Car audio enthusiasts are very familiar with the ways sound deadening can improve the performance of a car stereo system. Many of us have heard interactive displays at our local specialty mobile enhancement retailer that demonstrate the improvement in bass response that a treated door has compared to one that’s, well, naked. Let’s take a look at what sound damping is and how it can improve our time behind the wheel.

What Is Automotive Sound Deadening?

Also called sound damping, or incorrectly called sound dampening, these products are thin sheets of dense butyl rubber that your technician attaches to the metal panels of your car or truck. The additional mass of the rubber makes it more difficult for sound energy to pass into the vehicle.

Many damping solutions include a layer of aluminum, which holds the thin butyl sheet together and acts as a thermal barrier.

Several companies offer a butyl and aluminum damping material that includes a layer of foam on top, which helps reduce buzzes and rattles from objects that make contact with the panel.

Where Is Damping Material Installed?

Relatively flat metal surfaces transfer the majority of the sound energy from outside the vehicle. The doors, roof, rear fenders, floor, firewall and trunk lid or hatch are the prime targets. Having these surfaces treated with a quality deadening product will create results that are easily audible. If you are interested in improving the performance of the audio system, sealing the holes and access openings on the inner door skin with deadening can improve midbass performance and efficiency from the speaker.

Lower Noise Level

Regardless of whether you’re listing to music, talking to a passenger or simply enjoying a drive, having your vehicle treated with quality damping can reduce road, engine and exhaust noise by as much as 10 dB. Having a quieter cabin is more relaxing, and studies have shown that drivers can concentrate better in a quiet environment.

Improved Bluetooth Performance

Imagine that you’re talking on the phone using the Bluetooth hands-free solution in your car or truck and the air conditioner or heater is turned up all the way. The noise from the fan and the moving air drowns out part of what you are saying and makes it harder for the person on the other end of the call to hear and understand you. Reducing road, exhaust, wind and engine noise in your vehicle has the same effect as turning the fan down. Your voice will stand out from the noise and be clearer and easier to understand.

Improved Physical Comfort

If you have a powerful engine in your car, the heat from the engine, transmission and exhaust system will quickly warm the metal firewall and floor, making the interior of your vehicle hot and uncomfortable. Hot rod and custom car builders have used damping materials in their builds for decades to help block heat transfer. Companies like Dynamat, Cascade Audio, Lizard Skin and Hushmat offer products that are designed specifically to reduce that transfer of heat energy into the interior of your vehicle. With one of these products installed, the heater or air conditioner won’t have to work as hard to keep you comfortable.

Make Your Vehicle More Comfortable with Sound Deadening

If it’s difficult to carry on a conversation with your passengers or if the sound quality of your Bluetooth hands-free system is questionable, drop by your local specialty mobile enhancement retailer today. They can let you know which surfaces will result in the biggest reduction in noise transfer, and they can provide you with a detailed quote for an installation that will make your vehicle more comfortable.

This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.

This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.

Though Tesla cars and SUVs are equipped with many amazing features, a host of aftermarket upgrades are available to make owning and driving them safer and even more enjoyable. In this article, we’ll look at some of the most popular entertainment and safety enhancements you can make to your Model S, Model X or Model 3.

Tesla Stereo System Upgrades

That touchscreen in the middle of the dash may look cool, but the stereo systems that come with even a fully loaded Model S Performance pale in comparison to what the aftermarket can offer. The best upgrade you can make is to add a high-quality subwoofer to your Tesla. That factory-installed woofer doesn’t have the excursion capability or power handling to reproduce the bottom few octaves of your music with any semblance of realism, impact or extension. You have numerous options, whether you choose a prefab enclosure, a quality subwoofer and a dedicated amplifier, or choose to have your local specialty retailer create a custom enclosure that blends perfectly with the interior of the vehicle.

If you want a truly amazing listening experience, you’ll want to upgrade the speakers and amplifier in your Tesla. Better-quality speakers produce less distortion, deliver smoother frequency response and can handle more power. Choosing high-quality speakers improves the detail, clarity and intelligibility of your audio system. When you go speaker shopping, don’t be fooled by marketing hype about the “brand heritage” or supposedly exotic materials. Some of the best speakers on the planet use paper cones. Look for technologies that reduce distortion and increase linearity such as aluminum shorting rings, copper pole piece caps and flat spiders. One important thing to remember is that you’re better off purchasing high-quality equipment as opposed to spending a lot of money on an elaborate installation. With that said, if you can afford both, have at it!

Radar Detector and Laser Defense Systems

Even with all the cameras and sensors integral to a Tesla, these vehicles remain an easy target for police radar and lidar guns. Adding a radar detector, whether it’s a portable or a custom-installed solution, will give you some piece of mind. There’s no denying that even the slowest of Teslas are plenty fast, and it’s easy to get into trouble.

If you live somewhere that uses police lidar (also called laser), you’ll want to opt for a custom-installed system that includes a laser defense solution. Also known as laser shifters or laser jammers, these solutions work to prevent police officers from measuring the speed of your vehicle. Once you’ve checked that you are legal, you can cancel the scrambled signal transmission and let the officer take a measurement.

