# 2007 Mazda Speed 3 stereo



## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Hey guys, I'm new to this forum. I came here to post my system after being completly shot down on the Mazda Speed forums.

Just thought I'd share some pics of my install. All this stuff came out of my last car. Let me know what you think!

Includes:
Hertz High Energy 6.5" components
Hertz Mille 10" sub
Dayton 15" referance series sub
Phoenix Gold MS2250 for front speakers
Hertz EP1D Monoblock for rear sub
Audison LRX 2 for front seat sub
Audison Bit 10 (to hook up to OEM headunit, should have pics of it by the end of the week)
B-Quite sound deadening in the doors


Installing the power cable though the factory electrial boot.

















Some of the stuff going into the system, ignore the line driver and the crossover since they are not being used









Phoenix Gold MS2250









Audison LRX 2.500









Hertz EP1D









Hertz ML2500 10"

















Dayton Referance HF 15"

















Here is the "mold" for the box for the Hertz 10". Right now its just styrofoam and tuck tape. Its going under the glove box, YES under the glove box. Why?, because thats the best spot.

















installing some deadening in the doors









I also got some new rims and tires to go with it lol.

































If I hear 1 person tell me that this isnt going to work I swear to god I will find you....... This isn't the first time I've done a system like this.


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## nittanylion64 (Oct 3, 2007)

What, how, and why were you shot down? After putting systems in 2 6's, the second a Speed6, I can see this working. 
On to more important things---- Are you going to do any performance mods?


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

nittanylion64 said:


> What, how, and why were you shot down? After putting systems in 2 6's, the second a Speed6, I can see this working.
> On to more important things---- Are you going to do any performance mods?


Well, basically almost EVERYONE said that I knew nothing, all my components suck, I know nothing about SQ, all my sub placements are wrong, ect ect. If you want to read the responses just go to this thread Speed 3 custom stereo - Mazdaspeed Forums

As for performance mods, I will likley put a suspension kit in it sometime in the near future to aid it on the track. Other than that, not much since it already goes like hell.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Snapped a pic of the woofer mounts for the inner doors.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Wow, those guy are really serious about encouraging you huh lol. Well I for one applaud you and have no qualms about your equipment. My only thought is how long before its done? Welcome and enjoy that car of your's.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Coppertone said:


> Wow, those guy are really serious about encouraging you huh lol. Well I for one applaud you and have no qualms about your equipment. My only thought is how long before its done? Welcome and enjoy that car of your's.


Thanks for the welcome!

I will have some more pics tomorrow. If all goes to plan I should be able to pickup my Audison Bit 10


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

I didn't read the other forum, I'm not one on reading negative comments. I get negative
remarks all the time, though not very much from this board. I just press on with what
my own goals are and see my own vision through. I think you will find this board has
many positive members and fewer negative. A much more civilized place to be. I do
think if you spend quite a bit of time and going through builds you may find other 
methods of how to do what your doing. They may or may not be better. I do feel like
your sub enclosure though will work, could be made smaller given other techniques
once your comfortable doing them. That comes in time. To be positive and constructive
I would coat your speaker rings where you can see the wood with some sort of resin
or bed liner to protect them from moisture. Pretty much all doors have moisture, doing
this step will save time rebuilding later on. That is unless you have already done the 
above, in that case. Good job.... 

Welcome to the madness, and the fun side of car audio. Leave those negative folks
behind, no one needs that in life. Press on to more positive things and places.

Cheers,
Scott


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> I didn't read the other forum, I'm not one on reading negative comments. I get negative
> remarks all the time, though not very much from this board. I just press on with what
> my own goals are and see my own vision through. I think you will find this board has
> many positive members and fewer negative. A much more civilized place to be. I do
> ...


Thanks, I like to be part of a GOOD online comunity.

As for the front sub enclosure, yes I'm sure there are other (better) ways to do it to give it a tighter fit. But I have done it this way a few times now and it works well for me. I tried a few other ways before with disastrous results lol.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

A few pics of the new Bit 10


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

Mile Zero said:


> Thanks, I like to be part of a GOOD online comunity.
> 
> As for the front sub enclosure, yes I'm sure there are other (better) ways to do it to give it a tighter fit. But I have done it this way a few times now and it works well for me. I tried a few other ways before with disastrous results lol.


Fair enough, I'm all in. I may learn something new also...

