# A true SQL system in a 350z



## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

well, just got finishd with a relatively interesting system in a 350z...a somewhat departure from my norm. did this acutally a coupla weeks ago...but then went on vacation 

the goals:

1. Superb sound quality
and
2. A VERY LARGE amount of bass lol

3. utlize the HU, subs, subbox, and amplifiers already provided by the customers to create a clean (not showy at all) install.

well, onto the intsall...

the signal starts with a kenwood excelon 8019 headunit, the unit was already installed in the vehicle and was kept:










the remote bass control for hte subamp was custom intalled into the factory knockout panel in the arm rest area:










as the system features zapco dsp tuning, the usb cable comes out of hte center arm rest to tune via laptop:










front stage consists of a pair of Seas lotus reference 6.5" two way component set. kick panels were built to houes the midbass. i played around with the angling of the speakrs before molding, and found that the further i pushed them against hte firewall, the better they sounded, deeper stage, better tonality...so thats how they were done, a bit further back than the normal kicks i buid. they were wrapped in black suede:


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

now a coupla quick build pics on the kicks, first, hre ist he mold and then inside layers wtih a crap load of modeling clay to reduce resonance...ooo multicolors lol 










then, another layer of dampening went on top to reduce resonance even further and to holdt he clay in place










this results in a super heavy and dead kick panel wtih zero resonance even at high volumes.

here are the front of the mold:










here is the driver side kickpanel sueded and speakres installed:










here you can see how little they actually protude from the stock kick piece:










same goes for the passenger side:


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

the tweeters were molded into the stock A pillar, off axis firing across at one anther, a lot of aiming to insure they were dead across. they were then wrapped in matching vinyl:





































and two quick mold pics of hte A pillar:

the mold sanded:










and then wrapped in vinyl and tweeters installed:


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

moving onto the trunk...so here is where things get a little interesting...the customer provided me with two TC sounds subs (HUGE 10s), a Zenclousure type S dual 10 subbox, and three Sunddown amps...so i basically had to come up with an amp rack design to worked well wtih the subbox...

so here is the view all covered up, as you can see the zenclsoures behind-the-strut subbox , but he rest of hte floor is still relatively stock looking. if you are wondering why there arent any grilles for the subs...thats the customers choice, not mine hehe, not to mention the hugeness of hte subs would make grilles pretty hard to do onto the box 


















here i want to give a huge thanks to Mike at Zenclosures, a true class act and very professional. He makes a very fine product as i always say, and hecame through in a huge way when the initial box was not the right dimension (NOT mike's fault, but rather a slightly miscommunication becuase this box had to be custom made to fit the subs and its requirements), sending out a replacement on TWO day shipment! working through saturday to get it done. again, HUGE thanks to Mike and Zenclosures 

back to the install, lift up the carpet, and a fake floor greets you, coverd in matching black carpet like the subbox: there is a central cutout in the middle:



















remove the cover, and the three Sundown amps provided by the customer peer out at you 

A big 4 channel is bridged, sending 300-350 watts a piece to each midbass, a two channel powers the tweeter with 100 watts, while a big mono block sends 1500 watts to the dual TC 10s. to fill in the gap between the amps, i put in some copper bars, painted silver metalic, so the theme of black amp with silver trim (already present on the amps) continues across the amp rack.

hidden out of hte way is a Zapco DSP6-SL process providing all the EQ, xover, and time alignment needs to the system.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

and finally a look at the wiring and build below the floor, everything wire tied, quite a few wires in a small area as you can imagine hehe...a 0 ga and a 4 ga was run back to run the amps.










anyway, after some tuning by leon, this turned out to quite a nice sounding car, with a lot of clarity, wide, and high staging, along with very wlel centered vocals. and the other side of hte system is on tap the minute a bassy song is popped in and the bass knob nudged (yes i said nudged lol)...it can pressurize the cabin something fierce hehe...prolly easily the loudest 350z i have ever done...

my brief impressoins of the subs were pretty good, lots of output, impact, not quite as blending as the more SQ oriented subs i am used to, but we will see overtime after they break in a bit.

the amps are also not too shabby, i am going to ut in a crossflow next week as they from my experince, run a little hotter than the DLS A seies and the zapco DC amps with the dual interal fan mod, in almost identical setups. but then again, the day i finsihed this car, it was well over 100 degress here in cali...over time we will know the true nature of these products i am not that famliar with and i can give you a more fair assessment, but my initial impressions are very positive.

cheers,

Bing


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## bjayjr5679 (Nov 8, 2007)

You sir are an artist.


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## lyttleviet (Sep 11, 2008)

looks good. You like that shape in the trunk huh =P?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

lol i knew someone was gonna say that haha, thats acutally the first two times i used htat shape ever  but both installs lent it self well to it, wtih a smaller items in the middle and two large items on both sides hehe


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## Boostedrex (Apr 4, 2007)

Hey, those are TC OEM 10's! I have one of those that I never got around to installing. I have heard a couple in other people's setups and those things can be output monsters!!!! But I've also heard them actually sound nice too. It's a shame you can't buy them anymore. 

