Alright, if you want to kill absolutely every rattle, buzz and general road noise, the following is what you need. It can be a pain in the ass, but in the end, it really pays off. I have done my last three cars (Eclipse, Maxima, 350Z) head to toe using this process and you can honestly hear a watch tick when driving on the interstate at 80MPH. But again, it is a pain in the ass removing your interior; so if you follow this, get everything you need, have a plan, do it right the first time because nothing sucks worse than having to pull body panels out again to fix or alter something you should have taken care of the first time.

First off, buy extra OEM attachment plugs, pins, plastic bits, etc., you will break something when you start pulling panels, assume the worst and make sure you have extras for the inevitable, because what invariably happens is that a panel will have say, eight attachment points, and lets say you break two of them, which would lead to a rattle, which is as you know, annoying.

Some type of adhesive backed aluminum faced sound deadener, eDead, Dynamat, B-quiet, Raamat, etc. I've got almost 200 square feet of the stuff.

The above is the base layer of sound deadening for reducing road noise.

Felt tape, you can buy rolls of it at Woodworker supply. I've got about 40' of the stuff (1/4" wide) lining interior panels, friction spots, this is what is going to end panel rattles and squeaks.

A liquid barrier, something like eDead V3, it is a paint on sound deadener that is best when applied over body parts/panels that have already been treated with something like Dynmat. I used one gallon on my car.

Jute, it is that cloth material that you will see attached from the factory, usually it is gray. I used 11 yards to do my interior. This stuff is the end all of eliminating noise, it goes on the floors, can be adhered to interior panels, basically everywhere you have covered with the other materials I have mentioned. It is the final layer of sound proofing your car before the panels go back on.

If you follow all of this correctly, convertible or not, your car will be quiet, with no rattles, no buzzing, and if you had heat coming into the cabin from your exhaust/headers that will be gone too.

 

sam, you didnt add anything to the insides of the doors?

 

Yeah, I did. E-dead aluminum backed, Edead v3 liquid, Jute, and felt tape, just like the rest of the car. I don't have any pictures of those, handy though. I have JL ZR650-CSi's with 200 watts RMS going to each door, as these are practically woofers, they make a lot of bass, so the doors were paid particular attention to when throwing all this crap on.

 

whats your thoughts on closed cell foam vs jute? the cc foam wont absorb or hold moisture.

 

Well, there has actually been a lot of discussion about closed cell foam, in the Z forums, but right now, after having used nice, cheap, jute over the past eight years in four different vehicles now, and not having any moisture problems I stuck with what I know.

 

Wow that's a how-to right there! Thank you Sam for taking this amount of time to make a post such as this. I calculated cost and its not even $100 w/o shipping costs.

How long did it take you? My car is not that hard to tear apart (interior) so if the eDead V3 doesn't take long to dry it might be possible to do all of it in 1 day (knock on wood).

Also which do you recommend as Best:
eDead
Dynamat
B-quiet
Raamat

At my job the guys use Dynamat (most popular around), but as we know that doesn't mean its the best. They also have a black liquid eDead V3 type as well from Dynamat. If you think Dynamat will do the job, I can start getting the supplies.

 

Wow that's a how-to right there! Thank you Sam for taking this amount of time to make a post such as this. I calculated cost and its not even $100 w/o shipping costs.

How long did it take you? My car is not that hard to tear apart (interior) so if the eDead V3 doesn't take long to dry it might be possible to do all of it in 1 day (knock on wood).

I think I invested a total of a weekend, starting on a Friday night, working during the day on Saturday and Sunday. I ended every evening at dark, so I would guesstimate a total of 10 hours.

Well, the thing with the liquid, to be safe, let it sit overnight, especially here in FL with our silly-ass summer time humidity.

Also which do you recommend as Best:
eDead
Dynamat
B-quiet
Raamat

At my job the guys use Dynamat (most popular around), but as we know that doesn't mean its the best. They also have a black liquid eDead V3 type as well from Dynamat. If you think Dynamat will do the job, I can start getting the supplies.

I think Dynamat is incredibly overpriced; all those brands you mentioned will do just fine, my preference is eDead though, just because I have had a lot of experience with it.

