# My install thread



## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

i'd like to have one of those install threads when its in progress so i'm doing it now. let's start out with the equipment:

HU: W200
Processing: Alpine h701 
Front stage: lotus 8"/4"/1"
Amps: JL 450/4 to midbass/midrange, JL 500/1 to DIYMA 12", need to find tweet amp

So this is the plan and the things that need to be done:

1) build a wall for amps in the trunk to mount on. The wall will be secured by 6 L brackets nailed to the chassis and the trunk board. right behind wall I'm going to lay a mdf board across the trunk so i can mount my distribution block, ground block and H701. *(Done)* 

2) build new kick panels for the lotus 4". i'm wanting to cover it with vinyl. we shall see. i'm going to experiment with some aiming so i'm looking forward to that. *(Done, but not quite)* 

3) since i have basically a gallon of second skin spectrum, i'm going to deadened the trunk. *(DONE)* 

4) build a fiberglass enclosure for diyma 12"  . I'll find a spot somewhere on the left side of the trunk to fiberglass so i can still get access to the spare. hopefully i'm going to paint it glossy black to match with my amps  . 

5) put back my rear deck  . while i was deadening the rear deck, i broke a couple of mounting clips. so ordered some clips from majestic honda and just waiting on those right now. ima cover this with vinyl. *(DONE)* 

6) build door pods for lotus 8's *(in progress)* 

7) Tweeter pods in the pillars for lotus tweets. *(done but not quite)* 

It'll be a lot of work but it will damn right fun! so i have pics of what i have done so far: 

I just finished cutting out the wall. I just used a jigsaw . but whatever the carpet will cover lots of the defects, hahaha. 



















Here are pics of my deadened rear deck:



















Here is a pic of the W200:










I will update this thread as much as possible. Also since this is just in the building stage, i am very open to other suggestions. so if you got ideas, throw them at me  .


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

Sounds like plan,make sure u know where the gas tank is b4 securing the MDF.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

yea i know exactly where it is. thanks for the reminder.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

oh just did a quick test fitment of the amps:




























looks like it'll fit .


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

Lol, were all 3 of those pics necessary?

I actually use that lil cubbie-slot, so I was just going to lay my amps flat in the same spot and cover them with something.

-aaron


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

Oh yeah,them JL amps just looks nice.Are the covers gray or black now?


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

haha, i took 3 pics so i wanted to use all 3 . 

and yes i love the look of the black amps, way better than the silver ones.


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

You have some work cut out for you there son!! I have a list like that too...this car audio **** never ends...


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## fit_tuner (Aug 14, 2006)

good stuff... o man that w200 looks sexy


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## edwelly (Mar 29, 2006)

Regardless of how the install comes out, you have some REALLY nice equipment. I never much cared for the JL amps but those black models made me want to give them a try. I am anxious to hear how all of this sounds since I am running a similar setup with just front components and a single sub.
Please keep us/me updated!!!


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## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

alphakenny1 said:


> Here is a pic of the W200:


Hey Peter,
Looks like you didn't get the trim ring/install kit properly positioned for the W200. The bowing on the bottom of the unit shouldn't be there. Make sure you have the trim piece snapped all the way into the opening. Those kits are oftentimes very tight to snap in place.

BTW, nice gear, and can't wait to see how it turns out. Give me a shout sometime so I can check out progress!

GL.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

yes it was half assed  . it will be fixed once i get my ass up and go to ams to buy the pac.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

update. 

so i've deadened the trunk with two layers of second skin spectrum. no pics as it was very dirty to carry around the camera. i also put back my rear deck. 

so i carpeted the wall and did a test fit and heres how it turned out. for some reason it doesn't look flush in the picture but it actually does look flush in real life. 










i also made my board right behind the wall but i have not carpeted it as i don't know the configuration of my wall is going to be. still not sure where i'm going to mount the h701, distroblock and ground block exactly. i was thinking of doing the h701 mounted on the wall as well and the ground block and distroblock on the board. not sure.....also yes i know bad carpeting job but its the back and no one will see, lol. 










Also here's a couple of pics of my doors:



















Another thing. plans have changed. i've decided to go back to a 3 way front stage . i sold my lotus reference 6.5 and went out and bought the lotus 4's. then ima have a friend help me build some door pods to fit some 8's . i'm probably gonna go with the dayton rs225 (although there's some lotus 8's on ebay  ). 

any comments are welcome.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

kenny, you ever need a tablesaw or router, you let me know, you can drop by the house. for the critical things (sub baffle comes to mind), might wanna take me up on the offer!

im also wondering if the diyma was well configured for IB use. based on what im seeing with the amp rack, a DIYMA motor hanging from the roof right in the amp field of vision is sounding REAL sexy right about now.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

hey steve. yea i might need some wood work done. i think the next thing is to make some baffles for the kicks for the midrange and tweets. also possibly the sub baffle as well, lol. if you don't mind, i'd like to take you up on that offer . got contact info? pm me if so. thanks!

and that last idea does sound very interesting....hmmm...


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

also, for a recommendation on what to do about the D-blocks and processor, I suggest you hide them. the less there is to see, the more what you DO see becomes a focus. a major one, at that.

plus, when was the last time you saw a GOOD looking install where you could see wires?


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

so............by chance have any extra sound deadening?


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

any suggestions on mounting the h701 and the ground blocks,dblock? possibly mount the h701 under the driver seat? when i bought the h701 the guy threw in 3 sets of zn6 rca's in which two of them are 3 ft long and one is 1.5 ft long so thats why i wanted the h701 back there. but if i mount it under the driver seat it'll keep the clean look w/o wires in the back but i'd have to buy new rca's. i dunno...

i got about half gallon of spectrum and maybe 10-15 sq ft of raammat. lol.


