# Amateur 2011 Subaru STi Hatch build beginning



## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Noob/ Amateur here. I figured it was about time to post this since I have almost all of the parts assembled for the install.

A little background might be in order. I’ve been doing my own upgrades ever since I bought a new Kenwood cassette player for my ’84 Subaru wagon when I was in high school. I paid to have someone install it and they cut the plug off of the car side of the harness and just twisted the wires together and used electrical tape. I was pissed when I found out. At least they gave me the plug they cut off. I was able to solder the wires back together and get a proper matching harness for the radio. Ever since then, I have done my own upgrades. I won’t say installs, because nothing was really a full install. Nothing like is generally seen here. The biggest undertaking up to this point was a ’99 Civic Si that I pulled all of the panels out of and deadened. I installed new components in the front, and a JL Audio 10w3 in a sealed box in the trunk. The next up was a ’01 Acura Integra Type-R. I had JL XR series 5.25 components in the front and a JL 6w0 in a tiny sealed enclosure right behind the front seat. 

In recent years, I’ve just replaced the head unit only on a couple of cars. I haven’t had time to really get into it too much. Now, things have ramped up again. With my new 2011 STi hatch, I wanted to do more than just replace the headunit. Searching around here on DIYMA, I absorbed a ton of information. Now it is time to put it into practice.

Here is what I have:
Pioneer AVIC-X920BT with HD radio and iPod cable
Axxess AWSC hooked to the factory steering wheel controls
Zapco DC Reference 650.6
Zapco DC Reference 360.4
Stereo Integrity BM Mk III
Hybrid Audio Technologies L6 Midbass
Hybrid Audio Technologies L1 Pro
Hybrid Audio Technologies L1 Pro R2










Yes, I have 2 different sets of tweeters, I’ll swap both of them out to find out which set will work better in my proposed install location in the A-pillars. I’ll sell off the other set after things are settled.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Here is the car that the equipment is going into:



















Please forgive how dirty it is. We are in the midst of some nasty winter weather, and I haven’t had the time to wash it. We are starting to get some warmer weather so it will get cleaned soon. I picked it up in the beginning of November and if you look close you can see some of the mods that were already done to the car.


I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration from Simplicityinsound and slade1274 on directions to go with the build in this car. 
I’m going to put the L6’s in the factory front door locations. The door will be deadened and I’ll probably make a set of baffles out of King Starboard. I’m pretty sure ¾” should be plenty thick, and I can recess them in the baffles if needed.









For the tweeters, I’m planning to put them in the A-pillar panels firing across the dash. I’m not sure at this point if I’ll be using the ring radiators or the dome L1 Pro’s, probably the RR’s, but I’ll reserve that judgment for when they are in the car. They are the same physical mounting so I can swap them easily.










The hatch is where most of the equipment will be going, obviously. Not sure the best way to situate everything. I definitely want the sub up in the triangle area at the top of the photos. I think that will allow me to have the most room to mount the amps.










I had initially planned on having just one amp in the system. I didn’t want to get too complicated with this build. To that end, I picked up a Zapco DC Reference 650.6 hoping to run all of my drivers from it. The plan was 50w to each midbass and tweeter in the front from channels 1-4 and then power the sub with channels 5-6 bridged for 500w. After seeing Bing’s install and conversing with a couple of people, it seems like 50w may not be enough for the Midbasses. Not sure since it has been a while since I had components in my car powered by anything other than deck power. I took their advice and looked around for a 500.1 to run the sub stage, then I could bridge channels 1-2, and 3-4 and run 180w to the midbasses, 100w each from channels 5 and 6 to the tweeters and 500w to the sub from the 500.1 I couldn’t find a 500.1 in the used market, but I did find a 360.4. I purchased that, and now the plan is to bridge channels 1-2 and 3-4 from the 650.6 and run 180w to the tweeters and bridge channels 5-6 from the 650.6 and run 500w to the sub. Then bridge 1-2 and 3-4 from the 360.4 and run 180w to each midbass. I’ll probably need to dial back the gain for the tweeters so they don’t overpower the rest of the drivers.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Mounting everything in the trunk will be tricky. I want to try and keep everything under the level of the factory floor. It may or may not be possible. These are a couple of configurations I’m thinking about right now.



















In the second pic, the 360.4 is under the 650.6. This puts the top of the amp right at the floor level. This is with only that cardboard box between the two amps for spacing. That may not work out well for me. Other suggestions are welcome.

The head unit is already in the car. It has been since the first week I got the car. It made the sound much better. The factory deck must not put out much power at all, and it wasn’t very clean either. The Pioneer is much better in that regard, even with only the deck powering the factory speakers.
I still need to get some wiring and order the fiberglass for the A-pillars. I’ll probably be fiber glassing at least the bottom of the sub enclosure and the amp mounting as well. Wish me luck as I have never used fiberglass before. The rest will probably be birch plywood. I want to try and not add too much weight. I know the weight is not much different between MDF and birch ply, but every little bit counts.

Sorry for my rambling. I’m just itching to get started on this. I wish it would warm up already. I have a garage to work in, but, even if I could fit the car in it at this point, there is no way that I could work on it while it was in there. When they say 1 car, that is all you can fit, nothing more. 

Thanks for looking guys. Let me know if you see any areas that I may have slipped up. I’ll try to keep this updated as I go through my journey.

Fred


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## Timelessr1 (Feb 12, 2010)

I'm going to be curious what your finding are between the RR's and the L1Pros. I'm going to be running something very similar also (L1Pro's, L3's L6's all active) and 2 BM's..I'm waiting for the weather to warm up on the east coast also before I start...its tough having everything sitting there staring at you every day


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## tibug (Jan 22, 2011)

Very nice car, and beautiful equipment! Definitely in to see how this turns out.


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## ttocs388 (Jun 25, 2010)

You might be able to stack them like I did at a slight angle.










Now those amps I had were fan cooled so but you will need to figure some way to get some air across them.


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## yeldak99 (Mar 5, 2008)

subscribed.


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## w8lifter21 (Jun 12, 2009)

Something about red stiched seats l gets me every time. Nice ride!


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## kenikh (Jan 17, 2011)

Another Subie build...nice.


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## Jeremy M (Sep 22, 2008)

i'm looking forward to seeing this build...great car and great choice of equipment.


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## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

On paper that might be the perfect system.  Looking forward to your build.
Slade's car sounded excellent with tweets in the sail panels.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Thanks for the comments guys. I'm looking forward to getting this done.

I was thinking this evening about stacking the the amps at an angle as was suggested above. These Zapco amps are fan cooled. They have a fan deep inside that pulls air over the internal heatsink and blows it outside through vents on both sides of the amps.
It looks like it could be done easily. 

I need to order my fiberglassing supplies from US Composites. I figure I'll get 1 gallon of 404 resin and 5 yds of 1.5oz chopped mat to start.

Anybody have any issues with Monster Cable power wire and speaker cable? I wouldn't normally buy Monster stuff, but this is relatively cheap from Audiosavings.


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## lucas569 (Apr 17, 2007)

nice!


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## trojan fan (Nov 4, 2007)

Nice equipment, I will be following your build... good luck

Looks cold there


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Man...sooo many Subies in the build right now....I love it! 
Some sweet gear you have there. Looking forward to to the build pics!


