Hood insulation?
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I have the 3sGT (top of the line) and it also has no insulation directly under the hood. I think there may be some under the plastic engine cover, but I'm not sure. Can anyone confirm/deny? Or has anyone added insulation under the hood? Any difference? Potential drawbacks?
I personally don't have any problem with noise from the engine compartment, or wind noise. The major problem seems to be road noise, which is partially due to the mediocre Dunlop tires from the factory. Some folks have commented about adding insulation to the rear wheel wells / spare tire area / trunk or hatch areas, which seems to help quite a bit. Others have commented that adding insulation to the doors helps a little, but not as much as the trunk area.
I personally don't have any problem with noise from the engine compartment, or wind noise. The major problem seems to be road noise, which is partially due to the mediocre Dunlop tires from the factory. Some folks have commented about adding insulation to the rear wheel wells / spare tire area / trunk or hatch areas, which seems to help quite a bit. Others have commented that adding insulation to the doors helps a little, but not as much as the trunk area.
Yeah, I didn't figure it would make a lot of difference, just curious. I am sure some of the road noise from the tires does end up in the engine compartment and bounces around. Maybe the firewall insulation blocks it from the cabin. I have the 16" Bridgestone tires, and I don't feel the noise is excessive by any means (it is a sub $20k car after all) but a lot of upmarket cars do have hood insulation even if they have engine covers etc. Figured it must serve some purpose.
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When you say "add insulation", what specifically could I look for that won't void my warranty (I'm in Canada btw)? The road noise is definitely annoying, though not by any means the end of the world. If I could lower the road noise for minimal investment, I would definitely consider it.
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The sky is the limit is how much time and money you wish to spend. They are a couple of easy to apply low cost products that I have used successfully. Will they cut your road "noise" by 1/3? Not even close unless you are willing to spend on the wrong side (IMO) of $500 to do that.
Want to do a fun mod at a reasonable price, I have twice used the following FatMat product @ $62 and each time was happy with the reduced sound level. Again, many other equivalent or better products, e.g., Dynamat -- though at great cost. And many videos in YuToube how to apply this stuff -- very simple to do it, at a reasonable price, comes with a roller to insure great adhesion. As per many You Tube videos, making templates first out of heavy paper, then tracing them onto the FatMax is the best way to get good fitting product, least amount of waste.
https://www.amazon.com/FatMat-Self-...ie=UTF8&qid=1490566655&sr=8-5&keywords=Fatmat
And sorry, but the only way to specifically cut tire whine more than a small amount, is to get rid of the Duncraps.
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Road Trip: where did you apply the FatMat? Which area was the most effective?
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I have used Fatmat in the doors, roof, entire trunk area. I have to finish off the area around the sunroof, the back of the inner door panels, and get around to doing the foot wells under the rear seat and yes the hood as well. I think I went over kill on buying too much, but I don't care.
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Note please that everything that follows is how I have done two others cars, and as my new 3 has not yet arrived, have yet to dissect it, but guessing most of the following is probably be what I would do my 3 if after removing the whiny/loud Dunlops, I feel that I need or want to do sound deadening. I am not suggesting you do all of the following, just giving your options, and first place I would start is lining the tire well and the flat area that lines around the outside of the tire well.
I have seen two posts that the panel that covers the spare tire wheel wheel is flimsy, with one mentioning he has covered it with a custom-cut round piece of thin (1/4" plywood or paneling) to stiffen it up. If so, the underside of that plywood or paneling would be one more area I would line with FatMat as my third priority.
Remove the vertical cargo area "side" trim coverings and do the wall behind them. In a sedan, one good place would be to line the under side of the "window shelf" -- the horizontal piece that connects the car's "C" pillars, just under the bottom of the rear window. I also saw someone post that he done around the inner wheel liners. (By removing the wheels, then the inner wheel liner, maybe easiest to do their "back sides" while the wheel liners are out of the car.)
Then of course, re-install all trim/covering pieces. One thing I have learned the hard way is not to ignore recesses/cavities inside the pieces I have removed. Most of these are so small that one can not go inside of them and line their sides, so I cover over their "openings." So if I pull off a trim panel and see some recess, say with a three inch opening, I will just cover over the whole panel with one continuous piece of FatMat (covering the openings outer ends if you will).
Note; FatMat will add weight to your car, so while I would consider doing one 20# roll (25 square feet), due to the Mazda's power level, I would not add a second one -- just prioritize the parts I mentioned. Make sure you do this at the minimum temp recommended (around 60 degrees if I remember correctly, and use a roller of some sort to press the sticky black side on pre-cleaned metal panel you are adhering it to (I pre-clean the received side with a 50/50 diluted IPA/rubbing alcohol you can get very cheaply at Walmart, Target, almost everywhere), but after applying the IPA, make sure you wait a minute or two for it to drying fully.
However, we all need to remember that no matter whether we also pull all the doors apart, remove seats, then the carpeting, and sound-deadening even those areas too, this will never be a Buick or a Lexis and be a quiet car. And I have never done any of these latter things (just mentioning lower priority options).
