A little disappointed but not surprised.

[TMIG68]

So the wife and I took out the new Expedition yesterday and like I said in the subject line a little disappointed but not surprised. so we get 10 miles into the trip trying to listen to music on the JBL system and my wife says it is too damn loud in here you got to shut off the music! well I'm sure everyone else has probably had the same scenario? so I told her I really don't want to have to put the Comm system in here and wear headsets anymore! I'm tired of headsets and she agreed but we have to figure out how to get this thing quieted down. I know there is information all over here about what you guys have done. but in a consensus I would like to know what were the best routes that you as individuals may have come up with? the first thing is I want to do a clutch kit and tune, but I'm going to wait on the tune for a little while until the breaking in Is over. so after my research I have came to the conclusion that maybe the giloman super clutch kit would be the best?? I'm just wondering if any of you have come to the conclusion of who might be better? aftermarket assassins or giloman? also, what is the best sound deadening material that won't make me bankrupt that I can get this quieted down? it sounds like most of the sound comes out of the back fire wall of course and the lower parts of the side by side. I don't think so much comes through the glass window as it does down low. I'm sure a lot of you have been beaten to death about answers for this type of question but I would truly would appreciate it if you could help me out. I am trying to make moves on doing these things soon and I would like a little bit of insight. thank you all in advance!

 

[JTBarlow]

When it comes to ECU tunes on the Xpedition, Gilomen and Aftermarket Assassins are pretty much the same.
For the clutch kits, my preference is Aftermarket Assassins. They have the High Load Secondary Helix, Buttershift washers and Billet primary cover plate, which Gilomen doesn’t offer.
By the sounds of it, you’re wanting to lower the RPMs, which is done by adding weight to the primary clutch. Doing either Aftermarket Assassins or Gilomen clutch kits won’t lower it much more than the Polaris Comfort clutch already does, but the secondary helix in the kits will quiet the clutches a little with tighter tolerances.
For insulation, I just use $4 pillows from Walmart for the polyfil. It takes about 12 of them to do a full job, but if all you do is pack between the skidplate and floor, it’ll only take 6-8.
Sound dampening material is where it can get a little more expensive. The cheaper the sound mat, the less likely it is to be effective. But anything helps over just the plain plastic panels.
The biggest cost is time. The more thorough you are, with insulating and applying sound dampening, the quieter you’ll get your machine. That requires a lot of disassembly of the machine’s body panels, and a lot of work applying sound dampening materials.

In the end, there’s only so much you can do to quiet these machines down. And at that point, if they’re still too loud for someone’s preferences, the only thing I can recommend is trading it in for the Ranger XD 1500.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

Spent a lot of time and money insulating mine. Helped keep the heat out so the AC works better but didn't do a lot for the noise.
Best ways to get rid of the noise:
Aftermarket Assassins cruiser clutch kit- I went with the high load helix because I carry lots of gear. Also added the butter shift washer.
Then went to 34" tires
It's never gonna be as quiet as a Defender. It's way quieter than my Turbo R. I think it's about the same as my General which had a full cab with glass all around (General had no soundproofing of any kind)

They are geared so low I can run in high most of the time even on the trails, so that helps with noise too

 

[TMIG68]

Thank you for your feedback I appreciate it. I told my wife that we should have gotten the ranger in the first place but she didn't want to spend the extra money if you can believe it! LOL so now instead of spending the money on a ranger we're just going to end up putting it into this Expedition instead.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

Thank you for your feedback I appreciate it. I told my wife that we should have gotten the ranger in the first place but she didn't want to spend the extra money if you can believe it! LOL so now instead of spending the money on a ranger we're just going to end up putting it into this Expedition instead.

The only way the Ranger is better than the Xpedition is on how quiet it is.
Xpedition has better shocks, rides smoother, better seats and has the reliable CVT system.
Take a look at the transmission on the Ranger. Complicated and I doubt you could fix it yourself. Transmission filter is $200 and fluid is $34 a quart.
I usually get 4-5k out of my CVT belts. General was 7 years old and the only work I did on the clutch was to take the square pucks out and put in round

 

[Captain Bob]

When it comes to ECU tunes on the Xpedition, Gilomen and Aftermarket Assassins are pretty much the same.
For the clutch kits, my preference is Aftermarket Assassins. They have the High Load Secondary Helix, Buttershift washers and Billet primary cover plate, which Gilomen doesn’t offer.
By the sounds of it, you’re wanting to lower the RPMs, which is done by adding weight to the primary clutch. Doing either Aftermarket Assassins or Gilomen clutch kits won’t lower it much more than the Polaris Comfort clutch already does, but the secondary helix in the kits will quiet the clutches a little with tighter tolerances.
For insulation, I just use $4 pillows from Walmart for the polyfil. It takes about 12 of them to do a full job, but if all you do is pack between the skidplate and floor, it’ll only take 6-8.
Sound dampening material is where it can get a little more expensive. The cheaper the sound mat, the less likely it is to be effective. But anything helps over just the plain plastic panels.
The biggest cost is time. The more thorough you are, with insulating and applying sound dampening, the quieter you’ll get your machine. That requires a lot of disassembly of the machine’s body panels, and a lot of work applying sound dampening materials.

In the end, there’s only so much you can do to quiet these machines down. And at that point, if they’re still too loud for someone’s preferences, the only thing I can recommend is trading it in for the Ranger XD 1500.

I did the Gilomen clutch kit, only lowered the rpm by about 300, not much help, actually like the Polaris one better, a little smoother on take off. I tried seveal sound deadening products, before I did any of this my machine was 89-91 decibals after these changes the decibals were 89-91, but it did seem to lower it a bit. So all last summer we used intercom headsets/muffs. So I decided not to drive another season that way, I listed it for sale last week and scoped out a Ranger 1500.

