# 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee Build Log



## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Well, I just picked up a new vehicle and she is desperate for a new stereo. This will likely be a fairly slow process and updates will probably come in chunks as school is very cyclical for me; plus this is my first “real” install with intent to finish (<- if that’s possible) and not half ass things just to get it to a listenable state. For now, the mission is to get the front stage up and running. I will likely replace the tweeters down the road, as this is probably the weakest part of my front stage, but I will reserve judgment until I can get a listen to them in the new location. I have a sub woofer (AA Assassin 12 – old version ~ 4ohm) and it was nice in my previous vehicle, but given that this is a much larger vehicle it is probable that I will want to get the full ~525 watts from my amplifier and run it at 2ohms; So the sub/enclosure will come later down the road.

2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 5.7 HEMI 4x2

Equipment
•	Processing: Pioneer DEH-P880PRS
•	Amplification: Kicker 700.5
•	Tweeters: PG RSd
•	Mid-Bass: Image Dynamics OEM 6.5
•	Sub-Bass: ? 
•	Other: Pioneer CD-IB100II / Garmin Nuvi 200w Navigation 

Driver Location
•	Tweeters: Factory Dash Location
•	Mid-Bass: Factory Door Location
•	Sub-Bass: Cargo Area 

Installation Goals:
Keep everything as stealth and as factory looking as possible. From the looks of it the only visible feature will be the receiver and the sub woofer enclosure (which can be covered via the cargo cover thingy). I made sure to leave plenty of slack with my power wire, RCA’s, speaker wire harnesses, etc. leaving room for potential changes. 

Order of Operations:
•	Run foundation wiring (power, L&R speaker wire harnesses, remote turn-on, and RCA’s)
•	Fabricate mid-bass baffles
•	Fabricate tweeter baffles 
•	Deaden and seal front doors
•	Run front driver wiring
•	Install receiver and iPod connection
•	Install tweeters/mids
•	Install/connect amplifier

To come soon after:
•	Fabricate false floor cover with ventilation integration
•	Fabricate sub woofer enclosure
•	Integrate navigation arm/holder into empty dash pocket
•	Integrate fan switches into empty dash pocket (false floor ventilation)
•	Possibly fabricate an iPod dock (most likely will just keep it located in my center console though)
•	More deadener
•	Take another shot at using threaded inserts with ABS


The victim









Under hood power wire run

















Tried using threaded inserts, but the mounting holes/flange on the OEM's proved to be to pesky. I think I am going to try this again with ABS when I get some free time... probably after the semester ends.

















This is what I ended up with. 1/2" birch - texture painted, hex bolt/wing nut hardware assembly. I was able to salvage the factory speaker magnet covers, so that was cool.









Tweeter/mid speaker wire harness. This was my first time working with expandable sleeving and heat shrink. Needless to say I am obsessed with the combo









Outer four are for harness->amplifier runs. Inner two are for harness->mid runs. I need to pick up some more red heat shrink and finish the outer harnesses. 









PG RSd tweeter with pigtails









This is the factory false floor/storage location. The amp will not fit with the amp cover on. To start, I will utilize the factory removable cover, but I will eventually fabricate my own with fans/ventilation.









That's it for now. Like I said this will be a little slower than I would prefer, plus I am still waiting on my RCA's, but I should have some time to get a little more done this weekend.

Oh, I would really appreciate any tips, tricks, help, suggestions, criticism, ideas, and opinions that you have to offer.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

I was able to get my front doors sealed and deadened, all wiring run, baffles/drivers installed and deck/iPod controller installed. Cranked the car and the head unit doesn't turn on. I re-checked all of my wiring behind the dash and checked the fuses (although it was dark so it is possible I missed something). So, right now I'm stumped. Anyways, here are some pics...



























































































I actually had to use the factory door speaker wiring as there is not a whole in the door/car where the molex is just a wire harness. 

I wish I could tell you it sounds but I need to figure out what is going on with my deck.


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## niceguy (Mar 12, 2006)

Did you ever figure out what was wrong w/the no HU power situation?

Did you pull the HU and confirm that it's getting 12v; then you could backtrack or narrow down the problem...

Due to ease (and laziness/little time) I used the dash locations in my '94 Grand Voyager but your dash locations are actually a little better, being as far apart as possible. Look forward to how it sounds....

Jeremy


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

niceguy said:


> Did you ever figure out what was wrong w/the no HU power situation?
> 
> Did you pull the HU and confirm that it's getting 12v; then you could backtrack or narrow down the problem...


Well, I am certain the issue is with the head unit, not the vehicle or the harness wiring. I have a thread going on here (with another thread of mine linked in the first post) that pertains to my head unit woes. 

I think I am just going to take this thing a part and see what I can find.



niceguy said:


> Due to ease (and laziness/little time) I used the dash locations in my '94 Grand Voyager but your dash locations are actually a little better, being as far apart as possible. Look forward to how it sounds....
> 
> Jeremy


Yeah, I really wanted to use dash locations for the same reason (it's easy) and it still looks factory. I really enjoyed the stage depth and height with the factory stereo in there. Hopefully, I can get a chance here soon to listen to this aftermarket stuff


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

Sorry if I missed this and please ignore my post if you have mentioned it but are you going to upgrade the bat negative to chassis cable?


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## jdc753 (Nov 14, 2007)

looks great so far. Hopefully you can get that HU problem sorted out. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the build.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

t3sn4f2 said:


> Sorry if I missed this and please ignore my post if you have mentioned it but are you going to upgrade the bat negative to chassis cable?


Yes (I thought I put that in my first post, but I guess I missed it). Anyways, I do plan to replace the "big 3" once I got everything up and running. I have a solid 20ft of 4 gauge sitting around. I also plan to get new battery terminals.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

jdc753 said:


> looks great so far. Hopefully you can get that HU problem sorted out. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the build.


Thanks! I really just wanted to get the front stage in quickly. Once that is set I will turn my focus to the rear (amp rack, sub enclosure). From there I will toy around with different tweeter locations and may play with some wide band drivers in place of the traditional tweeter.


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

I have a 2008 Ram and am looking at using the same dash kit. Was it a pretty good fit for the head unit and into the dash?


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

chithead said:


> I have a 2008 Ram and am looking at using the same dash kit. Was it a pretty good fit for the head unit and into the dash?


Yeah, it's pretty solid. The only thing I had to change was dremel off two little guidance fingers so I could mount it with the pocket on the top. I still don't like the look with the half circle wings on the side, but short of going with a double din there's nothing really to do about it.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

I was able to track down the source of my problem. I am not getting a signal from the Metra side of the harness for continuous power. I cannot figure out why though - when I unplug the Metra harness and put the factory radio in its place - the radio works just fine. Anyways, I just ran a wire from my battery to my deck.

