Polo GTI: Door rattle with loud music -> Dynamat?

[mathemagician]

Hi everyone,

My new-ish (slightly over 5000 km) MY12.5 Polo GTI has developed an annoying rattle in the passenger door (and a little bit in the driver's door) when listening to bass-heavy music loud. Please no "just turn it down" suggestions

Now there are cheap ways of fixing it but they can be fiddly with getting it right, so I was wondering what you guys thought of using Dynamat products?

I thought I could use the speaker kit to improve sound quality at the same time, but I'm not sure if that would actually kill the rattle. The alternative (or an addition to the speaker kit) would be the wedge pack, which in one online shop is described as a way of eliminating door rattles.

Anyone here have any experience with Dynamat products? Also, does anyone know where to order Dynamat stuff cheap (in Australia)? I checked ebay, but it's no cheaper than Motoquipe.com.au. They have free shipping on orders over AU$50.

Thanks in advance guys!

[fastlane]

Hey Martin,

I'm back at work now LOL

Didn't really hear what you said but yeah I'm interested to hear what people have to say.

Both look like great kits but I'm still tempted for the wedge pack so if I have any leftover, I can put it in other places.

[klboy]

Have done 7000kms and I've been having the same rattle problem with the front passenger door speaker since day one. Funnily enough it doesn't occur on the driver door speaker.

I took it to the dealer to have it looked at. They claim to have opened it and made sure none of the screws were loose which did not fix the problem. I'm thinking about taking it back again to have it checked.

[PoloDave]

odd notation: My passenger side door has the same problem, and my car is left hand drive

[fastlane]

Yep same issue here too. Passenger front door. Little bit at times on front drivers door like Martin.

Doubt dealers could do anything than check for loose screws, dynamat looks to be the simplest solution.

[Swainey32]

I know, I know, this is not from Australia, but even after shipping it's still cheaper than any bulk options from Australia.
Buy this then sell sections of it to people on here, or keep it handy for when ever any new and annoying vibrations start.
I did an entire TJ magna front doors, full boot lining including lid with some left over to give to mates.
Dynamat 10455 Xtreme 36 ft Bulk Pack for an Entire Car/Truck

[noone]

Dynamat or similar cant hurt (cheaper options available)... I've used a bit of this around my Polo (last model), made a pleasant difference. Chasing 1 rattle for 1 particular frequency is something the dealers wont really care enough about, it mostly comes down to diligence. could be something basic like a cable or the lock mechanism not being insulated enough.

IMO, you don't need sheets of the stuff, use it sparingly, tape down anything that moves (cloth loom tape is good), cover any holes, etc to make the door card a complete box and your bass notes should be more pronounced.

[fastlane]

WOW! That is cheap! Great stuff, thanks Swainey!

noone, yep I'm only planning to tackle problematic areas.

Maybe we should just split the bulk several ways?

[mathemagician]

Interesting that it's always the passenger door, even with left-hand drives!

I also agree that dealers probably won't bother. Especially if it's only with certain music and at a high volume, they'll most likely tell us to just turn it down.

Swainey32, that's ridiculously cheap compared to motoquipe! They charge AU$223!

I'm definitely up for ordering in bulk and sharing, even if it's just me and Eddie (fastlane)!

[mathemagician]

UPDATE:
Just checked shipping on Swainey32's link. Cheapest option is over US$121, which would bring the total to around US$265 - way more than motoquipe's price of $223.

[ill0gitech]

Interesting that it's always the passenger door, even with left-hand drives!

I've often found that this is not as much the case but more about how we hear things. Sometimes these noises move around - who knows, you might sit in the passenger seat and not notice it, and suddenly find you have a rattle in your driver's side door.

[DUBY]

regardless of which option you take dynamat is a great product and once fitted you'll be surprised how much of a difference it makes

[gavs]

Have done 7000kms and I've been having the same rattle problem with the front passenger door speaker since day one. Funnily enough it doesn't occur on the driver door speaker.

I took it to the dealer to have it looked at. They claim to have opened it and made sure none of the screws were loose which did not fix the problem. I'm thinking about taking it back again to have it checked.

Ok, first off the door speaker is pop rivetted into the door so don't know what they're pulling there...

Second, dynamat is for noise insulation yeah? And is generally stuck to the door skin? So wouldn't putting dynamat in your door just amplify the rattle if it's inside of the dynamat?

Vws are notorious for pillar rattles due to door strikers being loose. This can transmit to places you wouldn't think like in my car you would have sworn the rattle was up near the roof in the b pillar.

[Swainey32]

Ohhh, that's strange about the shipping charge being so high....
Saying that it's probably has been 6 months since my last purchase from sonicelectronix, but when I do buy, I generally get speakers, amps, cabling and sound deadening so the shipping rate must be somewhat constant regardless of order size...seems strange to me.
Well if your looking at doing full audio set ups, I do recommend them as they've looked after me for the last 5 years.
But for that sort of shipping charge, it would probably work out the same to keep an eye on ebay.

Good luck fella's, if you need any advice, feel free to PM, audio is one thing I know haha
It's engine's that I'm still trying to figure out.

[mathemagician]

@ill0gitech:
You are right, rattles can come from elsewhere, other than where you think they are coming from. But the door panel rattles in the same rhythm as the the bass, and it disappears when I lean over and press the panel against the door a bit. So in this case it's definitely the door panel.

@gavs:
The speaker doesn't rattle, it's the vibrations from the bass that spread and cause rattles elsewhere, such as the door panel. Dynamat is supposed to contain those vibrations. It swallows them at the source. That way, you nip the problem in the bud and you don't need to fix a few different rattles here and there, all caused by strong bass.