Was clearing out the garage today and came across some sound insulating material so stuck some vibration deadening sheets on the boot floor and under the spare wheel and then cut some foam and put it under the boot carpet. Interesting that there appears to be no sound insulating material at all in the boot so I can only assume there is none anywhere else. First impression is that it is does appear to be quieter, but that may just be the placebo effect.

I took apart a Fiat 500 to improve on the road noise (seats & carpet out) and lined the floor pan with dynomat then cotton fibre. It did make a difference, and that combined with changing the tyres (from Continental Eco Contacts to Eagle F1s) made a huge difference - nearly 10dB IIRC at 60mph.

 

Fibre matting is effective at high frequencies (it needs to be very thick to be effective in low ranges) - heavy weight matting is required for lower frequencies, hence why they don't bother I suppose. It would be easy to add 50 or even 100kg with sound insulation.

Edited 9 March, 201412 yr by pearce_jj

I seam to remember a thread on these forums somewhere that had a step by step guide to soundproofing a Fabia.

I seam to remember a thread on these forums somewhere that had a step by step guide to soundproofing a Fabia.

 

I've found it since posting, thank you.

 

I don't think it will take much to make a noticeable difference, it's whether I can be bothered to take the seats and carpets out. 4 or 6 vibration absorbing sheets and some foam should be sufficient. I certainly can't be bothered with door cards, headlining etc, unless I'm doing something else that warrants their removal.

Door cards are pretty simple. I've insulated mine. It's the sides of the boot I don't fancy.

Side boot trim isn't too bad. Rear seats out, seat belts off, then it's a few screws here n there then off. Still an hour or so job mind.

That's my task for this weekend. Got some silentcoat

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/silent-coat-extra-bulk-pack

Some mlv

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=161197289536

And some felt sticky tape

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=291077491838

Going to redo the whole thing in the 'propper' stuff as I think the difference will be fairly noticeable.

Iv been taking a few snaps as iv been going along so will add them on my project journal page if it's of any interest.

The front firewall would be something I'd like to do but looking at it, its a big job!

A possible thought today of when it's time for new tyres' stick some 205 45/50 r17 on which I think will reduce the road noise the most. This is with thinking that the speedo reads 5ish mph fast anyway. So larger tyres will give me the actual speed. There maybe more to it than that though

Side boot trim isn't too bad. Rear seats out, seat belts off, then it's a few screws here n there then off. Still an hour or so job mind.

That's my task for this weekend. Got some silentcoat

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/silent-coat-extra-bulk-pack

Some mlv

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=161197289536

And some felt sticky tape

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=291077491838

Going to redo the whole thing in the 'propper' stuff as I think the difference will be fairly noticeable.

Iv been taking a few snaps as iv been going along so will add them on my project journal page if it's of any interest.

The front firewall would be something I'd like to do but looking at it, its a big job!

A possible thought today of when it's time for new tyres' stick some 205 45/50 r17 on which I think will reduce the road noise the most. This is with thinking that the speedo reads 5ish mph fast anyway. So larger tyres will give me the actual speed. There maybe more to it than that though

Tyre sizes issues:-

Gearing will change

Clearance,esp.front tyres on lock.

Handling

Insurance

May all be ok,of course.

Yep, will need to look into those things so it may be a no go.

I was trying to imply that larger walled tyres usually quietens things down and I don't really want to get a new set of rims - I like the one that are on it and want to keep the standardish look.

My Passat is pretty quite but even so I noticed a dramatic reduction in tyre noise changing from Conti Sport 3's to F1 Assy 2's.

 

Our Fabia has Conti Premium Contacts and there's lots of tyre noise.

 

Cheers

Lee

On the subject of tyres.. I currently have 1 tyre different than the others. I can actually hear that one corner of the car is louder. Struggle to hear my son as thats the side his car seat is on. Hes only 2 so speaks quiet.

Food-for-thought - an old thread I wrote on the Fiat 500 forum: here

I didnt notice the monte was much noisier than my SE (only a brief test drive mind) which obviously has lower profile tyres.

I'll be changing to a different make of tyre when these wear down.

Every review on the internet that iv read says how noisey the Bridgestone turanza's are.