Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Ear pain/Pressure help

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Some data. I installed 5/16 inch OD vinyl tubing. Hatch didn't close on its own but did after I gave it a little push. Drove to the naughty textured pavement I use to test modifications and no change, boom big as ever. Note that I am currently printing @ilovecoffee's hatch stop stiffeners. As such I didn't bother to adjust my existing hatch stops today. They are probably not even making contact now when the hatch is closed. So it's interesting that my vehicle is indistinguishable from yesterday without the vinyl tubing even though my hatch stops are probably totally wrong now. I will report back after I have the correct length 3D printed hatch stop stiffeners in place. I don't expect any improvement though as I'm mostly convinced my boom is not coming from my hatch. My next modification would be wheel well insulation a la gundarx.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: Noflash
The hatch stops still need to make proper contact even with vinyl tubing installed.

Refer to my post on Page 31 about where to place butyl.

I did it in steps and only noticed a real difference when butyl was applied on the wheel wells. Just be careful of the amount you place around the subwoofer otherwise one of its screws won't line up.

Edit: I see you did butyl a while ago. Did you apply it underneath the foam insulation on the rear wheel wells? This was the key area for me.
 
Some data. I installed 5/16 inch OD vinyl tubing. Hatch didn't close on its own but did after I gave it a little push. Drove to the naughty textured pavement I use to test modifications and no change, boom big as ever. Note that I am currently printing @ilovecoffee's hatch stop stiffeners. As such I didn't bother to adjust my existing hatch stops today. They are probably not even making contact now when the hatch is closed. So it's interesting that my vehicle is indistinguishable from yesterday without the vinyl tubing even though my hatch stops are probably totally wrong now. I will report back after I have the correct length 3D printed hatch stop stiffeners in place. I don't expect any improvement though as I'm mostly convinced my boom is not coming from my hatch. My next modification would be wheel well insulation a la gundarx.
I thought you already had 50-80% reduction in booming. I was planning on trying butyl and foam next; please tell me that works. I don't want to tear up the rear of my car unnecessarily. I already tore up my weatherstripping for the tubing for nothing. I'm worried once I start popping panels, they'll never get back perfectly.
 
So update to my sound deadening (sorry no pics was short on time)

I added butyl directly to the wheel well underneath the stock foam cover (I don't know why I never lifted that foam cover before)

I covered it extremely well and added about 3 to 4 layers. I also added into the sunken side storage areas as well.

This seems to have had the most impact. Doing exterior facing panels seemed to accomplish very little. Now with the wheel wells covered minor road bumps don't result in any large low frequency noise. I don't have any direct frequency spectrum graphs to show. dB meter doesn't seem to acknowledge the difference that I'm able to perceive as I'd say numbers are more or less the same, nothing significant in changes. It's definitely worthwhile of an area if you're going to soundproof anywhere.
How did you get the OE foam back down over the 3 to 4 layers of butyl?
 
How did you get the OE foam back down over the 3 to 4 layers of butyl?

It just lifts up. It simply sits there so there's no harm in adding additional material underneath. Better to have dense resonance absorbing material on the actual metal of the wheel well than foam imo.

See here with some pics (not mine because I didn't document the process but shows what someone did (I did a lot more layers though).
 
It just lifts up. It simply sits there so there's no harm in adding additional material underneath. Better to have dense resonance absorbing material on the actual metal of the wheel well than foam imo.

See here with some pics (not mine because I didn't document the process but shows what someone did (I did a lot more layers though).
Yes, my question was really how does the original piece fit back down over so many layers of butyl. I guess it will make more sense when I am looking at it in person. Thanks.
 
I thought you already had 50-80% reduction in booming. I was planning on trying butyl and foam next; please tell me that works. I don't want to tear up the rear of my car unnecessarily.
Yep, I used to worry I'd always hate the car until I added the butyl and foam behind the rear lower trim panels. Was a revelation when I found my stock foam cube was missing. Now I don't have much annoying noise except on specific road surfaces, most of which I don't encounter on a daily basis. At this point I'm mostly just trying out additional mitigations I see posted here as a hobby, to see what more I can learn about my car.

If you remove the trim panels to add insulation, try to pull them straight out, check right away for missing clips (so you can find them if they dropped back somewhere), and *do not* remove the panels all the way up to the second row seats. Just curve the panels out so you can reach behind them. It's awkward, but trying to get one of the long panels back on, especially with no one helping me, was more awkward. I know others here don't agree with me. And that's fine.

One nice thing about the little white clips at the tops of the panels is that if you lose them, they tend to end up stuck in the foam right behind where you lost them rather than falling down. So you can carefully pull them out and then reattach them to the trim piece before popping it back on. I managed to do it all while only losing one little white clip and it didn't end up mattering. You can't tell looking that it's missing and it doesn't make any noise. But now I'm thinking about going back in there to add insulation under the existing blankets on top of the wheel wells, so we'll see if my luck holds out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Noflash
You all have this much insulation already? I'm not seeing a lot of places to add the butyl. How do I get it under the wheel well pad? The bolt from the sub is holding it down. Do I remove the sub? So many questions! 😂
PXL_20220226_230534800.jpg

PXL_20220226_230705190.jpg
 
Yes, my question was really how does the original piece fit back down over so many layers of butyl. I guess it will make more sense when I am looking at it in person. Thanks.

