# Dynaudio and Zapco G35



## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

Well, many of you have had the pleasure of answering my wonderful questions and now it's time to move ahead and start my build. This is something that I have been wanting to do for a long time now and finally and starting to put together the product that I need for this car to sound like a studio on wheels. 

Before finding this forum, I had worked at a car audio shop as a sales manager, and had the pleasure of helping people find happiness in car audio. However, their "happiness" never was up to par with me, upgrading 6x9 rears instead of focusing on the fronts, two 15's but stock speakers, etc...things that I will never understand. But that was three years ago, and while I always wanted to be more involved in the install of the systems that I sold, I never got the ability, with the exception of my own car, and a meager 4 channel and sub set up. Nothing fancy but enough to get by. 

Fast forward three years, and I find this website, right when I am REALLY getting into audio. Studio monitors in my office, sound system in my workout room, huge home theater set up in the family room, and a smaller theater set up in my bedroom for those late night movies. Then I stumble on DIY and realize that I can have the sound that I always wanted in a car, but never could find...Go active, utilize tools like eq, time delay, etc, and do a proper install. 

After speaking with a few of you, I went back and forth between DIY drivers and higher end components. While I like to fiddle around, I am more a once and done kind of guy, so higher end components won. Yesterday, I finally started on what I think will be a fantastic sounding system. 

The G35 has a Bose system in it, but the HU is actually pretty decent as far as quality and flat, no eq processing in it, so considering the integrated dash piece, I decided to keep that, but everything else from there is out. 

The signal is going to three Zapco Amps
DC Reference 350.2
DC Reference 1000.4
DC Reference 1100.1

After processing, the sound will then go to Dynaudio
MD 102 Tweeters 
MW 152 Midrange (5 1/4")
MW182 Mid Bass (10")

Sub-bass will be handled by Morel
2- Ultimo 12's

Wiring and Accessories are Stinger
Sound Deadening is provided by Second Skin Audio

( a special thanks in advance for those that have been instrumental in helping me out, you guys know who you are)

On to the Install....

First Things First....Obligatory pics of all the equipment (still waiting on the amps and morel subs...)


















160 Sq ft of Damplifier is going in this car...Loving it!


















My Garage has quickly turned into a shop, but also a mess...I'm not the cleanest...

























The Bose Amp is pitiful...no wonder this G's sound system sucked nuts..









Gotta love the subs though...


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

................


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

After removing the interior, I got started on the sound deadening....after two days I am probably half way done... I always seem to underestimate tasks...I thought i would be done in 1 day with the sound deadening!
























Gotta get the license plate too...hate it when they rattle..

















A quick shot of the begining stages of wiring...

























As for now, that's it...I am going to try and get little bits and pieces done day by day, but hope to be close to finished within a month.... again, probably optomistic...if you have questions or comments, fire away.


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## LegendJeff (Jun 28, 2009)

Dang, you arent going to be needing much more power! Haha 

Oh and sound deadening in one day? Please...


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

So, I hurried to get all of the dampening on the floor, so I could relatively put the car back together so it's drivable. I guess I will fit into the import scene for now cause I "reduced weight" to go faster...(little do they know I am putting in nearly 100 lbs of sticky rubber)...

anywho...this is what I am driving for now...









Also, ran the 1/0 wire to the back, ziptied to other cables to keep it organized and simple..

























more to come.... gonna spend some serious time on the rear deck and more on the seats and trunk...


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## Brian_smith06 (Jan 31, 2008)

very nice. cant wait to see this finished. I am actually considering picking one of these cars up


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

> I am actually considering picking one of these cars up


love the car...can't say anything bad about it...it's not the biggest for systems though...i am a little worried about being able to keep everything in a false floor.... 3 amps and 2 12's , almost too much to fit in the small trunk


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## m3gunner (Aug 6, 2008)

Nice front stage speaker choice...

subscribed...


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## Brian_smith06 (Jan 31, 2008)

mattyjman said:


> love the car...can't say anything bad about it...it's not the biggest for systems though...i am a little worried about being able to keep everything in a false floor.... 3 amps and 2 12's , almost too much to fit in the small trunk


Thats funny because im actually going through that now with current install 3 amps 2 12"s(see sig) im used to small trunk cars though so shouldnt be too hard to adjust too 

Plus this car would be such an upgrade from my current car


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

okay...going to Taco Bell tonight, and I was waiting for my wife to get ready...(read: hours) JK. In my free time waiting, I decided to perform a quick experiment. How to clean my dirty panels in my car. 

Anywho, the previous owner of my G35 didn't really take care of the car very well, and so there are dirty panels and stained carpets galore. This is one of my other projects, to get this car looking like it should at 10k or 20k miles. So, from having a motorcycle I got turned on to a plastic cleaner called Plexus...this thing worked wonders on my bike, got bugs off my windscreen with little to no scrubbing. So, what does it do to interior plastic panels? 

Lets see...

Take one dirty panel...Check.









Take Can of Plexus...Check.









Spray on and wipe off....Voila.









Suprisingly, WD40 does the same things...just leaves a nasty oily residue behind, but this works a charm. 

(for anyone that's wondering...I am doing kickpanels, this was just to test on a piece that wasn't going to be seen after I do the kickpanels...all the other plastic pieces are going to get the same treatment.)


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## norcalsfinest (Aug 30, 2008)

plexus works awesome. I use the stuff at work on my sunglass and watch cases that are acrylic. The Spy rep gave me a bunch


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

yeah, for glossy surfaces Plexus is the best, for the door panels it did okay, not perfect...but it's what I had and wanted to try it. The leather is what's going to kick my ass...it's DIRTY


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## mavric (Sep 9, 2007)

mattyjman said:


> yeah, for glossy surfaces Plexus is the best, for the door panels it did okay, not perfect...but it's what I had and wanted to try it. The leather is what's going to kick my ass...it's DIRTY


I have cleaned a number of leather car interiors and the best product (by a fair margin) that I have used is Leatherique. You can check it out at Home Page | Leatherique Restoration Products

Looking forward to seeing more of your install, nice selection of gear


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

thanks for the link mavric, i will look into that. I have been really wanting to try out the Zaino Car kit www.zainostore.com ... The finishes on the cars with those products are amazing. They include a leather cleaner in their kit, but I wonder how it stacks up to something like leatherique. 

As for the install, I am looking forward to seeing more of it too... haha, driving without music is the pits, comparable to sticking a fork in your eye. But my fear is if I rush, it won't turn out well, so I am exercising restraint...hopefully by months end i will be near completion.


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## mavric (Sep 9, 2007)

mattyjman said:


> thanks for the link mavric, i will look into that. I have been really wanting to try out the Zaino Car kit Zaino Store ... The finishes on the cars with those products are amazing. They include a leather cleaner in their kit, but I wonder how it stacks up to something like leatherique.


The Zaino products have a great rep, im sure you will get some good results with them. For the exterior I use Menzerna polishes and a heap of Zymol products (especially their waxes), the results I have gotten from these products on my car are fantastic.



mattyjman said:


> As for the install, I am looking forward to seeing more of it too... haha, driving without music is the pits, comparable to sticking a fork in your eye. But my fear is if I rush, it won't turn out well, so I am exercising restraint...hopefully by months end i will be near completion.


Just take your time, you have invested the money in top gear and it deserves a top install. You will LOVE the results if your patient and pay close attention to the small details, it makes all the difference


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

Got a box today!! 









I wonder what it could be?!!










It's Beauty in a Box










These are quite possibly the sexiest, cleanest looking subs I have ever seen. It has that quiet understated, but incredibly "hot" look. Now, feast your eyes....


















































I absolutely cannot wait to hear what these sound like when all is said and done. I think it's a little over done considering it's 2 12's in a small coupe...but it's "headroom" right?!


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

Okay, I am trying to conceptualize the install in the trunk...I wanted it to be mildly showy but all reside under the floor. One of the reasons I chose Morel for the subs is because of how great they look, both on the cone and on the basket. In my selection, I wanted to have one showing each part of the woofer. 

This is going to require me to increase floor height by about an inch either way I do it, but wanted to get some opinions on which way to install. I have two options below...one is with the cone in the front, and one with the cone in the back. I am still waiting on getting the amps (Friday!), but basically the two long ones (dc1000.4 and the dc1100.1 (24.4" long)) will flank the woofers on either side. The 350.2 is going to get squeezed in front of the woofers or in the back, depending on the arrangement of the woofers. 


















--or--











I am open to opinions, so please share your thoughts...perhaps some way that i didn't even mention


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## Brian_smith06 (Jan 31, 2008)

there's two of them


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## trojan fan (Nov 4, 2007)

Talk to Bing he is the man when it comes to a G35


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## m3gunner (Aug 6, 2008)

For my dime, I'd say cone forward and back closer to the back of the trunk. The back of the driver is just too gorgeous to hide...


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## asnpreppie (Feb 11, 2006)

i love what you've done so far. I have a G35 as well and am in the process of building a system together. More pics more pics! This is like a DIY for my build. I appreciate it.


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## jayhawkblk (May 29, 2007)

I think you should glass them in the corners of the trunk and invert them if you want to show off the basket and leave the center of the trunk for your amp rack. I dont think you are going to like everything being crammed in one spot. Those amps are pretty long.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

> I think you should glass them in the corners of the trunk and invert them if you want to show off the basket and leave the center of the trunk for your amp rack. I dont think you are going to like everything being crammed in one spot. Those amps are pretty long.


you know, i was originally thinking the same thing, but doing it that way would kill the "stealth" look... I suppose, when all is said and done, I can do it one way and then if i don't like it, do it the other way...

installs on DIY are never finished!!


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

> i love what you've done so far. I have a G35 as well and am in the process of building a system together. More pics more pics! This is like a DIY for my build. I appreciate it.


Good luck with your build...what are you planning? I plan on getting more done this weekend, so there will be more pics, patience!! lol 

It's been a while since i have done an install, and have never done one quite like this, so this might be a DIY of "what not to do" on your car!!


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## ///Mpower (Oct 27, 2009)

mattyjman said:


>


Beautiful indeed  I'll take four of these please


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

I cleaned up the garage a little bit yesterday (from all the backing paper off the second skin damplifier) and moved all the interior parts of the car inside the house...prepping the workspace for what would come today. 

So I unpackaged the Ryobi, and first attempt at a speaker ring...this is what I got (jigsaw and router)










not half bad, but for using a router, it should be el primo

so second one...










much better. what helped? THE JASPER JIG FTW










Also made some baffles for the front stage so I could start playing with aiming and fitment... 




























