Major Test of Sound and Vibration Insulation

Silence the noise!
“Silence the noise” – that’s how one could freely interpret the name of one of the brands
“Shumoff” (or “Shum-off”), a player on the Ukrainian
market of materials designed for vibration and sound insulation of car bodies. What other
materials are represented on this market, and what do they offer?

Today, the Ukrainian market offers a wide range of materials for vibration and sound insulation of vehicles (mostly of Russian production, occasionally from other countries). The manufacturer’s location determines their retail price. While Russian soundproofing materials are cheaper, overseas ones are sometimes “astronomically” expensive. We can state that the price does not always match the quality. Naturally, each material has its pros and cons. Specialists from Digital Designs (Chernivtsi) tested samples of 26 insulation materials from various manufacturers. They developed a testing methodology, designed and built special equipment, and verified it to obtain reliable and comparable data on the tested products. This work took over two months, and here’s what we found...

Vibration and sound insulation: overview of tested materials

The most common and widely used vibration and sound-absorbing materials in Ukraine are produced under the STP brand by the Russian group of companies “Standartplast”. The manufacturer produces several STP product series.

Series “STP Vibroplast”.

The most well-known insulating material of this series (and probably of all STP products) is STP Vibroplast M1 – the sales leader in its segment. Installation is simple, and the material is effective on thin metal. Defects are extremely rare. The price is slightly inflated, as a tribute to the well-promoted brand. Its analogue is “STP Vibroplast M2”.

A cheaper analogue of “Vibroplast M1” is “STP Vibroplast Silver”, created by the manufacturer to compete in the lower price segment. Its mastic layer is thicker, and the foil is thinner. However, for some time it was sold in Ukraine at a higher price than M1 and positioned in the premium market segment.

The analogue of “Vibroplast M2” is “STP Vibroplast Gold”. This material has a modified embossing pattern on the foil surface, which simplifies installation on complex surfaces. It is positioned in the premium segment, surpassing in declared characteristics combined materials like Bimast Standart and Bimast Super. “Vibroplast Gold” is easy to apply and install, but has no fundamental differences from M2.

...