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## Jayvuu (Dec 11, 2007)

can't wait to see the progress. wrx hatch will be my next car.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

Ryan told me about your build - will be watching this one.


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## jimp (Jul 12, 2009)

good luck with the build, looks like alot of thought has been put in, so it should be a breeze to do. GL.


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## subiemax (Nov 19, 2007)

Another one in for the ride. Subscibed!
By the way, I used a 3/4" spacer for my I6s and there was plenty of room.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Received my box from U.S. Composites yesterday. I got a gallon of 404 resin and 5 yds of 1.5 oz mat. Hopefully I can get some work done on the sub box this week. It might be 60 here on Friday. Looking to do a .55 FT^3 gross volume sealed box for the SI BM Mk III.


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## kenikh (Jan 17, 2011)

You can ignore ambient temperature with a little help...it was 50 degrees when I layed up my dash pods and they wouldn't kick. Idling the car with the heat all the way up and blasting with the doors closed "cured" the problem.


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## turbo5upra (Oct 3, 2008)

kenikh said:


> You can ignore ambient temperature with a little help...it was 50 degrees when I layed up my dash pods and they wouldn't kick. Idling the car with the heat all the way up and blasting with the doors closed "cured" the problem.


50, isn't that short and tee shirt weather???? lol


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

I bought an extra 2 oz of MEKP so I knew I had enough to cure the glass in the temperatures we were seeing, 20-30, but 60 is much more comfortable for me to work in.  
It is easier and quicker to get things done when you are not dealing with a cold, biting, wind when you are working outside.
Once I get the base formed, I can bring the unit into the garage where it is a little warmer and no wind to continue the layup.


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## kenikh (Jan 17, 2011)

Beware over-catalyzing polyester resin. I've seen it cook, crack or even not kick with too much. Adding heat is the safest way to go, especially if you are laying up over thermoplastic parts (even protected by tape) like a dash of door panels.

Yes, 50 degrees is balmy, although I'll take clear, dry and 30 degrees over pissing down rain with sideways winds @ 50.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Thanks for the warning. I had only planned on adding a little extra if needed. Glassing in the hatch floor first, so going over metal, and/or, sound deadening.


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## kenikh (Jan 17, 2011)

Are glassing directly to the metal? If so, woldn't you be better served either blue taping or PVA'ing the metal? 

This way you can remove the fiberglass enclosure. By glassing directly to the metal, you are essentially epoxying the enclosure to the body of the car. Fine for theft deterrence (actually debatable), terrible if you ever want to remove it (to sell the car, etc.)


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

No, not directly to the metal. Sorry, wasn't too specific. I plan on damping the spare tire tub in the pictures above with Raammat. I'm going to blue tape the area to be glassed heavily and then foil and some type of mold release. I'll be glassing over that. I want to be able to work on it in the garage after the initial forming of the enclosure.
Suggestions for a mold release? Would something as simple as PAM work? Or, should I do the creme wax thing?


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## kenikh (Jan 17, 2011)

PVA = Polyvinyl Alcohol = mold release

This is the stuff that is used in most prototype shops that do resin layup. Since it dries waxy, but dissolves in water, it is really good, even with some minor negative draft angles.


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## crapurai (Dec 7, 2010)

Hey, did i just see this car on the new amplified episode?


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

It wasn't my car. But, I would be interested in hearing more about that episode. What channel is it on? I'd like to try and check it out


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## pjc (May 3, 2009)

Nice equipment... and LOVE the car. Subscribed.


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## crapurai (Dec 7, 2010)

here is a link to the episode... New Amplified Episode - Video - Car Audio and Electronics
There is only one shot of it right at 30:57. i just recognized those hella horns behind the grille.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Took a quick look at that vid. Not my car. Same model though, might be an '08-'10. Also has a front mount intercooler.

On another note. Ordered my wiring, distribution, and fuses today. Damn, copper is expensive. No wonder there were people stealing it out of abandoned houses and new construction.
I went with Stinger HPM wire and Scosche EFX distribution and fusing from Darvex.com. Should be decent quality.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Friday was a really nice day weather wise in the Northeast. Temps were around 65 all day, I light breeze started blowing in the afternoon though. I took the day off of work and spent the day learning to fiberglass.

I taped off the well in the hatch with blue tape.










Protected the car from unwanted resin with a couple of drop cloths.










2 layers of 1.5 oz chopped strand mat setting up in the well. I covered the whole thing. It took a lot longer than I was expecting it to. My back is killing me today.










Here it is after it cured overnight. I had some trouble pulling it out of the car as it was stuck in a few places. The way it was glassed in, there were areas that it kind of had to snap out of. There were a few areas where the glass actually cracked getting it out. Now that it is out of the car, I can more easily reinforce and build up the areas that I need to.










The plan is to put a wall all the was across in the middle and up the sides. The top triangular part will house the sub, and the lower section will hold both amps. Once I figure out the exact mounting of the amps, I plan to fiberglass in wood mounting blocks to that lower section so it all goes in in one piece. I'll reinforce the place where the stock tire hold down was and put a bolt through there into the car to hold it all into place. I'd like everything to mount to this glass base if possible.


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## turbo5upra (Oct 3, 2008)

did you use some sort of mold release or did you just go right over the blue tape?


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

Nice... you doing this on NASIOC too? you should.. everybody is chompin at the 11...


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

I couldn't find any PVA at the one place I stopped, so I just used non-stick cooking spray. It worked to allow the glass to release from the tape. There were a few sections of tape that came out with the glass. It seemed like the resin got under the edges of the tape and it stuck to the glass. I was able to pull it off after the glass was out of the car. I'll work on getting more layers setup this week. There are a couple of thin spots, and areas where it looks like there is no glass, just resin. I'll have to make sure everything is covered really well, especially where the sub will be.

I'm not on Nasioc too much. I usually spend a lot of time on IWSTI though. I'm a member at both sites. I'll try to get it up there soon.


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## kenikh (Jan 17, 2011)

Well done.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Thanks. 
I did some more work on it yesterday. I built the back wall of the sub enclosure and the side walls. I figured it would be better to do it now so when I add more layers of glass, I can go up the sides and really secure it to the base and make an airtight seal. 
I think I figured out how I'm going to mount the amps. I'll make the mounts now as well so they are glassed in and secure as well. I'll have pics up later.


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## kenikh (Jan 17, 2011)

Amp rack slippery slope begins...


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Here are the pictures from the work I got done with yesterday.

Back wall and side walls built and sitting in the glass tub.










Just over .5 cu. Ft of packing peanuts stuffed in here. Should be a perfect size for the SI BM MKIII.










Sort of a mock up of ow the sub will sit in there. It needs to be offset to the right a little to get it in the center of the car. The point of the triangle is a little to the left of center. The sub will be mounted in a 3/4" piece of ply for a baffle. The baffle will sit on top of the ply walls that were just created.


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## Joker_927 (Feb 18, 2011)

If you keep posting pics like you're doing, this could be the most comprehensive '11 install yet. Doing my '11 install in a week so pics are welcome.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Not too much to report from the past couple of days. 
I added another two layers of glass to the amp area and about 4 layers to the sub area. I also glassed the walls from above to the fiberglass pan. It is very rigid. I also cut out the double baffle boards for the sub. 
Next I need to trim the pan and fit the baffles to it. Then cut the mounting hole and flush hole for the sub in the baffles. 
Pics will be up later tonight.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

I have some L6's im putting in soon. how's the bass on them puppys? i'm sure their nothing like my old woofers but do they at least do decent in the lows?