I was able to set my gains, crossover/slope, a very elementary run an time alignment (still need to dial it in), and I did an EQ boost at 12.5khz. Aside from t/a this is very similar to my last vehicle. I still will need to go back and do a level adjustment and play with phase and dial in my t/a, but so far I am quite pleased to say the least. I was shocked at the response from my mids - I felt like they were going to rip my head off. Those door treatments were *well* worth it. 

Tweets: High Pass - 3.15khz @ 18db slope
Mids: Low Pass - 2.5khz @ 12db slope
High Pass - 80hz @ 12 db slope

Now that I have sound I will probably take my time with the sub stage. I still need to pick out driver(s) and fabricate an enclosure.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

So, a little update. I still haven't made any other adjustments other than above (school all day and too tired to do it after), but, so far, I am extremely pleased with stage depth. I was never able to achieve the depth I have now in my previous vehicle, so I am pretty excited about that. Stage width, well it seems too wide. I am going to try and dial in my level setting and phasing as well as time alignment tomorrow- at least an initial run. The tweeters seem very easy to localize, so I am hoping to eliminate that (or at least reduce it) as I think this is why I am feeling like the stage is too wide.


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

UCF52 said:


> Yeah, it's pretty solid. The only thing I had to change was dremel off two little guidance fingers so I could mount it with the pocket on the top. I still don't like the look with the half circle wings on the side, but short of going with a double din there's nothing really to do about it.


That is my thing too. I hate the little half circles, but I want to incorporate that design into my amp install when I put it under the back seat. The problem with the Rams is there is a storage bin underneath it, so there would be two storage bins. I am thinking of filling in the one on the kit and adding toggle switches and usb port, input jack, etc. depending on what inputs the radio has.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

chithead said:


> That is my thing too. I hate the little half circles, but I want to incorporate that design into my amp install when I put it under the back seat. The problem with the Rams is there is a storage bin underneath it, so there would be two storage bins. I am thinking of filling in the one on the kit and adding toggle switches and usb port, input jack, etc. depending on what inputs the radio has.


I have similar plans. I think I may add a switch there when I get my fans (ventilation) up and running.


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## hitman34608 (Oct 24, 2008)

Looks good.


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## ERB82 (May 27, 2008)

Strange it wasn't getting constant power. I was under the impression that a lot of the newer chrysler vehicles didn't have ACC power at the harness because its all canbus. Hmm. At least it works now though ehh?


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Some of the newer non-Infinity systems have the regular power and speaker outputs at the back of the radio, but I have heard that the power through the pink(I think that was the color) wire is sometimes too low for an aftermarket head unit.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

ERB82 said:


> Strange it wasn't getting constant power. I was under the impression that a lot of the newer chrysler vehicles didn't have ACC power at the harness because its all canbus. Hmm. At least it works now though ehh?


It's weird because it worked through the harness + separate ignition wire at first then it didn't. I don't know, but like you said at least it works now, so i'm not going to complain. 



chithead said:


> Some of the newer non-Infinity systems have the regular power and speaker outputs at the back of the radio, but I have heard that the power through the pink(I think that was the color) wire is sometimes too low for an aftermarket head unit.


I guess that is a possibility. I really need to pick up a multimeter. :blush:


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Did a little tuning today. I was able to hone in the stage width and get it to "normal." I also hooked up my AA Assassin for now. Anyways, here are my adjustments/settings:
*
X-Over*
Tweeter: HP 3.15khz @ 12db/oct
Mid: LP 2.5khz @ 12db/oct
Mid: HP 80hz @ 12db/oct
Sub: LP 63hz @ 12db/oct

*Level*
Tweeter: L: -6db R: 0db 
Mid: L: -2db R: odb
Sub: -1db

*Phase*
Tweeter: L/R - Normal
Mid: L/R - Reverse
Sub: Reverse
*
EQ*
Flat


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Well, I played around with Sketch Up tonight (pics below). Everything is to scale - though I still have a few things to add: holes for the elastic secure thingys, maybe a fan rendering, and I plan on putting dowels across the openings (lengthwise). I am hoping I can get to constructing this early next week. I plan on using 50mm x 10mm 12v computer fans in a push/pull configuration. Onto the pics...

Another look at the amp location (I'll get some pics with it cleaned up and wired up)


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

I like this. KISS, ftw.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

bikinpunk said:


> I like this. KISS, ftw.


Thank you sir. The real test will be making the sub enclosure as factory looking as possible; I have two ideas floating around, but both involve fiberglass, so I need to educate myself. Plus, I need to select a driver - I think I am set on a singe 10" D4 something.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Well, did some swapping today. The whether is incredible here in FLA and I am always driving with the windows down, sunroof open, but I was having trouble hearing the information from my tweeters. So, I made little L brackets and mounted the tweeters on axis (aimed at my dome) and while the problem (lack of volume) seemed to be solved, the harshness was absolutely killing me. 

I have really wanted to try using a full range, wide band driver and go tweeterless, but I don't have the cash right now to drop on some new stuff. So, I said **** it, I'll try using the factory Boston Acoustic 3.5" drivers. Well, the results were awesome! I went through and reset all my gains, time alignment, level matched and lowered the high pass filter on the 3.5's to 1.6khz and my OEM's are band-passed at 80hz-1.25khz (I don't remember the slopes), and played with the phase. EQ has yet to be touched.

These 6.5's ID's are rattling the chrome side molding on the exterior of the door like non other (keep in mind the door treatments I have!!!). The staging has *significantly* improved; I no longer can localize the drivers in the front stage like I could with my previous setup - it basically sounds like I have some bookshelf speakers on my hood.

Oh and my problem (lack of volume) is no longer... when I crank it I feel like my face is going to be ripped off. Now I can't wait to try some nice aftermarket drivers - have been checking these out.

That's all for now. No update on the floor cover - school is killing me right now and I will be out of town this weekend.


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## KARPE (Nov 9, 2008)

this looks familiar


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

KARPE said:


> this looks familiar


 lol


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

little progress


















































I am second guessing my ventilation ideas. I have been doing a little research and there seems to be more science behind it than I originally anticipated. That paired with the likeliness of accumulated noise (via the fans) leaves me a little weary. We'll see.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

I am also dead set on going with a tweeterless set up and using a wideband driver in it's place. I am 95% sure I am going to use Vifa TG9 drivers and glass them in the corners of the dash. There's just so little information from the 15-20k range and once in a moving vehicle it is pretty much worthless anyways; I am so much happier with the stock 3.5" compared to my RSd tweeter o I know) that it's just a no brainer for me. 

Plus, the ID's love being crossed at 1.25khz 

Once I knock that out I'll be moving on to the sub stage. I still have no idea what I want to do there.


