# B_Rich's Audio Build



## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

Well, I have a build thread over on s10forum, but I like this forum a lot more (for audio, obviously) so I figure I might as well start a build thread here too?

The truck is a '99 S10 Zr2. I've had her for 3 years now and she's a hangin in there still at 130k 

To be honest I'm more into car audio than I am off-roading. Don't get me wrong, I still like to have some fun now and then, but I feel car audio give more return for the dollar.


Here is a quick picture of my old kick panels. They just stuck out way too far, and my new Peerless SLS's won't fit in these, so I figure I'd give it a second go at fiberglass and make new ones (that didn't stick out so far).


Old ones:































The Bostons will be coming out as well, and I'm going 3-way "partially active". I'll have dedicated midbass, but the midrange and tweeters will be on a passive crossover.


I'm using the Alpine SPX-107R's for the mirdange, and the Peerless SLS 6.5's for the midbass.


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

The SLS's _want_ an enclosure, so that's what I'm going to _try_ to give them haha. In a perfect world, .1 cubes is what I would get out of these kicks, but I'm bending over backwards to get .1 cubes out of the airspace that I'm working with here. I'll probably end up with .5-.6 cubes, but that still won't be too bad of a response (a dropoff at ~70hz, which I'm ok with).


To achieve the airspace I need, I cutout the inner panel that is behind the sheet metal. You guys can think what you want of my decision here (remember, it's a 10 year old truck) but I feel it isn't hurting anyone with what I did here. Plus, it'll give me a good .3-.4 cubes of airspace.













To make the mold for the airspace that's going in there, I made a fiberglass mold of some Gladware containers. They fit perfectly in there!





































Glued together:





















Test fit (fits like a glove)


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

Rings mounted and angled:


























































Some may say "they still stick out too far mang...." but I now have a place to rest my left leg while driving, and the passenger now has more room (which still isn't a whole lot..... next truck is either a full size or a car :laugh: ).

That should be it for now.

Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome


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## Tonyguy (Nov 15, 2007)

Nice work so far! I hope my s-10 turns out as well as yours will.


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

How high do you plan to have the SLS play? If you're aiming for like 80hz (I think you mentioned that once) to 250hz, then honestly don't even bother angling them. With such a limited bandwidth, your brain isn't sensitive to location at the lower frequencies, so there really isn't a benefit IMO to angling them. I'd go with making them detract less from your vehicle, t/a and eq can fix most anything.


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## lashlee (Aug 16, 2007)

Sweet, another Z owner. I've got an 03 extended cab. Besides the GM rattles I love it. Fact is when they came out I wanted one and couldn't afford it so the next time I bought a truck that's what I got!! I've got some pics on my cardomain site if you want some additional ideas.


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

bass_lover1 said:


> How high do you plan to have the SLS play? If you're aiming for like 80hz (I think you mentioned that once) to 250hz, then honestly don't even bother angling them. With such a limited bandwidth, your brain isn't sensitive to location at the lower frequencies, so there really isn't a benefit IMO to angling them. I'd go with making them detract less from your vehicle, t/a and eq can fix most anything.


I really have no idea what I'm going to cross these over at. I've never done a 3-way setup before, so I really don't know what a 300hz crossover point vs. a 500hz crossover point will sound like. I'll just have to tune it and find out, ya know?


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

True, but even up to 500hz I really wouldn't worry about angling them very much. Maybe a slight outward angle, but to me I wouldn't make it a priority.


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

Cool!
The effort & trouble your going to on the midbasses is well worth it. I like the platic container idea. Nice!


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

syd-monster said:


> Cool!
> The effort & trouble your going to on the midbasses is well worth it. I like the platic container idea. Nice!


Boy I sure hope so :laugh:

And thanks


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

lashlee said:


> Sweet, another Z owner. I've got an 03 extended cab. Besides the GM rattles I love it. Fact is when they came out I wanted one and couldn't afford it so the next time I bought a truck that's what I got!! I've got some pics on my cardomain site if you want some additional ideas.


Oh nice, yeah I wouldn't mind seeing your cardomain.

Are you over on Zr2USA as well?


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

bass_lover1 said:


> True, but even up to 500hz I really wouldn't worry about angling them very much. Maybe a slight outward angle, but to me I wouldn't make it a priority.


I think it'll be more of a mental thing than anything when I angle them. When it comes to audio, I think of how it "should" work, then I do it, and for some weird reason, I think it sounds better, because that's how it "should" be, instead of that's how it is. Call me crazy, but that's just kinda how I work lol

Of course, this is a big step up from the old kicks as far as leg room goes, which is one of my main goals in this new build.

Please don't think I'm bashing you for not following your advice. I really do appreciate the input, so thanks


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## lashlee (Aug 16, 2007)

B_Rich said:


> Oh nice, yeah I wouldn't mind seeing your cardomain.
> 
> Are you over on Zr2USA as well?


