Secret to Make Cheap Car Sound Like A Luxury Car! TOO EASY!

[@allicks9220]

I have successfully removed a LOT of drone noise and NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) from my car after doing four things that made a big difference. (And I had like everyone else started off by trying to get things quiet using butyl mats/dynamat etc. I realised that that had a very limited effect and beginners usually end up sticking down way too much of the stuff and later regret it because you start thinking how much you’ve weighed the car down by. And a year or three down the line you end up taking two thirds of it back out - or trying to). Here in England I run a 2011 Ford Mondeo (Fusion) estate/station wagon. MY FOUR BIG TIPS for INSTANTLY reducing noise (REMEMBER - you are NOT going to get your sub-$25thousand dollar car to hush like a Bentley. BUT - you can get a LONG way towards it.) NUMBER ONE - REPLACE YOUR TYRES. If you want quiet, you need to LIFT the car further away from the ground and have less tyre in contact with the ground. So run NARROWER tyres with a TALLER SIDE WALL and if you can a SMALLER RIM SIZE. I replaced my 215 55 R17 tyres with 205 65 R16 tyres on replaced 16 inch rims. This dramatically reduced the rolling drone of the tyres on the road and gave a softer ride because the taller side wall raised the car further above the ground as well as reducing the contact with the ground. Yes you will get less of a sporty ride but I’m not interested in a sporty ride. NUMBER TWO - INSERT SURGICAL TUBING into all your door seals. You need to improve resistance to outside sounds coming in. Adding surgical tubing into all your door seals makes them nice and snug. Don’t go TOO tight though - get the right tube width - or else you won’t be able to shut the doors and you’ll feel real dumb. NUMBER THREE - Buy cheap ‘RECON FOAM’ cut it up into small cubes and shove it compacted into all the empty cavities under the trim around the console, footwells and glove compartment. You wouldn’t believe how many just open holes there are in that area doing nothing but causing sound from the engine and up from the ground to reverberate around. Foam (NEVER USE SPRAY FOAM - it will enter places you really don’t want it to get and you will never get it out in the event of a repair requirement) dampens all that NVH and contributes to the multi-pronged solution we are going for. You need to do a LOT of things to add up to removing those decibels. NUMBER FOUR - Go to the back of the car. On most cars under the rear bumper on the left and right corner areas hidden away you will find a one-way ventilation flap on each side of the car. These are interior pressure flaps that allow air to escape from the car when the doors are closed and to allow ‘used’ air to escape from the cabin as new air enters from the front air vents. BUT they usually are located behind a very large cavity that sits adjacent to the rear wheel arches. In some cars you can reach into this large empty cavity through the back hole at the rear of the small felt door/closet you find in the left or right wall of the boot/trunk - the little hidden hole you might put an emergency traffic cone or yellow jacket in for example. I discovered these cavities causes a LOT of droning noise. The noise from the rear wheel comes straight through them, reverberates and comes out through the interior rear air escape vents. FILL ONE OF THESE CAVITIES UP! Don’t fill both - you need one to maintain the ability to release the cabin air pressure remember - and often the fuel fill area prevents access to one of the cavities depending on if you have a left or right hand drive. But if you can get access to one side - fill it up tight with old rags, recon foam, old carpet that can be scrunched up - you want as much as possible to remove cavity space that creates reverb. Use anything not too heavy but DENSE. So recon foam, being more dense, is a lot better at dampening and muffling drone than, say, bubble wrap. Pack it in tight - and there’s room for a LOT of foam and rags in there. The more you stuff in the quieter you'll get. This for me REMOVED 80 to 90% of the heavy drone in the back of the car - which had been particularly irksome on long motorway journeys. NUMBER FOUR POINT ONE (!) Not essential but this improved my car dramatically - If your car is one of those that tilts down slightly towards the front end (to allow for the backend to dip slightly and the car to even out when the trunk is fully loaded) buy a pair of polyurethane lifting spacers to sit at the top of your front struts. Your garage can fit them for about $250. They again move the front end higher off the ground, away from the noise of the road. So coupled with the tyres we’re really changing how close we are to the noise of the road. Plus they make the car sit more evenly and look a lot better... SO These are my main tips for really getting to a quieter, pleasant drive. And they have really worked for me. I wish you all the best with your own particular car - every one has its quirks and every one will have slightly different solutions. It's a lot of sometimes unpleasant work, but persevere and you can get a nice result.