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

eviling said:


> I have some L6's im putting in soon. how's the bass on them puppys? i'm sure their nothing like my old woofers but do they at least do decent in the lows?


I have had some seat time in an excellent car that runs the L6 with a low crossover point and a large amount of power. The L6 can play low cleanly and with authority.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

I would love to tell you that the L6 are the most amazing drivers I have ever heard. While, that could be the case, in truth, they are still sitting in the box. I haven't made it to that part of the install yet. 

Still working on the sub box/amp rack.

Here it is with the extra glass on it. There is about 4 layers of 1.5 oz mat on the amp portion, and 6-7 layers on the sub portion. The ply walls are glassed to the base. The extra edges were trimmed off.










The top of the sub enclosure mock up. I need to cut it out a little closer to actual, fitted, size before I mount it. Also need to cut the hole for the sub. I figure I should do that before I try to mount the top to the box. I have a second layer of 3/4" ply to go on top of this one to flush the sub in.


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## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

That is some sweet equipment that you have there, and the hatch build is coming along nicely.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

bertholomey said:


> I have had some seat time in an excellent car that runs the L6 with a low crossover point and a large amount of power. The L6 can play low cleanly and with authority.


thats good to hear  i cant wait to start working on my build. but sadly i still need to order some sound deadening stuff still, make rings, get more fiber glass materials and the list goes on, sadly i have the driver sand have well over 2 weeks  running L6's L4's and some SB tweets.


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## ascelon (May 25, 2010)

Chayse,

Alex from JPM here -- I love what you're doing with the trunk! It's extremely inspiring and is making me re-consider the purchase of the audio integrations enclosure for my new GR. Let me know if you are interested in any Alcantara 

Alex


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## Bugs78 (May 14, 2010)

subscribed. 

hot car !


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

ascelon said:


> Chayse,
> 
> Alex from JPM here -- I love what you're doing with the trunk! It's extremely inspiring and is making me re-consider the purchase of the audio integrations enclosure for my new GR. Let me know if you are interested in any Alcantara
> 
> Alex


Thanks Alex. I have a few item from JPM ready to go in the car. I pulled them out of my '08 when I sold it. I have the Brake boot and Shift boot in Dark Gray with Red stitching and the OEM steering wheel in the same color combo. I Really like the look of the instrument cover as well. I'll have to contact you when I'm ready for that.


As for progress on the build, I did get some done over the weekend.
I was able to flush up the sub baffle with the fiberglass box. I then cut the hole for the sub and epoxied it on. Then, I ran a milkshake around the inside using Bondo Glass and resin to get any stray holes or voids from the epoxy filled in. Drilled the mounting holes and added T- nuts. Cut the hole for the flush baffle, flush cut the edges to match the existing baffle and put that on as well.

I epoxied on the mount for the bottom amp. I'm going to stack the amps on top of one another. I was initially going to have them at an angle, one behind the other. I decided I didn't want to do this since all of the wiring would be on the lower side of the amp and the terminals are angled down as well. If I wanted to raise the floor a little, this would have been a cool way to mount them since the wires would basically be going straight down, I could have hid them all and made it look like they weren't connected.

I'll have some pics up later. Still need to make the standoffs for the top amp. I plan on about 3/16" between the amps vertically. The amps are fan cooled, so I'm not too worried about that.


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## ascelon (May 25, 2010)

Curious to see photos! I think your idea for glassing the entire spare tire well is excellent and definitely worth further exploration. I'll be attempting my first glassing project as well and do believe I will go this route. I intend to continue to just use my single DLS amplifier, but I will need to figure out a good way to orient the four crossovers for the Iridiums.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

I'm not sure what the height of your amp is, or the height of the crossovers. You may be able to mount the crossovers on the bottom and suspend the amp over top and still be under the floor. I guess that also depends on the mounting depth of your sub. The SI BM is pretty shallow and only needs a .5 ft^3 enclosure.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Here is the results of the work this weekend. Like I said, I cut the baffle to much more closely fit the fiberglass tub and secured it with epoxy. I made sure to fill in all of the little holes I could from the top. After it started to set, I went back with more and filled in again so it was sealed completely. I then mixed up a Bondo Glass and resin combo. I poured that in the enclosure and then rolled it around to completely cover where the top met the tub so I filled in all of the holes from below. None of the Bondo glass milkshake came out from the seam. That was good news. I let that harden overnight.

Before I secured it though, I used my new router to cut the hole for the sub. It went fairly easy. Learned some things for the next time. I also cut the hole in the flush plate for the sub. I put the top plate on the baffle and then used a flush trim bit to cut it right to the outside dimensions of the fiberglass tub, that way it didn't interfere with fitting in the proper location.

Anyway, here are some pics of the work done.

This is the baffle and flush plate mounted to the tub, and the lower amp mounting epoxied on the tub.










This is the sub sitting in its proper location and the smaller Mids amp mounted down. The blue tape is so I don't scratch the crap out of the top while I'm handling it.










This is the whole base in the car. It was dark out when I took the pics so they are a little lacking in detail, even with the flash.



















One thing I do need to do is paint the baffle around where the sub sits, I can see a little bit of wood from around the sub. The hole in the top plate is a little big on the one side, the pivot pin wiggled a smidge when cutting. I also need to cut back the bottom of the amp portion to make it easier to remove from the car. Right now, it snaps into place and you can't easily pull it out.


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## kenikh (Jan 17, 2011)

Well done.


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## ascelon (May 25, 2010)

Chayse said:


> I'm not sure what the height of your amp is, or the height of the crossovers. You may be able to mount the crossovers on the bottom and suspend the amp over top and still be under the floor. I guess that also depends on the mounting depth of your sub. The SI BM is pretty shallow and only needs a .5 ft^3 enclosure.


Your setup is coming along great! I'm running an IDQv2 10" and it also loves a 1/2 cubic foot. I need to take depth measurements of the spare tire well to see what will fit.


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## kelrog (Apr 11, 2009)

dig the car, dig the sub, dig the enclosure. subscribed.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

ascelon said:


> Your setup is coming along great! I'm running an IDQv2 10" and it also loves a 1/2 cubic foot. I need to take depth measurements of the spare tire well to see what will fit.


I think I measured almost 5.5 -6 inches of depth near the spare hold down. You might be able to snake it in there. i just looked at the specs and it looks like it is 5.75" mounting depth. It would be close.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

I started on the mount for the top amp last night and now I want to do something different already. Not drastically, but I need to cut the mounts down some and they are epoxied in. Or, just cut them out and redo from scratch. I hate when that happens.

On another note, a 1-1/2" PVC coupler makes a great mounting ring for the HAT tweeters. I cut the large side 1/2" back from the edge and it looks like it will work perfect. I may be able to get them mounted on the A-pillars tonight and get the grill cloth wrapped and secured.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

HAT L1 Pro R2 sitting in a PVC mounting ring. The ring is from a 1-1/2" PVC pipe coupler. I cut 1/2" off the end and sanded it down a little. I may sand it a little more to make it a little thinner.
I'm going to mount this on the A-Pillar and then pull grill cloth over the pillar and secure it with CA glue to make the basis for the mount.