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## ocuriel (Oct 7, 2005)

Nice gear. Like the the attention to detail you're putting into it. Can't wait for the finished product.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

**update**

well i got some work done today. so what i thinking of a way to hide all the wires so i noticed that there was some clearance under my board seen here:










Here's an outside shot of the board:










From the pic i got about 2 inch clearance under the board so what i was thinking was to run the wires near the bottom of the wall, under the board then surfacing on top of the board into the distroblock/ground block. here are some pics of the JL amps mounted on the wall and test fitted in the car:



















I was actually really happy w/ the way it turned out. i love the look of those jl amps. so anyways the blue tape on the bottom of the wall represents the clearance i have under the board. the 3 pieces of blue tape you see near the top of the wall, i used those to mark the holes in the mounting feet so i drill those holes in there as well and there are also 3 piece of tape on the bottom but the clearnance board tape is covering it. 

so i drilled the holes for the ground and power wire to the 500/1 (on the left) and test fitted some 4 gauge wire to see if it runs under the board without problems:

pic of power wire in front:









pic of behind the board:









Yea it fits fine under the board. now i'm just gonna run the majority of the wires under the board through holes ima drill and the wires will resurface on top of the board. 

thats it for today!


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## Colin+M (May 8, 2006)

Looks great Pete. I really love those JL amps in black.


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## fit_tuner (Aug 14, 2006)

looks frickin sweet man


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

Coming along nicely man!


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

Heh, keep it up man, looks good! I love installs, especially when it's a fellow 6th accord owner 

-aaron


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

ArcL100 said:


> Heh, keep it up man, looks good! I love installs, especially when it's a fellow 6th accord owner
> 
> -aaron


Thanks! how's those daytons 8's working out for yah? i think ima go with those . 

Thanks for the comments guys.


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

alphakenny1 said:


> Thanks! how's those daytons 8's working out for yah? i think ima go with those .


Re-upholstering the doors right now in fact! Trust me, it is soooooooo worth making the room for them 

-aaron


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## 3.5max6spd (Jun 29, 2005)

looking good bro!


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## rbenz27 (Mar 9, 2006)

Just saw the new pics on the previous page. Nice work!


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## Spooky (Mar 23, 2006)

Beautiful install man its coming along nicely. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

thanks to the comments guys!

just a small quick update. i decided to where i wanted to mount the h701 as seen here. 










Then i'm going to hide the wires with the carpet that comes from the rear seats. i will cut holes in the carpet to run the wires but here's an idea of what i'm going to do. 
But obviously i didn't cut the holes but i will. 










On friday i got a new toy . 










I made the passenger side baffle today and here's couple of pics with a test fit of the speakers:



















Also i took out the tape off the wall and here is a pic of that.










Much more work to do!


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

Lotus - Lotus - Lotus - DIYMA......













J/K....


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

B-Squad said:


> Lotus - Lotus - Lotus - DIYMA......


lol why do you have a 3rd lotus in there? although there are some lotus 8's on ebay right now  .


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

alphakenny1 said:


> lol why do you have a 3rd lotus in there? although there are some lotus 8's on ebay right now  .


Check it....sorry, forgot you sold the midbasses


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

check it, add that 3rd lotus in there 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...60023925961&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...60023927049&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1


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## fit_tuner (Aug 14, 2006)

lotus lotus lotus!


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## Beau (Oct 8, 2005)

I'd been watching those myself. Good find. Great price.


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## rbenz27 (Mar 9, 2006)

lol congrats on the winning bid.


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

alphakenny1 said:


> check it, add that 3rd lotus in there
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...60023925961&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...60023927049&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1


SONOFA!!! Straight out of my hood too! 

So.....Lotus-Lotus-Lotus-Lotus??? Come on now man....


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

Guess what i got today!














































Still blown away on how cheap i got these. 

Also nothing really to update, i hooked up both the midranges and tweets in baffles in the kicks right now. so still comtemplating on where to place the tweets but for now i'll just try to mess around with angles and what not.


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

Pillllllars, do it!!!!

-aaron


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## Rocky 59 (Feb 21, 2006)

if you were worth a **** of an installer youd put the 8's in the pillars and the tweets and midrange on the dash. too bad you arent as cool as me.

and btw 310>w200


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

interesting.....


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

Whiterabbit said:


> interesting.....


what's so interesting?

you free yet? haha.


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## Rocky 59 (Feb 21, 2006)

i pwned pete WOOT


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## soccerjoe5 (Jul 16, 2006)

how about putting some protection for those amps? like a face with some plexiglass?


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

alphakenny1 said:


> what's so interesting?
> 
> you free yet? haha.


Im free for two weeks. but no chunks of time to actually work  Unless you want to drop by after work sometime and have some free labor help/location from 5pm to sunset someday soon    

what is ".....interesting" is Rockies post just before mine.

I must say, if I didnt have my own thing going with gear, Id be jealous as heck with your progress!

lemme ask though, Ive been needing some deadener, have you already bought yours/have extra, or plan to buy some soon? (low motivation to buy any factory direct on my own)


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

Whiterabbit said:


> Im free for two weeks. but no chunks of time to actually work  Unless you want to drop by after work sometime and have some free labor help/location from 5pm to sunset someday soon
> 
> what is ".....interesting" is Rockies post just before mine.
> 
> ...


lol thanks. as far as deadener goes i do have some extra BUT i might need it when anthony helps me rebuild my doors for the lotus 8's . 

so update. i decided to put the tweets in the pillars. a co-worker of mine helped me out on doing this. first we decided on how to aim the tweets then we drilled the holes in the pillars to house the pvc pipe. here's how that turned out:




























So then onto the filler part. I've never really extensively messed with body filler before so i guess this is my first time ever using it. My God what a PITA to work with. But it's okay, as i sand sand sand and sand, i go "it'll all be worth it." lol. Here's the picture of the 3rd layer of filler. 



















Here's the fifth layer of filler and sanded: OH BTW, cheese grinder is my new best friend . 



















I'm still not sure how to finish off the pillars. either paint or vinyl. I'm gonna go vinyl shopping tomorrow so i'd like a vinyl texture that is very thin so it'll be easily appliable. oh well thats it for now. any tips/comments/constructive criticism is always welcome.


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

Whiterabbit said:


> I must say, if I didnt have my own thing going with gear, Id be jealous as heck with your progress!


Exactly. Your set up is going to be sweet when it's done man. Lets see yours Rocky....*******


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

YESSSS you put them in the pillars 

Based on that filler work, I'd vinyl 

Keep it up!

-aaron


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

ArcL100 said:


> YESSSS you put them in the pillars
> 
> Based on that filler work, I'd vinyl
> 
> ...


can't be that bad can it? . i'm not done... any tips? lol.


