Good Morning Everyone,

Thought I'd take a moment to share the completion of my latest project.

For the last few years I've been running around with an old Pioneer single din head unit powering a set of Rockford Fosgate speakers(6x9 in fronts, 6.5 in rears). The head unit only put out 7 watts RMS/channel, so the speakers were way underpowered and clipped a lot. Also, I listen to a lot of audiobooks and podcasts, and found that I had to nearly max out the stereo to hear the narrator over the background noise in the truck..resulting in more clipping and distortion. I've also struggled to get the hands-free calling to work well because of the background noise level. Lastly, I wanted android auto and navigation so I didn't have to dick with my phone while driving. I decided to tackle all these things in one shot, and spend as little money as possible to do it right. To this end I decided to buy an amp that would work well with the rockford speakers I already had, and then just add a self powered 8" subwoofer to the mix.

Goals:
Improve sound insulation of the cabin of the truck to make it feel more luxurious and improve call/sound quality
Gain android auto/apple carplay capability
Dramatically improve the sound quality of the stereo, and add some bass (nothing crazy)
Make everything look and feel as if it could be factory
Have a convenient place to store my phone so that it can be plugged into the head unit for android auto quickly and efficiently
Retain the use of the underseat storage tray in the rear (meaning no amp/subs under the rear seat)


Shopping list:
Head Unit - Sony XAV-AX100 - $170 Used on ebay
Amp - Infinity Reference 704A - $124 open box on ebay
Sub - JVC CW-DRA8 - $127 open box on ebay
Double Din Bezel - $130 ebay (splurged here because I needed a new bezel to replace my cracked one anyway, and thought this looked way cleaner than the metra kit).
Metra Chrysler Wiring Harness Adapter - $6.99 on amazon
Assorted wiring, terminals, fuse blocks, etc. - around $40 on amazon
80 sq/ft of 3/8" thick 8lb carpet padding - $30 at menards (https://www.menards.com/main/floorin...9920672&ipos=8)
10x20 EPDM rubber sheeting - $114 at menards (https://www.menards.com/main/buildin...8304432&ipos=8)
Contact adhesive and aluminum HVAC tape - about $10 at menards

Primer on Sound insulation theory:
Most people think that insulating a car starts and ends with a dynamat type product. In reality, dynamat and other sound DEADENERS serve to add mass to a panel and reduce it's resonance. This is useful if you have a large panel that is resonating. On 2nd gen ram's however, when you pull the carpet you will notice that there is already a healthy use of sound deadener applied to the floor. Adding more would do nothing but waste money. Admittedly, adding some to the rear panel and the doors would probably be worth doing, but I didn't end up doing that.

The next step above reducing resonance of a panel is to create a noise barrier, and noise absorption layer. This is accomplished by added a solid mass, and a foam layer of some type (preferably closed cell foam). Car audio suppliers will sell you "Mass Loaded Vinyl" and closed cell foam for these purposes, but it is expensive, costs a lot to ship (never available locally), and is unlikely to be vastly superior to my redneck approach described here. Let's start with Mass Loaded Vinyl. This stuff typically comes in 1/8 thick sheets that are 1lb per sq/ft. Prices vary, but for the amount I needed, it would likely be about $250. The EPDM rubber sheeting I purchased is 40 mil thick, and comes with enough to do 2 layers (so 80 mil or about 0.08 inches). When you calculate out the weight, it comes in at about 2/3lb/sq/ft...but it's a little thinner. I think if you added a 3rd layer it would be functionally identical. I have leftover from the roll, so I could have tripled up in some areas. That said, if you want to spend the money for MLV, it would be more convenient to work with 1 layer. The MLV layer should be "decoupled" from the metal panel by use of foam. I chose to use carpet padding here because it was cheap and readily available. I think it turned out fine. The factory uses almost the same think under the stock carpet. I left this is place so my rubber layer is sandwiched between 2 layers of carpet pad.


Started by pulling the seats and taking the opportunity to deeply clean the carpet (it needed it).





The rubber roofing came with a gritty, glitter-like substance on it that I felt would impede it's ability to stick to the carpet padding. I tried cleaning it off in the driveway with the hose and a push broom. This worked somewhat...but it just picked up a bunch of grit from the driveway. I suggest you just wait and brush off each piece after you cut it.



With the seats and carpet removed it was time to lay down the carpet pad and start cutting out the holes. Pretty easy job.




Be sure to cut out around the throttle pedal. You don't want layers under it because it's travel takes it close to the floor.


Next goes the rubber sheeting. Same process as the carpet pad...just more of a pain to move and cut.



