ES300 Sound Deadening DIY
#1
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
ES300 Sound Deadening DIY
After reupholstering the interior seat leather...I thought hmm what more could i do to this car
Sound deadening! I figured, if i couldn't get rid of the annoying wind noise, i could get rid of everything else I'm even more annoyed at the road noise ever since i got the low profile tires and 17inch rims.
After doing a lot of research, i found RaamMat, which is a butyl based mat and ensolite foam. They were the most inexpensive mat i could find too!
What i did (so far)
Rear seat back /fender area/seat bottom
Drivers side door.
I forgot to take the pictures during the installation process. The raammat butyl material is very messy and sticky. blegh. Don't even try to wear latex gloves, it will stick and tear them off. Just use your hands, and you can wipe the butyl off with alcohol later.
I bought 1 roll of RaamMat off of ebay and 3 yards of ensolite.
You will need a lot more for all four doors.(6-9 yards ensolite)
Basically, take out the seats, and wipe everything down with windex or other cleaner. I applied double layer on the seat bottom, fender areas, and over the rear strut mount area. Then, i applied 1 layer of ensolite foam over EVERYTHING and double layer over the fender area.
-Will need more on the rear deck area
Door with the door cover off.
After taking out the sheet, and removing the black metal cover, i applied smaller squares of raammat to the entire inside door shell (double layers on the top and bottom sections) Then i applied raammat to the back of the black plate and in front of the black plate and re installed that and the plastic cover.
Next, double layer of ensolite over the plastic to finish it off (not shown)
When the door closes, theres a BIG difference (compared to the passenger side door) its like a big THUD, and what a Lexus door should sound like. On a test drive, i found the road and windnoise from other cars passing by is greatly reduced.
Next, i will have to finish the other three doors, center console, trunk, and then..maybe the front floor.
Sound deadening! I figured, if i couldn't get rid of the annoying wind noise, i could get rid of everything else I'm even more annoyed at the road noise ever since i got the low profile tires and 17inch rims.
After doing a lot of research, i found RaamMat, which is a butyl based mat and ensolite foam. They were the most inexpensive mat i could find too!
What i did (so far)
Rear seat back /fender area/seat bottom
Drivers side door.
I forgot to take the pictures during the installation process. The raammat butyl material is very messy and sticky. blegh. Don't even try to wear latex gloves, it will stick and tear them off. Just use your hands, and you can wipe the butyl off with alcohol later.
I bought 1 roll of RaamMat off of ebay and 3 yards of ensolite.
You will need a lot more for all four doors.(6-9 yards ensolite)
Basically, take out the seats, and wipe everything down with windex or other cleaner. I applied double layer on the seat bottom, fender areas, and over the rear strut mount area. Then, i applied 1 layer of ensolite foam over EVERYTHING and double layer over the fender area.
-Will need more on the rear deck area
Door with the door cover off.
After taking out the sheet, and removing the black metal cover, i applied smaller squares of raammat to the entire inside door shell (double layers on the top and bottom sections) Then i applied raammat to the back of the black plate and in front of the black plate and re installed that and the plastic cover.
Next, double layer of ensolite over the plastic to finish it off (not shown)
When the door closes, theres a BIG difference (compared to the passenger side door) its like a big THUD, and what a Lexus door should sound like. On a test drive, i found the road and windnoise from other cars passing by is greatly reduced.
Next, i will have to finish the other three doors, center console, trunk, and then..maybe the front floor.
Last edited by tuan92129; 06-08-08 at 09:21 PM.
#4
Moderator
Great job. Looks very good and I'm sure it's alot more quieter. I've always wanted to do that with my ES 300. What are your thoughts of Dynamat? When I was living in NorCal and making the drives to SoCal I was always tired of the wind and road noice inside of my cabin. I want it to be very quiet and serene when making the long drives...
#5
Hey I cant seem to find any of the two materials on ebay
How much will I need TUAN I want to do my whole car, carpet floors, doors, roof, trunk, hood and wheel wells
How much will I need TUAN I want to do my whole car, carpet floors, doors, roof, trunk, hood and wheel wells
Last edited by Ariyanna; 06-09-08 at 05:24 PM.
#6
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
I recommend RaamMat (this is after A LOT of research)
Its butyl based, which means it won't melt off and smell like aphsalt and easy (but dirty) to apply.
Its too bad they ran out of stock for the ebay site
I paid $70 shipped for my roll of sound deadener b/c the heat tolerance was only 175 degrees.
It costs $118/roll on raammat website
Maybe we could do a unofficial 'group buy' so with two or more rolls it would be $109/roll.
The ensolite foam is the actual sound absorber, so thats the key to reducing the road noise. The more, the better
I think 1 roll will be enough to generously cover all four doors and rear seat. Floor and trunk will use up another roll.
As for the ensolite, i ordered 3 yards, and that was enough for rear seat and two front doors. You will need 6 yards overall for the entire car.
Its butyl based, which means it won't melt off and smell like aphsalt and easy (but dirty) to apply.
Its too bad they ran out of stock for the ebay site
I paid $70 shipped for my roll of sound deadener b/c the heat tolerance was only 175 degrees.
It costs $118/roll on raammat website
Maybe we could do a unofficial 'group buy' so with two or more rolls it would be $109/roll.
The ensolite foam is the actual sound absorber, so thats the key to reducing the road noise. The more, the better
I think 1 roll will be enough to generously cover all four doors and rear seat. Floor and trunk will use up another roll.
As for the ensolite, i ordered 3 yards, and that was enough for rear seat and two front doors. You will need 6 yards overall for the entire car.