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

It takes a lot of work to make a surface perfect for painting. Also, you can't go from the textured pillars to just a smooth section around the tweet, unless you make the whole pillar smooth or cop out and use texture paint. It'd just be much easier to vinyl it is my thinking. Otherwise, invest heavily in some sort of workable spot putty - I never had problems with bondo spot putty for $2 @meijers, but according to a thread on ECA theres stuff out there equally priced that's much easier to work with.

GL 

-aaaron


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## demon2091tb (May 30, 2005)

Would i be able to find bondo/body fillers at Lowes? Its really the only store i have around here for this type of stuff.....i luckily found all of my FG needs there, hopefully they have body filler as well. Monday i'm going to be trying to finish up my kickpanels and really need to jump on the body filler to smooth them out for vinyl.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

yea they should have some. also home depot has some bondo and probably autozone as well.


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

Also consider the fact that if you don't get them close to flawless you will be looking at them all the time up there. I would think vinyl would be better choice in that regard. 

But would vinyl last as long - both in the color resisting fading from the sun and the heat from the sun?


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

vinyl for all sorts of reasons, but the two big ones are going to be the already mentioned texture issues, and also the cracking issues over time through heat cycling.

you used standard bodyfiller, not the fiber reinforced stuff. itll crack over time. nice and invisible under bondo, but cracks ruin a paint job!

the cureall for paint could be to use some 2 oz woven fiberglass over the whole thing, followed by filler primer (no more bondo!  ). Now thats some more days. especially when you could vinyl and be done with it. Anthony knows where the good stuff can be bought. when you see him next, see if he has a scrap left to play with. Like stretching a rubber band! 8\ sweet stuff.


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## Rocky 59 (Feb 21, 2006)

B-Squad said:


> Exactly. Your set up is going to be sweet when it's done man. Lets see yours Rocky....*******


cant the companies that work "for me" would have me killed if i told you the stuff i have installed.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

vinyling it is! too bad joann fabrics doesn't have the color that i want. guess i have to order. thanks for the advice guys!


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## vwtoby (Oct 28, 2005)

jsut spray it...SEM will match most interiors...


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## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

Hey Peter,
Keep up the progress and good work! Oh man, you shoulda kept them in the kick panels!  Keep us posted and let us Bay Area rats know when you've got enough hooked up for us to demo some sound!


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## Beau (Oct 8, 2005)

I think some time ago AZGrower posted a link to a site that carries all sorts of vinyl products. You might want to search under his name.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

shinjohn, lol too lazy to angle to get the stage height right so i used the lazy way out. i do however have the tweets and midranges hooked up so if you want to listen to vocals and instruments you are welcome too. 

beau, i've ordered some vinyl already. thanks for the tip though.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

quick update. as i wait for the vinyl for the a-pillars i started the kick pods for the midranges. here are a few build up pics:


















































































there's a bit more sanding to do but i'm almost done! 

also for those who have vinyled before, if there are very suddle bumps on the kicks pods, should i get rid of them? i mean there aren't that many but there are still there. i have the general shape for each pod that i want, just curious how fine should the kick pod be before vinyling. enjoy the pics!


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

Get them as smooth as you can - small imperfections can be very visible after the vinyl. When you think they are smooth enough, hit them with a light coat of primer, the contrast will help you see other areas you may have missed.

Looking good though!

Rick


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

lookin good so far. One little tip, next time you use fleece, try to pull it tighter so thee are no wrinkles. That will help you use less bondo.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

STI<>GTO - thanks for the tip, will do on the primer. 

bobditts - yes this is true. i knew this from that start but i guess i got lazy will wrapping it. so while bondo'ing, i was damn, should made it nice, tight and smoothe. oh well. thanks.


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

Looks damn good glass master. Now if you don't quite get the aiming right with them, can you go back and adjust them a bit? Or do you have to start over and make new ones?


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

new ones! =D unless the tweeters swivel =D =D

the other option if there is enough wiggle room for the motor is to dewrap it and hit the top with an orbital at the angle you want to adjust. it wont be major changes, but it will affect the position.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

yea basically once you get the fiberglass on, its pretty much set in stone. thats why its critical to get the aiming right first.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

misunderstood. I though tyou were talking tweeters!

actually, you can change the aiming. involves cutting a new baffle. simply cut out the old baffle, and you can change position 3/4 inches in direction, and refill the gaps.

with a little glass or extra fiber reinforced filler, you can adjust even farther. requires refinishing the entire kick, but at least its not a structural build up from the ground up.

its not really something anyone does if the struts smoosh a little and screw the imaging a teeny bit. its more of something to do when there is a MAJOR screw up and the alternative is ****ty sound or a complete rebuild.


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## 3.5max6spd (Jun 29, 2005)

alphakenny1 said:


> yea basically once you get the fiberglass on, its pretty much set in stone. thats why its critical to get the aiming right first.


So are you relying on their off axis? Are these the newer version?


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

3.5max6spd said:


> So are you relying on their off axis? Are these the newer version?


for what? the midranges? no they aren't the newer version and i don't think seas has the newer version for the midrange. if you talking about the tweeters, its the aluminum version which is i guess the old version.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

i vinyled the driver side kick panel. the passenger side isn't ready yet but got anxious and wanted to do the vinlying already. i used the contact cement recommended by many people on this forum and at fiberglassforums.com. seems to work great. i kinda ****ed up on the vinyling when stretching the vinyl but its not really noticable when its in the car so i said **** it, keep there. lol. i also could have added some more filler near the top of the kick panel as it has a curve on top of there, oh well. here's a couple of pics:










LOL. notice my temporarily placed trunk release  . 










Also here's a bad pic of the placed i messed up at. i guess i stretched it too much and it stretched pretty bad. on the right if you can't tell. 










The corners i learned are really difficult to do. Gotta do lots of cutting while vinyling. kinda a PITA. but overall i think its good enough, lol. Looks pretty good in the car as well! Also if you guys are wondering why i chose black instead of some gray color, door pods will be black as well .