Here is a video comparing the resonance in the front door before insulation to the resonance in the rear door after insulation. Remember I didn't actually use any deadener in the doors, only carpet padding and rubber sheeting.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9eSAt2qUzpRj8zu46

Here's a photo with the carpet, wiring, backseat, amp, and sub installed. You can see that the amp went under the driver's seat so the power wire could be easily run away from the RCA wires that go to the stereo. It's strangely cozy to sit in the back seat of your truck when there's no front seats....


Here is a photo of the head unit mostly installed with the new bezel. Still needed the vents put in and a little tweaking to the position of the unit. This takes quite a bit of time to get right because it's just trial and error. The paint on the aftermarket bezel it's exactly right...but it's close. I might re-paint it in the future.


Here is where I chose to mount my phone (aftermarket cup holder). I drilled a hole in the bottom corner for the cable. It allows the phone sits securely at an angle, and hides the wiring connecting the phone to the head unit.

Here is the subwoofer used. I am very happy with it's performance. If you're looking for trunk rattling bass, obviously this isn't your sub, but it was perfect for my setup.

Here is the amp used. It puts out 70 watts of RMS per channel which is perfectly matched to the Rockford Speakers I have.

Front speakers - Rockford Punch 6x9s

Rear speakers, Rockford Prime 6.5s.






Results:
This project turned out better than I would have ever imagined. I am totally blown away. Not only does the stereo sound GREAT with super clear sound, no distortion, no rattles, and a whole lot more volume...but the sound insulation absolutely transformed this 20 year old truck. Outside of the little bit of wind noise I get through the rust hole in the door I am pretty sure it's actually quieter in this cab than my 2014 Charger...which is a quiet interior. The truck honestly feels like a much more expensive vehicle now, I just couldn't be happier with it.

 

Nice project. The stereo install in the dash looks really good. Factory even. How did you do that?

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1998-2002-D...72.m2749.l2649

 

Looks good! I disagree with the sound deadener I lost a whole 8 decibels just doing that. I plan on adding MLV later but have to do more research. I know how you feel on the sound system I did the same thing and it made a huge difference but I'm not running a sub.

Here is what I did to fit a Alpine Headunit

 

Did you cover the entire panels with deadener? If so, then what you accomplished was essentially what the MLV is there to do...but with the deadener and probably for more money/hassle. The experts always recommend something like 20-40% coverage with deadener.

Also, if you did deadener in the doors, that may have been where you got big gains.

I wish I would have measured the decibels, but I didn't bother. I can only say that it is an enormous difference.

I don't know that the sub was necessary, but this one was small, easy to hide under the seat, didn't require it's own amp, and relatively inexpensive. It's doing the job well. Eventually I'll tune the crossovers on the amp to make sure the door speakers are handling mids/highs and the sub is proving all the low end. Should make the sound even cleaner, but honestly it sounds great right now so I may not dick with it.

Nice work on that dash, I've never done any custom fiberglass work.

 

Well here is what I did. I used a cheap brand. I bought Noico (or Nico can't remember) 80 mil foam. It was junk but used it on the floor and it harness stuck. Then I used a "name brand" (but was still cheap) deadener. It was $50 for 80 mil that covered 80 sq ft. Then I bought some 40 mil. I covered every inch floor, roof, doors, behind the dash, and am going to do the outside door skins and add some MLV (once I figure if you can put that over the deadener). I did do 100% coverage on the roof and floor but that's it. Doors about 14% coverage.

My doors are out of adjustment so I get major wind noise coming from the front doors now.

 

I gotcha. Even with some wind noise it's damn nice having a well insulated truck isn't it?

 

Oh yeah! I do believe to it helps insulate the truck because here in PA it was 20 degrees and I can't warm up my truck (manual and e brake is iffy) so I was driving and it was comfortable. Compared to my 99 with no insulation it gets cold. I was reading and poorly did say to cut down on 80% of the engine noise add a mat to under the hood.
I don't have the factory one but I plan to buy a Dynamat panel (only company that makes it for under the hood) then add a mat with a Rams Head from LMC. It gets addicting!

 

I can't speak to the thermal insulation just yet, but I've got an auto with remote start so I don't generally have an issue there. I was just talking sound insulation. I feel like I'm driving around in a sound cocoon.

My OEM hood mat fell apart a few years back. I did notice a little more engine noise, but not a ton. I too plan on putting some insulation there and covering it with an LMC mat in the future.

I just love the feeling of driving around in a 20 year old truck that everyone would expect to be a rattle trap piece of trash, but that is in fact very nice. Quiet, steers, stops, goes just like a modern vehicle...but without all the complexity and nonsense.

 

OH I agree it's quieter. Once it warms up again I found some rattles in the dash in going to go back in and add some felt. I thought about buying two of those subs (like yours but made I think by Infinity) and sticking them behind the rear seat.