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## brocken (Apr 26, 2010)

ascelon said:


> Chayse,
> 
> Alex from JPM here -- I love what you're doing with the trunk! It's extremely inspiring and is making me re-consider the purchase of the audio integrations enclosure for my new GR. Let me know if you are interested in any Alcantara
> 
> Alex


I'm interested in some Alcantara.  I have just grill cloth on my a-pillars and I've thought about smoothing the pillars some more and wrapping them in Alcantara. Eventually I'd like to get the boots too.

Looks good Chayse. I really wanted to do something similar in mine but had an aversion to losing the spare. The way I drive my STI and the places I take it I don't want to chance it.
I think those HAT tweets will look awesome! That high quality machining will look good integrated into the car.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Yeah, I'm hoping to get the pillars done this weekend. We'll see how that goes.

This is my solution for losing the spare.

Slime 70005 Safety Spair Flat Tire Repair System











I run aftermarket Wheels and lug nuts in the summer so, unless I bring an extra set of factory lug nuts, my spare is useless anyway.


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## brocken (Apr 26, 2010)

I had the same kind of setup in my BMW's. I had a Sears cigarette lighter powered air pump and a big jug of Slime.
That, and roadside assistance.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Let me first say, that I have a lot of respect for all of you who choose to do this for a living. The time and effort I have invested so far, and not seeing much progress, is amazing. I'm sure it gets easier after you do it a few times. Hopefully things will go a little faster now that the Sub / amp rack and A-Pillars are almost complete. 

So, I got started on the A-Pillars over the weekend.

I had pulled the pillars out of the car a couple of days ago, so I could get an idea of where i was going to mount the tweeters. I liked the way and placement that Bing had used on his recent STi installs, so I decided I was going to do that. I already decided that I was going to use PVC rings as the mounting device (see post above). 
Since I had the rings cut and the pillars out of the car, I tried mocking them up on Friday night. It was dark and windy by the time I got home, so instead of going out to the car to mock them up, silly me decided that I knew how the pillars were sitting in the car. I placed the pillars in the position I thought they were and proceeded to drill a nice big hole and mock up placement of the rings.










Looks really nice and all, plenty of strength to withstand the stretching of the fabric. Now I figured, what the heck, I have the CA glue and fabric, let's get this thing going!

I stretched the t-shirt fabric I had over the pillar smoothed everything out, and started Gluing. Got it all done and trimmed the extra fabric off.










It came out really good I thought. Next step was to mix up a batch of Bondo glass and resin and pour it inside the shell from the backside to firm everything up. No pictures of the resin mixture in the pillar.










Everything turned out great. It was nice and solid, I had plenty of room for the ring on the back that holds the tweet on. Plenty of room, sweet.

Saturday, I take them out to the car to see how things are going before I do more work on them. FFFFFFFFFCUUUUUKKKKKKKKK! Turns out I can't remember how things were situated in the car after all. The tweets are aiming at the dash board. They are coming in toward me and down at the dash. I had the pillars in the wrong orientation when I started mocking them up. 

Here is a little tip, only do the mock up in the actual car. Test fit often. 

I had to get out the Dremel and cut everything I just did off of the pillars. there are no pics of this as I was just too pissed to take any. Saturday was nice out. So, after getting the old rings off the pillar, I was able to sit outside with a new set of rings and properly position them in the pillars with the pillars in the car the way they should have been the first time. Since I had to cut everything away, I had an even bigger hole in the pillars. this actually helped me, as I was able to flush the rings in better so they don't stick out as much. Basically, I followed the steps above to get back to the part where I need to blend the fabric with body filler and high-build primer and tons and tons of sanding. Again, no pics of this stage since I was still really PO'd. 

After many hours of sanding and filling and sanding and filling and sanding and filling, here is what we have. They look pretty good. I still have a couple more sessions of sanding and filling yet to go since there are basically two layers of glued fabric on there in places and I want to make sure the transition is smooth. I'll be covering these with fabric, so they don't need to be perfect, but I don't want to get to the covering stage and find out I needed to blend it better.




























The gray primer makes it very hard to see the contours in these pictures. I have to hold them up to my face and rotate them to see the imperfections that I still need to sand out. I might be done with them by tonight. I hope so.


I did some more work on the amp rack as well. No pictures of that yet, soon.


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## jackp311 (Jun 7, 2010)

That's what I did when I had no spare in my 337. All the BMW M cars come with their version of that instead of a spare.


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

Looks great, what are you gonna cover the pillars with?


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

I have some grill cloth I picked up from Parts Express. I bought the "Mellotone" branded grill cloth. The reviews for the standard cloth said that it didn't really look pure black once they received it. This stuff was more expensive, but it looks really good. If this doesn't work well, I may send them down to JPM and have them covered in Alcantara.


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## derickveliz (May 15, 2009)

.

*Very nice! *

subscribed 

.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

After some more sanding last night, I think they may be ready to be covered. I have some "Mellotone" grill cloth from PE that I'm going to try and put on.

I hit them with some satin black paint I had and dropped one of each tweeter in to see how it looked.

Let me know what you think.





























I picked up some Super 77 adhesive on my last trip to HD. I figured I should spray the glue on the pillars and let it tack up for a minute or so, then layout the grill cloth and stretch it around the mount. Anyone see any issue with this? Is the Super 77 the right adhesive to use? I could have gotten the 90 as well.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

jackp311 said:


> That's what I did when I had no spare in my 337. All the BMW M cars come with their version of that instead of a spare.


Make that all BMWs period. Minis too.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

I'm diggin' the build. FOr your first time out it's coming together beautifully. 

I'd do the RRs, personally. They don't get lost in all the black.


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## brocken (Apr 26, 2010)

Awesome job! Wanna do filler and sanding on mine? haha
I got lazy and didn't do enough...
Eventually I need to take the pillars back out and fill and smooth them better.

You'll be glad you did it right the first time.


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## Irishfocus06 (Sep 11, 2008)

Very nice job! In for more pics! Now hurry up and do some work, lol!


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

Look great!


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Last night I was able to get grill cloth pulled over the pillars. I installed the L1 Pro R2 tweeters and put the pillars back in the car. I have pictures.

Go easy on me. I haven't done this before so take the results with a grain of salt.

































































And, people have asked what headunit I have in the car. It is a Pioneer X920BT and I have the JDM surround installed with it. Also, Pioneer HD radio unit and Metra Axxess AWSC.










No comments on the music playing...


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

Yea, we know that's your jam  

But really, those pillars are great. I only hope I can get mine wrapped as nicely. I have some big curves to cover.


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

sweet looking pillars man! 

i bet you are very glad you took the time to remake them instead of just dealing with the fact that they are aimed improperly!

looking great! keep the pics comming


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Thanks for the compliments.

I haven't had a lot of time to do any work on the car in a few days. the next couple are supposed to be warm though. I'm hoping to get the wiring all done and maybe get the front doors deadened and drivers hooked up. Then I'll be able to power it up and tune. Then I need to finish up the trim panels.

