Dynamat Should I use it and if so How?

duffer18 · 08-09-2004, 08:30 PM

I am about to dive into replacing the stock speakers with MB Quart (Ps in the front and Rs in the back) and adding a 10" sub driven with a Phoenix Gold 5 channel amp. I haven't done an audio install in many years and there have been many improvements. I have seen and heard about dynamat from a couple of installers and they say it will kill rattles and make the ride much quieter. This all sounds great but they want and exorbitant sum to do the install. Since I am mechanically inclined I figured I might try it myself. So can anyone help with advice on the how tos, where tos and what to watch out for?

Also any advice on minimum wire sizes, caps, sources for converting from the stock line outs to RCAs would be most appreciated.

Potroast · 08-09-2004, 09:53 PM

Dynamat will definitely kill some rattles, and help against reverberations and road-noise. However, it's way too expensive.

Go to Home Depot, or a similar roofing-supply warehouse, and purchase a product called "Peel & Seal". It is the exact same construction and chemical composition as Dynamat. It is also equally effective. It is 45 mils thick, as opposed to the 60 mils of dynamat extreme. You can apply two layers of P&S for a total of 90 mils protection and still cost less than dynamat. Since layers are thinner, it becomes easier to apply and mold, and protection and sound deadening is actually *better* than dynamat when two layers are used. You also save money even with better performance.

MSRP on Peel & Seal is $25 for a 25' x 12" roll. You will need approximately 4 rolls to do all dimensions of a Crew Cab. Most places sell it below MSRP, averaging around $20 a roll. They also make 3" and 6" wide rolls if you want some smaller stuff to fit harder-to-reach areas.

duffer18 · 08-09-2004, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Potroast

Dynamat will definitely kill some rattles, and help against reverberations and road-noise. However, it's way too expensive.

Potroast,
Thanks for the response. I hope people dont laugh but I have to ask. So I just take the Peel and Seal and apply it to all metal parts that I can access / cover up some kind of trim/carpet etc, correct?

Potroast · 08-09-2004, 10:08 PM

It depends on how extreme you want to get. On my installs, I rip out then entire interior and cover EVERYTHING. You don't have to go as extreme. However, I have taken cars that otherwise have a *lot* of road noise and turn them into perfectly silent boxes.

Cover the doors at least, since you'll have the panels off. If you want to take out the seats and carpet, you can do the floor and eliminate most road noise.

Doing the footwells and dash helps with rattles and limits engine drone when the windows are up. Covering the rear wall helps to remove drone from the exhaust. Doing the headliner helps limit echos from the roof.

It's also been argued, although I am not aware of any extensive testing on the matter, that doing the entire cab will result in more efficient heating and cooling. It makes sense, but I am not aware of any testing to prove either way.

So it all depends on how much you want to spend, and how much effort you want to exert -- not to mention how much of a new truck you want to disassemble

smoketitan · 08-09-2004, 10:48 PM

if you use the peel n seal just make sure you check the temperature usage limits and taylor it to your particular climate. I used brown bread a great high end product from canada(off ebay)--very cheap in comparison to dynamat--higher quality. there is a great low cost alternative called raamaat60 that you can get here http://www.raamaudio.com/products.htm---watch the tar though I got some on my carpet and one of my door panels and on my driveway (go figure I was tired and it was 100 degrees out )and it a pain in the rear to remove

just offering alternatives. and I have done all my doors (and while tedious as it does take time to do it right)--it defintely makes the rattles go away,and deepens the bass output of you door speakers. seal ALL the holes,and make sure you seal as much of the inner door also for the best effect

and wire size use nothing smaller than 16ga wire, 12ga is better but a lot more expensive and not really worth it since most likely you will be splicing into the stock wires ayway(which are 19-20ga very thin)

Potroast · 08-09-2004, 10:52 PM

Peel & Seal was originally intended for use on roofing, and is rated for temperatures higher than what is required to melt your dash.