[@davegalaga1101]

Thanks for this

[@sunny6020]

Thanks! You should probably consider putting a video of this!

[@SirTheo89]

Hi, Maybe you could do a video about this and show what types of material you used and the places you've the materials it would be very helpful.

[@macallanvintage]

Most critical area: The inside of the fender wells, fender liner and CRITICALLY, the inside of the fender where it meets the 2 hinges of the front doors. That tallish, narrow gap must be completely sealed at all cost.

[@antaresVJ]

I did my floor and doors with dynamat & luxury liner pro, but got better results from replacing tires

[@josiahdegroot5341]

Don’t wipe your wipers down with alcohol, that will wear out and crack the rubber way faster. That’s why he’s replacing them all the time. Also a cheap or expensive wiper blade barely makes a difference. It’s just a squeegee. What makes the most difference is the pressure on the wiper pushing it against your windshield.

[@OfficialXiaoLing]

Project Farm has a great video on wiper blades. They still have a surprising amount of difference.

[@povilaslelesius4153]

And some of the wipers are coated with graphite to reduce the friction to the windshield. So if you use alcohol wipes, you will clean all of it thinking "oh look how much dirt it was". Using soft dry tissue it's more than enough I think.

[@sko1beer]

vinegar

[@compulsoryevacuationdevice]

Did you think for more than one second about the difference between cheap and expensive wipers, or did the squeegee line just sound so good in your head that you typed it in and clicked post? Obviously better wiper blades have better rubber that lasts longer. Do you think all rubber is the same? Are you wasting your money on expensive tires too? You would probably say a tire is just a giant heely wheel, all that matters is how fat you are. So yeah, buy good quality windshield wipers so you don't have to replace them every 3rd time it rains.

[@aakudev]

Clean wipers with water and then wipe them with silicone based cleaner or silicone spray used for treadmill belts.

[@onnobeckerhof5790]

I have most effect adding sound absorbing material into the wheel wells. It make a significant difference for the BMW Z4. Spray is convenient however it does not absorb the sound.

[@kendimen.c]

5:48 Actually there has been quite a bit of information about aerodynamic hubcaps since the electric cars are around. They are thought for increasing range but they probably help to make the ride quieter too. Another thing that has been on my mind is how the offset of a wheel can change the noise of the ride.

[@tselengphala]

so reaffirming about if "once you begin doing that you'll find out its not that difficult...",exactly where i am at lol. thanks man

[@soundproofguide]

😊

[@philwxwlr481]

I walked around my car and knocked on each metal surface. If it sounded tinny and reverberated a lot, I sticked butyl mats on the backside. Don’t put them on the floor of the cabin because the metal there is massive enough so that butyl doesn’t help much. Just knock and listen and trust your senses. My car is much better now.

[@zeligtheodorovich7403]

Toyo also makes very quiet tires. Their not great handlers, but on Hondas and Mazdas they make a world of difference in noise level.

[@kevinmontoya7318]

The reason why your tire was quiet was due to the fact that they're winter tires. They're made up of a stickers softer compound compared to all season tires. It could also be because they're worn out with time makes rubber harder and it'll slap on the road everywhere making noise

[@theniceneighbor]

The summer tire with the alloy wheel will be inherently louder even if it's the same tire. That wheel is 18 in compared to the other will that's a 16-in. You have significantly more sidewall on the smaller tires that you're using in the winter which will give a better ride and quieter. We all love how good the thinner tires look on bigger wheels but it does come at a cost.

