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Interior - SQ vs Surface Reflections


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Hey yall. I read somewhere that adding a dash mat will help minimize reflections of the hard plastic the factory uses on alot of cars and may give the sound a more natural feel. 

I personally dont care for the look of a premade dash mat, but my plan is to recover my dash with a soft leather (or fabric of some sort) to give the truck a bit more of a luxurious feel.

I'm almost done w my A pillars and rethinking if I should paint them or wrap them now.

 

My question is:

1) Have you ever used a dash mat and would again?

2) Would this concept also apply to the A pillars themselves, where the sound originates from?

3) Would this effect carry over to the doors, underside of dash and other hard surfaces as well?

And 4) Will leather have the same effect as a soft fabric even though it's a smooth surface?

 

Thanks in advance!

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1. Yes and Yes

2. No. You are only trying to prevent bouncing waves off of the windshield. Having a vinyl dash only adds insult to injury when it comes to your stage and image.

3. No. The primary job is to improve stage and image, which should be up and out on your hood.

4. No. The only thing that will work similar to a factory molded dash pad is a thick towel or carpet.

gallery_5_7_113373.jpg

According to MECA competition rules, if you add a dash pad to a complete "Stock" stereo vehicle ... it will knock you out of stock class.

I can tell you from personal testing and tuning ... They work and they work well !!!

I had one installed in my Silverado, have one installed in my Ford F150, and I have one installed in my Avalanche.

gallery_5_7_30594.jpg

 

 

Kenwood / HELIX / Linear Power (For The Love Of Music) / Brutal Sounds / OverKill Electric Co 

Questions About Sound Quality ?? Try Here ... Sound Quality, What does it REALLY mean ?? 

SMD SOTM Winner "White Lightning" 1997 GMT400 Chevy Silverado   

"The Green Dickle" 1994 GMT400 Chevy "Phantom Dually"   

Randal's 2007 Chevy Avalanche (we haven't named this one yet)

Dylan's "Brutal" 17 Chevy Cruze RS Hatch                         

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17 minutes ago, White Lightning said:

1. Yes and Yes

2. No. You are only trying to prevent bouncing waves off of the windshield. Having a vinyl dash only adds insult to injury when it comes to your stage and image.

3. No. The primary job is to improve stage and image, which should be up and out on your hood.

4. No. The only thing that will work similar to a factory molded dash pad is a thick towel or carpet.

gallery_5_7_113373.jpg

According to MECA competition rules, if you add a dash pad to a complete "Stock" stereo vehicle ... it will knock you out of stock class.

I can tell you from personal testing and tuning ... They work and they work well !!!

I had one installed in my Silverado, have one installed in my Ford F150, and I have one installed in my Avalanche.

gallery_5_7_30594.jpg

 

 

I was hoping to be in the street classsince ive been out if this for years.  Guess what.  My truck classifies as extreme 😥

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14 minutes ago, ToNasty said:

I was hoping to be in the street classsince ive been out if this for years.  Guess what.  My truck classifies as extreme " src="https://twemoji.maxcdn.com/2/72x72/1f625.png">

My Biggest thing with the Avalanche was not to cut metal. That's why I'm running 6.5" drivers instead of 8" drivers in my doors. My A-Pilars are barely legal for MECA Street.

Kenwood / HELIX / Linear Power (For The Love Of Music) / Brutal Sounds / OverKill Electric Co 

Questions About Sound Quality ?? Try Here ... Sound Quality, What does it REALLY mean ?? 

SMD SOTM Winner "White Lightning" 1997 GMT400 Chevy Silverado   

"The Green Dickle" 1994 GMT400 Chevy "Phantom Dually"   

Randal's 2007 Chevy Avalanche (we haven't named this one yet)

Dylan's "Brutal" 17 Chevy Cruze RS Hatch                         

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35 minutes ago, White Lightning said:

My Biggest thing with the Avalanche was not to cut metal. That's why I'm running 6.5" drivers instead of 8" drivers in my doors. My A-Pilars are barely legal for MECA Street.

I dont have to cut metal to fit an 8 in my front door luckily.  I can put an i there right now and no one would know

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15 minutes ago, ToNasty said:

I dont have to cut metal to fit an 8 in my front door luckily.  I can put an i there right now and no one would know

I think it's safe to say that your A-Pilars will throw your truck into higher classes for sure Sir ... Just saying

I'd love to hear them !!!

