Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Audio Trunk rattle, cold weather

I just put in a Rockford Fosgate HE 12 inch sub in the trunk, not tryin to set off car alarms, but just add some bass. Whenever i turn it up even a little, the trunk or maybe the liscense plate rattles. Any suggestions? Does this happen to anyone else?
My other question is for those of us living in the northern U.S., where we get some cold weather in the winter months. What can you do for subs in the winter(my car is kept outside), because i heard if you turn them up they can break because they are brittle. Do you just not turn them up loud, or can you warm them up somehow? Thanks for any help!
-Gibby

that thing about the the subs in winter is a good question. I found out the the reason why one of mine broke was the wire lead to the magnet broke off the wire from the connection terminal.

I have two 12" JBLs and I have the center reflector on my Mystique rattle, and I think the plate does also. I also beleive I have seen the rear deck shake at times. So I think you either live with it or you dynamat everything to eliminate the sounds

I can't see them breaking, as i have never had any of mine or anybody i know do such a thing but hell i guess anythings possible right!

I have 2 eclipse alums and my trunk rattles hardcore. Im not really sure what to do but i dont feel like messing with dynamat. It sounds retarded outside the car too.

Originally posted by makman10:

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I have 2 eclipse alums and my trunk rattles hardcore. Im not really sure what to do but i dont feel like messing with dynamat. It sounds retarded outside the car too.

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You will have to mess with some sort of sound deadening if you want the sound to go away.

License plate, trunk vents, and the 3rd brakelight/rear shelf are the main culprits.

To stop a plate from rattling, put a layer of dynomat on the back of the plate. It should at the very least, lower the volume/freq of the sound.

People have had good success stopping the package tray from rattling by stuffing it with a fiberfill like substance and put the interior piece back in. While the interior trim piece is out, make sure to dynamat the metal under it in addition to the stuffing.

While you are at it, remove the bottom of the rear seat and add a layer or two to the sheetmetal under it. It is a huge area for road noise to come through.

The trunk vents can be sealed off, but it may make the trunk more difficult to close, because it won't allow the air to be released. Instead, the air pressure, will act like a spring and make the trunk "bounce" back open unless you press on it firmly to close.

Originally posted by thegibby005:

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I just put in a Rockford Fosgate HE 12 inch sub in the trunk, not tryin to set off car alarms, but just add some bass. Whenever i turn it up even a little, the trunk or maybe the liscense plate rattles. Any suggestions? Does this happen to anyone else?
My other question is for those of us living in the northern U.S., where we get some cold weather in the winter months. What can you do for subs in the winter(my car is kept outside), because i heard if you turn them up they can break because they are brittle. Do you just not turn them up loud, or can you warm them up somehow? Thanks for any help!
-Gibby

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Oh and don't worry about the cold weather. The worst thing that could happen is a layer of conensation can build up on electronic parts. There are no speaker building materials that should be affected noticeably by a cold environment. At least not that you should be concerned about. If you feel uncomfortable with it, speakers are fairly inefficient devices, so they should heat up pretty quickly. So if you waited a few minutes to crank it up, you should be even safer.

Thanks for the advice guys...I might try some of that dynamat when i get the money

Originally posted by thegibby005:

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Thanks for the advice guys...I might try some of that dynamat when i get the money

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Go for some "polymeric mastic" from www.mcmaster.com. It's sound deadening material similar to dynamat for a fraction of the price. It's only $12.79 for 32" x 54" sheet, trunk should take about 3 sheets.

Thanks for that info newman, sounds like a lot of stuff. Im not sure what rattles, all i know is that it sounds really bad from outside the car. I might try that other cheaper stuff, but it seems like itd be hard to dynamat something.