[@go5582]

Hi handsome, I ride on Michelin road 5 and city grip 2 with dyna beads and the motorcycle and scooter feel much better than stock tires. I have a 2023 Honda hvr and the stock tires are garbage, im replacing with Michelin defenders 2 from Costco. I can't wait.

[@terryboyle]

Michelin tires for the win. My winters are not Michelin and you would think I have truck tires - super loud

[@soundproofguide]

Completely agree!

[@Nordic_Mechanic]

Double pane windows all around and thicker windshield is key in luxury cars

[@noonesbusiness959]

You're absolutely right!!

[@alfamonk]

That and a pvb layer in windshield

[@Pyrailija]

3:54 I think it´s not fair to compare 45 profile summer tire and 55? profile sliced winter tire and say that some brand is noisier or worse. If that summer tire would be Michelin and winter tire Pirelli, then Michelin would be "worse".

[@anttivalimaki7339]

Do they also use so called rock wool or polyurethane foam? And those active noise cancellation systems like in headphones, me likey. Do they already manufacture smartphone apps, that would drive simultaneously noise cancellation with radio play or something? There is microphone, then just in principle pi radians phase difference and right decibels and thats it:)

[@peterdarr383]

A thick layer of under-coat from spray cans under the floor pans AND inside the wheel-wells would be an easy fix. Adding exhaust tip extenders could help get the noise away from your trunk, or possibly adding a muffler. You can make your exhaust dead-quiet if you want to.

[@Alarios711]

The Michelins being quieter has nothing to do with Michelin's tires. Winter tires are softer rubber, and softer rubber deaden sound better, it's that simple. The advice would be then : "Just leave winter tires all year long" But obviously your are going to have way more tire wear doing that since...well they are softer.

[@moistsquid741]

you can use rubber renew on hard wiper blades and also if you treat your windshield with rain-x you'll fix the squeaking

[@ivanolsen7966]

love RAIN -X

[@allowa5220]

what abount the wind noise because it is a lot annoying especially in the long trip

[@polvereoro86]

@7:32 just make sure you don’t put too much material, you can make the trunk heavy it won’t open easily

[@nicoxabier6642]

any advice for engine sound deadening on idle,? what spots i need to cover to isolate it?

[@williamportillo3890]

I still did not understand installing under hood? So do I install insulation pads under and put back the factory insulation??

[@Robert-ze5eu]

Dont forget the roof. Its a big panel and it makes alot of noice wenn it rains.

[@johnk3606]

Just make sure any adhesive sound deadened you use under the hood is rated for the heat it will encounter. If the glue gives you will have a mess of an engine compartment. :)

[@tscott3051]

New to you channel, you are very informative and very funny 😊

[@Malmoe4]

Impressive how KZbin knows what I need haha. I want to do a project like this for my car as well. You have a new subscriber to follow this journey. Very curious to see how this car is going to turn up

[@soundproofguide]

Thank You! I really appreciate that! :)

[@robertmatetich2898]

For quiet all weather tires go with Hankook Optimos. Great tires, better than Michelins.

[@absolutelynonameslef]

Lol. In what world are Hankooks better than Michelin? Start with Tire Rack and read test comparisons and user reviews. CrossClimate 2 and Pilot Sport AS are far better. The Hankook Kinergy that came on my car are absolute garbage.

[@robertmatetich2898]

@@absolutelynonameslef Did I say Kinergy? No, I said for QUIET and all weather performance get Optimos. If you don't care about noise, get Michelins. Also note that Optimus are only available for sedans and coupes.

[@danguelph2676]

it's much worse than micheline

[@benderdiver]

i swap the tyres on my golf to Michelins premisey 4 massive diference i do this on all golfs ive had,

[@Xonikz]

I like your videos, but your mic overmodulation is driving me nuts.

[@BlackTownie999]

Napa autoparts also sells lots of different clips

[@jmed5532]

I subscribed because not only was the video helpful and honest, but the way you said "unless your car of a piece of shit" was hilarious

[@mitziyoung9668]

Thankfully I'm hearing impaired 😂 I had no idea that this was a problem 😂😂😂

[@bardarians]

I have a sail boat. I was wondering would the insulator increase the deadening of sound if one applies 2 layers of the sheet?

