road trip - MPG reports

[cdnballer]

Finally took the car out for a short road trip fishing. Travelled about 90 - 120 km/h the whole way, 150km each way. I saw an indicated avg. fuel consumption of 7.4L / 100km during the trip, which is pretty solid as it works out to 31.8mpg!

Most of the trip was done @ 90km/h, meaning this is as efficient as the car can get. On the highway @ 100 km/h plus speeds I noticed the readout to be between 8 - 10L/100 km, which isn't great but it isn't horrible either.

I do notice quite a bit of wind/road noise in the car because I had to turn the radio up or speak up to have a conversation. Does anyone know a cheap place in/near Toronto for Dynamat?

 

[dieseldriver]

First off, Dynamat is not cheap. But it's not cheaply made either. It's been around a long time. You can get cheaper mat such as Hush Mat or Fat Mat but Dynamat is definitely the most popular brand out of the three.

You can get about 2x bulk kit (10 sheets each) for about $280 and do the whole car except the floor. If you're going to do the whole car, then I'd say you need about 3x bulk kits. Best place to order them is from Amazon.

I can install it for you but I am down here in Northern NJ and it'll most likely take a whole day, from morning to night to do it properly. You're looking at 2 days worth of "real" labor in my opinion. But the result will almost shock you.

Finally took the car out for a short road trip fishing. Travelled about 90 - 120 km/h the whole way, 150km each way. I saw an indicated avg. fuel consumption of 7.4L / 100km during the trip, which is pretty solid as it works out to 31.8mpg!

Most of the trip was done @ 90km/h, meaning this is as efficient as the car can get. On the highway @ 100 km/h plus speeds I noticed the readout to be between 8 - 10L/100 km, which isn't great but it isn't horrible either.

I do notice quite a bit of wind/road noise in the car because I had to turn the radio up or speak up to have a conversation. Does anyone know a cheap place in/near Toronto for Dynamat?

 

[cdnballer]

Thanks for the update diesel! I'm only looking to do the A-pillars for now, as that's where most of the wind noise comes from, then move on one section at a time until ti's done. I agree 100%, dynamat is bloody expensive! I'll look into alternates to see what's out there as you suggested.

 

[fitzski]

B-Quiet is a good option:
http://www.b-quiet.com/ultimate.html

 

[cdnballer]

Are there any issues with smells/odors from the other brands that isn't Dynamat? That's a big concern for me since I park my car in the sun a lot of times and it can get pretty toasty

 

[dieseldriver]

My thought on the A-pillar is that I believe the noise is contributed to the A-pillar but also, the leading edge on top of the windshield. If you have sunroof option, then it will be the area surrounding the glass surface. You may not get all that good improvement until you do all the doors, including the rear hatch. I know it's a lot of work but if you want decent sound deadning, then I'd think about doing the doors also. BTW, A-pillars do not have a lot of area which can be covered by Dynamat. This is because the tie down section of the curtain airbag is secured there.

Thanks for the update diesel! I'm only looking to do the A-pillars for now, as that's where most of the wind noise comes from, then move on one section at a time until ti's done. I agree 100%, dynamat is bloody expensive! I'll look into alternates to see what's out there as you suggested.

 

[cdnballer]

Thanks for the heads up! I'll probably take everythign apart and do this project on a weekend in the summer sometime

 

[dieseldriver]

From what I have heard, the competitor mats which are typically emits order when initially put on due to the material they use which are mostly asphalt based and not mostly rubber based like Dynamat. Also, when being applied in colder whether, people recommend heating up the mat before applying where with Dynamat (also the area where the mat is being applied using a heat gun), I did not have that issue. Even with almost freezing temp in the garage this past winter, I had no issue with applying Dynamat on the inner side of the sheetmetal.

Are there any issues with smells/odors from the other brands that isn't Dynamat? That's a big concern for me since I park my car in the sun a lot of times and it can get pretty toasty

 

[cdnballer]

Sounds good thanks Diesel! When I undergo the project this summer I'll keep you guys posted

 

[whyandrew]

B-Quiet Ultimate is also butyl-based, same as Dynamat Extreme. It's 1/2 the price of Dynamat and with similar properties. And it's a Canadian company shipped from Canada so that's also a big saving in shipping cost.

I just applied the B-Quiet Ultimate on my new-used 09 Mazda5... it's only been a week so I can't say how it is long-term.

But I did used a similar/same product from B-Quiet years ago, called "Brown Bread" which I *think* is the same as B-Quiet Ultimate now?! I had that on my Rav4 for 5 years and no smell, easy to install, and I certainly didn't heat up anything when applying.

Oh btw, if you're going with B-Quiet... buy from their Ebay store... it's a little bit cheaper.



BTW, how easy to remove the A-pillar? Is it just simply pull? I'm abit worry about that airbag lol... the airbag isn't attached to the plastic trim in any way, right? Safe to pull the trim?

 

[dieseldriver]

Bit tricky removing the A-pillar cover. You have to lift the cover upward (slightly diagonally) then pull towards you. Pivoting tabs will rotate as a result, and when you put it back, it's a bit tricky also to line it up. No, the airbag tie down is bolted down onto the A-pillar's sheetmetal behind the cover.

BTW, how easy to remove the A-pillar? Is it just simply pull? I'm abit worry about that airbag lol... the airbag isn't attached to the plastic trim in any way, right? Safe to pull the trim?

 

[Nurburgringer]

I just got back from a 600 mile road trip in our '99 BMW 528i. Man that thing is a TOMB compared to the 5.
Then again it also has double door seals, probably thicker glass, and is quite a bit more aerodynamic.

I'd love to quiet down the 5 (have to put my bluetooth headset on mute when I'm not talking, otherwise others on a conference call complain about the noise....) and I'd be willing to spend ~$500+ to have someone install Dynamat or equiv, if it really made a significant difference.
Any trips planned to the Midwest to do a comparo diesel?
I don't know the next time I'll be in Jersey...

 

[dieseldriver]

I am thinking of cross country trip again next year for the upper States since I did the lower state via route 40W few years back. But as far as the road noise, Mazda5 does not have good noise suppression at all. Dynamat definitely helps and after you apply it, you will need some time to get used to the quietness or lack of road noise. Let me know when you come by this way and maybe I can make an excuse to come down and meet you somewhere near Princeton NJ, we used to live down there and went grocery shopping at the Pennsylvania Dutch Market off of Route 27S near Rocky Hill.

I just got back from a 600 mile road trip in our '99 BMW 528i. Man that thing is a TOMB compared to the 5.
Then again it also has double door seals, probably thicker glass, and is quite a bit more aerodynamic.

I'd love to quiet down the 5 (have to put my bluetooth headset on mute when I'm not talking, otherwise others on a conference call complain about the noise....) and I'd be willing to spend ~$500+ to have someone install Dynamat or equiv, if it really made a significant difference.
Any trips planned to the Midwest to do a comparo diesel?
I don't know the next time I'll be in Jersey...