I have the sub and enclosure in the hatch and both amps are currently mounted in there. Nothing is wired though. On the upside, I currently have the stock hatch floor installed and you would not be able to tell any difference from stock right now when looking back there. Everything fits under.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

So, I got a bunch of work done over the weekend. The system is now operational!!! It isn't done by any means, but both amps were working along with all 5 drivers. I was able to listen to it this morning on my way to work. 

Friday was a beautiful day here in the Philly area. I took off from work so I would have all day to work on the system without any interruptions. I didn't get everything done on Friday and wound up spending a good part of the day on Saturday and Sunday working. I finally finished up around 8PM on Sunday and fired up the system. 

Here is what was completed this weekend.
Ran 0g power wire to the engine compartment
Ran 14g speaker wire to tweeter locations and front door locations, going through the factory door grommets.
Ran 3 Symbilink cables and RTO from Head unit to hatch.
Remounted HD Radio box behind glove compartment
Damped and sealed front doors.
Installed L6's in front doors
Finished wiring the amplifiers and mounting them
Mounted ground lug and power/ground distribution in hatch
Mounted Fuse block in engine compartment and tied into battery.
Swapped out my winter tires and wheel for the summer setup.

I did take some pictures along the way. I realized I didn't take any when I was done because it was dark. I'll have to get those in the next day or so. It was pouring rain and cold this morning.

I started out by pulling out the driver's seat and the back seat so that I had room to get in and get things run where they needed to be. The front seat was easily removed. The back seat wasn't so easy, but it should have been. The seat bottom has a mount right in the center that just pulls up to get it to release. Each end of the seat also has a mount, they don't just pull out though. There is a little release loop, you pull that toward the front of the car and it releases real easy. It took me a few minutes and some swearing to figure that out. The clip in question is right in the middle of the picture. Lift the edge of the seat and reach your hand in and pull the black loop toward the front of the car.










Once I had the seats out, I proceeded to pull up the kick panels and sill plates to run the wires on the drivers side. I ran the power wire and left side speaker wires together under the sills. I figured this wouldn't be an issue since the speaker wires are high level signals. I pulled the power wire first. I think most people would start in the engine bay and pull the wire through the firewall first and then to the trunk/hatch. I started in the Hatch and ran the wire forward to the firewall. 



















I had a 30' piece of 0g and didn't want to pull the whole thing through the firewall. My plan was to use the grommet to the left of the brake booster that people said is there. When I got the power wire to the firewall, I went back and ran the speaker wires on the driver's side to where they needed to go. They are in the photos above. This is the pile of 0g that I had sitting in the driver's footwell.










I looked all over for the grommet that is on the driver's side. I couldn't find it. I'm not sure about the other model year STi's or other Subaru models, but my '11 has rigid molded insulation in the drivers footwell and I couldn't see it from the inside, nor could I see it from the outside. It looks like there is more insulation in the engine bay directly below the clutch master and the brake booster. I couldn't feel around under there because things were just too tight and I didn't want to have to take off the intercooler or go from underneath. 

The option here was to go through the easily visible grommet on the passenger side, or go through the fender grommet. At this point, the passenger side grommet would have meant going behind the dash, through the grommet, and then back along the firewall to the battery. I didn't really want to do that. I wound up going through the grommet in the driver's footwell. I know people have said not to use this grommet for various reasons. It worked out well for me, at least, so far.

I pulled the wheel off and removed the liner fasteners and pulled back the wheel well liner. There is a ton of room in there and the fender is open to the engine bay right by the battery. I slit the grommet in a small x and slowly pushed the wire through. After feeding the wire through the grommet, I put some split loom around it and zip tied it to the factory wire harness that runs through the fender area. I used a drip loop just like the factory as well. I pulled the wire out of the fender right above the fuse box where I mounted the fuse block.



















I don't have a picture yet of the wire from the other side of the fuse block to the battery. That short section is techflexed and heatshrinked and connects to the battery with a ring terminal.


More next post...


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## RedAggie03 (Jun 7, 2009)

Can't wait for the next post - looking real hot so far!


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## brocken (Apr 26, 2010)

I ran my power through the same grommet. I don't know why other people say that's not a good spot...
It's super easy to get to from both sides... don't have to run wire behind the intercooler or fish it from the middle of the dash.
And that area stays as dry as the engine bay since the fender is protecting it.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Sorry for the dissertation here. I did a lot of work. It took much longer than anticipated. Mostly getting the car all apart to be able to run everything.

On to more pics.

I ran the Symbilink cables and the RTO wire from the right hand side of the hatch, across the middle of the rear seat and then up the right hand side of the center console.










When I got up to the dash, I decided to remount the HD Radio box from under the headunit to behind the glove box. I did this because I didn't have the space I wanted to mount the Symbilink converters. I also decided to move the iPod connection from the glove box to the center console box. I didn't like how my Nano was getting beat up by the stuff I put in the glovebox and I don't use the center console for anything.










The passenger side speaker wires were ran the same way as the driver side. No pics of that, sorry. Oh, pulling up the sill plates is a real PITA, just an FYI.


Once all of the wires were run, I finished up wiring the amplifiers. I techflexed the power wire where it goes under the metal plate in the trunk. I also put a piece of CCF on the under side of it so the power wire won't rub and wear through the insulation. Wired up the speakers where they belong, wired the RTO, and the power and ground. This picture is before I ran the ground wire.










The ground is mounted on the rail to the left of the amp rack just behind the metal plate that the power wire comes out from under. I sanded the rail down to bare metal and screwed down the ground block. It is a nice flat location and only about 9" of wire from the distro block. No pics of that yet, that was done late one of the nights.
BTW, if you have been following along, the 360.4 is mounted underneath the 650.6 that you see in the picture. You can't see it due to the mounting plate the 650.6 is sitting on.


On to the front doors. The above work was done Friday and Saturday. the front doors was Sunday.

I pulled the door panels off both front doors. Started by pulling the tweeters off. They are on there really tight, but it is only one clip holding them in place. I then took out the armrest and the two screws underneath and the screw by the inner door handle. Then it is a matter of popping off all of the pins that hold the panel to the door and lifting it up out of the window track. Disconnect the door lock and handle cables and you are done.
Picture is after I put BXTII on the outer skin and put a layer of CCF right behind the the speaker opening. I think I went over 25% coverage on the outer skin.










I then started covering the inner skin and sealing up all of the holes. To seal the holes, I used small squares of damping on the backside of the inner skin for the small circles and such. For the larger holes, I used 26g sheet metal that I cut to shape with tin snips. The original plan was to use some self tapping screws to hold the sheet metal to the door and then mat over it. I didn't want the steel to be right against the door and the openings weren't completely flat, so I picked up some GB Duct seal in the electrical aisle at HD. I made a seal around the openings with the duct seal and then pressed the sheet steel into the seal. The duct seal is very sticky and does not harden. it seemed to decouple the steel from the door very well, so instead of putting screws in, I just did this to all of the panels and then put large pieces of BXTII over it to seal it to the door. It worked great, and if I ever need to, I could get into the door with just a razor knife.










Then a full layer of CCF went over that. I also used the GB Duct seal to seal and decouple the speaker baffle on the door. I put a thick bead where the baffle was supposed to go and then screwed the baffle in so that it was almost touching the mounting location. I then put some more around the outside of the baffle. I connected the wires to the L6 and then mounted it in the baffle.










