Sound Deadening/Rattles Fixed/Better Bass!

[Yedi]

To start off I have the Alpine stereo. I've always had high end aftermarket systems in all my vehicles. I was pretty impressed with the factory Alpine in my 19' Rebel. Loud, but just not clean enough. I knew this truck needed more Deadening material, and some poly fill in the sub enclosure.


I've attached pics to show exactly what I did. It's alot of work, but pretty easy in general. I applied Deadening to the inside of the trim panels, and the inside of the Door. (Some pics wouldn't upload) and a piece directly behind each 6x9 on the door skin/brace.

Coming from a guy that works in a GM body shop, these trucks are very nice to work on. Removing the door panels is very straight forward.

Removing the back seat is a breeze. Ever take one out of a new GM or Ford? I have.....they are miserable...the Ram is designed much better for ease of taking apart. 18mm and 10mm socket.

All in all, my rattles (more like vibrating plastic) are gone. And the bass is much cleaner. I stuffed the sub enclosure with about half a pillow of Polly fill. Not packing it tight, in my previous experiences this works well. I also put some poly fill between the enclosure and the cab even after putting the Deadening on both surfaces. This got rid of some noise I could still hear while testing. That plastic box flexes alot...

Here is a link to the Deadening I use. An entire box will do what I did.

Kilmat 80 mil 36 sqft Car Sound Deadening Mat, Butyl Automotive Sound Deadener, Audio Noise Insulation and dampening https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0751CBXBT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_50RoCb63QKTQM

Also, keep an eye on the sunroof drains, I accidentally pushed the Right side one out while installing the sub. And noticed my left side was partially out also. EASY fix for something that can cause a huge problem. Reach from the bottom of the truck up .

Hope this helps someone, I've learned alot from this forum and wanted to contribute. Enjoy Guys!

 

[blankenbuhler]

Also, keep an eye on the sunroof drains, I accidentally pushed the Right side one out while installing the sub. And noticed my left side was partially out also. EASY fix for something that can cause a huge problem. Reach from the bottom of the truck up .

Thanks for the tip! That probably explains why they are getting dislodged at the factory.

 

[Nails]

Thanks for the write up. Great info to grab and hold on too

 

[MrHankbot]

Great work!

I'm always nervous about removing interior bits the first time, anything in particular to watch out for removing the door panels?

 

[wildh24]

You killmatted the crap out of that. Lol.

 

[wildh24]

Anyone out there have a link to for door panel removal steps?

 

[202snowman]

Anyone out there have a link to for door panel removal steps?

 

[wildh24]

Awesome. Thanks.

 

[Yedi]

Pop off 2 covers, 3-10mm screws, pop out window switch (leave the silver trim ring in the door) start pulling from bottom, then go to top. Be careful where the 2 panel pieces meet, easy to bust the plastic welds there...overall very straight forward panels, just be firm. They are built tough

 

[wildh24]

To start off I have the Alpine stereo. I've always had high end aftermarket systems in all my vehicles. I was pretty impressed with the factory Alpine in my 19' Rebel. Loud, but just not clean enough. I knew this truck needed more Deadening material, and some poly fill in the sub enclosure.


I've attached pics to show exactly what I did. It's alot of work, but pretty easy in general. I applied Deadening to the inside of the trim panels, and the inside of the Door. (Some pics wouldn't upload) and a piece directly behind each 6x9 on the door skin/brace.

Coming from a guy that works in a GM body shop, these trucks are very nice to work on. Removing the door panels is very straight forward.

Removing the back seat is a breeze. Ever take one out of a new GM or Ford? I have.....they are miserable...the Ram is designed much better for ease of taking apart. 18mm and 10mm socket.

All in all, my rattles (more like vibrating plastic) are gone. And the bass is much cleaner. I stuffed the sub enclosure with about half a pillow of Polly fill. Not packing it tight, in my previous experiences this works well. I also put some poly fill between the enclosure and the cab even after putting the Deadening on both surfaces. This got rid of some noise I could still hear while testing. That plastic box flexes alot...

Here is a link to the Deadening I use. An entire box will do what I did.

Kilmat 80 mil 36 sqft Car Sound Deadening Mat, Butyl Automotive Sound Deadener, Audio Noise Insulation and dampening https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0751CBXBT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_50RoCb63QKTQM

Also, keep an eye on the sunroof drains, I accidentally pushed the Right side one out while installing the sub. And noticed my left side was partially out also. EASY fix for something that can cause a huge problem. Reach from the bottom of the truck up .

Hope this helps someone, I've learned alot from this forum and wanted to contribute. Enjoy Guys!

Can you comment on any acoustic changes after your alterations? Did the bass profile change at all. Any reduction in noise of the door panels?

I'm just curious if I should go through all this work. . I'm super picky about a quiet interior, but sometimes removal of panels cause more harm then good.

 

[ksn240]

Can you comment on any acoustic changes after your alterations? Did the bass profile change at all. Any reduction in noise of the door panels?

I'm just curious if I should go through all this work. . I'm super picky about a quiet interior, but sometimes removal of panels cause more harm then good.

I've removed my rear door panels twice, still just as good as before I popped them put.

