We all know the tray rattles if you put a sub in.

There were several solutions.

I know of the matchstick trick, paint on sound deadener, adhesive sound deadener, and removing the tray completely. A lot of users mention 'just track down the rattle and fix it, thats what I did...' without ever offering to tell where THEIR rattle was coming from.

I'm trying to figure out where it rattles on most of our cars... I figure i only have 1 s2k and 1 subwoofer, so it makes it kinda hard to develop solutions for this problem.

If everyone offers some imput on where its rattling, maybe it would be easier to pinpoint the problem (source of rattleing). Kinda getting a 'sample' population. Maybe we can figure out an end-all solution. Let me know if this is a stupid idea.

I'll start. Mine seems to rattle behind the 'rear wall' of the tray area. If i put some pressure right in the center, rattle is gone.

 

The rattle is caused by air trying to travel out of the trunk. This is the reason why the trunk flexes, as well as the top well. However, the trunk can withstand a certain amount of bass, but the topwell cant. The air pushes it up at a fast rate, causing an annoying buzz.

Try my matchstick method. Take 3 of em, one in the middle, and one on each side, and your rattle will be gone!

 

I have never really been able to track down the rattle to one single location. Mine just seems to rattle the entire tray. I used the dynamat approach, and applied it to the entire tray and that solved about 90% of the rattles. I still have one or two that show up on songs with heavy bass, Ive just learned to live with it. I wanted to try the removing the tray option, but it was such a pain to work in that tight space. I have never tried the matchstick method dave came up with, maybe Ill try it this weekend. Where do you put the match sticks? Its in a gap between the plastics, I just dont recall where?

 

Does removing the tray add road noise? I know having the seats on my Integra folded down made the cabin much louder without much of a bass gain...

 

Yes, removing the tray will add road noise.

And yes, you shove the matchsticks (wrap them in electrical tape) between the plastics, in various locations. It will shut the tray up in no time!

 

Are you serious Matchsticks? What about when you put the top down? Im assuming they doing fall off?

 

WHen you say between the trays, what exactly does that mean.. you wouldn't happen to have some pictures would you????

 

Well what im guess is that at the edge of the tray where you would be able to stick the stick inbetween it and the wall of the car.

 

no.

as, i understand it, you want the matchsticks wedged in between the gaps of the panels.

the top well tray is actually a combination of 5 main different plastic pieces. you want the sticks in between the gaps of these pieces, which tightens up the fit. as i recall it is specifically the gaps closest to the front of the car and the bottom tray.
(this picture might help, but it does not show the panel closest to the front of the car.)


personally, i fix the problem by just keeping the top down.
seriously though, i use a PJK3's cheap ($5) Muz style matt to protect my plastic window.... a black walmart 100% cotton towel folded longwise to fit in the tray . the extra weight of the towel seems to do a great job in dampening the rattles. at highest volumes, the pressure will overcome the weight and i can hear a rattle, but at those volumes, i can't sit in the car for long before it starts physically hurting...

 

The majority of the rattle I am getting is the main pan of the trim pieces (part #11 in PJK3's image) flexing. When the top is down I have zero issues of course because the weight is sitting on the panel.

I think I have figured out is that the panel is moving at the mount points of the tray, so I am going to try a rubber bushing between the clip and the mount and see if that works.