Best of luck and I look forward to your updates
Scott


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Haha, what a bunch of douche bags on that Mazda forum! I fail to see what the '****ty' equipment that you're using is. And what the hell is 'cone noise'!?:laugh:

Good luck with the install, I'm sure you'll prove all the nay-sayers wrong!


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## DaveRulz (Jun 22, 2006)

lulz.

Here's the lesson: very few people on car forums know ANYTHING about car audio. In my 04 mazda6 I had an 8" dayton in the footwell for a while, and it was GREAT. And ****ty gear...LOL. yeah, you'd never catch me with Audison or Hertz in my car! Only the best, Alpine Type-R or Infinity Kappas! 

BTW - Cone noise is what you get when you put an electrical signal through the coil of a speaker.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

DaveRulz said:


> lulz.
> 
> Here's the lesson: very few people on car forums know ANYTHING about car audio. In my 04 mazda6 I had an 8" dayton in the footwell for a while, and it was GREAT. And ****ty gear...LOL. yeah, you'd never catch me with Audison or Hertz in my car! Only the best, Alpine Type-R or Infinity Kappas!
> 
> BTW - Cone noise is what you get when you put an electrical signal through the coil of a speaker.


Ya, it seems they know very little.

It's all good, they hate it sooooo much that it's just encouraging me to post more lol. Tomorrow I'm going to grab our little gheto blaster from work, tape it to my dash board, talk about how I threw out all my old stuff since this sounds soooooo much better. Heads will explode.


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

Mile Zero said:


> Ya, it seems they know very little.
> 
> It's all good, they hate it sooooo much that it's just encouraging me to post more lol. Tomorrow I'm going to grab our little gheto blaster from work, tape it to my dash board, talk about how I threw out all my old stuff since this sounds soooooo much better. Heads will explode.


Isn't it great how negative comments will fuel the fire
within to push you to prove people wrong. I had the 
very same when many said you cant put 8's in a Porsche 911 
door. I wasn't inventing the wheel, I had seen it done so I knew
it could be, and so I did; well, half way anyway. I only have one 
door done.

You just keep doing your thing and throwing mud in their faces


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Well I finally got back at this, work has just been insane.

Got a few pics for you guys

















I'm using the design on the top of the page. Box will go all the way across the back seats and should leave some trunk space left over.









Board for the Phoenix to mount too. This will bolt to the floor on against the right hand side of the trunk.


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## Miniboom (Jul 15, 2010)

Thumbs up! Allthough, if you experience noise issues (alternator whine etc.), you can try isolating the chassis of the amps on the rear seats from ground using wood or something. And if you experience overheating, especially on the Audison, you should consider moving it to a location with more optimal airflow.

Usually, that kind of mounting you did on the rear seats aren't advised in the user manuals (though I've done it many years ago, and had no problems).

The last thing I wonder is if you don't have room to make a more shallow box for the Hertz 10" below the dash? It seems there will be next to no space at all for the passenger's legs there. I have a 5ft 2in tall (short) girlfriend, and she actually started complaining about my 4.5" deep enclosure in that same location. 

Good luck with the install!


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> Isn't it great how negative comments will fuel the fire
> within to push you to prove people wrong. I had the
> very same when many said you cant put 8's in a Porsche 911
> door. I wasn't inventing the wheel, I had seen it done so I knew
> ...


That was one of the reasons I left Gencoupe.com (before I sold the car)....There were only 3-4 people who knew anything about audio on there, and there were a ton of people who would start a new thread of something like "Can I/How do I add an amp to my factory radio." Search, people.

I haven't really bothered with the Kia forums much since I got the new ride.

The Touareg forum guys have been pretty cool, tho.
But I don't own one of those, so I'm not there much.

Jay


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Miniboom said:


> Thumbs up! Allthough, if you experience noise issues (alternator whine etc.), you can try isolating the chassis of the amps on the rear seats from ground using wood or something. And if you experience overheating, especially on the Audison, you should consider moving it to a location with more optimal airflow.
> 
> Usually, that kind of mounting you did on the rear seats aren't advised in the user manuals (though I've done it many years ago, and had no problems).
> 
> ...


Thanks for the advise. YES the Audison WILL get hot there, but in any other season other than mid summer its never been an issue when I had it in my Sentra. I will make sure if its overheats there I will find a way to keep it cool, fans, ect. It really should be a little better before now that the heat sinks are in proper airflow position (straight up).

