Disappointed After Spending 4k In Soundproofing

this is not an easy job to, sound are not easy to mute, have to live with it, how to say it is soundless in car? even the best car still have sound to me, anyway sound is free same like sunshine, air and rain, so take sound as music it will be nicer, so far all my rides are not that noisy - at least to me or any of my passengers have ever complaint either. maybe they are better insulated cars from the manufacturer?

Hi Desmond,

I would like to enquire on the cost for sound proofing for:

1. Naza Rondo
2. VW Polo

Thanks.

Dieselmarc

Hi,

I also can't stand the road noise from the tyres/ etc (M3 Sedan 1.6) which seems to seep in the car from the front, undercarriage and doors. Went to KL Auto (giving KL Auto the full benefit of the doubt even after reading your post here on your dissapointment) and since Desmond sounded so confident (apparently his team alreday did some R&D on M3 soundproofing) to reduce the noise to an acceptable level.

Went to KL Auto and was recommended to soundproof the 4 wheel arches, boot treatment, dashboard treatment and autofoam comfort package which cost RM3.2K. In the end, also dissapointed like you, not much improvement at all.....

And yes, I went back once (after 3 or 4 days) and even after that called Desmond to tell him not much improvement. His solution.... wait for the 3M roar buster which is out of stock. Waited a couple of weeks for him to call and got fed up of waiting, so went to KK Lau Audio Specialist in Ara Damansara to solve my problem.

Here is the solution (much cheaper as well) to the road noise for my M3:-

1) Apply Dynamat Extreme & some insulation material to the inside of the wheel wells
2) Apply Dynamat Extreme & some insulation material to 4 doors
3) Apply Dynamat Extreme & some insulation material the side of the boot.

Cost ard RM1.7K but oh boy, I was impressed with the results (noise reduction of 50% or more IMHO) and I was grinning ear to ear driving my car on mute all the way home from Ara Damansara on the federal highway.

I was so impressed I went back the next day to Dynamat Extreme my undercarriage and roof (another RM1.5K) but just slight improvement only since the 1st round already reduced the road noise substantially.

So readers, please be aware... not only KL Auto does soundproofing and their work / recommendations may not work for you too (as in my case). And yeah, Im still running on my stock tyres....

(P/S I dont work for KK Lau or receive any commision from them)

Hi tmkia san,

Did you do any sound proof at your 4 doors at KL Auto?

Thx for sharing.

Nope, I did my 4 doors soundproofing at KK Lau instead after being fed up waiting for KL Auto's "recommended" 3M Roar Buster which was apparently out of stock after the "recommended" QuietDrive treatment did not improve road noise.

Could you share the breakdown for the various individual upgrades. Perhaps it was also the combination of what Desmond and KK Lau did that saw the big improvement. I too want to make my ride quieter and hence waiting for more feedback before taking the jump.

Are you driving a M3? 1.6 or 2.0?

I am a pauper, only driving "Asia's Answer to BMW". Tyre roar is quite obvious and also engine noise once the RPM > 4K

Lol, the Forte you mean? That was my previous car before switching to Mazda 3 (an unfortunate story, the Forte is a real fine car and best in value for that price). And trust me, the Forte's car NVH is way better that the M3. The Kumho's road noise is only quite loud when you are actually speeding or on bad road patches.

You can read my posts from the Lowyat Mazda 3 forum. I specified what was done in KL Auto (costs n results) and thereafter what was done in KK Lau (costs n results) under my same nick here.

And on the probability the final effect is what was done with both KL Auto and KK Lau, its possible but not likely. KL's Auto "products" like the Quietdrive and Autofoam can only be tested days after the product dries up and harden. By then, you paid already and words like the result is "subjective" based on your own "perception" will be uttered when you express your disappointment . Same BS that our politicians tell you when they say crime rate is down... "its your perception"...

hi BMkia,

I am glad you have found the right place to solve your problem after disppointment with KL Auto. I have sent my car back to KL Auto for the 3rd time last weekend but the result is still far from yours, something like 50% improvement ? I really want to find out the differences of noise level between yours and mine after the treatment since both of our cars are mazda 3. Is it possible for us to meet up so that we can test both car on the same stretch of road just to compare since you have done about the same package of what i did with KL auto. Thanks