06' Sound reduction results

[ccarbon]

Here are the results of Dynamating my 2006 Quad cab CTD 4wd.



I used a Radioshack electronic readout DB meter on both the A and C range. I purchased the meter after I started the project so my stock truck numbers are based on a 06' Std. cab 4wd CTD. The testing was all done on the same day on the same roads. I do have new snow tires w/o studs on my truck where the stock test truck had factory michelins and an additional 50,000 miles.



70 MPH Stock 73 /a 88/b

Mine 69 /a 83/b

2005 Chevy Avalanche 71 /a 86/b



70 MPH Full throttle Stock 75/a 87/b

Mine 72/a 85/b

Chevy 76/a 87/b



Idle 0 mph Stock 60/a 80/b

mine 53/a 68/b

Chevy 51/a 72/b



Right side 3' from

fender. Stock 72 78

mine 73 78

Chevy 57 62



According to the experts, 3db is the first noticeable difference a human can make and 10 db is perceived as twice as quiet. I found the same. The 4db drop is noticeable, even by my wife. You still here the engine sounds but it's easier to talk at highway speeds.



I used Dynamat extreme and covered all the areas I read about on this forum site. Thank you guy's. . I did the doors, rear panel, headliner and under most of the floor. I didn't go under the rear seat. The hood has several pieces of Dynamat and their foam pad installed under the factory insulation. Surprisingly the hood insulation didn't help the noise outside the truck. I do have a ATP kit on order and will post results with it.



Overall it the soundproofing was worth the effort.



Thanks

 

[wcjp]

Take any pics?

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

Good work ccarbon. I plan to go after my '98 probably this spring and will combine the project with a stereo upgrade.

 

[ccarbon]

Sorry, no pictures. The 06' had a dynamat style product already installed from the factory in several areas but in small sheets. For example the roof had four 8"x14" pieces and the floorboard had a 6"x10" on each side. The doors had nothing. There is a lot of heavy formed foam sheets over the firewall and behind the rear seat.



If anyone has any more ideas? Please post them for me.

 

[ENafziger]

Well, I didn't do as thorough of a job as the original poster, but here's some pictures of doing my '06 3500 SRW 4x4. Me and a friend started at about 6 p. m. and had it all finished up by about 3 the next morning!!

I did the back of the cab, the complete floor, all side pillars, doors, etc. The only thing I didn't do was the roof. I dropped the headliner, but with the overhead console, sunroof, cab lights, and supplemental side airbags, there was so much in the way, that there was too little available space for it to be worth the effort.

#ad


#ad


#ad


#ad


#ad


#ad


The hardest part is marking and cutting out all the little holes and notches for bolts and clips to fit back into. All in all, not a very hard task, just a little labor intensive. It does make for a good date night if you're looking for something productive to get into! :-laf

--Eric

 

[thashane]

very nice, I really enjoy the comparison to the avalanche. So time for a muffler elimination kit?

 

[DZLFREK]

How about the cost for the normal and extreme? Nice job on your project. I assume you replaced your stereo and speakers?



David

 

[ccarbon]

The local stereo shop stocked only the "Extreme". It's not cheap but it does work.

Stock stereo, I just like the luxury aspect of a quieter rig. It is a lot easier to talk at freeway speeds now. I was surprised to have it be quieter than the Avalanche. It has a very quiet engine till you rev it up. One of the things I like about the Dodge is that it tows with very little shifting. It stays quieter than a gas rig.

 

[NSperduto]

Just curious what did it cost for enough dynomat to do the wholle thing ?

 

[Kry226]

Try Raamat. As good, but at a cheaper price.

 

[ENafziger]

I'm the one who posted the pictures, but I'm not the one who started the thread.

That aside, I used FatMat sound deadening material, and total cost to do the floor, back wall, doors, and pillars, and still have some left over, was $120 shipped to my door.

--Eric

 

[ccarbon]

I'm afraid to add up the price. I made several trips to the local shop. I ended up using a bulk pak and a couple door kits. It would have been cheaper to do two bulk kits.



The doors are what took up most of the material. I put a layer on the outer and inner panel. The doors generate most of the noise.



The doors on the Quad cab now feel like my Magnum. Solid. . I checked under the carpet on the Magnum and it has a lot of liquid sound deadener material already. It might be hard to improve on the stock setup unlike the truck.

 

[JBonpua]

Well, I didn't do as thorough of a job as the original poster, but here's some pictures of doing my '06 3500 SRW 4x4. Me and a friend started at about 6 p. m. and had it all finished up by about 3 the next morning!!



I did the back of the cab, the complete floor, all side pillars, doors, etc. The only thing I didn't do was the roof. I dropped the headliner, but with the overhead console, sunroof, cab lights, and supplemental side airbags, there was so much in the way, that there was too little available space for it to be worth the effort.



#ad




#ad




#ad




#ad




#ad




#ad




The hardest part is marking and cutting out all the little holes and notches for bolts and clips to fit back into. All in all, not a very hard task, just a little labor intensive. It does make for a good date night if you're looking for something productive to get into! :-laf



--Eric

Eric,



I have 4 boxes of Dynamat Xtreme on its way to me. How hard was it to remove the door panels, seats etc. ? I will be owrking by myself (maybe my 17 year old son will help). Did you do the inside and the outside of the door?

 

[Bob4x4]

The 3rd gen door panels have to be the easiest to remove door panels ever designed. A few screwa and slide it up off it's hooks .