I have seen two posts that the panel that covers the spare tire wheel wheel is flimsy, with one mentioning he has covered it with a custom-cut round piece of thin (1/4" plywood or paneling) to stiffen it up. If so, the underside of that plywood or paneling would be one more area I would line with FatMat as my third priority.
Remove the vertical cargo area "side" trim coverings and do the wall behind them. In a sedan, one good place would be to line the under side of the "window shelf" -- the horizontal piece that connects the car's "C" pillars, just under the bottom of the rear window. I also saw someone post that he done around the inner wheel liners. (By removing the wheels, then the inner wheel liner, maybe easiest to do their "back sides" while the wheel liners are out of the car.)
Then of course, re-install all trim/covering pieces. One thing I have learned the hard way is not to ignore recesses/cavities inside the pieces I have removed. Most of these are so small that one can not go inside of them and line their sides, so I cover over their "openings." So if I pull off a trim panel and see some recess, say with a three inch opening, I will just cover over the whole panel with one continuous piece of FatMat (covering the openings outer ends if you will).
Note; FatMat will add weight to your car, so while I would consider doing one 20# roll (25 square feet), due to the Mazda's power level, I would not add a second one -- just prioritize the parts I mentioned. Make sure you do this at the minimum temp recommended (around 60 degrees if I remember correctly, and use a roller of some sort to press the sticky black side on pre-cleaned metal panel you are adhering it to (I pre-clean the received side with a 50/50 diluted IPA/rubbing alcohol you can get very cheaply at Walmart, Target, almost everywhere), but after applying the IPA, make sure you wait a minute or two for it to drying fully.
However, we all need to remember that no matter whether we also pull all the doors apart, remove seats, then the carpeting, and sound-deadening even those areas too, this will never be a Buick or a Lexis and be a quiet car. And I have never done any of these latter things (just mentioning lower priority options).
A lot of members on here complained about road noise in the '14 ones too and a bunch of them used sound insulating materials like what @Road Trip mentioned (FatMat). There's an old thread (several even) somewhere on here with a lot of this kind of mod. One prominent solution was founded by one of the members for hatch owners. They reported to have been able to reduce noise by a noticeable level when adding sound deadening material to the hatch area/replacement tire was located at. There was another member who used spray foam insulation and even one that removed all their door cards and placed sound deadening material in them as well.
However, a lot of members said that the noise was mainly due to the stock tire(s) itself. But yeahhhhhhhh that's opinionated so take it as you will haha.
Edit: I think I saw a custom hood insulator on here somewhere too. I think a member mentioned they wanted to add this and found one somewhere but I can't quite remember if this is true.
Edit: Found the thread and product: http://mazda3revolution.com/forums/...cussion/43561-do-you-have-hood-insulator.html page 8 is what you want haha
However, a lot of members said that the noise was mainly due to the stock tire(s) itself. But yeahhhhhhhh that's opinionated so take it as you will haha.
Edit: I think I saw a custom hood insulator on here somewhere too. I think a member mentioned they wanted to add this and found one somewhere but I can't quite remember if this is true.
Edit: Found the thread and product: http://mazda3revolution.com/forums/...cussion/43561-do-you-have-hood-insulator.html page 8 is what you want haha
I just bought a Japanese made Mazda 3 with 18" wheels (UK spec). This car does have hood insulation plus insulation against the bulkhead, a stiff felt like material inside the rear wheel arches and some sound deadening stuck to the trunk floor. Despite this, I find the Dunlop Sport Max TT tyres noisy on rough roads and the Mazda 2
litre petrol engine note is less refined than my 10 year old Honda Accord. I discovered those Dunlop tyres have a relatively quiet 68db EU noise rating so I'm unsure replacing them will make much difference. I'm going to place some sound deadening in the boot to see if that reduces the road / tyre noise. Mazda have clearly employed some clever technology in their design of the Mazda 3 but the poor refinement is a failure of their engineering design.
Car stereo
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Car stereo isn't just a component that you could easily fit in the vehicle. There is also a couple of attachments using the vehicle stereos. For example using the head unit you'll find different types of tweeters, amplifiers, subwoofers, along with other audio attachments to boost the seem quality of the system. You'll find high quality stereo in addition to cheap stereos. As the saying goes, you simply get that which you really purchase, so quality has a cost. Make certain you don't pay an exorbitant amount too in the a branded stereo system. Also look for the sturdiness from the stereo system, as installing a great system won't suit you perfectly if it doesn't work correctly.
GPS system revolutionized how people traveled. And also the technology is constantly on the improve. A car GPS navigation system uses satellite communication to become able to let you know what to do step-by-step. Just about everyone has printed directions to someplace on the web. This printed document will certainly informs you the way lengthy it will lead you to get at your destination, the number of miles it's, and it offers a superior a summary of when and where to show. These printed is extremely readable and they have helped lots of people to discover their destinations efficiently. Now, let's say you did not require a document to obtain where you are going? Let's say someone, or something like that, could let you know when and where to show? That is what a car GPS navigation system does.
There are lots of features you have to consider such as the construction, power handling, etc?- honestly speaking when thinking about cost and quality probably the most apparent ones are 12 " subwoofers. They're best since they're affordable and provide high quality. Here are the cheap and finest DVD players for the money matters too.
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