The color of the V3, well, I went with blue just to make sure that on the darker areas of my car, I could see it, and gauge the "depth" of the stuff I was applying so it would be as uniform as possible.

 

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Straying just a bit off-topic, is the JL Audio setup you used compatible with the 3G Eclipse?

(PM me if you feel this is too far off-base)

Well, they are just 6 3/4" components, so I would think they would be just fine for the Eclipse; but I am sure you would have to use a mounting ring or something because they are pretty deep.

 

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Hey alfred i have some dynamat that i'm not using, let me know and i'll give it to you before you go buy some.

 

For how long have you had that?? 1 1/2 years? Send them my way!

 

I know its a little stupid, but there is not enough space between the plastic pieces from each other when you put it together and don't know what to use that will not make the plastic pop out instead of being nice and flushed against the surface.

Also I have a Spyder so the back covers a probably different from the regular Eclipse. Thanks for the help and any info. :bigthumb:

What is "MyDisk"? I need a good tuning CD...

I think the rear speaker panels are the same across all models. Could be wrong though.

You say the rear speaker panel "inserts" are now not fitting right? I'm wondering if your new rear speakers just stick out more and are being touched by the rear panel insert. :dunno: I think it has a deep lip sticking off the back of the panel facing the speaker. IIRC, that sit flush against the stock rear speakers and helped direct their output. If that lip is hitting your aftermarket speakers then you may want to shave/Dremel off some of the lip. If that is not the case then I am confused as to which pieces are no longer fitting right.

 

The speaker covers connect to the plastic over. The speaker covers have a oval cone shapped plastic sticking towards the speaker to concentrate the audio out the speaker cover. Due to the higher bass coming from the speaker the speakers plastic cover now vibrates and rattles against the plastic to which is inserted into. From OEM it comes with a plastic black foam, but due to the heat here in FL it melts and turns into a plastic oil so it doesn't block the rattle. But from Sam's post we can easily use the felt tape as an example to seal those edges to block the plastic rattle when vibrating plastic against plastic.

The "MyDisk" (from Sheffield Lab) is a CD that was developed in the late 90s around 98 I believe. It was designed to provide you multiple tracks (86 if I remember correctly) that allows you to test every single possible form of signal processing and replication in an audio system. I normally use 4, 5 and 6 to tune the audio system and once its perfect I move through 47 to 58 to work on the low to high tones. There is no perfect sound system, but you can sure make it sound like its worth a million properly tuned. Also if you grab a mic and a sound wave program you can test from track 47 to 58 for reproduction of the system to get it exactly where they should be. It helps to adjust the limits of the system to avoid damage to the speakers and your ears from idiots cranking the sound system all the way up.