[@ml-fishing1341]

Thicker layers do dampen/ absorb more sound and vibration. Just gotta make sure you don't go so thick you can't put it back together properly, I made that mistake in one of my car doors and had to remove some

[@jakoberiksen2944]

I'm sorry but your mic is distorting you need to lower the gain. good point with the tires

[@soundproofguide]

Thanks for the feedback! I did get a new mic on future videos. 😊

[@skyblue7014]

i need this! Thanks for sharing

[@terryboyle]

sync of audio track is way off in the garage sequence. Hard to ignore

[@soundproofguide]

Oh really! I’ll see if there’s a way to fix it without having to re upload! Thanks for letting me know!

[@josipmatic4732]

Rear wheel arches and boot is usually noisy...

[@markhu7454]

If I do only the doors, what percent of highway road noise less? Thank you.

[@Richard-ck5zk]

Not a lot... for road noise, need to do the wheel wells

[@Watch.Hightower]

🤔 6.758529 %

[@williamtippins3651]

@@Watch.Hightower Cmon, I got 7 !

[@tscott3051]

My all weather Michelin Tires are extremely noisy on my Honda

[@axxoaxx288]

I'm facing wind sound while driving.. How to suppress it. It's really annoying

[@ivbreeze3394]

Drive slower

[@towinglegends5815]

Don't drive

[@panther7584]

Be deaf

[@sstoeckl]

0:14 what if I want it to sound like a 70, 80, or 90k car…guess I’m out of luck?

[@ydaddy6672]

Dude we’re here because we do have shitty cars 🤨 lol 😆

[@macallanvintage]

Totally wrong advice, in terms of cost effectiveness and prioritisation.

[@1marcelfilms]

Ok but if you use hubcaps you MUST paint the wheels as dark matte black as possible

[@soundproofguide]

Yes definitely! I do because it rust here in the winter so I have hubcaps on my winter 🛞

[@deelarry2137]

Why is my acura so quiet compared to an accord. Same car basically

[@soundproofguide]

basically but not the same. It's like taking a Toyota and comparing it with the comparable Lexus. The Lexus will be quieter in general because they add more sound deadening elements to the vehicle to make it feel and drive more luxurious. One of those luxuries is quietness. Great question!

[@ellenorbjornsdottir1166]

I am going to do this on my $325 car if I keep my license.

[@sushilkmrrana]

good

[@DAT240Z72]

You have no clue what you’re talking about! You need sound deadener which decreases resonance. It does not decrease from wind, engine actual tire noise vs tire resonance. You need sound deadener and a layer of sound insulation over the deadener. Don’t expect sound deadener to decrease cabin noise pollution.

[@mikem5475]

Can you make a video

[@CHEVYK10]

really no big deal deadening entire car i rode around for weeks with no interior and just my drivers seat it takes alot of tine but its worth it

[@mattblack133]

Youre not going to take your floor off and your seats off???

[@qwiklok]

All talk, no action. No before and after. No real world test results, No sound decibel measurements. No dealing with the problems and solutions as you proceed. Poor video. thumbs down. I'll pass

[@sogoals1929]

I have faster and cheapest solution... Just plug cotton earbud and enjoy quiet ride...

[@air870]

Comprehensive

[@northspack]

Do you guys know that a lot of people don’t realize? It’s a question? Anyone

[@go5582]

Just go to Costco

[@lthallinto8802]

hood and tires Wtf? that video was stupid.. Yeah i go buy many tire sets to find quiet tires, and cost only 100-300€/each because 20" rims... maybe afther i have burn 5000e i find quiet tires..

[@cop2506]

60 hundred thousand? 😂

[@vincentking8267]

$100k? Ok.

[@0togtr811]

Not much of a secret...

[@davidemarchi6366]

you speak a lot and work a little

[@rickmccarley8561]

Very strange and annoying speech pattern.

[@waynejohnston4648]

you did nothjng😅