As for the passengers, there going to love this compared to what was in my old car. My Sentra had a MASSIVE box under the dash, it was so big I had to take out the glove box. This will be much more compact. Besides, I usually don't have company in the car, if I do I am building handles into the box for easy removal.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Why the hell does everything look so much smaller on paper!

















This thing's going to have to come out on track day, it's massive lol.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

I should learn to measure.... Made the box too wide and now there is no way to fit the Phoenix Gold in beside it in the side of the trunk. Time to get out the skill saw, this things too big anyway.


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## Project_dog (May 25, 2008)

Looking good.


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## shamie (Oct 27, 2009)

Mile Zero said:


> Well, basically almost EVERYONE said that I knew nothing, all my components suck, I know nothing about SQ, all my sub placements are wrong, ect ect. If you want to read the responses just go to this thread Speed 3 custom stereo - Mazdaspeed Forums


You've got to have two layers of thick skin if you're going to play on Mazdaspeed. I'm surprised they didn't tell you that you needed an AP - that's usually their first response.

Just one question - Why two subs? IMO either of those subs alone would be sufficient.


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## takeabao (Jul 18, 2005)

Haters gon' hate.

I, for one, really like the look of this install so far. Good work!


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Rear sub box pics, I trimmed about 6" off it so it actually fits now. All edges are rounded.

























A few people have asked "why 2 subs?". I'm going to explain, some may agree and some likley won't. It works as follows: Hertz Mille 10" is going in a fiberglass box under the glovebox, it's going there because if you put the sub up front it dissapears into the front stage completley. It's going to be crossed over from around 250HZ to somewhere areound 30HZ, all of this is just guessing untill I actually set it all up. The Referance 15" is going in a 3.5 cubic foot box in the trunk against the back seats, firing into the back hatch. It's going to be crossed over somewhere around 30hz and down, again just guessing.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Had some extra B quited sound dampening laying around. So I coated the inside of the sub box with it, It wont actually do anything sound wise but I supose it will seal up any tiny air leaks. 


























Something a little more exiting, the other hobbly that steals all my money MAG FED PAINTBALL! Totally unrelated but I just had to share lol


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Terminals being installed. I'm going to do a flush mount, the terminal cup is held in place with JB Weld.

















Edges have been sanded flush with the wood.

















The best looking paint I have ever seen on a sub box








































Will look even better after 2-3 more cans of the stuff.


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## boosted2.7 (Aug 14, 2012)

Really liking that paint. What kind is it?


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Bought it at RONA, it's about $11 a can. It seems to be a pretty tough finish too.


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## boosted2.7 (Aug 14, 2012)

Thanks, I'm going to look into that for a future project I have in mind. Hope I can find it in Tokyo.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Pics of the finished Sub box with woofer installed


























Next will be the fiberglass box for the front.


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## boosted2.7 (Aug 14, 2012)

Thats looking good. What home setup do you have?


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Post # 28
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...ome-theater-home-stereo-showoff-thread-2.html


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

A few pics on the fiberglass box I started tonight for the front

It looks terrible right now, I promise it will look good when its done lol.


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

Sweet baby Jesus, I see LOTS of sanding in yoru future. That is the thing
about fiberglass, it can look sick at first then when done look killer. 

Looking forward to this.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> Sweet baby Jesus, I see LOTS of sanding in yoru future. That is the thing
> about fiberglass, it can look sick at first then when done look killer.
> 
> Looking forward to this.


LOL ya, this is why god gave of grinders and bondo.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

The disasterpiece in progress


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

What is all that on the floor? Foam? Just trying to
figure out how you got to this stage.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> What is all that on the floor? Foam? Just trying to
> figure out how you got to this stage.


It's foam on the floor

Since the whole box was wrapped in glass I cut the whole for the woofer and broke out all the foam. After that I glassed the box from the inside.


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

Interested to see where you take this. My best friend is a huge Mazda speed guy


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

More progress will come most likley Saterday. I have been banned from fiberglassing in the garage, stinks the entire house up. On Saterday I should be able to do it outside.

I also just took a read through the fiberglass tutorial on the front page. I never would have thought the woven sheets of glass turn out to be so much thicker than the loose mat. Using nylon rope for bracing is just brilliant, I'm going to pick a bunch up tonight and brace the crap out of this box!


