Sound Deadening LC250 Doors with NVX CLD - nice improvement!

[Blue Bear]

Do you have the LC Premium or just LC. I saw the wiring harness for the door bin ambient lights, which is why I am asking. I have the plain LC (not premium) and wondered if its wiring harness had the door ambient lighting wires pre-rung.

I have the LC LC with the premium package.

 

[dallasroman]

I have the LC LC with the premium package.

Thanks for getting back with me. Explains your wiring harness. Being honest, I shouldnt have cheaped out and got the premium. The interior illumination, memory seat and JBL is greatly missed in the base (non 1958) trim.

 

[wpage]

I just installed the side body moldings on my LC yesterday -- not only do I think they look great, but I was anxious to see if they helped with the tinny sounding doors (which on my LC were very noticeable). And WOW -- that problem is now completely gone. All four doors, both windows open and windows closed. This little thing really improves my satisfaction with the car (the tinniness was almost embarrassing when you closed the doors).

I was definitely not willing to tear the doors apart to put in sound insulation -- but installing the door side moldings was not big deal (just take your time and work carefully, esp. WRT measurements).

Would be interesting to measure in DB's (decibels) sound improvements from one method "Interior"... Vs. Side moldings for values. Obviously the exterior moldings are simple solution. Then there color choices for match or contrast to reason thru...

 

[Blue Bear]

Would be interesting to measure in DB's (decibels) sound improvements from one method "Interior"... Vs. Side moldings for values. Obviously the exterior moldings are simple solution. Then there color choices for match or contrast to reason thru...

It would be really tough to measure the differences. A proper test would require controlled conditions (like a sealed room or wind tunnel...). Going out on the road and driving the same course is a decent test, but the variance in the results would likely exceed 10%. Ideally, you'd be able to test the results at different frequencies to determine how each of the different methods perform over a large spectrum of sound. Having said all that, I would expect the CLD to provide vastly superior results (not that the mouldings wouldn't help!)

 

[Area 51]

Any estimate on how much weight you added total?

 

[smittylube]

I spent a few hours installing some NVX CLD in the doors of my LC250 a few days ago. The doors have never sounded particularly solid when I close them (unlike the GX550 doors) and I wanted to add some sound deadening both to reduce NVH and improve the sound of the speakers slightly. The short version is that I am 100% pleased with the installation. The doors feel more solid (the CDL adds mass to the door), sound more solid on closing, and the sound coming from the door speakers has less tinny resonance. For me, this falls under the "highly recommended" mods for our beloved LC250. One sidenote - I highly recommend the NVX CLD as the best bang for the buck on the market. You can spend more (Resonix), but the NVX stuff is legit (long story short, this is based on actual testing of CLD. The Resonix website is full of detailed test information on CLD.)

In the video below the front door has sound deadening, but the rear door does not.


View attachment 38139

I used just four pieces of 18" x 32" NVX sound deadening. You can buy in either a 5-piece kit or a 9-piece kit. You should also buy at least two rolls of butyl rubber sealant, which I found is more useful than I realized. You also need a good roller to install the sound deadening on the door (do not buy the heavy duty roller!) You will also need a sharp utility knive (change the blade frequently!), straightedge, and something to clean the surface before applying the NVX (like CarPro Eraser or GTechniq Panel Wipe). I bought the 9-piece kit, two rolls of butyl rubber sealant, and the roller for $131. However, I now have 5 pieces of NVX left over. If you only want to do the doors, then only get the 5-piece kit. I'll think about installing some of the CDL in the lift gate, but will likely just sell the left over material.

Removing and re-installing the door cards is the toughest part of the job. Here is a link to a video showing how to do the front door cards. I did not find a video showing how to remove and reinstall the rear door cards (tougher than the front ones!), but thanks to @EOD Guy, the TIS is attached below. I would remove the puddle lights at the bottom of the door prior to removing the door cards. The hint on the rear door disassembly is that when I removed the rear door card, the window seals came with the door card. You should carefully remove the window seals from the door card and re-attach them to the door before attempting to re-install the door card. In addition, the door handle is more difficult to align and install properly on the rear door. Maybe someone wants to make a video showing how to do this?