It doesn't really impact the fit of it. It'll make sense when you look at it.
You all have this much insulation already? I'm not seeing a lot of places to add the butyl. How do I get it under the wheel well pad? The bolt from the sub is holding it down. Do I remove the sub? So many questions! 😂
View attachment 774206
View attachment 774207
You don't need to add it really under that insulation you see in your photos but it probably will help.

You still need to peel back that upper trim piece to unbolt the subwoofer. There are 3 bolts for it. You will also need to unbolt the Amp as well, 2 or 3 bolts.

In behind the subwoofer is the insulation over the rear wheel well. Underneath that it's worthwhile for sound deadening butyl.

The other side will give you an easier picture because there's no subwoofer in the way.

You only need to bend the foam out of your way. There's no need to completely remove any pieces. Even the subwoofer I left the cables connected (for some reason I couldn't figure out the clasp mechanism on the subwoofer cable)
 
  • Helpful
Reactions: Noflash
I second what @MY-Y says about the buffeting, at least for my car, making sure the catch is lowered (mine was already low but was able to adjust for a few more mm) and adjusting the 4 stops.

What was harder to address was the booming coming from the back. I ordered sheets of Noico from Amazon some time ago, and got to do this today:
Butyl sheets: https://amzn.to/2NH3sCK
PE foam sound deadener: https://amzn.to/3sC6qqY
roller: https://amzn.to/3q43IZA

I had been experimenting by putting very heavy books in the rear subtrunk area and noticed how weighing down that area reduced unwanted noise. I suspect that repeated contact with the foam board and the bottom of the semi-rigid subtrunk liner was producing a pounding noise. Weighing down the subtrunk likely reduced movement and unwanted banging and the additional mass also reduced noise.

This is the first time I've applied sound deadener to a car, but after repeatedly driving our Model 3 and the Y, it was clear that the Y produced too much noise from the back, even though I've already changed tires and to MPP comfort coilovers. I also have used the butyl sheets for my home theater to reduce vibrations in some aluminum shelves and window roller shade facia covers that would become distracting on loud movies, and have noticed the big improvements from using these sheets. I'll probably use extra sheets for my washer/dryer.

This is just DIY, so it's an amateur application, though I did my best to roll each sheet with multiple passes as well as I could; it's going to be a workout and would cost about $130 in amazon supplies. It took me about 3 hours to do all of these today.

First applying the thinner, but heavy butyl sheets. Need to use a roller with this. Wear gloves, otherwise butyl will stick to your fingers. Used scissors to cut the sheets, but you can also use a knife.

To determine what needed application and how much, I knocked each surface and listened for resonating noise. The metal portions I left alone for the butyl sheets were either sufficiently solid (ex. the diecast structures) or needed to be left exposed for fasteners or potentially ventilation (would not want to introduce further ear pressure issues). I also applied under the smaller sub trunk area (butyl + PE foam), which already has 2 strips of sound material from the factory, but there was still plenty of resonating noise; pretty sure Tesla did not want to expend too much material, time and add weight to the car (and get less range) for comfort improvements.

Afterwards I topped it with the PE foam which can simply be stuck on like a sticker; no roller involved. I made sure to especially apply this thoroughly in the subtrunk area as I suspect that's where most of the booming sound is coming from. As I was applying this and continued pounding the panels, I noticed less and less resonating noise, and the metal pieces were sounding much more substantial and solid.

After I took these photos I made a few incisions in the PE foam corners in the subtrunk area to relieve some pressure and allow the subtrunk to be inserted more flush. I probably over-applied and had overlapping PE foam which caused the subtrunk liner to crease a bit after I was done; might revisit that and cut out the overlapping foam another day.

Applying just 2 sheets of butyl to the frame made a surprising sound difference on what is a very rigid metal frame; made this short video clip:

View attachment 640801
View attachment 640805 View attachment 640802 View attachment 640803 View attachment 640804

After a good drive and deliberately driving over rough patches (potholes, rutted portions of road, road reflectors), there's a significant improvement in reduced noise from the back. I'm very happy with the outcome. Can focus more on driving and driving fast than always minding the large increase in noise that usually comes with it.
Any chance you can add the videos back? Thanks for all your help.
 
Okay, my go at the wheel wells. I really only notice maybe 20% reduction in boom. Sub-trunks will get the treatment next weekend.
PXL_20220227_184753191.jpg

PXL_20220227_185503721.jpg

PXL_20220227_194256003.jpg

missing pic of foam over the above

PXL_20220227_213337568.jpg

PXL_20220227_214722645.jpg

Missing pic of butyl under wheel well OE foam. Reaching far back into this well seemed harder than on the passenger side.
PXL_20220227_213348814.jpg


PXL_20220227_214718719.jpg

I also hear a hint of a new creak/squeak over bumps. I assume I didn't get everything back together as good as out of the factory.