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

The biggest advice anyone can give when doing a project like this is take your time and do it right. Patience is the key. Believe me I have been in your shoes. You get excited and have the vinyl ready so why not? right? wrong!. Dont get me wrong your kick panel looks decent but it would have looked a whole lot better if you added some more filler and done a lot more sanding. you can still see a lot of bumps and curves. Not bad for your first wrap job though. Practice is good. I foresee you redo-ing these kicks in the future. lol. 

As for the corners, Heat and lots of stretching and as little cuts as possible. Youll get the hang of it with time. Good job though!


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

haha yea basically hit the knob with everything you said. just curious where do you see any other curves besides near the top of the pod? the curve on the left was made on purpose.

also for the corners and stuff, basically stretch it over right? thanks for the all the help.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

yep, glue and stretch. its why we use contact cement


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

well i finished the passenger kick pod and also vinyling the pillars. well its sad to say that my noobiness in fabbing has definately shown . the kick passenger side is horribly vinyled. but that was after my 3rd time trying to vinyl that side and i said **** it. it was late and i wanted to go to sleep. i used a heat gun but i guess the vinyl didn't like me at all. 

i vinyled the pillars fine but come to find out that i did a bad filler job as you can see in the pics below there is a slight bump you can see . 

This will all be fixed but i am sick and tired of having no bass in the car and its been going on for about 3 months now w/o bass. the project will continue but i will definately come back to this part of my install and make it right. here are some pics. 














































i also swapped out my stock bat for a red top and upgrade the big 3. all with 1/0 wire. using knukonceptz battery terminals and i must say that these terminals are very versatile. the positive battery terminals in my car holds two runs of 1/0 wire. one for amps and one for alt to positive bat upgrade. it also holds the oem wiring which is between 4 to 8 gauge. the oem wiring fit in the 4 gauge set screw just fine. negative terminals holds 1/0 to negative to ground and again the in betweener in the 4 gauge set screw terminal. 










As i stated the project will move on and i have started killing my doors. here are pics of my beat up door. 



















Well thats it. wish me luck on the door pods . please i really need it  .


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

Oh man. That makes me want to cry for you. Good luck finding a replacement door panel for under $300. Ah well.

Overall I don't think it's horrible looking. Definately good enough, don't stress 

-aaron


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

ArcL100 said:


> Oh man. That makes me want to cry for you. Good luck finding a replacement door panel for under $300. Ah well.
> 
> Overall I don't think it's horrible looking. Definately good enough, don't stress
> 
> -aaron


hahah. well i'm gonna be keeping this car for a while and felt like using the panel to glass it. i thought overall it would be easier.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

pick 'n pull. plenty of people cresh 6th gen accords constantly =D


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## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

Yowsa. Good luck on the door build. So then are you planning to build up your plastic panel with glass and mount the 8s to it, or are you going to mount the driver to the metal behind? Or some other plan?


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

the baffle will kinda stick out, not exactly flush with the pocket. then just wrapped fleece around the panel, not the whole panel. i tried to glass the least amount of area possible to lessen the grind of bondo'ing and sanding. i already started on the glass. i get some pics up tonight.



Whiterabbit said:


> pick 'n pull. plenty of people cresh 6th gen accords constantly =D


yes i am definately relying on pick 'n pull to find some new panels if i decide to go back to stock .


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

TEAM n00b Lotus approves your work son. Don't let a few wrinkles keep you from your World Finals run. :razz:

Nice work on the ground cables. Did you solder the ends of the rings so they don't corrode?

Also, get rid of that ugly ass factory intake box. Get a CAI and let that baby breathe!


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## disbboi (Jul 13, 2005)

Whiterabbit said:


> pick 'n pull. plenty of people cresh 6th gen accords constantly =D


yea i got some extra door panels for 75 at some pick and pull. 

your car looks good man. I should get off my lazy butt and work on my car too.


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

B-Squad said:


> Also, get rid of that ugly ass factory intake box. Get a CAI and let that baby breathe!


Mrraaa, don't do that, thats my biggest pet peeve. I can't stand people modding a 16sec car to a 15.9 sec car. What the hell is the point of throwing that money away? Even worse is the exhausts.

-aaron


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## 03blueSI (Feb 5, 2006)

Looks good. I think you are they guy who bought my H701, atleast it sounds familiar since you mentioned the ZN6s that were thrown in. I am kicking myself for selling it now, but at least I was able to get a new car and now I am looking at doing a full active full blown system. Anyways. I was going to offer a tip for anyone considering doing kicks. This is how I got goo looking kicks in the past. Take the factory panel, or if you can order an extra set. Use the edge that meets up with the door sill and cut the rest of the panel off and then fiberglass to this. This allows the panel to look as close to a factory panel as possible. Keep up the good work though. It is looking good.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

yea i did buy the h701 off of you . great deal man. lol. 

yea i think ima have to redo those kicks for sure down the road. thanks for the tip.



B-Squad said:


> TEAM n00b Lotus approves your work son. Don't let a few wrinkles keep you from your World Finals run. :razz:
> 
> Nice work on the ground cables. Did you solder the ends of the rings so they don't corrode?
> 
> Also, get rid of that ugly ass factory intake box. Get a CAI and let that baby breathe!


thank you co-captain. i'm trying to help all the noobs out there . lol. 

i did not solder the ends. is it recommended? do you just solder the ends and have the ring terminal hold onto that?

cai? maybe later but this project must finish first.


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## matdotcom2000 (Aug 16, 2005)

Dude did you leave your door panel in a Rat infested area. WHOA!!! What type of tools are you working with??


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## NaamanF (Jan 18, 2006)

matdotcom2000 said:


> Dude did you leave your door panel in a Rat infested area. WHOA!!! What type of tools are you working with??


Looks like he left it with my dog.


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## Rocky 59 (Feb 21, 2006)

kenny quit humping your door panel for gods sake. jk

damn dude i geuss your too poor for tools and used your fist on the panels lol


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

also stop hating on the floor. lol. its just my garage floor.


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

ArcL100 said:


> Mrraaa, don't do that, thats my biggest pet peeve. I can't stand people modding a 16sec car to a 15.9 sec car. What the hell is the point of throwing that money away? Even worse is the exhausts.
> 
> -aaron


So are you telling me a .1 second advantage is not worth $200?  

Ok, ok I'm just joking....relax.


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

alphakenny1 said:


> i did not solder the ends. is it recommended? do you just solder the ends and have the ring terminal hold onto that?