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

More updates coming soon.

Project was temporarily put on hold due to the fact that I had no money. I now have money though. 

The fiberglass box hit a major speedbump when a very large thick patch of fiberglass never totally cured. This had to be cut out and ground until all the bad glass was gone. I'll post pics tonight.

I am getting the Bit 10 and MS2250 installed this Saterday. I should be able to get all the wiring done also.


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

sucks to hear about the fiberglass. it does look like you are using way too much resin. 

when you are done glassing, the texture should be rough and dull. dry looking even, and it should be a uniform color. there shouldn't be an "brown areas" (depending on the resin color). if you have shiny parts, or darker areas after you are done, use less resin and get yourself a fiberglass roller. 

also, i assume its super cold there right now. if you have a heat lamp or a heat gun, that should help a lot - but dont burn it! cold + humidity = longer cure time. too much resin\hardener = brittle.

https://www.google.com/search?q=fib...w&biw=1320&bih=669&sei=3zy9UMP_IoGo2wWa2oG4Dw

either way, glad to see you arent giving up!

and nice B&W HT system. my B&W system is post #14
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...r-home-stereo-showoff-thread.html#post1284513


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Ya, you're likley right about too much resign. No one has ever showed me the proper way to do it. I just try to get the glass good and saturated before I lay it on, then when I do, I try to squeeze as much air out as possible.

Here is what I looked like after the affected area has been cut out and re-glassed. These pictures were taken when the glass was still wet


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## iommichild (Aug 24, 2010)

Fiberglass can be a major pain in the arse sometimes, but it looks like youre getting it figured out. I'm excited to see the finished project! I'd like to do something similar in my Impreza.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Bondo fixes all lifes problems

























Needs a bit of work before I can really get it sucked up in there, but it fits decent as is. It's also got a ton more leg room than my last car did.

















I'm going to double up the front baffle, this is just to show it fits.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

This picture shows the issue with trying to use a Mille 10" for a front install

Left would be a standard shape subwoofer. On the right would be the Hertz, the issue is that the Mille does not taper (at all). It is almost 10" front to back.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

I'm going to "mold" the second baffle to the shape of the interior. Here you can see the cardboard that I used to get the right shape so I can cut it out of wood. This should make it look like it belongs there a little bit more, it also allows me to face the box a bit more towards the driver hopefully helping imaging.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

The second baffle has been cut to fit the interior of the car

















Bondo Hair to hold the metal to the box









More Bondo


















Glazing puddy









More glazing puddy









Your best friend in a cold garage. In the background you can see the fan cooled amp board out of my Sentra. Some of the fans will likley be re-used in this install.


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## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

This sort of project is what this forum is all about. 

Personally, I like the idea of the sub in the footwell except that I would have left it sealed instead of ported because it will probably be a b!tch to tune.

That PG amp is sweet, and where did you find a Bit Ten?


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

The box is actually sealed those "holes" are actually handles, there totally glassed over on the inside. For longer trips with passengers I wasn't to be able to take the box out. It actually fits allot better than it looks like in the pic, it sits totally flush with the interior pannels. The glovebox will even open with no issues at all. 


I got the Bit 10 from my local audio shop, he is an Elecromedia distributor.

Here is a pic of it actually in the car


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)




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## cobraa (Dec 4, 2009)

Nice gun bro!


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

cobraa said:


> Nice gun bro!


lol thanks man


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

System is about 90% complete. 

I decided to change things up a bit, I'm going active on the front speakers using the Audison on the tweeters and the PG on the woofers. I've never done an active system before so I though I'd give it a shot. If I don't like it I can always throw the passives back in. I don't have enough amps for the Dayton 15" so it will be re-used in a home project.

I will take pics tomorrow


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## boom_squid_2 (Jan 29, 2008)

Wicked paint on those boxes man!


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

boom_squid_2 said:


> Wicked paint on those boxes man!


Thanks!

For the box in the front I used the same textured paint as the box in the trunk. After it was dry I painted it Krylon Camo ultra flat black, so it would still have the texture but match the interior.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

I'm out, going to go watch a movie

I will take tons and tons of pics tomorrow morning. 

The only thing left too do is run trigger wires, wire and set up the Bit 10 and when the PG is back from repair, wire it up and then its ready to rock.