Here is a list of the contents on "MyDisk":
01. The Power Of Seven /Stranger In My Bed(3:49)
02. Thelma Houston / Dish Rag (3:34)
03. Los Angeles Philharmonic / Dance Of The Knights
- Prokofiev (2:09)
04. Adam Makowicz With Phil Woods / Dirty Blue (3:41)
05. Michael Ruff / Wishing Well (5:35)
06. Lincoln Mayorga & Distinguished Colleagues / Lincoln
Mayorga & Distinguished Col1 Khz Sinewave At
-20 Dbfs (2:49)
07. 1 Khz Sinewave At -20 Dbfs (1:04)
08. 1 Khz Sinewave At 0 Dbfs (1:03)
09. 20 Hz One Octive Warble (0:04)
10. 62 Hz One Octive Warble (0:04)
11. 125 Hz One Octive Warble (0:04)
12. 250 Hz One Octive Warble (0:04)
13. 500 Hz One Octive Warble (0:04)
14. 2.5 Khz One Octive Warble (0:04)
15. 5 Khz One Octive Warble (0:04)
16. 10 Khz One Octive Warble (0:04)
17. 15 Khz One Octive Warble (0:04)
18. 19 Khz One Octive Warble (0:07)
19. Person Counting From 1 To 25 (0:44)
20. Right Channel Identification (0:05)
21. Left Channel Identification (0:06)
22. Relative Polarity Between Left & Right Channels (0:13)
23. Polarity Pulses (0:59)
24. 1 Khz Sinewave With Bottom Half Clipped (1:03)
25. 3 People Describing Position On Sound Stage
In Stereo (0:33)
26. Same As Except Talking Simultaneously (0:14)
27. Music For Evaluating Accuracy And Focus Of
Sound Stage In Stereo (0:11)
28. Same As Except In Mono (l + R) (0:11)
29. Same As Except Sent To Left Channel Only (0:10)
30. Same As Center (0:10)
31. Same As Except Sent To Right Channel Only (0:10)
32. Same As Center (0:17)
33. Music Recorded With Normal Transfer Level Of
0 Db (0:45)
34. Music Recorded Withl Transfer Level Of -10 Db (0:45)
35. Music Recorded Withl Transfer Level Of -20 Db (0:45)
36. Music Recorded Withl Transfer Level Of -30 Db (0:45)
37. Music Recorded Withl Transfer Level Of -40 Db (0:45)
38. Music Recorded Withl Transfer Level Of -50 Db (0:45)
39. Music Recorded Withl Transfer Level Of -60 Db (0:45)
40. Music Recorded Withl Transfer Level Of -70 Db (0:43)
41. Recording Of Digital Black Or 0 Bits (1:00)
42. High Frequency Low Level Alternating Between 0000
& Ffff (0:35)
43. She Disc" / Correlated Pink Noise 20 Hz To 20 Khz (1:04)
44. Uncorrelated Pink Noise 20 Hz To 20 Khz (2:02)
45. Pink Noise Raised In 1 Db Steps Every 3 Seconds (0:23)
46. Pink Noise Raised In 3 Db Steps 4 Times (0:15)
47. 1-3 Octive Pink Noise At 25 - 31.5 - 40 Hz (0:32)
48. 1-3 Octive Pink Noise At 50 - 63 - 80 Hz (0:29)
49. 1-3 Octive Pink Noise At 100 - 125 - 160 Hz (0:30)
50. 1-3 Octive Pink Noise At 200 - 250 - 315 Hz (0:30)
51. 1-3 Octive Pink Noise At 400 - 500 - 630 Hz (0:30)
52. 1-3 Octive Pink Noise At 800 Hz - 1 - 1.2 Khz (0:31)
53. 1-3 Octive Pink Noise At 1.6 - 2 - 2.5 Khz (0:30)
54. 1-3 Octive Pink Noise At 3.15 - 4 - 5 Khz (0:30)
55. 1-3 Octive Pink Noise At 6.3 - 8 - 10 Khz (0:29)
56. 1-3 Octive Pink Noise At 12.5 - 16 - 20 Khz (0:32)
57. 20 Hz To 20 Khz Continuous Warble (0:37)
58. 100 Hz To 20 Hz Warble For Subwoofer Evaluation (0:41)
59. Individual Frequencies From 10 Hz To 99 Hz (7:34)
60. Flat Low Distortion Sweep From 20 - 200 Hz (0:25)
61. Flat Low Distortion Sweep From 200 Hz - 2 Khz (0:17)
62. Flat Low Distortion Sweep From 2 - 20 Khz (0:20)
63. Contains The Musical Note A (440 Hz) (0:34)
64. 100 Hz Tone Burst With Duty Cycle Of 25% (1:05)
65. Same As Except At 1 Khz (1:04)
66. Same As Except At 10 Khz (1:05)
67. 100 Hz Square Wave (0:33)
68. Same As Except At 1 Khz (0:33)
69. Full Dynamics Of The Original Recording (1:04)
70. Compressed Version Of With Same Peak Level (1:04)
71. Tone With 0.03% Distortion (0:13)
72. Same As , Except With 0.1% Distortion (0:13)
73. Same As , Except With 0.3% Distortion (0:13)
74. Same As , Except With 1% Distortion (0:13)
75. Same As , Except With 3% Distortion (0:13)
76. Same As , Except With 10% Distortion (0:13)
77. Music With Distortion Of About 0.03% (0:33)
78. Same As , Except With 0.1% Distortion (0:33)
79. Same As , Except With 0.3% Distortion (0:33)
80. Same As , Except With 1% Distortion (0:33)
81. Same As , Except With 3% Distortion (0:33)
82. Same As , Except With 10% Distortion (0:33)
83. Musical Selection With No Added Delay (1:45)
84. Same As With 7 Ms Of Group Delay Below 100 Hz (1:45)
85. Standing Between Penske's Pits And Main Straightaway (0:39)
86. Short Walk Down Pit Row Of Race Car (2:32)

Hope that helps! Have fun. I can also post the compressed image file for burning the audio CD.

