# '03 IMPALA - Low Budget Stealth SQ upgrade



## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

Build Date: August 2011 - Present (still not done  )

Happy Birthday to me!









Victim




































80A fuse + 4G


















Tactile Transducers


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

Polk MM6501 Tweeters


















MLV Treatment


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

The Factory "Upgraded" amplifier... 









Sealing the trunk









Anchors for sub


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

Blaupunkt THB-210A... I need my trunk.









Amp Rack Design Stage


















First test fit


















Finishing









Jig Saw Puzzle









Mounting the rack


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

Hey... This works with Fans too!
Provides 2 speeds for the fans, Temp sensor switches to high speed when needed.






















































The factory trunk light is useless when the amp rack is open, this was my solution.


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

Thats all folks! 

Waiting on the final pieces to be delivered, then a little more work to do.

Already sounds incredible for a low budget install.


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## getonerd (Jul 24, 2007)

so far so good


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

I'm really feelin' that rack,nice work.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

ha! feeling! rack!! 


... couldn't help myself.


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

sydmonster said:


> ha! feeling! rack!!
> 
> 
> ... couldn't help myself.


Ya caught that


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## childersbros (Jan 12, 2012)

nice work man that rack is nice like the fans through the rear deck


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

Really cool install and great build log.


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## The A Train (Jun 26, 2007)

i could be wrong, but if you put mlv on the rear seats, wouldnt it be difficult to hear the sub?


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

strong*I*bumpin said:


> I'm really feelin' that rack,nice work.


"Mommy! Mommy! He touched my boobies!!" :laugh:


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

childersbros said:


> nice work man that rack is nice like the fans through the rear deck


It's a household air return grill wrapped in Rattletrap, with two 120mm 12V fans bolted to it through the fins. I used 2 relays to get a high and low fan speed out of them. It worked out better then I thought it would and only costed about $25. Now the stinger fan controller is another story, and is way overpriced, and I'm not sure how well it actually works. When it fails, it will be replaced with a snapdisk sensor that cost $6 and lasts for 100,000 cycles.

I've only had the fans running for a day now, but so far I'm very happy with how it works.


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

bmiller1 said:


> Really cool install and great build log.


Thanks.

I wanted to start a log when I began working on it, but never seem to have enough time, so I took pictures when I remembered to. Besides it seems pictures is really what people want to see anyways.

I'm hoping to get it nailed down in the next couple weeks, depending on the weather and when my parts get delivered. Still need the correct caps for the tweeters, and some adaptors for the media player I will be using. Getting sick of changing CD's all the time.


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

The A Train said:


> i could be wrong, but if you put mlv on the rear seats, wouldnt it be difficult to hear the sub?


Everything blends nicely and plenty of sound still comes through to the cabin.
Don't overlook the tactile transducers that are mounted to the floorboard under the 2 front seats... they provide all the feedback I would ever want.


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## pdqwrx (Aug 1, 2009)

Nice build... I am starting a project on my 2004 Impala with Dash mounted Hybrid L3se's and some door mounted Legata mid bass and hopefully a pair of ARC Audio ARC series 15" subs IB in the trunk. Should be a beast....


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

pdqwrx said:


> Nice build... I am starting a project on my 2004 Impala with Dash mounted Hybrid L3se's and some door mounted Legata mid bass and hopefully a pair of ARC Audio ARC series 15" subs IB in the trunk. Should be a beast....


Well, take a bunch of pictures as you go and post up a build log.

I found next to nothing on Impala's in this forum when I was looking, and a lot of other things I needed info on were scattered around and hidden in unrelated threads, so I have tried to post the right answers for the next person looking for them.

The links in my signature have some step-by-step instructions for this body style car, but can be applied to just about anything.


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

Sealing the rear stage...




































Details...



























Better tweeter CAPS...









Mounted sub and rear fill volume controlls...


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

New Toy (Haters, please don't bother posting.)
I wanted a simple way to set my gains, and this is it.









I'm at the point now where everything I do just makes it sound better. 

