- #1 of 20
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HONDA PLEASE QUIET THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR
by goose
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Sep 19, 2008 (8:58 am)
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I'm so disappointed with one aspect of most Honda autos. How much road noise is introduced into the cabin. I just traded-in a 2008 VW GTI for a 2008 Honda Civic EX. Unfortunately VW has questionable reliability but that's a different discussion. One highly noticeable difference between my 2008 EX Civic and my old 2008 GTI is how quiet and solid the GTI felt. I also test drove a 2008 TSX, Accord and they were also noisy. Honda why can't you add 10-15 pounds of additional sound dampening to make the car quieter? Being connected to the road means steering wheel fell, handling and not road noise!
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- #2 of 20
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Re: HONDA PLEASE QUIET THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR [goose]
by droman
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Sep 19, 2008 (12:47 pm)
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Replying to: goose (Sep 19, 2008 8:58 am)
I could not agree with you more. Over the years I have experienced the cost costing ways of Honda. Sure their cars have the latest safety and technical advancements, but at what cost? In order to keep the prices of their cars in a reasonable zone they had to make cuts somewhere and I feel that you can see this reflected in the interior, which contributes to how noisy these cars are.. For example, look at the quality in plastics in a 2006-2009 Civic compared to one built in the early nineties. The current plastics look and feel cheap. Also, Honda use to have very high end carpeting. The carpet in my Civic looks like something out of late eighties GM product. Don't even get me started on the floor mats. I have seen better quality in something you can pick up at Walgreens.The doors are hard plastic with no cloth inserts. The carpeting does not even go up the door sills any more. Just more cheap plastic. And I am positive that they have cut back on the insulation that we can't see as well. Having said all of this, I must say that I love the looks of my 2006 Civic EX coupe. However, this will probably be my last Honda (I previously have owned 2 Preludes and 3 Accord coupes) due to the quality issues. It's sad to watch a company that was once celebrated for its quality vehicles to become so mediocre.
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- #3 of 20
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Re: HONDA PLEASE QUIET THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR [goose]
by dantz
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Sep 19, 2008 (5:04 pm)
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Replying to: goose (Sep 19, 2008 8:58 am)
I fully agree that when driven on rough surfaces the 2008 Civic Sedan transmits way too much road noise into the interior. It's perfectly fine on smooth asphalt roads, but if you drive on any kind of a roughened concrete surface, look out! Other than that the car is great. I don't feel that the wind noise or the engine noise are problems, as both are at acceptable levels, even at high speed. That highly unpleasant low-frequency racket is all coming from the tires and it is being transmitted right up through the floorpan and adjacent areas. Here are a few things you can do:
1) Make sure your tires aren't overinflated, as this will transmit more road noise.
2) Buy quieter tires. The stock tires are quite noisy on rough surfaces. Both the Goodyear Assurance Tripletred and the Goodyear Assurance Comfortred are known to be much quieter tires, and I plan to try them on my 2008 Civic when I finally wear down the stock tires.
3) Install aftermarket sound-deadening materials. It's a tedious job, but from what I've heard it really works. I may try this myself some day.
4) Earplugs! Not kidding.
5) Buy an Accord next time. Still not kidding.
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- #4 of 20
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Re: HONDA PLEASE QUIET THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR [dantz]
by droman
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Sep 19, 2008 (8:23 pm)
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Replying to: dantz (Sep 19, 2008 5:04 pm)
I have owned two Accords (95 and 2001) and the road noise was high in those cars as well. Although I haven't driven the new Accords, from what I have read this is still an issue. However, I have driven a Solara and an Altima coupe and they felt like bank vaults compared to my Civic. Granted, there was a $10,000 price difference. However, I have been in later model Sonatas, G6, and even a Colbalt that were priced less than my Civic and were quieter and felt more solid. I guess time will see how they hold up. At least I know (pray) that resale will be better than those cars. CarMax offered me $15,000.00 (I decided not to sell). I only paid 17,900.00 three years ago so it is really holding its value.
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- #5 of 20
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Re: HONDA PLEASE QUIET THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR [dantz]
by goose
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Sep 22, 2008 (6:46 am)
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Replying to: dantz (Sep 19, 2008 5:04 pm)
I owned a 1998 Accord for three years. The interior was a little quieter than a Civic however it was not as quiet as other vehicles in its class. I also test drove a 2008/2009 TSX. It also was noisy. Whats amazing is my 2008 GTI was significantly quieter than the TSX, Accord and Civic and it felt very solid. Its a known fact that a 2008 Civci Si will keep up with a 2008 VW GTI. However if Honda sound dampened the Si to the levels found on the GTI I bet the Si would not keep up. At least not without changing the engine. VW should learn quality control from Honda and Honda should learn sound dampening and driving feel from VW.