 

Thanks for this thread guys, i'm getting fed up with my rattles. I'm going to do this this summer. If I have questions I'll ask.

 

Another alternative is this site, all down loadable for free.

Pink Noise (stereo) Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
Pink Noise (mono) Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kpbs, 1:00, 1.41MB
Pink Noise (left and right pan) Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
White Noise (stereo) Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
White Noise (mono) Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
Brown Noise (stereo) Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
Brown Noise (mono) Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
20Hz Modulation CBFryman 0dB, 128kbps, 0:21, 341KB
1kHz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
123Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 3:00, 4.23MB
107.2Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 3:00, 4.23MB
100Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 3:00, 4.23MB
79Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
70Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0db, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
50Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
45Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
40Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
43Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 2:00, 2.82MB
36Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
35Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
33Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
32Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
30Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
20Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
20Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion -3dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
19Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:10, 235KB
18Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:10, 235KB
17Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:10, 235KB
16Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:10, 235KB
15Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:10, 235KB
14Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:10, 235KB
13Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:10, 235KB
12Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:10, 235KB
11Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:10, 235KB
10Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion -3dB, 192kbps, 2:00, 2.82MB
10Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0db, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
10Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:10, 235KB
9Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:10, 235KB
8Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:10, 235KB
7Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:05, 119KB
7Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:10, 235KB
6Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:10, 235KB
5Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:10, 235KB
1Hz Sine Wave Realm of Excursion -3dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
20Hz to 60Hz Sine Sweep Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:30, 774KB
40Hz to 50Hz Sine Sweep Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 2:00, 2.81MB
1Hz to 35Hz Sine Sweep Realm of Excursion -3dB, 192kbps, 5:00, 7.03MB
10Hz to 100Hz Sine Sweep 1 Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
10Hz to 100Hz Sine Sweep 2 Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
20Hz to 20kHz Sine Sweep Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 2:00, 2.81MB
20Hz to 250Hz Sine Sweep Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 2:00, 2.81MB
20Hz to 120Hz Sine Sweep Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB
25Hz to 600Hz Sine Sweep Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 2:00, 2.81MB
35Hz to 50Hz Sine Sweep Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:30, 759KB
35Hz to 1Hz Sine Sweep Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:20, 475KB
60Hz to 70Hz Sine Sweep Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:30, 705KB
60Hz to 45Hz Sine Sweep Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:30, 705KB
100Hz to 20Hz Sine Sweep Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:17, 405KB
250Hz to 20Hz Sine Sweep Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:20, 471KB
22kHz to 1Hz, 1Hz to 22kHz Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 4:03, 5.56MB
20Hz to 120Hz Slow Warble Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:40, 1MB
40Hz to 80Hz Slow Warble Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:30, 704KB
30Hz to 50Hz Medium Warble Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.48MB
20.5Hz Left, 20Hz Right Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:34, 809KB
25.5Hz Left, 25Hz Right Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:34, 823KB
30.5Hz Left, 35Hz Right Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 0:34, 809KB
Digital Silence Realm of Excursion 0dB, 192kbps, 1:00, 1.41MB

 

Removed

 

One question, Sam. You mentioned that you have 200 sq ft of deadener... is that how much you actually used? Because I'm looking at doing this and spending $300-400 on that (not even including shipping) seems a bit high if I'm not going to be using it all.

I actually have 200 sq ft of sound deadener in my car. Trust me, that is way overkill but thats just me, you could reasonably get by with 50-75 sq ft in an Eclipse. That is the amount that I used in my 3G; couple that with all of the other sound deadening materials you will use and it will be more than enough.