Probably not a huge priority, but yea soldering the end closed will prevent water from getting in. I use a propane torch and a bench vice. Mount the terminal end up, heat it untill the solder melts and it will fill it right up. Then heat shrink it and you are done.


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## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

B-Squad said:


> Probably not a huge priority, but yea soldering the end closed will prevent water from getting in. I use a propane torch and a bench vice. Mount the terminal end up, heat it untill the solder melts and it will fill it right up. Then heat shrink it and you are done.


Aside protection from corrosion, you'll also get a better mechanical hold with the end of the wire tinned. The wicked solder on the end of the wire allows for a soft (but solid) piece of metal to get clamped into by the set screw. This holds better than the set screw pushing against flattened copper strands, which tend to fray, separate, and in some cases, slip. I tin all leads that get held by a set screw. If the end is going into a crimp or something, it's not really important to solder (IMO) so long as you have a really good crimp tool. If you decide to do both, I'd crimp it first, and then solder 2nd to seal it.

And yeah, for 4 gauge and up, a soldering iron (even a very powerful one) isn't sufficient. You need a torch.


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## skydeaner (Mar 25, 2006)

and what do you do with the torch? Actually melt the metal, or can you solder with one?


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

your garden variety home depot torch can't melt metal. Won't come close.


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## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

skydeaner said:


> and what do you do with the torch? Actually melt the metal, or can you solder with one?


You use the torch to solder. All you are looking to do is "tin" the end of the wire by melting the solder on it. It bonds the wire strands together and makes it easier to work with if being clamped by a screw. Here's an example, shown on the speaker output of an (old school) a/d/s amp:


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

skydeaner said:


> and what do you do with the torch? Actually melt the metal, or can you solder with one?


The significance of the flame is the heat. No way a solder iron will get a 1/0 ring hot enough to melt the solder so that it gets all the way down in there and completely fills the hole. With a torch, it's hot in like 30 seconds. I did probably 15 of them with 4 AWG when I made my grounding kit and it was easy and cheap....that was a few years ago....and the wire is starting to discolor from the engine heat, but I don't have a single corroded terminal.


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

That **** is flatout unnecessary.

But it's your install.

-aaron


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## Relax (Apr 24, 2006)

Just think of what soldering does- it puts another different metal in between the extremely conductive copper wire and the connections. It has its pros for clamping and neatness, yet it has its sonic cons.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

here are some door pods build up pics:





































the first 3 pics are of the driver side and the last one is the passenger side which is basically done. didn't have camera handy when i was doing the passenger side. i probably have to smoothe out that lil bump there but besides its almost good to go!

I'm tired, lol.


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## fit_tuner (Aug 14, 2006)

are you going to brace that thing to the outer door? wondering if that panel alone is sturdy enough to hold the weight of the driver, or will the glassing do the trick


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

yea the combo of the glass and bondo can easily hold that driver. i mean with the baffle before glassing can easily hold the driver.


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

You are giving me ideas....crazy, expensive ideas.  Anything for the TEAM though huh? :blush:


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

Im curious why you suspended the baffle so far out from the doorskin? why not put the baffle closer to the stock plastic?


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

i had no desire to cut any metal. so to make the driver clear, i did what i did.



B-Squad said:


> You are giving me ideas....crazy, expensive ideas.  Anything for the TEAM though huh? :blush:


lol i highly suggest you don't do it. i'm running into problems like a mofo. i guess for a first timer i'm finding out this isn't easy. i'm way too deep into this to stop though.


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## BodegaBay (Dec 16, 2005)

AK: what happened to the Audison LRx that you owned? I'm going to look at the new 2006/2007 LRx so I'm understandably curious.


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## trike (Sep 22, 2005)

alphakenny1 said:


> lol i highly suggest you don't do it. i'm running into problems like a mofo. i guess for a first timer i'm finding out this isn't easy. i'm way too deep into this to stop though.



Ain't that the truth! I'm doing my first install right now as well (not far enough along for pics) and its much more time consuming and expensive than I anticipated. I've been working on my amp rack for more weeks than I care to admit. I'll be the first to say I'm in way over my head on this one.

But thats half the fun. I've learned a lot and I'm not givin up that easily!


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

BodegaBay said:


> AK: what happened to the Audison LRx that you owned? I'm going to look at the new 2006/2007 LRx so I'm understandably curious.


i think you must have mistaken me for someone else. i never owned the audison lrx before. although those amps look awesome. too bad audison doesn't have the specs of those new amps up. there's one on ebay and i'm curious about its power ratings. http://cgi.ebay.com/Audison-LRX-4-1...oryZ4950QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem. looks like a 4 channel amp with two different wattages. kinda interesting. 



trike said:


> Ain't that the truth! I'm doing my first install right now as well (not far enough along for pics) and its much more time consuming and expensive than I anticipated. I've been working on my amp rack for more weeks than I care to admit. I'll be the first to say I'm in way over my head on this one.
> 
> But thats half the fun. I've learned a lot and I'm not givin up that easily!


lol yea as i went back to work on the door pods i found a number of other problems. damn this, lol. but yes its a lot of work but i have learned so much during this process and i know for next projects i will be well prepared!


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## BodegaBay (Dec 16, 2005)

alphakenny1 said:


> i think you must have mistaken me for someone else. i never owned the audison lrx before. although those amps look awesome. too bad audison doesn't have the specs of those new amps up. there's one on ebay and i'm curious about its power ratings.


You're right, I read a few more threads and it seems you asked about them but chose the JLs instead. Yeah, Audison interestingly have not yet updated their website to show the new LRx 2006/2007 line. However, I did find a Japanese distributor site  that contains real specs and pics. Good stuff.


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## 3.5max6spd (Jun 29, 2005)

BodegaBay said:


> You're right, I read a few more threads and it seems you asked about them but chose the JLs instead. Yeah, Audison interestingly have not yet updated their website to show the new LRx 2006/2007 line. However, I did find a Japanese distributor site  that contains real specs and pics. Good stuff.


Hey brother, i have some pdf's on the newest audison/hertz gear -my buddy is the distributor in India sent me. The new LRx's are indeed bitchin'. Send me an email on monday and remind me if you need'm.


