# 2006 Scion tC Install



## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

Started my first system build ever. I've always used a professional installer but I'm sick of paying them the ridiculous amounts of money they ask for and I'm sick of not getting exactly what I want. So, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

Setup will be 3-way components in the front, a mix of rainbow audio stuff. Mids and tweets will be in the dash and the mid-bass in the stock location. New 12" Fi Q will also be installed. I haven't had a sub in a while so I've been missing some beats. Amps will be replaced eventually but I don't have enough money for new ones right now. Also lots of miscellaneous sound deadening.

Here's some pics of the progress so far.

The car:









My buddy deadening:









Speaker holes:









Other miscellaneous pics:


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

haha looks like my apt when I get a big project going. sounds like its going to be a nice install. Love that car.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

bobditts said:


> haha looks like my apt when I get a big project going. sounds like its going to be a nice install. Love that car.


No kidding! You should see my shop after the weekend work!

It looks as if a grenade went off!


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## azngotskills (Feb 24, 2006)

Keeshwah said:


> Speaker holes:


ouch....big step and i hope they work as expected  Good luck!!!


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## STI<>GTO (Aug 8, 2005)

^^^^^ Hardcore right there.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Keeshwah said:


> Speaker holes:



What did you cut that with to get so close to the windshield?



Keeshwah said:


> Other miscellaneous pics:


Hehe, SPL meter


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

I have a very special dremel.  J/k I took the dash out and I put it back because I believe it's illegal to drive around w/o a dash.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Well, you are dedicated


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## 02bluesuperroo (Oct 31, 2006)

Big time balls for your first major install.


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## kimokalihi (May 27, 2007)

> I took the dash out and I put it back because I believe it's illegal to drive around w/o a dash.


Really? I'd do it. I almost had to when I had my dash out.

Are you going to seal the dash somehow for the mids? I don't think you'll get much bass response if you don't.


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

kimokalihi said:


> Really? I'd do it. I almost had to when I had my dash out.
> 
> Are you going to seal the dash somehow for the mids? I don't think you'll get much bass response if you don't.


Wasn't planning on it. They'll only go down to 200Hz.


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## chadillac3 (Feb 3, 2006)

How is the speaker going to mount to that? Looks curved to me.


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

I'm going to make a bracket and the speaker and grill will protrude through the dash.


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

Also if anyone has any extra Damplifier pm me.


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## drocpsu (May 3, 2005)

wow, that's a big step for a first install. I've done installs in the past, but I don't think I'd be ready to cut a couple big holes in my dash.  

Where in NH are you located?


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

Nashua


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## 03blueSI (Feb 5, 2006)

I have done quite a few installs and I still would not tackle that. Cutting a huge hole in a door is one thing. To put back to stock you just use a properly sized baffle, but on the dash you will have to buy a new dash.


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

Keeshwah said:


> Wasn't planning on it. They'll only go down to 200Hz.


midbass or midrange?


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

bobditts said:


> midbass or midrange?


My bad, it's midrange but goes down to 500Hz. Midbass will pick it up from there to 80Hz.


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

Keeshwah said:


> My bad, it's midrange but goes down to 500Hz. Midbass will pick it up from there to 80Hz.


right on. sounds like a plan


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## chadillac3 (Feb 3, 2006)

I'll be very curious to see the end result...just don't see how that's going to look even halfway decent without some serious work to compensate for the curve.


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## 6spdcoupe (Jan 12, 2006)

drocpsu said:


> wow, that's a big step for a first install. I've done installs in the past, but I don't think I'd be ready to cut a couple big holes in my dash.
> 
> Where in NH are you located?


I would have no problem cutting those holes in your dash.


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## 6spdcoupe (Jan 12, 2006)

Looks like the start of a truly dedicated install. Keep us posted and please with pics !


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

6spdcoupe said:


> I would have no problem cutting those holes in your dash.


LOL. First person to say they'd do it.

Finally got the speaker cable in last night and I intentionally bought it bigger than I need (12 AWG) but this cable is extremely thick. I hope it all works out ok.


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## drocpsu (May 3, 2005)

Keeshwah said:


> LOL. First person to say they'd do it.
> 
> Finally got the speaker cable in last night and I intentionally bought it bigger than I need (12 AWG) but this cable is extremely thick. I hope it all works out ok.