The MW152's are pretty deep, so I have to figure out where they are going to go and how they are going to fit. I guess it's time to order the fiberglass and get started with making some molds....

more to come....


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

oh, and i have to add, that while the Morels are getting a lot of attention from me as far as looks, I have to admit that Dynaudio speakers are also in the same league and definately as sexy, if not more, than the Morels. 

Just my opinion though... I just hope their "insides" are as good as their looks!!


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

Started working on the speaker wires today...running 14awg to each speaker, and all techflexed... If I knew how long it would take to do this, i probably would have thought twice about it... but techflex goes a long way in making the install look nice. Looks ten times better than just bare wire ziptied every so often. 

anywho... I got the left side 3 way bundle done, and started working on the right side. Many people use labels to designate which speaker goes to what wire -- I simply cut the heatshrink tubing according to the size of the speaker (i.e. 10" long, 5 1/2" medium, tweeter short)


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## ///Mpower (Oct 27, 2009)

Very nice, I just used the factory wire in my M3 just too lazy to run new wire.

Are you planning on making custom kick panels?


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

yeah, the kickpanels are in the plan... I would have used the factory wiring as well, but i figured with the components that I have, they kind of warrant new wire. I hope to get the midbasses in the doors this weekend, and have a mock up of the trunk complete...


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## m3gunner (Aug 6, 2008)

I don't think you'll have any difficulties with that part. I used the MD100/MW150 set in my car and they were beyond awesome.



mattyjman said:


> oh, and i have to add, that while the Morels are getting a lot of attention from me as far as looks, I have to admit that Dynaudio speakers are also in the same league and definately as sexy, if not more, than the Morels.
> 
> Just my opinion though... I just hope their "insides" are as good as their looks!!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

its great to see someone else doing up a G coupe on here  after the 40th or so G coupe i worked on, things were looking to become a bit monotomous hehe.

if you need any suggestions, just ask. 

the G coupe's interior, though it doesnt seem like it, can get you quite decent SQ. I mean david's G, after it was tuned, sounded fantastic and i htink his SQ score showed it at regionals. 

the one thing i do wanna caution you a little bit on doing kicks alone for tweeter, is that in my experience, the G coupe's interior is prone to rainbowing of the stage when kicks alone are used. whcih is why i started to do A pillars when there is a proper DSP avaiable. tuning can get it higher, but i always seem to get at least a 6" drop at the two ends of hte stage. 

as far as sound proofing goes, from my experinece the major source of rattles for the G (or for most new cars for that matter) is the door card and rear deck, the rear deck espeically, depending on the year and the location of the third light, really suffers from the rear deck cover bouncing against nad buzzing to the metal, my suggestion is to lay down a thick layer of foam on the underside of the cover, in additoin to the soudn proofing on the rear deck, this will get you a lot less panel hitting each other buzz, as just sound proofing alone still produces that buzzing noise 

i am interested in seeing how the stock HU works out for you, i have tried retaining the stock HU about a half dozen times in the past, each time, no matter hwat i did, line driver, eq etc...it doesnt quite seem to sound right. (bypassing the bose amp of course) just a bit weird. did you put it on an RTA and see hwat kind of response is putting out? 

its gotten to the point that i pretty much will always require a headunit swap if anyone is looking for a sq install of some sort in the G. but again, looking forward to what you can achieve beucase in those stock HU installs, none featured as much tuning ability as what you are using 

best of luck!


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

> i am interested in seeing how the stock HU works out for you, i have tried retaining the stock HU about a half dozen times in the past, each time, no matter hwat i did, line driver, eq etc...it doesnt quite seem to sound right. (bypassing the bose amp of course) just a bit weird. did you put it on an RTA and see hwat kind of response is putting out?


yeah, i want to keep an integrated look, which is why I am keeping the stock HU for now, but if it doesn't sound right I can always upgrade. Another forum member VP Electricity has measured the output from the stock deck, and it's flat with no eq, balanced differential outputs. I figured it's a perfect match for the zapco amps and processing then, because I can just splice right into signal. But I will definately comment on the sound once i get it up and running. 

I must add, Bing, that I have poured over your website and installs for months now, so that has been much of an inspiration to me. Keep up the good work.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

Well, the FedEx guy pretty much knows me by heart now...I have been on his delivery list for a little while now, but I'm afraid that relationship has come to an end. I got the last of my toys today... MMM, Zapco!!



















Now that I have pretty much everything I need, I guess I don't really have any excuses to get things done now. The only puzzling thing to me is where to put the DRC-SL??


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## jayhawkblk (May 29, 2007)

mattyjman said:


> Well, the FedEx guy pretty much knows me by heart now...I have been on his delivery list for a little while now, but I'm afraid that relationship has come to an end. I got the last of my toys today... MMM, Zapco!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


put it in the glove box


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

> put it in the glove box


kind of an obvious choice huh? I have thought about and still am considering it, but it's not the most accessible location in the car. 

I was thinking about the door pocket on the driver side...would probably be the most accessible, but more prone to rattles and buzzing from the 10's in the doors. Then that leaves the center console, but without some modification that's not going to fit. 

For most people, the glove box sounds like an obvious winner, but I am just not sure yet.


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## asnpreppie (Feb 11, 2006)

Matty how hard was it to run 14ga. speaker wire to the doors and what exactly was the process? This might be the hardest part of the install for me. btw, keep up the awesome work! i love your attention to detail with your wiring and everything else.


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

mattyjman said:


> Okay, I am trying to conceptualize the install in the trunk...I wanted it to be mildly showy but all reside under the floor. One of the reasons I chose Morel for the subs is because of how great they look, both on the cone and on the basket. In my selection, I wanted to have one showing each part of the woofer.
> 
> This is going to require me to increase floor height by about an inch either way I do it, but wanted to get some opinions on which way to install. I have two options below...one is with the cone in the front, and one with the cone in the back. I am still waiting on getting the amps (Friday!), but basically the two long ones (dc1000.4 and the dc1100.1 (24.4" long)) will flank the woofers on either side. The 350.2 is going to get squeezed in front of the woofers or in the back, depending on the arrangement of the woofers.
> 
> ...


Did somebody say "isobaric push-pull"?


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## danny.mono (Nov 14, 2009)

one of the best i've seen in a long time.
enjoy it !


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

> Matty how hard was it to run 14ga. speaker wire to the doors and what exactly was the process?


asnpreppie, running it back to the doors, not a problem. Through the door, I have no idea. That is today's project, getting the wiring into the door. From the looks of it, it doesn't seem too bad, but will definitely have to drill out some parts of the boot and connector...I'll be sure to take some pics for you


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## asnpreppie (Feb 11, 2006)

thanks matty


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

okay, asnpreppie, these next photos show my progression. Getting the panel off (just three bolts where you see holes) and the door skin (the black part of the door) is just unbolting the bolts...no biggie. Getting the wiring through... PITA. It took me a lot longer than I wanted, but I pushed on and Victory. I must add, that I had some help from Front Speaker Wire Routing - Nissan 350Z & 370Z Wiki . This helped tremendously, but still, it sucked.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

okay, so now I got the wiring done for the side door, I was able to move onto more fun things and use POWER TOOLS!! Yeah. I got the reciprocating saw out and got the door big enough to fit the MW182. After I got that out of the way, I mounted the baffle and began deadening the door card. Hopefully tonight I can get some deadening on the door, both in and out, and then mount the MW182 and put everything back in order. ( this is just one side mind you...i suppose I am slower than most, but not deliberately)

My test fit with double sided tape..









Sharpie'd the outline and started cutting



















I had to modify just a small piece on the door card, got the good ole dremel out and cut away..



















Pretty solid door card now, and much heavier too!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

hehe goold ole 350z and g35 molex woo woo~  

the cool thing is that the new Gs, with the bose system, acutally has VERY substantial stock wiring, looks to be 14 guage lol...though i still run new cable to the front kick panel area, i am very usre that unless you run a crap load of power, you can tap the stock speaker wires there and dont have to deal with the molex anymore


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

bing, i was looking through one of your installs, and on the door cards for the G's, you seem to remove all the styrafoam blocks that are molded onto the door card, do these help at all in keeping the door from bouncing around, or are they pretty much usesless?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

the foam makes sa squeaky noise, and the foam, if left in place, just means you cant put as much mass damping in plcae, so i remove it.

b


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## pa90ee (Nov 15, 2009)

Nice...


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## six2six (Mar 25, 2007)

this is looking very nice....


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

Okay, well today has been very productive. Woke up early at 6.30 and got started on the car. I finished the left side of the door with damplifier on the inside and outside of the door, and mounted the 10" Dyn to the door. I moved onto the other side, ran wiring for the right side speakers, data cable for the drc-sl, and ran 14awg wire through the molex plug for the MW182. No surprise that this went faster second time around, but still PITA none the less. 


















































One quick shot of the clearance between door and midbass, plenty of room from when I am running this puppies down to 20hz!! 










I took the chance to also wire up Ipod integration for the HU, and ran the wires to the center console.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

Now i don't know about anyone else, but I hate a dirty and cluttered workspace...after this weekend I need to clean this place out...and the inside of my car too!


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## ///Mpower (Oct 27, 2009)

I can't believe you got 10" woofers in your doors.

Looks great, keep pics coming please


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## AdamTaylor (Sep 7, 2008)

i thought 10's would look bigger on our doors


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

believe me, when you close these doors and those 10's are staring at you, they're huge!!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

looks great, i am also of course interesting in seeing just how much midbass coloration you get with the 10" in the door. my experience with the G coupe, is that the door is still a bit small to make a flat reponse wiht bigger drivers (8" or bigger) and a lot of eqing is needed in the 150-250hz range to bring it down, but at the same time, you do loose a bit of that output advantage that the bigger drivers offer, but i suppose if you are going for front stage bottom end extension, it will be fantastic 

did you think about cutting the factory card and making a new grille to expose the full driver? versus having it fire through a 6" or so diameter stock grille?


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

okay, not much going on today...cleaned up the bay, finished up some wiring, and started some work on the glovebox/drc-sl install. (i also did some mock ups of the trunk, and I DEFINITELY have way too much stuff to fit back there. I am completely stuck on what to do...but more on that later)










































I'll end up using 1/2" mdf and flush the unit in the wood piece, then cover it with vinyl/carbon fiber mat, whatever I decide for my final colors...