Since I plan on keeping the Civic for the extreme long run I will be doing the after market sound dampening project. BTW, I highly recommend searching on the net for the best do-it-yourself suggests for quieting the Civic. I already did the rear trunk but I failed in some of the recommended methods. My lesson learned is sound dampening needs two materials. You should plan on using a Dynamat like product for the areas with thin/tight installation space. Use a good quality carpet padding material in say the trunk/flooring. I imagine the best solution would be to use the Dynamat all around however its expensive and heavy. Cover everything that is recommended or you might find your hard work was a waste. Oh and it will be tedious.
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- #6 of 20
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Re: HONDA PLEASE QUIET THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR [goose]
by dantz
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Sep 22, 2008 (12:33 pm)
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Replying to: goose (Sep 22, 2008 6:46 am)
I have a friend who just put Goodyear Tripletred tires on his CR-V and he said they are noticeabley quieter, so you might want to consider that approach as well.
Please let us know how your sound dampening project turns out!
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- #7 of 20
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Re: HONDA PLEASE QUIET THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR [goose]
by civicex05
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Oct 01, 2008 (4:55 am)
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Replying to: goose (Sep 19, 2008 8:58 am)
Several years ago, I had the Dynamat hood liner installed in my '05 EX sedan to quiet the engine noise. I also had Dynamat installed in all four doors when I upgraded the stereo. The hood liner made only a marginal improvement in engine noise, but the Dynamat in the doors made a BIG difference. If I had the time and money, I'd like to pull up the carpeting and install Dynamat on the entire floor and trunk area to complete the process. Has anyone done this? Is it worth it? 
David
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- #8 of 20
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WORKING IT[civicex05]
by goose
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Oct 01, 2008 (7:22 am)
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Replying to: civicex05 (Oct 01, 2008 4:55 am)
I'm about to order a product similar to Dynamat except a different brand and lower cost http://www.b-quiet.com . I'll be doing the doors and rear side panels with it. Also I plan on adding some padding to the floor including the accessible part of the fire wall.
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- #9 of 20
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Re: WORKING IT[civicex05] [goose]
by will26
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Oct 01, 2008 (8:03 am)
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Replying to: goose (Oct 01, 2008 7:22 am)
Yes please let us know how this turns out and how hard it was to do. I drive 20 miles to work everyday on a concrete highway and I would love some peace and quiet!! My 99 VW Golf was super quiet compared to this.
I will also be buying some better tires when these are shot.
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- #10 of 20
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Re: WORKING IT[civicex05] [goose] [will26]
by goose
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Jan 25, 2009 (6:10 pm)
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Replying to: will26 (Oct 01, 2008 8:03 am)
Well I have completed my planned noise reduction project. My goal was to make my Civic as quiet as the 2008 GTI. From the start I planned on taking a minimum approach to the project. The reason was weight. I previously mentioned using carpet padding. It instantly became apparent that carpet padding is a waste of money and time. I ended up using two different companies material. I initial bought from B-Quiet the B-Quiet Ultimate and B-Quiet VComp. As I was working on my trunk I realized I was going to be short. So I ordered from Second Skin similar products. I used the process as found in:
http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/i-c-e-electrical-security-navigation/93636-sound-- deadened-civic-weekend.html
Like I said I took a minimum approach. I tapped on metal and if it had a dingy sound I applied B-Quiet Ultimate. I did my trunk and inside floor area with the B-Quiet VComp and Second Skin product. I did my doors with the Ultimate product only and followed the process as seen on the link. The hole thing took 5 days. However I did it over a period of one months time. So was it a success?
Yes and no. The car is definitely different and improved. I just didn't match the GTI. I now know that my goal was to high. Also my minimalist approach was wrong. I spent approximately $450.00 plus my time. The added weight is approximately 80 lbs. I believe the Second Skin product is better. If I were to do this again on a similar Civic I'd probably use another 25 pounds of material and cover as much as possible with a product like B-Quiet Ultimate. Then follow it with the VComp like product which is heavy. I don't know if placing it on vertical surfaces is a good idea unless you know how to glue heavy material on vertical metallic surfaces. On horizontal surfaces its the material that blocks out the sound coming from the road.
Unless a car is completely gutted and a full makeover is done it will only turn out as a partial solution. The best thing is to buy a auto with sound dampening as part of the design.
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