Don will (and has) cut holes in anything without remorse.


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## 6spdcoupe (Jan 12, 2006)

drocpsu said:


> Don will (and has) cut holes in anything without remorse.


And I actually love doing it. Whats the point in having all these tools if they dont get used?


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## rekd0514 (Sep 24, 2006)

That looks exactly like the pile I had when I did mine.


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

Did a little more work last night. I actually didn't think the cable I bought was soo thick so I hope I can make it all fit. I ran cabling for the tweeter and for the mid-bass in the door.

Tweeter:









Comparison of speaker cable next to 4AWG power cable







[/b]


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

So this weekend, well Saturday I should say, I attempted to make some brackets or find a way to mount the midranges in the dash but to no avail. I decided I'll be fiberglassing them into the dash which will give me a little more flexibility in the mounting angle. I've also decided that the tweeters will be moved to the a-pillars after all. A few people made that suggestion and after seeing a couple dash installs mounting the tweeters in this way I made the decision.

Also I'm planning for the next phase of this build. I'm planning on getting news amps and HU for going active. Initially I was looking at a Pioneer Premier DEH-P980BT but the first person I talked to said that I need the crossovers to be more adjustable and that I really need a 4-way system if I want to have time alignment on the mid-basses. She suggested Clarion DRZ-9255, Pioneer DEX-P9 AND DEQ-P9 or Eclipse CD7100. The Eclipse would be my first choice because I don't really look forward to spending $1,000+ on the headunit when I still need amps. Either a six-channel for the front stage, a 4 channel for the mids and tweets and more powerful 2 channel for the mid-basses, and I still need a sub amp.

The reason I want the processing in the HU as opposed to getting some Zapco amps is that I'd like to be able to use whatever is most economical/efficient for the amps. I suppose I should post this question elsewhere as well but any thoughts would be appreciated.


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## Thumper26 (Sep 23, 2005)

there is a killer deal on a 9255 in CC. you should jump on that if that's what you want.


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

Where???

Actually it really doesn't matter since I'm not ready to buy right away in any case. This will probably be done in a couple months but I just need to plan ahead.


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## Thumper26 (Sep 23, 2005)

you're missing out.

it's in the cool classifieds section Z28SS is the seller. It's $550 shipped right now...refurb from Clarion, tons of pics, looks incredible.


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## annoyingrob (Aug 24, 2007)

Keeshwah said:


> Comparison of speaker cable next to 4AWG power cable
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Where did you get that speaker cable? Looks almost like the stuff I used in my car. (Mine is 4 conductor 13ga running to my components up front)


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## annoyingrob (Aug 24, 2007)

Keeshwah said:


> Comparison of speaker cable next to 4AWG power cable
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Where did you get that speaker cable? That looks very similar to the stuff I used in my car (mine is a 4 conductor 13ga though). I'd post a picture, but my post count isn't high enough.


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## annoyingrob (Aug 24, 2007)

Where did you get that speaker cable? That looks very similar to the stuff I used in my car (mine is a 4 conductor 13ga though).


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

Parts Express. It's under the power cable section (I guess that explains why it's so thick). In any case it'll be nice to say I can use as many watts as I want, when I want, how I want!


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## annoyingrob (Aug 24, 2007)

Probably the same stuff then. Miine's PE power cable too


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

I finished up most of the sound deadening yesterday. Did a double layer of eDead v1SE in the hatch area, double layer of damplifier in the rear quarter panels and wheel wells and covered with a layer of eDead v4. I can't even hear cars go by me now, it's so cool. I still hear too much engine noise and some road noise from the front wheel wells. I think I can fix the wheel wells but I dunno about the engine noise.

Started glassing the dash but my dremel died so I might be done for today. Should have some pictures to post later today.


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

Here's some pics of the work on the dash so far.










Showing the angle:









In it's new home:









View of the whole dash so far:









Not quite level:









A little better but not perfect yet:









Still to come more sanding, body filler, and a trip to the upholstery shop. A-pillars still need to be done too. So much nicer posting here than on scion life. everyone there is a bunch of pussies. Oh, no the holes in the dash!  Weenies.


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## 6spdcoupe (Jan 12, 2006)

Looks like you've been busy. Keep up the work !


