# Subaru WRX Build Log



## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

Hey, ive been working on this over the past few weeks and I think its turning out well.

Here is the system:

Headunit
Alpine CDA-9855

Speakers
Dayton HO 10" Sub
Dayton RS180 Mid Bass
Dayton RS100 Midrange
Seas Alum Neo Tweeter

Amps
Soundstream 200
Soundstream 404s
Soundstream 500s
Soundstream 700s

Processing
JBL MS-8


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

That's all so far. Waiting on my tweeters and fiberglass to arrive so that I can start working on all the custom pods.


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## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

Aarondost08 said:


> Hey, ive been working on this over the past few weeks and I think its turning out well.


I'll say. Sure looks good so far anyway.


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## dohcser (May 25, 2010)

Looking very clean so far, keep up with it and post more pics


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

sadly i wont be able to make a ton of progress till next thursday when my fiberglass gets here. Nut once it does I will be working on it like crazy.


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## schmiddr2 (Aug 10, 2009)

Looks like some skill was needed to design and fabricate that trunk setup. gj

And are those RS75 or RS100?


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

awesome, watching on NASIOC as well


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## Cablguy184 (Oct 7, 2010)

Very interesting build ... very clean !!!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

lots of pretty blue amps floating around lately! i like that (except for the fact that means there are less for me!). nice install, i really like your equipment choices.


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## DLO13 (Oct 24, 2010)

That's all so far. Waiting on my tweeters and fiberglass to arrive so that I can start working on all the custom pods.[/QUOTE]

Have you thought at all about being able to adjust levels ones you secure the amps, seems like it would be a tuning nightmare to have them the way they are now. It looks great, but from a practical stand point, wouldn't it be better if you had them more layered? Kinda stacked on top of each other?

I cant tell exactly, but if you put them on the opposite end of the sub (on the opposite side of the car)


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

DLO13 said:


> That's all so far. Waiting on my tweeters and fiberglass to arrive so that I can start working on all the custom pods.
> 
> 
> *Have you thought at all about being able to adjust levels ones you secure the amps, seems like it would be a tuning nightmare to have them the way they are now. It looks great, but from a practical stand point, wouldn't it be better if you had them more layered? Kinda stacked on top of each other?*
> ...



THIS... the nightmare is on you now bra.... getting wires in the amps and tight, then level setting...


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

schmiddr2 said:


> Looks like some skill was needed to design and fabricate that trunk setup. gj
> 
> And are those RS75 or RS100?


RS100 - I have no idea why I put RS 75's haha. You are correct sir.

I am glad you guys like it. I think the install is going well so far.

Here is a little bit of progress that I made yesterday since my wiring came in along with my tweeters. 










Numbering the RCA's since they are identical








































Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> THIS... the nightmare is on you now bra.... getting wires in the amps and tight, then level setting...


Yea It will be a son of a ***** to get everything right for sure. I will probably drive around for about a month without the amps in the enclosure and just bolted to a piece of wood so that I can make any necessary adjustments. BUT, I am working on a slick little quick disconnect and false floor thing that can be used for adjustments so that the amps NEVER need to be taken out of the box. My last setup had a similar looking amp rack but if i ever wanted to take it out to race or whatever I had to undo each wire from each amp. That will be fixed this time around.


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## DLO13 (Oct 24, 2010)

Aarondost08 said:


> Yea It will be a son of a ***** to get everything right for sure. I will probably drive around for about a month without the amps in the enclosure and just bolted to a piece of wood so that I can make any necessary adjustments. BUT, I am working on a slick little quick disconnect and false floor thing that can be used for adjustments so that the amps NEVER need to be taken out of the box. My last setup had a similar looking amp rack but if i ever wanted to take it out to race or whatever I had to undo each wire from each amp. That will be fixed this time around.


