San Diego - Looking for a shop or an installer to reduce Model 3 noise

[asterix007]

I'm looking for a reliable shop in San Diego, California (or nearby) to help reduce the noise from my Tesla M3 RWD.

(I understand that there are kits available at Amazon, I am not a DIY type person and would rather have a professional do it for me.)


1. Install reliable and good quality Door Seals

2. Install good quality (something that does not come off in a few weeks) Roof seal. Perhaps a seal which sticks may stay longer.

3. Sound absorbing material in other parts of the car to reduce the overall noise.

Any recommendations?

 

[bradhs]

I'm interested as well!! (And in San Diego)

 

[Chewy3]

If you play engine noises at 70 decibels, you won't notice the road noise anymore....

 

[KenC]

I'd start by looking at car stereo shops, right? They're good at putting in sound-dampening materials. The door and roof glass things is like a 20-minute job, total.

 

[GaboPaz]

I'm looking for a reliable shop in San Diego, California (or nearby) to help reduce the noise from my Tesla M3 RWD.

(I understand that there are kits available at Amazon, I am not a DIY type person and would rather have a professional do it for me.)


1. Install reliable and good quality Door Seals

2. Install good quality (something that does not come off in a few weeks) Roof seal. Perhaps a seal which sticks may stay longer.

3. Sound absorbing material in other parts of the car to reduce the overall noise.

Any recommendations?

I did the door seals myself last weekend. The whole process took around 45 minutes. Bring all the stuff to Granada Hills and I'll do it all for free. I have garage.

 

[David L]

I did the door seals myself last weekend. The whole process took around 45 minutes. Bring all the stuff to Granada Hills and I'll do it all for free. I have garage.

Did you observe a noticeable reduction in noise after installing the door seals? I've seen conflicting reports about the effectiveness of the seals.

 

[gbrgbr]

my 2 model 3s are very quiet. just a counterpoint to this thread.

 

[SoCalDriver]

Turn the stereo up and the road noise will be gone

 

[dragonxt]

Did you observe a noticeable reduction in noise after installing the door seals? I've seen conflicting reports about the effectiveness of the seals.

I've done the noise reduction with door seals and haven't measured or heard any difference. Some of the seals have even come off. This is consistent with testings on YouTube.

Some people have had luck sealing the glass roof with that "wind reduction kit" everyone sells. Some people have also found success taping off every edge of the car and isolating certain points that cause wind noise. Though this process is tedious and the result varies from car to car.

 

[jkdman123]

I did the door seals myself last weekend. The whole process took around 45 minutes. Bring all the stuff to Granada Hills and I'll do it all for free. I have garage.

Don’t tempt me! I’ll do it!! I, too, have contemplated adding sound dampening. The problem with 3rd party installations is that there are MANY opinions about what should be done; single layer vs. double layer. Completely covering surfaces vs. covering a percentage. Vinyl vs. closed cell foam, etc.

OP,
I made some calls around San Diego a few weeks ago and here’s what I wrote down:

San Diego Car Stereo: $120/door, 2 layers.

Miramar Car Audio: $55/door, 1 layer.

Car Audio Heaven Elite: materials=$200 for 2 layers. $75 installation/door.

Sound Check Systems: $150/door, 1 layer. $200/door, 2 layers.

JC Power Audio Shop: $250/door.

Audiosoud: $250/door, vinyl/ foam combo.

These quotes were only for doors. If you wanna do the wheel wells, trunk, and/or frunk the price will go up sharply.

Also, I tend to think that when it comes to the M3, most installers do NOT remove the window assembly and do the entire outer shell of the door as it’s very difficult to remove. However, I’ve read that dampening the outer shell is key so go figure.

I’ve held off because I’m not convinced that doing the doors will make much difference for the cost. It seems like most of the noise is coming thru the wheels up into the body that way. I may try dampening the wheel wells at some point just to see the diff. But I’m not ready to take apart my new car just yet by myself.

As for the roof, I believe the seal you can buy on amazon from Basenor works about as well as can be expected, and it’s only $9.99. I believe the majority of the wind noise is a result of the side mirrors, which means there’s not really anything we can do.

 

[Mr X]

Turn the stereo up and the road noise will be gone

Apparently lots of people drive with no music playing. That sounds completely miserable

 

[KenC]

Apparently lots of people drive with no music playing. That sounds completely miserable

They like to listen to the turbo whine.

 

[Brnn]

I used to be into car audio and actually did this job on my car at the time, about 10 years ago.

Generally for a full job (i.e., car will sound like an S class), you would remove all interior parts down to the sheet metal, apply a Dynamat (butyl) type product, then a closed cell deadening foam. This means inside the doors, on the floor of the vehicle, the firewall, and the entire inside of the trunk. On a normal car you’d do the roof under the headliner too. You’ll never get to full S class levels because those cars also incorporate special acoustic laminated glass, seals, and sometimes active noise cancelling as well. But you can get close.

This takes time but it’s definitely possible. You’ll add a lot of weight, maybe several hundred pounds for a full job. The mass is what keeps the sound energy from getting through so there’s no way around it.

In my opinion the best compromise is to use a sheet of thick/quality butyl on any large expanses of sheet metal, for example the interior of the door skins, inside fenders, in the trunk areas, on expanses of the floor, and on the firewall. (Noico 80 mil 36 sqft car Sound deadening mat, Butyl Automotive Sound Deadener, Audio Noise Insulation and dampening https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00URUIKAK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_USbwDbTS2FKMD). Follow it up with foam wherever you can. I don’t know if the floor is necessary in a Tesla due to the battery being there, maybe that blocks road noise. What you’re trying to do is kill tire noise which is the main culprit in these cars.

Read the amazon reviews for that product I linked to learn more about it. Good luck!

 

[GaboPaz]

Did you observe a noticeable reduction in noise after installing the door seals? I've seen conflicting reports about the effectiveness of the seals.

The difference is slightly noticeable. Some guy on youtube has a video up with instruments showing the difference. Now I notice more noise coming from the roof area - possibly the gap in the windshield and roof glass. This will be my next project.

 

[Highway Star]

What size wheels do you have? I've got the 18's and the car is quieter than my Mercedes E350 was.

There's a guy on youtube that did a measurement with a db meter and the 18's were about 5-6 db quieter than the 19's.

 

[jkdman123]

What size wheels do you have? I've got the 18's and the car is quieter than my Mercedes E350 was.

There's a guy on youtube that did a measurement with a db meter and the 18's were about 5-6 db quieter than the 19's.

Bigger wheels mean less rubber to absorb vibration/noise.

 

[Photofreda]

I did the door seals myself last weekend. The whole process took around 45 minutes. Bring all the stuff to Granada Hills and I'll do it all for free. I have garage.

Seriously!? I have a Y got in June and bought the seals but returned thinking I couldn’t do it myself. Man I would pay you!