# Project Siclone



## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

I've never built a dedicated SPL/demo vehicle. With the work I've been doing with Stereo Integrity on the Audi and the responses we were getting during the build and, more recently, after taking to a show/meet, people are really liking the car.

The entire time I was building that thing I was told (at damn near every point in the build) that "it's not going to work"

In regard to the sub:
"Not enough airspace"
"Big subs are slow and aren't accurate"
"The motor is going to drag the ground"
"It's going to pick up road debris"
and so on...

In regard to sound treatment:
Guys saw I was packing empty voids that I couldn't apply deadener to with mineral wool. "You can get the same effect with properly applied deadener"
When guys saw I was doing 100% coverage: "That's a waste. You can get the same effect with 25% coverage"

In regard to the 3-inch wideband drivers in the kick panels:
That's too low. It'll never image above the dash.
There's too much separation between the mid and tweet.
Female vocals will suffer.

In regard to the fab work:
"Those birdshit welds will never hold" They were seeing welds we intentionally built high so we could smooth them down after making three passes on the bottom of that 3/16" plate and three passes on top.

So yeah...this build.

I envisioned this build months ago and told Nick about it. Explained the enclosure design to him and details about how it would be built and function.

His immediate response was "We have to use carbon cones for this."

We. The royal we. He's in.

So now that the Audi is back in Nick's hands (he'll come down in a couple of weeks for some cosmetic work) I can get going on some other things here. One of them will be this build. I'll be doing two BIG builds at the same time since there will be a few similarities between the two.

I gave myself a budget of less than $5,000 to get a daily driver that I could use for the build. Fortunately I grabbed this well under that limit. 

With my back messed up it sucks getting in/out of the Chevelle or El Camino and the xBs are great if you have a bad back like I do.

I picked up a 2004 Scion xB. This is a limited release series vehicle that was a special edition. This is number 610. "The xB Release Series 1.0 comes with some unique features from the factory which include Hot Lava paint, color-keyed rear spoiler, matching orange powder-coated strut tie-bar, custom grill, color tuned interior and under-seat & dash orange illumination."

A pic I took during a fuel stop on the way back after picking it up. Calculated 31 MPG on the highway.









This one is also on some BBS wheels that are worth what I paid for the vehicle with stretched tires and air ride because apparently THAT'S what I need.

I didn't really want the airbags, but the thing drives nice, has great power (as good as to be expected from these things, anyway), and has AC that works.

It had an old Pioneer AVH-X5500BHS from 2013 in it along with a small amp and JL 10W1 in a sealed enclosure. The sub didn't work. I put in a Stereo Integrity SQL-15 in a 1.25ft^3 sealed enclosure that I had sitting around. Sounds decent for a commuter

I just installed a Pioneer DMH-2600NEX in the thing. Nothing spectacular, but it has CarPlay and Android Auto and MUCH better phone calls than the old unit.

So I have some parts (steering wheel, clock spring, and cabling) here to swap the steering wheel so the thing has steering wheel controls for the radio.

The airbags are kind of a PITA. The controller is very basic and there's no way to know how the thing is sitting and no frame of reference for anything for anything inside the vehicle. There's a control pad, but no pressure gauges to tell you anything. Have to hit the switches and get out to take a look at the thing to see if it's sitting right. When I start the sub enclosure build I'm going to have to figure out what I'll do with all the air ride crap.

So...I guess I'll drop the audio plan here.

Four speakers will be in front of me. Stevens horns and some 8 or 10 inch midbasses. I figure it's best to make it a horn car because of what's going in behind the seats...

There will be 8 custom built Stereo Integrity carbon fiber 24s behind me.

These 24s will have 38mm one way linear travel (that's 70% BL, or motor force). They have over 100mm peak-to-peak stroke.

The 24 that went into the Audi? 30mm one-way linear travel.


So 8 24" subs is 3,619 in^2 of cone area. Over 25 square feet of subwoofer cone area. 25 square feet that can move 4" peak to peak.

Absurd amounts of displacement. Heck, the 8mm (16 mm peak to peak) _additional_ travel I'll have with the subs that Nick is building for me vs the one I just put in the Audi, when calculated over the 25 square foot surface area of the eight 24s, that alone is more displacement than the overwhelming majority of SPL/demo vehicles out there. I'd say nearly all of them. When you look at 25 square feet of 4" stroke? No contest.

