DIY: Sound Deadening and Amp/Sub Install

[Goobee]

I've been wanting to do this for some time time now, I finally set aside a weekend to install some sound deadening material and a subwoofer.

Sound Deadening Material

I went with a spread-on product made by Elemental Designs, eDead V.3 Sound Deadening Liquid. I'm not sure if it is as effective as the stick-on sheets such a Dynamat but it's light and adds almost no weight to your car.

It comes in a gallon can:



This stuff is very easy to work with. First, strip everything out of the trunk:



Then give it a good cleaning. I used rubbing alcohol and a clean rag. After it drys, pick a location and start spreading the stuff on. I started with a thin first layer, let it dry and added 2 more thicker coats later.



I'm not sure if this stuff will damage paint so I threw on a plastic drop cover before working on the underside of the trunk lid.



I applied the material on the sides, the entire floor including the tire well and the trunk lid.

Amp Installation

While the sound deadening stuff was drying, I started work under the hood. I did a search in the forum to see where everyone was running their wires through the firewall. I located the big rubber grommet on the passenger side with a couple of extrusions (some have referred to these as "nipples") and snipped of the end of one of them. (Very important, just nip a little off, not the entire extrusion. You'll see why later.)

I greased up the 8 gauge power cable and slipped it through the extrusion opening. Then I removed the glove box and pulled the power cable through (I thought I had taken a picture but in my excitement, I guess not.) The glove box is easy to remove, it's only held in by 6 or so screws and one lag screw. Once you have the proper cable length measured out, slide a protector sleeve over the cable all the way to the grommet and over the extrusion.



Then, take a wire tie and zip it up nice and tight over the sleeve, the extrusion and power cable to prevent water from leaking in. If you cut too much of the extrusion off, you will not be able to do this.



To run the power cable into the trunk, I took a solid wire and poked it through the bottom right hole until it came out the other side:



I zip tied a cable protector sleeve on the wire:



And pulled it into the trunk:



Then I fed the power cable through the protector sleeve into the trunk:



I ran a couple taps onto the rear speaker leads. Before getting into the trunk, I laid a couple boards across the tire well. There's no way that wafer thin piece of press board under the carpet will hold your body weight:



And there you have it, my sub installed and functional. I have to tidy up the wires but I'll leave that for another day. What's nice about this Kenwood amp is that it doesn't need a separate turn-on lead. It automatically turns on and off when it receives a signal from the speakers.

[MrSo0h0o]

8 gauge is a little small.. How much power are you drawing? Do you have any rattles at all or is it pretty quiet with the 2-3 layers you put on? IMO I would have gone with a better sub, but whatever floats your boat.

[Goobee]

The Kenwood KAC-8104D is supposedly 500watts @ 2ohms. I doubt if I'll ever crank it up that loud. Crutchfield recommended the 8 gauge so I went with it.

The deadening material appears to work pretty well. I turned the volume up a good clip, got out of the car and not a lot of bass can be heard from the trunk.

The inside of the car has always rattled and squeaked from day one. It's terrible inside, looks like I'm going to have to deaden the cabin as well.

[CamrySExxx]

Good job but no offence. For all that work I was expecting some crazy set up.
Should've went with 4ga.
Honestly compared to my accord , gen5 camry and the gen6. I found that there was VERY LITTLE rattle. Unless you sit outside and listen to the license plate.
But good job none the less. Never knew about the liquid sound deadener. Using that comapred to actual dynamat, how much of a savings is it ?

[Goobee]

It's quite a bit cheaper at $50 a gallon, I only needed the 1 can for the trunk. No license plate rattle for me, I slapped 2 coats on the back of the license plate.

[bigloubumpin]

kool install...who made the enclosue?

[LOV]

Clean install, good job.I wanted to do some sound deadening as well.

[workerant]

I wonder if the foam works well as a deadener. You know the spray one that you can get at homedepot.

[ebumdude]

Nice job on the deadening, for inside the cabin you will need to do some work for the rear deck. That is where most of your rattles come from. I dynamatted the shit out of mine, then put a thin piece of foam stip all along the boarders of the rear deck so is would stop the rattle on the glass.

You dont hear any bass from the trunk because you only have 1 10" sub.

To each his/her own....good luck with the rattles in the rear deck............its a biiiotch.

[Goobee]

Originally Posted by bigloubumpin

kool install...who made the enclosue?

I got it from http://www.xactfit.com

Originally Posted by ebumdude

You dont hear any bass from the trunk because you only have 1 10" sub.

Actually it's a 12".

DVC wired to 2ohms.

[ebumdude]

Originally Posted by Goobee

Actually it's a 12".

DVC wired to 2ohms.

Touche'

[Zonsolo]

Originally Posted by TTM77

I wonder if the foam works well as a deadener. You know the spray one that you can get at homedepot.

DO NOT USE EXPANDING FOAM INSULATION. If it gets in cracks, it will bend body panels, pop spot welds and destroy whatever is in its path while it is expanding as it hardens.

Ask me how I know....

[09legend]

for the deck rattle turn the bass up all the way. i used a lil john song. take ur index finger and press down on the deck at the lip in the middle. when the rattle gores way this is where you will drill a screw. i dynamatted mine and still the rattle was there. it ended up all being solved with one screw at the lip in the middle of the deck and viola

[ebumdude]

that is definitely one solution...

[workerant]

Originally Posted by Zonsolo

DO NOT USE EXPANDING FOAM INSULATION. If it gets in cracks, it will bend body panels, pop spot welds and destroy whatever is in its path while it is expanding as it hardens.

Ask me how I know....

R we driving a car made out of cardboard? Thanks buddy.