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## BodegaBay (Dec 16, 2005)

3.5max6spd said:


> Hey brother, i have some pdf's on the newest audison/hertz gear -my buddy is the distributor in India sent me. The new LRx's are indeed bitchin'. Send me an email on monday and remind me if you need'm.


Thanks Brah! Yes, please send the PDFs to my e-mail.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

haven't updated in a while and i was gonna wait until i vinyled my door pods but i don't think ima vinyl for another week or so. so here are some pics:

i showed you guys pics of a sanded door pod shown here:










Well when i put the panels back together there was a huge gap in the middle, due to me glassing over the pocket. so what i did was fill in that gap with some expandable foam:










Just bondo'ed over it and here's how it came out:








.

So then i put back the panel and it doesn't fit on my doors . i'll definately have to fix the problem but i just kept the panel there so i can have a little listen to the lotus 8's . 





































It sounds okay . 

Also another thing. i threw the diyma in my .8 cft box i had laying around. here's a quick pic:










Listened to the sub for 15 min and it definately as what people have said around here. get's low and is very transparent from what i've heard so far. need more listen time of course. I finally have a fully functional system. it's been about 4 months since i had a sub in my car  . I will leave here for a week or so then fix the doors and vinyl em. 

questions, comments, and anything else are welcome.


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

I don't think that sub is gonna work out for you man. Might as well sell it to me.


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## jearhart (Jul 28, 2006)

god i wish i had a 2piece door like that, it would be soo much easier to fab dor pod. well maybe not easier but it would definitely look much better


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## fit_tuner (Aug 14, 2006)

hey... that doesnt look half bad... ahahahaha =P your project's comin along pretty nicely.... good **** petey


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

B-Squad said:


> I don't think that sub is gonna work out for you man. Might as well sell it to me.


no . but if i sell it to you, you won't complete the "mission." and we can't have that now . 

also as for a two piece door, i guess yea. but of course it came as one whole piece and i had to screw out some clips to get it be two pieced. 

Anyways obviously w/ the door panel not in all the way i'm getting a little reasonance  . lol actually a lot. i kinda figured out why its not closing just need to make some adjustments to get it in. i think i should be fine.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

WOOT WOOT! Finally finished my door pods after 3 years of working on it  . here are some pics. just a note, as member disboi on here also stated, the difference in color isn't bad in person . 





































Not perfect but overall not too bad. i know, i need to clean the doors and i will. Now i'm gonna run these 8's in a 2 way front stage to see what these are made of. but so far its sounding like doo doo. maybe because i've been listening those lotus 4's for about 2 months . next, time to start on the enclosure for the diyma .


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

Looks good to me 

I think in these 6th gen accord installs what might make people's panels look a little "off" (at least IMO) is the lack of a part/break line or an accent trim piece or something like that to look a little more OEM since we always nix the pocket that was there. Just an observation, not a criticism, I like it!

-aaron


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

yea i do agree with that observation. and thanks for the comments! you now have a fellow 8 incher .


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

Peter, I should be back in the bay area starting Thanksgiving weekend through Christmas. Need a space to work on the trunk?


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

yea definately steve . just let me know when you are free. i still owe you lunch .


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## Scott Dodge (Nov 6, 2006)

Damn, looking pretty good. I wish I had the time/money/ambition/motivation right now for something like that...


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## 03blueSI (Feb 5, 2006)

Looks good. I am trying to determine the feasability of me getting a pair of 8s I have in the doors on my Scion tC. I will have to take the door apart to see if they are a 2 piece door and also to see if there is any way I will fit my speakers.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

do you live in the SF bay area? might be time to drop by the house with peter! I've never seen the inside of the tC door before....


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## evan (Dec 2, 2006)

Are you still running 2way up front with the 8? How are you liking it?


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

no i've been running the my 3 way up front for a while now. for about a month before finishing the door pods, i was just listening to just the 4.5 and the tweeter. i got used the stage being pretty deep. so when i switched to two way with the 8, it was way too forward. but the 8's played nicely for a two way.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

well in light of going to the tweeter audition i saw the vifa tg9's and saw how small those were and i was looking for a midrange that i could probably stick in my stock kicks without having to fiberglass anymore. i also purchased rainbow cal27 and lpg 26na to play with. 

here's a pic of comparison between the lotus 4.5 and vifa tg9:



















so i threw in the vifa tg9 in the stock kicks, deadened it and threw some polyfill in the stock kicks so the tg9's are running ib right now. here some pics:



















These sound very much like the lotus 4.5 so far in terms of detail but initial impressions tell me that its not as full as the 4.5. but the detail is definately there. i forgot i had them crossed at maybe like 250 to 10kz or so. something like that. 

here's a pic of the rainbow cal27 as well:








. 

very smoothe tweet with a nice top end. not as full as the lotus tweets but these are very nice tweets.


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

Aaaaahhhhmmmm! I believe a modification of the sig is in order sir!  

Hehehe, just playin. Glad you like them...for $60 for the pair they sound promising.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

I know huh? lol. don't worry the lotus speakers will be in my home and NO ONE is gonna get them. eventually i think i will run the lotus 4.5 but you know this car audio addiction is bad so i must experiment .


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## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

Hey Peter,
Dude, you gotta come by this weekend so I can hear it now!!
So funny... yeah, the TG9 is DANG small. I like your quick install too!
So do you think you like the Rainbow better overall in your car? Seems they do alot better off axis than the Lotus, huh?


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## jay (Sep 12, 2005)

lol..glad you like the tg9's peter. how's the imaging with that setup?


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

i'll give you a call later on tonight shinjohn. you can definately have a listen and so i can also pick up something . also yea the rainbows off axis is pretty sweet. much better than the lotus'. but you never know i might use them. 

john, yea so far i'm quite suprised how they have performed. great lil mids. also i dunno my car is having some problems with imaging. i spent thursday might with steve and he was trying to help me with my car. he called my car "bizarre." lol. so i dunno lots of more tuning to do.


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## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

alphakenny1 said:


> i'll give you a call later on tonight shinjohn. you can definately have a listen and so i can also pick up something .