The 24s are rated at 2,000 Watts RMS. Since I'll be using a Sundown Audio SALT-12 wired to 1/2 Ohm to power the 8 24s, and since it'll make up to about 24,000-25,000 Watts when wired to 1/2 ohm, these 24s will be seeing about 3,000 watts each.


I know people are going to say that I can't package 8 24s in that little xB.

I know they'll say that I don't have the airspace and so on...

I also know that 8 24s with 4 inches of stroke are going to move a buttload of air. It's going to be violently windy.

So the initials SI are commonly used to refer to Stereo Integrity and it's a common thing for SPL rigs to get names.

Since it's using SI subs and it's going to be a windy joker, we're calling it Project Siclone.

Oh, and uh...I'm going to do SQ with it as well.


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## naiku (May 28, 2008)

JI808 said:


> air ride because apparently THAT'S what I need.


LOL. That's great. 

Are you going to leave the air bag system in there? Not sure how much room the tank, compressor etc. all take up and if you'll end up having to remove it. 

Can't wait to see the build as it progresses and eventually see it in person somewhere along the line.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

naiku said:


> LOL. That's great.
> 
> Are you going to leave the air bag system in there? Not sure how much room the tank, compressor etc. all take up and if you'll end up having to remove it.
> 
> Can't wait to see the build as it progresses and eventually see it in person somewhere along the line.


I'm not sure on the air ride. If I can't package things the way I want and retain it, coilovers would be the better option. 

Should be ready to go next year. Cabin reinforcement and sub enclosure will be the two major time sucks on the thing.


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## Dan750iL (Jan 16, 2016)

Can't wait to see what you come up with to allow 8 24" subs to breathe.


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## knever3 (Mar 9, 2009)

Awww man!! I was super excited to see a Stereo Integrity GMC Siclone. I guess I'll have to wait for another build... It's gonna be fun though.


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## haakono (Apr 5, 2009)

As an owner of a similarly sized car (Nissan Cube) I wish you the best of luck fitting all the gear inside, and as a former owner of the european-sold cousin of a Scion xB (Toyota Yaris Verso, same platform/engine) I wish the car the best of luck hauling all that weight around 😁 J/K, but this will be a fun build to follow


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## Flygts (Aug 17, 2021)

Can’t wait to see it!


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

Dan750iL said:


> Can't wait to see what you come up with to allow 8 24" subs to breathe.


I'm a little curious myself. 😂

The initial measurements I made a few months back told me it was feasible but would take a bit of engineering. I'm up for that. 




haakono said:


> As an owner of a similarly sized car (Nissan Cube) I wish you the best of luck fitting all the gear inside, and as a former owner of the european-sold cousin of a Scion xB (Toyota Yaris Verso, same platform/engine) I wish the car the best of luck hauling all that weight around 😁 J/K, but this will be a fun build to follow


It's going to fit. 

As far as power, I may or may not have a Miata donor car here specifically for a project like this that will give up its front and rear subframes which will then receive a LS swap and get stuffed under a xB at some point in the future.

The original plan was to shorten a Chevy S-10 chassis by 10" and put the xB body on it. V8 engine conversions for S10s are crazy cheap. My only issue was getting the S10 to sit low like the xB without having to intrude on interior cargo space of the xB body shell.

I put word out with off-road friends I've had for 20+ years asking about the best/most compact way to locate a rear axle. Explained the build plan to them and one of them offered a FREE Miata for the build. 

Once I get the Miata subframe swap sorted with another xB shell that's here I can move the LS-swapped Miata subframes to the Siclone.


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## mfenske (Feb 7, 2006)

I had an 06 xB and (save for too little power like you mentioned) it was a great car. I'm assuming an IB config of some sort will work and there should be enough space to do a bottom and a top row of 48"x48" in a cube of sorts. SO EXCITED FOR THIS!!!!


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

New headlights are in.

Had an issue where when you had the low beams selected at the stalk the high beams would come on. Then, when you selected high beam, the low beams would come on in conjunction with the high beams.

I already had new headlight housings here for another vehicle so I put them in. Problem solved.

I also put in some fog lights I had here.


