# Electric Insanity - Tesla Model S P85D SQ Build - Audio Frog, Mosconi, Morel



## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Hey guys,

been a while since our last build log, i am still about 6 or 7 cars behind, but since we just finished this pretty unique project, i figured i would rush and get this one up for yall 

Pretty funny thing, we are actually located around 10 mins from the main tesla factory, infact, i drive by all the time...but this P85D, came all the way from Florida. Quite a journey! 

And yes, this is the dual drive 700HP/TQ crazy one that was released last year. lets first take a look at the car, which came with some Vossens and looks quite nice and sexy:





































the interior is very unique and a Tesla signature with the giant touch screen that takes place of traditional buttons and knobs:




























and yes, there is the much talked about insane mode 










now lets get to the goals:

1. create a nice level of sound quality utilizing the oem signal source (I was able to consult with the customer before the purchase of the vehicle and we chose the base audio system for a better signal)

2. maintain a completely stealthy appearance on the inside

3. maintain as much room and stealthiness in the hatch area while having a bit of show factor

4. have a decent amount of bass performance.

before i get started, id like to thank Junior from Sound Innovations and Oliver Hague from Al & Eds for their helpful tips, as they have a lot of experiences with this car and put my mind at ease.

Joey did most of the work, while I did the wiring, Jesse pitched in as well on covering the sub enclosures. 

lets get started.

first thing Joey did was solder and tap into the stock signal wires behind the main screen...unfortunately, this, and also doing the dash speakers, require pulling the entire front and top dash panel apart...not too bad but quite a bit of work compared to most cars:










For the front stage we went with a set of Morel Titanium Elate 603 3 way components. the MT350 tweeter went into the stock A pillar location. Joey came up with a unique way of mounting it by notching the mounting cup and allowing the morel to clip right into the stock tweeter housing, for a 100 percent oem mount:




























the Morel CDM 880 midrange went into the top of the dash stock location. they are almost a perfect fit and snapped right in, and Joey applied a ring of silicone to help secure it and seal it in place:



















here you see just how much work had to be undertaken to get to the sepaker locations...



















the Morel Titanium Elate MW6 midbass went intot he stock lower door location. first, we sound proofed the metal door panel from INSIDE the door, using a combination of CLD and blackhole tile:



















then the outer door card and the outside of the metal got a combo of CLD and Foam treatment to help reduce resonance and isolate the door card from the door panel:





































then, Joey reinforced the stock speaker mounting baffle, whcih sets the speaker at an angle with a combination of filler and resin, and then further reinforced it with CLD damper:



















then holds were tapped and threaded, and the Morel Elate midbass was bolted in place:



















and the speaker housing was bolted back to the door using factory hardware:



















here ist he view of the speaker with the door card back on:










i also noticed that the stock speaker grille seems to buzz a bit against the door card, so i isolated them using some foam:










the same procedure was done on the passenger side door:


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

next comes some wiring pics.

first, after consulting Junior from SI, we decided to add an auxiliary battery to beefup the 12v system in the car. so here is the main power line we ran from the stock battery, fused, and back to the rear mounted aux battery:










it came into a stock hole in the firewall that we enlarged and grommeted:










next, the various wires were tesa taped near the connection point, ziptied every few inches to oem wiring, and ran all the way back to the hatch area:






















































































































the rear hatch of the Model S turns out to be a major source of rattle. mostly from the swaths of plastic buzzing against the metal, so we focused a lot of attention it. first, i put in a bunch of blackhole tiles on the outter metal surface to help with resonance:



















then, Jesse lined the inside of the plastic trim pieces with foam, especially at the lip where it meets the metal:























































and the license plate got its share as well:


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

So thats it for the grunt work, moving onto the main attraction: the hatch area.

as mentioned, the goal was to have a decent amount of bass, but still maintain a low key, stealthy look.

