Hard-Top Sound Reduction vs. Soft Top

[Mr Miami]

Your hard top must seal up better than mine I’ve complained about it since new. Above 65, it’s crazy loud. My JKU Rubicon with the factory M/Ts was quieter. I had soft top loaners and the wind noise was the same. The only difference was that it’s quieter than the soft top when heating things like a loud exhaust on an obnoxious Harley next to me. It’d been almost six years now and I’ve given up on it and jut listen to the music loudly on the hwy and don’t attempt to make or answer phone calls. It’s pointless no one can hear each other. The dealership was pointless. They just did their typical “it’s a Jeep thing” and didn’t fix it

I guess you are correct that there may be an issue with your hard top. In full disclosure, I just looked at the original window sticker on mine (JTR) and it does have the "Hardtop Headliner by Mopar" option ($655) on it. I honestly must have passed by that line when I purchased mine since I thought it was a standard thing on Rubicons. Yes, I can use my phone even driving at highway speeds without a problem.

Keep in mind this is a major improvement for me, even being able to use a phone in the vehicle. In my '16 JKU with half doors, I used the phone thing once or twice when I first bought it but soon realized it is better to use the phone later (which in reality, is really not a bad thing, no annoying phone calls when I'm driving ... lol).

But based on what you are saying, I'm not sure if some sort of thicker headliner will help or not.

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[NC_Overland]

I guess you are correct that there may be an issue with your hard top. In full disclosure, I just looked at the original window sticker on mine (JTR) and it does have the "Hardtop Headliner by Mopar" option ($655) on it. I honestly must have passed by that line when I purchased mine since I thought it was a standard thing on Rubicons. Yes, I can use my phone even driving at highway speeds without a problem.

Keep in mind this is a major improvement for me, even being able to use a phone in the vehicle. In my '16 JKU with half doors, I used the phone thing once or twice when I first bought it but soon realized it is better to use the phone later (which in reality, is really not a bad thing, no annoying phone calls when I'm driving ... lol).

But based on what you are saying, I'm not sure if some sort of thicker headliner will help or not.

I’ll probably do it because it would help when it’s really hot in the GA summers and I feel the heat radiating down. It’s weird because it seals up well, it’s never leaked and no whistles or anything like that.​

but yeah, it’s a stand alone option on all trims. Mine is a fully loaded Overland but it didn’t have that option. Mine was one of the first ones built. I don’t recall it being available as an option then except on the LE Rubicons. I could be mistaken, this is going back 6 yrs now.​

 

[AC12]

Like a few on here, I've added the Hothead liner to mine. It was the first thing I did to it, and I'll say that noise has gone down (not monumentally, but still lower). The big upside with this, and I was talking about it with my wife on our drive home yesterday, is that it adds so much insulation to keep the heat at bay.

When you have tires that have aggressive tread, you're still going to get the tire noise. I'd say it went down a few decibels.

 

[SaiintNick]

Like a few on here, I've added the Hothead liner to mine. It was the first thing I did to it, and I'll say that noise has gone down (not monumentally, but still lower). The big upside with this, and I was talking about it with my wife on our drive home yesterday, is that it adds so much insulation to keep the heat at bay.

When you have tires that have aggressive tread, you're still going to get the tire noise. I'd say it went down a few decibels.

Yes HotHead headliners are great. They look great and cut down on noise and probably some heat. I live on the surface of the sun and park outside so nothing, but actual shade will help the inside of my Jeep. I have ceramic tint and it still registers 130+ in summer. Luckily the Gladiator is so small inside that it's easy to cool down. I have always added the Sound Assassin strips under and feel they take away much of the of the vibration that the hardtop can produce at high speeds.

 

[NC_Overland]

How tight do you guys tighten your hard top bolts? I never tightened them more than pretty tight with the 1/4” ratchet. I read a torque setting for it once that was a lot higher than I would have guessed, but I also don’t want to break anything.

 

[Gvsukids]

I just wiped the interior down."