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## BigAl205 (May 20, 2009)

What are your thoughts on reinforcement? I've thought about how I'd do an SPL build, and I'm torn between using auto panel adhesive and aluminum angle to make a grid, then fill each void with spray foam...or another idea was to use aluminum honeycomb filled with foam and covered with epoxy and carbon fiber.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

You're out of your gord.. lol


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## mfenske (Feb 7, 2006)

BigAl205 said:


> What are your thoughts on reinforcement? I've thought about how I'd do an SPL build, and I'm torn between using auto panel adhesive and aluminum angle to make a grid, then fill each void with spray foam...or another idea was to use aluminum honeycomb filled with foam and covered with epoxy and carbon fiber.


I can't picture that-sounds awesome though!


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## jheat2500 (Mar 1, 2021)

BigAl205 said:


> What are your thoughts on reinforcement? I've thought about how I'd do an SPL build, and I'm torn between using auto panel adhesive and aluminum angle to make a grid, then fill each void with spray foam...or another idea was to use aluminum honeycomb filled with foam and covered with epoxy and carbon fiber.


Formed .063 aluminum panels with flared holes. Think aircraft ribs and skin for lightweight and strong.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

BigAl205 said:


> What are your thoughts on reinforcement? I've thought about how I'd do an SPL build, and I'm torn between using auto panel adhesive and aluminum angle to make a grid, then fill each void with spray foam...or another idea was to use aluminum honeycomb filled with foam and covered with epoxy and carbon fiber.


I'll have to develop a better plan when I start ripping it apart and get more accurate measurements. Some steel square tube built like I did for the Audi's false floor would work.

This is 1/2" square, but framing it all up with 1x2 and using plywood fill the squares would be plenty strong for what I'm envisioning in the xB.













SkizeR said:


> You're out of your gord.. lol


That's nothing new. 😃


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

Yanked the rear seat and ran the Shop-Vac over everything behind the front seats all the way to the cargo area.

Stuffed a Limitless Lithium Cyber 12k under the rear seat. With the one under the seat it I laid out some tape and, with the one under the seat, found I can fit two more of them in the passenger rear footwell for a total of three. When combined with a good alternator, I should have plenty of power on hand for the SALT-12.

Also got out a couple of 24" baskets to help mock things up and get a clearer plan of attack.

From this point forward I'll be without a rear seat.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Oh wow is all that I can say and can’t wait to see when it’s all done.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

Mostly stripped.

That air tank has to go, but not until I get a small one to go under the vehicle.


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## pwnt by pat (Mar 13, 2006)

I foresee subs mounted isobaric in a 6th order bandpass.

A word on the Miata rear end, they are fragile. Anything over 350 hp or 300 ft lbs and you can kiss it good bye. There are conversion kits to run a late model Chevy getrag diff, which will handle all the power you need, but they are outrageously expensive. Couple that with the the fact that the Miata rear end is actually very bulky for it's size and is not really the best option.

If given a choice I would go for a Honda s2000 rear end. Or maybe the mid 2000s Pontiac GTO.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

pwnt by pat said:


> I foresee subs mounted isobaric in a 6th order bandpass.
> 
> A word on the Miata rear end, they are fragile. Anything over 350 hp or 300 ft lbs and you can kiss it good bye. There are conversion kits to run a late model Chevy getrag diff, which will handle all the power you need, but they are outrageously expensive. Couple that with the the fact that the Miata rear end is actually very bulky for it's size and is not really the best option.
> 
> If given a choice I would go for a Honda s2000 rear end. Or maybe the mid 2000s Pontiac GTO.


Ford 8.8 from a Thunderbird (and I think a specific Lincoln model) is the go-to diff for the Miata LS conversions.


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## pwnt by pat (Mar 13, 2006)

It USED to be. The getrag is the go-to now. T-bird and MK-VIII diffs are getting harder to find, and their subframes are not swap friendly on unibody cars.

Unless I misread though, you're thinking about swapping the miata subframes and LS package in to the XB, right? If that's the case it's much much better taking a more compact diff, subframe, and suspension package that'll handle the power than try and swap the miata package and then swap axles and diff to the miata cradle.

I operate a speed and fab shop and do a bunch of weird swap stuff. Miata parts are the last thing I would suggest to use for a LS swap in to something. Everything is just so tiny


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## mfenske (Feb 7, 2006)

That upgraded power will be awesome. When I had my xB I joked that we'd turn it in to a time machine...if only it would go 88.


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## JohnnyOhh (Feb 19, 2015)

@JI808 what direction will you face the woofers?