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## bruther (Sep 22, 2009)

Keep it coming. I have 04 G35x that I will be posting pics soon.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

bruther, 

oh, i like seeing other g35 installs...I looked on here a while back and only a handful of buildlogs are G's.... I will be looking forward to seeing your install


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## bruther (Sep 22, 2009)

mattyjman said:


> bruther,
> 
> oh, i like seeing other g35 installs...I looked on here a while back and only a handful of buildlogs are G's.... I will be looking forward to seeing your install


My install is over here right now. I am in the process of redoing a lot of it.
I'm a rookie compared to you guys.

Phoenix Gold Phorum // View topic - "THE BEGINNING" V-2


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

i wouldn't consider yourself a rookie after looking through that install...actually I would reverse that and say I am the rookie


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

uh oh...what's wrong with this picture??


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## gitmobass (Nov 7, 2009)

OH NOES! Was your car stoled?


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## bruther (Sep 22, 2009)

Stolen?


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## BlueAc (May 19, 2007)

I hope not...


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

Well, not quite...but I definitely feel cheated...

So I have about 44k miles on my G, and the clutch was going out...Got a nice aftermarket clutch and flywheel from JWT installed at AAMCO, pretty cheap and quick too! 

Or so I thought. 

One week later, the damn thing shakes my car taking off in first gear. Literally SHAKES. Definitely not a smooth engagement as it should be. 2nd through 6th gear, it's all good. But one effing gear, and we gotta drop the tranny again and see what's wrong. 

Now, here's the kicker...dealing with car companies, they like to play the blame game. So I know when I go back to inspect what's wrong with it after they drop it, AAMCO is going to say it's JWT faulty "_____".... JWT is going to say AAMCO did "_____". Either way, I'm screwed. 

So I am not happy about it. 

A minor hitch in my game plan, but I improvised. 

RATS?









Nope, just some Custom Made "break-in" boxes...these will definitely cost you a pretty penny. (the good news is they throw the speaker in for free!)



















So, now they are hooked up to one of my stereo's getting some play time.


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## BlueAc (May 19, 2007)

mattyjman said:


> Well, not quite...but I definitely feel cheated...
> 
> So I have about 44k miles on my G, and the clutch was going out...Got a nice aftermarket clutch and flywheel from JWT installed at AAMCO, pretty cheap and quick too!
> 
> ...


That sucks...
So what was the outcome... did you have to come outtapocket???


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## pstar2002 (Jan 12, 2009)

lovely kit there


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## bruther (Sep 22, 2009)

Any more pics of the install


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

> Any more pics of the install


nope, it's a work in progress, and since the car is in the shop, can't quite make much progress...i'll have to improvise tomorrow though, and possibly finish up the glove box portion of the install.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

okay...quick update... I think the transmission shop is dicking me around. Dropped it off on wednesday, and as of 40 minutes ago had 20 hours of work time to get this thing taken care of. Have they even touched the car? Nope. That's a big fat effin N-O.

to make matters worse, because of thanksgiving this next week, I probably won't have the car back till after next weekend. arrghhh....I am SOOOO Pissed. 

anywho, as far as the install is concerned I am still trying to figure out how to incorporate all my gear in the trunk. 3 amps, two subs, distro blocks and a zap slb-u.... 

if anyone has any suggestions, fire away.... I was trying to keep everything stealth, but think it's becoming less and less likely to get all this in the floor in a cohesive manner, with out it looking "crammed" in


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

well, since i STILL don't have a car to work on









i figured I would finish up things for the DRC-SL









We had the cardboard template that we have previously worked on fitting in the glovebox









From there I traced out the pattern on 1/2" MDF and from there routed it down to 1/4" sheet. The sides of the unit stick out, so I routed another 1/8" off on the plate, then glued on a sheet of 3/4" mdf to mount the unit to... two tabs on the edge of either side of the mounting plate serve as tabs to screw into, so that the entire unit stays in place. I also trimmed the top and bottom with a slant on the router so it would fit properly without showing large corners. ( i understand that the opening of the mounting plate is crewd, and not completely straight in some areas...I am expecting to sand these down a bit, and the vinyl should cover up and further imperfections.


































I drilled and dremelled out holes so the cat5 cable can come in.










And finally, the finished product ...well ... almost... when the vinyl comes in, I will be wrapping this, and then that will be it for this piece.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

nice work,
shame about the clutch mishap, could be a miss align or something a miss with the thrust bearing as in 1st it has most of its load.
Hope it works out best for you


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## bruther (Sep 22, 2009)

Lots of anticipation....hopefully you can get the ride back so you can start building some more.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

i'm really trying to keep myself busy while i am waiting for the car. One of the things that I have been contemplating is having the tweets in the pillars. So i made some baffles for the tweets and mids... not much to explain here... 

first a quick reminder that while razor blades are great tools, they can bite you in the ass (in this case ...finger) faster than you can say f#@k. 












































































I am going to route the edges of the baffles for the mids once they dry, but I think i will remain using the stock grills...I like how they look.


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## ///Mpower (Oct 27, 2009)

Nice job making those MDF rings, is there a tutorial on how to make these rings?


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

> is there a tutorial on how to make these rings?


i'm sure there is something on it...look into a router and the Jasper Jig... cuts perfect circles every time and you just need to know what diameter of circles and rings you need...it's really quite easy


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

okay... she's back. picked her up tonight from the shop, and they did the best they can. The guy i talked to said that there were hotspots on the clutch and the flywheel...what?!

i just got this clutch and have been babying it, so there is no "drag racing" type of driving in my car...how this happened, I don't know ...but i am going to put in a question to JWT...but they buffed them out pretty well, it still chatters a little bit, but i am hoping that it goes away over time.

the good news is that the shop didn't charge me for the work, and the mechanic that was doing the job wouldn't take a tip! i thought for sure i was out for another 400 bucks...

now...back to work...


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## asnpreppie (Feb 11, 2006)

Hey glad to see you got your G back. Just ordered myself 100 sq ft of damplifier pro along with 8 sheets of luxury liner pro. Can't wait to put that in. On a side note, where are you planning on grounding your amps. I'm having a hard time looking for a bolt that is screwed directly to the chassis. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone...now back to work on the car. 

Let me just say this first.... I thought I would have been much faster at this install thing. I never had a job that required me to do installs day in and day out, but have been around enough to know how to do it. With that said, I must be one of the slowest workers on this forum. A simple task like speaker rings takes at least an hour, if not more. Frustrated? Not really, but I really want some tunes in the car. It's driving me nuts listening to the Focal Demo discs at home, but not being able to put them in this system. Oh well....

Remember the mounting plate for the DRC-SL....well, I finally got some more install supplies and was able to finish this part of the project up. I got some carbon fiber wrap from neffywrap.com, and was able to trim the plate in this fabric. Pretty easy to work with, and compared to the Ultimo Subs, the carbon fiber look is pretty good. 
















































My original intended install in the back of the car went to **** a long time ago. Since then I have had a hard time determining how to fit the 2 12's with enough airspace, and fit the 3 amps under the floor. The "stealth" plan went bye bye when I started moving forward on that, but realized that the floor was going to be raised higher than I wanted. I perused the web and looked for different ideas, but ultimately came back to putting the amps in the floor, and fiberglassing boxes for the subs in each corner of the trunk. 

Today, I made some rings for that, and flushed 1/4" so that the grill and sub will lay flat. Where and how exactly they are going to go, I am not sure but now that I have the rings I can figure that out. 





























I made a basic amp rack that, when the amps are sitting on it, would be flush with the floor. If you don't know how little space there is in the G35, the length of the amp rack is 31" and it barely squeezes in the floor. I will have some sort of beauty panel to show of the amps, but that will come later. 





















Once again, I must add...I am slow. What you see here took me a good 4 hours to complete...Maybe some time next year I will be finished


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## bruther (Sep 22, 2009)

Looking good......
Just a thought, I would be reluctant to mount all my amps that close together. They need room to breath. 

Keep it up. I just started the kicks in mine.......long process.


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## DaleCarter (Jan 3, 2008)

LegendJeff said:


> Dang, you arent going to be needing much more power! Haha
> 
> Oh and sound deadening in one day? Please...



Removed the interior and then treated the floors. tailgate, four doors and some roof on an 03 Expedition in one day. Reinstalled the interior the next morning and then made lunch for my wife. An early lunch.


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## ///Mpower (Oct 27, 2009)

mattyjman said:


> Once again, I must add...I am slow. What you see here took me a good 4 hours to complete...Maybe some time next year I will be finished


Don't feel bad, I'm the same way, takes me forever to do work on my install


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

well, today was another one of those days, as I look back at what I did...well, frankly, not much was accomplished but spent a hell of a lotta time doing it...

started today looking for the bose wiring harness so I could tap into the HU, and splice into the symbilink cables. after a little while I found what I was looking for, and got started. I decided not to solder these connections so that when I want to sell this car, it will be easy to disconnect the wires and plug the harness back in. So quick connects is what I went with. 










I was told that it was a good idea to run the symbalink grounds/shields back to the amp ground. While I was at it, I also thought that I would tap into the bose amp's power cable to run my relay for the remote turn on for the amps. There was a little confusion as to which was which, but after testing, the yellow/red is pos, and the black/red is ground. 










After finding the correct wires for the input for the amps I then proceeded to connect everything.



















After that was all done, I started attacking the a-pillars. It took me a while to find a position I liked, but after doing so, I put some super glue on the contact points of the ring and the pillar so it would hold. ( i thought it would bond faster...took at least 45 seconds before it even started displaying "tacky" properties.










After pulling both out of the car, I reinforced the rings with copius amounts of hotglue, so that when I stretch and fiberglass over the rings, they will stay in the angle I set. 



















A couple shots in the car... just waiting on US Composites now to send me my fiberglassing stuff...



















Now, this is where I stopped for the day. Put the amp rack in and started to think about the floor, wiring routes, etc. It's a tight fit...


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## asnpreppie (Feb 11, 2006)

i'm liking the progress  could you share where you are going to ground your amps? I'm having a hard time finding a good place to do so. Thanks.


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## Dave Holmes (Oct 26, 2009)

Excellent work. Nothing wrong with taking your time (I say that because I'm extremely slow in doing my projects, too).

In the trunk, can you remove the black plastic "frame" for the spare tire to get more depth in the trunk? From the pics, it looks like it may be removable. If it is, it could give you more room to space out the amps. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't they need ventilation?

