UNDER BONNET INSULATION

I reckon you're wrong if as stated the insulation is really light in weight. There are two ways to control sound. Controlling vibration which would involve something stuck firmly to the surface of the metal (which it isn't) or sound blocking which require a sheet of material with mass. If it is light like a thick fabric, then it is certain to be thermal control primarily.

This is why actually you are better off binning the jute insulation inside the car and replacing it with more modern materials as it simply isn't dense enough to be an effective soundproofing material.. Modern materials also don't hold water and stink when wet.
 
There is a third way of controlling sound, which is labyrinth damping. Basically make the sound travel through a maze. The principal behind stuffing transmission line speakers with fiberglass insulation to delay the sound wave.

Anyway, the OEM pads are in fact shaped fibreglass insulation.

Yours
Vern
 
That's diffusion to prevent resonance and standing waves forming. More a problem of being inside a uniform box such as speaker cabinets. I've done a few "soundproofing" projects in that past. It's possibly the most frustrating pastime, make one thing quiet and all you usually end up doing is making the next loudest source of noise prominent. Similarly as soon as you make everything quieter, the brain and the ear turn up the gain and it's perceived as loud again. With a P6, especially the V8 the noise doesn't come through the bonnet anyway. It's mostly front suspension through the bulkhead and the transmission. You can reduce these inside but mostly the limit happens at speed due to the lack of aerodynamics. New thicker doorseals help a bit here as does making sure there are no leaks in the quarterlights (bit of sealant in the upright quarter light support where it meets the top frame).

My P6 I reckon is quieter than my nearly new VW around town due to wide, low profile tyres. At speed, no contest, new car wins by a mile.
 
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