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

JohnnyOhh said:


> @JI808 what direction will you face the woofers?


Working on that now.

I did swap taillights to some LED units. Also put some neoprene foam on the back of the license plate so it doesn't rattle on every bump on the road.

With all of the interior panels out it's slightly noisy. Especially when that air compressor kicks on.  Even though it's under the car at the back bumper, it's still loud inside.


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## SHAGGS (Apr 24, 2011)

Well, you win the best licence plate award for the day!


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## JohnnyOhh (Feb 19, 2015)

man oh man, this looks so great!
question..... how much power & how are you picking how large of an alternator/batter/caps(?)
maybe too soon junior, lol.


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## Jheitt142 (Dec 7, 2011)

my vote for driver mounting


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

SHAGGS said:


> Well, you win the best licence plate award for the day!


Yeah. That's from the previous owner.



JohnnyOhh said:


> man oh man, this looks so great!
> question..... how much power & how are you picking how large of an alternator/batter/caps(?)
> maybe too soon junior, lol.
> 
> View attachment 316177



I think I mentioned before what was going it, but if I didn't...











Stripping it down and doing some piecemeal sound treatment right now. Started applying some Second Skin to the roof above the front two seats a little while ago. Once that's wrapped up I'll be making templates of that area so I can bond some plywood into all of the areas between the roof supports to reinforce the whole roof. Another layer of ply will go on over those. Basically going to build the roof first then work on sound treatment of the rear quarters and get the thing ready for side walls to go in. Roof strength will be important for two reasons - the pressure it'll be generating and the amp (see below) that'll be mounted to the roof.

I also need to make a template for the amplifier so I can weld up the mount that will allow me to attach it to the roof.

This 40+lb monstrosity is what's going on the roof between driver and passenger.  

Overall length is about 39 1/2" and it's about 10" wide.

There will be a decent amount of metal work to make sure that thing doesn't come down from the roof. I want to create a lot of surface area at the attachment/weld points for the roof braces and windshield brace.


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## JohnnyOhh (Feb 19, 2015)

Oh that amp looks mean!

I meant what size alternator, batteries, caps, etc. Power supply side.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

JohnnyOhh said:


> Oh that amp looks mean!
> 
> I meant what size alternator, batteries, caps, etc. Power supply side.


JS says they can make a 390 for it. That combined with three Limitless Cyber 12ks should be plenty.


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## JohnnyOhh (Feb 19, 2015)

good lawd. that amp can do 12,000W! --> 1,200A! sorry, i see you mentioned the batteries previously.

cooooool! how do figure that battery quantity & alternator size? you doing anything special to adjust the alternator charging voltage to accommodate the Lifepo4 chemistry?


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

JohnnyOhh said:


> good lawd. that amp can do 12,000W! --> 1,200A! sorry, i see you mentioned the batteries previously.
> 
> cooooool! how do figure that battery quantity & alternator size? you doing anything special to adjust the alternator charging voltage to accommodate the Lifepo4 chemistry?


Ummm...It'll do between 24,000-25,000.  

SALT amplifiers are vastly under-rated.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

Since the Siclone and the Bucs van will be sharing a lot of the same build processes I'm going to be tag-teaming them and going through a few of the initial build stages at the same time.

Namely putting a SALT-12 in the roof of both vehicles.

Mounting an amp that weighs over 40lbs to the roof of a vehicle presents a bit of a safety issue if things aren't built right.

Both vehicles can use the same basic amp mount, but I want to get everything sorted to make sure it's 100% safe for Will and his family. Lots of surface area for the brackets/welds to the roof supports and plenty of roof reinforcement to not only make them strong for amp mounting, but also able to deal with the SPL both vehicles will be generating with the 24s.

The roof of Will's van is fully deadened, so I just need to get an amp mount built for the Siclone, mount the amp, and get some road miles on it.
Basically using it as a test mule to make sure the Bucs van is safe.

If the amp mount somehow fails (which I seriously doubt), I’d rather it fail in my vehicle

Stripped the factory jute insulation from the roof skin and bonded the roof supports to the roof skin with Loctite PL Max.

A knuckle knock/fist bang test is already showing an audible difference in roof reverberation/resonance with the supports bonded to the skin. You’ll see that in an upcoming video.

