Toyota RAV4 Forums banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

Noise dampening project

Jump to Latest
21 - 40 of 46 Posts
#25 ·
#28 ·
Torque said:
I think there are sensors, yellow stuff. But I didn't tamper with them.

I'm so super happy with the car now!

Skickat från min iPhone med Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Excellent news. You had the chance to do sections at a time and monitor best gains at reduction. Where would you estimate the greatest reductions came from after looking back?
 
#29 ·
KJPAT08 said:
Looks like they may come down from the headliner area.
Click to expand...
Right, but are there impact sensors inside the doors to trigger the side curtain airbags?
 
#30 ·
In this picture (which you said was stock state) it looks like there is a white bag in the frame above the wheel well. Did you get a look at that? Any idea what it is?

Torque said:
Stock

Image
Click to expand...
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
#31 ·
Excellent work so far - it is inspiring to see something like this. I am now considering doing the same on my RAV4.
 
Save
Reply Quote Like Like
Discussion starter · #32 ·
beer92266 said:
In this picture (which you said was stock state) it looks like there is a white bag in the frame above the wheel well. Did you get a look at that? Any idea what it is?
Click to expand...


I have no idea what it is for but I put it back afterwards. I added CLD and MLV below it aswell.

There are similar bags inside this piece. Maybe it should have been in there?

Image
 
Discussion starter · #34 ·
KJPAT08 said:
Excellent news. You had the chance to do sections at a time and monitor best gains at reduction. Where would you estimate the greatest reductions came from after looking back?
Click to expand...


1a floors especially in front, I did the inside of the fender wells as far I could reach. Gain: irritating rumble om bad tarmac is gone
1b doors Gain: feels more luxorius mostly wind to be heard at +40 MPH
2 rear fender wells and spare wheel. Gain: less road noise

Interestingly the easiest modifications had the most gain.

Doors took alot of time but are not hard
The rear was tricky to disassemble/assemble
 
#35 ·
When my local dealer installed the trailer-hitch they added soundproofing material in the trunk-area for free since they have to stripp it all to do the wiring. They said it would improve but I have no before/after experience.


-Remi
 
#36 · (Edited)
Thanks for the post. I have moved from a 2001 Highlander which was really very quiet to a 2016 Rav4 Limited which is *considerably* more noisy. So I am getting tired of all of the noise and am going to attempt this project. I did a knuckle thump test and found quite a few areas that had absolutely *NO* panel damping at all...

- The hood close to the windshield
- The rear door cavity below the glass
- The entire roof! Stick your head inside the cabin and tap on the roof.
- The rear quarter panels especially on the passenger side.
- Front wheel plastic fender liners.
- Rear passenger wheel well.

All 4 doors seem to have had at least the outer skin sound deadened. However, I don't know how much noise that gets into the door makes it through the plastic door panel(s). I think that this may be significant. On the highlander the windows would cam out and open up a gap between the glass and the glass seal strip and would increase the noise significantly. The trick was to tap them down just enough to get rid of the cam-out. Cabin got much quieter.

Any other suggestions as to hot points to add dampening?

Torque, did you ever consider doing the hood, roof, or back door? I remember doing the back door on the HL and it seemed to make a noticeable difference.

Thanks,
Steve
 
#38 ·
Torque said:
1a floors especially in front, I did the inside of the fender wells as far I could reach. Gain: irritating rumble on bad tarmac is gone
Click to expand...

@Torque,

I have a 2016 non-hybrid Limited and have completed the following deadening areas with CLD, CCF, & MLV:

Front doors
Rear doors
Rear hatch
Roof
Rear wheel houses
Rear quarter panels

I have NOT done (yet):

Spare tire well (CLD only on the *outside*(much easier install!))
Main cabin floor

The tire well hasn't been done due to the complicated shape(s) involved and extremely tight clearance around the tire and foam stabilizer block. Road testing shows it to be a dominant noise source only until the plastic cover is installed. I plan to re-evaluate when cooler weather arrives.

The main cabin floor already has a sound absorbing layer of 1.5mm vinyl and 10mm jute between the floor and carpet. Does your Hybrid have this same layer? Because of this I have decided to possibly do this area last due to the complexity of removing everything to add CCF & MLV.