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## Kenny_Cox (Sep 9, 2007)

my trailblazer ss has a very similar setup with that storage compartment in the rear. I intend on making the same type of cover that you have created. Everything is look good!


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Kenny_Cox said:


> my trailblazer ss has a very similar setup with that storage compartment in the rear. I intend on making the same type of cover that you have created. Everything is look good!


Yeah, I was pretty happy to see that when I picked it up. It's a bit shallow (that's why I don't have a cover on my 700.5), but it sure is nice to not have to build an entire floor. Thanks for the positive remarks!


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## Tieftoener (Oct 10, 2008)

Looks great, man. Have a beer and keep on making progress. I have been staring and thinking and concepting things for 9 months as to trying to decide a course of action for my '06 Magnum I picked up in March. The engineer in me wants it perfect the first time. On my last car, I went through 6 or 7 iterations of ripping the car apart.... soooo do not want to do that again.

Keep up the good work, and good luck!


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Tieftoener said:


> Looks great, man. Have a beer and keep on making progress. I have been staring and thinking and concepting things for 9 months as to trying to decide a course of action for my '06 Magnum I picked up in March. The engineer in me wants it perfect the first time. On my last car, I went through 6 or 7 iterations of ripping the car apart.... soooo do not want to do that again.
> 
> Keep up the good work, and good luck!


It's funny you say that. I pretty much did the same thing with my last car - read/researched, conceptualized, tinkered, did nothing for quite some time. Once I picked this up I told myself I was going to get something in relatively soon, plus I had familiarized myself with a lot of unknowns, so I felt confident in diving right into this one.

I really wanted to so the one and done thing as well, but you just don't know how the car is going to react to different driver locations and install processes, so for me it will take a few try's, but I guess that's what makes this a hobby and not a one time project.


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## KARPE (Nov 9, 2008)

I'm confused, are you going tweeterless or just leaving the stockers in?


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

KARPE said:


> I'm confused, are you going tweeterless or just leaving the stockers in?


Yes, I'm going with a wide band driver (most likely the Vifa TG9) instead of the traditional tweeter. 

See my reply in my SJ build log page. TBR was asking about it as well.


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## niceguy (Mar 12, 2006)

Glad you got your sound back....I was also actually impressed w/the Infinity sound system in the van after adding an aftermarket deck/amps. 

I've toyed w/the idea of wide banders myself over the last couple of years but due to time, haven't been able to start. I even considered some TB 3" FR drivers a few times to complement my Peerless CSC-X 6.5s in the doors.

However, I've been running some large format Northcreek tweeters (fill up the dash 5.25" opening!) for the last 2 years perhaps and haven't had the need to change since then. I do find that depending on the music (perhaps the production?), I'm either really happy w/everything or anxious to try other things.

Oh and don't worry about the install and setup, if you're like most of us here, you'll likely NEVER be fully satisfied


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

niceguy said:


> Glad you got your sound back....I was also actually impressed w/the Infinity sound system in the van after adding an aftermarket deck/amps.
> 
> I've toyed w/the idea of wide banders myself over the last couple of years but due to time, haven't been able to start. I even considered some TB 3" FR drivers a few times to complement my Peerless CSC-X 6.5s in the doors.
> 
> ...


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## KARPE (Nov 9, 2008)

I just read through the whole thread again and looked at the Vifa link...

I feel like a dumb Ass. Now I understand what you mean by tweeterless.

What's the price tag on those Vifa's? Would you still use the "L" brackets you made for the RSD's?

What's your plan for the Rear Doors, now that you put the ID 6.5"s in the front doors?

I have other questions about dampening, but I'm gonna go back and read on SJ's to see if you covered it first.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

KARPE said:


> I just read through the whole thread again and looked at the Vifa link...
> 
> I feel like a dumb Ass. Now I understand what you mean by tweeterless.
> 
> What's the price tag on those Vifa's? Would you still use the "L" brackets you made for the RSD's?


The Vifa's are cheap! There's a guy selling a new pair on here for $45 shipped, but normally they run ~ $32 each + shipping from Madisound (link).

I won't use the "L" brackets - they were more of a temporary mounting solution to see how the RSd's sounded on-axis. I will first try to fabricate a baffle for the TG9's to fit under the factory grille (if I see it may be possible), but most likely I will have to get my hands dirty and glass them into the corners of the dash - they will not be sealed, rather vented into the dash and I will probably use a little polyfill as that seems to be recommended for the Vifa's. 



KARPE said:


> What's your plan for the Rear Doors, now that you put the ID 6.5"s in the front doors?
> 
> I have other questions about dampening, but I'm gonna go back and read on SJ's to see if you covered it first.


Rear doors will not be touched. I am not really a fan of rear fill, and my stereo, as it sits, is deafening when cranked up. Here is a great thread describing rear fill and how to properly implement it. 

I don't think I got into to the deadner/application too much over on SJ. Most people were asking what brand it was and what my thoughts were.


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## HarrisonZ (Dec 1, 2008)

Looking good bro......


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## KARPE (Nov 9, 2008)

I was gonna ask if there were any big holes that needed to be patched in the door skin before you applied the deadener?

How many layers of dampening did you apply?


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

KARPE said:


> I was gonna ask if there were any big holes that needed to be patched in the door skin before you applied the deadener?
> 
> How many layers of dampening did you apply?


Yes, there are two holes that should be filled. I used cutting board material (ABS - plastic), ribbed the backside with more of the same material and then used self tapping screws to secure it - then obviously deader over it. 

I used one layer on the outer skin and one layer on the inner skin. I did a second layer in the immediate area surrounding the baffle. Apparently this wasn't enough for the OEM's and the power they are receiving. The chrome door moldings are vibrating pretty badly on a few low notes.


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## lithium (Oct 29, 2008)

i thought my rsd tweets sounded less harsh on axis... but they are still very fatiguing. im hoping after i get the new hu and go active that i can tone them down alittle. ill have to try some polk db tweets i have lying around aswell but id love to try a wide band driver like you are doing. only problem is mounting...


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

lithium said:


> i thought my rsd tweets sounded less harsh on axis... but they are still very fatiguing. im hoping after i get the new hu and go active that i can tone them down alittle. ill have to try some polk db tweets i have lying around aswell but id love to try a wide band driver like you are doing. only problem is mounting...


