# Mazda6 SL hatch from Australia



## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

Hi guys, time for me to introduce my newest car.










The Car

2003 GG Mazda6 Sport Luxury Hatchback
2.3 litre twin cam VVT
5 Speed manual (w00t)
Red
Factory 17"x7 with 215x45x17" Nexen N8000 tyres










System Plans

Source: Factory (I'm led to believe it's a Panasonic)
Processor: MiniDSP
Front Stage: Orion P6.2 6 1/2" splits, passive, bi-amped, then active
Subwoofer: Exodus Audio Shiva-X2 12"
Amplifiers: Fusion DA Series
CA-DA12250 1,100w monoblock
CA-DA41400 140w x4
Cables:
Shok Reference power & speakers
CSE Premium RCAs
CSE distribution, big 3, terminals & fusing
Power:
Optima D34 Bluetop










Coming up will be sound deadening and cable install.


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## nittanylion64 (Oct 3, 2007)

Sweet. Love the 6's. Had a 6i now moved up to the Speed6. If you have the Bose system, that already has RCA level outputs. Check out Mazda6club, if you haven't already. Can't wait to see the this done.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Is this in addition to the other car, or replacing it?
Does the factory radio already have a non-fading output?

Jay


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

Indeed I have the Bose setup, so preouts and amp trigger ready to go, yes it does also have a non-fading sub out. Definitely a good start, and the dynamics from this headunit seem a lot better already than my Commodore's factory headunit.

I still have my Holden Commodore, but it was written off after an accident in October:










It's mainly fixed now but I've had it for over 4 years, had my fun with it, and the Maz is a nice upgrade.










On to the Mazdarati... I have Acoustica (Australian made) MLV deadening, 4kg / m^2, and jute underfelt.










Only took around an hour to strip the interior:



















Shok audio cable and my RCA wire ready to go in 0 gauge pos and neg to the boot, 6x 12 gauge speaker runs (3 to each front side,) 2x remotes, 2x pairs of RCA and 2x video runs. So much easier when the car is stripped!




























Due to the factory grommet being full (and hidden behind the climate control,) I sucked it up and went for grommets in the passenger firewall. There's a nice spot for them.



















Up next will be the MLV deadening.


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## samos69 (Mar 8, 2011)

Nice work so far! Looking forward to the rest of the build.

I almost bought a z-spec one of these as a second car for the wife, they are great fun to drive but the wife preferred the Altezza which was cheaper so maybe next time.


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## schmiddr2 (Aug 10, 2009)

Nice ride. I'm looking forward to a review of the Shiva. Maybe take some screen shots of the miniDSP setup.


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## jimp (Jul 12, 2009)

wife had an 04 6, nice car. the pic of the interior from the rear that shows the steering wheel on the right side looked weird to me for a second being from the US. GL with the build


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## voltij (Feb 15, 2011)

> Mazdarati


I'm glad I'm not the only one that says this.


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

Thanks for all the kind words guys. 

I laid the jute, cutting around the heater vents and bits and pieces so it didn't lift the carpet unnecessarily.










And some MLV on top - with the foil side down. It's tricky as it doesn't stretch or fold well...



















And then reversed the process, putting the carpet and fittings back in. The carpet still sits nearly completely flat and I'm confident it will settle more as the MLV has a chance to fit into place.

It has made a good difference to road noise, rumbling & vibration through the floor is definitely minimal and road noise is duller. It's as quiet as the car should have been in the first place  Make no mistake, the car hasn't turned into a ghostly silence, but I wasn't expecting that anyway.
Sound deadening on the doors, and a specially made parcel shelf should go the rest of the way in keeping the car quiet and suit the impending speakers nicely.

I also had a little crack at SPL on the weekend with 144.6dB from a single DD 3515 at 50Hz and an Atomic 1800.1D at 0.75 ohm. Good bit of fun before the daily install goes in.


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

Been working on a box. All ready to go in, just need to put some fronts in, connect my preouts, and wire it all up.


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## strong*I*bumpin (Oct 3, 2005)

Beautiful!


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## Jeremy M (Sep 22, 2008)

strong*I*bumpin said:


> Beautiful!


this


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

strong*I*bumpin said:


> Beautiful!


x2


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## pjc (May 3, 2009)

Love the different textures on the box. Great work.


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

yeah i really like that box! allot  its very practical.


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## slpery (Jan 14, 2011)

That box is great !!!
And Fusion has come a long way, with some great looking gear these days.


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## mr.metoo (Feb 20, 2010)

Great looking box


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

slpery said:


> That box is great !!!
> And Fusion has come a long way, with some great looking gear these days.


yeah it always trips me up whn i see fusion in a higher end build lol but they make most of their good **** for the eastern world, us westereners get nothing :blush:


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## Arthurk (Feb 10, 2009)

Very nice!


