A new incentive!

[Tomnistuff]

I have just received a new incentive for my 67 Italian 230SL 4-spd restoration.  Last week I signed a three-year lease for a black 2014 300C 4-matic.  From this point on, my objective is to make the Pagoda as quiet, smooth, luxurious and refined as the new Mercedes sitting next to it.  I`m already thinking of adding more than standard sound and heat insulation to the Pagoda.  I can`t imagine a better car than one as beautiful and sexy as a Pagoda and as refined as a new Berline.  

It will undoubtedly be a real challenge.

Tom Kizer

[Garry]

Tom,

My floor coverings are made up of many parts.

Firstly I have stuck a sound deadening material that is flexible but has adhesive on one side, to the floor, its about 3mm thick.

 I then have a separate mat on the floor area only that is made up of more sound deadening and 12mm carpet under-felt fixed to the adhesive side and then on top of that I have the carpet,  However I have also fixed a thinner layer of under-felt (about 7mm) on to the underside of the carpet that I had prior coated one side with a black sound deadening spray to stop any potential water getting either up or down through that layer and to also bind the under-felt together.

Just to cap it all off, I then have coco mats fitted on top of the lot.

Very quiet, well not with the soft-top down

Garry

[Cees Klumper]

May I suggest those 3M ear buds, your car will be really quiet when you use those! (No joke, on long trips I frequently wear ear buds to reduce fatigue, even in my modern cars, it really works...).

[Rodolfo]

When I drive closed (softtop or hardtop ) over 60 mhp on the highway I also use ear buds .Big relief .

[Richard Madison]

At least in New York, a driver must have one ear uncovered...can use one earphone or one ear bud.

This is to make sure you can hear emergency vehicles while driving.

Richard M, NYC

[Tomnistuff]

Thanks, Garry, for the details of your cockpit insulation.  I think I`ll copy it as well as I can.  Getting reasonably priced thermal insulation and sound deadening material here in Québec is difficult, but I`m not going to be cheap about it.

I`m not so sure about you other guys.  With your ear bud solutions, you did, however, make me realize that all along I`ve had a solution to the Canadian problem of a short top-down driving season as well as the W113 road noise problem.

I`ve photographed the solution.

Tom Kizer

PS:  I suspect that, as a result, I`ll be driving the Pagoda alone most of the time.

[Cees Klumper]

At least in New York, a driver must have one ear uncovered...can use one earphone or one ear bud.

This is to make sure you can hear emergency vehicles while driving.

Richard M, NYC

Sorry Richard, what was that?

 

[star63]

At least in New York, a driver must have one ear uncovered...can use one earphone or one ear bud.

This is to make sure you can hear emergency vehicles while driving.

Richard M, NYC

I use noise cancelling headphones. They reduce constant, low frequency noise very effectively but you are still able to hear any sudden sounds.

- Petri

[Garry]

Tom,

Sending you an email with some photos that may help.

Garry

[Tomnistuff]

Thanks, Garry, for the photos.  They will be really helpful.

As soon as I resolve my problems with the trailing arm mount tapered cone stripped stud and my missing and broken door hinge grease fittings, I`m going to start sound and heat insulating and sealing the body to prevent noise and air leaks.  Do you know who your "black sound deadening spray" is made by?

Tom Kizer

[Alex D]

I was wearing noise canceling headphones on the way to Williamsburg, and I got pulled over by the highway patrol.  I was given a verbal warning and told not to wear them while driving. Just as Richard point out, you have to be able to hear emergency vehicles. I asked about wearing ear buds, and was told you can legally only wear one ear bud, again you have to be able to hear emergency vehicles while driving. I later looked into this, and its the law in many states, not sure what the laws are in EU, AZ.   

[Cees Klumper]

The interesting thing is that, in Europe at least, motorcycle riders typically wear earbuds, in order not to damage their hearing from wind noise. In addition they have to wear a helmet, further reducing their ability to hear anything. Then you don't want to see the number of people on their bicycles in Amsterdam with full-fledged headphones on, listening to their 'tunes, and it does not appear that the police do anything about that. In any event, the US laws make sense, but I wonder whether they also apply to motorcycle riders.

[mdsalemi]

Some laws are crazy, I tell you.

With the top down at highway speed, I can hear NOTHING but loud wind noise and engine noise from my M130 turning 4500 RPM.

Will the State Patrol ticket deaf drivers?  No. Last I checked hearing impairment doesn't prevent anyone from getting a license.

I drive on the highway (in the Pagoda, top down) with ear plugs or ear buds...the latter as much for cutting engine/wind noise as the music they deliver.

I don't want to risk a ticket, or even being pulled over so I do keep my eyes out for the Police...

[JamesL]

How many times have you been sitting in traffic and heard a booming noise and looked around to see it's coming from a car nearby? Not next to you but a car near you with body panels shaking with bass, normally driven by one of those strange "young people" using a music system that would put many nightclubs to shame.

How do they hear anything. Ever. Let alone a siren