Which type of sound deadening insulation is best

I want to sound deaden/ insulate my series land rover doors, under bonnet, gearbox tunnel, etc, etc. What type is best? Woven fibres, rubberised foam, rubber matting, other? Want to significantly reduce noise and dont want something that holds the water.
Cheers.

Slightly off on a tangent here but;

Was charged to soundproof a nightclub a few years back so found an acoustics chap and we had a meeting on site. Like most I had pre conceived ideas about egg boxes on walls and foam all over the place.......... Wrong.....


Open cell foam/felt/insulation/egg boxes/buggywool and anything else spongy only stops echo and does very little to stop the penetration of noise.

Solid stuff and as thick as you can go, reduces noise. Think of a sheet of normal plasterboard then look at a sheet of sound board. Looks the same apart from its thickness. Then try and carry a hundred sheets of the stuff up a flight of stairs. Its not only thicker but denser and quite a bit heavier.

As daft as it sounds 'Flashband' the alternative to lead flashing, that never works, is fantastic for killing sound on sheet steel. Almost the same make up to a very expensive and well known car soundproofer thats available.

Thick solid rubber is also very good but I save that for another web site I frequent.

Dense, heavy and thick against the bodywork covered in soft absorbent material in the cab.

Its the future............ :clap2:

I can't really comment on which is best. My plan is to use flash band and camping mat for the doors and side panels to give a bit of thermal insulation as well. The rear will probably get some horse box matting. From what I have read you just need to add mass to absorb the energy. I have fitted the Wright Off-road kit to my series 3 and did some sound measurements. The following is the feedback I gave Drew after I'd finished.

I took some sound readings before and after. I used the same route, without the heater fan both times. It seems like you get about 3dB reduction at all speeds 30, 40, 50 and 60mph. I used the dBA sample and a 15 second sample time. Depending on how you read the results this is either a 50% reduction in sound power or 20% reduction in sound pressure (which is what we hear). Either way it is a significant reduction. Subjectively I'd say the biggest difference is in the higher frequency clatter of the engine and gearbox / diff noise. Its still loud - but then what do you expect from a 2 1/4 diesel... Interestingly it makes about the same reduction in noise at 40mph as engaging overdrive - so for prospective customers this may be a way of demonstrating the reduction. Strangely it was very difficult to get a consistent reading at 50mph. I think this is because at that speed the engine, transmission, wind and road noise are all at a similar level. At 60 it flattens out again and i got consistent readings.

Hope this helps.

Ric

Ive used a thin self-adhesive bituminous sheet before on panels, it damps out a lot of vibration and rattles. Might be a little quieter, sounds a lot better / less intrusive and irritating. See if you can ge some left over tanking sheet from a builder. I reckon roofing felt would do, provided you have strong glue. This is a quick easy cheap fix, doesnt prevent adding other materials later

Best way I ever found to quieten my S3 down was to remove the roof.... You wouldn't credit just how much noise that keeps in. I can drive along without the roof and listen to the birds singing in the hedge.

So it may be worth soundproofing things that reflect the noise as well as those in it's path.