Once again, good job. Keep us updated.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

> i'm liking the progress could you share where you are going to ground your amps? I'm having a hard time finding a good place to do so. Thanks.


i'm working on that...still haven't found a spot myself, but will see what i can find. When i get the ground, I will let you know.


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## Flyinbanana (Feb 2, 2008)

Excellent job- and I'm looking at used G35s now...


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## jayhawkblk (May 29, 2007)

mattyjman said:


> [


Perhaps cascading those amps behind the seats and putting the subs in the floor.

Or angle the 2 big amps in the floor about 45 degrees and float the little one in between them. Just a thought.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

thanks for the input guys....one thing here is glaringly obvious, and that point is that I am not very creative. If you look closely, you will see that this install is starting to look eerily like some of Bing's work...Simplicity in Sound. While the installs are phenominal, I didn't want to mirror his install completely, but i am kinda stuck...

I am still tossing ideas around, but am also in a hurry to get this up and running.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

Well...I got home today around 3:50 absolutely ecstatic. Why?  Cause I knew my fiberglass supplies finally showed up from US Composites. Alright, now we are talking. I can finally get finished with the front stage components!! 

(keep in mind that this is the first time ever doing fiberglass...when I say ecstatic, I mean it was like an early Christmas)

So I yank the pillars out of the car...put together some paper to protect my table and get started on the a-pillars. Simple enough, I thought, stretch some grill cloth over the rings, and resin...

So here we go...









Got the essential supplies... mixing tub, mixing/stirring stick, resin, hardener, brush, grill cloth, two a-pillars, hot glue gun, 3M glue, and scissors..










I sprayed the pillar down with 3M and proceeded to stretch the grill cloth over the pillar...



















I feel like I did a good job with them, they look good, everything is tight and not wrinkly. I decided not to use the hotglue as the 3M was holding it better than I thought. 

So I mixed up my batch...










and started to paint on the resin... still looking good!!



















I noticed a little dip in the cloth of one of the pillars as they were sitting...not a big deal though...that's why they make bondo right? 



















and then I found another spot...looks like more bondo...I guess that's why they have such large cans of it...


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

and that's when it all went to ****...:worried:





















The whole cloth started to lift off. It started in a few places here or there...again, bondo...yeah!










Then it got worse...










Neither pillar was salvageable. Yes bondo...I know...that still would have worked...but it was more sanding than I wanted to do...

I ended up with this...











and the few hours of time it took today.... all in a heap of crap











I might sound like I am bitter. I'm not. More sarcastic than anything else, but the irony of the situation is classic. I am so anal about how things look that it took me a good hour at least to wrap both pillars. 1 hour later and both weren't wrapped at all! I have always thought working with fibergalss would be easy...again, another kick in the balls. Not so easy, huh, Matt?

Anywho... I post this up because:
1. this is a catalog of my efforts for me and my friends to see.

and 

2. because now people know that 3M will not hold when fiberglassed over. Now, use hot glue!!


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## tinctorus (Oct 5, 2009)

mattyjman said:


> Well, not quite...but I definitely feel cheated...
> 
> So I have about 44k miles on my G, and the clutch was going out...Got a nice aftermarket clutch and flywheel from JWT installed at AAMCO, pretty cheap and quick too!
> 
> ...


Question for you what do you have those speakers hooked up to??

I ask because I will be getting some new speakers soon and wont be able to install them right away so I figured I would build some smal boxes or find something suitable to put them in and play some low level sound through them I'm just not sure what I should play through them while I am breaking them in??

Should I just play regular music through them or should I play a specific test tone and just let it repeat?


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

i had them hooked up to a spare reciever in my work out room. just put on the radio for a week and let them play.


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## tinctorus (Oct 5, 2009)

mattyjman said:


> and that's when it all went to ****...:worried:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The problem with just using the 3m spray adhesive as you unfortunately found out was that when you apply the fiberglass resin to it the adhesive essentially breaks down and releases that's why people usually recommend the hot glue on the back side to stop it from peeling up on you.

The 3m is great for the initial stretch to get the fabric as taught as possible but you need to use the hot glue or in some cases staples to really hold the product in place during the fiberglassing project.

But so is life and you live and you learn from your mistakes and I'm sure you're much more knowledgeable from it.


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## tinctorus (Oct 5, 2009)

mattyjman said:


> i had them hooked up to a spare reciever in my work out room. just put on the radio for a week and let them play.


Ok thank you I kinda thought thats what I should do but just wanted to double check as I have never bothered to let a speaker break in outside of the car environment because I have always installed everything pretty much right away from when I bought it.


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## DAT (Oct 8, 2006)

nice job, will monitor this for the nice work.

More Pics please


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

okay... so lesson learned... gonna give these pillars a proper fiberglass job... and one that will not be without a GLUE GUN!!

So, forget the 3M spray adhesive...do we have the glue gun ready? 









Started applying the glue, and...









it's strong enough to hang with just a few dabs of glue. so I proceeded to pull both and get them ready to resin. 



















I mixed up my batch (made it hotter too) and started painting on the resin. Once that was finished, I started prepping the floorboards for the kick panels...

I have put a lot of thought into how i want to do this, and one thing is sure, I didn't want to cut any panels, rough them up with sandpaper, etc. I wanted these panels to be a completely removable option, and so looking at the plastic panels, I noticed that there were two main attachment points. One at the back that is attached with a plastic nut, and one at the front that a plastic panel clips in to. I have decided to use these also for mounting points for the kick panels










i taped up the panels and put painters tape on the floorboard carpet in the approximate area that I expect the kick panel to take up. This kind of gives me an idea of what this can look like now...




























and last but not least...after about an hour of prepping for these panels, I went back to inspect the a-pillars and .....
































they still look fantastic. No wrinkles. No cloth pulling up or not sticking. I am uber excited about that... If at first you don't succeed, blame someone else, and then try again!


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## teenycar (Sep 24, 2009)

For future projects, drill holes in the a-pillar where the glass wraps so that when you resin the clothe, the resin will go through the clothe and holes and provide little anchors to the plastic. Fiberglass resin does not stick well to even very roughed up plastic. Also be sure to resin the back side edges so everything is solid.


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## JoshHefnerX (Jun 13, 2008)

Sorry to hear about the clutch. What you're experiencing is most likely 'clutch chatter'. I've had a couple of cars do it. It's from either improper clutch material or from contaminates on the clutch surface. Being that there were hotspots on the flywheel - it was probably contaminates.... 

Anyhow, awesome job so far - dynaudio 10's in the door will sound awesome! I've had 7's in there and they were pretty good. I would probably give those amps a bit of breathing room - it gets really hot here in the summer - maybe try some fans in there. If you need a hand w/ anything let me know.

Josh


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

JoshHefnerX said:


> Sorry to hear about the clutch. What you're experiencing is most likely 'clutch chatter'. I've had a couple of cars do it. It's from either improper clutch material or from contaminates on the clutch surface. Being that there were hotspots on the flywheel - it was probably contaminates....
> 
> Anyhow, awesome job so far - dynaudio 10's in the door will sound awesome! I've had 7's in there and they were pretty good. I would probably give those amps a bit of breathing room - it gets really hot here in the summer - maybe try some fans in there. If you need a hand w/ anything let me know.
> 
> Josh


thanks josh...i am sorry about the clutch too...they took the clutch out and buffed out the hotspots, and didn't charge me to do so, and that leads me to believe that there were contaminates on the clutch too. after i got it back, 5th gear hits a gate, and now i have a loose something under my car...it hits the floorboard when I go over big bumps...but AAMCO can't find it...so "there's no problem".... oh well...lesson learned...never go to AAMCO.

as far as the amps...i am coming up with an idea that will change things up a bit...but still conceptualizing. I wasn't too conscerned about heat as I have a ton of headroom...i probably won't need 100watts on a tweet...but your right...it gets hot out here


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## Blancolex300 (Dec 9, 2009)

That looks awesome man. I am looking forward to seeing the final product!


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

Got home after work today, checked out the pillars, and while they weren't completely solid...they were good enough to move forward...

but first, a test fit...



















Started work on smoothing out some of the parts of the pillar, so worked out some bondo and started applying... now, keep in mind I am totally new to this...so the first batch i made only lasted about 4 minutes and I only completed half a pillar before it dried too much. so next go around, I made the batch a little colder, and consequently it worked out much better. 



















got the sand paper out and started at it... what a PITA to do. I knew it was time consuming, but didn't think it would be this bad. but in the end, it looked good enough to cover with black grill cloth...



















Now, this is where having 3M adhesive was actually helpful...sprayed the pillar down, layed up the grill cloth, and tucked and pulled till everything was nice and tidy...quite easy to do actually. I thought I was in for a tough time (don't know why now...) I secured the backs with hot glue to keep it from pulling off. 










Then finally, toss in the tweet and throw the pillar in for a quick gander at the handy work...



















unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the other side down...that would have been great. 

now, after looking at this, I don't really feel like grill cloth is the best solution, as it doesn't really match the vinyl dash, so this is temporary...also the rubber boot that is sandwiched between the door and the pillar is this grey/tan color. I don't know what I can do with that exactly, the grey grill cloth i have doesn't even come close to matching. I might be stuck with black, which doesn't look half bad, but if anyone has any suggestions, offer up.


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## DAT (Oct 8, 2006)

mattyjman said:


> Got home after work today, checked out the pillars, and while they weren't completely solid...they were good enough to move forward...
> 
> but first, a test fit...
> 
> ...



If you were close to me we could run to Hancocks Fabrics and find some nice cloth or vinyl, maybe leather to use.


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## M-Dub (Nov 29, 2006)

Did you spray the pillar with something black before you wrapped it? Some color can peek through the cloth. I just used mat black primer.

Also, some 'black' grill cloth can have a purple hue to it. I like to use black vinyl dye as a final step to actually get it true black.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

hey, the progress is great, and i wouldnt be so hard on yourself for taking longer than you though, car audio is a time consuming thing if you are doing things correctly.as far as making it look less like mine...hehe, i run into the same exact problem in the G coupe. I vowed once never to duplicate the same install, but when its such a limited space and people wnat to run almost identical gear...it gets really tough after 30 or so installs in them hehe... 

but seriously, dont try to do things differently if it means sacrificing performance or utility.

two quick things:

1. on the pillar, man i wish i saw the pic when you first started, i would have told you about it coming off. the stock wrapping, i dont think what it is, but i think its flocked on. you want to strip that to bare plastic always, and its super easy, coat the entire pillar with a coat of thin coat of resin, let it start to dry a bit (not fully cured), and then it eats away the stock adhesive and you can peel everything off almost in one big sheet. once resin hits that stock material, its gonna come off, sooner or later.