Window Tint Adds Comfort and Privacy

Your Tesla has a LOT of glass. While automakers do work to reduce the amount of UV and IR energy that passes into the vehicle, they face strict guidelines on how dark the windows can be tinted. Adding a premium window tint to your Tesla can boost UV protection to 99%. This protection is the equivalent to wearing a lotion sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 1,000.

If you aren’t particularly fond of coming out of work to find the interior of your car dangerously hot on a summer day, look into a heat-rejecting window film solution. Ceramic and nanotechnology films can block up to 65% of the infrared heat energy from the sun. Not only does the film keep you cool, it also eases the load on your air conditioning system and can increase the vehicle’s driving range.

Wireless Phone Charging Pad

Reducing clutter in the interior of our vehicles not only makes them look better, it can make them safer to operate. Many of us stream audio from our smartphones to the radios in our vehicles. Adding a Qi-compatible wireless charging solution makes it easy to charge your phone, eliminating the clutter and hassle of a wired connection.

Your local specialty mobile enhancement retailer can equip your Tesla with a custom wireless phone charging pad to make topping up the battery easy.

Make Your Tesla Your Own

No matter what upgrade you want, your local specialty mobile enhancement retailer can assist you in making every minute you spend in your Tesla more enjoyable and safer. Drop by a shop today to find out what’s available for your vehicle.

This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.

For most of us, streaming the genre of music we want from an online service is the way to go. Whether we’re in the office, at home or in the car, access to millions of songs is always just a click away. Let’s take a look at some of the more popular music streaming services available.

Pandora

Because of how it chooses the music you want to hear, Pandora is a unique streaming service. Powered by the Music Genome Project, Pandora analyzes between 150 and 450 attributes, depending on the genre of music, to classify each song. Interestingly, the analysis is performed by a musician in a process that takes 20 to 30 minutes. At least 10% of the songs are analyzed by more than one musician to maintain statistical accuracy.

What does this mean to the listener? If you choose a song you like, such as “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana, Pandora will play that song, then follow it with something very similar. Using this example, Pandora, when used via its website with a computer, offers a list of features of the song. They are “Grunge recording qualities, Repetitive melodic phrasing, Extensive vamping, Minor key tonality and A vocal-centric aesthetic.” Similar songs would include “My Hero” by Foo Fighters, “Machinehead” by Bush and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Green Day. You can create your own station based on an artist or genre of music. It’s a great way to get your Synth Pop fix when you’re feeling retro!

There are dedicated iOS and Android apps for Pandora, with integration with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Many aftermarket source units include a Pandora application built into the radio interface to let you give a thumbs-up to the songs you like.

Pandora was purchased by SiriusXM in February 2019 for $3.5 million. It’s worth noting that Pandora is not available in Canada.

Spotify

It is said that Spotify is a great streaming service for people who know what they want to hear. In contrast, Pandora might be a better source for finding new music. Spotify lets you search by song title, artist, album or genre. Listeners can create and share playlists of their favorite songs. According to Wikipedia, Spotify offers access to 50 million songs and as of the summer of 2019, has 232 million active users. Dedicated applications are available for your computer (Windows, Macintosh or Linux), as well as PlayStation, Xbox and Internet-connected speakers like Sonos, Alexa and Google home.

Spotify has iOS and Android apps that are compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Like Pandora, many aftermarket radios include dedicated Spotify apps.

Tidal

Known best for its amazing sound quality, Tidal offers two levels of service: Tidal Premium, which uses lossy files, and Tidal Hi-Fi, which features FLAC-format CD-quality streams at 44.1 kHz sampling rates and 16 bits of resolution. Bandwidth reduction comes from FLAC compression that only reduces file size and not sound quality. Tidal claims to offer more than 60 million tracks and 240,000 videos.

Another characteristic that makes Tidal unique is access to exclusive music, including “first access” to releases from artists such as Beyoncé, Rihanna, Kanye West and Jay Z. Many artists are shareholders and co-owners in the company.

Of course, Tidal apps exist for iOS and Android mobile devices. CarPlay and Android Auto both support Tidal.

Qobuz

After a rocky start, Qobuz claims to be the first music streaming service that offers 24-bit Hi-Res files. Users have their choice of Qobuz Premium with MP3-quality 320 kbps streaming, Qobuz Hi-Fi with CD-quality FLAC files at 44.1 kHz/16 bit or Qobuz Studio with Hi-Res FLAC at up to 192 kHz and 24-bit resolution. Qobuz claims to offer access to 40 million songs. Unlike the other services we have listed, there is no free trial for Qobuz. If you’re serious about the quality of your music, then it’s worth checking out Qobuz.

Explore New Music with Streaming Services

There are dozens more popular streaming services like Apple Music, Google Play Music, Amazon Music and iHeartRadio. All of these have mobile apps that are supported by the smartphone integration solutions CarPlay and Android Auto. If you have questions about how to enjoy a streaming service in your car, or how to upgrade your mobile audio system to get the most out of the music you love, drop by your local specialist mobile enhancement retailer today. They would be happy to help!

This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.

