Generic Dynamat Installation

Soundproofing Your Doors with Generic Dynamat
By: HgSpyder 

Have you ever heard rattles and buzzing sounds when listening to your stereo? Since most of us have to turn the volume way up to hear with the top down, I would guess the answer is yes. There is something you can do about it and it doesn’t cost a lot and it’s easy to do. There is an inexpensive way to add soundproofing to your doors. All you have to do is replace the existing thin clear plastic vapor barrier with a material that is very similar to Dynamatâ

Ordering the Material

The material is available from McMaster-Carr. Just go to their main page and do a search on this number - “9709T19”.

 http://www.mcmaster.com/

 A 32” X 54” sheet is only $12.79 and even with shipping it costs less than $15.00 delivered.

Removing the old barrier

I won’t go into the procedure for removing the door panels; it’s been covered before. If you need the instructions, go to this link.

http://www.spydermagazine.com/2000/Sept/doorpanel/doorpanels.htm

I will start with the door panels removed. The first thing you will need to do is remove the speakers and door handle. The handle just slides to the rear and then lifts out. Hex screws fasten the speakers.

After all these are removed you can remove the plastic vapor barrier. Just start in one corner and pull. I used a razor knife to cut the black adhesive as I went along. Try to leave as much of the black stuff on the door as this will help to seal the new material in critical areas. After it is removed you door should look something like this.

 I had already done my speaker areas with Dynamat, so I didn’t re do them. Here is a closer view.

If you notice, the vapor barrier never covered this area to begin with.

Cutting the Material

The material comes in a 32” x 54” sheet. I cut the sheet in half to make 2 – 27” x 32” sheets. I used the original plastic as a template and it stuck to the sheet pretty well because of the black adhesive. Make sure the adhesive side is down on both pieces.

Cut the material even with the top of the template and the leave about a ½” extra the rest of the way around.

Before removing the template, make sure you cut the slits for the handle cables and speaker wire to fit through. You also need to cut the small rectangles to expose the holes that the handle and tweeters fasten to.

 The slit for the handle cables should be made into an H so that the whole assembly will fit through it.

Installing the new barrier

Now just remove the backing, feed the handle and speaker wires through and line up the holes on the door. It will stick, but not so much that you can’t make adjustments.  After aligning the material and making sure it’s stuck, you can install the handle and speakers. When you are done it should look like this.

Notice that I cut around the fastener holes so that the thicker material wouldn’t interfere with the door trim replacement.

You might have to remove some extra material around the door handle to get all three legs to seat correctly. Also, notice I cut the new material around the speaker area and let it seal on top of the speaker dynamat. If you are doing your speakers too (you should have plenty of material left over), I would suggest you do the speakers first and then the vapor barrier.  I also have a crossover that goes with my Infiniti speakers installed in the door. I made 2 small slits it the Dynamat, stuck a small piece of ¼” plywood to the back of the material, and cable tied it in place. It really just holds it until the door trim is replaced.

 That’s all there is to it. The stereo sounds better and I get a much-improved base response from the stock head unit. I can barely hear the electric windows go up and down and road noise, even with the top down, is greatly reduced. Oh yea, and when you close the door, it sounds solid.

 Not bad for $15.00 and a couple hours of your time.