Taking the chance of reopening up this super long thread and pissing off all the "sports car" people, I do have a question for those have done the sound proofing.
Unlike some of you, I don't mind the tire noise, engine noise, wind noise or road noise. I don't mind any of the mechanical noises. That's where I have to agree with the "sports car" folks. Compared with my wife's Pontiac Solstice this car is quiet in those areas.
BUT, what I do find overly loud, and unlike any other car I've driven, is the sand, dirt & pebble noise in the rear wheel wells. It's like every single grain of sand that you drive over gets spit up by the rear tires right behind your head in the wheel well. Here in South West Ohio we use street cleaners quite a bit, so it's not like the roads are filthy dirty. But when ever you go over those areas less traveled, where the "beads" build up a little, it sounds like you are driving through a freshly paved loose black top deposit.
So I've got my rear end all torn out right now (making way for wires for the back up camera and 4th brake light wiring), and thought this would be a good time to investigate soundproofing back there. And what I've found the last few days is tons of information that contradicts itself.
I'm basically down to 2 thoughts on this. I'm thinking while I have the rear all exposed, it wouldn't hurt to add dynamat or the like to the wheel wells and the trunk. It's just money and more so the time I don't have right now. So for those who have done this, has this application made a difference for the pebble noise?
After that, I'm thinking a good coat (or two or 3) of rubberized undercoating applied to the underside of the wheel wells might make the biggest difference. This way the dirt and pebbles are hitting a softer more forgiving surface rather than the "ping" of the lightly coated metal it is now. I saw a few options on this (like from Fatmat) where a gallon costs about $80. Has anyone tried this? If so, can you offer up your findings here?
Thanks for your help!
Cheers ---- Bonzo
......and sorry to those of your who I've not answered yet via PM. I've been so busy in my personal life that I've little to no time to do anything else. I'll get to it, I promise.