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## trojan fan (Nov 4, 2007)

That box turned out nice...good job


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

Time to move on to one of the more awkward parts of the install... one of the midbass drivers in my Orion P6.2 set had a (tiny) fall and knocked the pole piece out of alignment. Considering the beefiness of these drivers I wish they'd used better glue!

I gently removed the dustcap (through the coil from behind) and very carefully re-located the magnet and pole piece, checking gaps with a shim from the front as I went. I did my best to re-glue the magnet and pole piece backplate with Loctite CA glue, once I gave it a bench test I glued the dustcap back on.




























And the reason I love these drivers so much.


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## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

Great build.

I like to read this post with my best Australian accent.


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## sum_guy55 (Apr 14, 2011)

Notloudenuf said:


> Great build.
> 
> I like to read this post with my best Australian accent.


We have an accent? I thought it was you guys with the accent!


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## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

sum_guy55 said:


> We have an accent? I thought it was you guys with the accent!


:laugh: We both have accents.


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

With that (thankfully) done, I did the basic wiring on the amp rack so it's all ready to slide in.










A little holster for the allen keys needed to connect & disconnect the system.


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## sum_guy55 (Apr 14, 2011)

Looking great! Can't wait to see it in the car!


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

A few more tidbits.

Sails ready to go in for now










Fusion bass remote - green power LED changed to red, and fitted into a spare blanking plate.


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## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

Wow. That enclosure is gorgeous - and the car looks like it's in great shape for an '03


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Big_Valven said:


> A few more tidbits.
> 
> Sails ready to go in for now


... custom reverb unit? 


Looking great mate!


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## oldturd (Oct 31, 2009)

sydmonster said:


> ... custom reverb unit?
> 
> 
> Looking great mate!


haha, my thoughts exactly!


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

oldturd said:


> haha, my thoughts exactly!


, im lucky BV has a good sense of humour! He's actually a great installer and tweaker of all things electric... but I wonder if knows what we mean by this


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## oldturd (Oct 31, 2009)

sydmonster said:


> , im lucky BV has a good sense of humour! He's actually a great installer and tweaker of all things electric... but I wonder if knows what we mean by this


With Google at his disposal he'll know soon enough.


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

Ha ha guys! I wanted to add some 'spaciousness' to the treble 

I CBF'd making brackets for them & they're likely to be there for a month or two at the most, after which I'm going to be playing with location or ditching them altogether for some nice neo-motor vifa domes I have here


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

I haven't given this thread much love lately even though the car has been moving ahead in leaps and bounds. Sorry guys!

First, sound deadening.























































Wiring





































More to come.


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

Gear in and running!










Time for some grounds.
































































More to come.


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## 2kchevy (Aug 8, 2007)

love the box! great stuff.


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

Awesome build. Simple and elagant. Thumbsup.


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

Thanks guys!

Time for a new shift knob and boot since the chrome had come off the old knob.




























The stinger distros look good but I make my own and thought it was time for some semi-snazzy ones.



















Running a miniDSP on the fronts, active now.


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## X-runner (Aug 7, 2010)

Awesome looking stuff


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## X-runner (Aug 7, 2010)

Big_Valven said:


>


Also, Im wondering why everyone but me has these amazing woodworking skills. :mean:


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

BV, is that the factory knob re worked/covered?


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

Nope, my own from-scratch design.  It does use the factory collar however.

I have decided to make my boot a bit prettier and more practical. Keeping the same gear, but re-working the install.

First, I cubed out some panels with trusty beans










Cleanup was easier than expected once I worked this out










Ripped the lot apart, followed by glass.










I've copied some other panels as well in preparation.



















More updates to come.


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

Now for some woodwork...










Mock up










Little recessed panel getting a tube to run wiring through










Going to have an interesting shape to blend here...










These moulds will help.










I managed to get the top in place, but how to bridge the gap?










Upside down on a pane of glass.










How it's looking. Almost ready for some sound deadening paint and then the baffle.


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## sq_guru (Oct 1, 2011)

Nice box! I like the wrapped inset front, and the amp rack looks very functional.


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## silver6 (Nov 11, 2008)

Any updates?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Big_Valven said:


> A little holster for the allen keys needed to connect & disconnect the system.


Great idea!

I may steal this. lol

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Also, I really like the design on those side panels. I am working on doing a sub on the right side of my trunk, and didn't want something real flashy (because it would stand out too much against the rest of the mostly stock interior. I've got some ideas, but I really like how this wasn't overly complicated and gives you some shapes to break up a large flat area. Nice work!

Jay


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