so here is what joey came up with. when open the hatch, all you see are two fiberglass side enclosure with a vinyl/mesh trim grill residing on either side of the hatch. everything else is 100 percent oem:




























pop off those grilles and you can see an Audio Frog GB10 dual 2ohm subwoofer residing in each enclosure:



















flip up and remove the oem floor cover, and you are greeted with a custom top trim panel that consists of carpet, vinyl, polished black acrylic and painted silver acrylic trim. there is a silver mesh in the middle opening, highlighted by a polish black acrylic tesla emblem.

you can see two mosconi AS amps stacked beneath, they are two AS200.4s, powering the front stage with 200 watts x 6 rms, and the subs with close to 1000 watts (stereo at 1ohm). 

overall, the ideal is to be simple, yet classy and clean:
































































here is an idea on just how recessed the two side enclosures are:



















and a few other shots from a little further back:




























in the dark, you can actually see well into the opening becuase there are two LED strips that illuminate the amp rack:


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

onto the build pics of the hatch area. first up is the amp/dsp rack.

first, Joey made the foundation floor baffle and set it next to a stinger SPP1700 AGM battery, making metal brackets that bolt to the side to ensure its at the proper height and orientation:



















then Joey welded on metal tabs to the stinger battery box, and made a top tie down for the battery itself. this tie down also serves as a mounting point for the top floor panel:





































i then carpeted the foundation floor board and mounted the first AS200.4 onto it:




























the Stinger battery was then bolted in place and wired up:










and i wired up the first amp and lead wires out for the top amp, note the spacer block bolted in place for the top amp:










Joey then finished the driver side top floor bracket, and also made a pedestal for the Mosconi 6to8v8DSP:



















i then went in and mounted/wired everything else. here the view of everything in place, note the pedestal mounted dsp, and the two strips of bright white LED lighting attached to the sides of the top floor support brackets:




























a quick test of the led strips to confirm they are working fine:



















the top floor cover panel is quite complex, first, joey made the main board using MDF:











then, using various jigs and templates, he fabricated the trim strip template and the center cutout frame:



















he also fabricated the tesla T emblem by hand out of shiny black acrylic:










then the main floor board received some more layers of mdf to build it up to the approiate shape:










and the board was painted black and neodymium magnets embedded at key areas:



















here is the center press fit cutout frame before after vinyl, with mesh attached, and the T emblem epoxied in place:














































here are the various pieces that make up the top floor, with the trim frame transfered from mdf template to black acrylic, and the thin strip onto clear acrylic and then painted chrome silver:



















here are two carpted panels that will magnetize to the panel to hide the bolts:










and finally, with all the pieces glued and snapped in, here is the finished product:




























i then took the two carpeted panels off, and bolted the panel to the support beams:



















and then simply snap on the two carpet pieces and we end up with what you saw earlier


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

onto the subwoofer enclosure.

the Model S had some funky carpet that our usual green masking tape didnt stick to at all, so joey first lined the area to be glassed with foil tape, and then green tape:



















the bottom of the floor is a piece of mdf press fit in place, and then tapped over, it is positioned to be slightly below the floor opening, so it is still easy to remove but locks itself in place once set:




























then the whole area was tapped off, and several layers of glass laid down to form the back of the enclosure:














































when these cured, they were removed and trimmed to the desired shape. a front baffle was attached, and tim also shaped the enclosure so the front of it curves inward to form a nice joint with the stock carpeting. and then backfilled the edges to make sure its perfectly matching the stock carpet....and forgot to take any pics of that process hahaha

but what he ended up with were these:



















Jesse then took them and lined the inside with more CLD, and covered them with black carpet:



















and finally, here are the press fit grills before and after vinyl, and then metal mesh attached:



















so thats it for the build pics...i am sure the main questions many of you have is one, how doe it sound? and two, how much does this affect the range of the car.

on the range thing...i cant be sure, as only the owner will be able to tell with real world experience. but from my perspective, we charged the car fully when we got it in. 

