# Simple little build in a 2008 Subaru Outback Sport



## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

fresh from vacation and finally got to work someone elses subby  This time its a 2008 Impreza Outback Sport. 

Goals: 

1. Simple system that sounds pretty good on a modest budget
2. maintain spare tire and keep system as space saving and stealthy as possible
3. Relatively easy to remove and return to stock (no cutting of stock panels)

lets get started.

the signal starts with a kenwood excelon x991 cd/mp3 headunit with built in bluetooth connection. This was supplied to me by the customer. It is installed along with a pac-audio steering wheel adapter module. note the bluetooth mic installed along the instrument cluster trim:










the front stage consists of a set of Seas Lotus performance 6.5" two way component set. the midbass is installed in the stock lower door location. the customer stated that he wants to be able to reach the window motor in case in case of a failure (hes had bad luck with window motors), so i used a bit more foam on the door versus traditional deadener, as it is easier to peel back and reapply. 

here is the driver side door done, with bedliner-ed adapter baffle mounted, and new wires routed into the door:










the lotus midbass was then installed:










same goes for the passenger side door of course:



















we debated on location of tweeters. while i pushed for a higher A pillar location, the limit of the budget prevented that from happening this time around. we also toyed with the door location, but decided that if in the future we wanted to go active with A pillar, having a hole in the kick panel is much better than having one in the door card, as the former is a lot cheaper to replace. so they went into the stock kick panels. i gave it a quick listen before making this decision and overall, the stage isnt super low, about what it was stock despite having a lower tweeter position.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

so thats it for the interior...moving onto the hatch area. 

as noted, the goal was to keep the spare tire, take up little sapce, and remain hidden. having a backward firing structure was also out as it would eliminate the ability to fold down the seats and carry long cargo. in the end, there was really one option, and that is to mold the amp rack and subbox out of fiberglass on the side of the trunk. whcih is what i did.

here is the hidden view, and as you can see, with the cargo top attached, you can barely see anything:










slide it back and you can see a combination amp rack and subbox structure on the driver side. two grilles cover and protect the components. 










removing the slide out cover gives you a better view of what it looks like. poping off the two grilles reveal a MTX thunder TT65 thin 10" subwoofer toward the back, and a Jl audio HD600/4 4 channe amp upfront. the amp is trimed in a section of vinyl matching the stock interior

another requirement from the customer was to add a hatch light, since the mold will cover the stock one, i did a new one with a LED domelight element and a piece of glazed plexi upfront. it is far brighter than the stock unit.



















lifting up the floor shows that the sparetire and all the tools can easily be accessed:










some more views of the hatch with the rubber mat removed. the sub sits in a .6 cubft sealed enclosure. and the entire thing is trimmed in graphite carpet.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

in the end, very little of usable trunk space was take up, only about 2.5" or so, from this view you can see how recessed it actually is:










with everything in place and the hatch closed, there is barely any sign that anything is sitting back there:










a shot of how bright the new light is at night:










onto the build pics.

first, an initial mold was taken of the general area with about a dozen layers of fiberglass cloth.










once that cured, the entire structure was removed and trimmed to the proper size and shape:










a piece of MDF divider was secured and reinforced with fiberglass, followed by the baffles for the amp, sub and hatch light, each with their walled borders to accomodate the grilles.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

fleece was pulled, resin applied and allowed to cure. the subbox side was then reinforced from the inside with cloth, chopstrand, and duraglass. while the amp side, as it is not direct load bearing, got a bit of duraglass/resin mixture along the edges.

the holes were then cut out and sanded smooth, and the entire structure was once overed with 60 grit to knock down any big protrusions.




























this was then wrapped in a single piece of graphite carpet:



















here are two quick shots of the mtx thin sub. i had to use this one sinec Exile was out of XT10s. cosmetically i am not a huge fan of the shiny front dustcap, but, the sub really surprised me, very good output, blend together with the music extremely well, just overall a good sounding sub in this class.



















and here is a wiring pic, due to the tight confines of the underfloor area, i had to get pretty creative to mount hte four separate Seas xovers. so they all went on or into the foam storage bin on the passenger side. the wires are routed to clear the spare.










so thats it, pretty simple little passive system. it sounds pretty good to be honest, tonality wise i changed almost nothing o the HU's eq...smooth, easy to enjoy sound on a daily basis 

cheers,

Bing


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## Gonadman2 (Jul 25, 2008)

Super tidy install, I like it very much!


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## capnxtreme (Feb 5, 2008)

Why are there 4 crossovers?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

dont know, ask Seas  one each for mid and tweet. i too would have prefer it on the same chasis.


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## Bluenote (Aug 29, 2008)

Good work Bing,

Simplicity is highlighted in every install I've seen you post.

Nice!


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## capnxtreme (Feb 5, 2008)

simplicityinsound said:


> dont know, ask Seas  one each for mid and tweet. i too would have prefer it on the same chasis.


Interesting, I did not know this. I was wondering if there were some rear speakers we weren't seeing.

I like the sub/amp rack.


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## .BNO. (Nov 8, 2009)

bing thats amazing mate!

that sub /amp enclosure has got me all excited in all the right places!


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## BlueAc (May 19, 2007)

Nice work as usual Bing... Wish my simple build could look as nice. Question, now that you have used both the xd and hd amps do you have a preference? Thx


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

BlueAc said:


> Nice work as usual Bing... Wish my simple build could look as nice. Question, now that you have used both the xd and hd amps do you have a preference? Thx


well, in terms of amplification prowess, based on my limited experience with both, i would take the HD hands down. 

this thing has got quite a bit of balls acutally...pushing a lotus passive, it does a very good job.

of course, the HD is also twice the cost of the XD 

b


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## Afronaut (Apr 27, 2010)

Bing, you do incredible stealthy work. The amp rack/sub enclosure is tight.


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## jimp (Jul 12, 2009)

nice build. could you post up some info on the LED light and how you wired it in?? I like the brightness and could use something like that as well.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

i get all my LEDs at LEDs - underbody kits, cathodes, flexible LED strips, dome lights this is one of hte LED dome light modules thats 1.5" x 5" 

easy two wire thing. i basically attached it to a piece of frosted plexi glass, and then pressure fit into the opening. this way, i can take it out to access the attachment bolt behind it.


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## Giovanni (Nov 26, 2008)

Your work is TRULY inspiring :coolgleamA:.


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## Hamburger Pimp (Apr 24, 2010)

Beautiful fiberglass work. Mind detailing how/what you use? Looks like you're laying it right against the painter's tape. What do you use as a release?


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## alm001 (Feb 13, 2010)

21.6mpg? that's awful.

Nice job on the HU


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## rain27 (Jan 15, 2009)

Great as always. What are the blue borders made of?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Hamburger Pimp said:


> Beautiful fiberglass work. Mind detailing how/what you use? Looks like you're laying it right against the painter's tape. What do you use as a release?


i am still old school hehe, either vaseline or mold release wax. i dont use foil...

b


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