[jamespaul]

sometimes the "opponents" are rival business interest!

haha. true. i guess some rival business interest will battle it out in forums for supremacy.

cant stop that, but hopefully smart forummers will be able to differentiate helpful comments and learn from them.

i am learning too. my previous car had that air tight feeling, after reading this thread, i've learnt a lot.

[advocates]

I read somewhere in the thread that Desmond comes across as arrogant. There is a fine distinction between being arrogant and being overly passionate. To my simple mind, being arrogant is basically could not be bothered with the customer's feedback - whether or not you are happy with the product/service (I have met many vendors who would try to avoid responsibility when the products are faulty or does not meet our expectation). On the other hand, being overly passionate refers to someone who is proud of his product/work/service. At times, such person may come across as arrogant. ( A matter of perception).

Having the benefit of knowing Desmond personally, (and yes, I am in his fancub!!), I am fully persuaded that he is not arrogant. He is crazee, no doubt. Reckless driving? Perhaps. (but I know he is one hell of a good driver!) Eccentric? Definitely (Who on earth will offer you the bengalli tea using milk from the right breast, huh??) But he being arrogant? Far from it.

I think he is the overly passionate type. I mean which vendor will offer to tweak and re-tweak free of charge. Sometimes, offer to upgrade with no additional costs is also on the table. And if all else fails, offer a full refund!! (I think he is an idiot from a businessman point of view but that is what you get from an overly passionate idiot!)

The problem with SP, just like handling, is that they are black art. One man's meat may be another man's poison. It is subjective and relative as evidenced by the conflicting reviews in this thread. What is more important, however, is that he is prepared to go the extra mile to provide customers' satisfaction to the extend of offering a refund subject to conditions, which to my mind, fair.

Cheers.

[KHAWWM]

Hi All,

After more than a year since I posted this topic, I am indeed surprise with the amount of responses or interests generated or received even till today. I have to agreed with BMkia that each time some negative remarks posted on the forum, lots of people will immediate come and share their personal good encounters or works who and who has performed to counter the negative remarks even though some might not be specific or relevant to the issues or problems raised. Some even ask me not to air my frustration and disappointment in the forum. Well, is a free world here, everyone can voice their concern and opinion but I am just quite amazed with the speed, the depth and width of the knowledge , the coincidences and the numbers of expert in this field.

I have to agreed with some that Desmond does sound arrogant at time. We both raised our voice many time arguing during our second round of testing when I sent my car in for the re tweak. He keep blaming on my tyre ignoring my feedback and at the same time I try to prove my point that he should have tested my car in the first place and tell me what can be done and the extent of improvement can be achieved before embarking the 4k soundproofing exercise for me . Of course I am fully aware that tyre play an important factor in the noise level but you just dun ask people to change the tyre after you fail to address the problem and after 4k has been spent on this ! If 4k can only improve the noise level by 15 -20% and the rest is due to the tyre, then even a kid will know where I should spent my money in the first place. I am very specific with my problem. I tell him I just want to reduce the tyre roll and not the comfort and handling of the car because I already very happy with the way mazda 3 hatchback behave in this area. It take one year when I sent in my car for the 3rd time re tweak last week for Desmond to admit that he make a mistake and he as a doctor gave the wrong prescription that rather than using my budget to concentrate on reducing the tyre noise, he spent most of my budget on auto foam for improvement that I do not need.

The third round of re tweak did improve the cabin and make it more airy and the noise stay “shorter� in the cabin. But all in after the third round of re tweak, the result is still far from satisfactory, probably about 15% to 20% improvement from stock position when I first collected my car albeit some obvious improvement after the 3rd re tweak . He did mentioned there are some and better new material to solve my problem. But as BMkia has rightly pointed out, I wouldn’t want to spend my money on the same surgeon twice when he already failed me the first time.