Bob

 

[ENafziger]

The 3rd gen door panels have to be the easiest to remove door panels ever designed. A few screwa and slide it up off it's hooks

Exactly. Be sure to lift up on the panel, and not pull out, and you'll be fine.

I'm not sure on the best way to mat the doors. If you have enough material, then probably the inner and outer door skin would be best.

However, when you pull the door panel, you'll notice white plastic weather sheeting. If you place the deadening material on this surface, you'll have to have someone help you hold the panel hard against the door when you reinstall (to allow the hooks to catch with the added thickness of the sound material).

The seats come out easily... just a few bolts, and a couple electrical connectors if you have power/heated seats. It does very much help to have someone help you lift them out of the vehicle though.

--Eric

 

[ccarbon]

ATP followup results.



I installed the ATP valve cover and oilpan cover. The biggest difference was with the engine idling doors and windows closed. An additional two db for a total of 9bd lower on "A "scale and 13 db "b" scale over stock.



70 Mph went down another 1 db to a total of 5 db over stock.



Three feet outside the fenders dropped 2 db with the ATP covers. It's a noticable difference over stock but not huge. I imagine the covers would help more with the older engine.



I'm at 66 to 68 db max at 70 mph now which isn't bad. Very easy to hold a conversation or have the radio at a low level.



I'm curious to know the level is in a new 6. 7. Does anyone out there have a new truck and a radioshack db meter?



Thanks CC

 

[ccarbon]

Finally Finished. .



Well I've done all the work I can stand on the 06 CTD Quad cab.



Ended up 2db less than an 05 Dodge Magnum at 70 mph.



Basically there is very little tire and road noise now at speed. A solid max db of 68/83. The car was 71/87. Mostly tire noise. Full throttle the car was 76/93 but it's a Hemi so you don't stay there very long.



What I did find is that the Diesel is much quieter towing than a gas. Even the car with all it's factory sound deadening was way louder at more open throttle settings. Obviously the car was quieter at idle. It didn't even register on the guage where the truck was at 51 db.



Still looking for levels on a 08 at highway speed? I know the engine is quieter than the 5. 9 but is the cab?

 

[ccie]

Well, I didn't do as thorough of a job as the original poster, but here's some pictures of doing my '06 3500 SRW 4x4. Me and a friend started at about 6 p. m. and had it all finished up by about 3 the next morning!!



I did the back of the cab, the complete floor, all side pillars, doors, etc. The only thing I didn't do was the roof. I dropped the headliner, but with the overhead console, sunroof, cab lights, and supplemental side airbags, there was so much in the way, that there was too little available space for it to be worth the effort.



The hardest part is marking and cutting out all the little holes and notches for bolts and clips to fit back into. All in all, not a very hard task, just a little labor intensive. It does make for a good date night if you're looking for something productive to get into! :-laf



--Eric

Eric,

Did you notice a big improvement and was it worth the effort and cost?

Thanks

 

[B-rock]

I have a stock 08, Im looking at doing a slight sterio upgrade soon. Id also like to quiet the cab down more, (not that its noisy by any means) when I use U-connect at freeway speeds im told there is a lot of background noise.



How much material is needed to do the entire cab? Id like to do this as soon as i can budget the cost and instal time. Id also be doing it outside so the weather would be a factor too. and im thinking its definatly a 2 person job.

 

[ENafziger]

Eric,
Did you notice a big improvement and was it worth the effort and cost?
Thanks<!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

Well, just judging by my ear meter, it did make a pretty good difference. I used the FatMat, and purchased off of ebay. I got 2 rolls, and it seems like it was about $130 including shipping. This was just about right for doing the floor thoroughly, doors, back wall, side pillars, etc. It's probably not as effective as Dynamat Xtreme, but I didn't have $1000 to spend either.

I never got any dB measurements before the sound matting install, but for what it's worth, here are some that I took after. All readings were taken with a VERY expensive sound level meter that I borrowed, that was calibrated just 2 days before.

In cab sound level measurements:

With Jacob's exhaust brake on: 65. 1 dB
With Jacob's exhaust brake off: 57. 3 dB
1100 rpm fast idle with Jacob's off: 66. 0 dB
1500 rpm fast idle with Jacob's off: 69. 2 dB
1100 rpm fast idle with Jacob's on: 70. 9 dB
1100 rpm fast idle with Jacob's on and windows cracked: 74. 5 dB



Outside truck sound level measurements, distance from exhaust:
(5" straight pipe exhaust, no muff or kitty, 5" silverline tip)

Idle at 2 feet: 91. 0 dB
Idle at 10 feet: 80. 7 dB
Idle at 20 feet: 76. 2 dB

Idle with Jacob's on at 2 feet: 101. 2 dB
Idle with Jacob's on at 10 feet: 91. 6 dB
Idle with Jacob's on at 20 feet: 84. 2 dB

1100 rpm fast idle with Jacob's on at 2 feet: 105. 5 dB
1100 rpm fast idle with Jacob's on at 10 feet: 94. 3 dB
1100 rpm fast idle with Jacob's on at 20 feet: 89. 4 dB

1500 rpm fast idle with Jacob's off at 2 feet: 102. 4 dB
1500 rpm fast idle with Jacob's off at 10 feet: 90. 9 dB
1500 rpm fast idle with Jacob's off at 20 feet: 85. 1 dB


And, just for fun, I decided to measure the sound level of the new stereo system, set to max volume before distortion: 108. 9 dB :-laf

--Eric