Nice install Bing. Those kicks are surely different than your usual ones. Are they aimed towards the firewall or was that just the angle the pics were taken?? Clean work either way it's nice to see a few new pieces to one of your installs.

Zach


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## jdc753 (Nov 14, 2007)

amazing install as always. Truly inspiring. 

I am looking forward to your more experienced thoughts on the sundown amps. I am currently using a Sax100.4 and a 1500D (hasn't been used yet as I am waiting on the subs.) The 100.4 has been working great for me soo far and I can yet to find a problem, however I am pretty new at this stuff so curious to see how it compares to the bigger boys such as Zapco.

Always great to see nice clean installs in those cars, seems they are just begging for a system with how they are designed. I think some of the cleanest installs I have seen are in 350Z's


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## dalucifer (Oct 8, 2007)

great work as always!


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## AzGrower (May 30, 2005)

one question, why not use black screws for the subs instead of the silver ones? That way the "dots" dont stick out?


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## fcarpio (Apr 29, 2008)

nice, very nice.


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## Pantani (Jul 17, 2008)

Great job. I really like what you did with the amp mounting, nice attention to detail with the copper bars between the amps. It makes for a nice blending of the silver/black theme across all the amps like you stated.



> Those kicks are surely different than your usual ones. Are they aimed towards the firewall or was that just the angle the pics were taken??


I'm curious about that too.


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## Abaddon (Aug 28, 2007)

Incredible work.....

What do you charge for a job like that?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

hey guys... 

a few answers:

AZgrower: well, yo uhave to ask TC that question, well, not anymore apparently lol, those are the specific screws they supplied with the sub, silver ones with a tall hex top, i wanted to use them beucase with how big the sub is, i wnated to make usr ehte screws fit into the screw openings perfectly and theirs are designed to do it. the funny thing is, they give you a hex wrench in the box, just a normal L wrench, as if nayone was gonna screw in the sub with that hand wrench heheh

i am not sure why hte kicks look like they are aimed inward, cuase in the car, they are not, they are pretty much aimed directly off axis...if you look at hte pic of the kick outside of hte car, taken from the top, you will see what i mean...i think the lighting in some of hte pics makes it look like htat. but in the car, they are aiming directly sideways, if not a little towards the front hehe

b


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## Boostedrex (Apr 4, 2007)

Very cool. Thanks for the quick answers Bing.


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## Irishfocus06 (Sep 11, 2008)

Very nice, clean and simple install. Love it!


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## dvflyer (May 11, 2007)

Not really feelin' the shape of that amp trim piece, but I see why you shaped it like that.

Too bad they didn't want to do Dash Pods.


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## dual700 (Mar 6, 2005)

Great speakers, so so install 

Awesome job, Bing!!!


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Bing, have you worked on a newer model Civic by any chance? I'd be curious to see what you did for midbass/midrange drivers if you did a kick install.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

bikinpunk said:


> Bing, have you worked on a newer model Civic by any chance? I'd be curious to see what you did for midbass/midrange drivers if you did a kick install.


funny you should ask, check backwtih me in a coupla months, hehe...or check wtih mr dvflyer


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

dual700 said:


> Great speakers, so so install
> 
> Awesome job, Bing!!!




you forgot to mention "worlds best DSP", thank god i didnt use that h701 junk favorite by ghetto ass indos!!! lol 


you driving up with Ron end of this month to tune my car or waht? lol


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## douggiestyle (Apr 29, 2008)

love your work. I bet that Z sounds amazing... I've always been a fan of TC, esp. since I'm from SD myself


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## dual700 (Mar 6, 2005)

simplicityinsound said:


> you forgot to mention "worlds best DSP", thank god i didnt use that h701 junk favorite by ghetto ass indos!!! lol
> 
> 
> you driving up with Ron end of this month to tune my car or waht? lol


Hey hey hey!!  
I'd drive with Ron if you baby sit my kids? 
You should drive down here, leave your car with me for couple of days...


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## moosejuice (Oct 5, 2007)

Another great install Bing and those kicks are really deep into the footwell....

B-


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## dvflyer (May 11, 2007)

bikinpunk said:


> Bing, have you worked on a newer model Civic by any chance? I'd be curious to see what you did for midbass/midrange drivers if you did a kick install.


Stay tuned......  It'll be on 8thcivic too.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

^ good. 

I'd like to see a 'professional' install in a civic. There's plenty of DIY's.

Sedan or coupe?


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## dvflyer (May 11, 2007)

bikinpunk said:


> ^ good.
> 
> I'd like to see a 'professional' install in a civic. There's plenty of DIY's.
> 
> Sedan or coupe?