Passenger side was done the same way.


When I finally went to power up the system, the was a really loud screech from the tweeters and I shut it off right away. I pulled the Symbilink cables from the 650.6 before turning it on again. I had previously made sure the headunit was at zero volume and that the source was set to off before turning on the system for the first time. I'm not sure what happened.
I installed the DPN software on my laptop and went to set the crossovers to a safe starting point so I at least had sound for the drive to work. I couldn't do anything in the software at first. I was is restricted user mode. I had to get into Administrative mode and didn't have the password. A quick Google search later, I was in business. For those that need to know, the password is Zapco with the cap Z.
Since it was almost 8PM on Sunday at this point, I just set some fairly safe crossover points and called it good for the night. I went with the tweets HP at 4000 Hz 24dB slope, the L6's were BP at 4000 Hz 24 dB slope on the high end and 100 Hz 24 dB on the low end and the SI BM MkIII was LP at 100 Hz 24 dB slope. All pretty safe, but certainly not optimal. I'm sure I have many hours of tuning ahead. Also, the gains are set pretty low, I didn't want to have issues with clipping. When I have some more time, I'll get these dialed in better.

Now on the To Do list is:
Cleanup the wiring some more.
Make trim panel to hide the rest of the wiring
Make cover panel to hide trim panel
Deaden the rear doors, hatch, etc
More Pics...
Tune, Tune, Tune! 

Now that the system is operational, the above can be done as time permits.

That's it for today.


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## kenikh (Jan 17, 2011)

In evil Mortal Kombat voice,

"IMPRESSIVE!"


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## flexdmc (Aug 14, 2009)

In for updates! Looks good and heavily considering this for my next car


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

Excellent work! The planning you accomplished really paid off. This is really going to be a great system - well thought out, top notch equipment, and excellent installation. Looking forward to the final stages.


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## jab08 (Jan 14, 2010)

Dang nice job!!


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

Do you happen to have a pic from further back showing the whole pillar, wrapped with cloth? I like the way those turned out. Also, how are you liking those DC ref amps? I would love to get one of the 6ch, but haven't seen any used ones in my price range recently.


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## OSN (Nov 19, 2008)

Good thinking with the duct seal on the inner door skin inserts. Happy tuning!


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## kelrog (Apr 11, 2009)

Duct seal ftw. I just used some of that stuff on my baffles as well. I used some like butle rope along my impact bars on the outer skin too.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

ecbmxer said:


> Do you happen to have a pic from further back showing the whole pillar, wrapped with cloth? I like the way those turned out. Also, how are you liking those DC ref amps? I would love to get one of the 6ch, but haven't seen any used ones in my price range recently.


I don't have a picture of that readily available. I could try and get one for you. I do need to redo them though. Either the Super 77 is not up to the task, or I didn't put enough on down near where the pillar curves out to meet the dash. Every couple of days I need to press the fabric back down on the passenger side. It doesn't pop back up right away, so I think it is right on the edge of being adequate.
I like the DC amps so far. I don't have much to compare them to though. At first, I thought the laptop tuning would be cool. It is real-time, and you can string a cable to the front seat to do the tuning there. The problem is that you can't just make a quick change with a mini screwdriver, you have to have the laptop with you. Probably not a big deal once I get it tuned to where I like it, I probably won't be changing anything.


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## OSN (Nov 19, 2008)

Chayse said:


> I don't have a picture of that readily available. I could try and get one for you. I do need to redo them though. Either the Super 77 is not up to the task, or I didn't put enough on down near where the pillar curves out to meet the dash. Every couple of days I need to press the fabric back down on the passenger side. It doesn't pop back up right away, so I think it is right on the edge of being adequate.
> I like the DC amps so far. I don't have much to compare them to though. At first, I thought the laptop tuning would be cool. It is real-time, and you can string a cable to the front seat to do the tuning there. The problem is that you can't just make a quick change with a mini screwdriver, you have to have the laptop with you. Probably not a big deal once I get it tuned to where I like it, I probably won't be changing anything.


One option that you have with the DC Ref amps is to get the 1/2 din controller for it, currently $199 on Zapco's site. Gives you upfront, permament tuning abilities. I have one for my DSP6, haven't played with it yet, used to the laptop approach, which definitely got old.


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## cnut334 (Oct 17, 2009)

Great job! I know it sounds incredible.


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## Golf Echo (Mar 2, 2011)

That install looks awesome...I love when people take the time to plan their projects and make look like like the car came that way.

I had some 0 gauge sitting in my drivers side floor panel when my wife asked me if I needed wire that big...


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

Chayse said:


> I don't have a picture of that readily available. I could try and get one for you. I do need to redo them though. Either the Super 77 is not up to the task, or I didn't put enough on down near where the pillar curves out to meet the dash. Every couple of days I need to press the fabric back down on the passenger side. It doesn't pop back up right away, so I think it is right on the edge of being adequate.
> I like the DC amps so far. I don't have much to compare them to though. At first, I thought the laptop tuning would be cool. It is real-time, and you can string a cable to the front seat to do the tuning there. The problem is that you can't just make a quick change with a mini screwdriver, you have to have the laptop with you. Probably not a big deal once I get it tuned to where I like it, I probably won't be changing anything.


It's no big deal. You know, I think I'm gonna try to do flocking on my pillars. They would be too hard to wrap. I've seen some good pillar flockiings. It's pretty cheap too and they have tons of colors.


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## Golf Echo (Mar 2, 2011)

Chayse said:


> Either the Super 77 is not up to the task, or I didn't put enough on down near where the pillar curves out to meet the dash. Every couple of days I need to press the fabric back down on the passenger side. It doesn't pop back up right away, so I think it is right on the edge of being adequate.




I've found that Super77 is fine for stretching and holding fabric you're going to fiberglass because it allows you to remove the fabric and move it around but over the long run it doesn't hold well at all. To get fabric to permanently stay I usually use 3M Super90 or another stronger spray-type glue.


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## knifedag007 (Mar 14, 2011)

nice build :thumbsup:

good job


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## kenikh (Jan 17, 2011)

Golf Echo said:


> I've found that Super77 is fine for stretching and holding fabric you're going to fiberglass because it allows you to remove the fabric and move it around but over the long run it doesn't hold well at all. To get fabric to permanently stay I usually use 3M Super90 or another stronger spray-type glue.


Super 77 has a trick to it - if you don't do it right, you'll curse it; if you do use it correctly, it's bulletproof:



> Super 77 requires you to apply it to BOTH surfaces, allow it to dry, THEN adhere the two surfaces for a permananent bond.


Done correctly, Super 77 has some serious balls.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Yeah, I only sprayed one side, the pillars. I may try to peel just the lower section off, spray both sides and then smooth it back down. I like the way it looks on there. Then again, that may just screw it up more.


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## kenikh (Jan 17, 2011)

ecbmxer said:


> It's no big deal. You know, I think I'm gonna try to do flocking on my pillars. They would be too hard to wrap. I've seen some good pillar flockiings. It's pretty cheap too and they have tons of colors.


