FYI -- Sound Deadening Square Footage

[NNayak]

I recently applied sound deadening to the doors of my 2019 SuperCrew Lariat w/ B&O premium audio. I thought I'd share some notes here for posterity.

How much sound deadening to buy:
I purchased a Dynamat 36sq.ft. kit, and had about a sheet and a half of material left over after applying deadening at about 80-90% coverage to the outer door skins and to the inner door skins inside the adhesive lines of the OEM foam barrier. I have not yet applied deadening to the aft panel of the cab (underneath the rear window and behind the rear seats), but I suspect that I will need to buy a few more square feet of material to ensure that I have enough to deaden that panel at similar coverage levels.

I used this super helpful guide to get my doors apart ahead of applying the deadening:


There are differences between the ROTW Ranger Raptor shown in the video and my USDM Lariat configuration. For some of these differences, it's not totally clear which are due to the USDM vehicle vs. the Lariat option package. Here are my observations:

• On my 2019 USDM Lariat, all of the door card screws were T20 Torx instead of Phillips head as shown in the above video. The speaker screws were 7mm hex instead of T20 Torx as shown in the video above. I used a 1/4in ratchet, a 1/4in drive T20 Torx socket, a 1/4in drive 7mm hex socket, and a 6in extension to remove and reinstall the fasteners.
• On all four doors, for the uppermost door card screw behind the unlock handle, I was unable to remove the trim cover over the screw as described in the above video (by just sticking a pick in the corner and prying). The technique that I had to use to remove the cover is as follows:
  • Take a slim-edged plastic trim tool and insert it directly into the inboard edge of the cover (as viewed with doors open), about halfway along the length of the edge of the cover, into the parting line between the cover and the door card.
  • Doing so will create a small gap between the cover and the door card -- by inserting the plastic trim tool and creating the initial gap, you'll notice an empty span in there which can accept a pick, jeweler's screwdriver, or similar small tool.
  • Keeping the plastic trim tool in place to maintain the initial gap, I then inserted a joggled pick tool here and rotated it until it popped the cover out.
  • I ended up marring my covers up a bit doing this, so if you are a perfectionist, please apply some painter's tape to the cover to avoid damaging it.
• The front door cards of the Lariat models have an LED module and fiber optic tube for the ambient lighting system. These components are located in the upper inboard corner (as viewed with the doors open) of both of the front door cards, near the harness connector for the door lock buttons. Make sure to de-mate the connectors to the LED modules! I was unaware these devices were here, and ended up accidentally yanking the module free and breaking the fiber optic tube on my first try.
  • The LED module harness connector does not have a convenient release tab. To de-mate this connector, you'll have to insert a pick or jeweler's screwdriver into the connector to free a locking hook. Take a close look at it with the door card partially removed and you'll see how it works.
• In the front doors, my vehicle has "fir tree" style harness mounts which affix the door harnesses to the door cards behind the lock/unlock buttons. These mounts aren't shown in the above video. To free them, you'll need to use a plastic trim pry tool.
• The USDM configurations with push-to-start keyless entry have antennae for this system in the upper inboard corner (as viewed with the doors open) of both of the rear door cards.
  • Each antenna is affixed into a plastic bracket on the door card with "fir tree" style push-mount. Each antenna also has an electrical connector to the door harness.
  • The harness connector is well wrapped in adhesive foam, and so I was unable to figure out how to de-mate the connector with the door card in place. Instead of de-mating the connector, I used a plastic trim tool to pry the antenna push-mount free and release the device from the door card. If you do this, take care, as the plastic bracket into which the push mount fits is pretty flexible and looks like it will break if you wail on it too hard.
  • With the antenna removed, it is clear that there is no external release tab for the harness connector that you can depress easily with a finger or tool. There is a release tab, but it is located within a shroud on the connector, so you have to insert a screwdriver into the shroud to depress the release tab. I'm not sure if this is possible with the door card in place, as access is very limited given the orientation of the connector.
  • On the front doors, these antennae are bolted to the inner door skins instead of the door cards, and as such you don't have to worry about them.
• On the rear door cards, the upper clip on the door card grab handle covers was difficult to remove for me, and I ended up breaking the hooks off of those clips. Make sure to pull STRAIGHT AWAY from the door card. I allowed the grab handle covers to angle away as I pulled and I believe this resulted in breaking the clips. Luckily, there seems to be no rattle with these damaged clips so I will replace these covers in the future at my leisure.
• On the rear door cards, I was unable to free the door card from the inner skin just by pulling on the bottom. There are a lot of clips on the rear door cards, and it felt like I'd break the door cards if I tried to free them just by pulling. I ended up using a plastic trim pry tool to pop the bottom and corner clips out one-by-one. Once those were released, I was able to liberate the door card by pulling on it to pop out the remaining clips.
• The factory did not do a great job of edge breaking the sheet metal panels, so there were plenty of sharp edges at all of the sheet metal pass-throughs. Apply some blue painters tape to the edges of these pass-through so you don't shred your hands.
• Overall, this job took me about 8 hours to complete. It was my first time and I was working at a leisurely pace.