Here are some pics showing where I installed the CDL and butyl rubber. You can get substantial improvement applying the CDL to as little as 30% of the door. In general, it is much better to use one large piece as opposed to several small pieces. I chose to only cover large areas of flat sheet metal and I'm pleased with my results.

1. Front door after door card removal.

View attachment 38098

2. Remove black plastic panel and speaker to expose the interior side of the exterior panel.

View attachment 38099

3. Cut and install four pieces of CDL in the door.

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4. Here's a pic with some arrows pointing out places to install the butyl rubber rope. The rope is a perfect dampener between pieces of metal that are joined together.

View attachment 38105

5. I installed one small piece on the inner side of the inner sheet metal. I wasn't sure where I could install the CLD without interfering with the door card, so I was conservative with my placement. The CLD is in the lower center part of the door.

View attachment 38106

6. Rear door pics. The sealant on the plastic moisture barrier is butyl rubber rope. If needed, you can always use some of your rope to reinstall the moisture barrier. I did not need to do so. I installed three pieces on the rear door - bottom, middle, and top. I could not get a good picture of the top piece, but you can see it in the last pic.

View attachment 38107View attachment 38108

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I didn't take as many pics of butyl rubber, but it installs in the same type of locations as on the front door. Here is a pic showing it installed along the crash bar.

View attachment 38147

I've also attached some pics at the end showing the sizes of pieces I cut (which may be helpful to some.)

Nice of you to take your time to photo and share the little tricks of the sound deadening techniques. Some of my jobs haven’t looked anywhere near as clean as these pictures since I used my trimmed pieces all over. I’ve done quite a few on my cars in the past. Just finished my new GMC sierra and getting ready to tackle my wife’s LC ( that’s how I ended up here). I thought I would add in addition to mostly what you did I also put some thin strips of the deadening NVX equivalent around the plastic speaker mounting and as well a few strips in the inside of the door panel speaker location sides. The radio, media sound improvement is hard to explain to anyone unless you have experienced a proper job before and after first hand. Closing the doors (thud not tin can) after is extremely satisfying as well.

A last note I plan to try some foam in addition/ over the butyl on the LC, only because of some home speaker installs where the manufacturer mentioned enclosure dimensions. Other suggestions have been just insulation and the larger area being much better than an enclosure space. No idea if it’ll help or be better, but dynomat website says it’s the way to go.

To anyone questioning the added weight once you experience the difference the weight question vaporizes. However It is possible to go lighter as far as less coverage and thinner materials but it is so so worth the effort cost and time involved IMO.

 

[ultane]

Nice of you to take your time to photo and share the little tricks of the sound deadening techniques. Some of my jobs haven’t looked anywhere near as clean as these pictures since I used my trimmed pieces all over. I’ve done quite a few on my cars in the past. Just finished my new GMC sierra and getting ready to tackle my wife’s LC ( that’s how I ended up here). I thought I would add in addition to mostly what you did I also put some thin strips of the deadening NVX equivalent around the plastic speaker mounting and as well a few strips in the inside of the door panel speaker location sides. The radio, media sound improvement is hard to explain to anyone unless you have experienced a proper job before and after first hand. Closing the doors (thud not tin can) after is extremely satisfying as well.

A last note I plan to try some foam in addition/ over the butyl on the LC, only because of some home speaker installs where the manufacturer mentioned enclosure dimensions. Other suggestions have been just insulation and the larger area being much better than an enclosure space. No idea if it’ll help or be better, but dynomat website says it’s the way to go.

To anyone questioning the added weight once you experience the difference the weight question vaporizes. However It is possible to go lighter as far as less coverage and thinner materials but it is so so worth the effort cost and time involved IMO.

Welcome to the asylum.

 

[smittylube]

I’ll add for those questioning the weight- I just looked on the box I’m using of ‘kilmat’ a dynomat competitor, stated weight of 14.5 lbs. Probably roughly 1/2 the thickness of the material used in pics, but the box covers roughly 3 doors. So IMO doesn’t add significant weight at all.