I have used two types of "flocking" - one is the automotive texture you buy at auto paint shops, but the one I like better is "fleckstone". You can get from Home Depot - it's ugly as sin since it tries to look like granite, but it is durable and once you paint it over, it looks great.


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## mobeious (Jan 26, 2007)

curious what the payment on that car is ?


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## kelrog (Apr 11, 2009)

i would think that would be subjective. https://www.subaru.com/shopping-tools/payments-financing.html


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

mobeious said:


> curious what the payment on that car is ?


I don't mean to sound like a dick, but call your local Subie dealer. My payment is irrelevant, and I have no idea what you would end up paying. MSRP is $33,995.


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

kenikh said:


> I have used two types of "flocking" - one is the automotive texture you buy at auto paint shops, but the one I like better is "fleckstone". You can get from Home Depot - it's ugly as sin since it tries to look like granite, but it is durable and once you paint it over, it looks great.


I think the kind that turns out like suede would look great (auto kind). Especially in his car since he has the suede seats (STI vs WRX). But I've never used it. Just seen some pictures.


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## samos69 (Mar 8, 2011)

Just read your thread and thought I'd stop in and say amazing work, I'd imagine it'd put many professionals to shame the attention you have to details!


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## kenikh (Jan 17, 2011)

samos69 said:


> Just read your thread and thought I'd stop in and say amazing work, I'd imagine it'd put many professionals to shame the attention you have to details!


You hit the nail on the head why most of us do our own work: a motivated owner can spend as much time as needed on details without having to pay a professional wage to get perfect results. I blanch to think what my dash pods would cost if I'd paid someone, as they are custom sculpted. I wouldn't be too keen on paying for 20 - 40 hours of shop labor to get the same thing I built myself in spare time.


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## mobeious (Jan 26, 2007)

Chayse said:


> I don't mean to sound like a dick, but call your local Subie dealer. My payment is irrelevant, and I have no idea what you would end up paying. MSRP is $33,995.


did u pay msrp?


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## OSN (Nov 19, 2008)

mobeious said:


> did u pay msrp?


Bad form, yo.


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## kenikh (Jan 17, 2011)

mobeious said:


> did u pay msrp?


PMs are always a good way to ask personal questions.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

samos69 said:


> Just read your thread and thought I'd stop in and say amazing work, I'd imagine it'd put many professionals to shame the attention you have to details!


Thanks. I appreciate the comments. 
I try to do stuff myself when I can. I know how it went together and the possible shortcomings. 
I would be pissed if I had paid for this install and then the grill material started to lift off of the pillars. I knew it was a possibility because I had done the work. It is easy for me to go back and fix it now.


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## newsqguy (Apr 16, 2008)

build looks really good man keep up the good work!


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## El Wray (Mar 2, 2011)

Debating on whether I want to throw a sub or amp rack in the spare tire area. 

Q: Did you end up getting a TPMS alert once you ditched the spare?


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

There is no TPMS sensor in the spare tire. So, to answer your question, no, I didn't. I do now though. That is because I swapped out my stock wheels and winter tires for my aftermarket wheels and summer tires. I do not have TPMS sensors in those wheels.


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## El Wray (Mar 2, 2011)

Thanks, good to know. Taking the spare out today to throw an amp in back there. Not sure if I want a false floor upfiring sub yet, but more than likely that area will be used for an amp rack in the near future. 

Hate that damned TPMS alert.


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

Any updates with new impressions on the system? You get everything tuned how you like now? Just curious now that mine is nearing completion.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

I'm sorry for being away for so long. I had the system running and I was just enjoying it.

I do have to report a problem I am having though. When I first powered up the system, I had a really loud buzzing tone coming from one of the speakers. I did not know which one it was as it was so loud I had to shut the car off. I had previously set the volume to zero and turned off the source unit since these were used amps and I did not setup the crossovers yet. After the loud buzz, I pulled the symbilink cables from both amps and turned the car back on. No noise, so I setup the crossovers where I thought they should be initially, saved the settings, and turned the car off. I plugged the symbilink cables back in and turned everything on again and it was all fine. I figured it was an invalid config on one of the amps.

I was running the system for a while and things were working as they should. As the temperature went up, I had a couple of issues where the 360.4 would shut off. I figured it was a thermal issue since I had been playing it quite loud for me for about an hour or so on my way home from work. Also, the 360.4 is located under the 650.6. You can't see it when everything is together. I made a quick stop at the gas station each time and filled up. The amp was quite warm, but by the time I was done filling the tank and turned the car back on, the amp was back up and working. This happened about 3 times in 8 weeks. I made a mental note to work on making the amp cooler.

Before I was able to do anything about the cooling situation, one of the amps started making the horrible buzzing noise again when I was almost home one day. I had to pull over and shut the car off it was so loud. I tried a couple of times to turn the car on to see if the buzz went away. Once it did, I started to drive home again, only to have the buzz come back about a mile down the road. Since I was almost home, and I didn't have any tools on me, I decided to just drive home and deal with the noise. I was about 3 miles from home. In that time, the speaker started to make a popping noise and eventually just stopped. When I got home, I looked at it and the fuse was gone. I had hoped that the fuse blowing saved everything. I wound up converting the wiring over to run everything off of the 650.6 until I could get a new fuse.

Shortly after this I had to have emergency surgery and the fuse issue went out of my mind for a while. I haven't been doing much for the past 5 weeks or so. I did order more fuses online, I didn't have any spares, I do now though.

So, this weekend, I was feeling better and decided to replace the fuse in the amp. Running all of the speakers off of the 650.6 was working fine for many weeks. I had the L1 Pro R2's running on channels 1/2 and the L6's were running on channels 3/4 with the SI BM MkIII running of off 5/6. things were running fine, but the midbass punch wasn't there like it was when the L6's were running bridged off of the 360.4 and the L1Pro R2's were bridged on the 650.6 channels 1/2 and 3/4 and the BM running on 5/6.
Since I had everything apart to get to the fuse on the 360.4, I decided to rewire everything to help keep the temps down on the 360.4. instead of running the L6's off of the bridged channels of the 360.4, I wired them to run off of the bridged channels of the 650.6 and moved the L1Pro R2's to the 360.4. I made the config changes in the software and slowly started to raise the volume. I thought things were good, then the buzz hit again. I turned it off right away.
Crap, what now?
I thought maybe it was the 360.4 again, now buzzing the tweets. so I removed the fuse fro the 360.4 from the dist block and decided to try and power up the system again. No noise, so i adjust the crossover to get a little more range out of the L6's. After that the buzz came back again. this time it is on the 650.6! Could it be an issue with the one L6? It sounded like it was only coming from the right speaker, but it could have been both, the drivers door was open. It was getting dark and I was disgusted at this point. I pulled the main fuse under the hood to keep all of the amps off so I could drive to work today. Luckily, I never removed the rear stock speakers or the wiring to them and I was able to fade back to center to get some tunes for the hour drive to work.
Compared to what I had though, it sucked. 1) they are stock speakers. 2)they were only running off of deck power. 3) they were behind me. 4) but I had sound and no buzzing.

I tried searching on here for speaker buzz or speaker short to see if maybe there was an issue there I could check. I did find one post on another user with Zapco DC amps and seemed to have the same kind of buzz. It was a while ago some, I'm not sure if it was ever resolved. I'll keep looking around to try and find a solution. It might mean sending the amps back to Zapco though.