Kenwood / HELIX / Linear Power (For The Love Of Music) / Brutal Sounds / OverKill Electric Co 

Questions About Sound Quality ?? Try Here ... Sound Quality, What does it REALLY mean ?? 

SMD SOTM Winner "White Lightning" 1997 GMT400 Chevy Silverado   

"The Green Dickle" 1994 GMT400 Chevy "Phantom Dually"   

Randal's 2007 Chevy Avalanche (we haven't named this one yet)

Dylan's "Brutal" 17 Chevy Cruze RS Hatch                         

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18 hours ago, White Lightning said:

1. Yes and Yes

2. No. You are only trying to prevent bouncing waves off of the windshield. Having a vinyl dash only adds insult to injury when it comes to your stage and image.

3. No. The primary job is to improve stage and image, which should be up and out on your hood.

4. No. The only thing that will work similar to a factory molded dash pad is a thick towel or carpet.

gallery_5_7_113373.jpg

According to MECA competition rules, if you add a dash pad to a complete "Stock" stereo vehicle ... it will knock you out of stock class.

I can tell you from personal testing and tuning ... They work and they work well !!!

I had one installed in my Silverado, have one installed in my Ford F150, and I have one installed in my Avalanche.

gallery_5_7_30594.jpg

 

 

Thanks for your response! That answers alot of ?'s I had.

My A pillars are not finished yet, but I wanted to hear the difference it makes (using a towel), so I put them in long enough to do a quick test.

All I did was cover my dash, put on Dire Straits, turn it up n pull the towels off while the instrumentals played. The effect was obvious because I was able to hear any instantaneous changes as I took the towels off. I didnt realize that alone would make such a big difference, but I can see what you mean.

I dont plan to compete, but I want the best sound I can get n that's almost too good not to do it.

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To test and see if this would actually help a true "stock" stereo, I bought a dash pad for my wife's 13 Chevy Cruze.

gallery_5_7_65042.jpg

There was an amazing noticeable difference with this stereo. Not to mention it protects the dash VERY WELL from the direct sunlight.

Glad I could help Sir ...

Kenwood / HELIX / Linear Power (For The Love Of Music) / Brutal Sounds / OverKill Electric Co 

Questions About Sound Quality ?? Try Here ... Sound Quality, What does it REALLY mean ?? 

SMD SOTM Winner "White Lightning" 1997 GMT400 Chevy Silverado   

"The Green Dickle" 1994 GMT400 Chevy "Phantom Dually"   

Randal's 2007 Chevy Avalanche (we haven't named this one yet)

Dylan's "Brutal" 17 Chevy Cruze RS Hatch                         

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  • 2 weeks later...

I bought a dashmat for my 2015 Mazda 6 (Focal tweeters in stock location inside the dash, facing up to windshield). I definitely noticed a difference. Everything sounded more focused. I did have to cut holes in the mat where the tweeters as the mat did cut down on their volume though it claimed it wouldn't. Still, I personally did notice difference. Add in the benefit of the sun not ruining the dash either. 

2015 Mazda 6

JVF Customz 4.0 Proto 15>Wolfram W4500 @ .5ohm

2 Sundown Neo 6.5 + 2 CT Meso Tweeters (Front) x Kicker KS6.5 (Rear)>JL Audio VX400/4i

NSB-AMG35 (front) / 40ah Lithium Headway (Rear) built by Erni Audio & Electrical

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5 hours ago, Baydestrian said:

I bought a dashmat for my 2015 Mazda 6 (Focal tweeters in stock location inside the dash, facing up to windshield). I definitely noticed a difference. Everything sounded more focused. I did have to cut holes in the mat where the tweeters as the mat did cut down on their volume though it claimed it wouldn't. Still, I personally did notice difference. Add in the benefit of the sun not ruining the dash either. 

I'm a believer after my lil test I did w the towels.

I've been researching what types of fabric and padding that has a similar effect to recover the top of my dash, pillars and a few other accent panels with. I will probably end up making several trips to the fabric store looking for the closest results I can, but its also gotta look like it was designed that way. 

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