Results:

• This is totally worth the effort even with the stock B&O system. On the highway, with the stereo at a reasonable volume, all you hear is music -- no road noise. This was actually a little disconcerting to me at first!
• Initially, it seemed like I had lost some bass by applying the deadening material, but I discovered that you can adjust the bass up in the sound settings menu and produce a ton of bass without buzzing or rattling, should you so prefer. Overall, the bass is much more articulate with the deadening applied and a few extra points of bass applied via sound settings.

Sponsored

 

[NNayak]

Whoops, looks like my placeholder thread title is no longer appropriate. I can't figure out how to edit it -- mods, please feel free to rename.

 

[OneHighFocus]

• The front door cards of the Lariat models have an LED module and fiber optic tube for the ambient lighting system. These components are located in the upper inboard corner (as viewed with the doors open) of both of the front door cards, near the harness connector for the door lock buttons. Make sure to de-mate the connectors to the LED modules! I was unaware these devices were here, and ended up accidentally yanking the module free and breaking the fiber optic tube on my first try.
  • The LED module harness connector does not have a convenient release tab. To de-mate this connector, you'll have to insert a pick or jeweler's screwdriver into the connector to free a locking hook. Take a close look at it with the door card partially removed and you'll see how it works.

I did the same... snap *doh*

Here’s the replacement part for the passenger side

https://parts.levittownfordparts.com/oem-parts/ford-socket-and-wire-assembly-lamp-eb3z14a318a

I was able to firmly yet gently pull the connector out with no tools once I figured out it had to be disconnected.

 

[NNayak]

I did the same... snap *doh*

Here’s the replacement part for the passenger side

https://parts.levittownfordparts.com/oem-parts/ford-socket-and-wire-assembly-lamp-eb3z14a318a

I was able to firmly yet gently pull the connector out with no tools once I figured out it had to be disconnected.

This is great info, thanks for the part number. I actually ended up buying a full used door panel from a wrecker and sadly paid way more than if I had just bought that light assembly. I was unable to find it when I searched.

 

[deton8r]

LOL - I broke that LED thing on my driver's door when I did my audio upgrades to the B&O. I super glued it back together and the repair is still holding up. I'm sure it would break if I were to remove the door panel again.

I used about 3/4 of a bulk pack of Dynamat Xtreme and did 1 layer of Raam Audio Ensolite closed cell foam on the back wall and door skin behind the door panel. Sound deadening is well worth the effort and probably did more to improve the sound quality than upgrading the drivers.

I also installed Infinity Reference drivers and a 10" sub under the rear seat. The sub is powered by a Kicker KXA400.1 but the factory B&O amp/processor powers the Infinity drivers.

To counter the sub roll-off I use my phone as a BT source running Spotify and tune the sound with Viper4Arise.

ARISE Sound Systems™ - Auditory Research in Sound Enhancement

Biggest bang for the buck is sound deadening followed by a bigger/better sub.