I still have to do some final clean-up of the roof skin on the rear sections, but I did get a little ahead of myself and apply two sheets of Second Skin’s Damplifier Pro up front. I’ll clean the rest of the roof skin and get Damplifier Pro installed when the PL Max is cured.


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## BigAl205 (May 20, 2009)

If the Sciclone moniker never takes off, you could call it the SALT-shaker

I'll be here all week, folks


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## SiW80 (Mar 13, 2019)

BigAl205 said:


> If the Sciclone moniker never takes off, you could call it the SALT-shaker
> 
> I'll be here all week, folks


Don’t ‘push it’. Just needs some pepper. 


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

That amp is amazing! It will be fun to see how you mount it and how you keep it cool. 

I’m looking forward to hearing this one once you get it completed. 


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

BigAl205 said:


> If the Sciclone moniker never takes off, you could call it the SALT-shaker
> 
> I'll be here all week, folks


Since it'll hurt you at volume we could call it Orange Crush.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

Got deadener applied, made a template, and then made the first 3/4" insert layer for the roof.

Doing this to increase structural rigidity.

Made kerf cuts so the ply would contour to the roof, applied a bunch of construction adhesive, and wedged it in place.

I'll let it cure overnight and remove the wedges.









I think it's going to end up as a 2-door microvan as some point.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

New video is up.


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## pwnt by pat (Mar 13, 2006)

If your honestly searching for opinions I wouldn't suggest doing the 2-dr conversion. The render is neat and all but it's got wheels that would never fit without tubbing front and rear and also has a roof chop. 

I'd say keep the back doors for access to gear or storage. That would be a better location for mounting batteries, or a rack for holding bags or small parcels. 

If it were my XB, all I would do is shave the rear door handles, install poppers, and do a 0% tint on everything in the back.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

pwnt by pat said:


> If your honestly searching for opinions I wouldn't suggest doing the 2-dr conversion. The render is neat and all but it's got wheels that would never fit without tubbing front and rear and also has a roof chop.
> 
> I'd say keep the back doors for access to gear or storage. That would be a better location for mounting batteries, or a rack for holding bags or small parcels.
> 
> If it were my XB, all I would do is shave the rear door handles, install poppers, and do a 0% tint on everything in the back.


That render and the question wasn't about the wheels, I just like the idea of a 2-door and started searching online to see if anyone had done it in the past and, if so, how it would look. 

Found that rendering.

I'd thought about mids/highs amps and processor going on one side, but didn't want to influence responses by mentioning that.

The bigger issue is that if I weld the doors shut I would want to weld both the inside and outside. That means the doors would have to be welded shut before the enclosure build starts (at least on the inside) - which makes the enclosure build that much more of a pain due to the fact that I'd only have access on the cabin side.

If I build the enclosure first and decide to weld it shut and make a 2-door, I would only be able to weld from the outside. 

So it's a catch-22 situation either way with the 2-door.


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## pwnt by pat (Mar 13, 2006)

Yeah I got you. 2 door would be a neat conversation. Personally I'm not a fan of chop tops unless it's an old Merc or Packard. I do like the full time convertible conversations some people do to these, as well as the pickup truck conversations. 

You could always do the 2 door conversion after the enclosure build from the inside out. Pull and ditch the door entirely, fab a new structural inner skin welded from the "outside" side, then build a non structural outer skin to weld - similar to rear quarters on old chargers where the skin was entirely cosmetic.


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## haakono (Apr 5, 2009)

JI808 said:


> I think it's going to end up as a 2-door microvan as some point.












That rendering looks cool, but I think it works because of the chopped roof height. If you were to just remove the glass and weld up the rear doors it has very different proportions, like this:


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

haakono said:


> View attachment 317096
> 
> 
> That rendering looks cool, but I think it works because of the chopped roof height. If you were to just remove the glass and weld up the rear doors it has very different proportions, like this:


I'm heavily leaning towards keeping as a 4-door now. Lots of people saying that the space behind the rear doors could be used for amplifier mounting. If I build this the way I have planned, I'll definitely be looking for amplifier space.

Two videos from this week. Just a couple of basic sound treatment stuff.

This one shows a direct comparison of CLD and mineral wool vs the same areas on the opposite side that are untreated.






This is a video going over initial noise level measurements in the car before sound treatment begins. I wanted to record video and talk about the process while driving so those watching can hear how loud it is. Through each step I'll be taking the same measurements as in this video and talking a bit while driving.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

Update time.