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

question: why the aiming? and why mount the speaker above the level of the dashboard?


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

I'm hoping that the aiming will make the imaging a little better and they're mounted above the dashboard because there are air ducts that go underneath. so the more clearance i have the better. when i tested this out with a 2 way setup the imaging was better if the tweets were angled slightly towards the opposite side of the car.


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## coffee_junkee (Jul 13, 2006)

Are you thinking of glassing the whole dash or just attaching your pods?

Matching the barked texture of your dash would be a real pain in the arse!!


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

I plan on recovering the entire dash. I don't like the texture anyway.


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

Got more work done over the long weekend. Had to re-run all the cables because they were too fat to under the panels along the doors. They now go along the center console and then cut over to go under the quarter panels. Here's some pics of the temp setup until I get the dashboard finished. Only thing that will change is the addition on the mid in the dash and switching from 2-way to 3-way crossovers.


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## s2groove (May 18, 2007)

What did you do about your curtain airbags? I'm worried (in the event of an accident) about the tweeters being a harmful projectile. I plan on doing something similar to your setup in a tc but maybe removing the airbags in the a-pillar or trying to hard mount them so that they don't fly off with the panel. It all looks really good so far. Can we see more pics of the a-pillar area please?


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

I'll get you one tonight that will put you at ease. Getting that thing off is a huge pain and it wouldn't come off completely in the event of an accident it will come out about 2 inches to allow the air bags to deploy. Also the air bag is mostly above the window and would come straight down. I saw a picture somewhere but I can't remeber where. On scion life there are lots of discussions about this and gauge pods.


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

As promised. Here's a pic off how far out the top of the a-pillar comes off. It takes a great amount of force to get the panel all the way off.


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## s2groove (May 18, 2007)

Thanks, that makes me feel alot better about mounting my tweets in the a-pillar.


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## nismos14 (Jun 22, 2007)

Nice install, can't wait to see how it turns out.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

s2groove said:


> What did you do about your curtain airbags? I'm worried (in the event of an accident) about the tweeters being a harmful projectile. I plan on doing something similar to your setup in a tc but maybe removing the airbags in the a-pillar or trying to hard mount them so that they don't fly off with the panel. It all looks really good so far. Can we see more pics of the a-pillar area please?


You'll be fine. I've seen pics of a few S4s with a-pillar gauge pods that were in accidents and they were fine as well. You have to remember the curtain is going to push the pillar into the windshield if it goes anywhere.


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## SQ4ME2 (Jul 22, 2007)

if your thinking of removing the air bags on a car for someone else get a notary to sign off that the person accepting the car without the airbag is never gonna place fault on you for the death of a passenger. we did this for a 96 integra once. do you remember the air bag in the center of the dash passenger side. we took it out and put a sony ten disc in it and put the factory airbag panel back on on hinges and a lil pull tab at the bottom edge and velcor to keep it from bouncing on bumps. it could be a very serious legal matter when either interfering with an airbags operation or its complete removal.
just giving the info is all


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

SQ4ME2 said:


> if your thinking of removing the air bags on a car for someone else get a notary to sign off that the person accepting the car without the airbag is never gonna place fault on you for the death of a passenger. we did this for a 96 integra once. do you remember the air bag in the center of the dash passenger side. we took it out and put a sony ten disc in it and put the factory airbag panel back on on hinges and a lil pull tab at the bottom edge and velcor to keep it from bouncing on bumps. it could be a very serious legal matter when either interfering with an airbags operation or its complete removal.
> just giving the info is all


   NO ONE has suggested removing the airbags...


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## SQ4ME2 (Jul 22, 2007)

another guy said he thought about removing one of his and the tweeters on the pillar, i just thought he might wanna know about some of the legal side of it.


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

Dash with the mid has been installed and the 2-way crossovers swapped for 3-ways. It was a little difficult getting the speakers screwed-in but I have a plan. Crossovers are a mess right now, I'm going to have to think of what I can do with them. Upholstery will be done next pay check.


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## Keeshwah (Jun 7, 2007)

Been working on another project as well but I put the air ducts back on and changed some connectors. Everything fit very nicely. The speakers can now be installed in the dash, then the dash in the car and then I can connect the cables together. I'll have pics of the connections later. Here are some pics of the underside of the dash with the air ducts installed.


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