My upgrades:

Infinity Reference 6530CX components front doors w/2800Hz caps on tweeters
Infinity Reference 6532IX coax rear doors tweeters set to +3db
Infinity Reference 3032CFX center
Metra adapter rings for front and rear doors
Metra speaker harness adapters
Dayton Audio LS10-44 10" dual 4 Ohm voice coil sub wired to 2 Ohms
Under seat sealed fiberglass box from Australia w/.4 lbs Acousta-Stuf
Kicker KXA400.1 amplifier w/wireless remote
Dynamat Xtreme on doors and rear wall
RAAM Audio Ensolite closed cell foam (1 layer)
Stinger RKFR6 Roadkill Fast Rings on front and rear doors
Kicker PK8 8 gauge power cable kit

 

[NNayak]

LOL - I broke that LED thing on my driver's door when I did my audio upgrades to the B&O. I super glued it back together and the repair is still holding up. I'm sure it would break if I were to remove the door panel again.

I used about 3/4 of a bulk pack of Dynamat Xtreme and did 1 layer of Raam Audio Ensolite closed cell foam on the back wall and door skin behind the door panel. Sound deadening is well worth the effort and probably did more to improve the sound quality than upgrading the drivers.

I also installed Infinity Reference drivers and a 10" sub under the rear seat. The sub is powered by a Kicker KXA400.1 but the factory B&O amp/processor powers the Infinity drivers.

To counter the sub roll-off I use my phone as a BT source running Spotify and tune the sound with Viper4Arise.

ARISE Sound Systems™ - Auditory Research in Sound Enhancement

Biggest bang for the buck is sound deadening followed by a bigger/better sub.

My upgrades:

Infinity Reference 6530CX components front doors w/2800Hz caps on tweeters
Infinity Reference 6532IX coax rear doors tweeters set to +3db
Infinity Reference 3032CFX center
Metra adapter rings for front and rear doors
Metra speaker harness adapters
Dayton Audio LS10-44 10" dual 4 Ohm voice coil sub wired to 2 Ohms
Under seat sealed fiberglass box from Australia w/.4 lbs Acousta-Stuf
Kicker KXA400.1 amplifier w/wireless remote
Dynamat Xtreme on doors and rear wall
RAAM Audio Ensolite closed cell foam (1 layer)
Stinger RKFR6 Roadkill Fast Rings on front and rear doors
Kicker PK8 8 gauge power cable kit

Oh, super clean sub install!

I tried rejoining the broken pieces of the light pipe using heat shrink, but the light transmission was poor enough that the ambient lighting in the door handle got dim. It bothered me (of course) so I had to replace it.

 

[Fawnbuster]

I recently applied sound deadening to the doors of my 2019 SuperCrew Lariat w/ B&O premium audio. I thought I'd share some notes here for posterity.

How much sound deadening to buy:
I purchased a Dynamat 36sq.ft. kit, and had about a sheet and a half of material left over after applying deadening at about 80-90% coverage to the outer door skins and to the inner door skins inside the adhesive lines of the OEM foam barrier. I have not yet applied deadening to the aft panel of the cab (underneath the rear window and behind the rear seats), but I suspect that I will need to buy a few more square feet of material to ensure that I have enough to deaden that panel at similar coverage levels.

I used this super helpful guide to get my doors apart ahead of applying the deadening:


There are differences between the ROTW Ranger Raptor shown in the video and my USDM Lariat configuration. For some of these differences, it's not totally clear which are due to the USDM vehicle vs. the Lariat option package. Here are my observations:

