Sound Deadening Model 3

[KenC]

Car Front Engine Hood Soundproof Cotton Mat Fit For Tesla Model 3 2017 - 2019 | eBay

That's the one I bought, but it ships from Guangzhou and takes a month, so I would look at others to make sure there isn't one already in the US, that can ship faster.

 

[R1Fast]

Car Front Engine Hood Soundproof Cotton Mat Fit For Tesla Model 3 2017 - 2019 | eBay

That's the one I bought, but it ships from Guangzhou and takes a month, so I would look at others to make sure there isn't one already in the US, that can ship faster.

Thanks @KenC . Wow they aren't cheap considering they're just molded fiber.

You can get 36 sqft of noico 80 mil + the green 120 mil ccf for under $100 (delivered next day too), enough to dampen both trunk/frunk lids... and have ~15-20 sqft left over to dampen other vibration prone areas. Much better bang and performance for the buck.

O.t.o.h. this product would give a much nicer oem look, though I don't think it would touch the damping capability of deadener + ccf.

Brainstorming options with the latter route to get a similar oem finish. I guess worst case these fiber mats would probably integrate well over deadener + ccf.

 

[BioSehnsucht]

Any links to video guides on how to determine which specific areas need deadening and how to address them? (versus just saying to tap around ... )

 

[RB88]

Thanks @KenC
Brainstorming options with the latter route to get a similar oem finish. I guess worst case these fiber mats would probably integrate well over deadener + ccf.

That's my plan. I just put a load of Noico 80mm deadening + 350mm proofing to cover my trunk. Just got the trunk cover too but the Chinese 3M on it is atrocious and won't hold, so ordered some actual 3M from Amazon and will put it in tomorrow. Don't expect the trunk cover to do much but it'll cover the other stuff (you know - for all those times you look up to the trunk roof).

 

[Fernand]

Any links to video guides on how to determine which specific areas need deadening and how to address them? (versus just saying to tap around ... )

I was hoping for the same thing, but sadly, not that I see.
If you find anything relevant please tell us !

It's very hard to measure before and after without some
sort of standardized test bed -- that we don't have.

The people who sell materials will gladly sell us more of
whatever they have on hand than we need. A lot of that is
rather thermal insulation that doesn't mute as well as a simple
closed cell rubber with a very sticky backing. And none of
it is going to "block" long wavelength (low frequency) sound,
that's futile, fat cement blocks would be more like it.

It's true that if you were to goop down every surface in the car
it WILL be more muted than before. Its just that, based on
my experience with industrial machines and sound studios,
it takes less than 1/100 of that to get 95% of the way there.

And BTW, tapping & pounding, and using a spectrum analyzer,
are time-tested practical methods. Remember the drum analogy?
If you find where to put it, one finger on the drum skin will work
as well as gluing a muting material over the whole surface.
.

 

[Fernand]

After I'd mentioned I was looking for some rubber foam, my dear wife ran out, and got me a nice exercise mat at Ross for $12. It's 0.4" thick, and the black dense foam material looks pretty solid. I'd previously cut up one just like it to mute some spots in my sound studio, most recently under guitar and bass amps, and it had worked out very well.

My first targets on the Model 3: into the hexagonal openings in the Frunk lid, and on the cabin side vertical wall of the Frunk tub. That should take a lot of resonance out of the whole Frunk. And then the bottom of the Trunk tub, which presently amplifies road vibration somethin' fierce.
.

 

[WPJohnny]

I've done the exact same and wrote a whole guide on it (with pictures as well) in case anybody wants more info on how to do it, and what common issues I ran into.

https://jtesla.com/tesla-soundproofing-noise-reduction-guide/

 

[Magnets!]

I've done the exact same and wrote a whole guide on it (with pictures as well) in case anybody wants more info on how to do it, and what common issues I ran into.

Tesla Model 3 Soundproofing Guide (PART 1) – Intro to Noise reduction

Wow, impressively thorough guide! Thanks.

 

[Fernand]

@WPJohnny I envy you! I've got so many other things to fix, starting with my mothership Hackintosh that needs a thorough vacuuming and cooling system work, and the switches on the stairs (you know, a switch at the top and one at the bottom, and how are they wired?), and my back is all screwed up, so I got a better chair, then it turned out I needed to raise it an inch or two, but once the gas cylinder is in the base, and you sit your fat butt on the chair, good luck getting it out again, I ended up using a car jack to pull them apart and insert a cardboard sleeve - a whole project to raise a chair 1.5 inches. And there's coding I'm working on, and other projects. Lawd, where that time go?

So anyway, I can't do anything like the smart remediation that @WPJohnny so admirably did. I'm cutting and fitting pieces of my rubber foam exercise mat in the hexagonal openings in the frunk lid at this point, and then trying to figure out the most expedient way to attach a sheet of the rubber foam to the trunk tub bottom. I hate to even have to lift up the carpeting composite, so it's going to have to be gradual ... those light switches on the stairs and tearing down the Hackintosh come first ;-)

You guys who really go at it have my utmost respect.

 

[Occhis]

I've done the exact same and wrote a whole guide on it (with pictures as well) in case anybody wants more info on how to do it, and what common issues I ran into.

https://jtesla.com/tesla-soundproofing-noise-reduction-guide/

I’m wondering about how you attacked this logistically. Did you not drive your car for weeks? Did you do it in sections, leaving the interior partially removed while you used the car? Looks like you tore the whole thing apart at once. Do you think it’s feasible to do the rear seat and/or trunk areas then put it back together, and do the front driver/ passenger area at a different time? I’d like to quiet this car down some if possible, but break up the work into 1-2 day increments. Do you see that as workable?