So am I happy with KL auto services ? Yes and No. YES for some of their services such as free tweak and re tweak and their prompt follow up after each re tweak to check/verify any significant improvement . NO also for the FOC tweak and re tweak that improve slightly with the large amount of time spent for them to experiment my car ( thanks for their time and my time), their procedure of checking the problem and recommending solution need to be improve ( not all car are the same) and their reluctant to acknowledge mistake quickly when the solution doesn’t work.

Good customer service and result? I am not sure for my case. Refund is not applicable for my case. I am asked to pay for new and better material that according to them can improve my problem. So I am stuck with the current set up and material that improve my problem by 15% -20% for 4k that I have spent and I do not think I want to sent the car in for tweak and re tweak or in other words experiment with my car again with existing material that they installed for me earlier that they admitted they have make a mistake in allocating the budget in solving my problem.

I know lots of people can tell us soundproofing is very subjective, is an art .. etc. This may be true for certain cases but definitely not for my case. The tyre roar is still very obvious and loud. There is no subjectivity in the loudness and nosiness of the roar ! What subjectivity are you talking about here ? The noise is very clear, loud and disturbing ! I will definitely change my tyre in the future, there is no doubt about that. In the mean time, I will want to explore the dynamat exteme with BMkia as agreed somewhere in Sept.



Cheers

[jamespaul]

what's with the Benggali tea? one of the mysteries i have never understood reading this thread.

i personally think soundproofing is not art. more of advance science? its not easy, dont get me wrong. i dont think its too hard?

maybe we need the soundproofing sifu's to take more time in understanding the problems first before fixing it?

because i think sometime the sifu's just over generalise the issue. Eg:

customer 1: my car noisy, engine noise?

sifu: ah! you need to do Fix A

customer 2: my car noisy, road noise?

sifu: ah! you need to do Fix A

customer 3: my car noisy, wind noise?

sifu: ah! you need to do Fix A



i think it should be more along the lines of:

customer 1: my car noisy, engine noise?

sifu: ah! you need to do Fix A

customer 2: my car noisy, road noise?

sifu: ah! you need to do Fix B

customer 3: my car noisy, wind noise?

sifu: ah! you need to do Fix C

thats my take. i noticed in the threads that the Sifu's over generalise their solution. almost like a Doctor giving you Panadol for headache, tummy ache, knee ache and whatever ache that you may have.

[bmkia]

Hi All,

After more than a year since I posted this topic, I am indeed surprise with the amount of responses or interests generated or received even till today. I have to agreed with BMkia that each time some negative remarks posted on the forum, lots of people will immediate come and share their personal good encounters or works who and who has performed to counter the negative remarks even though some might not be specific or relevant to the issues or problems raised. Some even ask me not to air my frustration and disappointment in the forum. Well, is a free world here, everyone can voice their concern and opinion but I am just quite amazed with the speed, the depth and width of the knowledge , the coincidences and the numbers of expert in this field.

I have to agreed with some that Desmond does sound arrogant at time. We both raised our voice many time arguing during our second round of testing when I sent my car in for the re tweak. He keep blaming on my tyre ignoring my feedback and at the same time I try to prove my point that he should have tested my car in the first place and tell me what can be done and the extent of improvement can be achieved before embarking the 4k soundproofing exercise for me . Of course I am fully aware that tyre play an important factor in the noise level but you just dun ask people to change the tyre after you fail to address the problem and after 4k has been spent on this ! If 4k can only improve the noise level by 15 -20% and the rest is due to the tyre, then even a kid will know where I should spent my money in the first place. I am very specific with my problem. I tell him I just want to reduce the tyre roll and not the comfort and handling of the car because I already very happy with the way mazda 3 hatchback behave in this area. It take one year when I sent in my car for the 3rd time re tweak last week for Desmond to admit that he make a mistake and he as a doctor gave the wrong prescription that rather than using my budget to concentrate on reducing the tyre noise, he spent most of my budget on auto foam for improvement that I do not need.

The third round of re tweak did improve the cabin and make it more airy and the noise stay “shorter� in the cabin. But all in after the third round of re tweak, the result is still far from satisfactory, probably about 15% to 20% improvement from stock position when I first collected my car albeit some obvious improvement after the 3rd re tweak . He did mentioned there are some and better new material to solve my problem. But as BMkia has rightly pointed out, I wouldn’t want to spend my money on the same surgeon twice when he already failed me the first time.