2. on the DC amps, are yours fan modded? meaning second fan added? if not, i would suggest having it done. when i do dc amps in close proximity like that in a fake floor install, i always purchase the additional fan mod or else you can get into thermal issues, espeically with the two bigger amps, becuase the smaller one is blocking their intake/outlet for the fan on the one side.

hope that helps 

cant want to see more of hte good work!

b


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## Brian_smith06 (Jan 31, 2008)

sexy install, cant wait to see this finished. Im still considering picking one of these cars up


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## AdamTaylor (Sep 7, 2008)

i did something similar with the kicks, i just put down a layer of FG over the top and i peeled it off making a replica of the panel


i can still go back to stock in 2 mins if i want... its the way to go


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

wtf...i was going to post more pics of the install and now all I get is this stupid bandwidth exceeded thing.... anyone have any suggestions?


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## M-Dub (Nov 29, 2006)

mattyjman said:


> wtf...i was going to post more pics of the install and now all I get is this stupid bandwidth exceeded thing.... anyone have any suggestions?


What can we say? Your install is all the rage right now


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

alright, got started on the kicks last night (also finished the other pillar but don't have pics)... This was my first foray into using fiberglass with chopped mat, stippling, and I must say, it looks easy but was a little bit more difficult than I thought. 

I first masked off the areas to be fiberglassed, and also put down some tarps to protect the surrounding areas...



















I took some nice scissors and quickly cut some squares of chop mat...I probably used this and another 50% on both sides










Finally, working inside the car, this was invaluable...kept me from getting high and potential of cancer in the future...










While I don't have any pictures of the layup, this is where I finished with the night. 



















If you have anything of importance that you don't want to throw away after each fiberglass session (roller...) make sure you have some of this stuff...


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

pulled out the molds later today...kinda flimsy so i went ahead and applied resin and some kyntex with some chop mat in between liberally... once the fiberglass cures, this should be strong enough to trim and then stretch out a mold for the midranges....



















just a question to anyone who might have an answer...the guidelines for adding MEKP that US composites provided seems to be terribly off. Now, in AZ the temps are in the 60s for the day and 40s for the night...with a decrease in temperature would I have to MASSIVELY compensate with MEKP. They say 1/8 of an ounce for 16oz of resin, but this is what i used for maybe 6 oz and still had plenty of time to lay up my glass, but it cured much faster. any comments?


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## warr40 (Jun 12, 2009)

i thought i saw the trunk part of this build finished sumwhere?


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

trunk isn't done, and it's changing too...will be working on a revised amp rack tomorrow


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

okay, so got a lot done today on the trunk...I had taken into consideration the many comments about spacing out the amps and giving them some more room .. I was hesitant to do so as this would mess up the trunk layout with the subs I was planning. But I have decided to move in another direction with the trunk and this will allow more room for the amps. 

after the basic rack was cut and nailed, put it all together for a test fit...










things looked good, so cut holes for the wires, and spray painted any wood that would possibly be visible when looking at the beauty panel. 










I found a nice spot for the distrobution blocks, they will be flanking the dc350.2 on either side...










As I have never done this in depth of an install before, my assumption was that the best way to do a flush trim was to use a router, so I got out my guide and got to it.... this is probably where a router table would be nice...so i don't have to measure 3 1/8" to cut every time...



















either way I think it turned out okay, I made a few mistakes here or there, but will be fixed with some bondo... 

another test fit... 










now, the amp rack is to wide to maintain the factory trim pieces as is, so i took some measurements and started cutting...



















another test fit to see how things are looking....pretty tight fit, but everything fits, works and is flush...i think things are finally coming together


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## ///Mpower (Oct 27, 2009)

Looking good, curious where the subs are going?


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

they are going to go on either side of the amps in the corners of the trunk...won't be real stealthy anymore


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## rockinridgeline (Feb 2, 2009)

I have always been a big fan of the G35. Almost bought one and then ended up with a truck! ?

Nice work on the install and I can definitely empathize with you regarding how long it takes, especially when you are doing things for the first time. You probably saved me some headache by showing your glassing issues. Keep up the good work!


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## glenniz (Nov 28, 2009)

mattyjman said:


> I don't really feel like grill cloth is the best solution, as it doesn't really match the vinyl dash, so this is temporary...also the rubber boot that is sandwiched between the door and the pillar is this grey/tan color. I don't know what I can do with that exactly, the grey grill cloth i have doesn't even come close to matching. I might be stuck with black, which doesn't look half bad, but if anyone has any suggestions, offer up.



The work you did on the pillar is very good. To get it to match the texture and color of the interior plastic, I would first remove the cloth and sand the entire pillar as smooth as possible. Next use a textured paint made for plastic and spray the entire pillar until you have the proper texture. Let the texture dry for about 48 hrs then spray the pillar with the matching interior paint.
DupliColor or SEM make paint that is specifically made for painting plastic. You can get the SEM brand at any auto body supply store.

Keep up the good work man!


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## djdcb (Dec 12, 2009)

mattyjman said:


> you know, i was originally thinking the same thing, but doing it that way would kill the "stealth" look... I suppose, when all is said and done, I can do it one way and then if i don't like it, do it the other way...
> 
> installs on DIY are never finished!!


with an inverted basket anywhere there is no stealth look!!! glass em in to the corners or both into one side leave the middle for amp racks ul still have trunk space if u want sink the amps make removable covers if u wanna haull stuff cover ur amps


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## djdcb (Dec 12, 2009)

your install looks very nice your a pillars are awesome i wold vinyl them keep ur heat gun hot glue and 3m hand. I dont know if you know this already but you can turn your amps upside down on your tack strips of wood oround them creating boxes then use your router and a flush trim bit to cut the boxes out perfectly u might have to square the edges with a jig saw hope this helps i believe you could start off with te two boxes on the l r to get a refrence whereto lay your amps after you remove the tri piece hope this helps


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## uber_noob (Dec 12, 2009)

I'm amazed at how patient you have been. Great work too!


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## MaXaZoR (Apr 1, 2007)

Good job so far, curious why you angled those tweeters directly off axis and facing each other. I think you may reget doing that later on down the road, but keep up the good progress!


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

rockinridgeline said:


> I have always been a big fan of the G35. Almost bought one and then ended up with a truck! ?
> 
> Nice work on the install and I can definitely empathize with you regarding how long it takes, especially when you are doing things for the first time. You probably saved me some headache by showing your glassing issues. Keep up the good work!


thanks for your support... I have been watching your install for a while as well, looking forward to more developments as they come.



MaXaZoR said:


> Good job so far, curious why you angled those tweeters directly off axis and facing each other. I think you may reget doing that later on down the road, but keep up the good progress!


this may be true, and honestly i don't know. Initially the tweets were going to go into the kickpanels with the mids, and I decided against that as there isn't much room down there with the man pedal... 

i wanted to keep an unobtrusive look, and tweets facing the passengers in my eyes very rarely look good. so if these don't meet my sonic qualities I am seeking, then I can try something else... i would imagine that once all is said and done, I'll probably start anew and try different configurations anyway, so i figured i would just try this first


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## illninyo (Dec 15, 2009)

looks great


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

got some more work done finally... i think next time i do this, I am going to use those terminal strips, I would imagine that it would've made a huge difference in the amount of time I took wiring everything up. 

so, prewiring the amp rack, at least what ever I could...










then finally in the car...now a beauty panel is going to cover all the wires, the amps will be flush with the panel...










put the carpet in to get an idea of how things used to look...










and finally...some of you were wondering about the subs... one in each corner... they will be angled more as well, i imagine 30-45 degrees...


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## Seth1784 (Dec 18, 2009)

lookin real good, keep it up!


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

got started on the kicks today...trimmed the molds, aimed the speaks on axis at the opposite listener, and stretched grill cloth over to prepare for glassing tomorrow...























































it's a tight fit on the driver side, but i can shift normally without even hitting the kick panel with my shoes... spent probably 1/2 hour making sure...


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## DAT (Oct 8, 2006)

Lucky for you, it would be a problem for me, I got big feet. 

Keep the updates coming


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

oh, dude, i am 6'5"... size 12 shoe... so I'm up there in size. but when i drive i shift on an angle, like my left foot is not perpendicular to the floor, it angles maybe 30 degrees when I shift, so it clears just fine


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

not too much accomplished on saturday, but sunday seems like i was flying through this stuff... 

so, got the kicks all pulled and ready to resin... applied a hot batch of resin so it would cure faster and it put it in the sun to speed things up even more...



















while i was waiting on that, i took a look at all my small mistakes that i made in cutting out the beauty panel, marked all the spots, then used bondo to fix the mistakes...some seemed minor, but with the thin carbon fiber wrap i was using, the small stuff would definitely show...





































after which, i pulled in the molds and got things ready to throw on some chop mat and strips of kyntex to make the kicks stronger...










again, a hot batch and the sun...


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

while i was waiting on the kicks to dry again, i came back to the beauty panel and started sanding...





































i vacuumed off any dust and prepped the panel to be covered...










once that was done...time to come back to the molds, trim the kicks, and test fit...










looks good, so applied body filler....










waiting for those to dry, so i started with the covering of the beauty panel...




























i am trimming out the areas with the d-blocks, and putting in a contrasting black carbon fiber vinyl that will compliment the morel subs, black amps and contrast with the silver look


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## G35ob6mt (Dec 20, 2009)

hey I Replaced my stock clutch with an act stage 2. i think alot of aftermarket clutches have alot of chatter for g35s cus my car rumbles too in first. usually if i feel it coming i just give it the gas and go my clutch wants. my clutch gripps! ull see alot of these complaints on forums. many reasons to. flywheel chatter etc. just thaught id let you know your not the only one


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

thanks for the supprot g35, i think the issue is pretty much resolved now... it was not fun though and the chatter was NOT normal... i still have the flywheel chatter and what not, but everything else is good.


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## Kenny_Cox (Sep 9, 2007)

dude, everything is looking killer! 

I really like your kicks.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

thanks man, i was kind of nervous in the process at them being too wide, or an oblong shape, but i think things turned out pretty well considering i am a total noob at this...

i hope when i get the vinyl on there that the shape isn't going to kill me...i am extremely nervous about the vinyl, i know it doesn't stretch quite like grill cloth...trial by fire for me..