Here is a link to the website: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2736248

Yeah I head over to ZR2.com occasionally. I'm more like you in the fact that it dosen't get dirty like my old trucks, but it does seem to last a little longer between repairs!!!


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

No worries, just like letting people know there are options, especially when I've used the speaker in question. 

Regardless, you'll be happy with the SLS any way you look at, it's a very nice driver.


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## infiniti23 (Dec 4, 2008)

B_Rich said:


> Well, I have a build thread over on s10forum, but I like this forum a lot more (for audio, obviously) so I figure I might as well start a build thread here too?
> 
> The truck is a '99 S10 Zr2. I've had her for 3 years now and she's a hangin in there still at 130k
> 
> ...


Geez, those Peerless mids look like they will HAMMER ...

Anxious to see how it works out for you!


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

bass_lover1 said:


> No worries, just like letting people know there are options, especially when I've used the speaker in question.
> 
> Regardless, you'll be happy with the SLS any way you look at, it's a very nice driver.


Thanks, I'm hoping so.


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

lashlee said:


> Here is a link to the website: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2736248
> 
> Yeah I head over to ZR2.com occasionally. I'm more like you in the fact that it dosen't get dirty like my old trucks, but it does seem to last a little longer between repairs!!!


I remember seeing your truck a long time ago (probably 2 years ago or so). I remember the xtant amp being mounted to the roof, and I was saying to my self, "HowTF do you mount an amp to the roof?!" lol

The install looks great. I don't think you could've done a better job saving space haha.


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

After taking some dimensions and searching around, I think these should work for me just fine. Hopefully they clear the surround, if not, a spacer might be needed. I'm sure I can make something work though.

Parts-Express.com:6-1/2" 2-Piece Steel Mesh Speaker Grill Black


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

Wrapped and glassed:



1st attempt at wrapping (my old kick panels) :












2nd attempt at wrapping:





















I dunno what happened. Beginners luck I guess :laugh:

I swear I wasn't drunk when I wrapped these...... 


Resin only:


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

Mat and resin:








































I know they aren't the prettiest things on earth, but they'll do for me. I know I've got my work cut out for me, but it isn't anything I won't make happen.

They're curing right now, and I'm probably done working on them for the night. Tomorrow I'll start on making these an actual sealed enclosure.

More to come.


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

Got metered today just for the hell of it. I've never been metered before, so it was kinda exciting to see what I hit.














I feel hitting over 140db is an accomplishment for only having 1 12" Type X running off of 1200w


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

Oh and the mic was on the dash, windows down (call it cheating but I was shooting for the highest number possible  )


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

Well it's about time I got something done on these things. It was kind of a burden on my shoulder to get the "sealed" part and the "kick panel" part together in one piece, and I'm glad I got things done.


Here is the workspace for the afternoon:












So, in order to make these kicks a sealed enclosure, I took my mold of the gladware containers glued together, placed them in the proper position inside the hole that I cut out. After that, I placed the kick panel over that, then glued small dowel rods from the kick panel to the sealed part of the enclosure. Once the glue dries, in theory we should have a perfect fit for the kick panel.


Passengers side:







































Drivers side:


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

Test fit:






















To get the shape I wanted, I hot glued the mat right to the kick panel, and made my mold from there. I would just throw the resin on over the mat and let it cure. It worked out really nice for me, as I got the shape I wanted. I know most of this is probably old news for most of you, but I'm still very new to this fiberglass world.


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

And finally, I feel that the legroom that I gained is an accomplishment:


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

All sealed up:















Passengers side measures right at 12 cups (about .1-.11 cubic feet, not including driver displacement  ) and the drivers side measures right at 9 cups (.07-.08 cubic feet, not including driver displacement). Hopefully the differences in these two don't make a huge difference. If so, then I'll just have to dampen the drivers side one more so even things out more. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Tomorrow I plan on trimming these up so they slide in perfect into the spot. Right now they're pretty snug, and I know that a couple times in and out, and paint will start to become a factor (wrapping these still isn't out of the question, but I'll be trying paint first).

I'll pretty much have a brand new system when this is all said and done....... and to think that I was "done with audio"


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## vladi627 (Sep 22, 2008)

good job man, that turned out awesome


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## chadillac3 (Feb 3, 2006)

Hehe, I'd like to think I helped contribute to the addiction.


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

vladi627 said:


> good job man, that turned out awesome



Thanks, things definitely turned out better than expected, but we aren't home free yet :blush:




chadillac3 said:


> Hehe, I'd like to think I helped contribute to the addiction.



lol


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## chadillac3 (Feb 3, 2006)

Dude, where are the pics from what you did last night? Or did you take a night off?