Cool that. Let me know.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

can you get the midrange past the steering wheel without using more than 4 ms of t/a now?

just occured to me, have you shifted the steering wheel position yet? HUGE difference in my car between steeringwheel low and steeringwheel high!

BTW new kicks look WAY better now. just need a grille and you are set


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

Hey Steve - what do you think about T/A'ing both the midbasses at the same time. I mentioned this to Pete and wanted to know your toughts. After reading about his issue I did my own dilly-fartin' around with my system. I ended up with delaying the R midbass by .5ms and the L midbass by .9ms. The results were MUCH more snap and I am finally getting that nice thud feeling you get in your chest. This is the first time my system has really done this!!!


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

why would you delay the one further away from you? also, why would you delay it almost twice as long as the one that is closer to you? I thought the point of T/A is to allow both sound waves to reach the desired point at the same time?


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

bobditts said:


> why would you delay the one further away from you? also, why would you delay it almost twice as long as the one that is closer to you? I thought the point of T/A is to allow both sound waves to reach the desired point at the same time?


Corrected, sorry. I type too fast...got them backwards.

It is.


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

much better. but im still confused why you would delay the driver that is farther away. the driver that is furthest away as the reference driver - meaning that it doesnt get delayed at all. just trying to figure out why you did it, not argue it. thats all.


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

bobditts said:


> much better. but im still confused why you would delay the driver that is farther away. the driver that is furthest away as the reference driver - meaning that it doesnt get delayed at all. just trying to figure out why you did it, not argue it. thats all.


PM to discuss. I don't want to jack his thread.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

Yes, it absolutely could help. especially now that the kickpanel drivers are MILES away from the listener. those midbass are right close!

it would help if my speakerworkshop rig actually took measurements in his car 

I think the #1 #1 #1 thing peter could do right now though is fix some of his internal door resonance issues. a good 20-36 square feet of damplifier pro and a couple yards of overkill could do some neat things to the low frequency extension and upper frequency volume in that car!

peter, when you get a chance, IM me about the kickpanel grille idea. Im wondering if we took a few extra hours and cut some metal if we could make them large enough to fit a 4 or 4.5 for the purpose of future upgrades. Would that be desireable?


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

yea i need to fix the resonance problems. i'd love some help . 

and yes i'll get you on aim about stuff. i would actually love to run my lotus 4.5 so yea that would be desirable as well .


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

I _bet_ youd love some help. you just dont want to be stuck singlehandedly installing 62 square feet of raammat into your doors.











;p


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## ArcL100 (Jun 17, 2005)

Just keep mass loading, they'll go away 

-aaron


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## demon2091tb (May 30, 2005)

I'm having a bit of the resonance and pounding rattles from my Extremis as well, panel buzzing at 315hz, stuff shaking down at 60hz, two different problems and i still want 8's lol.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

demon2091tb said:


> i still want 8's lol.


DO IT!


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

during the holidays me and steve (whiterabbit) have been working on my kick panels. As stated earlier i wanted to save legroom so in order to put the lotus 4.5 in the kicks, some metal had to be cut. with the help of our new friend, the air body saw, this was accomplished. i did not take pictures of the metal being cut but i can assure you the metal is definately cut. 

each side has i believe 4 baffles, all deadened and modeling clay to seal off the baffle. a grill was also included. here are the pictures i did take though:

driver's side w/o kick panel:



















passenger side w/ kick panel and w/o grill:



















passenger side w/ grill:










Driver side w/ grill:



















As you can see on the driver's side, the baffles are exposed. so steve suggested that we cover it with black carpet or something. also the grills aren't exactly PERFECT. the passenger's side has a lil gap and the grill driver's side sticks out a lil bit. but overall i absolutely love the way they look. 
how does it sound you ask? for not much tuning and it sounds damn good! off axis on these midranges is very nice. i'm sure with enough tuning it can sound much better. as you can see from the pics i'm still experimenting with the tweeter location. I'm starting to like the tweeter location in the kicks. I get a nice focused image and the stage is pretty deep. the height is pretty accpetable. i might keep the tweeters down there but we'll see. Steve seemed to like it . 

I would like to take the time to thank steve for helping me! he's a fab genius. just the ideas he came up while doing this lil project wowed me. obviously without him (and his air compressor and new plunge router!  ) this kick panel project would not have happened. so again steve, thanks for your help! 

Any comments, questions, etc. are welcome . enjoy!


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## fit_tuner (Aug 14, 2006)

lookin good peter, looks damn good as a matter of fact


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## 3.5max6spd (Jun 29, 2005)

Niice!<borat>

Something tells me them tweet will end up down in the kicks...hehe. They can spit ya in the face from down there pretty damn good.


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## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

Nice job Peter! (and Steve!) Looks like you guys have been keeping busy these days. You're install keeps changing; I'll have to check it out again!
Peter, let me know if you want to chat home audio stuff too, I've probably got a little time this weekend.


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## FoxPro5 (Feb 14, 2006)

Looks nice ladies.

So where are the pics of you guys hacking into the frame?? 

What is the makeshift enclosure made out of?? I see mat, but did you use FG?

Honorary Co-Captain status reinstated!


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

thanks for the comments! 

3.5 - yea i was quite suprised how good it sounded with the tweets down there. i dunno maybe messing around with the aiming to find a sweet spot but we'll see. 

shinjohn - yea i'll give you a call tomorrow in regards to the home audio stuff. 

john - like i said i didn't take pics of us cutting the metal . i didn't have a camera handy at steve's house. but its just a square hole cut in the kicks. also the lil enclosure i guess is made of mdf. about 4 baffles glued together and screwed down against the metal. so no we did not use any FG. just mdf, clay, mat. and thanks for the reinstatement . also man i've been busy lately and i still haven't gotten your cd's man. sorry i'll try to get it done by today.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

No fiberglass at all, it wasnt needed in the project. our seal was made via clay and raammat.

I totally forgot about the exposed baffles, peter! Ive got some spare black carpet, just drop by sometime and we'll get you all fixed up!

im also bummed about the grilles. its very impressive to see what the router can do (the grilles are MDF rings 1/8th of an inch thick, no joke) but its a drag the size was just a little too small. Especially in the pictures it gives the kickpanels just a little of an unrefined look; we will have to do better. no biggie for the moment, I suppose.

