[RedBaron]

I should say this is resonance reduction, rather than sound deadening, but who's counting? So today I received some 80mil Amazon Basic butyl rubber/foil pads to try on my car. I wasn't expecting much, but actually it's made quite a difference, at least with the knuckle-rap test. So far, I've only added it to the driver's door. It's hard to get access to the outer shell of the door, so I could only add a couple of strips inside, one 18x4" strip and one 6x10" - these inserted between the impact protection bars. Then I added a few patches of various sizes on the inner metal panel of the door, always relying on the knuckle rap to find the 'drum' points (remember you DON'T need to cover the whole panel, only the resonance areas). I actually only used less than one of the 18x32" sheets in the set of, 9 for this one door. I'll have quite a lot left after I've finished I think I did take pics, but somehow deleted them from my phone, so I'll try again when I do the passenger door (sorry).

Meanwhile, this is a video comparison of knocking on the doors after doing the driver door. As I said, I was actually quite impressed by the difference:

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These are a couple of pics taken before the application. The first showing the inner trim removed and the access panel unclipped. The second showing inside the door and the two areas between the impact beams where I was able to reach to add the deadening strips.

More of a "how to" to come after I do the passenger side. Stay tuned

 

[RedBaron]

I'm not going to spend time with a long writeup, since there has not been much interest. But I'll add pics that I took to show what's involved. I will say that now I've done all 4 doors, the road noise reduction is substantial. I actually think that a lot of the ride harshness criticism is actually because of noise rather than physical harshness. This is well worth doing, even if you have to pay someone to do it.

Tools needed:

• Shop scissors and boxcutter knife for cutting/trimming sound deadener butyl sheets
• Panel popper tools (preferably hard plastic for strength and so as not to scratch paint).
• Phillips screwdriver
• Old credit cards and/or painter's tape to protect plastic when prying.

A roller is usually recommended for flattening/sticking down the butyl rubber sheets, but I found I couldn't get enough leverage, so I used either the screwdriver handle or a pry tool as a squeegee or the handle of the scissors, depending on the area.

I got the Amazon Basics 80mil butyl rubber/aluminum sheets for this in the 18x32" size. I used just under 1 sheet (2 square feet) per door.

So here are pics for the front doors part 1 (hopefully self explanatory). You need to remove the tweeter panel, the door/window switch panel and screw covers to access & remove the 3 screws per door. Then you have to pry off the inner door panel clips (very tight). Then lift the trailing upper corner of the panel up off the square clip shown in post #3. That square clip should stay in the door and be removed manually afterwards.

 

[RedBaron]

Front door pics continued:

 

[RedBaron]

Well, I did the other side front door, and it seems to have made a noticeable difference in noise, at least driving on the roads where I am at the moment (away from home). I took pictures and was going to do a how-to writeup, but from the lack of response, no one seems to be interested. Oh well.

Posts updated with pictures after doing all 4 doors. I am very happy with the noise and harshness reduction from this. I really recommend you look into it.

Again, remember you DON'T need to cover the whole of a panel, you only need patches over the resonance areas that sound like a drum when tapped with your knuckles.

 

[Kenny Kirk]

It may not be that we're not interested, speaking strictly for myself, I lack your intestinal fortitude to tear into the door like that. I base that on the times I've attempted removing door panels, only to end up at Auto Zone for various clips and "work arounds" to get things back in place, however I am very interested in what you're doing and would like to see more if do decide to post pictures!

 

[RedBaron]

Opening up the rear doors are very similar to the fronts, with the exception of the tweeter not being there . So, see also the front door pics for how to do that.

Pictures of rear doors:

 

[RedBaron]

Finally, here are the factory manual pages for removing the door trim panels. Read these in conjunction with the photos above. Have fun!

 

[SoFlo Zoom]

It may not be that we're not interested, speaking strictly for myself, I lack your intestinal fortitude to tear into the door like that. I base that on the times I've attempted removing door panels, only to end up at Auto Zone for various clips and "work arounds" to get things back in place, however I am very interested in what you're doing and would like to see more if do decide to post pictures!

Second this statement. Thanks @RedBaron for posting the pics and process, but this is not something I would feel comfortable attempting. Especially when this is something that could be easily done by Mazda during production. Would add to the "premium feel" market they are attempting to grab a share of.

 

[Bryan065]

Thanks for the pictures of the spots where you put the pieces! I'm just waiting until the weather gets warmer to do the same thing.

 

[CMS]

Thanks for sharing! Who would have known. How many hours do you think a body shop would would charge to do all four doors. The crossbars create a lot of noise and once I remove or upgrade them my concern is I will hear the doors; which I already do. Wish Mazda would have included.....

Thanks again for the pictures and the idea. Very cool!

 

[RedBaron]

Thanks for sharing! Who would have known. How many hours do you think a body shop would would charge to do all four doors. The crossbars create a lot of noise and once I remove or upgrade them my concern is I will hear the doors; which I already do. Wish Mazda would have included.....

Thanks again for the pictures and the idea. Very cool!

Well, I'm not sure. It cost me $50 for the material, and two days (NOT continuous) to put it in. But I would say 1-2 hours for me (with no prior experience) per door. You could also try audio installers to do it. Not sure they'd be cheaper, but they probably have more experience with this type of thing.

 

[CMS]

Thanks and good idea with audio!

 

[jusdawg]

Finally, here are the factory manual pages for removing the door trim panels. Read these in conjunction with the photos above. Have fun!

Do you have center console removal manual as well ? Trying to install some ambient light.

 

[RedBaron]

Do you have center console removal manual as well ? Trying to install some ambient light.

Did you see this?: (12) Added a 12V socket inside the center console | Mazda CX-50 Forum (cx50forums.com)