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Old 05-27-2014, 12:09 PM   #14 (permalink)
Goldenstate
Heilopower
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Central California
Posts: 64

Platinum Ghost - '14 Ford Fusion SE
90 day: 27.51 mpg (US)
Thanks: 7
Thanked 7 Times in 7 Posts
First car was a 1968 Camaro with tons of road noise. I rode in a Lincoln with the boss a few times and realized what a quiet car could be. Back then, economy was not the goal, but the quiet ride of the Lincoln was. With a trunk for an echo chamber, I went after it first by caulking all cracks that might let noise into the passenger compartment. A sheet of heavy cardboard with fabric covering was placed behind the seat. The rear deck below the window got some thin black carpet. The trunk floor was custom fitted with a piece of carpet remnant found at a garage sale. I almost put some hood padding from a wrecked car on the underside of the trunk lid but liked the results so well that that option was never completed.

The transmission shifter hole in the floor is a great offender of transmitting noise into the body. I removed the center console and covered up the way too big opening with a few layers of carpet left over from the custom fitting in the trunk. With the console replaced, the noise from the transmission was much reduced.

The interior trim panels from the door to the back seat were removed and no deadening at all was found. I used some left over fiberglass house insulation in those areas.

The rear seats had very little hair pad under them to reduce noise. I put two layers of the left over carpet from the trunk under the seats.

Even with glass pack mufflers on the 327 engine, the interior noise levels were much reduced and my friends wondered why their Camaro bodies were so much nosier than mine.

There was still quite a bit of engine noise from the engine which ran at 3000 RPM at 70 MPH. No wonder it never did get good mileage. I had considered a hood pad kit for under the hood but never did install that option. I had achieved a quiet ride almost equal to the Lincoln for almost zero expense and a few hours of work. It was always a pleasure to be able to enjoy the quiet ride of the Lincoln for much less expense.
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