 

[WPJohnny]

@Fernand

Hahahaha!!! (about your Hackintosh)

- Before you try to lay foam or whatever on the trunk bottom compartment...I propose laying it all over the trunk and see if you hear enough different blocking out sound. Test before you tear things out to see if it's even worth the effort to you.
- Closed-cell foam is more for blocking, and should be laid as a sheet barrier. Open-cell foam is more for absorbing, and should be laid like as big of a 3-dimensional piece filling as much space as possible. Just my 2 cents.


@Occhis

It's all explained in my guide. I chose not to drive my car for a couple weeks.The car was however drive-able the first week and last week.
- You can definitely do the rear seat and trunk areas first before venturing to the front of the car. I said this in the article.
- Passenger and rear floor, should be done together as you need to lift the seats to get the carpet for (front and rear) out.
- You can break it into however many increments as you want, but you'll probably want to get it done ASAP once it's torn out. Certain things like trim and lining can be laid out on the side and not affect driveability. Heck, you could even just lay the front seats back in the holes with the floor out and still drive it.

Anyway, open the trunk and rear seats (only 1 hour to tear out) and with that, you can judge the rest.

 

[Fernand]

@WPJohnny not to be a jerk, but to the best of my knowledge laying rubber mats on the trunk won't block passage of low frequency sound waves (rumble) that are being generated inside the trunk from road + tire -> suspension -> car body vibration, because of wavelength issues. The way materials absorb sound is by the sound wave making the material vibrate, i.e. pushing and pulling molecules and generating tiny amounts of heat. A short wavelength sound wave will have many opportunities to interact with even a pretty thin material's molecular structure, and that's why rubber earplugs block out cymbal sizzle but not the sound of a bass. The nature of the material itself also plays a role. But the way low frequency sound is dealt with in recording studios is by creating big "bass traps" that can absorb the long waves by resonating at those frequencies, and very thick padding.

One way to check out if the trunk is worth deadening is just to densely pack it with laundry, that will deaden those walls pretty well, and if that's a noticeable improvement, then it's worth attaching some deadening material to the surfaces until they no longer resonate when you drum on them.
.

 

[skatefriday]

I put a comforter I wasn't using in my frunk which I wasn't using either. I think it makes a difference, but I have no data to support that. And if I ever get stuck overnight in the cold I won't freeze.

 

[Fernand]

Try packing the/a comforter in the trunk now. Nice and tight so the trunk tub can't make like a drum. Ideally with the rear seats down for best audition. Try with, versus without, the packed comforter. Listen and then try to deduce where you'll likely get more benefit : the trunk or the frunk where you started. Then figure out how to strategically place some adhesive rubber stuff to kill the resonance, of course starting with the tub where it might help the most. And pack the comforter in the other one for now, people don't know it can get chilly in sunny California. Worst case you can wrap it around all of you, including the head/ears ;-)

 

[hari-bhari]

Just following up in this thread. Road/tire noise is the biggest culprit here. I just got new Bridgestone QuietTrack tires for my new 19s and they are much quieter than the mxm4 tires I had on my 18” Aeros. These don’t have any foam but it doesn’t really matter - a lot of people think it’s a gimmick anyways and it makes the tire unrepairable.


Anyways if the noise bugs you a lot and you don’t want to rip apart your car or deal with the hassle, AND if you have some money to spare, $1k in new tires could be your solution.

 

[RB88]

Just following up in this thread. Road/tire noise is the biggest culprit here. I just got new Bridgestone QuietTrack tires for my new 19s and they are much quieter than the mxm4 tires I had on my 18” Aeros. These don’t have any foam but it doesn’t really matter - a lot of people think it’s a gimmick anyways and it makes the tire unrepairable.


Anyways if the noise bugs you a lot and you don’t want to rip apart your car or deal with the hassle, AND if you have some money to spare, $1k in new tires could be your solution.

Anyone know how these compare to the stock 19" tires?

 

[Magnets!]

Anyone know how these compare to the stock 19" tires?

ya would be nice to see some before/after dB readings...a fresh set of tires are always quiet so hard to compare unless you have two new sets you are switching between.

 

[hari-bhari]

fair point. i don't have an SPL meter but I can use my iphone dB app. I think a lot to do is with the frequency and not the overall volume. with that being said the 18" aero tires still had a lot of tread left, they weren't near the cords or anything where you would expect them to get very noisy.

tirerack rated the quiettracks amongst the quietest they tested so i gave them a whirl.

ya would be nice to see some before/after dB readings...a fresh set of tires are always quiet so hard to compare unless you have two new sets you are switching between.

 

[hari-bhari]

Anyone know how these compare to the stock 19" tires?

in tirerack testing they match dry performance of other tires in their class but suffer a bit in wet performance. i don't drive like a madman in the rain anyways and theyve been fine through some heavy rain so far.

i dont know about flat out performance vs the stock contis, but in my daily driving I haven't noticed much of a difference compared to the mxm4 on 18s aside from the decrease road noise. and that's after upgrading to a bigger wheel with theoretically less sidewall to absorb the road. Any tire is going to be a tradeoff in handling, treadlife, and noise ultimately.

 

[BioSehnsucht]

If you happen to have historical data (i.e. from TeslaFi or similar, or just your own recording keeping), can you check whether your typical kWh/mi has changed measurable for your normal daily driving between the original tires and the new ones? Of course with a rim size change as well as tire change there's more than one variable, but it would be interesting to know if it's similar or worse/better. It's possible you might get worse range with the quieter tires - but it could also be that they're better or the same. You would assume that the tire choice Tesla made was for range and cost over NVH, or even just range over cost and NVH, not cost over range and NVH... but you never know.