One of the things that can keep a good cross-country trip from being a great one is being stuck in a noisy truck cab. Sometimes, a truck comes from the factory that way due a absence of sound-deadening material and the presence of a loud engine. In other cases, the din is a result of big tires and an aftermarket exhaust. Whether you're trying to listen to a favorite CD on the road or want to have a conversation at 75 mph, noise can get in the way. One solution is to install Dynamat, a sound- and vibration-deadening material from Dynamic Control.
| 00 Sound Deadening Install
Dynamat is a thin, flexible, easy to cut and mold sheet that actually stops noise that causes resonance and vibration by using visco-elastic qualities that promote vibro-acoustic energy conversion. That means noise becomes silent energy. Imagine rapping a drum with a stick. Now put your hand on the drum and hit it again, and there's no vibration. That's what Dynamat does to the thin sheetmetal panels on your truck's doors, roof, floor, and the underside of the hood. Anyone who has had an elaborate audio/video system installed in his truck is already familiar with Dynamat, but you don't need to be an extreme audiophile to enjoy the product's benefits. Plus, kits can be installed by owners or qualified shops.
| 1. The first step is to remove anything from the truck's interior that isn't made of sheetmetal.
Paradyme Mobile Electronics in Sacramento, California, specializes in high-end audio sound systems and the use and installation of Dynamat. We recently had the opportunity to watch the techs there work on a friend's stock Ford F-350 Super Duty with the Power Stroke. Aside from knowing how to install the Dynamat, Dynaliner, and Hoodliner properly, it's a huge advantage to know how to strip the inside of a vehicle and then put it all back together without breaking any of the little plastic clips that keep interior trim pieces in place.
| 2. Dynamat is installed on every square inch of bare sheetmetal that can be reached.
Before the installation, we did some road tests using a digital sound-measuring meter. At idle (cold start), we recorded a high of 80 decibels. At 35 mph, it was 86 decibels; and at 70 mph on the highway, it rose to 94 decibels. After Paradyme was finished, we recorded 72 decibels at idle, 75 decibels at 35 mph, and 78 decibels at 70 mph on the highway. That's about a 10-decibel drop overall. Dynamic Control's own tests on a 2003 Crew Cab with the Duramax diesel engine revealed similar results, showing a 12.7 dB reduction in road noise. That doesn't appear to be a huge difference, but the dB scale is logarithmic, so it's bigger than it seems and Terry SooHoo at Paradyme, a respected expert in the car audio world, said these numbers don't tell the whole story. Driving home, the Super Duty owner observed that music was much more enjoyable to listen to and normal conversation was easier. There was an amazing difference in the reduction of the high-frequency levels, which are often the most irritating on the highway. Dynamat can make long trips less stressful, and can make it a lot easier to enjoy your sound system.
| 3. Even though installing Dynamat is a peel-and-stick job, each sheet must be cut to size and rolled to ensure full contact.
SOURCE
Dynamic Control
800/225-8133
www.dynamat.com
Paradyme Mobile Electronics
916/971-3600
www.paradyme.com
