Hi all,

When I first got this car I couldn't believe how noisy it was inside, never mind hot in the summer - not what I expected from a Jaguar at all. Aside from the suspension upgrades, fixing this was my top priority.

I stared this project some time ago and I just finished it. Time to complete 4 doors - start to finish - was about 20 hours (trial and errors included. I'm not a pro and so I'm slow). Estimated cost for a professional installation was around 800 or more labor (f*** that). Material costs were approx. 350.

I previously mentioned my headliner build using Kolossus Knu Knoise (100m) and 3M's Thinsulate (600SL) as sound dampening and sound reduction/thermal treatments.

Here is my door card build using the same materials. Like most car doors, our doors take some work to prep (remove the original foam) and then apply the new improved materials. I started with the outer door skins first, and used Kolossus and some good closed cell foam. After that I did the following:


Door prep

Sound dampening and seal.

Sound dampening and seal.

3M Thinsulate 600SL

Thinsulate placement. Avoid the high spots or the doors won't go back on! I used Velcro on the pieces I through I might want to remove later. Used 3M 77 to glue most places.

The results are what you'd expect: Significant reduction in total cabin noise and a far cooler cabin - in Los Angeles, this is a must. I also travel to Phoenix in the summer, so... there's that.

Happy to help anyone interested.

Thank you forum for your help over the years!

Chris

 

Excuse me if I'm being dense, no pun intended there, my doors have sealed foam sound / heat barrier already built in. Did yours not have it or did you remove it to put this mod in?

 

@Hex Type Hi - No pun taken. Yes mine had the same foam around the door frame, nicely sealed the frame, too. Unfortunately, it alone doesn't do much to accomplish the goals of reducing heat, reducing outside noise or improving speaker performance. Our cars have little to no sound dampening materials installed. A sacrifice Jaguar made to keep costs down. In fact these cars come with no juke ( and very little CLD tile) under the carpet - none.

Without going into too much detail here - although happy to answer specific questions - I had to remove the original foam to get to the outside door skins, where I applied the first layer of sound dampening and then closed cell form over it. (None of that was pictured here.)

In addition to that and pictured here, sealing the door frame with aluminum cutouts, CLD tile and adding a thermal and noise reduction material like 3M Thinsulate provides a comprehensive way to meet my goals. These same materials are used in top-of-the-line luxury cars to accomplish the same quiet ride you'd expect from most luxury automobiles.

See the Sound Deadner Showdown website for more details on auto sound treatment. Although I prefer to use Thinsulate over mass load vinyl which is suggested on that website.

 

I did recently have to fit a polythene barrier sheet in the front doors, to divert water away more than sound proofing reasons. I do know what you mean re the carpet, strange as it sounds that's probably been a blessing in disguise with my leaks, but now Im on top of it are considering improvements. Heat repellent isn't a real problem we have in the UK, its more of a issue to retain it here and avoid getting water logged. Ill have a look at the web site, thanks, as I've been modifying a few bits recently and retaining the sound / ride comfort is high on my list also, I do look to mod though at a very tight budget so will be looking for what materials I can beg borrow and steal to get a similar effect. I would imagine by using the thicker material in the padding you'd reduce any vibration on the door card as that seems to be a common issue with mine, despite regularly gluing and changing fitments. How would cutting a £7 duvet up that would probably cover all doors compare to the padding out of interest?
Have you also sealed back seat & boot area?

 

Not sure what you mean by duvet exactly... however, whatever you do decide to use you have to be aware of meeting the requirents of a vehicle. Such as being fireproof, moisture repellent, and so on. What you could consider, as a cost saving method, is thermal/ sound barrier materials used in other applications such as vans or housing even. There are some inexpensive alternatives in those applications. Foam for one - the right kind of foam. In terms of CLD tiles, there are plenty of cost effective alternatives out there. CLD and closed cell foam is a good start, that is applied to the door skins. You could then circle back later and treat the door cards - so a 2 phased approach.

I did treat the rear doors the same way, and the rear seat/ rear floor area as well. I don't see needing to pull the carpets to treat the foor but I might. I would pay someone to do that job, however, and that'd be expensive - approx. 1K US.

For me, the sound and thermal treatment makes the car feel like a totally different vehicle. Because I'm gonna keep the car for a while, I don't mind the additional time and expense.