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

No, I was out in the garage the entire evening cleaning these up and making sure they can fit in there with no argument between the kick panel and the firewall. Once there is a fight between the two, then you risk paint to chip during installation.

Not much to share really, I'm just cleaning them up and cutting out holes/reglassing where needed to get the right fit.

My goal is for body filler to go on tonight, we'll see how that goes though.


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

Well I spent all day sunday getting the pdx wired up and completing the install of the Type X comps. Not much to say 'cept for that a custom mount of plexi was made to hold the midrange up there. I'm still sharing a factory bolt, so I'm not worried about strength issues. The grille fits on perfectly too (no pics of the grille as of now).










































So from the factory, the midrange will "send its waves through" the perforated cutout of the speaker grille. Well, as the tweeter sits now, the tweeter would just be hitting solid plastic (it isn't perforated where the tweeter is located at) so new holes have already been drilled for the tweeter through the factory mesh speaker grille.

No update on the kicks except for that they're almost ready for body filler. I planned on working on them all evening tonight, but we ended up looking for a car for my sister (made an offer too). Hopefully tomorrow night body filler goes on.

More updates to come.....


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

Modified grilles (that are falling apart).

Glassing the mid and tweeter might be a possible winter project when I'm home from school, as the grilles are falling apart on me.


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

May I suggest that you seal that hole up pronto.


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

bass_lover1 said:


> May I suggest that you seal that hole up pronto.


Hmm, sure, I guess I could seal it up better.

I'm assuming you're talking about the passengers side mount? (3rd picture)


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## Tonyguy (Nov 15, 2007)

B_Rich said:


> Hmm, sure, I guess I could seal it up better.
> 
> I'm assuming you're talking about the passengers side mount? (3rd picture)


Yupp. Definitely needs to be sealed up better.


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## chadillac3 (Feb 3, 2006)

Both of 'em dude; you want to separate the front wave from the back. Get some deadening in there.


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## Low_e_Red (Aug 23, 2008)

Also watch the rear waves, I have seen them come through the underside of the dash and make some funky **** happen.


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

B_Rich said:


> Hmm, sure, I guess I could seal it up better.
> 
> I'm assuming you're talking about the passengers side mount? (3rd picture)


I'm talking about both of them. There's rather large gaps between your mounting plate and the rest of the dash. What you should consider doing is re-making that baffle in the shape of the entire OEM speaker cutout, this way it covers everything.


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

Low_e_Red said:


> Also watch the rear waves, I have seen them come through the underside of the dash and make some funky **** happen.


Umm, I really don't think I'll have to worry about that. There isn't much place to go underneath the speaker lol.



bass_lover1 said:


> I'm talking about both of them. There's rather large gaps between your mounting plate and the rest of the dash. What you should consider doing is re-making that baffle in the shape of the entire OEM speaker cutout, this way it covers everything.



I'll see what I can do.

Thanks for the input everyone.


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

Well I'll give a good update while my computer isn't f*cking up on me.....


I finally got the kicks "done". To be honest I basically said to hell with it, let's finish sanding these things, throw the primer and paint on and call it done. I got 'er done, but they aren't perfect. Fitment isn't the greatest but it'll do. The grilles I got for them are indestructible, I really feel confident with them being down there, and with them only being $48 speakers it's not a HUGE deal if something happens. Some modification were needed, but it was pretty simple.



I know the imperfections around the ring are noticeable, but the speaker will cover those up when it's mounted, so I didn't bother sanding it too much.


Primer (Slick Sand)































Paint (same color as my old kicks)


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

Installed:























































































Like I said, fitment isn't the greatest (remember, these are an entirely sealed enclosure) but I think with some time and trimming things can be fitting a little better.

Right now these are out and a 2nd layer of fiberglass is going on the inside to strengthen these up more. I was getting rattles and vibrations galore on the drivers side during high excursions. I also need to seal up around the speaker with some foam of some sort.

When these were in, with the little tuning I was doing with them (only crossover points and gains) these suckers pounded. I was VERY happy with the response I was getting, but I know it can be better. These SLS's blew the Boston mids out of the water, no questions asked. Hopefully the sound will only get better as I continue working on them.


And I already know what my next glassing project will be...... hehe 

More to come later this week.


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

BUMP!

Thought I'd resurrect this thread from the grave instead of starting a new one. To see everything I've done previous to this, click on the link in my signature.

My plan:

During winter break (college student) I plan on building a ported box for a 10" IDMAX, fabricating new kick panels that will hold 8" midbass and I'll be glassing the 4" components into the a-pillar.

Here is the sub box for the IDMAX. It'll be 1.6 cubes tuned to 26hz when it's all said and done.


A mock up:













Piecing together:













Everything but top piece and bracing together:


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

And finally all together, minus the bracing:































Flush mounted:

I couldn't be much happier with the flush mount. This is my first flush mounted box (minus the dorm box) that turned out well. I'll be doing this for EVERY sub box that I do in the future.































