RussB

Last week I replaced my 1988 5000CSTQ's heater core, blower motor, and heater valve.

While I had the heater box out of the car, I installed Dynamat Xtreme to the aft face of the bulkhead between the engine and the heater box. (The ignition coil is mounted to this bulkhead.) It was a time-consuming job, as I needed to make kraft paper templates to accurately cut the Dynamat Xtreme to size and position the holes for existing fasteners. I also installed it above the driver footwell and against most of the firewall.

Result? The car now is a bit quieter than before. Going over railroad tracks results in less noise, with a nice dead "thump" sound. I had assumed that it would quiet engine noise, but to my surprise it also quieted road noise.

Apparently road and engine vibrations cause the bulkhead to vibrate, possibly resonate, and acoustically transmit noise rearward toward the passenger compartment. Now the Dynamat Xtreme dampens the bulkhead.<ul><li><a href="http://www.dynamat.com/technical_technical.html">http://www.dynamat.com/technical_technical.html</a</li></ul>

a-talk

with good results. I'm hoping to keep the covering process up one section at a time depending on what part of the car I'm working on. Right now I'd like to focus on the rear hatch area, as I seem to get some exhaust and road noise from back there (admittedly I do have a performance exhaust that is a bit louder than stock).

Thanks for the info!!

RussB

<center><img src="http://www.ikesound.com/images/ebay/dynamat_10455.jpg"></center><p>
I covered the inside surfaces of all four door skins with Dynamat Xtreme last year. It resulted in dramatically lower road noise.

The list price of Dynamat Xtreme is insanely expensive ($249 for a pack of 9 sheets, or 36 sq ft).

I've purchased it from Ike Sound, at a much lower price -- something like $110 for the same pack. I'd recommend them as a vendor. They're strictly a cash and carry vendor with little or no support, but if you know what you want, their prices can't be beat:<ul><li><a href="http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/546">http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/546</a</li></ul>

a-talk

Yeah, rear door skins are on the list, just don't feel like taking those panels off AGAIN!

RussB

I needed to lube the rear door check straps (they were squeaking when I bought the car), window regulator cables, and latch mechanism, so I installed the Dynamat at the same time.

I could hear the difference, but it wasn't as dramatic an improvement as installing Dynamat in the front doors.

Here's Dynamat's general soundproofing priority list:<ul><li><a href="http://www.dynamat.com/faqs_faqs.html#text3088anc">http://www.dynamat.com/faqs_faqs.html#text3088anc</a</li></ul>