If the rain breaks on my day off I will FINALLY be able to actually tune the damn thing.

All that remains are the LCD sunvisors and media player.
Fabricating the sunvisor mounts has been "Interesting" to say the least. 

I will probably end up building a custom slide-on mount for the media player, providing the sound qualty is up to par. The factory head unit sounds fantastic after the DSP, so as long as the cheap media player I picked up sounds at least that good, then it gets a new home in the car.
With a 500GB hard drive, I can have my entire music library on tap in my car.


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

How do you like that DD-1?


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

bmiller1 said:


> How do you like that DD-1?


Have not used it yet. I've either been working or it's been raining since I got it last week, and I needed some burn-in time for the new caps so I'm not in that big of a hurry. OH, the new caps made a huge difference in the sound and seemed to tame down a bit at about 5 hours of using them.

I wanted to get the interior all back together and finish up the rear speaker covers first, and at this point everything I touch just makes it sound better.

Since I use an Imprint processor, and it must be setup before you get any sound out of it, and EVERYTHING was torn appart when I had to calibrate it... there is no way the current imprint is even close to what the car needs now. T/A and levels are off a bit and the stage is a little smeared since I re-aimed the tweeters to get a better image, so I really need a day that it's NOT raining so I can play with the mic and the DD1.

I'll be sure to post my impression of how the DD1 works after I get a chance to play with it.


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

Look forward to it. I have a feeling it will just make everything a little easier and more efficient.


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

Well so far I got to use the DD1 to set the HU output and it worked as expected. Very simple and effective. I was 1 click higher by ear then the DD1 says is my max unclipped volume. Since this is not your typical setup, I had to build an adapter so I could plug it into my HU outputs before the imprint, but I knew that going in.

Imprint does not like my ambient rear fill setup and gave me some really screwy results when I tried to calibrate it last night. So it looks like I need to swap out the RCA cables for the rear stage and run another imprint to get a decent tune on it.

Once I get the imprint tunned I can set the amp gains and will have a better opinion if the DD1 was worth the cost. BTW: it was on sale w/free 2 day shipping so the sticker shock was not quite as bad. It's certainly overpriced, but as long as it does what its intended to do, I will be happy with it.

I don't feel it's a $150 piece of equipment, but its ease of use makes up for some of that. Now if the price was $100, I don't think any installer would not have one in the tool box. It's just too easy to use to bother with a oscope.

I've always done really good with my ears, and it was within 1 click of where I could hear the signal distort, so I've got to say it is very accurate for what it does.


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

Yeah, I've never doubted its ability. As you said, its just a question of whether the cost is worth it. But, if you're installing all the time or swapping out amps every few weeks, it probably wouldn't take long to get the $150 back.


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## spl152db (Dec 20, 2007)

sub'd. nice looking build. Not exactly my def of low budget, but it works.


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

bmiller1 said:


> Yeah, I've never doubted its ability. As you said, its just a question of whether the cost is worth it. But, if you're installing all the time or swapping out amps every few weeks, it probably wouldn't take long to get the $150 back.


For me it boils down to not destroying expensive equipment.
This is half the cost of one set of speakers.... so it's really not that hard to justify the cost. Having everything set as efeciently as possible will make it all last longer, and I just don't have the free time to play with this stuff all the time. I'm already 10 months in on what I thought should have been a one week project. Everything takes longer then it should, and setbacks can cost weeks of work time.


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

hilander999 said:


> For me it boils down to not destroying expensive equipment.
> This is half the cost of one set of speakers.... so it's really not that hard to justify the cost. Having everything set as efeciently as possible will make it all last longer, and I just don't have the free time to play with this stuff all the time. I'm already 10 months in on what I thought should have been a one week project. Everything takes longer then it should, and setbacks can cost weeks of work time.


Well put. I'm not dropping $150 on it but, if I need one, I'll just swing by and borrow yours.


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

spl152db said:


> sub'd. nice looking build. Not exactly my def of low budget, but it works.


Hey, it's Low(er) budget. 

