RichardCX5
Member
- :
- 2014 CX5 Sport Nav (GT) MT 2.2D 150ps
Generally I'm very happy with my CX-5 but one area I've wanted to improve is the road noise so thought I'd post a quick thread about my project of fitting soundproofing (and some new speakers too)
So far I've done the doors and I plan to do the entire floor and boot/trunk area next. I might also soundproof the roof but the priority is the floor.
Reading up beforehand it seems that the best soundproofing is made up of three layers - a layer of aluminium-backed butyl (e.g. Dynamat, Silent Coat etc) on the panel metal itself to reduce vibration and resonance, and on top of that a layer of closed-cell foam and then mass-loaded vinyl, both to absorb/reflect noise.
Here's a picture of the Silent Coat in one of the front doors (I didn't take a picture of the foam/vinyl layer but will do later)
What surprises me is that in the doors at least, there is *no* sound insulation at all! There's basically the outer and inner metal skins, a plastic weather panel and the inner plastic door card - it's no wonder the CX-5 is noisy at speed!
I have the Bose system in my CX-5 and the improvement in sound quality from the front woofers is huge! The bass is much richer and stronger than before (I guess because the door panel is stronger with the Silent Coat so doesn't flex as much)
Also, thanks to all the extra weight in the doors and the soundproofing when I open and close the doors it sounds as if I've fitted Mercedes doors to my Mazda!
So I've also changed most of the small speakers in the car so far as well (Kicker 3.5" in the outer dash and JBL in the rear pillars)
I've had these shipped over from the States, ok also waiting on a pair of rear door speaker adapters and then I'll be fitting these. They're awesome in the vocal range and should fill out the bass- and treble-heavy system that I've got at the moment. I'll report back when I've got them fitted and also when I do some more soundproofing!
If anyone has any ideas/suggestions I'd love to hear them too.
So far I've done the doors and I plan to do the entire floor and boot/trunk area next. I might also soundproof the roof but the priority is the floor.
Reading up beforehand it seems that the best soundproofing is made up of three layers - a layer of aluminium-backed butyl (e.g. Dynamat, Silent Coat etc) on the panel metal itself to reduce vibration and resonance, and on top of that a layer of closed-cell foam and then mass-loaded vinyl, both to absorb/reflect noise.
Here's a picture of the Silent Coat in one of the front doors (I didn't take a picture of the foam/vinyl layer but will do later)
What surprises me is that in the doors at least, there is *no* sound insulation at all! There's basically the outer and inner metal skins, a plastic weather panel and the inner plastic door card - it's no wonder the CX-5 is noisy at speed!
I have the Bose system in my CX-5 and the improvement in sound quality from the front woofers is huge! The bass is much richer and stronger than before (I guess because the door panel is stronger with the Silent Coat so doesn't flex as much)
Also, thanks to all the extra weight in the doors and the soundproofing when I open and close the doors it sounds as if I've fitted Mercedes doors to my Mazda!
So I've also changed most of the small speakers in the car so far as well (Kicker 3.5" in the outer dash and JBL in the rear pillars)
I've had these shipped over from the States, ok also waiting on a pair of rear door speaker adapters and then I'll be fitting these. They're awesome in the vocal range and should fill out the bass- and treble-heavy system that I've got at the moment. I'll report back when I've got them fitted and also when I do some more soundproofing!
If anyone has any ideas/suggestions I'd love to hear them too.