Yeah, I could never get them to sound like they did in my previous vehicle (I really enjoyed the tweets then and they were only slightly off axis). I'm pretty excited to go with a nice aftermarket wide band. I'm hoping I can fit them under the factory grill in the dash - otherwise it will be some time before I can fab up something and get them in.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Small update:

I got my RS100's powered up and I'm loving them! They are aimed on axis in the corners of the dash in temp 4"-2" PVC enclosures stuffed with polyfill - I believe they are crossed at 1.6k @ 18db/oct. Did a little tuning today and the staging is unreal! EQ is still flat! I'll grab some pics tomorrow. I plan on ordering a spare set of dash speaker grills so I can fiberglass the RS100's in pods that can be set into place using the factory grill/clips. The temp pods are bulky as hell! I'm definitely loving the tweeterless setup so far... still can't believe how much my stage changed - love it now!

Also fabbed up the sub enclosure - I decided to leave the factory floor and just incorporate all the weird angles into the box design. I ended up with ~1.57 ft^3 before any sub and port displacement (if I go vented). The box sits below the cargo pull over thingy, flush against the back seat and floor angles and terminates just before the false floor begins - pics will probably be easier to understand.


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## Hummeroid (Oct 15, 2008)

Looking good! Silver Grand Cherokee owners unite! Well, mines an overland, and 3 years older but still!

I cant wait to see more! 

Have you run your wiring under carpet anywhere? These things have ridiculously stiff carpet... paint in the butt if you forget something and have to go back!


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Hummeroid said:


> Looking good! Silver Grand Cherokee owners unite! Well, mines an overland, and 3 years older but still!


w00t! 



Hummeroid said:


> I cant wait to see more!
> 
> Have you run your wiring under carpet anywhere? These things have ridiculously stiff carpet... paint in the butt if you forget something and have to go back!


Yeah, I ran all of the wiring down the sides of the car. About 80% of which had convenient little wiring guides/covers. It definitely was a pain to lift the carpet though. I'm just glad I'm done with that


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Pics as promised. (I know I need a new camera)

Enclosure - I was kinda bored last week, so I decided to play around with some spare MDF and take a stab at doing angle cuts with my crappy circular saw. I ended up faring pretty well. All faces have at least one angle cut minus the front baffle. Enclosure is mocked up (dry) and I still haven't done the side faces. I was more or less trying to nail down the funky angles associated with the rear seat and the floor. Anyways, I haven't decided on a sub yet, so the enclosure won't be finalized until them, but I ended up with a gross volume of 1.57 ft^3 and about 6" of mounting depth. I am leaning towards a single 10" Dayton HO (vented) for sub duties, so I will likely cut the enclosure down and will make carpet matched beauty panels for aesthetics. 


























Here are the RS100's in their temp enclosures. As I said before, I plan on getting a spare set of dash speaker grill covers and glassing the Dayton's into the corners of the dash - either on axis or slightly off axis - still playing with that. No plans of adding a passive and tweeter combo. I am a bit sensitive to higher frequencies and I am loving the stage as it sits now, so I'm not going to toy with it. 

As you can see these temp enclosures are bulky as hell, so I'd like to get to work on the permanent set.


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

How do the daytons sound? Im looking for some kind of enclosure for the dash of Xb.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

tintbox said:


> How do the daytons sound? Im looking for some kind of enclosure for the dash of Xb.


I absolutely love them! I would like to cross them a little bit lower, but my deck will only drop to 1.25khz for the high pass on that channel (I'm thinking I may pick up an Alpine 9887, which, I believe, can do 20-20khz on all channels). But using them without has been very enjoyable for me. My ears are pretty sensitive to the higher frequencies, so I thought I'd give tweeter less a try. I prefer the Dayton's firing at the opposite side headrest and his is where I will glass them when I get to it. I don't feel like they have any trouble playing full range and am really excited about my front stage with very little tuning and a flat EQ. I must say though, I have never heard another car set up for proper staging and one that used DSP, so it's hard to so how my drivers and tuning compare to something that is "correctly" done. I really don't even have the confidence in my knowledge to give any drivers I have a review. I would love to get a meet going around here and get some other, more experienced audiophiles, opinions and get a listen to a few vehicles. So anyways, take what I said for what it's worth. As always, I never mind anyone asking questions or trying to pick my brain; it may help me to know what I'm looking for.


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## King Nothing (Oct 10, 2005)

so you are running the RS100s without tweeters? I was thinking about a 2 or 2.5 fullrange driver but i wouldnt have thought a 4 incher would be OK without a tweeter


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

King Nothing said:


> so you are running the RS100s without tweeters? I was thinking about a 2 or 2.5 fullrange driver but i wouldnt have thought a 4 incher would be OK without a tweeter


Yup  They actually have a very good FR plot all the way up to 20khz when aimed on-axis. I haven't missed a tweeter yet. I haven't completely rule out a passive crossover network to handle very upper end treble duties, but I just don't feel I need it; very satisfied as is.


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## niceguy (Mar 12, 2006)

Sounds like you're happy, that's great! BTW, did you by chance try the Daytons in the dash locations or were they too big to fit? Just wondering what the reflections were like?

I've noticed lately that on some songs (better material) that in the dash, the stage is actually wider w/the windows down but running down the interstate every day at 75mph w/the windows down kills any sound stage advantage

Jeremy


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

niceguy said:


> Sounds like you're happy, that's great! BTW, did you by chance try the Daytons in the dash locations or were they too big to fit? Just wondering what the reflections were like?
> 
> I've noticed lately that on some songs (better material) that in the dash, the stage is actually wider w/the windows down but running down the interstate every day at 75mph w/the windows down kills any sound stage advantage
> 
> Jeremy


Yeah, they were too big to try and fit in the factory locations. Plus, I was getting a nasty reflection from the driver side factory 3.5 that I just couldn't make disappear, so I didn't think changing drivers would have made it completely go away. 

I haven't really noticed the stage changing too much with the windows down... just the loss of volume.


----------



## M1A1 (Oct 4, 2008)

Update? Interested to see if you still like the RS100 sans tweeter.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

M1A1 said:


> Update? Interested to see if you still like the RS100 sans tweeter.


Sorry, no update  . I went a few weeks with the RS100's in their temp pods and really enjoyed staging and what not, so they are going to eventually be glassed into pillar pods (I removed them as of now - pods were a bit bulky, and I didn't want to attract any attention). Anyways, now that school has started it is really difficult to find time to pay any attention to my car; plus I think I got a little burned out over the last few months with all of my reading/researching/building/etc. I am also jobless, so I need to really spend conservatively. All in all, just a bad time to focus on my install right now. I appreciate the attention though, hopefully I can get the ball rolling on the pillar pods - I think once I can get those fabbed up I'll be excited again to pay more attention to my build.


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## M1A1 (Oct 4, 2008)

Well, that's enough of an update actually. I was just wondering if you actually stuck with the RS100's, swapped a TG9 in, tried adding a tweeter, etc., as I am looking at front-stage options in my Explorer and the RS100 was on the top of the list. I had planned to mate a tweeter to it, but it is good to hear that on-axis they are sufficient. I will still try quite a few different mounting locations for both the RS100's and the tweeters to see what the best combo is, but I would not have thought to try just the RS100's on the dash.