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## Kenny_Cox (Sep 9, 2007)

I have been told that you need to heat it, and heat it quite a bit. But, i have never done it myself.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

Use heat and make sure you DO NOT use a aerosol based spray glue. It can be used, but isn't worth the hoops you have to jump through to get it to work well. It outgasses and as it does, it will create bubbles that will cause the vinyl to peel off. My entire interior peeled back up after a couple of months. Aerosol doesn't matter with materials like cloth because the gasses "breath" through. For vinyl, I would use Dap Weldwood from a local hardware store.

I have never done kicks (but I plan to try with my next car), but I have done an entire interior the wrong way and right way.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

yeah, i am armed with dap weldwood and a spray gun, and i hope a blow dryer will work for a heat gun...from what i understand, certain curves are harder to succeed with, and i hope that i have all the easy curves


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## Kenny_Cox (Sep 9, 2007)

they don't look to have TOO much contour to them, I bet they come out great.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

thanks for the vote of confidence...i am picking up the vinyl this afternoon, will probably get to give it a try on thursday... funny huh? Christmas Eve and I am pulling vinyl?


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

A blow dryer will be slow going, but it should work. I am pretty sure they have heat guns for the cheap at Harbor Freight or Northern Tool if you have one near you. It makes it TONS easier. Something else that would help is laying the vinyl out before hand to warm up a bit. I put my leather seat covers outside for about an hour and it made them so much easier to work with. It probably won't be much this time of year, but every bit helps (especially with a blow dryer).


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## bruther (Sep 22, 2009)

Very Nice......those kicks look familiar 


Keep it up. I need to put bond on my kicks.....I plan on wrapping in Alcantara....try that for the A pillars....it goes really well with the car.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

bruther said:


> Very Nice......those kicks look familiar
> 
> 
> Keep it up. I need to put bond on my kicks.....I plan on wrapping in Alcantara....try that for the A pillars....it goes really well with the car.


thanks bruther, i just checked out your install this morning... where are the updates? also you should post it on here...


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## blazeplacid (May 19, 2008)

I have a G35 also, where did you ground your amps....ground?


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

blazeplacid said:


> I have a G35 also, where did you ground your amps....ground?


welcome... i have seen you on the g35 forum... as far as the ground goes, this is where i put it for now, but i am not sure if there is a better place. for now this is as good as any...


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

sanded the molds today, stretched out some vinyl and got one completed, and then got absolutely frustrated on the other one...saving it for another day.

i did get power to the fronts today...sound every bit as good as i expected.


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## jmhinkle (Dec 24, 2009)

That is an impressive install you have going on. Wish I had those skills for fabricating parts.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

Looks good. I'm glad the vinyl wrapping went good for at least 50% of the project! It certainly isn't easy if you aren't properly prepared, and doing a curved shape on your first effort is not so easy either.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

thanks for the compliments...so my question is, how much easier is pulling the vinyl with a heat gun? vs. a blow dryer? are there any tutorials on this to see what i am missing?


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## SactownXSi (Oct 24, 2007)

Nice build. Looking forward to seeing it being finished.


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## krouchchocolate (Jul 30, 2008)

mattyjman said:


> thanks for the compliments...so my question is, how much easier is pulling the vinyl with a heat gun? vs. a blow dryer? are there any tutorials on this to see what i am missing?


By using a heat gun, it makes it a lot easier. Allows it to stretch a lot more.


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## krouchchocolate (Jul 30, 2008)

nice fab skills btw!


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## vidizzle (May 30, 2008)

following your build closesly as im currently in the process of doing mine aswell
hope u dont mind i knick a few ideas of your


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

A helpful hint for your resin work, you're not getting anywhere near enough saturation on the mat. It's not as big a deal on your kicks and pillars but if you don't saturate your sub boxes enough it's gonna ring and you'll hav weak bass. When you're resining the mat should be completely clear. There should be no white at all.


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## vidizzle (May 30, 2008)

quality_sound said:


> A helpful hint for your resin work, you're not getting anywhere near enough saturation on the mat. It's not as big a deal on your kicks and pillars but if you don't saturate your sub boxes enough it's gonna ring and you'll hav weak bass. When you're resining the mat should be completely clear. There should be no white at all.


i agree with this..i noticed in one pic you have a bubble chaser make good use of it, dont be afraid to apply resin..the bubble chaser a good tool to spread that resin evenly and bond multiple layers together and it makes ur work look alot neater


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## Bossmaan (Apr 4, 2007)

I'm picking up a coupe G very soon, I'm glued to the build to see the turn out and taking notes at the same time! awesome work so far


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

quality_sound said:


> A helpful hint for your resin work, you're not getting anywhere near enough saturation on the mat. It's not as big a deal on your kicks and pillars but if you don't saturate your sub boxes enough it's gonna ring and you'll hav weak bass. When you're resining the mat should be completely clear. There should be no white at all.



thanks for the tip...from what i have read, it isn't particularly helpful to have the mat soaked in resin, as the fiberglass is what makes the strength...but this is my first time doing this so i am probably wrong here or listening to bad advice. 

so for even real thick mat, like kyntex, it should be completely clear (well, brownish clear?)?

any additional tips would be welcome as well, as I am getting prepared to do the subs this week...


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## vidizzle (May 30, 2008)

well the fiberglass does make the strength but you also need the resin to completely soak through properly to the other layers.. think about when you were covering your kicks..what would happen if the resin didnt soak through your covering materials? there would be weak spots

so for your subbox dont hold back on putting resin but at the same time dont over put as you would be wasting it.. the bubble chaser is your best friend as it helps bond the layers together tightly(which is what you need for a sub enclosure) and spreads the resin so you dont waste it ..

when i did my last sub box i did 3layers mat and 3 layers woven (1 mat, 1woven,1mat ,1woven etc) 

..an yes depending on the number of layers it should be generally clear or brownish clear.. I've been fiberglassing industrial pipelines for years


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

vidizzle said:


> well the fiberglass does make the strength but you also need the resin to completely soak through properly to the other layers.. think about when you were covering your kicks..what would happen if the resin didnt soak through your covering materials? there would be weak spots
> 
> so for your subbox dont hold back on putting resin but at the same time dont over put as you would be wasting it.. the bubble chaser is your best friend as it helps bond the layers together tightly(which is what you need for a sub enclosure) and spreads the resin so you dont waste it ..
> 
> ...



yeah, thanks for the tip, this will be helpful in getting the strength right for the boxes... i spent some pretty coin on the subs and don't want any part of the box buildup to make them suck


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## vidizzle (May 30, 2008)

yea i know what you mean..quick way to test the strength is to stand up on it or use a hammer..
when i built mine at 6 layers the hammer would just bounce right back off and the box unharmed


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

I really like the choice of equipment, and the fantastic fab skills you have displayed. I also like the recording of the trial and error that you have gone through. I'm looking forward to seeing the installation of the Ultimo's - should be fantastic!


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

mattyjman said:


> thanks for the tip...from what i have read, it isn't particularly helpful to have the mat soaked in resin, as the fiberglass is what makes the strength...but this is my first time doing this so i am probably wrong here or listening to bad advice.
> 
> so for even real thick mat, like kyntex, it should be completely clear (well, brownish clear?)?
> 
> any additional tips would be welcome as well, as I am getting prepared to do the subs this week...


It's actually the resin that gives it the strength. The mat or Knytex keeps the resin from being brittle. Knytex can get clear as well. Maybe not 100% transparent like mat, but you'll know when it's saturated.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

thanks for all the comments guys... 

today was another eventful day... as i completed some of the projects that I have been dreading over the last few days...

i really feel like i have the whole "multi-tasking" thing down, as my days are quite sporadic as things lay out or dry, so i have stayed busy pretty much all day today. 

one of the things that i have struggled with, is the beauty panel, and the contrasting silver and black carbon fiber patterns... here is a quick shot of the problem, and that is getting the fabrics to come together in a seamless fashion, and all the attempts that i tried told me there was no way... 










so this is project number one, getting this recovered and ditching the contrasting carbon fiber vinyls...

second, was getting the second kick pod done...this time i armed myself with the proper tools...

spray gun and heat gun...










while i don't have any pictures, i sprayed the pod and the vinyl, and set that out for a while so the glue could set up and become tacky. 

in the meantime, i went ahead and started pulling out all the staples and pulled off the silver carbon fiber from the trim panel...

i cut out two pieces of wood and stapled them to another piece of wood that would attach to the underside of the beauty panel...



















after that i filled in the holes around the wood with bondo to make the surface all smooth and flat, and set it aside so the body filler could cure...



















returning back to the kick pod, i wrapped it and pulled it with much greater ease than will the blow dryer. I think the combination of the spray gun (not painting on the glue) and the heat gun (instead of the wifes blow dryer) made a huge difference. It was much easier to work with and stretch and pull where I needed.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

once i got that done, i returned to the trim panel...

i sanded down the bondo so all that was left was a nice level patch that wouldn't show through when i put down the carbon fiber...



















i attached legs on all 4 corners to have a uniform depth, and matched them so that the top would sit flush with the amps, 2 1/8" high...










after which i started covering and stapling...

i must add, that this tool is awesome, and so much better than using a straight blade to cut fabric. well, this so happens to be made to cut fabric, you can get one at any fabric store or even walmart










once that was done, i put the panel in for a final fit...










and as you can see, no one would ever know that there used to be a hole here...










once the trunk was taken care of, i put in the remaining trim pieces and wired up the kicks again... some final shots of the front stage...





























now i feel like i am getting closer... all that's left now, is the final trim piece that sits on the amps, and sub enclosures, then wrapping everything there, then rewrapping the a-pillars, then....well, probably not quite close to being done after all,,, but tons closer now


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## TeamLorett (Dec 25, 2009)

I hate to critique you on this but I seen at the description you decided to keep the factory bose HU. I have to say I think this is mistake. I had the Bose in my GMC Yukon and With the premium system. I thought it sounded excellent when I purchased it but had a new Pioneer AVH-P4600DVD laying around so I threw it in. That paticular unit is a low end Pioneer. In fact it is the first in the line up for the entry level Touch screen DVD's. Long story short, it was night and day. The sound was such an improvment that even my wife noticed it. Just a thought as it can only be as good as the signal it starts with. The build looks good and there is nothing like doing yourself !!!


