# Is MLV really worth it?



## seanb1979 (Oct 15, 2015)

From most of the people I see doing these big projects, they receive maybe a 5db over all drop - and that's with total coverage on the floors/doors/trunk. Most of them say they probably wouldn't do it again. I had planned on going the full 9 and doing it all but now I'm really just thinking of doing the doors only and then just doing damplifier on metal and CCF where it needs to be. Definitely focusing on the doors.

Can anyone chime in? Has anyone gotten more than a 5db drop in road noise from their deadening?


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## subterFUSE (Sep 21, 2009)

More like 10dB per layer.

We did 2 layers of MVL + CCF in my floor and I measured almost 20 dB reduction in road noise at 70 mph on smooth highway.


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## DDfusion (Apr 23, 2015)

I did it in the last car. It was a scion it needed help. 
I didn't do it in this car. It didn't need it at all. 

If you have a noisy ride it really does help. Even just doing the doors


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## seanb1979 (Oct 15, 2015)

DDfusion said:


> I did it in the last car. It was a scion it needed help.
> I didn't do it in this car. It didn't need it at all.
> 
> If you have a noisy ride it really does help. Even just doing the doors


im definitely doing the doors - hitting them with luxury liner pro and damplifier after i plug it up and seal it. I have a 2016 wrx and its not bad at all. It has a deep but steady engine hum that I actually like. In the past I've typically just spot-treated rattles with the music playing loud enough to trigger them. Tool usually works well


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## DDfusion (Apr 23, 2015)

Something my ford has that I've never seen. Felt lining in the wheel wells.


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

Like stated, some cars need little treatment (ls400) while some need everything you can throw at them (S10). Examples plucked from my experiences and treatments accordingly. I would definitely do it again and just have in an 05 Tacoma.


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## seanb1979 (Oct 15, 2015)

subterFUSE said:


> More like 10dB per layer.
> 
> We did 2 layers of MVL + CCF in my floor and I measured almost 20 dB reduction in road noise at 70 mph on smooth highway.


Hmm I was checking some people's projects online, but then again, they didn't report WHICH mlv they used. And I know it makes a difference with quality of materials. Which MLV/CCF did you use? How much thickness? I don't think I have a ton of room between my floor and carpet, and it's fairly form-conforming with some sharp angles so I'm worried it might malform the carpet or not even fit in some places. I think I have MAYBE 1/4" of wiggle room overall. I'd like to push it with maybe 1/8 mlv and 1/6 CCF but not sure that would yield results worth the effort.


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

1/8" of each application is standard and most cars have the room on the floor easily. Mind over matter


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## subterFUSE (Sep 21, 2009)

seanb1979 said:


> Hmm I was checking some people's projects online, but then again, they didn't report WHICH mlv they used. And I know it makes a difference with quality of materials. Which MLV/CCF did you use? How much thickness? I don't think I have a ton of room between my floor and carpet, and it's fairly form-conforming with some sharp angles so I'm worried it might malform the carpet or not even fit in some places. I think I have MAYBE 1/4" of wiggle room overall. I'd like to push it with maybe 1/8 mlv and 1/6 CCF but not sure that would yield results worth the effort.


SDS MLV in floor.

Luxury Liner Pro in the doors.


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## seanb1979 (Oct 15, 2015)

subterFUSE said:


> SDS MLV in floor.
> 
> Luxury Liner Pro in the doors.


SDS wouldn't sell to me or reply to my emails for whatever reason.

I wonder how good these guys are - good reviews and made in america:

Mass Loaded Vinyl, 1 Pound per Square Foot for Soundproofing Walls, Ceilings and Floors, Pipes and Ducts - TMsoundproofing.com

Also cheaper than second skin's MLV - although I like the convenience factor of LL pro


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

seanb1979 said:


> SDS wouldn't sell to me or reply to my emails for whatever reason.
> 
> I wonder how good these guys are - good reviews and made in america:
> 
> ...


That's the stuff I used both times. Excellent deal and have no issues whatsoever. I used neoprene underneath and bonded with oatey x15 for use in the doors. It works great!


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## Cochese (May 24, 2008)

Sometimes emails to SDS get kicked to his spam folder, happened to me at first. Might try giving him a call, he's always been very responsive to my e-mails aside from the first time they got diverted.


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## crackinhedz (May 5, 2013)

seanb1979 said:


> SDS wouldn't sell to me or reply to my emails for whatever reason.
> 
> I wonder how good these guys are - good reviews and made in america:
> 
> ...


I bought my MLV through this company on amazon. Cant say I know enough about the quality of material (or should I say differences between brands), but does the job and over a year has never had any odors.


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## subterFUSE (Sep 21, 2009)

Luxury Liner Pro is the best stuff. It's easy to work with because the CCF is glued to the MLV, and the MLV does not have a bad odor.

You can order it from Amazon, too. No sales tax.


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## seanb1979 (Oct 15, 2015)

Bayboy said:


> That's the stuff I used both times. Excellent deal and have no issues whatsoever. I used neoprene underneath and bonded with oatey x15 for use in the doors. It works great!


interesting, what kind of neoprene? ive only heard of various foams, thats more like rubber right?