since then, we probably had the car turned on and off for three weeks, as each time a door is opened, brake pedal pressed, etc, the car wakes up and turns everything on. there is also around 5-6 hrs at least of solid playing...with 2 hrs or so of that being pink noise at very high volumes, and the rest of about 70 percent high level listening for tuning purposes. and all this time, i saw only about 7 or 8 miles drop from the car's displayed estimated range...if this holds true, then it bodes very well for how little this will affect the range. 

also, its nice to note that the car dishes out a solid 14.2 volts or so as soon as it wakes up, and the supply is stout enough that even with this much current, we did not see a ton of lights dimming with normal music...i would say its probably more stout then a lot of car's alternators these days 

so thats it...as for how it sounds...first up i analyzed the stock signal playing pink noise. the base system has a simple full range front and rear analog high level setup from the headunit...

here here is the analysis of that signal at various volumes on the headunit:










as you can see, its actually not too terrible, typical over emphasized bass and highs, but very little dynamic eq going on as you go up and down the volume.

of slightly more concern is the very obvious high pass filter below 40hz:










after spending some time with it on the mosconi DSP's input eq, i was able to achieve this curve, still dropping off at 40hz, but quite a bit better than stock:










so...with trepidation i started the tuning process, not sure if all the electrionics will cuase noise and how the bass will sound. but much to be delight, it was really good!

First off, the stock signal is quite clean with very little floor noise...secondly, with the hatch back design of the car, the bass was really strong, i would say the only deficiency was in the sub sonic range, below 20hz, above that, the cabin helped and there was really ample bass response from 20hz up...with the audiofrogs providing a ton of impact and exhibited great transparency.

tonally, the car is very pleasant to listen to despite using stock locations. the morels are balanced, smooth yet detailed. the midbass response of the titanium elate MW6 is always impressive.

center image is very very good, hovering right above the center speaker dash grille, a few inches above the dash. depth is also excellent, width is slightly limited due to the locations, but still pillar to pillar. 

overall, this is an excellent sounding vehicle interior IMO. 

working on the car has its ups and downs, but really, the only draw back i see is the fact that so much has to come apart to get to the signal and the dash speakers...the rest, the car actually pretty good to work on, and the end result really makes me happy.

so...thats it for now, i will try to catch up on some of the back log of buildlogs this week!

Cheers,

Bing


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## tr0y_audi0 (Feb 13, 2007)

Fantastic!
I love this car, only had a few in Vegas that I had the chance to drive but never did audio.. High5 jOey for me on this one.


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## Bluenote (Aug 29, 2008)

Very nice!


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## Gadget01 (Oct 20, 2008)

Brilliant installation- very well executed, as usual.


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## teldzc1 (Oct 9, 2009)

Always wanted to know if Tesla's could handle a system. Great install as always SiS team! 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


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## robolop (Mar 10, 2008)

The top floor cover panel is a masterpiece.


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## Victor_inox (Apr 27, 2012)

That green electric screwdriver looks familiar...


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## mark620 (Dec 8, 2010)

Nice work..Is there more than normal amounts of wire inside as compare to a regular car?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Not really honestly. Seems like a normal car...well maybe normal plug in hybrid


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## Alex92 (Mar 27, 2015)

Such a clean install, I love it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## knever3 (Mar 9, 2009)

Oh no you didn't!!! I have always lusted for the Tesla Model S since it came out. Since I work at a semiconductor plant I would love to have one and charge it at work, never having to buy gas again. What a car and with your talent I would love to take a listen while driving.

Fantastic install and taking up zero usable space at the same time. You just can't touch the utility of this car plus it's stupid fast! I could type for hours on the details I enjoyed reading and viewing on this install. Nicely done guys.


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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

The car is crazy with audio build to match! Fanstatic gents!:rockstar:


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## [email protected] (Nov 7, 2010)

Thanks guys! This one was definitely interesting! 

Just to clear my name... If you do a good job laying your fiberglass it isn't always necessary to backfill, and thus, not necessary to take a picture of that process.... 8-0

Dual fiberglass enclosures are less fun than single! That's what I take away from this...


