Edit 1: I pulled out the vent, stuffed in small bits of pyramid foam. Also unscrewed the dashboard speakers, they were a little difficult to lift out as the metal edge towards the centre of the car would catch on the dashboard, but it not difficult to remove as such. Stuffed a bit more foam around the edge of the speaker opening.







It took quite a tug to put the vents out as the 2 metal clips hold on very well. One did bend, but I bent it back, probably after 2 or 3 times it would work harden & snap.


Have been replacing trim panel clips with ones with a rubber gasket, another little thing to reduce noise transmission.


Edit 2: I have partly removed the console between the front seats. Found a few spaces in there, but careful to leave enough clearance for the console sliding cover.

So, some pyramid insulation on the small section of bare metal of the transmission tunnel, a block of foam under the forward & permanent cup holder & electronic handbrake, some insulation down either side & behind the gear stick mechanism.

Also a few small bits of pyramid insulation at the rear of the console under that tray at the tail end.


I also removed the plastic trim (2 screws up through the top) around the driver's instrument panel. There is a reasonably large gap above the actual display & under the dashboard, so pushed pyramid insulation in the gap. While at it I ran a power supply from the fusebox to my ARB TPMS sitting in the bottom left corner of the instrument display.


Have also filled in the bottom of the A column trim panels with pyramid foam to the bottom of the airbag mounting. Also more under the dashboard right up in the corner under bottom of the windscreen, passenger side.


I have removed the rear footwell carpet mat holders ages ago, they were a pain in the neck when carrying water containers for camping. There is a hole roughly 5cm to the bare metal floor, so stuffed a lot of offcuts of pyramid foam in through the pairs of small holes through the carpet.


After getting the car back together went for a drive to make sure everything works. Well, that was an improvement in noise reduction, probably one of the biggest single steps in improvement to date. Those Cones of Silence are looking that bit closer, very happy!


Edit 3: Some technical reading in this link, Sound Absorption Coefficient, but there are some easier to understand graphs further down the page. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engin...oefficient


Edit 4: I have stuffed some pyramid foam in these structural sections, through the hole around the air vent to the rear, & some small long strips through the 2 small holes close to the door, with a stick.



Also a bit up under the seats. Also pushed some up the B column making sure it doesn't interfere with the seatbelts.


(Compressors under driver's seat)

The car is sounding good, well, what left there is to hear! Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

'New Jaguar Land Rover noise cancellation tech helps reduce driver fatigue.'

https://www.jaguarlandrover.com/news/2020/...er-fatigue

'The technology, introduced on the new Jaguar F-PACE, new Jaguar XF and Range Rover Velar, is capable of lowering unwanted noise peaks by 10dB and overall noise levels by 3-4dB – the equivalent of turning down the in-car sound system by four ‘steps’. This significant reduction in exposure to low-frequency noises up to 300Hz can help prevent driver fatigue on longer journeys**.'



Edit 1:

An interesting article reducing noise on a 4WD bus. I know it's not a car but there are a few numbers & graphs to take onboard if one is going through this process of installing acoustic insulation.

https://www.megasorber.com/soundproofing-case-studies/4wd-coach

'At a cruising speed of 80km/h, it is evident that:

Before soundproofing, the overall noise level was about 76 dB(A). The vehicle had a very high whining noise level at 800Hz — 12 dB(A) higher that the noise level at other frequencies. This whining noise was the main cause of passenger discomfort and headaches.

The Megasorber soundproofing package reduced the overall noise level from 76 dB(A) to 68 dB(A).

This soundproofing package also reduced the whining noise by 9 dB(A), ie. from 75 dB(A) to 66 dB(A). As a result, it dramatically reduced the level of annoyance.'



I have bought some 25mm thick foam with & without mass loaded layer for a bit of experimenting.




Edit 2:

I have added the 25mm foam (non mass loaded) to the front 1/3 section & the car seemed quieter, more so from outside. A lot of room in the ceiling.

Have now done the middle & rear sections. With the 10mm foam I originally put in the roof it is all acting like an acoustic bass trap, a tight bass which is nice.

Will have to take it for a decent drive, but the first brief impressions are that the things are quieter from other cars passing.





Stuffed some foam through the holes, the area in the roof above the doors.

 Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

I have been for a drive now with the additional 25mm plus the first lot of 10mm I originally put in the roof. I also stuck 10mm on the ceiling lining just over the driver & front passenger, second round of pulling the car apart. This was to try & balance the noise in the car, because I found if you get the rear too quiet, the car sounds wrong.

Wow, that was impressive!

The additional 25mm foam showed how much sound was coming into the car via the ceiling even though it never felt like the sound ever came from there. Probably there is some noise transmission through the largest panel of the car. The entire roof other than the two cross beams now has in total 35mm of foam & 45mm in the front third (the 45mm is a touch thick now, but as I already installed the second layer of 10mm on the top side of the ceiling liner I wasn't going to pull it off). The polyester batts I have left in the roof.

The car really feels like it has double glazing. Noise from other vehicles is impressively controlled, quiet & feels distant from the car.

The only "offensive" noises now are really a bit of transmission noise. As I have the petrol engine it will be a bit quieter than the diesel, but the lower pitch of a diesel should be well controlled.

The noisiest sound now is the all terrain tyres, even though the actual noise is in all respects pretty quiet. I purposely drove over reflectors on the road & other road imperfections which all are very quiet & sort of removed from the car. So the underlying noise from the tyres is that AT drone they make, more so when they are older.

In general on my last holiday I have noticed the the AT tyres seem to sound quieter on dirt roads than sealed roads. Concrete roads are really good now.

If you have road tyres I think the quality of the sound would be truely impressive, or even better road tyre with foam inside.

For those in Australia, Whitworth Marine have the 25mm foam, you will need 2 sheets for the ceiling. I have used the non mass loaded foam in the roof, but I had bought a sheet of mass load foam but did not use this. I got this for the engine bay & have cut a few pieces to test but removed them at this stage. Now with the roof done adding more in the engine bay I don't think it is worthwhile.

For those with skylights if you can fill the roof around the edges without interfering with the roof mechanism I think it should improve sound quality a lot.

Tip, ceiling clip:

If you broke the clip at the rear of the ceiling panel to hold it up (I forgot to take a photo) I ground 2 edges off a LR013135 clip, so the 4 retainers were not north south in relation to the car but at 45°, with an angle grinder (a file will do) & fitted it into the part which slides into the part glued onto the ceiling liner. Works really well. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Just, wow

Very impressive, worth doing if I ever have to strip the
motor out again.
Dave DAVE.

A few weeks ago I put my 2 spare unused all terrain tyres on the front, basically no noise from the front from tyres. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Being bored to tears thought I would experiment with some 50mm acoustic foam in the boot. The vertical piece has the ridges cut off to jam behind the boot cover.

The foam makes a considerable difference to the rear of the car. Also doesn't seem to reduce sound from the subwoofer, but only did a quick test.

One could fill the gaps around the spare wheel or if you have a fart repair kit, you could fill the wheel well.

 Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

ABC, Radio National, The Science Show. An interesting program on sound. Interesting part on sound & its environment which being aware one can apply to the car.

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/progr...4/13948240

There is a transcript as well as audio.


'Fergus Fricke: You don't want echoes, that's a very important thing to avoid. There have been halls that have had echoes in them. The Albert Hall in London, for instance, when it opened was found to have an echo, and this was because it had a domed ceiling and the dome focused the sound, and because the sound had to travel many metres to the domed ceiling and then come back to the audience, it meant that it came back as a focused sound very late and was heard as a distinct repeat of the original sound.

Ian Johnston: How can you fix that sort of thing?

Fergus Fricke: Well, in the case of the Albert Hall in London it was fixed by putting clouds in the dome, reflectors that reflect the sound down to the audience before it reaches the dome itself and any sound that does get up to the dome itself is re-reflected by the tops of the reflectors, and so the whole sound becomes much more diffuse.' Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Lightwater wrote:

A few weeks ago I put my 2 spare unused all terrain tyres on the front, basically no noise from the front from tyres.

I'll lose sleep until I do the same! MY13 SD4 HSE Lux
IAM2.1 Level 3
Meridian Premium Surround Sound with Extra Upgrade

Will have so much insulation in that car, on the floor, doors, roof . . . I’m surprised he can still get in it Any more and it’ll be like squeezing between two mattresses

Lightwater wrote:

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Sorry for the late reply, I hadn't noticed this topic moved to the top of the list.