• On my 2019 USDM Lariat, all of the door card screws were T20 Torx instead of Phillips head as shown in the above video. The speaker screws were 7mm hex instead of T20 Torx as shown in the video above. I used a 1/4in ratchet, a 1/4in drive T20 Torx socket, a 1/4in drive 7mm hex socket, and a 6in extension to remove and reinstall the fasteners.
• On all four doors, for the uppermost door card screw behind the unlock handle, I was unable to remove the trim cover over the screw as described in the above video (by just sticking a pick in the corner and prying). The technique that I had to use to remove the cover is as follows:
  • Take a slim-edged plastic trim tool and insert it directly into the inboard edge of the cover (as viewed with doors open), about halfway along the length of the edge of the cover, into the parting line between the cover and the door card.
  • Doing so will create a small gap between the cover and the door card -- by inserting the plastic trim tool and creating the initial gap, you'll notice an empty span in there which can accept a pick, jeweler's screwdriver, or similar small tool.
  • Keeping the plastic trim tool in place to maintain the initial gap, I then inserted a joggled pick tool here and rotated it until it popped the cover out.
  • I ended up marring my covers up a bit doing this, so if you are a perfectionist, please apply some painter's tape to the cover to avoid damaging it.
• The front door cards of the Lariat models have an LED module and fiber optic tube for the ambient lighting system. These components are located in the upper inboard corner (as viewed with the doors open) of both of the front door cards, near the harness connector for the door lock buttons. Make sure to de-mate the connectors to the LED modules! I was unaware these devices were here, and ended up accidentally yanking the module free and breaking the fiber optic tube on my first try.
  • The LED module harness connector does not have a convenient release tab. To de-mate this connector, you'll have to insert a pick or jeweler's screwdriver into the connector to free a locking hook. Take a close look at it with the door card partially removed and you'll see how it works.
• In the front doors, my vehicle has "fir tree" style harness mounts which affix the door harnesses to the door cards behind the lock/unlock buttons. These mounts aren't shown in the above video. To free them, you'll need to use a plastic trim pry tool.
• The USDM configurations with push-to-start keyless entry have antennae for this system in the upper inboard corner (as viewed with the doors open) of both of the rear door cards.
  • Each antenna is affixed into a plastic bracket on the door card with "fir tree" style push-mount. Each antenna also has an electrical connector to the door harness.
  • The harness connector is well wrapped in adhesive foam, and so I was unable to figure out how to de-mate the connector with the door card in place. Instead of de-mating the connector, I used a plastic trim tool to pry the antenna push-mount free and release the device from the door card. If you do this, take care, as the plastic bracket into which the push mount fits is pretty flexible and looks like it will break if you wail on it too hard.
  • With the antenna removed, it is clear that there is no external release tab for the harness connector that you can depress easily with a finger or tool. There is a release tab, but it is located within a shroud on the connector, so you have to insert a screwdriver into the shroud to depress the release tab. I'm not sure if this is possible with the door card in place, as access is very limited given the orientation of the connector.
  • On the front doors, these antennae are bolted to the inner door skins instead of the door cards, and as such you don't have to worry about them.
• On the rear door cards, the upper clip on the door card grab handle covers was difficult to remove for me, and I ended up breaking the hooks off of those clips. Make sure to pull STRAIGHT AWAY from the door card. I allowed the grab handle covers to angle away as I pulled and I believe this resulted in breaking the clips. Luckily, there seems to be no rattle with these damaged clips so I will replace these covers in the future at my leisure.
• On the rear door cards, I was unable to free the door card from the inner skin just by pulling on the bottom. There are a lot of clips on the rear door cards, and it felt like I'd break the door cards if I tried to free them just by pulling. I ended up using a plastic trim pry tool to pop the bottom and corner clips out one-by-one. Once those were released, I was able to liberate the door card by pulling on it to pop out the remaining clips.
• The factory did not do a great job of edge breaking the sheet metal panels, so there were plenty of sharp edges at all of the sheet metal pass-throughs. Apply some blue painters tape to the edges of these pass-through so you don't shred your hands.
• Overall, this job took me about 8 hours to complete. It was my first time and I was working at a leisurely pace.

Results:

• This is totally worth the effort even with the stock B&O system. On the highway, with the stereo at a reasonable volume, all you hear is music -- no road noise. This was actually a little disconcerting to me at first!
• Initially, it seemed like I had lost some bass by applying the deadening material, but I discovered that you can adjust the bass up in the sound settings menu and produce a ton of bass without buzzing or rattling, should you so prefer. Overall, the bass is much more articulate with the deadening applied and a few extra points of bass applied via sound settings.

This is in my future, did it on my f150 (no foam just dyno at) huge difference! Not looking forward to tearing the cards off, maybe by then someone will post a north American truck video. Plus big hands and small spaces once again.

 

[NNayak]

This is in my future, did it on my f150 (no foam just dyno at) huge difference! Not looking forward to tearing the cards off, maybe by then someone will post a north American truck video. Plus big hands and small spaces once again.