So am I happy with KL auto services ? Yes and No. YES for some of their services such as free tweak and re tweak and their prompt follow up after each re tweak to check/verify any significant improvement . NO also for the FOC tweak and re tweak that improve slightly with the large amount of time spent for them to experiment my car ( thanks for their time and my time), their procedure of checking the problem and recommending solution need to be improve ( not all car are the same) and their reluctant to acknowledge mistake quickly when the solution doesn’t work.

Good customer service and result? I am not sure for my case. Refund is not applicable for my case. I am asked to pay for new and better material that according to them can improve my problem. So I am stuck with the current set up and material that improve my problem by 15% -20% for 4k that I have spent and I do not think I want to sent the car in for tweak and re tweak or in other words experiment with my car again with existing material that they installed for me earlier that they admitted they have make a mistake in allocating the budget in solving my problem.

I know lots of people can tell us soundproofing is very subjective, is an art .. etc. This may be true for certain cases but definitely not for my case. The tyre roar is still very obvious and loud. There is no subjectivity in the loudness and nosiness of the roar ! What subjectivity are you talking about here ? The noise is very clear, loud and disturbing ! I will definitely change my tyre in the future, there is no doubt about that. In the mean time, I will want to explore the dynamat exteme with BMkia as agreed somewhere in Sept.



Cheers

Hi KHAWWM,

Very well written and thanks for speaking up to share your actual experience here.

I can sense some comments here insinuating business rivalry and I made it very clear I am in no way working for / getting any commision from any installers from the start. Anyways some of the readers here with wild imagination actually believe I "obtained" a brand new Mazda 3 and "engaged" KL Auto for a soundproofing solution for the roadnoise based on KL Auto's recommendation and then proceed to "whack" them afterwards when the soundproofing doesnt work....LOL

On the "suck it up" part, LOL.... my response is I already sucked it up and lets just say it has been "recycled" back to nature. The whole point of posting up my experience here is to share my dissapointment and what is to be expected when soundproofing your ride (with a specific installer). Heck this thread is even called "Dissapointed After Spending 4K in Soundproofing".

Hopefully, a few readers here who plans to soundproof their cars (whether its a Mazda 3 or any models) can learn from my mistakes and ignorance/gullibility from the postings here (everyone's comments and replies included) which can be summarize as the following:-

a) If you want to spend RM4K and below with Installer A, be prepared to be dissapointed and spend more time (waiting and then arguing with Installer A since its a perception/ expectation issue) & $$$ with more visits, tweaks and then upgrades (poison) to be be truly satisfied;

Don't be poor & or a cheapskate, Installer A prefers if you have a big budget say RM8-RM10K... you will then be most likely be happy with Installer A's work;

c) If you dare try an alternative besides Installer A or DIY (anyone wants to now insinuate I am the distributor of Dynamat?), your ride will suffer from the the poor man's/cheapskate's curse i.e. the scary and dreaded "heavy pressure feeling of a tank". By the way, who here has really drove a tank before? Maybe its light and airy in there. The tanks are way more expensive than most your rides.

-What "PRESSURE", I have damned sensitive ears and feel pressure when most peple don't everytime going up lifts in high buildings, IPOH and during flights. Here is a solution, you can chew a gum like me when I drive up IPOH every month.

d) If you have sensitive ears, don't buy a Mazda 3.

e) The ultimate and cheapest solution like my GF keeps nagging me when she remembers how much time & money I spent on soundproofing, go to Mr DIY or any hardware and get ear plugs. Put it on before you start your engine.

Until then, can't want to compare with KHAWWM's car at the end of Sept.