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

TeamLorett said:


> I hate to critique you on this but I seen at the description you decided to keep the factory bose HU. I have to say I think this is mistake. I had the Bose in my GMC Yukon and With the premium system. I thought it sounded excellent when I purchased it but had a new Pioneer AVH-P4600DVD laying around so I threw it in. That paticular unit is a low end Pioneer. In fact it is the first in the line up for the entry level Touch screen DVD's. Long story short, it was night and day. The sound was such an improvment that even my wife noticed it. Just a thought as it can only be as good as the signal it starts with. The build looks good and there is nothing like doing yourself !!!


what were the additional components in the install...did you just put in a new HU with the remaining Bose system, or was there more that you did?


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## TeamLorett (Dec 25, 2009)

Just the head unit at the time. Now there is nothing in the vehicle as it is under construction. It was still hooked to the bose amp and bose speakers and sub and it was a major improvment much to my suprise. It was just something temporary as I plan to run the eclipse head unit or alpine.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

TeamLorett said:


> Just the head unit at the time. Now there is nothing in the vehicle as it is under construction. It was still hooked to the bose amp and bose speakers and sub and it was a major improvment much to my suprise. It was just something temporary as I plan to run the eclipse head unit or alpine.


yeah, that's what it sounded like to me. In the G35, much of the "bad" sound actually comes from the bose amp, the HU is clean, full signaled, is a balanced signal, which means that i don't have to convert it for the Zapco amps. The sound is actually quite impressive as it is now, with little to no tuning at all in the dsp. Thanks for the suggestion though, and good luck with your build


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## TeamLorett (Dec 25, 2009)

I kept the bose amp hooked up. The improvment was noticed all on the low end pioneer HUwith all the other factory bose equipment retained. Either way I am sure it will sound great with your set up on the kicks and your equipment choices. I will keep a eye on this till you get it finished.


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## mSaLL150 (Aug 14, 2008)

TeamLorett said:


> I hate to critique you on this but I seen at the description you decided to keep the factory bose HU. I have to say I think this is mistake. I had the Bose in my GMC Yukon and With the premium system. I thought it sounded excellent when I purchased it but had a new Pioneer AVH-P4600DVD laying around so I threw it in. That paticular unit is a low end Pioneer. In fact it is the first in the line up for the entry level Touch screen DVD's. Long story short, it was night and day. The sound was such an improvment that even my wife noticed it. Just a thought as it can only be as good as the signal it starts with. The build looks good and there is nothing like doing yourself !!!


I have to agree with this. Just swapping the stocker HU for an Eclipse touch screen/nav unit made a noticeable difference in the "Bose premium" system in my friend's suburban. Yours should still sound fantastic, but someday just hook up a nice source unit and see if you notice a difference. 

I love this build BTW. Some amazing work that hopefully in the far distant future I would be able to do myself.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

> Just a thought as it can only be as good as the signal it starts with.





mSaLL150 said:


> I have to agree with this. Just swapping the stocker HU for an Eclipse touch screen/nav unit made a noticeable difference in the "Bose premium" system in my friend's suburban. Yours should still sound fantastic, but someday just hook up a nice source unit and see if you notice a difference.


perhaps i am not understanding this point...

if my HU as of right now is putting out a clean, flat, un-filtered, and eq'd signal (tested), what exactly would be the benefit of upgrading to a new head unit. some people may suggest that a higher pre-out voltage would be beneficial, but i have my signal running through a zapco line driver to increase the input signal... 

is there something that i am missing that i should be putting into the equation?


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## vidizzle (May 30, 2008)

are you going to put like a carpet or anything over the rack like say u want to throw stuff in the trunk?


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

vidizzle said:


> are you going to put like a carpet or anything over the rack like say u want to throw stuff in the trunk?


yep, that's in the works for tomorrow...there will be a panel that you can lift up to view the amps, otherwise, the panel would be covering that. this panel will also set the basis for the bottom of the sub enclosures as well, but i will show all that when we get going on that


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## TeamLorett (Dec 25, 2009)

No your not missing anything. If your head unit sounds good to you and you tested it with a mic and are achieving a smooth RTA, don't worry about the head unit. One thing I would like to know is are you using a converter to for high to low then the line driver or....?


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

no line out converter...that's why these zapco amps are great, because they require a balanced signal... and the Bose HU puts out the same signal, so no need to change or mess with the signal until it hits the amps


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## TeamLorett (Dec 25, 2009)

Was curious as I have not dealt with the new zaps yet. Zapco is one of the companies I still hold some respect for! I should not have even asked as I forgot the Bose systems already have the interconnects from the HU. Sorry head was in the clouds.


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## jmhinkle (Dec 24, 2009)

I'm in agreement with Matty on the HU. My Speed6 is the very similar. These kind of Bose head units puts out a nice flat signal and have a lot of nice features built in. It's the amp where all the screwy processing is done for their craptastic speakers. Dump the downstream part and you can make a very nice stereo system that truly looks stock.


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## MTopper (Nov 4, 2009)

This is an amazing step by step project. Good luck with the sub enclosures, it looks great so far


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## MaXaZoR (Apr 1, 2007)

Nice progress, I think you need to spend some more time on those kick panels getting them smoothed out before adding vinyl. Another tip is wrap them in a thin carpet and then vinyl and it will cover up some of those defects you see.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

MaXaZoR said:


> Nice progress, I think you need to spend some more time on those kick panels getting them smoothed out before adding vinyl. Another tip is wrap them in a thin carpet and then vinyl and it will cover up some of those defects you see.


you are absolutely right. I actually will probably re-do the kicks alltogether. When, I don't know. But my primary objective right now is to get everything in a working condition, so that I can actually enjoy the fruits of my labor. Not to say that I am rushing through stuff, but I am getting to the point where I really want to have tunes in my car again. 

with the carpet idea... do this make it harder to wrap with the carpet bunching up around curves and such?


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## MaXaZoR (Apr 1, 2007)

With carpet, you only cover the surface area you are wraping, so to get around bunching around curves, I just cut off any excess after the glue is set. 

I know you want to finally "listen to your system", take it from me and all the others who re-did our systems after many fails and retries, doing it the right way once actually makes it more enjoyable and quicker.


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## bruther (Sep 22, 2009)

Matt.
I agree with you on the HU.....no need to upgrade. The Bose amp is what sucks not the HU. I will be posting some new pics soon of my ride.

Brian


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

bruther said:


> Matt.
> I agree with you on the HU.....no need to upgrade. The Bose amp is what sucks not the HU. I will be posting some new pics soon of my ride.
> 
> Brian


brian, i check the forum every couple of days, but since I am not familiar with the website or registered, I always have to find the link on the g35 forum...any chance that you bring that build log over here?


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## bruther (Sep 22, 2009)

mattyjman said:


> brian, i check the forum every couple of days, but since I am not familiar with the website or registered, I always have to find the link on the g35 forum...any chance that you bring that build log over here?


I want to....just a lot of work. laziness I guess...I'm off until next Monday...I could probably start it...


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## JDMRB1ODY (Oct 11, 2008)

Great install and documentation of the fun that's involved. Couple of q's. How much total second skin did you use? Also I'm going to run Ultimo's also, how much airspace are you going to use?


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

JDMRB1ODY said:


> Great install and documentation of the fun that's involved. Couple of q's. How much total second skin did you use? Also I'm going to run Ultimo's also, how much airspace are you going to use?


damplifier total, was under 160sq ft. i could have used it all but wanted to save some for when i do the wifes car...

ultimo's -- recommended airspace is 1.25 cubic feet per... so that's what i am going to start with


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## tinctorus (Oct 5, 2009)

Just one word of caution....

Be very careful with the heat gun and that particular type of "carbon fiber" vinyl, If you heat it just a little bit to much it WILL melt on you and the "grain or weave" will deform causing you to ruin an otherwise good piece of vinyl.

I have used that type numerous times in my car and in projects and while heating it makes it almost as pliable as a rubber band, Heating it for 1 second to long will melt it LOL

Great job on the car BTW especially for someone who has never done this before


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

well, got a little bit accomplished today...after recovering from the night, i get started on building the trim panel for the amps and the subs today.... 

nothing fancy here, but here is a cutout and i have another piece that fits inside, i'll carpet those so it will look pretty factory, the only clue to something under there would be the seam between the two pieces. 










I also cut out "flanges" on either side of the trim panel that will eventually become part of the sub enclosures. these will help all three pieces line up and look uniform, and will also serve as a support on the inner walls of the sub enclosures where the possibility of flex is greater...



















after that, i finished prep work taping where the mold was going to be...i also precut some kyntex where i thought it would be helpful in some areas to have as it builds faster and stronger than regular mat










and finally after the first coat of glass and resin... there are a few layers here, of chop, mat, and kyntex... i must say though, getting stuff to stick to the "cieling" of the trunk was a pain in the ass... got some resin on my arms and stuck in my hair...i remember hearing about goo-gone being a good solvent for that...worked a charm and no resin on my body any more!! 









stay tuned, more to come on Sunday!!


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## vidizzle (May 30, 2008)

how many layers total are you planning on putting?
and that kyntex is gonna add some serious strength to that enclosure..just remember you can never put too many layers 5 or 6 layers should do nicely imo, the stronger the better


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## bruther (Sep 22, 2009)

Very Nice Matt,
I had the same problem with trying to get mat on the ceiling. How are you going to be putting together the panels on the floor?

I also started a post on here for my install.


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

_No highs, no lows... must be Bose!_


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

HondAudio said:


> _No highs, no lows... must be Bose!_


hah, thats funny, back at my old shop we used to say that when people were looking at the bose home theater solutions...brings back memories. but it's absolutely true too!


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

vidizzle said:


> how many layers total are you planning on putting?
> and that kyntex is gonna add some serious strength to that enclosure..just remember you can never put too many layers 5 or 6 layers should do nicely imo, the stronger the better


i didn't have a specific number in layers outlined, i just figured when it's strong and can stand on it with no movement we should be good. I will also be using a layer of nylon rope to help in the strength arena. 



bruther said:


> Very Nice Matt,
> I had the same problem with trying to get mat on the ceiling. How are you going to be putting together the panels on the floor?
> 
> I also started a post on here for my install.


putting the panels on the floor is all pressfit... it's all going to be very tight tolerances so all three pieces when in, should keep them all from moving around. and of course I will have the subs anchored down.


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## Kenny_Cox (Sep 9, 2007)

:thumbsup:

I am a fan of this build. Good DIY skills sir.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

mattyjman said:


> and finally after the first coat of glass and resin... there are a few layers here, of chop, mat, and kyntex... i must say though, getting stuff to stick to the "cieling" of the trunk was a pain in the ass... got some resin on my arms and stuck in my hair...i remember hearing about goo-gone being a good solvent for that...worked a charm and no resin on my body any more!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Hey Matt,

See the areas where you can see completely through the Knytex? That's what I meant when I was trying to explain full saturation. That's what it all needs to look like for the best strength. Knytex also soaks this stuff up like a sponge so be prepared to use a LOT of resin. 