And we get everything together and I just knew we were missing something. Of course we forget the bracing, so once we cut out the hole for the sub we squeeze some dowel in there:
































I don't have it in the truck yet. Right now I'm working on the new kick panels for the 8" midbass which I should have the foundation for those done by tomorrow.

More to come.


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## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

Sweet. Good job man. Keep plugging away at it.


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## Echo42987 (Dec 25, 2008)

Was bracing really nec.? LoL With all of the port runs I don't think bracing was really needed. And you have screws going all the way across were your port runs were at? How Come? Did the last one even hit wood? Just looks like it didn't from the pics.

Great job on the Fiberglass! I'm learning now, but being taught by a master lol


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

Echo42987 said:


> Was bracing really nec.? LoL With all of the port runs I don't think bracing was really needed. And you have screws going all the way across were your port runs were at? How Come? Did the last one even hit wood? Just looks like it didn't from the pics.
> 
> Great job on the Fiberglass! I'm learning now, but being taught by a master lol


Thanks.

I do feel that the bracing was necessary (what's a little overkill gonna hurt?). If you look at the front baffle that the sub mounts to, the only thing holding that top piece up is the screws along the sides of the top baffle and the screws going into the port pieces. I felt that I needed something else that would actually go underneath the sub to support it directly and strengthen the enclosure more. That, and I had already taken the bracing volume into account (although it wasn't much). The screws going down the port pieces just support it. There was still some give in the port pieces when we just had the base screws in, so we added the screws down the sides of the port pieces. And yes I did hit that last screw on the horizontal port piece lol


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

I'm finally gettin the hang of this wrapping thing. It is the most tedious task of the whole build though. Got them wrapped and resin applied just waiting for them to cure now. The passengers side kick panel always seems to turn out better than the drivers side....


























































Had to rig up my own curing station due to Iowa winters:







































I'll be letting these cure overnight and I'm goin out of town tomorrow, so I might be gettin more work done sunday night.


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## gitmobass (Nov 7, 2009)

B_Rich said:


> Had to rig up my own curing station due to Iowa winters


I did the same thing with my kicks a year ago. Good luck with your build!


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

gitmobass said:


> I did the same thing with my kicks a year ago. Good luck with your build!


Thank you sir I appreciate it!


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## AUDIO_BASSICS (Mar 21, 2009)

B_Rich said:


> Thank you sir I appreciate it!


are you building the kicks for mid-bass drivers??? because if so i think you might of been happy with just slapping them in the doors... i just did a 1996 S-10 BLAZER where the dash looks the same as yours... i put the TANGBAND 3" bamboo in the dash which on axis it doesn't need a tweet but since i am bouncing it off the glass i did a 1" tweet also... pulled the doors and SECONDSKIN'D them up put a pair of old school MACROM 8" mid-bass's in the doors and called it a day... soundstage is pretty killer for off the glass and very definite center image right at the center air vents...and the mid-bass KILLER!!!!! i was gonna do kicks but didn't want to take up any floor space... where are you in IOWA????


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

AUDIO_BASSICS said:


> are you building the kicks for mid-bass drivers??? because if so i think you might of been happy with just slapping them in the doors... i just did a 1996 S-10 BLAZER where the dash looks the same as yours... i put the TANGBAND 3" bamboo in the dash which on axis it doesn't need a tweet but since i am bouncing it off the glass i did a 1" tweet also... pulled the doors and SECONDSKIN'D them up put a pair of old school MACROM 8" mid-bass's in the doors and called it a day... soundstage is pretty killer for off the glass and very definite center image right at the center air vents...and the mid-bass KILLER!!!!! i was gonna do kicks but didn't want to take up any floor space... where are you in IOWA????


Yeah the kicks are for 8" midbass drivers. I really don't wanna mess with door speakers. These trucks already have 10 million rattles in the interior, and 8" midbass doesn't help with that. With them in the kicks, you've already eliminated 90% of the rattles just by relocating them.

And I live in the Cedar Rapids area.


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## B_Rich (Mar 29, 2009)

I gotta say, this thing is a monster. I have never heard a sub that sounds this good. For the little time that I've been playing with it, I've been deeply impressed with the quality of the sound, and the output of the sub. That's one thing that I was concerned about going with a 10" instead of a 12", was the output. This thing for plenty loud for me with the windows down, which is a huge plus for me.

I've still got some minor tweaking to do with the sub, but overall a huge smile was put on my face when I had it in the truck today.


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## MTopper (Nov 4, 2009)

So, i know the thread is over 7 months old and all that but i just saw your door panels for the first time and noticed the crank window holes. did your s10 come with cranks and you convert it or did you just happen to get replacements with crank holes?


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