Noisy Mazda3 S-Touring Hatchback Interior Brought Under Control With Boom Mat Sound Deadening Material Install
I love the way my 2014 Mazda3 S-Touring hatchback performs. It’s sporty, handles great, delivers excellent fuel economy, and has the crisp design of a luxury sports sedan.
But the interior noise it generates over the road grates on you after the first week in the car, overshadowing it’s positive attributes.
Most Mazda3 Hatch owners let the noise slide, cranking up the stereo system to over-power the road ruckus.
I’m not one of those.
Instead, I turned to Ohio-based Design Engineering, Inc. (DEI)- a company that has specialized in vehicle acoustic control for decades.
Their flagship product is Boom Mat. It’s a noise barrier material made with an aluminum surface on top of a viscoelastic polymer designed to dampen vibration.
DEI Boom Mat, UC Lite and Spray-On Boom Mat ready for installation.
A special adhesive backing keeps it in place over a wide range of temperatures and it adheres to any clean surface.
Boom Mat comes in 12.5″x24″ sheets. I used a box of 20 for my car.
For added sound deadening and insulation, I installed DEI’s new under carpet material called UC Lite. It’s a 1/2-inch thick composite material developed to both insulate and deaden sound.
My Mazda3 required every inch of the 54″x72″ UC Lite material I’d ordered.
I ran sound numbers before and after the installation of DEI’s sound deadening products.
At 70mph on the interstate the interior noise level fluctuated between 71-76 dB, depending on the road surface. After installation those numbers dropped to 68-72 dB.
A 3 dB drop in noise levels inside a small car like the Mazda3 Hatchback is very noticeable.
Now the doors thud instead of pinging when closed; conversations can take place without raising one’s voice; you don’t go deaf driving through the car wash; the voice-activated Mazda system actually works; the stereo system sounds more pure; and you get the overall sense of driving in a much higher quality car.
The slideshow below shows the highlights of the installation. It’s straight forward and easy to do in a day.
MazdaBoomMat_01
SPECIAL THANKS: Design Engineering, Inc; 800-264-9472
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