Good luck with school and career, I am about to graduate and the job hunt is very interesting to say the least!


Cheers,
Marty


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

M1A1 said:


> Well, that's enough of an update actually. I was just wondering if you actually stuck with the RS100's, swapped a TG9 in, tried adding a tweeter, etc., as I am looking at front-stage options in my Explorer and the RS100 was on the top of the list. I had planned to mate a tweeter to it, but it is good to hear that on-axis they are sufficient. I will still try quite a few different mounting locations for both the RS100's and the tweeters to see what the best combo is, but I would not have thought to try just the RS100's on the dash.


Yeah, definitely work with different mounting locations. I found that the drivers aimed to the opposite head rest sounded best for me. Also, keep in mind I had the RS100's crossed around 1.5khz ish, so I was able to keep the staging very level - perfect for my liking. I'm not sure if I would like them crossed too much lower... I guess I fear stage height would become pretty high - purely speculation though. 



M1A1 said:


> Good luck with school and career, I am about to graduate and the job hunt is very interesting to say the least!
> 
> 
> Cheers,
> Marty


Thanks my man, and good luck to you as well. With unemployment over 7% it ain't going to be too fun to enter the job market... oh well.


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## KARPE (Nov 9, 2008)

well keep on keepin on


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

^^ Andy, did you ever get that PDX600.1... I've been keeping an eye on you in the F/S section


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

I figured I may as well update this build log. 

I took a hiatus from mobile audio for a little while. I downgraded to a decent passive system. Well, I got bored, so back to active I go. 

I loved the 880 when I had it. The 16 band l/r EQ sure was a great tool. I always wanted to try the 9887 so that's what I went with. No regrets, it's a great unit as well. Plus, my iPod is my primary music source.

Sorted the bulky wiring harness. 
Got rid of the bulky Monoprice RCA's and went with the Monster 6-channel RCA's
































Kicker 700.5 amp remained in the same spot.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Peerless SLS's in the doors.

I think I am going to dry sealed kickpods for these in the near future. 





















I gave the Tang Band W3's a shot...












... not quite for me, so I have removed them (actually traded for a set of the Fountek FR88's) and currently have 3.5" coaxials in there for the time being. Once the FR88's get here, I'll try them out in the same .02 ft^3 temp enclosures and see how they fair. 

I've been reading up about line arrays. Maybe I'll give the Aurasound NSW2 (1 pair a side) a shot.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Sub woofer is the Diamond D6 12"

In a temporary 1.2 ft^3 sealed enclosure.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Now the more interesting stuff begins 


I started working on a passenger side rear quarter panel enclosure for the woofer. It will be mounted at two points located on the floor. 

I drilled out two holes and mounted t-nuts.
















































Gearing up for the fabrication













Cutting of the mounting ring, grill assembly

I see a lot of people using 2" HPDE or some sort of plastic. Couldn't find any anywhere except online, and that was rather expensive. Decided to go with MDF.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)




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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Working on the base of the enclosure


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Work station





















I started with 3/4oz chopped strand mat













I then used a pre-cut piece of Knytex 1708 17oz biaxial cloth/mat


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

I finished the rest of the vertical portions with 3/4oz chopped strand mat





















I did another layer, layer and a half in some parts of 3/4oz chopped mat

Then did what hadn't been done in Knytex, with Knytex


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

By the way, this was my first time working with a router as well as fiberglass.

So if you guys have any tips, tricks, hints or constructive criticism, I welcome all of it.


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## DJAllDay502 (Dec 16, 2009)

Very nice!


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## Kenny_Cox (Sep 9, 2007)

its looking awesome. I am planning to do the same exact thing with some of my holiday funds I get.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

DJAllDay502 said:


> Very nice!


Thanks!



Kenny_Cox said:


> its looking awesome. I am planning to do the same exact thing with some of my holiday funds I get.


Thanks! You know, you TBSS guys are not well liked around our Jeep (SRT8) boards


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## KARPE (Nov 9, 2008)

are you painting the enclosure, or wrapping it?


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

UCF52 said:


> By the way, this was my first time working with a router as well as fiberglass.
> 
> So if you guys have any tips, tricks, hints or constructive criticism, I welcome all of it.


 
Are you sure its your first time?! If it is, you did your research well. I like how its coming and all your experimenting. Tell me, any major difference as far as SQ between the 880 and the Alpine? I have the same issue with crossover settings in my 880. Thanks.


----------



## maxxis (Jun 10, 2008)

Brilliant job on the laying of the glass. Seems like you have everything perfectly covered.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

KARPE said:


> are you painting the enclosure, or wrapping it?


Definitely no paint. Way to involved with sanding and bondo and more sanding 

I planned on carpeting it. I have two shades of gray carpet (neither are a perfect match  ), but I think a matching gray vinyl would look pretty nice. Not sure I feel like taking on a vinyl project, but I can always try it later. 



slvrtsunami said:


> Are you sure its your first time?! If it is, you did your research well. I like how its coming and all your experimenting.


Sure is. I did a **** ton of reading before I started. For every hour I actually do work on my stereo, I've probably got about 5 hours of research to go along with it. 



slvrtsunami said:


> Tell me, any major difference as far as SQ between the 880 and the Alpine? I have the same issue with crossover settings in my 880. Thanks.


As far as quality of sound, I can't really tell. It has been awhile since I had the 880. I do remember reading that the 880 is sonically a more natural, warm sounding deck, and the 9887 is a more sharp, kind of in your face sonically sounding deck... I'm not really sure if there is any truth to that. Maybe, but it's barely noticeable to my ears.

As far as DSP and feature-set, well they each have their perks. 

What I miss about the 880

Phase control on the fly - the 9887 you have to do it manually at the amp 
16-band l/r/ EQ - though I haven't really got a lot of time to play with the 9887 PEQ

What I like about the 9887

You can store up to 5 different DSP settings for each category (crossover/slope/level, time alignment, EQ) - that's very nice for A/B comparison of two different crossover points you want to try out, different EQ settings, etc. The 880 did have 2 different EQ settings, but none of the others. 
Display and illumination settings - can't go all green to match my dash, but it's better that the only all blue or the only all white that the 880 offers. I do like the Biolite display that the 9887 has.

If I had the choice of 9887 and 880, I'd probably go 9887. Maybe a slight bias because I use my iPod as my primary music source. 



maxxis said:


> Brilliant job on the laying of the glass. Seems like you have everything perfectly covered.


Thank you. I have to credit all of those informative threads out there. Some great and useful info on laying glass and all that goes along with it.

