floor board

 

I think that you are getting two things confused here...there is the sound produced by your cars panels vibrating, then there is the sound that isn't absorbed by your car and enters it. They are two different things.

Every panel in your car, when subjected to vibration, acts as a little speaker. By adding mass loading material (i.e. dynamat, etc) to those panels, you change their resonant frequency making them more resistant to vibration. By removing this vibration, you have helped to lower the noise floor in your car.

Now to reduce actual road noise, you can add insulation. Car part stores sell it in rolls, often with a foil backed side to reduce heat as well. You could also use carpet pad used in home applications. That material will help to absorb some of the sounds you are hearing.

Remeber that many things contribute to road noise, including window glass thickness, and aerodynamics.

One place that made a big difference in my car was adding hi-temp mastic (generic dynamat original) to the door panels and skins. Instead of sounding like a tin can when shut, now my doors close with a nice thud. With door mounted speakers, the amount of vibration coming from those panels is pretty noticable. The floor boards is next on my car along with the ceiling.

 

get the doors first. If you have a nice midbass driver in the door, it gives u a much richer, fuller sound. I wanted my door to be so solid i used 4-5 layers on my doors.

 

With the aerodymanics of a Civic, how well will Dynamat and insulation work to drastically reduce road noise? Will it be comparable to a luxuary car afterwards?

 

I'm in the same situation. Currently I have no brown bread, but am getting some 6.5's for my door, and want to help get rid of the tire noise on my '96 Coupe. I took off the door panel, and it looks like ton of work to get all the way down to the bare steel of the door. Will another type of product, like an expanding foam, work? that way I can put it in without removing all the door stuff. Although, the window would be affected, right? Thanks for the help.