[bmkia]

what's with the Benggali tea? one of the mysteries i have never understood reading this thread.

i personally think soundproofing is not art. more of advance science? its not easy, dont get me wrong. i dont think its too hard?

maybe we need the soundproofing sifu's to take more time in understanding the problems first before fixing it?

because i think sometime the sifu's just over generalise the issue. Eg:

customer 1: my car noisy, engine noise?

sifu: ah! you need to do Fix A

customer 2: my car noisy, road noise?

sifu: ah! you need to do Fix A

customer 3: my car noisy, wind noise?

sifu: ah! you need to do Fix A



i think it should be more along the lines of:

customer 1: my car noisy, engine noise?

sifu: ah! you need to do Fix A

customer 2: my car noisy, road noise?

sifu: ah! you need to do Fix B

customer 3: my car noisy, wind noise?

sifu: ah! you need to do Fix C

thats my take. i noticed in the threads that the Sifu's over generalise their solution. almost like a Doctor giving you Panadol for headache, tummy ache, knee ache and whatever ache that you may have.

Hi,

I don't agree with you. As long as the "Fix A" recommendations means wear "here, take 2 ear plugs", I think Sifu A is "good". LOL...

[bmkia]

Here is an interesting related post from another thread on this very same forum:-

leekm123 bro,

But of course, Breast milk tea included. See you soon.

Chinonlee,
Tire and road noise on Mazda 3s is the most difficult. This is One car that gives me the biggest headache

If you are very demanding with very high expectations,
1) change tires to something like Michelin XM2 ( but the noise will gradually come back when the tires wear)

Our Proven solutions for the Maz 3 are,

1) QuietDRive wheel arch Coating...800 for all 4 wheel arches with multiple coats.

2) Front dash treatment...150.

3) 3M Roar Buster....280 ( new stock coming in soon).

All the above will perform like new for the next 10 years.

Cheers,

Desmond
KL AUTO

Hi Chinonlee,

Please read my posts on the thread below and judgement is up to you.

http://forum.autowor...h...3133&st=100


Hi Desmond,

I wonder why your "Proven Solutions" change all the time for Mazda 3 roadnoise:-

Your recommendation for the roadnoise on my Mazda 3 based on my budget is:-

1) QuietDRive wheel arch Coating... Pay extra RM200 for extra coating on certain areas somemore.

2) Front dash treatment...

3) Boot Treatment

4) Autofoam Comfort

5) Boot Lid Treatment

6) Autofoam A package

So are you admitting that 3) 4) 5) & 6) doesn't work on the Mazda 3

OR

My Mazda 3 was part of your R&D (i.e. your recommendation to me was actually based on guesses) and you werent really honest about the "Proven" solutions the 1st time round?

OR

Proven Solutions is defined as "Airy Feeling" with maybe 10-15% improvement?

[macdude]

I'd like to chime in on my experience with KL Auto and indirectly with Desmond. I've had my MPV(an Elgrand) completely sorted out on their ultimate package along with a few of my friend's vehicles including another MPV, a Vellfire. The difference was a huge contrast. Night and day if you will. Whilst continentals can achieve significant sound insulating improvements after their NVH work, any Japanese car would benefit tremendously from it. That is indisputable. Weekends with the family in the MPV are a joy for me and the car has renewed my interest for long family vacation drives.

Pros:
1. Highly-trained to spot NVH issues
2. Quick to solve any possible tweak requests
3. Worthwhile investment when you consider the benefits of a well-insulated cabin, quality which of course comes at a price for good material and workmanship. No complaints there.

Cons:
1. Jln Ipoh. Traffic getting there!

Note: I have no commercial affiliation with KL Auto.

[ytc]

Here is an interesting related post from another thread on this very same forum:-

Interesting to note that I've also been a guinea pig but after some $$$ and many hours with Desmond and his team I came out more satisfied rather than sour. I used to drive a Lancer GT and trust me the soundproofing on the car is pretty bad (though I do know some who loves the car for its lack of it). If you went through the process of SP with the team like I did you would appreciate that the size of a material and its placement at different grids of a location makes a difference to the soundproofing and cabin pressure. It really does matter.

I do understand that everyone has different expectations and I (according to Desmond) am one of the fussy ones who wants a balance between quietness and light cabin pressure. I must say that KL Auto's "Proven" formula would only improve with more demanding customers coming.

