ResoNix Sound Deadening Foams & Vibration Decouplers

What are Sound Deadening Foams and Vibration Decouplers? How do they work?

       Sound Deadening Foams and Vibration Decouplers are another important product that will get installed in almost every traditional automotive sound treatment application. A decoupler, typically a closed-cell foam or a fibrous mat material, is used to accomplish two different goals. First, it acts as a cushion between two panels that could otherwise vibrate together and cause annoying buzzes and rattle sounds. Second, to act as an air gap and isolator for a Noise Barrier, but we will touch on that second part later, in the Noise Barrier section.

       As mentioned, Sound Deadening Foam for cars are usually a Closed Cell Foam, aka a “CCF,” but are sometimes, as in our case with our Fiber Mat products, a fibrous, non-woven mat material. As mentioned above, a Decouplers typical use case is to provide a cushion between two panels to prevent them from rattling against each other. What makes one decoupler more ideal than another? Well, in my experience, being thick enough to touch as much of both panels as possible, yet still have enough compliance and is soft enough to compress down and not cause issues when re-installing these panels. Having a specific Compression Set specification (spec that tells you how well it holds its shape once compressed) can also help provide a Vibration Decoupler that can compress a lot of itself down but still provide some resistance for the panel instead of acting like a soft sponge.