By the way peter, I lied about being unable to restretch the grillecloth, I forgot that you can use hot glue to do touchup work. But definitely dont spray anymore spray adhesive on a finished grille!

Im also thinking about alternative grill production methods we can use, peter. for example, if we use 1" MDF or if we put a backer on the 3/4 inch MDF to get it to stick out 1/16 to 1/8th of an inch, we can put a very very small radius aroundthe MDF ring. when we recut them we can make the thicker. in hindsight I think 1/8th inch was more than plenty for thin-ness. Anyways, we can better break the edge of the cut stock kickpanel by raising the grille out, and I dont think 1/16th ir 3/32's exposed is too obtrusive. the roundover will soften the grille look and make the whole thing looks smooth.


....or we can recut them slightly bigger and keep them flush. you know, whatever.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

forgot to mention its not really an enclosure. they vent into the kick which vents outside. about as true to IB as you can get for any of the backwave that can get around the massive lotus motor!

and shinjohn, dont miss an opportunity to hear it. you wont _believe_ the midrange performance both tonally and in focus. impressive for a tuned system, but just unbelieveable for very minor "getting started" tuning.


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## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

Whiterabbit said:


> and shinjohn, dont miss an opportunity to hear it. you wont _believe_ the midrange performance both tonally and in focus. impressive for a tuned system, but just unbelieveable for very minor "getting started" tuning.


Looking forward to it! Peter, give me a ring Sat morn if you want/are around.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

time for an update, I hear you impressed Anthony.


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## Vestax (Aug 16, 2005)

Whiterabbit said:


> time for an update, I hear you impressed Anthony.


I left stains on his speakers. I'm getting a pair.


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## Sephiroth619 (Jun 24, 2005)

alphakenny1 said:


>


Damn, talk about dwarfage.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

hmm well i haven't really done much. i'm auditioning the peerless sls in the car right now and i must say i'm pretty impressed with these speakers. lowend extension is pretty awesome and is pretty snappy but not as snappy with as the lotus'. i wouldn't say one is better than the other overall, i think it depends on the application. for a subless system, the sls would be a great choice. right now i'm running with no sub and it has plenty of bass for my tastes. though i probably won't go subless as my resonating doors are annoying. i have them highpassed at 31.5hz @ 24db/oct right now and it shows no signs of strain. 

also i am in the process of changing amps (again). got a great deal on an alpine pdx 4.150 and 4.100 and going down to a 2 amp setup. 

still thinking of ideas for the trunk. no real progress on install, lol. hopefully i'll have something done by marv's bbq.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

you got hte PDX's, huh? oh REALLLLLLLY (old ideas are returning )

so...........






do you care to reevaluate the idea of "going IB?"


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## Vestax (Aug 16, 2005)

Insane Builder?


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## fit_tuner (Aug 14, 2006)

peter... your car will never be finished.. you cant make up ur ****ing mind about parts... that is all


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## Vestax (Aug 16, 2005)

He's the new Leon, changes speakers like he changes underwear.


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

Hopefully now the amp problem is forever solved. Thats an easy swap/addition if he wants to change the schema.

I told him to call Alpine and ask for another heatsink and re-case his H701 to add to the stack. How COOL would that be? radio out into a stack of PDX amps, then straight to the speakers. Done. Cool.


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## Fran82 (Jul 30, 2007)

Whatever happened to this one?



Nevermind. Found the new thread.


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## 3.5max6spd (Jun 29, 2005)

Peter doesnt know if he's coming or going....


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## ndm (Jul 5, 2007)

alphakenny1 said:


> here are some door pods build up pics:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I am going to give you some info that will take you to another level...You seem to have a good skill for glassing so I think I can make you better....

First read this http://www.fiberglassforums.com/showthread.php?t=3509

And search that site fir other posts I have made..(and others too).

You need to throw out all that crappy home depot resin, bondo and other crap and pick up the good stuff. It is really not very expensive at all. It will take yo to another level instantly.

Bondo brand stuff is garbage. It suck to work with, it sucks to sand and just plain out sucks.

Next, non reinforced filler should not be used for really thick stuff.....really, I would not use it for anything over 3/16inch thick. The purpose of the nonreinforced filler is to use in thin layers to smooth and level light bumps. If you need to build up, make sure you use duraglass or actual fiberglass with resin. 

next, whenever you do plastics, a good way to do a better job of securing fiberglass products to it is to drill holes in it in the areas where you will be glassing...then glass the front and back...This will create kind of like a rivet effect on the piece. I also use some stuff called Plastex. Its something I picked up from sportike repair.

NExt...sometimes its better to build things with glass and attach them from the back with screws...Like your door panels...I would have taped the panel off and taken a mold of the area. Then build it on the workbench and when its done, attach with screws from behind....But thats not the only way to skin a cat...


Next....research "the greenstage"....It will cut sanding time and effort in half and will be a major tool in your arsenal.

next....sanding....another way to cut down on sanding time is to do it in an X pattern....sand up and down for a couple strokes and then switch to left and right....then again and again. This makes it easier to sand by always create edges to sand down....think about it....its easier to sand an edge than a flat area....Each time you change the direction, you are scratching(sanding) the previous scratches at 90 degrees....
This will make feathering edges much easier too.

next....Tools tools tools.....I love them and so should you....get good ones...research the ones to get...I use the hell out of my 90degree sander with roloc discs and my DA sander.

And due to my lack of time, I will leave you with one more tip.....Once you get the good resin (B440), do your best to use as little resin as possible to wet out the fiberglass matt or cloth. Resin in excess will weaken your structure....You want to use only enough resin to soak the glass fibers....If you have pools of resin or if it looks shiney, you are using too much....Mine look dull when done right....You dont want the cured area to look wet. 

Well thats all I have for now....

Your work looks good. Its just that in time the thick bondo will crack and the feathered edges you have done are going to let go. This is due to the different expansion and contraction rates of different materials with weather change.... 

But It took me years to learn these tips and tricks.....and I am still learning....

Also, one if my best weapons against sanding it called Featherfill and made by evercoat.....It is almost the same thing as Slicksand that is made by the same company.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

oh wow thanks for the advice. if you didn't see my new thread, i gave up on those panels but i'd defnitely keep your advice in my book. thanks for the tips!


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