 

[Yedi]

Can you comment on any acoustic changes after your alterations? Did the bass profile change at all. Any reduction in noise of the door panels?

I'm just curious if I should go through all this work. . I'm super picky about a quiet interior, but sometimes removal of panels cause more harm then good.

Totally understand what you are saying. Everything I did only made this truck/interior better. The 6x9's give off alot of bass, there is no more hollow resonating sound.

The sub with the poly fill and Deadening seems lower and cleaner. It's noticeable.

I totally think it's worth the work for the gains. Short of replacing speakers and amps I think this is a realistic and cheap upgrade for what it does.

There is a lot left in this system. Just wish there was more tuning available. Some songs the bass is so deep and clear for a stock system, and other songs it just isn't right. All in all, it's an impressive stock system. Some day I am hoping someone makes a plug and play enclosure with built in amp, that plugs directly into the factory sub plug that only needs a power and ground run, seems very feasible to me.

 

[wildh24]

Thanks for the info. I have a lot of material sitting around so will likely do this over the next week (get my truck tomorrow!). I'm considering adding a 1/8" layer of MLV between the panel and doors if there is room for additional sound proofing and acoustic benefit.

In my last truck, I was quite amazed at how materials changed the sound of the system. I ran a completely overhauled audio system, but adding the insulation and damping really tightened up the sound.

I don't think making a box and adding a sub would be hard at all if you used the PAC device to obtain the signal. You could really focus on the low end with a proper built 12" sub box and mono amp. I've not used a shallow Mount sub before, but I think under the seat of a truck it makes sense. It would allow you to have a bigger air cavity between the seat and woofer and move more air.

 

[wildh24]

Totally understand what you are saying. Everything I did only made this truck/interior better. The 6x9's give off alot of bass, there is no more hollow resonating sound.

The sub with the poly fill and Deadening seems lower and cleaner. It's noticeable.

I totally think it's worth the work for the gains. Short of replacing speakers and amps I think this is a realistic and cheap upgrade for what it does.

There is a lot left in this system. Just wish there was more tuning available. Some songs the bass is so deep and clear for a stock system, and other songs it just isn't right. All in all, it's an impressive stock system. Some day I am hoping someone makes a plug and play enclosure with built in amp, that plugs directly into the factory sub plug that only needs a power and ground run, seems very feasible to me.

Spent some time tinkering with the audio yesterday. Overall it's a pretty decent stock system but I know what you are saying about the bass spectrum. Definitely resonates at midbass range and varies quite a bit by track. I'm going to go after it tonight with the materials and see if it brings some of that in. Also, the surround mode over does the staging (most do) and I prefer it off.

I get what your saying with midbass. It really drones on at spots in the 125-250 hz range. Would be nice to have a bit more EQ curve to work with.

Anyone have the removal instructions for the back seat? I'm sure it's not hard to figure out, but tech docs save time.

 

[202snowman]

Spent some time tinkering with the audio yesterday. Overall it's a pretty decent stock system but I know what you are saying about the bass spectrum. Definitely resonates at midbass range and varies quite a bit by track. I'm going to go after it tonight with the materials and see if it brings some of that in. Also, the surround mode over does the staging (most do) and I prefer it off.

I get what your saying with midbass. It really drones on at spots in the 125-250 hz range. Would be nice to have a bit more EQ curve to work with.

Anyone have the removal instructions for the back seat? I'm sure it's not hard to figure out, but tech docs save time.

What model truck do you have (psssst...put it in your signature)?

 

[wildh24]

What model truck do you have (psssst...put it in your signature)?

Larimie Crew Cab.

Will Do

 

[202snowman]

Thanks. I believe that means you have the reclining rear seats. See if this helps

Here are the tightening torques to put it back in.

 

[wildh24]

Gracias amigo!

 

[wildh24]

Finished all the damping material on the doors and sub. Some slight improvements in sound. Less metallic resonance/echo on the mids in the doors. Slight... And I mean slight reduction in outside noise.

Was it worth it? 50/50. I like the solid feel and low "thuuuump" of the doors closing, but taking panels off wasn't the easiest. Those clips are tough puppies to get out and they don't want to seat right in some spots going back on.

 

[Mr.Gigglez]

Just did my 4 doors and inside of door panels , the cab back side where seats are and a quarter into the floor from rear cab, took the amp box out and did the entire box and inside of box ( also put half a pillow of polyfil inside after I kilmatted inside ) I used 3 boxes of 36 sq ft total of 108 sq ft of kilmat. I can positively tell a 100% difference . the outside noise is noticeable but alot less than before maybe by 60%, the bass from the sub box is now right for a 900 watt system and performs as i would expect it too and beyond now ! Thumps are solid and the bass is deep , a very noticeable difference after doing the sub box.

Before i did this there were too many rattles inside the cab .......and ....outside was worse !!!! annoyingly 18 yr old Honda rattle worse ... Now that i did this, i have heard NO rattles outside and I mean NONE... Inside is perfect , not a single rattle and its very very quiet .

I did this all in about 8 hours , it was very simple and prob the best thing this truck could ever have done to it .