What have people done to fix this rattle in the door panels on STOCK systems. With the stock stereo system turned up loud enough the plastic door panels vibrate. Also the rear deck will vibrate as well. Any thoughts?

 

congrats on buying a mitsubishi. seriously though, your panels might be the windows. my window screws have came undone twice

 

Invest in sound deadening material. It will make the exterior noise less and damp the vibrations as well.

 

From what I understand about dampening sound on doors you need to apply it to the inside of the sheet metal. Are you suggesting to put it on the inside of the plastic panels instead?

 

you ca do both if you want. There are sound damping materials made for each. The normal Dynamat type stuff goes on the inside of the door skin. Just inside the door panel you would use a sheet of closed cell rubberized foam to absorb noises inside the door cavity, preventing it from entering the cabin.

Most mid to low-end cars have a thick plastic barrier between the door panel and door which is mostly intended to reduce moisture from getting into the car from the door. As an inexpensive way to improve noise damping in this area, manufacturers make this plastic barrier thicker. After market sound dampening companies like Second Skin and Dynamat make materials specifically for this application that are loads better at sound insulation than most OEM materials.

Putting some on the inside of the outer door skin will cut the "tin door" sound that we have. Putting it between the door and the door panel will have the greatest effect for reducing interior noise levels coming through the door.

 

Thank you Nunyas for the information. I might just go one step further and apply the sound barrier to the inside of the outer door skin as well.

Has anyone ever tried using this closed cell rubberized foam on the inside of there doors and how well did i work?

 

I haven't tried the foam. However, I have a JL audio system in my Eclipse at home. The ZR door speakers that I have used to vibrate the hell out of the doors and the trunk too. One day, I just bit the bullet and Dynamatted the whole thing. It sounds great, the vibration is gone, and the installation wasn't that bad. It does take some serious elbow grease to do large amounts of it, though. You have been warned.

FatMat can be cheaper, depending on where you get it from. That will work just as well for what you want it for. Good luck.

 

Regarding weight with this stuff. I like SecondSkin a lot because it's "light weight" and still achieves the goal. The last car I used it on was a 1976 MGB, I covered the entire passenger area with the self adhesive damping material, used heat shielded padding on the trans tunnel, underside of the hood, and inside fire wall, and the closed cell foam on the door panels and any wires that made annoying vibrations in the car. It made a huge difference in the noise inside the car (went from hearing road noise, exhaust, and engine noise to just hearing the exhaust), and it only added 20lbs of weight. On yeah, and the SecondSkin stuff doesn't stink.

The coverage I used on that car would be about the same as covering everthing in the RA from the fire wall to the back seat seat bottoms.

Dynamat is a bit heavier, but imo dollar for dollar the SecondSkin stuff is just as good at accomplishing the task and weighs less.

 

I just lock the doors. As funny as this sounds, it's my door locks that rattle. When you lock them they must get tighter and all the rattles go away!

 

The rattle can also come from the seatbelt adjuster, or the area where the door meets the B pillar. I used felt pads to cushion these areas, and my rattle disappeared.