DIY cheap and easy sound deadening (poly-fil)

wingzeroboi · 01-06-2009, 04:06 PM

alright guys heres a cheap way to get the moast out of your sound system...... poly-fil. its the same stuff they use to stuff pillows and teddy bears and what not.

best thing about it is you can still lay some dynamat or another sound deadening mat over this.

disclaimer: if you mess up your car ( i dont see how you could) im not responsible. stuff at your own risk!

difficulty:
ridiculously easy

requirements:
flat head screwdriver
4-5 16oz bags of Pol-fil

here is the pol-fil its like $2-$3 at wal-mart

start by taking off the little black clips that keep the carpet on rear hatch

use your screwdriver to squeeze the black clips like this to pop them off

now take a hand full of pol-fil.....

and stuff!!!! till you cant stuff no more!

and here is the end results

now just pop your clips back in and listen to the difference

this stuff works great or else i wouldnt be posting it here lol

any questions please feel free to ask

simijoecool · 01-06-2009, 04:19 PM

dang thats a sweet idea! ive been wanting to do some sound deadening, ill have to grab some polyfil.

how well does it work?

yellow_sub · 01-06-2009, 04:20 PM

haha nice i may add this on top of my sound deadening

litos_2006 · 01-06-2009, 04:34 PM

do a before and after video

clintnelson2 · 01-06-2009, 05:05 PM

i bet that stuff burns easy

moonray · 01-06-2009, 05:11 PM

Interesting idea there.

x2 da b · 01-06-2009, 06:50 PM

that will stink if it gets wet. ever change the filter in a fishtank with that stuff.....if it works why not

PCH · 01-06-2009, 07:01 PM

Great thing to do to any wagon, sound system or not

Just be careful if you still use the rear glass wiper so it doesn't jam.

wingzeroboi · 01-06-2009, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by litos_2006

do a before and after video

ill get one for you guys but all i got is a cell phone

good point pch i was thinkin bout that as i was stuffing, but i took the rear wiper out a week after i got the car lol

Goosetavo · 01-19-2009, 03:04 PM

wingzerboi, thanks for the tip! I I stuffed the rear quarters all the way around, and it makes a huge difference. All the rattles I had coming from back there are gone so far... I've been working on getting rid of those noises since day one. Thanks again!

hotweelz4me · 01-19-2009, 04:33 PM

Hmm, I may have to try this. How much does it cut down on road noise and outside interference? My wife complains about how loud the exhaust is in the cabin. When I'm driving alone it's no problem - the sound doesn't really bother me and I can just crank up the stereo...not so much with her in the car!

Goosetavo · 01-19-2009, 05:03 PM

Well... if your wife is complaining about the exhaust, I will have to guess you have some aftermarket loud can back there, right?
Poly-fil will not make a huge difference for you I'm also guessing... =)

GreenLantern · 01-22-2009, 07:34 AM

please post your opinions of the noise difference

TTxB · 01-22-2009, 09:04 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i bet that stuff burns easy

It is probably flame retardant. Most Polyfil stuff is.

hotweelz4me · 01-22-2009, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goosetavo

Well... if your wife is complaining about the exhaust, I will have to guess you have some aftermarket loud can back there, right?
Poly-fil will not make a huge difference for you I'm also guessing... =)

I wouldn't call it a "loud can" it's just the Tsudo axle back. It's not that loud and has a nice deep tone, no rasp really. I just need to bring cabin noise down to appease her.

Goosetavo · 01-22-2009, 10:12 AM

GreenLantern, not sure whom you are asking for his/her opinion...

but, what polyester filaments have done for me (my experience) is subtract a little of the sound created in hollow places in the car between the sheet metal and the plastic panels inside the car. Those empty spaces work as the inside of a drum (per say). Vibration resonates inside those empty spaces, and the more empty, the more sound. If you have a drum... try filling it up with Poly-fil and hear the difference when you play it. I know that nobody is hitting your car with a drumstick while you're driving, but the wind, the vibrations, etc. act like a drumstick if you would... Polyester fibers absorb or insulate a lot of those vibrations, for instance you have a more quite car... without much extra weight. It helps with the sound from your stereo (specially if you have upgraded your system to something much louder) by not allowing the music bounce so much on just hard surfaces. It's all about acoustics.

As far as how flammable it is... It would require a very high heat for it to actually catch on fire. I'm sure there are better products out there, but this is an economical "fix".

Hotweelz4me, give it a try! There is not much for you to loose but maybe $8 for two or three bags of these stuff to fill the rear quarters of the box.

I hope that helps.

TTxB · 01-22-2009, 07:36 PM

As far as how flammable it is... It would require a very high heat for it to actually catch on fire. I'm sure there are better products out there, but this is an economical "fix".

IT'S FLAME RETARDANT!

If it is used to fill dolls, which it is. IT IS FLAME RETARDANT.

If it touched the sun, maybe.

wingzeroboi · 01-23-2009, 01:11 AM

whoops never got that video for you guys... ill get it this weekend promise. to me when ever i knock on the hatch it sounds like its solid so it worked for me, and thats why i posted it.

LDUB · 01-23-2009, 02:26 AM

nice, ive had a rattle in the rear hatch ever since the rear wiper was taken off, this should be the end of it!

crex149 · 01-23-2009, 03:03 AM

This does work pretty well for sound deadening. I used to use it a lot back in the day when I competed in IASCA competitions all the time. It helps to muffle outside noise a little but especially cuts down on internal resonance. Still doesn't hurt to spray some sound deadening material onto the metal tho. I used that underbody coating stuff from Advance on my xb. It doesn't sound as much like a tin can now when you peck on the door panels and such.