Also, I wouldn't worry about the rope it just made laying the next layers a pain in the ass. If you do decide to do the rope I found a cotton rope at Lowe's or Home Depot that works better than nylon. Oh, and don't put too many bends, or any at all really, in the rope or you'll end up with some massive air pockets. Paint stir sticks or small pieces of wood work well (1x2s or 2x4s) and are much easier to work with.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

quality_sound said:


> Hey Matt,
> 
> See the areas where you can see completely through the Knytex? That's what I meant when I was trying to explain full saturation. That's what it all needs to look like for the best strength. Knytex also soaks this stuff up like a sponge so be prepared to use a LOT of resin.
> 
> Also, I wouldn't worry about the rope it just made laying the next layers a pain in the ass. If you do decide to do the rope I found a cotton rope at Lowe's or Home Depot that works better than nylon. Oh, and don't put too many bends, or any at all really, in the rope or you'll end up with some massive air pockets. Paint stir sticks or small pieces of wood work well (1x2s or 2x4s) and are much easier to work with.


yeah, thanks for the tip, i tried harder to get to the full saturation point this time and i think it has paid off. i have noticed though, that when additional layers of kyntex are put upon each other, it doesn't exactly show through clear.... 

oh, and the tip on the rope would have been good yesterday... i just completed the rope "strengthening" and it was a complete pain in the ass...(see below) air pockets galore...so what now? how do i fix that?


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

pulled out the mold this morning... actually held together quite nicely, but was weaker in some areas (expected)...










did a full 2nd layer of kyntex all around... out in the sun to dry...once it was dry it was much sturdier..



















got some nylon rope from HD, went to town on it, which on afterthought, may have not been such a good idea...










out to dry, i did the best i could to get everything to lay flat, i'm not sure where to go from here, if i just continue to lay down addtional layers, or somehow fix this


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

Sorry, I'm 7 hours ahead of you.  You could drill some small holes and fill the pockets with resin or do what I did, just lay a few more layers of Knytex on top.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

okay...i'm out of resin and almost done with all the mat and kyntex, so it's time to order some more...!! 

so i attached the bottom trim panel to the mold, and trimmed down the screws in front. i will trim the fiberglass around the edge of the bottom panel, so when this is in the car it will sit flush with the trim panel for the amps...



















after that, did another couple layers of fiberglass... did one layer of kyntex, a few spots of chop mat, then another covering of woven mat. the rope reinfocements has definitely helped the rigidity of the box, and a few more layers will yield a very strong box... can't wait to get this in the car!!


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## vidizzle (May 30, 2008)

mattyjman said:


> i have noticed though, that when additional layers of kyntex are put upon each other, it doesn't exactly show through clear....


ideally matty you dont put kyntex ontop of 1 another..typically you put say
u put ur first layer as chopped stranded mat, then kyntex, then mat, then kyntex an so forth...


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## vidizzle (May 30, 2008)

also did you consider fiberglassing the mdf base into place? im not saying the entire base but more the edges if you can..cuz remember that the mdf isnt completely flat against the base and those holes in the fiberglass could possibly cause leakage..though i could be wrong..


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

vidizzle said:


> ideally matty you dont put kyntex ontop of 1 another..typically you put say
> u put ur first layer as chopped stranded mat, then kyntex, then mat, then kyntex an so forth...


interesting tip...any reasoning behind this. I figure if you put more kyntex it builds faster and stronger, but why chop mat inbetween?


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

Especially considering Kytex is so much easier to lay into corners and compund curves.


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## vidizzle (May 30, 2008)

i personally find its alot easier to work that way and i get better results that way also, ive been doing that on industrial piping and building boats and i still have a job lol..also you get a better bond between layers and less vulnerable to weakspots..as the matting acts sort of like a cushioning so less airpockets and bubbles..
remember the bubbles are usually the weakspots and you have a bubble chaser which is a fiberglasser's best friend

the kyntex is alot easier to work into corners but when i was learning the fiberglass i wondered the same thing and my dad asked me if i put the meat between the buns or the buns between the meat

but im happy to be corrected if anyone else has a different view


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

It doesn't make any sense. Why would you be more prone to bubbles with Knytex? Not to mention, a box with say 3 layers of Knytex is going to stronger than one made with 2 layers of Knytex with a mat layer in the middle. Mat has it's place and is fine to use but it doesn't hold a candle to Knytex.


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## TommySee (May 12, 2009)

Love the car and great equipment. I plan on getting one in the near future.


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## OldSkool_08 (Jun 6, 2008)

Great build! Tuned in for the finished install!


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## vidizzle (May 30, 2008)

quality_sound said:


> It doesn't make any sense. Why would you be more prone to bubbles with Knytex? Not to mention, a box with say 3 layers of Knytex is going to stronger than one made with 2 layers of Knytex with a mat layer in the middle. Mat has it's place and is fine to use but it doesn't hold a candle to Knytex.


well maybe i chose the wrong words, you not prone to airpockets 
and yes 3layers of kyntex would obviously be stronger because of how it is woven together 

but the bubbles i was refering to is those fine fine little bubbles ..the type of job i did you had to basically do your best i get every single of those tiny little bubbles out..but then again we talkin about a subwoofer box and i was doing pipelines that holding 300+ psi:laugh:

just in my experience you would spend a lot more time getting those bubble out of kyntex, woven mat and biaxal than if you had a layer of chopped mat..
but this the technique ive been using an have yet to have a problem..even when i built my subwoofer box it was 3/8"s thick each layer mat, woven mat woven etc bonded seamless and when i did the hammer test in multiple spots, the hammer would bounce right back off the box without any damage of any sort to the box..

but anyhow let matty get back to finishing what looks to be a fantastic build


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## k-ink (Dec 20, 2009)

Lovely looking subs! I'm very partial to Dynaudio comps too


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

thanks for the comments guys... i will take all things mentioned in consideration for future uses. I am by no means a professional so other suggestions that any of you have is more than welcome. 

as for right now the install is on hold... i am in the process right now of ordering more fiberglass!! 2 gallons of resin, a total of 30 yds of chop mat/kyntex/woven mat, so once that comes in, I will be ready to continue. 

as far as what's left, finishing the trunk is priority #1, but once i get this stuff ordered, I should be able to quickly do the other side and have the trunk finished with the panels and stuff. 

in listening to my front stage, there are some areas that i need to address, and they mainly deal with the kickpanels... i think my "virgin" glassing experience with them have hampered their quality and so I am aiming to re-do them. i am getting some mean resonance from them and i think it's from my improper wetting out of the glass. i know that i could load them with clay, bb's, etc, but i would just the same re-do them (this comes from my philosophy of "you can't polish a turd") 

i am also on my way to Joann Fabrics to get some good black vinyl to re-wrap the pillars in...the purple "hue" in the black is really getting to me.

then as an added bonus to my wife for her patience with all this...i will take the fugly box out of her car, and mold the subs and amp in her car on either side of the trunk walls as well.

so stay tuned, as there is a lot more of fiberglassing to come!! (which i thoroughly enjoy for some reason, just masking off everything is a pain in the ass)

so stay tuned for more updates, but please pass on any comments or suggestions that you have as they are more than welcome...


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## bruther (Sep 22, 2009)

mattyjman said:


> in listening to my front stage, there are some areas that i need to address, and they mainly deal with the kickpanels... i think my "virgin" glassing experience with them have hampered their quality and so I am aiming to re-do them. i am getting some mean resonance from them and i think it's from my improper wetting out of the glass.


Hey Matt,
What do you mean that your getting resonance from the kicks??


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

bruther said:


> Hey Matt,
> What do you mean that your getting resonance from the kicks??


flexing and vibrating due to the speakers output...they are just not very solid, and there are a few things that i would change about them now, so to redo them is the best option here


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## CA4944 (May 2, 2009)

Matt, I'm working on a 3-way Dynaudio set up, too. How you like that tweeter position? I read somewhere on this forum that the tweeters are weak when played off-axis, but I would be interested to hear what you think.

Thanks,

Charlie.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

All speakers lose some output off-axis but the MD100 especially, suffers from that positioning because it drops off on the top end anyway. The MD102 is much better but still drops off a bit.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

CA4944 said:


> Matt, I'm working on a 3-way Dynaudio set up, too. How you like that tweeter position? I read somewhere on this forum that the tweeters are weak when played off-axis, but I would be interested to hear what you think.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Charlie.


i thought they sounded great with the little bit of time i had on them, although i am quite curious how they would sound more on axis, maybe aimed at the opposite listener. this may be something that i will try later on, but as far as the positioning the way they are now, i think it sounds real good.


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## AdamTaylor (Sep 7, 2008)

for mids you shouldn't need them to be that thick, mine were fairly thin... i just did a milkshake to coat the inside and they sound great


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

sooo... i kinda freaked out a month ago, and thought we were going to be in trouble financially. well, through some random turn of events, things are even better than before, but it took a while for us to get back to comfort levels again. consequently, i gutted the system and sold off all the pieces. I had some extra stuff laying around and thought i would put that in... I finished with alpine type x's biamped off of a jl 300/4 and a w12gti powered off of a jl 500/1. 

I have since gutted the system and I am trading in the G35 tomorrow and taking delivery on a new FJ Cruiser (new build opportunity, stay tuned...) Anywho, I have left the type x's for the trade in. 

But i wanted to finish this build log with some somewhat final pics... (didn't feel right with an unfinished build log )

all i have left for you is the finished pillars... (i am quite proud of how they turned out) and the finished sub box as everything else is all taken out and/or apart























































THE END.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

Pillars and box look good but I can't believe you left the Alpine's in the car. Especially the tweeters.


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

quality_sound said:


> Pillars and box look good but I can't believe you left the Alpine's in the car. Especially the tweeters.


it was either that, or buy new stock pillars, and put in old equipment...didn't want to spend the time doing that...

besides, i wasn't that impressed with the alpines as much as maybe some other people


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## teldzc1 (Oct 9, 2009)

Wow, just went through this thread and was thoroughly impressed. Can't wait to see the FJ build.


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## jobrizzle7481 (Jul 1, 2009)

You obviously did your homework before making any purchases. Great setup. I'm jealous.


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