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

Another fantastic build guys - that car still catches my every time I see it on the road - perfect balance of class and sport.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

[email protected] said:


> Thanks guys! This one was definitely interesting!
> 
> Just to clear my name... If you do a good job laying your fiberglass it isn't always necessary to backfill, and thus, not necessary to take a picture of that process.... 8-0
> 
> Dual fiberglass enclosures are less fun than single! That's what I take away from this...


U robbed the world of more popsicle stick porn...shame on you! Haha


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## Electrodynamic (Nov 27, 2007)

Wow, great work!


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## The Tube Doctor (Nov 24, 2009)

How did you manage the isolation and charging between the main 12v battery and the auxiliary 12v battery?


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## Alrojoca (Oct 5, 2012)

Wow looks great! 

I was hopping to eventually see a Tesla done, and here it is. 
Not sure if more have been done before but I am happy to see one installation on one of these, being an electrical hybrid type car. 

That cover with the logo and screen for airflow for the amps could pass as factory original finish or cover. :thumbsup:


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

The Tube Doctor said:


> How did you manage the isolation and charging between the main 12v battery and the auxiliary 12v battery?


In this case it wasnt isolated, but just added reserve.


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## The Tube Doctor (Nov 24, 2009)

simplicityinsound said:


> In this case it wasnt isolated, but just added reserve.


So just a straight parallel connection between batteries?

BTW, love the look. 
As always, you've set the bar high. 
:rockon:


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Yessir...nah...u will always be my hero!


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## The Tube Doctor (Nov 24, 2009)

:blush:

You humble me bro......


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

Great work, always look forward to your builds.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

I really really need to find that old mag issue with the story about u in it...i still picture the article vividly.


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## Yawar538 (Aug 28, 2013)

Splendid install as always. Nicely done.


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## jpeezy (Feb 5, 2012)

why not do the sub up front? does this model not have the front bonnet? i can fit up in there and i am not a little man (5'9" 250lbs) and yes i tried , but anyways nice work by SIS! As always!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

why do a front sub where there is almost no pass through into the cabin, when you can do it in a hatch


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

way cool bing!!!

did you take a video of how the touch screen interface works? im curious how much lag there is with the OEM LCD GUI


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## [email protected] (Nov 7, 2010)

Interface? It's all OEM.

I am glad you liked Bing's wiring and gluing of the "T"....





req said:


> way cool bing!!!
> 
> did you take a video of how the touch screen interface works? im curious how much lag there is with the OEM LCD GUI


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

I really like that 17" LCD screen in Telsa...  Very nice build,, with all the extra batteries int he car, wonder if it makes it any slower...


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## cajunner (Apr 13, 2007)

this build reminds me of Spinal Tap:

"this one goes to 11"


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## imjustjason (Jun 26, 2006)

So I'm assuming motor noise was a non issue?


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Another great build. Like many, I love the Model S and it is nice to see people willing to customize them.


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## aqlover (Jun 7, 2011)

Bad Assery


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## WhiteL02 (Jul 25, 2014)

You guys always do great work and I love your detail of steps!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

I was worried about electrical interference but just like when it drives its silent like a tomb


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## funkalicious (Oct 8, 2007)

Outstanding work gentlemen. Top notch and humbling as usual.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

req said:


> way cool bing!!!
> 
> did you take a video of how the touch screen interface works? im curious how much lag there is with the OEM LCD GUI


there is ZERO delay in the response, i mean, seriously impressive...i wish double din headunits can be this responsive.


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## cajunner (Apr 13, 2007)

simplicityinsound said:


> there is ZERO delay in the response, i mean, seriously impressive...i wish double din headunits can be this responsive.


I think you're on to something.

Is there a way to control volume that is as responsive as the knob?

GUI on 2 dimensional surfacing, is just not ever going to make me satisfied, I resist the touchscreen smartphone, so I may not represent a sizable proportion of the public...