In my mind, anything less then 3K is a low budget system.

This is only the second system I've ever done for myself, and just wanted a nice clean sounding system, for the lowest cost/performance ratio I could come up with.


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## spl152db (Dec 20, 2007)

hilander999 said:


> Hey, it's Low(er) budget.
> 
> In my mind, anything less then 3K is a low budget system.
> 
> This is only the second system I've ever done for myself, and just wanted a nice clean sounding system, for the lowest cost/performance ratio I could come up with.


Mine is less than $500. add all the misc and i'm probably closer to 700. Thats budget to me and it sounds great to me. still a work in progress though for tuning.


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

spl152db said:


> Mine is less than $500. add all the misc and i'm probably closer to 700. Thats budget to me and it sounds great to me. still a work in progress though for tuning.


I've got more then that in accoustic treatment alone, which really makes all the difference in the world.

The only person who needs to like the way your stereo sounds... is YOU.
If you managed to get something your happy with for $500 and change, then your doing great and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

I've seen 10k systems that sounded like crap, and $300 systems that you can listen to all day long and not get tired of it.

I knew what I wanted before I started, and also knew it was not going to be cheap. I've got 2 home systems with Polk/Audessey equipment, and spend more time in the car then I do in front of either one, so I wanted to get that sound out of the house and in my car.

I'm very pleased with how my system sounds, and that is all that really matters in the grand scheme of things.


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

bmiller1 said:


> Well put. I'm not dropping $150 on it but, if I need one, I'll just swing by and borrow yours.


lol, 621 miles, 10hours 15 minutes.... hell of a drive.


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## spl152db (Dec 20, 2007)

I do plan on getting more deadening and doing more than just the doors, just haven't had the time to pull my carpet out or the desire to drop the cash on it yet. Probably do it this fall if I decide to keep my car. That's another reason. I don't know if I'll have the car.


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## spl152db (Dec 20, 2007)

hilander999 said:


> lol, 621 miles, 10hours 15 minutes.... hell of a drive.


day trip for me!


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

spl152db said:


> I do plan on getting more deadening and doing more than just the doors, just haven't had the time to pull my carpet out or the desire to drop the cash on it yet. Probably do it this fall if I decide to keep my car. That's another reason. I don't know if I'll have the car.


What kind of car?

From everything I've done, I can say that the best bang for the buck was adding MLV under the door cards. There is so much noise comming in through the doors that sounds like its comming from other place, when its not.

Most carpets have a decient rubber sounds barrior as the bottom layer, then plenty of foam to help even more, so do that last to make sure you really need it.

Sound wise, the most enjoyable thing I added was the tactile transducers... they F'n rock!!! you get that deep pounding bass without blowing out your ears. AND... They are CHEAP too. THey are on sale at parts express for $39 each and only need between 50 and 100W.


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## spl152db (Dec 20, 2007)

hilander999 said:


> What kind of car?
> 
> From everything I've done, I can say that the best bang for the buck was adding MLV under the door cards. There is so much noise comming in through the doors that sounds like its comming from other place, when its not.
> 
> ...


2008 impala. I have an IB setup with super cheap 15's that dig low but stay musical. The doors are good but I get a lot of noise from the wheel wells in the front and the rear doors.


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## hilander999 (Jul 6, 2011)

spl152db said:


> 2008 impala. I have an IB setup with super cheap 15's that dig low but stay musical. The doors are good but I get a lot of noise from the wheel wells in the front and the rear doors.


If you have an Impala, there is more noise comming in through the doors then you will realise. Park next to a building and rev up the engine a little and you will hear the exaust noise bounce off the building and come straight into the car.
I never thought adding MLV to the doors would make such a huge improvement, but it really does.

Open your drivers door, and look at the front fender.
There is a noise barrior in there that has a tendency to side down and allow a 2-3 inch gap at the top which lets a lot of noise into the car. This is quite easy to fix, but you may have to take the tire off to access the screws holding the fender insert in place.
I get very little noise from the front of the car at all.


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