I'm also going to install a small second battery to act as a cap bank.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Here are a few pics

Note that the wireing is not finished yet, still needs to be cleaned up










The MS2250 is going to be sunk into that peice of MDF board. The heatsink will stick out the back.










Good pick of the Bit10 installed










The sub is now complete


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## Project_dog (May 25, 2008)

Looks great. Great work


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Update, too bad its not a good one............

Everything is now (mostly) installed.

Here are just a few pictures of the wiring and distribution blocks I made on the mill at work. Battery fits really nice beside the spare tire.










Aluminum distribution blocks









Nice aluminum grounding block I made on the mill

















Amps are wired.









Decided to run everything active. PG runs the woofers, Audison runs the tweeters and the Hertz runs the sub.

I got the phoenix back in the other day, my installer had repaired it and ran it all day to make sure it was working well. I hooked it up and did some basic programming on the Bit 10, got measurments taken to the drivers position and got a bit of an image going with the speakers. 

Today I met my installer to do the EQing at his shop. All the measurments were taken and adjusted correctly, when we finished the EQing I opened the drivers door and noticed that there was no sound coming out of the woofer. After checking everything else possible I pulled the pannel off and took out the woofer. It was blown and I have no idea how the hell this happened, EQing was done at moderate volume, nothing crazy. 

After eventually getting over it we put a spare Bazooka aluminum woofer in the door untill he could find a replacement. We knew the woofer wouldn't be a good match but at least it would make sound......

Got in the car to take a listen, it sounded like ****. No life at all to the music, it actually sounded WAY better last night before any EQ or anything else. We decided to leave it untill I had the replacement woofer installed.

I was driving home and I heard a loud BANG, at first I thought I somehow just cooked another speaker even thought the volume was VERY low. Upon getting in my driveway I took a better look and the issue was the Phoenix (AGAIN). Below are some pics of the damage

















So now I have a stereo that sounds like **** even if it was working and a blown High Energy woofer that I might not even be able to get anymore.........


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## SACRAMANIAC916 (Apr 9, 2011)

Looking good!


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## Project_dog (May 25, 2008)

Looks good. I'm also planning in putting a second battery in my Mazda 6


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Replacement woofers and a temporary amp untill mine gets fixed. Should be installing this stuff tomorrow.


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)




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## Serieus (May 27, 2011)

how's that up front sub that so clearly won't work? 

looks great. hope your amp issues finally get resolved! what does the finished up-front sub box look like with it all installed in the car?


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

Serieus said:


> how's that up front sub that so clearly won't work?
> 
> looks great. hope your amp issues finally get resolved! what does the finished up-front sub box look like with it all installed in the car?


LOL sub sounds great, I will take some pics tomorrow of it installed.


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## cyrusthevirus23 (Feb 16, 2013)

looks great very nice work!


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## FairLacyZ (Jul 8, 2012)

Looks great man! The people on the MS forum just know nothing but are experts at everything, love your equipment choices.


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## Project_dog (May 25, 2008)

Very nice work! With the weather here being so nice. Time to start my build


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## cyrusthevirus23 (Feb 16, 2013)

great equipment choice


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## Tnutt19 (Dec 22, 2010)

Mile Zero said:


> Had some extra B quited sound dampening laying around. So I coated the inside of the sub box with it, It wont actually do anything sound wise but I supose it will seal up any tiny air leaks.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow is that an eotech sight on your paintball gun? Wish I could throw one of those on my ar15 lol, thats awesome!!


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## Mile Zero (Oct 10, 2012)

It's a replica lol, $60 and very bright for paintball. Recoil on a real rifle would likley destroy it lol.

Some pics of the sub in the front

Dont mind all the dirt, winter time here in Canada....


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## 92gen2 (Oct 19, 2008)

looks good bro... i know the thread is a few months old, but im trying to get some deadening done on my doors and having a bit of trouble getting around everything thats hooked up to the inner door plastic panel... any tips on removing that to get to outer skins?


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## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

Oh, inever noticed you were here as wel as the ms3 forums. I basically ass raped those idiots over there in your thread if you ever decide to go back and look. They pretty much decided to stfu when they knew logic and facts trumped their ********.

Nice job on the install.


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## Pseudonym (Apr 17, 2006)

what was your technique for running wire into the doors?


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