I don't know if this was applicable but I can't get on board with the lastest, of the bestest in these newfangled contraptions.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Isn't it all just about memory and cpu? I always thought when they try to make it do too much and it runs out of memory and or processing power it slows down.


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## [email protected] (Nov 7, 2010)

I just realized an important part of the design of the trunk was left out.. A full picture of the door. That is where the inspiration for the design came from...


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## DLO13 (Oct 24, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> I just realized an important part of the design of the trunk was left out.. A full picture of the door. That is where the inspiration for the design came from...


I don't get it, Joey. The trunk looks nothing like a door.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

DLO13 said:


> I don't get it, Joey. The trunk looks nothing like a door.


Yeah... I'm just not getting it.


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## [email protected] (Nov 7, 2010)

You gotta squint your eyes a little bit... 



rton20s said:


> Yeah... I'm just not getting it.


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## duro78 (Dec 24, 2011)

I'm curious or maybe you covered tesla is very meticulous when it comes to altering their vehicles, did any of this work void your warranty? With any other manufacturer it wouldn't of but tesla has become very stringent about their electrical system.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

[email protected] said:


> You gotta squint your eyes a little bit...


Im NOT squinting!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Regardless of what tesla may say....law is still law. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act


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## evo9 (Jul 6, 2005)

duro78 said:


> I'm curious or maybe you covered tesla is very meticulous when it comes to altering their vehicles, did any of this work void your warranty? With any other manufacturer it wouldn't of but tesla has become very stringent about their electrical system.


Warranty are voided in parts. In this case there would be no factory warranty on the stereo system beyond the factory source unit.


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## ben54b (May 30, 2014)

[email protected] said:


> You gotta squint your eyes a little bit...



I see it. Really nice subtle linking of the silver bar. Great work as usual. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

evo9 said:


> Warranty are voided in parts. In this case there would be no factory warranty on the stereo system beyond the factory source unit.


thats very fair of course, not sure what really else is left to warranty  maybe the cheap stock rear door speakers


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## tjswarbrick (Nov 27, 2013)

Out of the ballpark, guys.
Great work as always.
I can't wait 'till I have something for you guys to work on.

P.S. - AudioFrog is confusing me. A GB10 is a 1" tweeter, whereas a GB10D2 is a dual-2Ohm VC 10" subwoofer. But I guess it doesn't matter as long as we've got people like Bing around to guide us through it.


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## Tnutt19 (Dec 22, 2010)

simplicityinsound said:


> thats very fair of course, not sure what really else is left to warranty  maybe the cheap stock rear door speakers


Would it affect the warranty on the battery? After all they are over 30k to replace. Always been curious as to how a Tesla would handle a system. I would be curious to know how it affects the range of the vehicle.
Nice work as always though!! You guys are incredible with your skills!


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## jb4674 (Jan 29, 2015)

Tnutt19 said:


> Would it affect the warranty on the battery? After all they are over 30k to replace. Always been curious as to how a Tesla would handle a system. I would be curious to know how it affects the range of the vehicle.
> Nice work as always though!! You guys are incredible with your skills!


This.

Also, isn't it redundant to add a second battery to a car that already has a massive battery to begin with while subjecting said car to an additional load to charge that battery while keeping up with the rest of the system? just curious what the thought process was regarding that...


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

jb4674 said:


> This.
> 
> Also, isn't it redundant to add a second battery to a car that already has a massive battery to begin with while subjecting said car to an additional load to charge that battery while keeping up with the rest of the system? just curious what the thought process was regarding that...


this is a common miss perception among people when it comes to hybrids and electrical vehicles...and i had this view at first as well.

but try not to think of the high voltage system in a car like this as a battery, but rather, just think of it as gasoline in a internal combustion engine. the reason i say that is that there is no direct link between then and just like a gas engine car uses an alternator to deliver a limited amount of 12v system to the battery, a car like this uses a converter to dole out limited amount of 12v as well. they are totally separate.

think of it this way.

