Deciding to install sound deadener in your ute or dual cab 4×4 is one of the most satisfying choices you’re ever likely to make for your vehicle. And that’s because, if you’ve already installed taller tyres, a larger exhaust, or a range of toolboxes, the combination of road and ambient noise radiating through your passenger cabin is probably close to a low roar.
It’s expected in older 4x4s, but even the factory-installed insulation in newer models doesn’t have the properties or coverage to prevent thin-skinned doors, roofs, and floorpans from turning every millimetre of vibration into an agonizing rattle. That means if you’re serious about putting an end to frustrating reverberation, you need premium sound deadening materials that are designed especially for resonance control.
Sound Deadening Materials to Make Your Dual Cab Quieter Than Ever
Let’s be honest: even a modest increase in ambient noise in a mildly customized 4×4 isn’t something that you can ignore for long. Every unsealed road, drivetrain sound, or gust of wind is amplified, which is why you want to make installing a universal Navara, Ranger, or Hilux sound deadening kit in your rig a priority. These kits allow you to place a layered, resonance-resistant barrier between your cab and the environment outside which, when used with other under-bonnet or underbody insulating products, can transform your dual cab into a 4×4 that’s just as comfortable on the inside as it is tough on the outside.
With typically little more than sparse under-carpet sound protection, dual cab 4x4s are notorious for poor sound abatement. These heavy-duty workhorses are comprised of Australia’s largest segment of off-road, job site, and trailer-hauling 4WDs though, making them ideal candidates for the kinds of mass-loaded material that comes in universal sound deadening packs.
Multi-layered, mass-loaded acoustic pads are designed to provide full overhead, upright, and horizontal interior coverage, and to adhere directly to resonant surfaces, such as:
· Floorpans, tunnels, and roof skins;
· Firewalls and rear wall panels; and,
· Inside door skins and quarter panels.
These lightweight, pressure-sensitive pads provide more than just resonance-free acoustic benefits, though. They also offer excellent heat barrier protection which, given Australia’s exceptional climate, is a vast improvement over ordinary 4×4 under-carpet layering. You just need to be sure to choose the pack with the right combination of characteristics for your environment to make your interior as quiet and as comfortable as you want it.
Universal Deadening Packs for Optimal Acoustic and Thermal Tuning
Universal sound deadening kits come in Standard and Premium Pack quantities and compositions to cover any full-sized, dual cab interior. From the cozy, crew cab interior of a Holden Rodeo, to the stadium-sized interior of a full-sized Dodge Ram, these packs come with all the acoustic padding that’s needed to perform your own factory-quality upgrade once you’ve pulled your carpeting, seats, and headliner.
These heavy-duty packs feature a complete lineup of ambient noise and temperature reduction pads, including:
· Stage 1 sound deadener. This 2 – 2.2mm thick, aluminium-topped butyl rubber padding is a prime noise absorption and heat reduction layer that’s waterproof, and adheres and conforms to any surface.
· Acoustic liner. This 4 – 12mm thick, multi-layered underlay is a combined open and closed foam padding that replaces OE-style fabric insulation, and is an excellent barrier against both noise and heat.
· Mass noise liner. As a complement to the Stage 1 underlays that focus on reducing the noise created by vibrating panels, 12mm thick mass noise underlays are designed to reduce ambient airborne noise coming from the road or elsewhere on your vehicle.
· Waterproof carpet underlay. These 4 – 12mm thick, closed foam, peel-and-stick underlays combine thermal and acoustic insulation with a waterproof barrier that helps protect under-carpet surfaces from exposure to moisture.
· Insul-layer foam. This 6mm thick, closed foam padding is made especially to be used in areas that might be too tight for thicker acoustic material, such as between panels, inside cavities, or between roof liners and skins.
The fact is, with such a wide selection of sound deadening materials to choose from, even jeep and open-top 4×4 owners can take advantage of these noise, heat, and water-resistant interior packages. Regardless of where you drive your 4×4, these staged pad and underlays packs have everything you need to perfectly tune your interior’s acoustics.
Here’s Why Factory Sound Deadener Isn’t Good Enough
Although it’s no secret that universal 4×4 sound deadening materials are infinitely more effective than lightweight factory padding at protecting you and your passengers from noise and heat, it’s easy to ignore just how effective they are at protecting your rig as well. Not only is that because the factory doesn’t install enough padding to be especially useful, but it’s also because OE padding isn’t engineered to last particularly long.
From a manufacturer’s perspective, factory-installed jute-, and bitumen-based underlay materials may be the optimal compromise for large-volume production, but they come with a host of less-than-optimal characteristics that include:
· A natural inclination to retain moisture, leading to odours, mildew, and rust;
· Rapid deterioration and decay that can release potentially harmful particles; and,
· Brittleness, delamination, or a total loss of adhesion due to heat exposure.
Butyl-, and foam-based acoustic dampening pads and underlays are nondegradable. They also don’t contain, or make use of any adhesives that contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can slowly emit hazardous gases over time. That means they’re just as safe as they are effective, and you can expect them to keep the noise down for as long as you own your vehicle.
The Final Word
At the end of the day, with so many options available to moderate the sound moving through your dual cab’s interior, you don’t have to endure mind-numbing ambient noise every time you’re on the road. And although you can buy a lot of these acoustic pads individually, the ability to purchase them in comprehensive packs is the only way to be sure that you’re getting precisely what you, and in the right volume to upgrade your entire interior.
Universal sound deadening packs give you all the proper Navara, Ranger, or Hilux sound deadening kit you need to keep noise and heat out of your cab. You’ll be amazed by how much of a difference it’s going to make.