#7
Lexus Test Driver
iTrader: (2)
since we got an es300 01 not to brag lol, there really isnt that much road noise, but i have an ideato get rid of that wind noise. Get some of that insulation tape stuff, usually at your local hardwar place, its the stuff you put around your windows and doors to prevent a draft, and stick it under the rubber stuff surrounding your window, believe me, there is a big difference. after riding a a 1998 ls400 and our es, i can honestly say the es is now quiter with the rubber seal surrounding the window stuffed, but then off course the es was also on new tires and the ls was on almost blad tires, but just trying to help u guys out
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#8
hey TUAN i want to reduce as much road noise as possible since I dont have the wind noise after replacing the rubber seals and adding padding beneath it. Should I add 3 layers of ensolite foam would that cut back alot of noise and Im talking about adding 3 layers for everything, also did u notice a diiference in the rain yet and does the cabin feel quiter when u close all the doors and windows up?
#9
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
Anything you add will reduce road/outside noise. I've only done my drivers side door and the rear seats, and i have noticed a difference in the noise, but i don't think i'll be satisfied until everything is done.
To get a sense of how much noise comes from the door, you should remove your door interior panel and take a drive. Its like driving with your windows down!
Just compare the OEM deadening compared to what you are putting in.
Also, there is a big difference in eliminating metal resonance, especially in the doors and rear seat.
in the 3rd pic from the top, you'll see the oem grayish/green foam. Now, add three layers of that over the whole door = lots of sound deadening
One step ahead of you
I've placed that around the front seal area where the glass has broken through. There used to be a nasty whistling noise from the wind entering the cracks.
Anyways, I'm about to purchase more Ensolite (6 yards).
If you don't have all your materials, wait, because you don't want to have to take off door panels/seats too many times, and the raammat stuff can stick to your interior panels. Basically, anywhere you put raammat, you need to cover with ensolite.
BTW, don't bother buying their adhesive, when you can get 3m #77 spray adhesive (2 cans) at homedepot for very cheap.
To get a sense of how much noise comes from the door, you should remove your door interior panel and take a drive. Its like driving with your windows down!
Just compare the OEM deadening compared to what you are putting in.
Also, there is a big difference in eliminating metal resonance, especially in the doors and rear seat.
in the 3rd pic from the top, you'll see the oem grayish/green foam. Now, add three layers of that over the whole door = lots of sound deadening
since we got an es300 01 not to brag lol, there really isnt that much road noise, but i have an idea to get rid of that wind noise. Get some of that insulation tape stuff, usually at your local hardware place, its the stuff you put around your windows and doors to prevent a draft, and stick it under the rubber stuff surrounding your window, believe me, there is a big difference. after riding a a 1998 ls400 and our es, i can honestly say the es is now quiter with the rubber seal surrounding the window stuffed, but then off course the es was also on new tires and the ls was on almost blad tires, but just trying to help u guys out
I've placed that around the front seal area where the glass has broken through. There used to be a nasty whistling noise from the wind entering the cracks.
Anyways, I'm about to purchase more Ensolite (6 yards).
If you don't have all your materials, wait, because you don't want to have to take off door panels/seats too many times, and the raammat stuff can stick to your interior panels. Basically, anywhere you put raammat, you need to cover with ensolite.
BTW, don't bother buying their adhesive, when you can get 3m #77 spray adhesive (2 cans) at homedepot for very cheap.
Last edited by tuan92129; 06-09-08 at 09:16 PM.
#12
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
Nope, the permanent mass loading mat goes on the outer shell (the metal on the outside) , and the black cover plate you see in the first pic. That means you can simply unscrew the cover passthrough and still have the same access to the inner space. The foam is glued onto the plastic moisture shield, so thats easy to remove as well.
#13
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
More pics from passenger side install.
Before: Door panel removed.
Speaker and plastic cover removed. Can't believe Lexus left the speaker exposed to the dirt and water from the outside
After matting with raammat. 2 layers on the outer skin, an extra layer over the middle part of the door, a layer on the back of the black metal plate, and little pieces on the resonant parts of the inner metal skin.
1 layer of foam over the entire door, and 2 additional layers where there is extra room (around the inner door parts) and a layer behind the speaker.
I ended up using all my foam You need to be careful how much foam you put between the door panel and the metal skin, since i really had to push the clips in to put the panel back in place.
Now the door feels heavier, more solid, and leaves a nice thump, and its of course more quiet
I also found this stuff in my garage
Its foam underlayment for laminate wood flooring, and it looks perfect to cover the trunk with, since i'm on a limited budget.
Before: Door panel removed.
Speaker and plastic cover removed. Can't believe Lexus left the speaker exposed to the dirt and water from the outside
After matting with raammat. 2 layers on the outer skin, an extra layer over the middle part of the door, a layer on the back of the black metal plate, and little pieces on the resonant parts of the inner metal skin.
1 layer of foam over the entire door, and 2 additional layers where there is extra room (around the inner door parts) and a layer behind the speaker.
I ended up using all my foam You need to be careful how much foam you put between the door panel and the metal skin, since i really had to push the clips in to put the panel back in place.
Now the door feels heavier, more solid, and leaves a nice thump, and its of course more quiet
I also found this stuff in my garage
Its foam underlayment for laminate wood flooring, and it looks perfect to cover the trunk with, since i'm on a limited budget.
#14
Lexus Champion
then you hit a bump and the interior panel pops perhaps unbeknownst to you, and you open the door for your hot date, and the whole door [the interior part] falls out
roflroflrofl
roflroflrofl