lets say you are in your house, you are surrounded by electricity, in every socket, but..lets say you decide to run a really big stereo system powered completely off 12volt amps. and lets say even if you get a decent sized power supply, lets say a 120amp one. you will still benefit from a big 12v battery vs no battery or a tiny one. because the batteries can be charging while u arent playing the system or when its not playing demanding music or if its on pause, and when you do play it, you arent taxing the crap out of the power supply if you ran no batteries at all...even though in this case, you have an "infinite battery" via your houses outlets. make sense? 

now the reason we did this is on suggestion from several model S experts, but seeing how small the stock 12v batt is and how many things lights up off the 12v system (everything is electric in this), i agree in that when doing a big system, having additional power reserve will be less taxing on the cars 12v converter  i think maybe the one different between this and a gas engine is that this car seems to charge whenever its awake, so while its just sitting there, it could be topping off the additional battery which helps duty cycles when u do play it.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

tjswarbrick said:


> P.S. - AudioFrog is confusing me. A GB10 is a 1" tweeter, whereas a GB10D2 is a dual-2Ohm VC 10" subwoofer. But I guess it doesn't matter as long as we've got people like Bing around to guide us through it.


They probably felt it was fine since they are all dual coil subs. There isn't going to be one without the "D". But yeah I agree, a little to close to each other.


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## maggie-g (Aug 20, 2014)

[email protected] said:


> I just realized an important part of the design of the trunk was left out.. A full picture of the door. That is where the inspiration for the design came from...





rton20s said:


> Yeah... I'm just not getting it.



from what I can see. The most obvious inspiration would be the silver trim. Its little attention to detail like that in builds that really sets installs apart. Also helps separate the shops who truly enjoy what they do and the passion that is involved from those who just do it to make money. Big props to these guys for another outstanding build!!! Keep em coming guys!


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## Tnutt19 (Dec 22, 2010)

simplicityinsound said:


> this is a common miss perception among people when it comes to hybrids and electrical vehicles...and i had this view at first as well.
> 
> but try not to think of the high voltage system in a car like this as a battery, but rather, just think of it as gasoline in a internal combustion engine. the reason i say that is that there is no direct link between then and just like a gas engine car uses an alternator to deliver a limited amount of 12v system to the battery, a car like this uses a converter to dole out limited amount of 12v as well. they are totally separate.
> 
> ...


Good explanation. Pretty cool technology they have developed over there at Tesla. Now to see what they can develop of homes and see how pricey it is.

Great and inspiring build yet again!!


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## THEDUKE (Aug 25, 2008)

simplicityinsound said:


> Regardless of what tesla may say....law is still law. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act


That is correct, The law is the law. To also add they cannot just void warranty because aftermarket has been added, they have to PROVE that the aftermarket caused the failure.


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## jb4674 (Jan 29, 2015)

simplicityinsound said:


> this is a common miss perception among people when it comes to hybrids and electrical vehicles...and i had this view at first as well.
> 
> but try not to think of the high voltage system in a car like this as a battery, but rather, just think of it as gasoline in a internal combustion engine. the reason i say that is that there is no direct link between then and just like a gas engine car uses an alternator to deliver a limited amount of 12v system to the battery, a car like this uses a converter to dole out limited amount of 12v as well. they are totally separate.
> 
> ...


That definitely puts things into perspective. I really like your builds and I wish I lived closer to your location so you do my install


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## Hugg727 (Sep 17, 2009)

Fantastic work.

Sorry if this was asked already....does the sound system have any effect on the range of the car?

This entire install was absolutely top notch!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Hugg727 said:


> Fantastic work.
> 
> Sorry if this was asked already....does the sound system have any effect on the range of the car?
> 
> This entire install was absolutely top notch!


I mentioned what i observed in near the end of the log


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## Alrojoca (Oct 5, 2012)

I am glad the electrical system concern was brought up and covered already to help to know these cars better.


This may be a bit off topic. Will it be safe to say that Hybrids using gas and battery power, should always have an extra battery dedicated just for the aftermarket sound system even if not using more than 2 amplifiers?