Coupe.... LX.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

its a coupe 

as for kicks mounting location, the last SQ Z i did, had a few midrange anomolies that we attributed to the under dash cavities and stuff with the kick mounting, so this time, before doing the kicks, i put some towels there and did some quick listening...and for some very odd reason, i found that when i pushed the speaker all the wa foroward, wtih an upward angle, they sounded best to me midrange wise..., i am sure if i aimed full on axis they would perhaps even better but the customer specifically demanded that we loose as little foot space as possible, so for that, i felt it worked bets, and Leon seemd to think it was better midrange wise as well


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## FSUnoles (Apr 29, 2007)

Boostedrex said:


> Hey, those are TC OEM 10's! I have one of those that I never got around to installing. I have heard a couple in other people's setups and those things can be output monsters!!!! But I've also heard them actually sound nice too. It's a shame you can't buy them anymore.
> 
> Nice install Bing. Those kicks are surely different than your usual ones. Are they aimed towards the firewall or was that just the angle the pics were taken?? Clean work either way it's nice to see a few new pieces to one of your installs.
> 
> Zach


i'm in the same boat as well, i have a tc 10 sitting in my room that i never got around to installing. i think im going to use it in my home theater just because alot of people use the tc subs in home theater setups


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## EcotecRacer (Sep 16, 2008)

One of the better 350z installs I have seen, but would those kickpanels cut it in a Manual 350z?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

i have built closer to gosh...50-60 kicks for 350zs, with about90 percent of them for manual transmissions 

b


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## BlackSapphire (Apr 16, 2008)

Those kicks look awesome. The color of the suede blends perfectly with the floor mats - is that stuff from Select Products?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

its just from my local upholster supplier.


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## BlackSapphire (Apr 16, 2008)

simplicityinsound said:


> its just from my local upholster supplier.


Roger that. Awesome job Bing!


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

Done it again Bing! I take i that the customer was "Very Happy" to say the least.


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## ColoradoClark (Sep 7, 2008)

Nice job, Bing -- beautiful work! The thing that I find amazing about all of your installs is the incredible attention to detail.


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## mxl16 (Oct 2, 2008)

clean install...nice work!


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## redfred18t (Oct 2, 2008)

absolutely amazing

Just a question about the amps:

did you notice any overheating since they were covered? Also are you using any fans or other cooling devices? I dont see anything in that exposed pic. Anyways I was thinking about doing a false floor that would go over the amps, but have the section for the amps cut out so you can still see them.. Basically it would look like this. I just dont want them to overheat


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## DaleCarter (Jan 3, 2008)

You are the man and have given me inspiration to replace my folding third seat with a flat floor to house amps and subs. I did something similar in my 94 Explorer and will start cutting wood this weekend. Now I just have to decide where to locate the front stage for my 2003 Expedition.


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## Megalomaniac (Feb 12, 2007)

Simplicity sounds, I just helped tune a 350Z yesterday. We used stock location on the tweeters and mids. Owner chose the Seas Prestige tweeters and the illusions luccent mids. Just had to make the hole bigger on the stock sail for the tweeter, when all said and done. I started tuning and I was able to get the imaging pretty dead on center, sounded great, even greter after fiddling with the eq. the owner might chime in here to give his thoughts on the work that was done. To sum up my post, my question is was it really necessary to do glasswork on the pillars?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

hehe, did this person also have 4 TB 6.5" subs in the back?

ewithout hearing that ar, its hard for me to say, but i have heard and helped tune a few350zs, wiht the stock sail panel location, and full eq/TA

you are right, you can get the center to be spot on, but center was never the issue i think, to me, that location always yielded highs that were a bit unnatural, either too sharp, or with tuning, too dull, plus the depth, widths all suffered as well.

but again, thats just my opinion based on the Zs and Gs i have done, without hearing that car, and i am sure without you hearing this one, its hard to compare 

but in the end, i think pushing speakres as far away from the listener is a relatively proven system, or else you would find most of the sq comp cars with sail panel installs, whcih for hte most part, is much easier to do than A pillar and almost all the cars have a big enough sale to do an A pillar job in.

but again, just my opinion 

b


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## Megalomaniac (Feb 12, 2007)

fair enough. Id have to hear it to understand your side of the story. It also could be my height and the owners height, we are about ~5' 4". We are not the tallest of peoples. So maybe the tweeters being in the sails sounded great to us because of our seating position.


edit: yep its the tangbang owner


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

yeah, it could be no idea hehe, i am over 6 feet tall and so is this guy...

but hey, as long as the owner enjoysit, thats all that it matters right? 

maybe one time, see if you can ge ta Z to do A pillar mounts, so you can compare notes? 

b


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## CRD (Apr 23, 2008)

I like the 350Z, my wife gave me the ok to trade my car for one of them, but I need to find a good deal.

Nice install by the way


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