Whether you own a brand-new Ram Rebel or a classic Dodge 1500 pickup, your local mobile enhancement specialist carries a variety of accessories and upgrades that can improve the functionality of your vehicle and your enjoyment of it. If you love music, a speaker or subwoofer upgrade can transform your listening experience. If you use your truck for work, a toolbox or bed cover could be right up your alley. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular upgrades that are available.

Ram Pickup Truck Stereo Upgrades

If you have an older Dodge or Ram truck, upgrading the radio with something more modern can open up a whole new world of entertainment options. For those with the 1.5-DIN radio, up until now, adding multimedia was nearly impossible. The new “floating” display radio solutions from Alpine and Sony have changed this. The Alpine iLX-F309 and Sony XAV-AX8000 (shipping around December 2019) feature a single-DIN radio chassis and a huge 9-inch touchscreen display that mounts in front of the dash. These radios include Bluetooth calling and audio streaming, support for MP3, WMA, AAC and FLAC digital audio files from a USB stick and, most importantly, include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration.

No matter what trim level of truck you own, upgrading the speakers or adding a subwoofer will make a huge difference in the way your music sounds. Better speakers offer improved clarity, thanks to a reduction in distortion. Typically, they will also play a lot louder when combined with an upgraded amplifier.

Adding a subwoofer system to any truck is perhaps the most dramatic improvement you can make. Having an amplifier and speaker dedicated to producing bass not only allows you to hear more low-frequency information from your music, but it also alleviates the need for your smaller speakers to try to reproduce those power-hungry frequencies. In short, everything about your stereo will sound better with a subwoofer.

Safety and Collision Avoidance Systems

Your local mobile enhancement retailer offers a variety of backup cameras and collision avoidance systems for Ram trucks. A backup camera is one of the best upgrades you can make to a pickup truck. Being able to see what’s hiding behind that tailgate can prevent accidents and injury. Camera options include solutions that mount to the license plate or that are integrated into a new tailgate handle.

Parking sensors are another great upgrade for pickup trucks. These small sensors mount in the front and/or rear bumper to detect and warn the driver as you approach an object. The system will begin beeping once you are a few feet away from a wall, a post or parked vehicle. Once you are within 12 inches, the beeping becomes a solid tone to let you know it’s time to stop.

Remote Starters and Security Systems

Most people think that remote starters are only for people who live in areas that get cold. The reality is, having a remote starter in Florida, Texas, Arizona, Georgia or California is a great way to let the air conditioning system start cooling the vehicle before it’s time to leave. Whether you are worried about heat or cold, a high-quality remote starter is a great way to make your vehicle more comfortable.

Your local specialist mobile enhancement retailer can help you choose a control option that provides the range you need to ensure your vehicle can be started long before it’s time to leave.

If you are worried about someone stealing a cool set of wheels, most remote starters can be upgraded to include security functions. Adding a tilt/motion sensor and shock sensor will sound an alert if someone jacks up your vehicle to steal your wheels.

Ram Running Boards and Bed Covers

Functionality and styling upgrades are very popular with truck owners. A set of side-steps or running boards is a welcome addition on a truck with big wheels or a lift kit. For a truly elegant solution, motorized running boards like the PowerStep from Amp Research make it easy to get in and out when a door is open, then fold up tight against the rocker panel when the doors are closed to maintain ground clearance and aerodynamics.

If you carry tools or personal belongings in the bed of your truck, adding a tonneau cover is simple and effective protection. A soft roll-up or folding cover is an inexpensive way to conceal what’s in the bed. A hard cover upgrades your protection by making it difficult to access the contents. Both hard and soft covers roll or fold quickly to provide complete access to the bed to load and unload large items.

Lighting Upgrades

If you find you spend a lot of time driving after the sun sets or you take your Ram or Dodge off-road, a lighting upgrade might be a great idea. LED and HID bulb upgrades for the factory headlights can more than double the amount of light produced to help you see farther and be safer. A set of auxiliary lights in the form of LED light cubes or a light bar can light up a trail or road to ensure you can see everything in front of you.

Window Tint and Paint Protection Film

Another great upgrade that can improve the comfort and safety of your Ram or Dodge truck is window tint. Adding tint to the windows blocks 99% of the UV rays from the sun to protect your skin and reduce damage to the fabric, leather and vinyl in your truck. Choosing a high-quality ceramic film can cut the amount of heat that enters the truck by more than two-thirds to keep it cool on a hot summer day.

Paint protection film is an incredibly durable transparent urethane coating that is applied directly over the paint on your truck. Also called clear bra or Heli Tape, paint protection film is designed to absorb impacts from sand, gravel, stones and small rocks to prevent chips and scratches. The film can be applied to front bumpers, the hood, fenders, mirror covers, door handle cups, rocker panels and the perimeter of the truck bed and the tailgate to keep your investment looking like new.

Upgrade Your Ram or Dodge Pickup Truck Today!

Whether you need an old blown speaker replaced, want a studio-quality sound system installed or are shopping for truck accessories, drop by your local specialist mobile enhancement retailer today to find out how you can improve your Ram truck.

This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.