Installing Dynamat - Cut Down The Buzz

Nothing ruins a sweet-sounding system more than a trunk that buzzes and doors that rattle. While most cars come with some sort of sound deadening from the factory, it's not up to par with the addition of high-quality audio gear. Along with that, the older the car, the lower the quality of materials used for sound deadening. With the heavy resurgence of muscle cars, this becomes a serious problem.

To solve this issue, Dynamat offers numerous products to fit practically every application. The trick is deciphering which product is best for which application. Each section of a car has its own types of noise and requires specific properties in sound deadening. Floors have different properties than doors, while firewalls need noise and thermal reduction. Before purchasing sound deadening, you need to break it down and choose which areas you are going to deaden and what properties each section requires.

With each section broken down, the choices become simpler. While searching dynamat.com, each type of material is listed with its own dampening characteristics. Some materials are suited for a wide range of applications, such as Dynamat Extreme, which is specifically formulated to reduce road noise and vibrations on virtually all sheet metal.

Other products have specialized properties for specific panels. Dynaliner is a specialized foam pad that blocks heat, reduces wind noise and isolates vibrations, making it the perfect solution for door panels and, when used in conjunction with Dynamat Extreme, floors and firewalls. Dynamat even has Hoodliner, which not only reduces noise, it reflects 97 percent of the radiant heat from the engine to protect the paint.

There are also a few materials to stay away from. Spray-on sound deadeners tend to cause rust as experienced on the 1971 Buick GS convertible project. For this article, the old OE mat and some rust-causing spray-on sound deadening is removed and replaced with Dynamat Extreme and 1/4" Dynaliner. The end result is a solid, noise free ride that will keep the music in and the rattles out.

DoorsWind noise, mechanical rattles and audio vibrationsFloorRoad noise, drivetrain and thermalFirewallThermal, road noise and engine noiseTrunkRoad noise, mechanical rattles and audio vibrationsRear DeckAudio vibrations, mechanical rattlesRoofWind noise and thermal