 

Removed

 

SAM thnx again that eDead products are awesome! I would have easily spent more money going with Dynamat even with my discounts. Amazing! I don't understand why people don't start buying this stuff more. Really glad you posted the info!

 

Good deal. If you can, update this thread with your results.

 

Will do Putting it in my bookmarks browser bar so I don't forget.

 

Great thread! Thanks for the posts Sam! :wub:

 

I haven't forgotten about this thread. So far its going to be around $50 in eDead v1, probably a little more since I need to take care of the plastic pieces, Felt tape (not sure yet what type to get, polyester, etc) and eDead v3 got if for around $50 black (1 gallon). The carpet pad I've used before and I'm getting around 5 yards since I like the heat shield kind, so I can add it also to the canvas between the headliner and the stayfast top material.

There is a rattle on the rear drivers side suspension area due to manufacturing defect when the plasma gun didn't weld the metals together properly. Since the suspension is so stiff the body flex makes it rattle on uneven surfaces. So I'm hoping the eDead v1, v3 and felt tape takes care of that annoying rattle and everything else. Is there something I'm missing. I still have plenty of time since I'm still getting everything. I'm really excited since the samples I got of eDead v1 and v3 blue work fantastic.

 

Is there something I'm missing. I still have plenty of time since I'm still getting everything. I'm really excited since the samples I got of eDead v1 and v3 blue work fantastic.

I think you've got everything covered pretty well, unless you want to go another step and add 1/4 neoprene sandwiched between the jute and the carpet on the floorboard. That is totally not necessary but if you really wanted to add anything else that would do the trick.

 

A little more info on felt tape

Great post! I getting ready to pull the trigger on soundproofing my daughter's Eclipse, and just wanted to make sure I understood how the felt tape is to be used. I didn't see much of it in place in the install photos, or maybe I don't recognize it. If I'm reading your directions correctly, I'd be using it almost like a gasketing material, no? So before you put panels back, you'd put on the edges of panels where they rub, or on the body where the edges of the panels touch.

I was looking at a couple of other sound insulation jobs on the 'net, and it looks like the felt tape is your "special sauce" so I want to do it right.

One last question: do dealers usually stock the miscellaneous clip and attachment parts? Or should I try to dig up part numbers and order 'em?

Thanks in advance.

 

Great post! I getting ready to pull the trigger on soundproofing my daughter's Eclipse, and just wanted to make sure I understood how the felt tape is to be used. I didn't see much of it in place in the install photos, or maybe I don't recognize it. If I'm reading your directions correctly, I'd be using it almost like a gasketing material, no? So before you put panels back, you'd put on the edges of panels where they rub, or on the body where the edges of the panels touch.

I was looking at a couple of other sound insulation jobs on the 'net, and it looks like the felt tape is your "special sauce" so I want to do it right.

Hmm, I don't know if I have any pictures with the felt tape applied besides the ones above, but think of it like maybe not so much like gasketing, but filler where you can see or feel friction spots, like where two plastic panels meet, or where plastic meets metal, those type of areas should be felt-taped.

Like below, see those brown lines on top of the strut brace? Well, that is felt tape. That tape is in the area between the metal and plastic Z cover.

One last question: do dealers usually stock the miscellaneous clip and attachment parts? Or should I try to dig up part numbers and order 'em?

Thanks in advance.

Google a combination of Trademotion and Mitsubishi and you will find plenty of links like the one below.

http://www.mitsubishionlineparts.com/

From there you can buy every OEM nut, bolt and clip for your car.

 

i gotta ask....where are you getting all of this stuff for $100 w/o shipping costs???

the jute pad is $70
v3 is $50
v1 is $50

 

Thanks for the how-to Sam.

 

Forgive me if Sam already covered this, but I highly recommend making MDF baffles to go between your speakers and the car. I did that in the doors of my eclipse, and beyond cutting down excess noise it greatly improved my mid-bass. I did it to the rear too (I switched to 6.5" components back there as well) but didn't notice as big a difference.

 

Does any 1 know where to find my disk i googled amazon ebay and all i could find was a site that had it but said
"Orders will not be taken at this time,due to sheffield headquarters relocation. All titles sold out."