance phenomenon is very important and occurs when two components of the car operate on the same frequencies. When this phenomenon occurs, such as when the engine is at low RPM, certain components vibrate, producing annoying noise and vibration for the driver and passengers.

Although soundproofing can also be done by car owners, specialists recommend that we use professionals with experience in the field. First of all, the car’s wings are important for car soundproofing.

What materials do we use for soundproofing a car?

The car’s wings are like amplification boxes for certain frequencies, especially if they are not properly soundproofed. To soundproof the wings, a layer of primer is applied on their inner surface, followed by the application of two or three coats of antiphonium paint (a rubber paint).

In this way, by adding sound-absorbing and vibration-absorbing materials, the sound will no longer be transmitted to the cabin, as it was the case before soundproofing.

Layers of sound-absorbing materials with aluminum foil on the inside can be applied to the doors and trunk. They are provided with a special glue that adheres to the surface of the door.

There are also more professional solutions, which involve using a hot air blower to apply the foils on the inside of the body. A less expensive, though not desirable, solution is the placement of very inexpensive materials, such as air-filled plastic wrap, similar to packaging.

If you do this yourself, it is best not to apply moisture-retaining materials to the doors.

Under the car body, it can also be applied anti-noise paint, but not on the surfaces that are close to the car’s exhaust system, these should be avoided, as the area heats up very strongly. A more difficult operation is to insulate the metal surfaces of the dashboard.

To do this, you will need to disassemble the car’s dashboard and apply felt and aluminum foil to the metal surfaces. It is recommended that you leave this procedure in the hands of professionals, especially if you have never done such a thing.

How do we evaluate the effectiveness of soundproofing a car?

You should know that some soundproofing materials are very expensive, but with special properties. Depending on the car, it may be necessary to apply more soundproofing materials to insulate more frequencies.

For better soundproofing, extra sealings can be added to certain areas of the car, such as doors or hood, if the car model allows. There are also stealings that can be glued to the metal surface of the car.

Finally, in order to evaluate the soundproofing operation, it is followed how the car behaves with the engine idling, driving at city speed and driving at a speed of over 100 km / h (60 mph).

How to check the quality of soundproofing?

At idle we need to listen to how much the engine is still heard, and at speeds over 100 km / h (60 mph) the noise produced by the wind in contact with the car is evaluated.

You can also inspect how the soundproofing was done and closing the doors to hear what sound they make. A cheap commercial sound level meter can also be used to accurately measure the decibels produced before and after soundproofing.

In this case, the noise level will be measured at different points in the passenger compartment of the car, the most important being the area near the driver’s head and that of the rear passengers.

Does it make sense to soundproof a car?

If you are a truck driver or a driver that spends a lot of time in the car, you know how important soundproofing is to a high standard.

If your car is of a medium price category, your car likely has basic sound insulation that cannot cope with the suppression of external noise. In addition, if a lot of time has passed since you have the car, or you can see then the noise insulation began to worn out and it has lost its original characteristics.

The advantages of soundproofing a car

• Firstly, trips will become more comfortable due to the absence of extraneous annoying sounds.
• Secondly, if you use the audio system in the car, then noise isolation will help you achieve a cleaner sound and enjoy any music without extraneous noise.
• Thirdly, as a bonus, you get additional thermal insulation, because the lining used as a material helps keep the car cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
• Fourth, noise insulation provides additional waterproofing of the car.

Thus, additional noise isolation gives unexpected pleasant bonuses.

How much does it cost to soundproof a car?

Costs of soundproofing a car depends on a variety of factors such as the size of the car, the parts of the car you want to soundproof and the materials used for this operation

If you opt for soundproofing the entire car then prices vary between $ 500 and $ 900.

The consequences of improper installation of sound insulation in your car

Improper installation can do more harm than good. Often, salon professionals have to correct errors after a “home installation,” which is expensive for customers.

The main mistakes:

• insulation does not hold. In this case, the soundproofing itself can become a source of additional sounds. Most often, in this case, the situation will be resolved by complete dismantling and consolidation of the new layer;
• noise insulation can be mounted on the wrong part of the car. In this case, the noise remains, and the removal of unnecessary material will solve the problem.

You can install sound insulation yourself, but it is better to contact professionals. Turning to specialists will help save your time and, especially, money!

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