# 2011 Honda Accord Sedan Sound Deadening



## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

This car (not mine) is getting a full sound deadening treatment. No audio upgrades/install on this one (at least not yet  ). Some pics of the car:



















Not much to say, so I'll let the pics do most of the talking.


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

*Deadening Materials*

Vibration Damper:
RAAMmat BXT II (37.5sf)








RAAMmat BXT II - RAAMaudio Inc.

1/4" CCF+ 1/8" MLV (52sf):








Mass Loaded Vinyl 48"W w/Closed Cell (per foot)-Super Soundproofing, Co.


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

*Teardown pics of the interior*


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

*Vibration Damper Application (25% method)*

Floors:




































Center console:









B-pillars:









Entire interior:


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

*CCF+MLV for the interior*

Measure and cut:









and lay flat









and repeat










Here's a picture after putting the carpet back on:









and with the center console and B-pillar covers:


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

*Back Seat*

Same treatment for the back seat. First, some vibration damper:









Measure and cut the CCF+MLV (remove the seat belts):









And with the seat belts installed:


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

*Hood*

Before:









After:


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

*Trunk Lid*

Removed the trunk lid liner to get to the metal









Apply vibration damper









And install the trunk lid liner back on


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

*Trunk*

After removing all the carpet









Applying vibration damper



























I decided to open up behind the foam over the wheel arches, and found this:


















At least there's a bit of factory damping, but decided to add some additional vibration damper


















Finally, added the CCF+MLV like on the interior floors









and put the carpet and everything back together


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## sq_guru (Oct 1, 2011)

You went through all the trouble of removing the entire interior but then used so little material? Why is that? I know a little can go a long way, but I think you could've probably used a bit more in places. How well do you think it is going to hold up under the hood?


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## Mirage_Man (Jun 29, 2007)

Boy that sure looks familiar .


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## Lorin (May 5, 2011)

What is the benefit of applying under the hood? I have seen the dynamat stuff that also has the heat shield, but this seems like the heat could have an adverse effect?


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## The A Train (Jun 26, 2007)

Im a little confused about having it under the hood as well. Id be weary about it lasting very long. But everything looks good other than that. Any reason why you didnt put any MLV on the firewall? I think you will block alot of engine/road noise there.


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## Rudeboy (Oct 16, 2005)

Very little engine noise passes through the hood and windshield into the passenger compartment of a modern car. Just look at the angle between the hood and windshield. Much more will come in through the front of the floor and lower firewall. I tested a Civic hood with a full treatment - vibration damper, CCF and MLV with a reflective face. No measurable difference. I doubt the vibration damper installed with have any problems surviving under the hood, but I'd expect there to be no difference after treatment.


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

sq_guru said:


> You went through all the trouble of removing the entire interior but then used so little material? Why is that? I know a little can go a long way, but I think you could've probably used a bit more in places. How well do you think it is going to hold up under the hood?


For the vibration damper application, my approach was to supplement the factory deadening already there. So the RAAMmat I added + the factory deadening should be in the 25% coverage range. As for the CCF+MLV application, I covered everywhere in the interior where I could fit, and with the fused 1/4" CCF to the 1/8" MLV, everything barely came back together. I'm not sure I could have added any more of the CCF+MLV.

I think the RAAMmat will hold up fine under the hood, but as another member has commented, probably will have little effect. In retrospect, I could have probably used the material elsewhere, perhaps the roof. Then again, didn't want to tackle taking that apart .


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

ameuba10 said:


> Any reason why you didnt put any MLV on the firewall? I think you will block alot of engine/road noise there.


This picture is probably the closest I could find without taking the car back apart .










If you'll note, the MLV+CCF goes underneath the factory insulation. I lined the front area as high as I could without taking apart the dash. You should be able to see a hint of MLV under the foam through the hole of the factory insulation at the top left .


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## Rudeboy (Oct 16, 2005)

papasin said:


> For the CLD application, my approach was to supplement the factory deadening already there. So the Raamat I added + the factory deadening should be in the 25% coverage range. As for the CCF+MLV application, I covered everywhere in the interior where I could fit, and with the fused 1/4" CCF to the 1/8" MLV, everything barely came back together. I'm not sure I could have added any more of the CCF+MLV.
> 
> I think the CLD will hold up fine under the hood, but as another member has commented, probably will have little effect. In retrospect, I could have probably used the material elsewhere, perhaps the roof. Then again, didn't want to tackle taking that apart .


Looked like more than enough supplemental vibration damper on the floor to me. The floor is one of the least resonance prone areas in a vehicle. The manufacturers have already hit the sweet spots so unless you feel like pulling up the factory material - pointless, IMO - you need very little extra. The barrier is WAY more useful than vibration damper on the floor.


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

Rudeboy said:


> Looked like more than enough supplemental vibration damper on the floor to me. The floor is one of the least resonance prone areas in a vehicle. The manufacturers have already hit the sweet spots so unless you feel like pulling up the factory material - pointless, IMO - you need very little extra. The barrier is WAY more useful than vibration damper on the floor.


Thanks, glad you concur!


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## spl152db (Dec 20, 2007)

did you do any decibel measurements before and after?


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

spl152db said:


> did you do any decibel measurements before and after?


I don't have the equipment to do so, and don't plan on getting anything like that unless I do this more often. Not sure how good the iPhone app is, maybe I should have tried that LOL.

Unfortunately, I was too eager just to work on the car and didn't even drive the car "before"...so will have to rely on the owner's qualitative comparisons. For the "after", I drove it around the block and noticed I could hear little things in the cabin. For example, I left a set of house keys just on the passenger seat, and while driving, that rattling around was the main thing I kept on noticing. Everything else outside seemed subdued. It wasn't like I could hear a pin drop, but it's definitely quieter than my Civic (with the same treatment).

The owner hasn't come to pick up the car yet. Will post back once I get their impressions.


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

*Owner's Feedback*

The owner came by to pick up the car today. Here is the feedback:

"What you did improved the noise significantly...The car feels differently, too. The vibration from the floor is less noticeable. The radio sounds better. I used to set the volume between 10 and 12. It sounded a bit loud to me so I set it to 8, which is just right even on freeway...

Thank you so much."


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## spl152db (Dec 20, 2007)

very cool! This will be my next project after I do my system upgrades.


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## Mirage_Man (Jun 29, 2007)

Looks good but did you not treat the doors?


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

Mirage_Man said:


> Looks good but did you not treat the doors?


Good question. I actually did, but did it prior to this (a few months ago). That is, the owner had me treat the doors first and wanted to "try it" to see if that would be good enough and not do the floors, etc. I lined the doors with Dynamat Xtreme. I think I'll have to dig up the pictures to find them and re-post if I can.

It got rid of a high pitch noise that was unpleasant to them, but they wanted it to be quieter. Sounds like they are happier now .


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## wannabesq (Apr 13, 2011)

I'm Curious, what would something like this cost?


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

wannabesq said:


> I'm Curious, what would something like this cost?


Material cost or labor (or both)?

For materials, you can check post #2 and follow the links to get you a ballpark price, and obviously, depends on the size of your car and what you want to treat.

If you're asking about labor, I don't do this professionally as I have a full-time job . Did it mostly as a favor to a co-worker. I did charge for my time, but at a fraction of what I get paid hourly at work, otherwise, this sort of thing would be cost-prohibitive . You may want to see if some shops do it, but that's why this is a DIY forum, right . There was nothing special in what I did. Just takes time and patience.


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