[VoltenRock]

Any of my fellow Volt experts know if there are soundproofing materials or other panels/etc. to minimize road noise in the undercarriage of the '13 Volt? Had some repairs and car seems louder--just wondering if they "forgot" to put EVERYTHING back the right way underneath. If I could ask a targetted question on a specific part, that would help.

 

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

Any of my fellow Volt experts know if there are soundproofing materials or other panels/etc. to minimize road noise in the undercarriage of the '13 Volt? Had some repairs and car seems louder--just wondering if they "forgot" to put EVERYTHING back the right way underneath. If I could ask a targetted question on a specific part, that would help.

Hey VoltenRock,

If you'd like, I can definitely reach out to your dealership and discuss your recent appointment with them further to make sure proper protocols were followed. If this is something I can do for you, can you please send me a private message confirming your updated vehicle mileage, and confirm that you're still working with Mall Chevrolet?

I hope to hear from you soon!

Amber G.
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[llninja]

I've looked under my 13 volt. Other than a black rubber flap in front of the rear bumper, it's just metal back there.Maybe they neglected to resist all the rubber flaps? Also, do you have a voltshelf? A voltshelfd drowns out a lot of rear road noise.

 

[Dutch]

I bought some spongy "anti fatigue" matting from off a roll at Lowes and laid it out in the back. I also installed a home built deck. The combination of the two knocked the rear end noise down a lot for me.

Pro Tip... Don't build your own shelf/deck, go ahead and get one from Scarlett (VoltShelf) it'll save you a lot of time and frustration <grin> I'm glad I built mine, I like it, but I wouldn't do it again.

 

[Scarlett1]

I bought some spongy "anti fatigue" matting from off a roll at Lowes and laid it out in the back. I also installed a home built deck. The combination of the two knocked the rear end noise down a lot for me.

Pro Tip... Don't build your own shelf/deck, go ahead and get one from Scarlett (VoltShelf) it'll save you a lot of time and frustration <grin> I'm glad I built mine, I like it, but I wouldn't do it again.

Thanks for thinking of me on this one, LL and Dutch! And Dutch, I liked yours. Don't sell yourself short. But, I do think you are right. The time and energy someone is going to put into making a voltshelf of their own could get excessive to get it right. And the potential for frustration or it not being right is certainty there. So I'm here to make it easy for everyone.

VoltenRock- check out your car and see how you do. Let me know if I can help with a VoltShelf. And especially for your Gen 1 Volt put some protection in front of your radiator if you haven't already. Make one, buy one of mine, or find something else that will do protect it, I don't care. Just do something. If you haven't heard of the issue yet, do a little research. Search "Radiator puncture" or other similar key words on this forum. Sit down before you do... And something tells me that a few friends here may chime in here about that, too.

Steve

 

[Dutch]

And especially for your Gen 1 Volt put some protection in front of your radiator if you haven't already. Make one, buy one of mine, or find something else that will do protect it, I don't care. Just do something. If you haven't heard of the issue yet, do a little research. Search "Radiator puncture" or other similar key words on this forum. Sit down before you do... And something tells me that a few friends here may chime in here about that, too.

Steve

Yup. every time I see how many dings are in my radiator protector I am astounded. And it's not just dings. I had one where it actually broke one of the wires. I can just imagine what that would have done to the radiator.

 

[Scarlett1]

I think the explanation is simple physics. The Volt's grill is way down low where the big rocks live. And because the grill is lower, rocks on a flatter trajectory may have a cleaner shot at getting through the grill than ones on an upward or downward arcing path. And theoretically, because these rocks aren't burning off speed or kinetic energy by fighting gravity as hard, they may be able to carry more energy into your radiator. Combine that with the almost 1" slot between the grill slats, and you have problems.

I'll admit to this being all based on a 30 year + memory of high school physics and no testing, so if I'm wrong, then I'm wrong. But at least it sounds good in theory. Doesn't really matter any ways, the solution is to keep the rocks out of there in the first place.

Funny thing- Take a look at the grills and openings in front of radiators in cars you see in parking lots. You'll be astounded at how wide open so many are. Some just have wide open holes. So why aren't there radiators getting punctured all over the place? Maybe they are, but I'm not hearing about it from the public at large. And when I stopped by a couple of radiator shops to check out the Volt problem as it became apparent a couple of years ago, the guys there didn't make anything of the huge holes. No problem, no big deal, not extra work from them. And none of them looked like they were working 80 hours a week or living in a palace.

Steve

 

[llninja]

I think the explanation is simple physics. The Volt's grill is way down low where the big rocks live. And because the grill is lower, rocks on a flatter trajectory may have a cleaner shot at getting through the grill than ones on an upward or downward arcing path. And theoretically, because these rocks aren't burning off speed or kinetic energy by fighting gravity as hard, they may be able to carry more energy into your radiator. Combine that with the almost 1" slot between the grill slats, and you have problems.

I'll admit to this being all based on a 30 year + memory of high school physics and no testing, so if I'm wrong, then I'm wrong. But at least it sounds good in theory. Doesn't really matter any ways, the solution is to keep the rocks out of there in the first place.

Funny thing- Take a look at the grills and openings in front of radiators in cars you see in parking lots. You'll be astounded at how wide open so many are. Some just have wide open holes. So why aren't there radiators getting punctured all over the place? Maybe they are, but I'm not hearing about it from the public at large. And when I stopped by a couple of radiator shops to check out the Volt problem as it became apparent a couple of years ago, the guys there didn't make anything of the huge holes. No problem, no big deal, not extra work from them. And none of them looked like they were working 80 hours a week or living in a palace.

Steve

Yup. Just look at the Jeeps. You could throw a golf ball through the grill slits. My son'T Tacoma also has huge holes, but all of them are high, not low.

 

[jbakerjonathan]

For the one-time outlay of so little cash, I got a lot of protection against possible damage, costly damage to the lower radiator. I am one who does not like to put stickers and other non-production items on the outside of my car. The installation of Scarlett’s screen was simple and unobtrusive. In fact, it blends so well that I don’t normally see it when looking at the front of the car. And when I do see it, it looks like its part of the car. Every Gen1 owner should invest in one.

 

[Scarlett1]

Thanks, JBJ! I've got a dog in this hunt, so I'm going to shut up and get out of the way. Last time: Whatever you do, do something.