Dynamat and other ways to quiet a noisy car?

Knurled wrote:

Ian F wrote: I'm a bit confused here. This is a 2012 car.

A low end 2012 car built to a price. It's not an Audi, it's a Subaru.

Not really. A 2012 Outback was not a cheap car. Unless is an Impreza based "Sport" and not the standard version. Friends have an older version (2005?) I have spent a fair amount of time in over the years. I wouldn't consider it a low budget car at all. It is also fairly quiet. I've been in more expensive cars that were just as quiet. Including Audi's and BMW's. Subarus may not be a top end brand, but comparing an Outback to a Kia Forte is laughable.

Regardless, if wind noise is your problem, I fear you are pretty much screwed. If it bothers you that much, buy a new car.

I love those Cooper tires so I don't think it's that. You may want to try driving it a couple times with no rack (unless I'm misunderstanding you and your car only has the side bars). I've had racks for all my cars and they are ridiculously loud.

Earplugs?

The cross bars store in the side bars, so effectively yes just side bars.

And while it's not a bottom end car, it's certainly not high end either. And mine is the 2.5i base model.

I plan on installing a rear view camera and auto dimming mirror sometime this summer, if/when I have the headliner out I'll try one of the barrier liners and maybe look in to doing the doors and hatch area. If that doesn't help, well at least I tried.

This thread makes me realize that during my younger, car-audio days, I was installing sound deadening completely wrong.

skierd wrote: The cross bars store in the side bars, so effectively yes just side bars. And while it's not a bottom end car, it's certainly not high end either. And mine is the 2.5i base model. I plan on installing a rear view camera and auto dimming mirror sometime this summer, if/when I have the headliner out I'll try one of the barrier liners and maybe look in to doing the doors and hatch area. If that doesn't help, well at least I tried.

Really? That's awesome....I should have bought a Subaru.

Have you checked the condition of your door and trunk seals? If one or more have torn or flattened out, they leak air and massive amounts of road noise. I had a couple go bad in my van, and Berkeley was it loud. I mean I actually stopped and walked around and reclosed doors and windows and made sure something hadn't broken loud... I ended up adding a second layer/strip of the sticky back home window foam insulation around a couple of my popout windows and my rear doors. Made a huge difference. Just a thought. Good luck. Paul

Enyar wrote: Also curious on the tire situation. Tires make a huge difference in road noise based on my experience.

this

If you notice a bigger difference with how fast you are travelling than you see with what road surface you are on, it is probably wind noise. Using Blizzaks as a comparison for quiet tires is like using a 1.7 914 as a comparison for a fast car. Using the wrong baseline.

Just because a Subaru was not inexpensive, does not mean it is not a cheap car.

My friend went hog wild with his 57 Belvedere; dynamat, lizard skin on the floors, foam and carpet in the trunk.

It was still a noisy tank. I don't think it did a bit of good, but it was an old car. On the plus side, it rode smoother with the additional 200 lbs.

Adding 200 pounds to a '57 Belvedere would be equivalent to having a pack of gum in your pocket in a Miata