Oh yeah... Prior to me stepping into his shop I read that the Lancer GT club also visited him for his goodies and loads of good feedback in their forums. I went there and sent Desmond back to the drawing boards. As I said, different expectations.

By the way, I did 3, 4, 5 and 6 too and they were quite effective not only to soundproofing but also in driving experience. I even soundproof the cabin floor (on my own insistence) which didnt give the effect I was expecting. In addition, I was also recommended the 3M door seals which got rid of wind noise but didn't work for me as it gave me too much cabin pressure. However, I have also sat in someone else' car with the same set-up and it felt like a submarine but most importantly the owner loved it. I went back after a week and Desmond gentlemanly exchanged the door seals for something else.

After all done, I finally changed my tires (after a year of driving the car) and the road noise was so much better and very bearable. And yes, Desmond did tell me to change those tires during my initial visit but I wanted to get more mileage on them before I changed.

I have since changed cars back to a continental (my friend, the new owner of my Lancer GT thanks me for the Fruits of my Labour) and have still gone back to Desmond to autofoam the car to improve the handling.

Just wanted to share my experience as well. And pardon the structure of my write up for jumping here and there as I'm typing off my phone.


Hi Chinonlee,

Please read my posts on the thread below and judgement is up to you.

http://forum.autowor...h...3133&st=100


Hi Desmond,

I wonder why your "Proven Solutions" change all the time for Mazda 3 roadnoise:-

Your recommendation for the roadnoise on my Mazda 3 based on my budget is:-

1) QuietDRive wheel arch Coating... Pay extra RM200 for extra coating on certain areas somemore.

2) Front dash treatment...

3) Boot Treatment

4) Autofoam Comfort

5) Boot Lid Treatment

6) Autofoam A package

So are you admitting that 3) 4) 5) & 6) doesn't work on the Mazda 3

OR

My Mazda 3 was part of your R&D (i.e. your recommendation to me was actually based on guesses) and you werent really honest about the "Proven" solutions the 1st time round?

OR

Proven Solutions is defined as "Airy Feeling" with maybe 10-15% improvement?

[ytc]

Interesting to note that I've also been a guinea pig but after some $$$ and many hours with Desmond and his team I came out more satisfied rather than sour. I used to drive a Lancer GT and trust me the soundproofing on the car is pretty bad (though I do know some who loves the car for its lack of it). If you went through the process of SP with the team like I did you would appreciate that the size of a material and its placement at different grids of a location makes a difference to the soundproofing and cabin pressure. It really does matter.

I do understand that everyone has different expectations and I (according to Desmond) am one of the fussy ones who wants a balance between quietness and light cabin pressure. I must say that KL Auto's "Proven" formula would only improve with more demanding customers coming.

Oh yeah... Prior to me stepping into his shop I read that the Lancer GT club also visited him for his goodies and loads of good feedback in their forums. I went there and sent Desmond back to the drawing boards. As I said, different expectations.

By the way, I did 3, 4, 5 and 6 too and they were quite effective not only to soundproofing but also in driving experience. I even soundproof the cabin floor (on my own insistence) which didnt give the effect I was expecting. In addition, I was also recommended the 3M door seals which got rid of wind noise but didn't work for me as it gave me too much cabin pressure. However, I have also sat in someone else' car with the same set-up and it felt like a submarine but most importantly the owner loved it. I went back after a week and Desmond gentlemanly exchanged the door seals for something else.

After all done, I finally changed my tires (after a year of driving the car) and the road noise was so much better and very bearable. And yes, Desmond did tell me to change those tires during my initial visit but I wanted to get more mileage on them before I changed.

I have since changed cars back to a continental (my friend, the new owner of my Lancer GT thanks me for the Fruits of my Labour) and have still gone back to Desmond to autofoam the car to improve the handling.

Just wanted to share my experience as well. And pardon the structure of my write up for jumping here and there as I'm typing off my phone.

My Point is that proven solution to some may just be a start for others.