I'll tell ya, the worst part of it so far was the prep work. It took around 2 hours just prepping the car  It sucked.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Fits like a glove....


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## Kenny_Cox (Sep 9, 2007)

UCF52 said:


> Thanks!
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks! You know, you TBSS guys are not well liked around our Jeep (SRT8) boards


bah!

I am a fan of all SUVs that pack a punch. I wanted an SRT-8 when I first started shopping but, I got a brand new car with 0 miles on it for the same price a '06 would've cost me, with 20,000 miles.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Kenny_Cox said:


> bah!
> 
> I am a fan of all SUVs that pack a punch. I wanted an SRT-8 when I first started shopping but, I got a brand new car with 0 miles on it for the same price a '06 would've cost me, with 20,000 miles.




Yeah I hear ya. I've got the 5.7 HEMI and it's plenty for me.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Got a little more work done.

Trimmed the enclosure... laid some bracing.


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## KARPE (Nov 9, 2008)

I hope that net is from a public park


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

KARPE said:


> I hope that net is from a public park


Obviously... they provide much more support. 



No, I was planning on using regular nylon rope as I see everyone else do, but as I was wondering around in Wal-Mart looking for rope, the basketball net caught the corner of my eye and I thought, "hmm, this could work well." So I rolled with it.


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## Kenny_Cox (Sep 9, 2007)

I like it, I like it a lot.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Thank you sir.


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## jorgegarcia (Mar 8, 2008)

More...More...More

Thank you sir, may I have another pic...

Please continue

...


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

jorgegarcia said:


> More...More...More
> 
> Thank you sir, may I have another pic...
> 
> ...


More to come later this week. Keep your pants on


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## kota_sounds (Apr 21, 2008)

this may have been covered somewhere but what is the cup shape sticking out of the fiberglass on your enclosure? the install looks good so far i have the daytons and was thinking about running them up in the a-pillar glad to hear they sound good up there


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

kota_sounds said:


> this may have been covered somewhere but what is the cup shape sticking out of the fiberglass on your enclosure? the install looks good so far i have the daytons and was thinking about running them up in the a-pillar glad to hear they sound good up there


The cup idea is to mimic a recessed binding post mounting platform. Since the entire back of the enclosure follows the curves of the quarter panel, I needed a way to tuck/hide my banana plugs... this is what I thought of. I guess I could have bought a cup, meh, could have just used speaker wire and silicone, meh, could have lived with wiring being shown, meh... I wanted to try something I haven't seen before. I just used a top off of a can of spray paint. 

I really enjoyed the Daytons up there, even without a tweeter!  If the Founteks aren't what I am looking for, I'm either going to try a line array with a pair of Aurasound NSW2's in each pillar, or revert back to the RS100's for full range duty.


----------



## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Been busy the last few days, got a little done this morning. 








































I started by stretching fleece and using a staple gun. I ended up using grill cloth and hot glue, lol.

The fleece was very thick compared to the grill cloth and I read that it really soaks up a lot of resin. So I wanted to give the grill cloth a shot. Much better as far as stretching and and obviously thickness.

I used a staple gun to attach the fleece to the wood, but once I tried using it on fiberglass, I got nothing. I wasn't even close to breaking through. So, I got back to my research and came across hot glue as a good way to attach.

Long story short, grill cloth + hot glue = attachment. 






























I wrapped it all eh way around, but as I thought it would, bunched up when both ends came back to meet. I have no idea how people get around this issue, but I figured I try something on my own. Just cut it down to size, slightly overlapped, and hot glued.

The only thing that worried me was the glue melting when the resin got near it (heat melting the glue). I figured I'd give it a try anyways. I can always sand, and re-do.












Now, most soak the fleece or cloth on resin first, but I thought I'd just lay some chopped mat along with it. Trying to build up quickly and get it strong.


----------



## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

You can see there is some air under there, but once it cures, it'll just be a slightly awkward shape. Probably won't be noticeable.





















Once this coat gets a little tackier, I'll start laying some Knytex. 2 layers of Knytex should just about do it for thickness.


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## jorgegarcia (Mar 8, 2008)

Very nice. This is where I usually get stomped on my system building dreams. I must get over the fear of fiberglass.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

jorgegarcia said:


> Very nice. This is where I usually get stomped on my system building dreams. I must get over the fear of fiberglass.


Honestly, the man hours involved isn't a lot, it's just the waiting for **** to cure or dry. This is my first go at it, and I must say it's pretty easy; mind you I did a lot of research.

It's just like painting with a little more involved.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Got a layer of Knytex 1708 down...






























18oz of resin later...


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

The angle of the last picture makes it look really tall, even though it isnt...you can still open the rear hatch cover, right?


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

slvrtsunami said:


> The angle of the last picture makes it look really tall, even though it isnt...you can still open the rear hatch cover, right?


You mean the false floor cover (where the amp is)?

Probably not. Which sucks. The enclosure is fairly tall (from that POV).

To get to the amp (or the spare), I'll have to unscrew the woofer then unbolt the enclosure. It's not like I'll need to access it once I set my gains, but I still would prefer to have quick access to it. Oh well. 

I wanted to make it deep enough to not only house the D6, but also many other popular woofers on the market, just in case I decide to switch drivers. Plus, I'll have egg crate foam lining the enclosure, not to mention the D6 is a pole vent. I think I ended up giving myself 8-9 inches of depth (not accounting for the foam).


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

ever thought about splitting the false floor cover in half so at least you get some access? that way you dont have to unscrew everything.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

slvrtsunami said:


> ever thought about splitting the false floor cover in half so at least you get some access? that way you dont have to unscrew everything.


Yeah, I thought about doing a new false floor altogether, but I just didn't want to consume my time with it. 

I think what I'll do once I get my stereo complete (at least before I start changing things again  ) is finish what I posted on the first page (IIRC) and just make a new cover for the factory false floor and break it up into what makes sense. It's a simple flat piece whereas making a new false floor will involve accommodating for an off angled piece as the floor approaches the rear seats.


----------



## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Slowly making progress...

Another layer of Knytex + some chopped mat in thinner areas. 

I'll let it cure overnight.


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## Kenny_Cox (Sep 9, 2007)

oh my, I missed some good progress. Lookin sexy!


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Kenny_Cox said:


> oh my, I missed some good progress. Lookin sexy!


Thanks man! I woke up pretty sick today, so I'm not if I'm going to be able to make any progress. We'll see.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Update: Almost done with the enclosure!























You can see neither color carpet that PE sells is a perfect match, but I went with the darker one. I can always swap it out later, but it doesn't look to bad in person - we all know how much detail the camera can really bring out and that it never looks that was in normal lighting.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

All that's left to do is outfit it with the grill. That's why the woofer is recessed so far in. I should have just done it today, but I just didn't feel like it. It's 20 min of work I'll save for another day.


