I like my Skoda Octavia VRs Limited Edition, but, it was a little bit noisy, especially on motorway journeys. Sometimes you really had to raise your voice to talk to rear passengers, especially. On concrete slab motorways, at speed, even the front seat passenger could be hard to hear.
After doing some research on after market noise suppression, I opted to buy a Noise Killer kit, from http://www.noisekiller.co.uk. Although many forums advised that the materials could be bought cheaper, I like the idea of the guys at Noisekiller pre-cutting all the various bits of acoustic matting into the correct shapes for the various parts of the vehicle.
The kit cost me about £190 and came with a selection of Mats and Sticky Pads, in three different types of material, some material was even lead-lined. The total weight of the kit was about 23kg.
Kit Contents - mats
Kit Contents - Sticky Pads
Along with the kit, came the instructions:
Instructions
So, to fitting. First of all I did the bonnet, sadly, I didn’t take any photos of that, since I hadn’t thought of recording this whole thing! Suffice to say, the heat proof material comes off the underside of the bonnet using plastic clips, very easily.
Then all the pre-cut sticky pads for the bonnet, stick in rather neatly around the bracing to the underside of the bonnet itself. Even knocking on the bonnet afterwards showed a noticeable difference!
Next I did the boot, sticky pads around the spare wheel and under the carpet areas. I messed up the wheel well, as you can see, and ended up sticking little spare bits where I had left a gap. Never mind.
Wheel well finished
Next a big thick mat is placed over the spare wheel, but under the entirety of the boot carpet.
Boot finished with big matt
Happy with the boot, I began on the rear passenger compartment. I was very pleasantly surprised with how easily the rear seats came out. Just pull ’em up, as you would to increase the luggage space and press together two little clips.
simple little catches to remove back seats
After removing the seats, I eased the carpet forward and slid in the pre-cut mats under the carpet into the passenger foot wells. A large thick mat is also placed under the seats themselves, the same as in the boot. I think this big piece, along with the boot piece contributes the most to the improved acoustics.
rear footwell pulled up
Next I did the drivers foot well, which is very easy indeed, as you don’t have to take the carpet up.
drivers side matt
Finally I did the passenger foot well – this was a little trickier, but after un-clipping the trim, I could life up the carpet to give just enough space to slide the sound proofing material inside.
just enough room to slide matt in
I didn’t bother with the door ones, I still have them, but door trim removal is a bit risky for me and a new car. My local ICE supplier would do it for £45… but I havn’t as of yet. The little pads sit nicely under my home cinema base speaker to stop it booming on the wooden floor boards 😉
So, is it worth it ? Yes. I would say it was. A little bit pricey, but not a great deal of effort involved and therefore minimum risk of me damaging the car!
Overall the effect is noticeable, especially on motorway driving, where conversation can also be had, throughout the cabin more easily. Day to day driving is also noticeably quieter, with engine tick over now really rather silent, due to the bonnet stickies.
I did videos of the before and after, so you may be able to hear the difference yourself, but other cabin noises distract from the slightly nicer engine and road noise – these really don’t do the kit justice. But there you go.
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