Who cleans the interior of a Jeep?

 

[NC_Overland]

Who cleans the interior of a Jeep?

I do, but it’s a constant battle. It gets dusty so fast. They clean up well. Mine looks new when I give it more than a quick vacuum and wipe down and it’s almost 6 yrs old. .

 

[John in the Woods]

If you got this far, you deserve bonus cat photo:

Day made. Thank you.

 

[Mr Miami]

Who cleans the interior of a Jeep?

I do clean mine, at least partially. My JTR is still relatively new (I bought it earlier in the year) and it has the upgraded slush mats that came with it and work pretty well. Other than wiping off the gauge area and touch screen thing and vacuuming it a couple of times, it's still fairly clean.

On my JKU, I remember bringing it home the first day from the dealer, taking out all of the carpet and drain plugs and putting in some good rubber mats on the floors. It makes cleaning a lot easier since I just pull out the mats and hose the whole thing out when it gets dirty. No vacuuming required (I still have brand new carpeting in a sealed box in the shed). Since it has half doors and a soft top, you just expect it to leak so why deal with wet carpeting!

I may pull the carpeting on the JTR sometime. I must admit it is a great feeling seeing my neighbor cleaning his Mercedes SUV with a whole pile of cleaners and a shop vac while I am cleaning my JKU using a power washer garden hose. What a rush!

 

[Rahkmalla]

i don't have any measurements to back it up, but i swear my jeep got quieter when I put in the armorlite flooring.

Were i trying to make the quietest jeep possible i'd definitely include armorlite in said plans, maybe even with some sound assassin underneath (don't get too close to the trim pieces with the sound deadening, the armorlite is already a litle bit too thick).

 

[NC_Overland]

i don't have any measurements to back it up, but i swear my jeep got quieter when I put in the armorlite flooring.

Were i trying to make the quietest jeep possible i'd definitely include armorlite in said plans, maybe even with some sound assassin underneath (don't get too close to the trim pieces with the sound deadening, the armorlite is already a litle bit too thick).

That doesn’t surprise me. Mine is crazy loud when I’ve driven it without the floor mats/drain plugs. You also hear a lot of mechanical noises that you don’t normally hear. It’s been like that since brand new.

 

[SaiintNick]

i don't have any measurements to back it up, but i swear my jeep got quieter when I put in the armorlite flooring.

Were i trying to make the quietest jeep possible i'd definitely include armorlite in said plans, maybe even with some sound assassin underneath (don't get too close to the trim pieces with the sound deadening, the armorlite is already a litle bit too thick).

Armorlite definitely makes a difference.

 

[sharpsicle]

i don't have any measurements to back it up, but i swear my jeep got quieter when I put in the armorlite flooring.

Were i trying to make the quietest jeep possible i'd definitely include armorlite in said plans, maybe even with some sound assassin underneath (don't get too close to the trim pieces with the sound deadening, the armorlite is already a litle bit too thick).

This is my plan as well. I'm going to be getting my seats re-done sometime soon and while they're out for that, I was going to pull up the carpet and put something down. Not sure I'm going to go armorlite, but some kind of sound deadening for sure.

 

[IanNubbit]

The simple answer here is very little. Less on a JT than a wrangler. Most of the sound difference you will get is due to having a glass rear window and not a plastic one. With that said, it IS quiter. But from my experience only like 2-5 decibels at best. Really my experience has been it’s a different noise. Ambient traffic passing sounds, slightly more wind noise at the header, and OMG THE RAIN! It’s absurdly loud

 

[sharpsicle]

The simple answer here is very little. Less on a JT than a wrangler. Most of the sound difference you will get is due to having a glass rear window and not a plastic one. With that said, it IS quiter. But from my experience only like 2-5 decibels at best. Really my experience has been it’s a different noise. Ambient traffic passing sounds, slightly more wind noise at the header, and OMG THE RAIN! It’s absurdly loud

I disagree, and my posts in this thread will tell you why.

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