Physical Impressions: It looks pretty damn good in person. Carpet hides a lot, so that certainly helps. I wish it didn't have to stick out so far, but depth and airspace are vital and with a 12" woofer, this is about as small as I'd like to go. The enclosure is pretty freakin' stout, I credit that to the Knytex biaxial cloth/mat. Very solid, very professional feel to it. The two mounting bolts keep it very snug and tightly bounded to the cargo area.

Listening Impressions: With about 30 seconds of listening and minimal tweaking it sounds FANTASTIC! I have to credit that to the slightly smaller amount of airspace than the previous temp enclosure had as well as the open-cell foam. Bass response is noticeably tighter/louder (credit to smaller enclosure), and a little cleaner (credit to open-cell foam). I'm thoroughly impressed with how it sounds as airspace is the one factor that's hard get perfect when building an enclosure like this. In my attempt to get this complete quickly I forgot to measure internal airspace, but I'd pin it at about .8-.9 NET (accounting for open-cell foam and its characteristics). That leaves me with a response chart of this (see below) without taking into account cabin gain (or transfer function).














As I get some more seat time and chances to play around with my DSP settings again, I'll update with my (non-initial) thoughts. For now, I'm going to relax, LOL.

Next:

Finish the woofer grill
Sealed kick-pod enclosures for the SLS 6.5's
Get FR88's in temp enclosures - test them


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## slvrtsunami (Apr 18, 2008)

One down, several to go. The fun part will be all the tuning you will have to do oncw its all playing and complete. Looking good sir... I think the nice weather in Florida helps as well.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

slvrtsunami said:


> One down, several to go.


haha, it _always_ seems that way.



slvrtsunami said:


> The fun part will be all the tuning you will have to do oncw its all playing and complete.


Yeah, I didn't even finish tuning everything in the current locations; just rough crossover points, level and phase. No EQ work at all. 

I'll wait 'til everything is complete before I get into the really detailed parts.



slvrtsunami said:


> Looking good sir... I think the nice weather in Florida helps as well.


Thanks!

Yeah, definitely can't beat the mid 70's temps we have now.


----------



## MTopper (Nov 4, 2009)

hey, i just came across your thread while looking for ideas on how to install in my truck. 

anyways, where did you get your daytons? my buddy bought them used and they sound amazing in his bmw


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Parts-Express.com - Speakers, Speaker Building, Home Audio and Video, Pro Audio, Electronic Parts & Accessories PARTS EXPRESS, Speakers, Speaker Parts, Guitar speakers, Bass speakers, Woofers, Drivers, speaker upgrades and replacement speakers. Emine

They're like 25 bucks.


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Did you get a chance to try the Founteks? I had the same impression about the RS100 - sounds absolutely beautiful when crossed between 1KHz and 1.5KHz. 

Considering a Grand Cherokee now, thus my re-interest in your thread


----------



## KARPE (Nov 9, 2008)

He has the Fountek's mounted in the factory dash location and says he absolutely loves them.

I have a 2007 Grand Cherokee, and I think it's nice looking car and a comfortable ride, but I have the 3.7L and get about 15 mpg. I push mine a little harder than I should, but that gas mileage has me wanting to get something else. No other problem's though


----------



## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Uh oh, I am looking at the 3.7 myself.


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## kdxrider200 (Feb 1, 2010)

that looks like sex feels. lol. i am planning on making a fiberglass box in my prelude and after seeing that i am feeling stronger about it. u did a great job man.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

edit - double post


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

chithead said:


> Did you get a chance to try the Founteks? I had the same impression about the RS100 - sounds absolutely beautiful when crossed between 1KHz and 1.5KHz.
> 
> Considering a Grand Cherokee now, thus my re-interest in your thread





KARPE said:


> He has the Fountek's mounted in the factory dash location and says he absolutely loves them.


Hey sorry for the delay, I haven't been on here in a while. 

Andy hit the nail on the head though, I absolutely love the FR88's!! I tried them in .75 liter sealed temp enclosures - they sounded nearly identical when on and off axis (no EQ, just t/a, crossed at 315hz, level matched), so I ave them a shot in the factory dash locations and they sound perfect! I heavily stuffed the magnet cavity (which I would guess is around .6ish liter)I'm going to use some 1/4" HDPE to make my permanent baffles so the factory grill can be placed back on. I did manage to put a nice dent in the passenger side FR88 dust cap, DOH!

I actually got some EQ work in yesterday and was really able to wake the front stage up. I'm still wanting to try out some new mids though. The SLS's seems a little 'bassy' for my taste and I can't seem to get DSP to make a big enough adjustment. 

I've got my eye on the MLI-65's, but I have taken a short hiatus as I got a little burned out. 








































KARPE said:


> I have a 2007 Grand Cherokee, and I think it's nice looking car and a comfortable ride, but I have the 3.7L and get about 15 mpg. I push mine a little harder than I should, but that gas mileage has me wanting to get something else. No other problem's though


I've got a 5.7 and I get a tad over 16mpg. 60/40 city/hwy. I guess that MDS makes a pretty big difference. But yeah, ****ty gas mileage really can add up. 

@ 12,000 miles/year, $2.75/gal

16mpg = $2,062/year
23mpg = $1,435/year

600 bucks a year or 50 bucks extra a month to spend on a car payment. I've been toying around with the idea of getting something more fuel efficient. Especially since I very rarely have anyone else in my car or never need the cargo space. 



kdxrider200 said:


> that looks like sex feels. lol. i am planning on making a fiberglass box in my prelude and after seeing that i am feeling stronger about it. u did a great job man.


Thanks man! It's a pain in the ass, but you learn quickly.


----------



## fallbrookchris (Feb 13, 2009)

isn't your Jasper Jig on upside down? I have one and have it mounted to my router the way the instructions say, it always seemed backwards to me having the measurements facing toward the wood, I don't think it makes a difference accept that the mounting screws aren't countersunk, how do you keep the screws from scratching the wood?

everything looks awesome, I am a huge Dayton fan, I use them for my HT and car, their sub are pretty good too and at a very good price

if you ever feel like making some really good HT, stereo speakers Google the Dayton-8's, you can build them for ~$200 and they sound like they should cost $2000+ they do however need a large room to sound their best, the D-III's aka Dayton III, two 6.5" mids above and below the 1/1/8 Dayton tweeter is a fun home audio speaker project if you ever feel like DIY home audio I would highly suggest building one of these two speakers you will not be disappointed in the least, I have built a dozen of the partsexpress DIY projects and have been happy with all of them, Dayton just makes good speakers at a really good price, they aren't Dynaudio quality but they aren't Dynaudio price either

keep up the great work, you have inspired me to get some car audio projects off the back burner


----------



## JKashat (Nov 19, 2009)

Like the enclosure. I love it when people actually do the work themselves. More than not from what I see and have experienced, owners do a much better job than a lot of installers.