 

[JTBarlow]

I did the Gilomen clutch kit, only lowered the rpm by about 300, not much help, actually like the Polaris one better, a little smoother on take off. I tried seveal sound deadening products, before I did any of this my machine was 89-91 decibals after these changes the decibals were 89-91, but it did seem to lower it a bit. So all last summer we used intercom headsets/muffs. So I decided not to drive another season that way, I listed it for sale last week and scoped out a Ranger 1500.

We’ve been able to get down to 83-85 db doing the full sound dampening and insulation, but it’s about a 24 hour process for me. Even having done more than a dozen Xpeditions.
The Ranger XD 1500 has plenty of its own issues (every SxS does, regardless of brand) but if noise levels is the primary concern, they’re the way to go.
Like johndeerefarmer says, they aren’t nearly as comfortable in ride or seating. There’s ways to make the ride considerably better, like JRI/HCR and E-Clik shocks, but the seats are still very utility. There’s ways were some issues with the trans at first, but I think Polaris worked those out. We just did a Gilomen ECU/TCM tune on our XD 1500 that fixed the issues we had.
There’s ways Xpedition is still our preferred SxS, but the XD 1500 is a fun machine in its own right… especially after tuning it and redoing the suspension.

 

[Captain Bob]

We’ve been able to get down to 83-85 db doing the full sound dampening and insulation, but it’s about a 24 hour process for me. Even having done more than a dozen Xpeditions.
The Ranger XD 1500 has plenty of its own issues (every SxS does, regardless of brand) but if noise levels is the primary concern, they’re the way to go.
Like johndeerefarmer says, they aren’t nearly as comfortable in ride or seating. There’s ways to make the ride considerably better, like JRI/HCR and E-Clik shocks, but the seats are still very utility. There’s ways were some issues with the trans at first, but I think Polaris worked those out. We just did a Gilomen ECU/TCM tune on our XD 1500 that fixed the issues we had.
There’s ways Xpedition is still our preferred SxS, but the XD 1500 is a fun machine in its own right… especially after tuning it and redoing the suspension.

Thanks for the info, I wish also that the Ranger had a more comfortable seat, that more bench like seat does not compare to the Expedition's. I also have a General, I always feel that it's seat is even a little more comfortable than the Expeditions. I have also heard the Ranger XD is a little drafty around the steering column and firewall. I agree the ride in the Expedition especially on trails is hard to beat.

 

[Ryan]

I got mine down from 91db to 82db at 55mph steady. It is a lot of work and expensive if you do it right but it's 1000 times better, even to the wife. For every 3db reduction you are cutting the sound in half. It was ear piercing when new. AA turbo stage 3 going on now. Hoping to scrape off a few more db's.

Note, mine had half inch holes, 2 inches wide under the seatbelt holders. Seal those up, keeps out dirt water and reduces sound.

 

[TMIG68]

Thank you for all your great replies. I just ordered the aftermarket assassins clutch kit with the Cruiserweight option and butter shift washers. I don't think I'll install it until after I break in the motor. I only have 26 miles on it. And I've only been able to get it to tach up to 8000 rpm nothing over that yet? In the near future when I sell my two sets of rims and tires and sand tires from my X3, I'll look into buying some 32s or 33s. And also what sound doesn't do you guys feel is the best bang for the buck? If it stays too loud though I'm just going to go ahead and slap the rest of my calm system and deal with it I guess.

 

[JTBarlow]

Thanks for the info, I wish also that the Ranger had a more comfortable seat, that more bench like seat does not compare to the Expedition's. I also have a General, I always feel that it's seat is even a little more comfortable than the Expeditions. I have also heard the Ranger XD is a little drafty around the steering column and firewall. I agree the ride in the Expedition especially on trails is hard to beat.

The XD 1500 does have a few “drafty” areas. But so does the Xpedition. On the Xpedition it was more around the shifter and A-pillars under the dash. Also there’s gaps around the rear seatbelts and seat mount that lets a lot of dust in. All of it is reasonably easy to fix if you don’t mind spending the time.

 

[JTBarlow]

Thank you for all your great replies. I just ordered the aftermarket assassins clutch kit with the Cruiserweight option and butter shift washers. I don't think I'll install it until after I break in the motor. I only have 26 miles on it. And I've only been able to get it to tach up to 8000 rpm nothing over that yet? In the near future when I sell my two sets of rims and tires and sand tires from my X3, I'll look into buying some 32s or 33s. And also what sound doesn't do you guys feel is the best bang for the buck? If it stays too loud though I'm just going to go ahead and slap the rest of my calm system and deal with it I guess.

Factory rpms are governed around 7800. With the cruiser clutch kit you’ll drop that to around 7400-7600, and then larger tires will just increase the speed a little per rpms.

This is the material I use for sound dampening;
MEMBRANE - SOUND DEADENING & THERMAL INSULATION SHEETS
It’s both sound dampening and thermal insulating, and the best material I’ve found yet.

 

[TMIG68]

Factory rpms are governed around 7800. With the cruiser clutch kit you’ll drop that to around 7400-7600, and then larger tires will just increase the speed a little per rpms.

This is the material I use for sound dampening;
MEMBRANE - SOUND DEADENING & THERMAL INSULATION SHEETS
It’s both sound dampening and thermal insulating, and the best material I’ve found yet.

Thanks for the info! I will look into it.

 

[TMIG68]

Has anyone tried that Silas 8 mm thick sound deadening before? It would seem to me the thicker the sound deadening the better? Or even an acoustical style sound deadening with the pyramids?