It's honestly not too different from the ROTW ranger video linked in the first post -- you'll be just fine using that as a guide along with the notes I posted.

 

[onobeka]

Despite of many many opinions saying that roofing products are made of tar instead of rubber, I never had issues and always had very good results with them. Mind you, my truck is black, it gets very hot in the summer days and there is absolutely no smell. Maybe not all roofing products are equal, but they do work as good as dynamat, at a fraction of a price. I am talking about products that add mass to panels and reduce vibrations, not closed foam cell which is complementary and has a different purpose. I've already did three cars with these products and some had/have 10y of service still. Out of curiosity I've opened up the areas I've deadened and the product was still in place as in the day of install. One thing that you should do is clean up the area with rubbing alcohol and press it firmly with a roller or a piece of timber in the areas the roller does not fit. Installing in a sunny day, helps as well. You should make sure that you are not covering condensation holes in the doors and that you are not leaving any wrinkles that could hold water. The doors are coated on the inside with a thin film of grease.

I also have access to high quality automotive NVH equipment, as I work for a leading NVH software company. I was able to measure a 3db reduction of road noise at knee level only from doing a 2/3 panel mass loading in the front and rear doors. BTW: there is no benefit in covering the entire panel, the rule of thumb is 1/3 is 70% effective compared to full coverage. In terms of dBs you will not "feel" that 30%. FOMOCO did add some mass loading on the front doors, but nothing on the back, yet, what they did is maybe 10% of the panel - addressing the critical spot, still the door sheets sounded like tin cans. Now my doors sound concrete solid when closed.

I also did partially the footwell and gear shift tunnel. Next is the rear panel, footwell and roof. According to my measurements, which were not exact as I do not have a binaural head o use at home there could be silence gained from those places. Unfortunately, in our cars, we cannot really deaden the firewall without taking the dashboard apart. Noise from the engine compartment is massively intruding the passenger area.

 

[Dinglehead]

Anyone know what a car audio shop would charge to install dynamite in the front doors? This doesnt look like one I'd like to do myself.

 

[onobeka]

Anyone know what a car audio shop would charge to install dynamite in the front doors? This doesnt look like one I'd like to do myself.

Dynamite ... they will probably do it for fun .
Dynamat ... it's an easy job that you can probably do yourself. I did the front doors in about 2h.

 

[NNayak]

Anyone know what a car audio shop would charge to install dynamite in the front doors? This doesnt look like one I'd like to do myself.

Just speculating here: it took me about 8hrs to do all four doors working at an amateur's pace; a pro could probably do the same work in four hours or less. Typical independent auto shop rates IIRC are $50-$75/hr. This should give you a good starting point for cost.

 

[deton8r]

The work involved for applying sound deadening is pretty easy and just like the video. you can even break up the work and just do 1 door at a time over several days if you want. The only tools that would be useful but aren't required are a plastic door panel tool and a small roller (there are cheaper alternatives to the Dynamat roller). Both are inexpensive and available at Amazon. Some cheap multi-purpose scissors are handy to have as well.

Harbor Freight multi-purpose scissors

Save dome money and do it yourself

 

[foxunderhill]

Some more lessons learned after using NNayak's great write-up to do my 21 Lariat Supercrew.

I bought 36 square feet of Kilmat for $60 from Amazon and needed almost all of it. Learned Kilmat is manufactured in Russia. When I removed the plastic door panels, I disconnected the door handle and power window controls, but left the lock switch/fiber optic cables installed. There's no need to risk breaking the fiber optic by disconnecting it. You can swing the plastic panel out of the way and place it inside the cab without disconnecting those cables. I didn't need to remove the B&O speakers. There was zero sound deadening material inside my door panels unlike the Raptor in the video, front or back, just the foam glued to the outside.

Sound quality is noticeably better without the door resonating, you can crank the stereo without it being audible outside and road noise is greatly diminished. The doors are heavier and latch more reliably without slamming them. Took me one hour per door, absolutely worth it. This combined with moving to one size larger highway tires and a tonneau cover, it's night and day inside.

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