First project: Freedom panel sound dampening

[Yock]

This has probably been done before but here’s my take on it. Less than 24 hours after taking receipt of my new gladiator I’ve got my first mod under my belt. I knew I was in store for a louder than normal driving experience but I wanted to head off as much of the noise as possible so after comparing the mopar head panel things, hotheads and cover king, I ended up going with cover king, with sound dampening underneath it.

https://a.co/d/fMJNcCu

https://coverking.com/products/topliner

I haven’t gotten to drive it yet but knocking on the roof is much different sound now, very dense. On the front panels I did two layers on the deepest part. On the back o did two layers on the sides, other than that just filling in white with rubber panels and rolling them down.

After that I installed the cover kings panel on top of the sound deadening. Everything seemed to adhere well. I also used some project farm approved double sided tape for other areas that seemed to need more. Relatively easy install. Took ~6 casual hours to do it all solo, ensuring it was done right.

Install tips for the sound deadening:

you're going to want a smaller roller to hit the crevices. I bought a 3 pack with a very small one which worked great

the material was easy to work with. I have no idea how well it works, or where the best places to install it are, but being able to load it down was great. I had two full sheets left over.

the panels I bought have grids on it. Cutting along those with scissors is much easier than trying to exacto knife it. With the paper still on it I would put it down, and mold it to the surface, then made guide holes with my scissors then cut it along that path. Worked really well.

I don’t think doubling up the back would work. The grooves are too small and I feel like the cover kings install was more complicate due to the displacement by the panels.

Tips for cover kings:

After putting the tape strips down I’d roll them to help adhesion. It’s either over rolling or a product flaw but the top layer is sometimes pretty tough to get off without seemingly ruining the glue. Most the time it pop back in place though.

after putting the product in the glue I rolled over it onto the glue strips helping it cling. No harm to the cover itself.

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[ArchEtech]

I’ll be curious how much difference it makes. I’ve measured Db in my Tesla, company Camery hybrid, GTR and now Jeep Gladiator, it’s not as bad as you think and not more than 1-2 louder than anything I’ve measured.

The Model 3 I came from was not quite 72-74 with radio on at 70mph. The Tuned GTR I had was 76-77 on the highway with the exhaust. The company Camry is 72 ish at 70mph. My 2000 Toyota Tundra with no radio is 68-70, 71-72 with radio.

Jeep seems to be in that 72-74 range depending on radio volume. There is definitely wind noise but the engine is quiet, and I don’t hear road or tire noise. It’s pretty much all wind noise. When it’s really windy out, you really hear it. I would suspect insulating with the mat will make a pretty big difference; however, you might have tried mass loaded vinyl over the sound mat. Most likely f those sound mats help with vibration, they don’t shield and absorb sound. You need mass and density for that. I’m sure it will help with reverberation from wind and echo in the cab from hard surfaces. Let us know how it sounds.

 

[Yock]

I’ll be curious how much difference it makes. I’ve measured Db in my Tesla, company Camery hybrid, GTR and now Jeep Gladiator, it’s not as bad as you think and not more than 1-2 louder than anything I’ve measured.

The Model 3 I came from was not quite 72-74 with radio on at 70mph. The Tuned GTR I had was 76-77 on the highway with the exhaust. The company Camry is 72 ish at 70mph. My 2000 Toyota Tundra with no radio is 68-70, 71-72 with radio.

Jeep seems to be in that 72-74 range depending on radio volume. There is definitely wind noise but the engine is quiet, and I don’t hear road or tire noise. It’s pretty much all wind noise. When it’s really windy out, you really hear it. I would suspect insulating with the mat will make a pretty big difference; however, you might have tried mass loaded vinyl over the sound mat. Most likely f those sound mats help with vibration, they don’t shield and absorb sound. You need mass and density for that. I’m sure it will help with reverberation from wind and echo in the cab from hard surfaces. Let us know how it sounds.

I have little confidence this will be a night and day difference, the panels themselves were very thin, which i think is necessary because any larger seems like It would be problematic. I’m sure it’ll help some, and every bit helps, but it’ll help with audio quality when I get my sound system installed. My next endeavor is doing all the floors, and the doors.

 

[ArchEtech]

I would definitely consider the mass loaded vinyl for the the floor and doors especially. MLV is a barrier which is what you want not just a dampener:

 

[azmojave]

This has probably been done before but here’s my take on it. Less than 24 hours after taking receipt of my new gladiator I’ve got my first mod under my belt. I knew I was in store for a louder than normal driving experience but I wanted to head off as much of the noise as possible so after comparing the mopar head panel things, hotheads and cover king, I ended up going with cover king, with sound dampening underneath it.

https://a.co/d/fMJNcCu

https://coverking.com/products/topliner

I haven’t gotten to drive it yet but knocking on the roof is much different sound now, very dense. On the front panels I did two layers on the deepest part. On the back o did two layers on the sides, other than that just filling in white with rubber panels and rolling them down.

After that I installed the cover kings panel on top of the sound deadening. Everything seemed to adhere well. I also used some project farm approved double sided tape for other areas that seemed to need more. Relatively easy install. Took ~6 casual hours to do it all solo, ensuring it was done right.

Install tips for the sound deadening:

you're going to want a smaller roller to hit the crevices. I bought a 3 pack with a very small one which worked great

the material was easy to work with. I have no idea how well it works, or where the best places to install it are, but being able to load it down was great. I had two full sheets left over.

the panels I bought have grids on it. Cutting along those with scissors is much easier than trying to exacto knife it. With the paper still on it I would put it down, and mold it to the surface, then made guide holes with my scissors then cut it along that path. Worked really well.

I don’t think doubling up the back would work. The grooves are too small and I feel like the cover kings install was more complicate due to the displacement by the panels.

Tips for cover kings:

After putting the tape strips down I’d roll them to help adhesion. It’s either over rolling or a product flaw but the top layer is sometimes pretty tough to get off without seemingly ruining the glue. Most the time it pop back in place though.

after putting the product in the glue I rolled over it onto the glue strips helping it cling. No harm to the cover itself.

You may have blocked your satellite antenna. I had instructions where not to tape when I did the Hotheads. I think it’s in this area

 

[Yock]

I would definitely consider the mass loaded vinyl for the the floor and doors especially. MLV is a barrier which is what you want not just a dampener:

right. Probably this:
https://soundskinsglobal.com/produc...-2020-to-2022?rq=yr_2022~mk_jeep~md_gladiator

 

[Yock]

You may have blocked your satellite antenna. I had instructions where not to tape when I did the Hotheads. I think it’s in this area

Oh fun. I’ll check that out, thank you for telling me. I’m in a 2024 if that matters.

 

[azmojave]

Oh fun. I’ll check that out, thank you for telling me. I’m in a 2024 if that matters.

Mine’s a 21. Not sure if they changed location. It should be on top of the sound bar.

 

[ArchEtech]

Measure you db before you do the floors and doors.

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