Since I'm driving a personal vehicle to a car audio show (Sundown show this Saturday) I figured I should probably put some sounds in it other than the SQL-15 in a parallel 6th and the two M3 Carbons that are laying on shop rags in the dash that were powered off the head unit. 

This is what I had taken out forever ago...the old factory twiddlers.









...and I had been rolling forever with some M3 Carbons laying on some shop rags. Just connected them to the factory wiring. Maximum effort and all. 









I did a bit of tuning (all head unit) and it sounded good. People thought there were midbass drivers installed. Unconventional crossover points helped.






So since I'm driving this to the show Saturday, I decided to get some proper midbass in...by putting 6 1/2" drivers where the factory 2 1/2" units went.

I'm using Stereo Integrity TM 65 MkIVs. To mount them I made a pair of 1/2" thick PVC rings on the CNC. I used the rings to locate the drivers. Had to cut both HVAC vents but not a big deal. Sealed them back up later with HVAC tape.

Still some things to do here like seal the baffles and the HVAC vents, but at this point the 6 1/2s fit and I'm using them as gravity clamps while the adhesive on the PVC rings cures. These rings are bonded to the dash with Lord Fusor adhesive.









This is a picture from the fitment process. The large majority of the plastic inside this area was cut away.









I thought about painting the white PVC but you can't see it when the grille goes back on so I left it raw.










Dash back in place.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

Now since I went nuts and put my midbass drivers where most people would put their mids I needed to get some tweeters installed.

Months ago I cut the driver's side door panel for a location to put a Stereo Integrity M3 Carbon on-axis to the listening position. I chose this spot to get the stage width outside of the A-pillars.









I also cut a location into the driver's side A-pillar for a Stereo Integrity M25 tweeter with an air saw. Or a rabid badger. I forget which.









Now I know a lot of you will say that the location is way too high but the A-pillar isn't seated where it should be.

Here's the passenger side A-pillar after I worked on it. Wanted to get it in and get this picture before it got upholstery.









So the tweeter and mid locations work together. If you look at the above picture of the passenger side of the vehicle, the tweeter and the mid location are pretty much vertically aligned. These locations will bring stage width farther out on the passenger side. The mid/tweet play much more bandwidth (and information that is more easily localized) than the midbass. The plan is that the two working together will bring the stage out like I'm expecting.

Those same locations on the driver's side will also bring width outside the A-pillar. The reason for bringing the tweeter up to eye level is due to the fact that the higher I brought the tweeter up on the pillar, the more inline it got with the mid location both left/right and fore/aft. The mid/tweet on the driver's side are vertically aligned when looking at them from the driver's seat.

But, I'm not installing mids just yet. Maybe in a few months. Winter or so.

For now it's time to focus on tweeters.

I cleaned up the cutout with a Dremel, sanded the area surrounding the cutout, and made a mounting plate from 1/4" PVC. This plate is made to be a press fit into the A-pillar. I used a little aluminum HVAC tape to seal the edges. Easy to maintain/service if necessary.










I picked up some fiberglass screen material to install over the opening. This screen serves as a backer for the upholstery that will go on.









Then I got to work with some 1/8" foam-back black suede.









No pillar pods here.



























I did some pink noise tests and it's ODD to hear sound coming from the pillar. I mean, I knew what I had done, sent pink noise to the left tweet and had the "wait...that's not right" thought go through my head.  I had a friend tell me that he wouldn't have shown pictures to anyone. Just build it and let people wonder.

At some point in the future I'll work on getting M3 Carbons built into the doors. Not a huge concern right now since I know I can get great results with the 2-way configuration. I should never have an issue of my midbass pulling down. Also shouldn't have midbass nulls that happen because of reflections off the trans tunnel/center console.

I know people will say the tweet and mid are too far apart. I'm not concerned.

There will also be a set of 8s to go in the doors along with the 3s.

...and a set of Stevens 8s in the kicks. And Stevens horns under the dash. I'll need those for the SPL demo crowd.