The main issue is/has always been road/tire noise from bad tarmac. The above has made significant improvements to the point that wind noise is now noticeable at highway speeds on good tarmac.

However, there is still considerable road/tire noise on bad tarmac so I have been considering where to go next. I can't really localize a source but it appears to be more from the front as that is where I am sitting.

Because of this I have been considering blocking at the source in the front wheel wells. From your previous post I was wondering how you addressed this area? I was considering removing the plastic fender liner and adding deadening to liner itself and the firewall if it is accessible. Is this what you did? Do you have any photos that you can share?

BTW, what brand and model of tires came on your hybrid? I think that this may have a big impact on tire/road noise.
 
#39 ·
Sounds like you completed a pretty extensive install to block sound. Have you added any products to absorb the sound? Like 3M thinsulate or similar products? They are super lightweight, water and flame resistant. We have a few pieces here and there but on other cars I've seen them cover entire interior panels. There was an old 3M video about boat manufacturers lining their rooms with this material to cut out the engine noises. I know you mentioned wind noise but thick carpeted floor mats with rubber backing (like found in luxury cars or Lloyds mats) can also help to absorb/block sound. I also read how the new CX-5 managed to tackle NVH and one way was to carpet the rear cargo panels in order to absorb the sound and not reflect it off the hard plastic panels.

Another tip was to keep the door seal gaskets lubricated/clean so they can maintain a good seal against wind noise. The new civic has "triple door seals" but you still have to keep them clean. I'm sure tires can make a big difference but I don't know which ones in particular are universally praised. There was another article online about wheel/tire noise. It's not limited to the wheels and tires though. The noise travels through the suspension components to the mounting points on the chassis and into the cabin. If you have a lot of miles you would also want to check your shocks/struts and any other rubber bushings that might be worn.

I used to have a Lexus LS430 and a trick they used in the fender liner was a felt like material to reduce noise. It also had laminated glass up front on the side windows for further sound proofing. And of course thick carpet front to back.
 
#40 ·
TOY4WD said:
Sounds like you completed a pretty extensive install to block sound. Have you added any products to absorb the sound? Like 3M thinsulate or similar products? They are super lightweight, water and flame resistant. We have a few pieces here and there but on other cars I've seen them cover entire interior panels. There was an old 3M video about boat manufacturers lining their rooms with this material to cut out the engine noises. I know you mentioned wind noise but thick carpeted floor mats with rubber backing (like found in luxury cars or Lloyds mats) can also help to absorb/block sound. I also read how the new CX-5 managed to tackle NVH and one way was to carpet the rear cargo panels in order to absorb the sound and not reflect it off the hard plastic panel.
Click to expand...
I have used acoustic poly foam absorber in the roof and upper rear quarter panels where MLV was not an option due to weight.

As far as absorbers go they are not nearly as efficient as MLV blockers.
They also don't work well for frequencies below 1KHz. However, MLV has its own issues in that sound can go around it if not sealed which is nearly impossible in vehicle applications. I think the main reason that it works in vehicle applications is that it will block/absorb sound radiating directly from a surface where it is placed if isolated with a thin layer of CCF.

TOY4WD said:
I used to have a Lexus LS430 and a trick they used in the fender liner was a felt like material to reduce noise.
Click to expand...
The front fender liners are the next avenue of attack and I was hoping that Torque would chime in and let me know what he did and the results that he obtained.

So where was the felt placed in your Lexus? All the way around the circumference of the fender liner or just on the firewall?

TOY4WD said:
It also had laminated glass up front on the side windows for further sound proofing. And of course thick carpet front to back.
Click to expand...
Thick carpet makes a good absorber but unfortunately you won't find it in modern vehicles due to the added weight and MPG edict penalty. The LS also has the advantage of a sealed trunk space to contain/block noise from the rear end of the car.
 
21 - 40 of 46 Posts
About this Discussion
45 Replies
11 Participants
Last post:
bini
Toyota RAV4 Forums
posts
1.1M
members
174K
Since
2004
Rav 4 World is the internet's largest Toyota Rav4 SUV and EV online forum community. Discuss towing, modifications, and more.
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
4.3 General 4.3 Mechanical 4.5 RAV4 Hybrid (except Prime) 4.5 RAV4 Prime 4.3 Exterior