Man, super long post for a crappy update.


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## kenikh (Jan 17, 2011)

Man, that SUCKS. My best recommendation is to verify with another amp. You can get cheap, decent old amps for $30 on Ebay (Pioneer GMH and GMX series come to mind). Since it happened with both amps, I would want validate it's not the head unit or RCAs shorting out. Deck powered stock speakers would mask a low level output issue. If you were in Seattle you'd be welcome to come over and borrow some of mine. 

Hang tough.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Thanks.

The Symbilink adapters are connected directly to the pigtails on the Headunit and then the Symbilink cables run all the way to the back. When the buzz came back, I pulled the Symbilink cable from the 360.4 to see if that would solve the issue, but the noise seemed to be coming from the L6's which were attached to a different amp at this point. And, I'm not talking about an alt whine or anything. This is like playing a test tone at, or near, full volume out of the speakers. I would have to say it sounds like somewhere under 1000Hz.


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## kenikh (Jan 17, 2011)

I generally assume the protect circuit on an amp will kick in you get a short or fault in your speaker wire, BUT if it didn't, the speaker specific buzz you are noticing would be right on track.

Try this: reconnect all amps and speakers, removing the offending L6 Wiring from the amp. Run a strand over the interior of the car to the L6 and try again. I ended up with a short on a visually perfect wire with my sub in the Forester...it tripped the protect circuit.

Use a conventional testing methodology, testing one variable at a time. You'll find it.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Yeah, that was going to be my next step. Now that I'm feeling better, I just need to find the time to sort this out. I was going to pull the L6's and try them with a short test length of speaker wire and see what happens.


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

Bummer man! Hope it gets sorted, cause those are some sweet amps and speakers that shouldn't be making terrible noises.


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## Voisin777 (Dec 27, 2010)

You may be experiencing a known boot up glitch with the DSP module in the DC Refs. Very occasionally the amps fail to boot correctly, and the result is what sounds like pink noise at very high levels. Powering cycling the amps is the only way to stop the noise. This has happened to me a couple of times. The last time I reflashed the firmware in all the amps, and it has not happened since.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Voisin777 said:


> You may be experiencing a known boot up glitch with the DSP module in the DC Refs. Very occasionally the amps fail to boot correctly, and the result is what sounds like pink noise at very high levels. Powering cycling the amps is the only way to stop the noise. This has happened to me a couple of times. The last time I reflashed the firmware in all the amps, and it has not happened since.


I wish that was the issue. It got to the point where it was constant, no amount of power cycling would resolve the issue. What firmware did you reflash on the amps though. I have 1.40 on there now.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Good news is that I think I found my issue. I only drove to work today, so no long term testing yet. Although, I'm pretty confident I found it.

I started in on trouble shooting with the Symbilink cables. No matter what cable was plugged into the 1/2 input on the 650.6 ( I have three running to the hatch), the buzz would happen. If I plugged the cable into the 3/4 input, there was no issue. However, I can't connect the 1/2 outputs to the 3/4 inputs. 

So next step is to disconnect both L6's from the 650.6 and just leave the sub connected on 5/6. System turns on and plays fine with no issues. However, there is no midbass or mid and it is not fun to listen to. 

Next step is to try and connect one L6 at a time to the 650.6 while it is on and running. I connect the RH L6 and it starts playing fine. I touch the LH L6 to the amp and I get the noise and all normal sound shuts off. I have to power cycle the amps to get them playing again, LH L6 not connected. 

Disconnect RH L6 from the 3/4 output and touch it to the 1/2 outputs. No issues, everything is playing fine. Touch the LH L6 to the 3/4 output and BUZZ.


So, looks like the issue is on the LH side of the car. To double check, I took a test piece of speaker wire and connected it across the 1/2 outputs and attached it to my OEM speaker. No issues there at all. Amp is fine, inputs are fine.

I pull apart the drivers door and unbolt the L6 from the spacer. I disconnect the wire and take the L6 back to my test piece of wire. Hook it up and it plays fine. At this point, I figure there is a short in the wiring from the door back to the amp.

I hook back up the wiring from the front door to the amp and then connect the L6 back to the wiring at the door, but not mounted to the door, just as a double check. Everything plays just fine. WTH?

I look in at the mounting location and notice something weird. It looks like the speaker may have been grounding itself out on the metal of the door panel.










When I mounted the spacers to the door panel, there was a little ledge all around the inside. I didn't want to cut the metal of the door, so I tried the speaker in the opening and it fit fine so I left it.










It looks like after a lot of vibration the terminals were making contact with either the door panel itself, or the metal part of the RAAMmat that I had on the door. The way that spacer is on there, there is more of a lip on the bottom than the top. So, I flipped the L6 180 and mounted it back in the door with the terminals at the top instead of at the bottom. They don't touch up there and everything is playing fine. I think this has fixed my issue!! I'm being very optimistic here, but I'm confident based on looking at the terminals themselves and the marks in the duct seal behind the spacer shown above.


I still haven't completed the cover in the rear and this is how it sits now after all of the troubleshooting and putting things back together. you can see where the ground wire is attached to the rail and the distro block. This is one of the dual use disto blocks from Scosche I believe. I think the ground wire is about 8" of 0 AWG from the block.










With the stock cover on top it looks... like stock, surprisingly. 










Here are a couple of pictures of the engine bay after the main fuse was connected to the battery.










It is hard to see the digital readout in the sunlight, but it is functional. I think it was reading 14.2 in this pic with the car on at idle.


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## subiemax (Nov 19, 2007)

Everlook at the volts at full tilt engine running? Curious what you get. The only meter I have is built into my HU and I don't think it is quite accurate. Never gets below 13.5 and with almost 3k watts of amp, I find that hard to believe. Lol.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

I checked it tonight. It was at volume 28 out of 40 and was way louder than I usually play it when I'm in the car with the windows up. I hopped out and checked under the hood and it was fluctuating between 14.1 and 14.2. All told with my install I have about 1220 watts maximum available. Not sure what the actual output was at that point.


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## subiemax (Nov 19, 2007)

Cool! Maybe my deck is not too far off, who knows? Like you said, I don't know how many watts im actually using. I know the tweeters are not using 120x2, don't really know what the nx4 is rated at bridged to 2ch, and my n4 is not turned up much at all.


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

Good to hear you fixed it! I know about that metal lip all the way around. I put duct seal over it and then folded RAAMmat on top of that (similar to you I think). I think my terminals are clear. Haven't had any issue yet. How is your hatch floor spaced off of the sub and amps? Do you have spacers or something you made?


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## subiemax (Nov 19, 2007)

Spoke too soon! Today, while sitting traffic for a long time and cranking it, i saw low 12s.


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## Chayse (Nov 23, 2010)

Wow, I have not been following up on my own build thread. I have not had any more issues with the buzz on my system. I has been running well for a while. I have added a fan to try and keep the temps down in the summer. it has not really helped much. If I play it too loud for too long, it has a thermal shutoff. I know it is due to how the amps are configured and how they are wired up. I have the mids and sub running off of the 650.6 and the tweets running on the 360.4 mounted below the 650.6. I still need to get my false floor built and still have the stock cover on. It has no holes in it for the heat to escape, not too good for the amps.


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