I'd love to make this car a bit quieter but I'm afraid if I start to remove panels, I'd never get them back the right way.

Does anyone know how to remove the panels for the doors and the hatchback area in such a way that an idiot can follow?

Thanks everyone!
Marc

 

Check-out this thread for door panel removal - see the attached pdf document...
https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...ad.php?t=17911

When you say the hatch back, do you mean the hard plastic panel on the hatchback itself, or the felt/carpet style panels actually in the trunk?

I believe the plastic panel just snaps in/out - a plastic wedge may help removing the panel - see the Interior threads on the forum, they were discussed there, and I believe you can buy them from crutchfield. A large flat head screwdriver will probably suffice - but be careful for obvious reasons!!!
I think the clips on the felt/carpet pieces just snap in/out too.

Oh yeah, 'snap' may be the operative word - this kind of clip does not usually lend itself to being used over and over again.

Let us know how you go on - I intend to add some sound deadening soon.

 

Thanks for the link! I would never have figured it out myself. I tried dismantling 1 door panel last week and except for the door handle release lever which I couldn't remove and didn't want to force, it was easy.

I'm going to do the sound proofing this weekend on the doors. I chose edead paint over dynamat because there's lots of wires, foam insulation and other things I don't want to mess with. I'll let you know how it goes.

As far has the hatchback area. I did not want to remove the carpet and sides so I stuffed towels and sprayed foam insulation in the wheel well areas. What a mess! I fear what a mistake! The foam expanded out of joint areas and is difficult to clean up. I hope I didn't seal up anything important. For all that It did help a bit. The car is still very loud, but before it was obvious that sound was coming from the rear. Now it's not. Now all I have is "surround" noise so I assume I eliminated a lot of noise from the rear.

Wish me luck. I'll report later if the doors helped.

 

Granted these cars are not whisper quiet - but they are far from obnoxiously loud.
Are your tires just cr@p, and that's the noise your hearing?

 

Perception is 9/10ths of reality. I just like a quiet car. My old Michelins and now Yokohama's both are pretty close in noise level and neither are junk tires. This is the only small sports car I've driven so I can't compare it with anything other than my wife's Volvo or my old Aurora.

 

I just want to suggest what you said . It is probably a lot about what you are use to and expect. Somewhat like having your first convertible and being surprised it blows your hair.

Autos of this size and type have varying levels of sound intrusion; just as autos in other size and type classes do. In the case of a small sporty car one is suppose to expect road noise for many reasons that would never occur in a four door sedan. On the Crossfire, tires are certainly an issue, lowness to the ground, rear wheels up your ... and the very shape of the coupe. I have large wheels on my 300 and it is much worse than the Crossfire with road noise. This all holds true with quality of ride also. The trade off with that is great handling for the size. The trade off for sound could be the reminder that these types of cars are a bit closer to their heritage than the cars that have become big and quiet and cushy.

I hope you find some peace with the situation and it doesn't keep you from enjoying the car.

RP

 

(It is probably a lot about what you are use to and expect. Somewhat like having your first convertible and being surprised it blows your hair).
How true! No, it's not going to keep me from enjoying my car. Just think of it as some people want to squeeze as much performance as possible, some want their car to be immaculate. I want mine to be as quiet as possible. Instead of spending a day detailing, I spend a day (or 2 or 3) soundproofing.
While I'm at it, I've been hearing a (clicking) sound coming from my passenger door, rear window area for a few weeks now. The dealer tried twice without success, I've tried removing or fiddling with every panel I can reach without success. It's driving me crazy!!! Like water dripping from a faucet.
Also while I'm at it. I love this forum. After reading lots of posts yesterday, instead of my normal wash and wax, I was inspired to vacuum, and condition the leather and dash. Looks much better now.

Thanks everyone!

 

Good to read you sound so upbeat. I hope you've got the foam situation under control.
As to the door and hatch noise; just do a search, there have been quite a few posts about this specifically. I believe, if memory serves, that some had good success with dealing with that. My first xfire had no noise issues so I was spoiled. I'm certainly hoping the new one doesn't have any. I am like you about noise; the little things CAN drive one crazy.

Best,
RP

 

http://www.dynamat.com/

This stuff is about as good as it gets.

 

Here's how it went. With your link, it was very easy to remove the door panels. Even though I saw a two door kit of Dynamat Extreme on E-bay for the same price as Edead paint, I decided to use the paint because there are lots of obstructions like holes, wire tie wrap holders, bends etc. so it seemed like just slapping on a few coats of paint would be much easier. The painting was easy, and since it's going to be covered, there's no need for finesse. Just make sure you don't paint beyond what the door panel is going to cover. I did and had to clean it up. I waited less than 1 hour per coat and the last one I laid on pretty thick and used around 1/2 gallon.

After putting the panels back on which went pretty smoothly I had to take 1 back apart to get rid of some rattles. By the way, the door panels look like they are made to rattle. I might take them off and paint the inside of them just to seal up the joints.

How did it work? Hard to tell. Got to figure that the two doors are maybe 1/10th the cabin area, so even if you could remove 100% of the sound transfer your still going to get a lot of noise. The car is quieter though. There is a highway near me (I-355) that is concrete, graded for traction and VERY loud. I notice I can hear the stereo better now. Also I can tell there is a "dead" area of sound near the doors. Also I mentioned earlier that after doing the hatchback area I could tell the main source of sound moved from the back to all around. Now the sound is more located in the back, so it appears I must have removed sound from the doors.

Was it worth the effort? Yes, it took much of a day, but since so much time was spent drying, I was able to do other things and there is an improvement. Who can tell if Dynamat would have been better? They have a great reputation, but it sure looked like alot of work since there were many places I would have been only able to apply a very small strip at a time. Also since there is a large hole in the door, with the paint I could get the inside area of metal too. If I ever get brave enough to remove other panels, I bet I could make this car pretty quiet.

Thanks for your help everyone, I hope what I add can help.