For those wondering why I decided to take this route - I wanted to hide EVERYTHING up front. I also wanted to do something different with this build. Like the Stereo Integrity Audi I built, everything up front is hidden and this car can be configured to run any combination of drivers with quick tune selection.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

Fantastic update! Wonderful progress - this is going to be such a fun vehicle to demo 

I wish I were going to be there Saturday, but maybe I’ll catch it in September 


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

bertholomey said:


> Fantastic update! Wonderful progress - this is going to be such a fun vehicle to demo
> 
> I wish I were going to be there Saturday, but maybe I’ll catch it in September
> 
> ...


Dangit!

See you in September!


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## CCole (Sep 9, 2020)

Great looking build!


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## Sounds_Insane (8 mo ago)

👀 spotted in the wild?


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

Yeah, that’s us at about 2:50. You missed out on the Audi.


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## naiku (May 28, 2008)

Even at the early stage of things that I got a quick, really quick, demo, I can already tell it is going to be awesome once complete. You'd have no idea the 6.5's are in the dash, nor that there are tweeters up near eye level.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

naiku said:


> Even at the early stage of things that I got a quick, really quick, demo, I can already tell it is going to be awesome once complete. You'd have no idea the 6.5's are in the dash, nor that there are tweeters up near eye level.


Thanks, Ian.

The dead giveaway is that nothing pulls below the dash. Midbass stays above the dash.

I spent a couple of minutes with the air saw tonight and used the shop rag mounts again.

The M3 Carbons will fit just fine and it’s no problem getting them on-axis. Looking forward to having time to get these in and playing.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

JI808 said:


> Thanks, Ian.
> 
> The dead giveaway is that nothing pulls below the dash. Midbass stays above the dash.
> 
> ...


Wow! That is going to be fantastic!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

Weird duplicate post.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

bertholomey said:


> Wow! That is going to be fantastic!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


That was the plan from the beginning. The midbass cannot pull down at all.
The tweeter location - especially in relation to the mids - will widen things.

Should be amazing as long as I don’t mess up the tune like I did Friday night. 🙄 😂


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## TheTodd (Feb 11, 2016)

(In my best George Takei voice) Oh My!

Thanks! Now I’m trying to figure out a way to fit my TMs in the dash of my Avalon. Can’t wait to hear this thing!!!


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

TheTodd said:


> (In my best George Takei voice) Oh My!
> 
> Thanks! Now I’m trying to figure out a way to fit my TMs in the dash of my Avalon. Can’t wait to hear this thing!!!


I'd like to go to the meet in VA next month, but it's a 8 1/2hr drive for me. 

@kmbkk was in town last night. He got in and said it's "Crazy good for how simple it is"

You know, simple stealth install with 6 1/2s in the dash and a parallel 6th order sub enclosure. 

I also did a quick tune on his FR-S. Sounds nice.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

Decided to try a forged carbon look on the interior pieces.

The test piece is the trim around the shifter. I'm using West System 105 resin and 207 hardener.









...and I have a half pound bag of 1/4" chopped carbon.









Simple process. Apply resin, sprinkle carbon onto the resin, let it cure. Apply more resin, sand, more resin...and so on until it's nice and flat. Yes, you could vacuum bag it as well.










Cured









Sanded









More resin










Closer









More resin.









...and the final sanding. Have a couple of tiny pin holes to take care of. Not a big deal.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

After getting that piece pretty much ready for clear I was tempted to go ahead and start shooting it but decided to hold off because the 2K clear also has to be mixed and has a pot life of 48 hours. Since I didn't want to waste the clear on one piece, I decided to start on the other interior bits.

Here's the waterfall for the radio with resin and carbon applied.


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## Anu2g (Nov 4, 2020)

Neat finish idea, Jason


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## Stycker (Jan 31, 2018)

This is next level, but not next level for you. Enjoying the progress Jason.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

Can't believe I didn't post these in here.

I have been using this thing to get wood and such, but I had been running the SQL-15 in a simple 1.25ft^3 sealed enclosure I built for a HST-15.

Having the SQL in that sealed enclosure left it vulnerable to damage by stuff that was moving around.

So...I got to thinking about an enclosure that would protect it.

I didn't want to do a 4th because I've used the SQL-15s in a 4th for a Challenger and know what they'll do.

So I decided to build a parallel 6th. 

First step, sit down with chips/salsa and some summer water. It's like regular water, but has margarita in it. 

I modeled the SQL-15 in the current sealed enclosure and then designed the parallel 6th for it. The comparison of the two is on the screen. A _tiny_ bit more output from 70Hz and down. Weird...that's my crossover point.










