We experience a lot of noise when driving. The tire noise, wind noise, exhaust drone, noise from other vehicles on the road, and many more irritating noises, and these noises are amplified the faster we drive. Acoustic damping is used to cut down the noises that make it into the cabin, giving you a nice driving experience. It’s a good way to make cheaper cars feel luxurious. We’re going to talk about them in detail in this post.
Do you need it?
Most modern cars come with some form of acoustic treatment from the factory to cut down on the NVH (Noise, vibration, and harshness) levels inside the cabin. Since many people spend a lot of time in the cabin, the high NVH in some cheaper or older cars may result in fatigue. Acoustic dampers are only required if you feel that the one provided by the manufacturer is inadequate or if you want a more luxurious driving experience.
What are the benefits of getting acoustic dampers?
When you get premium acoustic dampers on your vehicle, you immediately start noticing a premium feel. You will notice a difference in things like:
- There’s a good thud when the door is closed
- There’s significantly less wind noise and tire noise when driving at speed
- Most of the noise from the traffic is cut down
- Exhaust drone is reduced
- The car has fewer rattling noises
- It makes the sound from the music system more clean and defined
- The bass is also slightly better
Things to look out for
Acoustic dampers are great, but there are some things that you need to be aware of.
Cheaper Acoustic Dampers
Getting cheaper dampers has a lot of downsides, to the point where you’d be better off not getting them at all. We’ve seen cases where the cheaper quality material melts when it gets really hot, and sticks to the surface. This melted material can block the hole that lets in water inside the door, this can lead to electrical problems, rusting, and more. Cheaper dampers also don’t perform well. Cheaper/Unskilled installation can do no justice to the damping sheets. At ReflectOn, We take steps further by preventing the rust formation by using epoxy based coatings to prevent rust and thereby saving the metal and also the money spent on damping the same. We also undertake full cabin damping.
Overdoing it
Getting too much damping is also an issue, this will restrict air movement and will retain heat inside the car.
Conclusion
Acoustic dampers can really help you out if you are facing a real problem. Problems like you’re car doesn’t come with quality dampers from the factory, the ones in your car currently are going bad, if you feel there’s a lot of road noise, you want a more premium feel in a budget-oriented car or you want the audio in your car to sound better. Short of these, there’s very little an acoustic treatment for your car can do for you. Still not sure if you need acoustic dampers? Reach out to the experts at ReflectOn to get a professional opinion.