Or

What is the rule that will determine if an extra battery is needed strictly with Hybrid gasoline cars?


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## brett (Apr 27, 2005)

awesome, as always and your builds always serve as inspiration!

when i first saw this model in person and saw the 'front trunk', i said to myself "oh man, that space is just begging for a sub up front!" and then, when i saw you did this car and didn't take advantage of that location, i was a little bummed. nonetheless, the hatch subs look great and you still utilize the space very well.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Alrojoca said:


> I am glad the electrical system concern was brought up and covered already to help to know these cars better.
> 
> 
> This may be a bit off topic. Will it be safe to say that Hybrids using gas and battery power, should always have an extra battery dedicated just for the aftermarket sound system even if not using more than 2 amplifiers?
> ...


to be honest, i have no answer to this...its an experience thing really.

if we just dove into this build without consulting people with prior experience, we may well have just stuck with the oem 12v battery.

i can say this though, the one hybrid i have the most experience with is the current gen prius, and that thing's 12v supply is VERY stout. i have run up to 1600RMS of class AB power and the car's lights arent even close to blinking...this is off the stock battery. 

so really, i think you should just treat it on an individual car model basis.

what i AM interested in knowing, is if an alternator in a gas car, versus the dc/dc inverter in hybrids and electrics, takes strain from things like a big car audio system, an additional battery, etc, the same way. like ratings on alternator, i wish there is a way we can find out how bit the inverters are on each car, and what are some effects if you drive them beyond their rating, or are they so efficient that you can go really crazy and it will just keep on dishing it out from the HV system.

maybe a topic for discussion on another day 

but so far, really, all the hybrids and electric cars i have worked on have been really good car audio foundation vehicles. for one, zero alternator whine 

b


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## Alrojoca (Oct 5, 2012)

Thanks for the info Bing, I had no clue. It's great to learn about this, and I was sure you guys worked on many Prius, I just never paid attention to those details. And with this Tesla being a zero emissions car, it really caught my attention besides the amazing work you did on it. 
My perception was these hybrids and electrical cars were more of a challenge, needed extra care, parts or had limitations or restrictions compared to regular cars. 

It's good for the business and for the future


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## DLO13 (Oct 24, 2010)

simplicityinsound said:


> to be honest, i have no answer to this...its an experience thing really.
> 
> if we just dove into this build without consulting people with prior experience, we may well have just stuck with the oem 12v battery.
> 
> ...


I know my hearing is sensitive... But the next time you do a prius, go ahead and let the radio run for a while. I would like you to then drive the car and listen for engine noise. Check out what happens when you break and charge the battery. I have some suspicions....


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## lashlee (Aug 16, 2007)

I'm with Bing, I think the Hybrid/Elec with the DC-DC convertor is going to be much more stout when it comes to beefy setups. I'm using a PG Ti21600.5 and a Ti21000.4 in my Accord Hybrid and haven't noticed any drop in mileage or dimming of the lights.


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## [email protected] (Nov 7, 2010)

While it would definitely be an "up front sub" I doubt you would hear it, other than maybe the hood vibrating. That upfront space is completely sealed and isolated from the interior cabin. 




brett said:


> awesome, as always and your builds always serve as inspiration!
> 
> when i first saw this model in person and saw the 'front trunk', i said to myself "oh man, that space is just begging for a sub up front!" and then, when i saw you did this car and didn't take advantage of that location, i was a little bummed. nonetheless, the hatch subs look great and you still utilize the space very well.


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## deaddog (Aug 2, 2011)

I'm reviving this thread because I have a 2016 Tesla S90D with the "ultra hifi" option and am considering doing the audio system. What a fantastic job and great write-up. Have you guys done Tesla's since this one? 

Any owner feedback about the experience - have the Tesla software updates played well with the audio system; has Tesla pushed back at all on warranty issues; has there been any range or other noticeable impact?

And, if I dropped my car off to get a job like this done, how long do you need to keep it!!

Thanks


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