Edit- probably more like 4 doors at 50 SF in the box.
I also bought some Siless sound proof stuff from Amazon. 36' the entire roll barely weighs anything. I am trying it just today as I finished my rear doors on my Sierra. I did my Kilmat first then put this stuff on over it mostly inside of the outer door skin. Hard too know what is best, but the Dynomat site says its the way to go. We have a fantastic size box to our disposal in these doors. This stuff really helps you take advantage of it. Listening to the completed door next to the stock door confirms improvements without a doubt. Have fun!

 

[Blue Bear]

I’ll add for those questioning the weight- I just looked on the box I’m using of ‘kilmat’ a dynomat competitor, stated weight of 14.5 lbs. Probably roughly 1/2 the thickness of the material used in pics, but the box covers roughly 3 doors. So IMO doesn’t add significant weight at all.

Edit- probably more like 4 doors at 50 SF in the box.
I also bought some Siless sound proof stuff from Amazon. 36' the entire roll barely weighs anything. I am trying it just today as I finished my rear doors on my Sierra. I did my Kilmat first then put this stuff on over it mostly inside of the outer door skin. Hard too know what is best, but the Dynomat site says its the way to go. We have a fantastic size box to our disposal in these doors. This stuff really helps you take advantage of it. Listening to the completed door next to the stock door confirms improvements without a doubt. Have fun!

The best sources of information I have found are a group called The Deadening on Facebook and Resonix. Chris Purdue has spent a lot of time doing extensive testing and comparison of sound deadening materials. From what I've observed, some people are using waaaaayyyy too much CLD in their rigs (absolutely zero need to cover 100% of the sheet metal to obtain an excellent result. All that extra CLD does is add significant weight to your rig.) I like your additional suggestions on possible additions to improve overall audio quality inside of the LC.

 

[smittylube]

absolutely zero need to cover 100% of the sheet metal to obtain an excellent result. All that extra CLD does is add significant weight to your rig

That is great you mentioned that. I did one of my cars years back and I believe I did too much area % coverage as it almost got weird as I did the last couple places. Not entirely sure what or why it happened. Just sounded a bit off.

 

[Jersey Skier]

I watched one video where the vapor barrier on the rear doors were just trashed and replaced. Has anyone successfully removed and reused the existing vapor barriers?

 

[Slippers]

I watched one video where the vapor barrier on the rear doors were just trashed and replaced. Has anyone successfully removed and reused the existing vapor barriers?

Yes, if you are careful you can preserve the existing butyl seal and reuse it.

 

[Mopper]

Appreciate your work and this discussion, thanks. I'm adding this one to the wish list.

 

[Jersey Skier]

Yes, if you are careful you can preserve the existing butyl seal and reuse it.

Thanks. Will be doing the front passenger door and at least starting the rear doors tomorrow. Hopefully I won't have the door handle issue that has plagued my driver's door.

 

[smittylube]

I watched one video where the vapor barrier on the rear doors were just trashed and replaced. Has anyone successfully removed and reused the existing vapor barriers?

I’ve cut up garbage bags instead when I’ve opened up a door and it was a mess. Many construction moisture barriers would be even better to work with.

 

[Mopper]

I’ve cut up garbage bags instead when I’ve opened up a door and it was a mess. Many construction moisture barriers would be even better to work with.

Watch the construction barriers- tyvec will pass vapor but not liquid water

 

[ultane]

I’ve cut up garbage bags instead when I’ve opened up a door and it was a mess. Many construction moisture barriers would be even better to work with.

Welcome to the asylum.

 

[smittylube]

I was meaning visqueen type of products. Just thicker plastic than garbage bags.
Regardless the idea is to channel the water and keep it away from the inside of the door panel. Many times when that leaks it can leak down to the floor and when that insulation gets wet it’s not easy to dry unless you peel it up and put a fan in running overnight. They get nasty when they get moldy.