Got started. Double baffle.









Put the laser to work burning the logo into the face of the enclosure.


















The two ports. The right side is tuned to 17.9Hz (was shooting for 20Hz - weird of me to be that far off) and the left side is tuned to 83.









Small chamber. That's port on the right side of this image.









Another view. You can also see the opposite end of the port for the large chamber.


















Template taped the access panel onto the enclosure so I could lay out and drill pilot holes for EZ-Loks and machine screws.









Drilled. Access panel removed.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

Gasket tape.









Sub loaded.









Machine screws to secure the access panel.









Heaved into the vehicle.









Lots of clean output for a single 15.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

LOVE the laser etching! Never heard of a 6th order box - that is amazing! I want to hear it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

bertholomey said:


> LOVE the laser etching! Never heard of a 6th order box - that is amazing! I want to hear it!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


I have some TM8 tuning to do. You’ll get to hear it then.


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## Lou Frasier2 (Jul 17, 2012)

how did you determine the specs for each chamber in your 6th?im tossing around the idea of doing one for my 18 in my 16 f150


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

Lou Frasier2 said:


> how did you determine the specs for each chamber in your 6th?im tossing around the idea of doing one for my 18 in my 16 f150


Messed with chamber volume and tuning until I found something I liked. The higher I tuned it, the more overall output it had.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

Working on the first M3 Carbon mount.


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## Bushwacker (Dec 23, 2017)

JI808 said:


> Working on the first M3 Carbon mount.
> View attachment 358879


Looks good is the door card going to completely hide it ?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

Bushwacker said:


> Looks good is the door card going to completely hide it ?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


Yup. 

I ordered steel mesh to use as a grille material. This allowed me to form it to the shape of the door card so when I wrap the insert nothing will be seen. I stapled and epoxied the mesh to the door card. I was going to use Fusor but didn't want to mix so little. A lot of waste to mix such a small amount.

At this point I just need to apply a slight amount of filler to blend the edge of the grille mesh into the door card.

The mid is mounted in these photos.



















Speaker position relative to listening position.


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## TheTodd (Feb 11, 2016)

I’m diggin the crap outta this. Nice work. I can’t wait to hear it.


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## preston (Dec 10, 2007)

That's really nice hiding the tweeter in the a-pillar. I've never had a vehicle that had anywhere near that much empty space behind the trim. 

I'd def be interested to hear how door mids sound too, that seems like such a weird location.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

TheTodd said:


> I’m diggin the crap outta this. Nice work. I can’t wait to hear it.


Thanks, Todd. I'm looking forward to it as well.



preston said:


> That's really nice hiding the tweeter in the a-pillar. I've never had a vehicle that had anywhere near that much empty space behind the trim.
> 
> I'd def be interested to hear how door mids sound too, that seems like such a weird location.


The 3s in the doors will be great. There are A LOT of factory cars running around with mids in that location.

Got some material for the doors. It's unbacked, but I'll foam it before I put it on. Being unbacked makes it a little more of a pain to work into the concave section, but it'll be nicer to work with once I apply it to headliner material.

Anyway, here's the material. I wanted something that looks factory and has high wear resistance since it's going on the arm rest. A local upholstery shop is closing after 50 years in business so I scooped up the last of this material. Here's a dry fit to see how it looks against the door panel. Never mind the wave in the pattern, this is an unbacked, unglued test to see how it looks.

I know the pattern is going to distort due to the concave sections at the front and rear of the insert. Not a lot I can do about that. Even the factory insert has some distortion in it.









Factory panel.


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## Bushwacker (Dec 23, 2017)

That new material looks better than the oem to me.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

I like it. The orange in the factory panel is because this is a Release Series 1.0 vehicle. Something Scion did with the cabs. 2100 of them made in this color. Part of the release series was the color accents, orange LED interior lighting, a front Hotchkis strut brace that’s body color, and of course the Hot Lava body color.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

Nick's son got near the thing when @kmbkk got a demo.

11-21Hz DJ Russticals version of Billie Eilish's "No Time To Die"

Single SQL-15 in a parallel 6th. A little wind. 

When I get the 24s in it'll go full Siclone.


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## JI808 (Nov 20, 2013)

bertholomey said:


> LOVE the laser etching! Never heard of a 6th order box - that is amazing! I want to hear it!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


So now that you've heard it, what's your take on it?


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