I can second the recommendation for Raamaat -- it's an excellent product. I still find Peel & Seal to be more effective and less expensive, however.

bestatchess · 08-10-2004, 08:47 AM

I bought the panel removal tool from crutchfield. It looks like a big 2-prong fork. I think it will help with getting the panels on & off without breaking anything. I have a roll of the brown bread referenced by smoketitan. I haven't opened it yet, but it is a big roll and is surprisingly (to me, at least) heavy.

bestatchess · 08-10-2004, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duffer18

Also any advice on minimum wire sizes, caps, sources for converting from the stock line outs to RCAs would be most appreciated.

I pestered smoketitan and others previously at great length on this issue. Based on that advice, I bought:

http://www.davidnavone.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=N-774V

and a Scosche NN03RB which is a connector/harness for 1995 & up Nissans that is supposed to plug into the stock head unit for the speaker connections. The concept is to wire the N-774 (solder & heat shrink tubing) to the NN03RB, then disconnect the stock connector/harness from the back of the head unit, plug in the NN03RB, and then run a 4-channel RCA cable from the N-774 to your amp. If you are using two amps (one for speakers & one for sub(s) then you can run a short two channel RCA patch cable from the 4 channel amp to the sub amp, provided you get amps that have the required output/input. I have the RF, and I am going to completely disconnect the stock amp. The N-774 has a short wire harness with clearly labeled wires for the inputs, and RCAs for the output.

I have 12 gage speaker wire I am going to try to use, but if that proves too difficult, I am going to use a suggestion by eakes to use molex pins to tap my speaker wires from the amp into the stock wire harness.

Other stuff I also bought: a grommet to run 4 gage power wire through the firewall, a breaker to put under the hood for the battery connection, a 1 farad capacitor, a fused distribution block that also has ground connections, 4 gage power wire. The idea is that the 4 gage wire gets connected to the provided accessory terminal on the battery, from there immediately to the breaker, from the breaker through the grommet and firewall to the rear of the cab to the fused distribution block, then through the distribution block to the amps & capacitor, with the ground connections through the block to one of the seat bolts.

I am still undetermined about mounting the amps, capacitor and distribution block. I don't want to drive sheet metal screws through the rear wall of the cab (which is what all of the local install shops I talked to would do without batting an eyelash). I am thinking about using allen head screws and T-nuts to mount them to thin pieces of hardwood, and then using fast setting epoxy to attach the hardwood to the rear wall of the cab. That would allow removal of the components via the allen head screws, but the hardwood would be permanently attached. 3M has some high bond double sided tape, but I have not been able to find that at any local stores. They have it on their web site for about $9,000 per roll. Also, they recommend 4 sq. in per lb. of load, which would be 80 sq. in. for a 20 lb. load, which means I would have to use a mounting panel as 80 sq. in. is alot more than just putting tape on the mounting flanges of my amps.

http://www.3m.com/us/mfg_industrial/.../vhb/cladding/

I am still waiting on a sub driver, and I will have my dealer swap the stock RF HU per the TSB before I do the install.

Also, I bought the PIE amplifier for the AUX jack per sammysandbags post on this subject. (Any chance the new HU fixes the low AUX input level problem?)

duffer18 · 08-10-2004, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bestatchess

I pestered smoketitan and others previously at great length on this issue. Based on that advice, I bought:

Sounds like you and I are on the same page and looking to do the same thing. Thanks for all the helpfull info. This is the thing I love about this board many helpfull people

supertitan · 08-10-2004, 07:54 PM

[b]has Nissan Come Out With A Remote Start For The Titan?

Potroast · 08-10-2004, 08:19 PM

no, but you can use an aftermarket one.

Silver SErfer · 08-11-2004, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bestatchess

I am still undetermined about mounting the amps, capacitor and distribution block. I don't want to drive sheet metal screws through the rear wall of the cab (which is what all of the local install shops I talked to would do without batting an eyelash).

In my crew cab, I found a place where there is a big gap between the inner sheet metal and the outer sheet metal. It runs parallel to the ground, about halfway up the back wall. The snaps that hold the back wall carpet in place go into it. I just lined up the top of my amp rack with that location and drove self-tapping screws into the inner sheet metal. It worked perfectly and they dont go through to the outside of the cab.

-Chris