How To Reduce Sound In Your Car By Sound Deadening Your Wheel Wells

How to sound deaden car doors

How To Reduce Sound In Your Car By Sound Deadening Your Wheel Wells

An excerpt from our Reference Information & Guide page

Wheel Well Sound Proofing

Added 11/13/2022

Supplies needed

. ResoNix CLD Squares

. ResoNix Fiber Mat 25 and/or 45 (depends on how much space you have and what you can fit)

. Optional and preferred: ResoNix Barrier

Note: ResoNix Fiber Mat is perfectly fine in this location and exposed to the elements. It will not hold water, it will not degrade, it will not grow mold or mildew. This is the very same material that is used in these locations by car manufacturers such as Mercedes.

Wheel wells are one of the most offensive sources of noise in a vehicle. Below is what I did in my own vehicle, a 2019 Volvo S60 R Design. Please note, that the exact approach will be different on every vehicle. This can be due to how much room there is to work with, moving parts, or more. Please, use your best judgement. We have

First up is obviously removing the wheels and wheel liners. During this process you are going to want to evaluate what you can fit, what parts of the body of the vehicle are going to need the most attention, etc. Remember, resonant panels will need it most. Its crude, but a simple knock with your knuckle will let you know what parts of the body need treatment. More on this part below, but on this particular vehicle, the body was relatively non-resonant, and the wiper fluid reservoir blocked a lot of access on the drivers side. Due to this being planned as a few hour-long project and was recovering from a medical procedure, I did not decide to remove the reservoir and instead worked around it. While getting a closer look, I also noticed that I had gained access to the back side of the fender and the airspace behind it. I decided to also apply ResoNix CLD Squares to the back of the fender and apply ResoNix Fiber Mat 45 on top to fill the airspace.

Next up, treating the wheel liners with ResoNix CLD Squares. Before you do anything, you should clean the liner with isopropyl alcohol thoroughly. In some cases, it is even recommended to sand the plastic with a low-grit paper to encourage the best adhesion possible. In my case, I didn’t feel it was necessary considering how well the ResoNix CLD Squares adhere to pretty much any material and surface you will find in a car.

Once you have the panel prepped, apply full coverage of ResoNix CLD Squares. In the case of doing wheel liners, I wouldn’t recommend less since the liners are mostly decoupled from the body of the vehicle, so not only do you get resonance control of the plastic liners, but it also acts as a noise barrier. Remember, treat all panels in the largest pieces of CLD Squares possible.

Note: We will only be treating the back side of the liner. Leave the exposed side untouched.

Optional: if you have the time and budget, I would also suggest a full coverage layer of ResoNix Barrier over the layer of CLD Squares for further noise blocking. In my case, I did not add this as I was restricted on time, and was recovering from a medical procedure and couldn’t afford the even heavier lifting that Barrier would impose.

Once the liner is fully treated with ResoNix CLD Squares, we can start our full coverage application of Fiber Mat 45. Remember, when it comes to absorption, more is merrier. Full coverage is highly recommended, and if you can fit, the more layers the better. Be sure to take note of suspension components, wiring, or any other parts of the car that may need to be worked around.

Once the wheel liner is covered, that’s it. You’re nearly done and its almost time to re-install it. Before re-installing it, you should explore treating the body of the car with ResoNix CLD Squares. Once that is done, re-install the liner and enjoy 🙂

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