Road noise... a $5 life hack

Manhattan · Jul 31, 2015

I've had the Rav4 for 4 days. Great car for sure. But, I'll admit, compared to the other cars in the fleet - MDX, Land Cruiser - it's got some road noise. Sitting in the front, the noise seems loudest coming from the back wheels/tires. Makes sense - they're essentially in the car, separated by a bit of sheet metal and thin plastic panels. The front have the fire wall in addition to the sheet metal and plastic.

20 years ago, I had an Integra. It was a great car too... but had the same type of road noise. I fixed it then... So, why not try it on the Rav.

Off to Home Depot. My daughter was stumped why I wanted three rolls of closed-cell foam - sill plate insulation. Once home, I pulled the small access panels in the cargo area, removed the jack and tools... and started feeding strip after strip of the insulation in the voids around the wheel arch/well - even using a ruler to push it forward. We buttoned it all up and went for a ride. My daughter looked at me with that "how'd you do that" look. I just smiled.

I didn't turn it into a Lexus LX570. Not by any means. But it is substantially quieter. All in, $5.00 and 10 minutes... well, and a trip to Home Depot.

JuneBug · Jul 31, 2015

Brilliant! I never would have thought of that. When I first read the subject line I pictured a set of earplugs! But your method seems a lot more practical!

ZoomZoom · Jul 31, 2015

I agree there's more road noise than I expected. I have a 2012 RAV4 V6 and it's way more noisy than my wife's 2007 Highlander. To me the noise seem to be more the tires which currently are the OEM Bridgestones. When I do have to change tires and still get the noise I may have to try your solution.

DVS · Jul 31, 2015

ZoomZoom said:
To me the noise seem to be more the tires which currently are the OEM Bridgestones.

That has been my thought as well, as I have the same mediocre-is-the-most-you-can-ever-hope-for tires.

I like this simple idea, though. :thumbs_up:

.

Ahya728 · Jul 31, 2015

That's what I also do, but with the yellow spongy foam and black rubber foam sheets. Mostly on the rattling sounds in the interior and under the dash.

Black rubber foams are quieter during friction.

ravingtones · Jul 31, 2015

Nice! Thanks for sharing this idea!

j92184 · Jul 31, 2015

what about expanding foam spray can.. you could just stick the straw in the cavity and fill it up.. then cut out any extra.. nice tight fit..

Manhattan · Jul 31, 2015

j92184 said:
what about expanding foam spray can.. you could just stick the straw in the cavity and fill it up.. then cut out any extra.. nice tight fit..

Couple reasons not to use expanding foam, i.e. Great Stuff.
- It is VERY difficult to gauge how much to use - it's like the Terminator: It will NOT stop. It will find a way to expand - either coming out where you don't want it, or bulging panels. And, once it touches something... it's not coming off
- It would make any repairs, electrical diagnosing (chasing wires), removing interior panels, etc. impossible in that area.

Don't get me wrong - I love the stuff for the right application. I used it on this old Grand Wagoneer. I cut 1.25" of sheet metal from the rear wheel opening to make room for larger tires. that eliminated the pinch weld. So, I filed the void with Great Stuff, let it expand out, cut the remainder with a razor saw and then painted it black. The mod' was almost invisible.

The way the quarter panels were welded, the 'stuff didn't go up/into the rest of the body.

rav4system · Jul 31, 2015

Not a bad idea at all........

Blogson · Jul 31, 2015

I simply used a thick carpet remnant in the rear, covers the floor and extends up the sides and wheel wells about 10 inches and is thick and stiff enough so that the upward extensions do not fold back down. That cuts down the noise considerably.

Civiltechyyc · Jul 31, 2015

You just gave me something to do this weekend! I'll have to report back later on the sound levels. If I was brave enough I'd pull down the headliner and dynamat the roof. I have a feeling that would make things better and then move onto the doors. However, let's start with the $5 fix first/

Manhattan · Jul 31, 2015

I told my daughter about dynamat - that if we were "really going it all out" we'd pull the carpets, headliner... and insulate the whole car. She asked why they just don't come like that - "if it's so easy and cheap". Great question... Because then when prospective buyers test drive an Avalon, they wouldn't say "Wow, this is so quiet".

My Land Cruiser has a bit more road noise than my buddies LX470 - same truck, just the Lexus version. The Lexus versions gets a bit more sound deadening, and wood grain, and...

But for $5 and a few minutes, it's a step in the right direction.

Rav450 · Jul 31, 2015

Is it worthy of a sticky?

RAVN4RED · Aug 1, 2015

I'm surely going to give this a try. Will also look for a heavy duty carpet piece as Blogson mentioned, and double the fun.

rav4system · Aug 1, 2015

i found some rubber floor mats at lowes that were made from recycled tires.....they were less than 10 bucks each and i bought 2......trimmed them to fit the rear floor....they have raised ridges that would help with a fluid mess and they help cut down on road noise...

Theo · Aug 1, 2015

Using a Dynamat or same kind of products works the best in my opinion. I follows the car's lines, is easy to cut in size, and sticks well.

The reason why this is not always done during the factory building process with all cars, is most probably a financial issue. The interior noise of a moving car is most of the time acceptable, even in a RAV4. If you want the 100% comfort, buy the 100% comfort with a Far more expencive car. Or in this case, do it your self. And it is so easy and fast to do with a RAV4, as it is build mean and lean.

nouse4aname · Aug 1, 2015

It's not road noise, it's feedback.

What bothers me most is actually just the whistle from the driver's side mirror. Other cars I've owned had little bumps on the mirrors arm that prevented that. Wondering if something similar could be added.

Theo · Aug 1, 2015

We have the same issue with the wind hitting the front left and right window frames. When the wind goes along the car in a certain way it sounds like wind going trough a window that is nearly closed.

nouse4aname · Aug 1, 2015

Definitely seems to be coming from the mirror arm. With the window down if you put your hand in there it goes away.

Civiltechyyc · Aug 1, 2015

Just finished completing this insulation. Used that grey/black 2x36x64 foam you get at the camping store. Cost me $26 CAN. I used up the entire sheet for the most part and stuck the last piece in that compartment above the glove box (Useless anyways IMO).

Went on a 5 minute drive down a fairly smooth road and 90km/hr. I do think it made a difference. $26 and 15 mins of my time worth? Yeah I'd say so. It seems to cut out that droning noise from the back a decent about. I also have that rear cargo pull cover in the back as well. Not a bad little idea OP

Road noise... a $5 life hack

Manhattan

JuneBug

ZoomZoom

DVS

Ahya728

ravingtones

j92184

Manhattan

rav4system

Blogson

Civiltechyyc

Manhattan

Rav450

RAVN4RED

rav4system

Theo

nouse4aname

Theo

nouse4aname

Civiltechyyc

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