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## seanb1979 (Oct 15, 2015)

subterFUSE said:


> Luxury Liner Pro is the best stuff. It's easy to work with because the CCF is glued to the MLV, and the MLV does not have a bad odor.
> 
> You can order it from Amazon, too. No sales tax.


i actually ordered their basic door kits, so i think i might get just enough LL pro to cover the doors.. i thought i had ordered that one but i guess not


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## Alrojoca (Oct 5, 2012)

On the floors, no glued foam to the MLV is needed, and overlapping is very difficult and causes major issues, the LLP is thick and not many doors can accommodate it with the panels. I would avoid overlapping the glued stuff and seal the seems with a good aluminum tape if using the LLP on the floor

You want gym style CCF, like some of the cheapest yoga mats that compress over 60%.


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## seanb1979 (Oct 15, 2015)

Alrojoca said:


> On the floors, no glued foam to the MLV is needed, and overlapping is very difficult and causes major issues, the LLP is thick and not many doors can accommodate it with the panels. I would avoid overlapping the glued stuff and seal the seems with a good aluminum tape if using the LLP on the floor
> 
> You want gym style CCF, like some of the cheapest yoga mats that compress over 60%.


come to think of it ive seen people say they used cut up yoga mats... ive actually used them to put under aquariums to catch splash down moisture


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## seanb1979 (Oct 15, 2015)

Alrojoca said:


> On the floors, no glued foam to the MLV is needed, and overlapping is very difficult and causes major issues, the LLP is thick and not many doors can accommodate it with the panels. I would avoid overlapping the glued stuff and seal the seems with a good aluminum tape if using the LLP on the floor
> 
> You want gym style CCF, like some of the cheapest yoga mats that compress over 60%.


This might sound like a noob question, but the layers should be:

carpet
MLV
CCF
floor/dampening

Is that correct? and then:

Door panel
CCF
MLV
Inner door metal/dampener


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

On the door you want ccf between mlv and door skin. Same as the floor


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## seanb1979 (Oct 15, 2015)

Bayboy said:


> On the door you want ccf between mlv and door skin. Same as the floor


ah ok... ive seen lots of people gluing CCF to the plastic door panel instead


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## Alrojoca (Oct 5, 2012)

Yes 


Metal, cld, foam, MLV and panel or carpet.

Cld does not need to be full coverage, floors can use 1/4" CCF, or 3/16" thick.

Most yoga mats are 2'by 68", for small doors great for bigger ones, aluminum tape works to make up for the extra 


You want PVC type it works great 

https://daviddraw.wordpress.com/2010/08/04/various-yoga-mats-pvc-tpe-eva-and-nbr/

I used it for rain shields on the speakers too


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

seanb1979 said:


> ah ok... ive seen lots of people gluing CCF to the plastic door panel instead


If you have room you can use it on the door panel to decouple further for rattles but you really want to put a layer between the mlv and inner door skin as mlv will transfer vibrations. Most can only fit 1/4" of combined materials in the door and struggle at that.


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## seanb1979 (Oct 15, 2015)

Bayboy said:


> If you have room you can use it on the door panel to decouple further for rattles but you really want to put a layer between the mlv and inner door skin as mlv will transfer vibrations. Most can only fit 1/4" of combined materials in the door and struggle at that.


oh ok i misunderstood.. yeah i was planning on about 1/4 total, i didnt pay attention to how thick the overkill pro was from secondskin


nice baffle up above - I actually ordered some FAST rings, not sure if they're waterproof but probably not since they need to breathe... might just mod some baffles and cut the bottoms out


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## Alrojoca (Oct 5, 2012)

Thanks yes, 1/8" for doors 1/4" for floors with heavy foot traffic areas.

And yes the more foam you can use in the door panels filling gaps, the better, and it could be cheap open cell foam, since the CCF and MLV will be the moisture barrier. 

Any airflow at high speeds will generate noise, foam will trap airflow and that will reduce noise and help with some sound resonaces.


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## seanb1979 (Oct 15, 2015)

Alrojoca said:


> Thanks yes, 1/8" for doors 1/4" for floors with heavy foot traffic areas.
> 
> And yes the more foam you can use in the door panels filling gaps, the better, and it could be cheap open cell foam, since the CCF and MLV will be the moisture barrier.
> 
> Any airflow at high speeds will generate noise, foam will trap airflow and that will reduce noise and help with some sound resonaces.


ive had people tell me they used simple polyfill to fill corners/gaps and it tends to perform well, havent tested it myself though


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## Bmxnick101 (Dec 1, 2009)

Cochese said:


> Sometimes emails to SDS get kicked to his spam folder, happened to me at first. Might try giving him a call, he's always been very responsive to my e-mails aside from the first time they got diverted.


I was going to say the same, was very quick to respond to my email last week.


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## seanb1979 (Oct 15, 2015)

Bmxnick101 said:


> I was going to say the same, was very quick to respond to my email last week.


i guess its possible, i was using my business email to contact him, although its on a trusted server (office 365)


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## SQLnovice (Jul 22, 2014)

I emailed sds twice and I received very quick replies both times. Once I have the extra $$$ I will definitely purchase 2 door kits from these guys.


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## DLO13 (Oct 24, 2010)

seanb1979 said:


> Tool usually works well


A Perfect Circle does a really solid job of finding rattles.


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## seanb1979 (Oct 15, 2015)

DLO13 said:


> A Perfect Circle does a really solid job of finding rattles.


yeah just seems to be the way their mid bass resonates.. oddly enough radiohead has a few tracks on in rainbows that hits some really solid mids that you dont hear too often, they were one of the few things that would rattle/distort in my old system


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