I just cut up bits of paper, usually from A4, to sort of fit. If a bit large, mark with pencil, cut off, fold or whatever. If folded then cut off.

If a bit undersize then add a bit of paper or a bit of tape will do if it's a tiny addition to increase that dimension, up to the edge where the template needs to stop.

I use masking tape as you can reposition the tape or the piece of paper its taped to.

The door pocket templates, from memory could of had 30 pieces of paper sticky taped together. It looks like a dog's breakfast, but you can easily & quickly get the right size on a complex curve.

I also sticky tape the template in place in a few spots as I build it up so it doesn't move.

Don't try to use a few large pieces of paper, that's more difficult. Keep adding small pieces layering up & moving along. Keep adding little bits. Doesn't need to look pretty.

You may need to increase or decrease the dimensions of the overall template due to the curve relative to the thickness of the material which will need to curve.


I did the same thing making templates to make sunscreen shades for every window of the car for camping. Then cut up those typical windscreen sun shades (they shrink a bit in the horizontal direction so make them a bit longer).

Click image to enlarge

Click image to enlarge

Lightwater wrote:

Your door template made up of dozens of pieces – you're my idol on this forum


Can you tell me which soundproofing element in your car was the most surprising for you (one that brought a significant improvement you didn’t expect)?

You mentioned that you have loud off-road tires—have you tried silencing them? In noisy, wide sports tires, foam inserts are used, and since manufacturers like Pirelli use them, they must make a difference. I have it on my to-do list, but my Michelin tires are very quiet, so I might not notice any change. However, you have a real chance of seeing results. There's even a store in Poland that sells pre-cut foam insert https://www.bitmat.pl/pianka-do-wyciszania-opon-i-kol, and from what I’ve read, it’s just common very thick open cell foam.

Another question. I've read a lot online about soundproofing rubber cell foams. I noticed that you used a dual-layer foam on plastics, which seems to be composed of a layer of closed-cell foam and open-cell foam. What’s your opinion on it, especially regarding potential moisture absorption?

On soundproofing forums, people say that single-layer CCF mats are obsolete because they don’t absorb sound, don’t insulate, and are only useful for decoupling in very tight spaces (to prevent rattling). On the other hand, they say that OCF mats absorbs moisture and shouldn’t be used in cars (I understood that this applies even to dry areas). I’m confused. MY2011 TD4 S Manual
MY2014 Si4 HSE Auto
MY2017 C63S Coupe

I mostly used foam & the thicker the better, basically filling spaces totally.


I live in Sydney at the waterfront, it is a humid environment. In the home it can feel really humid, especially December to March. & we get enough mould, even being careful with cooking, squeegeeing shower & ventilation. Also have air conditioning, by try not to overdo it with the AC, because when you go outside you suffer even more coming from a too controlled environment. Plus the running costs is another issue.

I did use some open cell foam on the inside of the metal garage door, also thick open cell foam above the garage door. None of it has ever felt damp or the slightest bit humid.

A sponge by nature will wick up water, but it will evaporate.

The only two places in the car for water to pool are the foot well. Even there it will be towards the rear as the floor pan slopes that way. & The spare wheel well.

So how is a sponge going to wick up water anywhere around the car, unless you have a leak, quicker than it can evaporate.

The old cotton felt they used in cars, that really would wick up water. I had it in my Peugeot 504.

You do get more condensation in the back of the car due to the cooling effect of low pressure behind the car. But insulating the car with acoustic foam or batts will provide thermal insulation. It's why there is a demister on the rear window of cars.

When we were sleeping in the car before the acoustic insulation, there was so much condensation, our bedding was wet. The acoustic foam stopped the condensation on the trim panels, & the sun screens in the windows stopped most of the condensation there.

The Freelander has never fogged up inside due to moisture. But I had that a few times on the old Peugeot due to leaks & everything being damp.


Tyre noise:

All Terrain tyres are noisier, & all tyres get noisier as they get older. At least I am not running Mud tyres as so many cars in Sydney have!

Putting foam in road tyres would be ok. But off-road tyres where you are airing up & down all the time, can be multiple times a day.

Even with the best moisture management like I have, you do keep adding water to the inside of the tyre. It is amazing how wet they get inside.

When you compress air 10 x you end up with 10 x the water in the tyre. So if you are regularly airing up tyres you want the compressed air to be as dry as possible to start with. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18