----------



## niceguy (Mar 12, 2006)

Mopars have really good stock speaker locations from my experience....I've been using the dash locations for a few years with my tweeters in my '94 Grand Voyager, and have enjoyed my Northcreek large formats there. Excellent imaging. I haven't even tinkered since last year because I love how it sounds. 

I might be going w/the TB 3" bamboo mids sometime but just don't have any real need other than the dreaded curiosity factor...

Nice work on the G. Cherokee...


Jeremy


----------



## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Sorry I've been slow to respond, I've been out of town. 

Quick update:

I swapped in the factory Boston Acoustic 3.5's and 6x9's for some testing (ehh, not as good as I thought they were  ).

I also have a set of JAMO 24394 6.5" woofers that Zaph tested sitting on my floor, so I'll give those a try very soon. 



fallbrookchris said:


> isn't your Jasper Jig on upside down? I have one and have it mounted to my router the way the instructions say, it always seemed backwards to me having the measurements facing toward the wood, I don't think it makes a difference accept that the mounting screws aren't countersunk, how do you keep the screws from scratching the wood?


Hmm, it may have been (And yeah it was scratching the wood). I'll have to check that out next time I use it :blush:



fallbrookchris said:


> everything looks awesome, I am a huge Dayton fan, I use them for my HT and car, their sub are pretty good too and at a very good price
> 
> if you ever feel like making some really good HT, stereo speakers Google the Dayton-8's, you can build them for ~$200 and they sound like they should cost $2000+ they do however need a large room to sound their best, the D-III's aka Dayton III, two 6.5" mids above and below the 1/1/8 Dayton tweeter is a fun home audio speaker project if you ever feel like DIY home audio I would highly suggest building one of these two speakers you will not be disappointed in the least, I have built a dozen of the partsexpress DIY projects and have been happy with all of them, Dayton just makes good speakers at a really good price, they aren't Dynaudio quality but they aren't Dynaudio price either
> 
> keep up the great work, you have inspired me to get some car audio projects off the back burner


Thanks. I've had good experiences with Dayton. I'm thinking about getting their new 12" slim sub woofer and trying it out. I'd cut this fiberglass enclosure in half and re-glass the 'outer' half (non-mold) to get smaller airspace. I really don't like how far it sticks out and the fact that I can't access my amp without having to first remove the sub woofer, then unbolt the enclosure, sucks. 



JKashat said:


> Like the enclosure. I love it when people actually do the work themselves. More than not from what I see and have experienced, owners do a much better job than a lot of installers.


Thanks. I agree, when it's your car you tend to put a little more behind the work. Plus, it's no fun to have someone else to the work. 

I've been keeping an eye on your JK build, looks awesome so far!



niceguy said:


> Mopars have really good stock speaker locations from my experience....I've been using the dash locations for a few years with my tweeters in my '94 Grand Voyager, and have enjoyed my Northcreek large formats there. Excellent imaging. I haven't even tinkered since last year because I love how it sounds.
> 
> I might be going w/the TB 3" bamboo mids sometime but just don't have any real need other than the dreaded curiosity factor...
> 
> ...


Thanks Jeremy. I've really enjoyed the factory dash location for the Founteks. I say give tweeterless a shot! I won't ever go back to a traditional mid/tweeter format.


----------



## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Just installed my RS180's.

They are sooo much more suited for a door install compared to the SLS's. They have a much lower inductance @ .51mH (SLS's are 1.5mH), and a much higher QTS .5 (SLS's are to .23). 

The SLS's really need to be in a sealed kick pod or an AP membrane. I'm going to hang on to them... one of these days I'll find the time to fab some up.

Got some initial tuning done with the RS180s. Crossover, phase, level, no EQ.

Right now I have them band passed at: 80hz - 800hz, 24db/oct slopes. When I get the Founteks in I'll drop the low-pass point. The factory 3.5's can't get that low.

The Dayton's are such a musical, snappy, in-control mid woofer. Fawkin kick ass! I can feel the drum kicks pound my chest (w/o the sub woofer on). Loving them so far!

Some ****ty cell phone pics.










































Up next:

Get the Fountek FR88's in the dash.

I've got a DIYMA R12 on the way, so start getting an enclosure ready.


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## jsun_g (Jun 12, 2008)

Looking forward to seeing your Fountek setup and what you have to say about them. I just ordered a pair as I am experimenting with changing my A-pillar setup. I also have the SLS 6.5 but in sealed kickpods and will be experimenting with raising their LP xover from 160 (where it is now) to around 300 to mate up with the Founteks.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

jsun_g said:


> Looking forward to seeing your Fountek setup and what you have to say about them. I just ordered a pair as I am experimenting with changing my A-pillar setup. I also have the SLS 6.5 but in sealed kickpods and will be experimenting with raising their LP xover from 160 (where it is now) to around 300 to mate up with the Founteks.


I loved them when I had them in (temporary MDF baffles). All I need to do is stop being lazy and make some thinner, permanent baffles, and I'm done!

The FR88/RS180 combo will be super flexible with tuning, but the Founteks had no issue being crossed at 315hz, so I'll probably stick with that number. 

They're going to mate up well with the SLS's. Try crossing the SLS's at 250hz and the FR88's at 315hz (12db/oct). Having all the vocals coming from one pair of drivers is nice.


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## jsun_g (Jun 12, 2008)

Thanks for the tip. I will definitely try that first once the Founteks come in.



UCF52 said:


> I loved them when I had them in (temporary MDF baffles). All I need to do is stop being lazy and make some thinner, permanent baffles, and I'm done!
> 
> The FR88/RS180 combo will be super flexible with tuning, but the Founteks had no issue being crossed at 315hz, so I'll probably stick with that number.
> 
> They're going to mate up well with the SLS's. Try crossing the SLS's at 250hz and the FR88's at 315hz (12db/oct). Having all the vocals coming from one pair of drivers is nice.


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## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

I am in awe of that sub enclosure. Oh, and the rest of the build isn't half-bad either.


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

This is an old thread I know. But just wondering how the OP is still liking those Fountek's? I'm gonna be doing something similar. Interesting you say the off-axis response was pretty good. I suspect firing up at the windshield helps some with that. A-pillar install (what I'm gonna attempt) might be different. My backup is little corner pods, but I don't know how clean that would look.


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## loudstreetrides (Nov 10, 2008)

nice job on the enclosure, damn!


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