Just an idea - If you wanted to minimize the difficulty of taking out your amps, you could create a panel inside the amp rack you have now.
For example. Your power wire already goes to a distribution block, run that block to just RIGHT before your amps and you only need to run a very short amount of cable to the amps that would not only look clean but would allow you to quickly disconnect the power.
Secondly you could run the interconnects to just under the amps, and create a panel for them using Female to Female Gold RCA Connector / Extender Barrell RCAFFG - just run a 6" rca to them from the amps themselves and you can quickly unplug things and have VERY little to do when you need to plug everything in again.
im not the best at describing this stuff, so maybe i lost you


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

Heres a few things Ive been working on.....still waiting on fiberglass to get this moving.

Quick disconnect area for the box.











What the Daytons look like in my door....they look awesome if you ask me. Im gonna get come clean stainless allen head bolts for the finishing look. 










Here is a quick mock up of the pillar for a fitment check and I have to say I dont like it...I think Im gonna make smaller rings and try to sink it into the pillar more.


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

DLO13 said:


> Just an idea - If you wanted to minimize the difficulty of taking out your amps, you could create a panel inside the amp rack you have now.
> For example. Your power wire already goes to a distribution block, run that block to just RIGHT before your amps and you only need to run a very short amount of cable to the amps that would not only look clean but would allow you to quickly disconnect the power.
> Secondly you could run the interconnects to just under the amps, and create a panel for them using Female to Female Gold RCA Connector / Extender Barrell RCAFFG - just run a 6" rca to them from the amps themselves and you can quickly unplug things and have VERY little to do when you need to plug everything in again.
> im not the best at describing this stuff, so maybe i lost you


Fully understood! I was actually building my disconnect panel the day you posted this. You were thinking along the same lines I was.


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## DLO13 (Oct 24, 2010)

Speakers look sick, box looks sick, connections look clean. LOVIN IT!

Hurry and post more!


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

DLO13 said:


> Speakers look sick, box looks sick, connections look clean. LOVIN IT!
> 
> Hurry and post more!


Thank you sir. hopefully I can put in a lot of time this weekend. If UPS holds up on their end my fiberglass and mat should be here tomorrow!


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## TXwrxWagon (Sep 26, 2008)

Aaron, did you swap to '05-07 door panels? the ones with the round speaker grille?

Are you just going to reinforce the door panel & mount the midbass to the door panel itself?

I like the look of the initial pillar mock up. Are you planning on having the tweeter down near the mid and at the same approx off axis angle?

Rob


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

TXwrxWagon said:


> Aaron, did you swap to '05-07 door panels? the ones with the round speaker grille?
> 
> Are you just going to reinforce the door panel & mount the midbass to the door panel itself?
> 
> ...


Yes sir, these are the 05-07 door panels and center console. The speaker will be mounted in the panel itself since the door panel is super shallow. 

See below for final tweeter location.

*Heres the new update.*

I think I finally found a compromise between aesthetics and functionality. I like they way the look a lot better, however they are slights off from optimal positioning.


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## Kellyo77 (Dec 5, 2009)

Looks slick so far! That model Soundstream will always be a favorite of mine. 

BTW, Supra boats are badass.


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

Nice looking pillars. Mine are more like your first mock up and I too think that they are a bit to obtrusive. Gonna have a re-do soon. Keep up the good work!


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## jab4au (May 31, 2010)

I don't know which I like better, the choice of equipment or the install. Great job, sir! Please keep us posted!


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

m not dead set on the MS-8 but it looked appealing since it would be quick to setup and tweak because of my amps location it will be hard to tweak and change. However I am not dead set on the MS-8 so im open to suggestions.

Here are the recent updates...had to fix a few things so I didn't make as much progress as I wanted, but hopefully I will catch back up today or tomorrow.


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

Top notch work....great job so far!


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## lev00221 (May 7, 2009)

Amazing job!


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

Thanks guys! more updates coming tomorrow


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

Here is what i have been up to! I'm hoping to have the whole project finished up in the next two weeks before I head back to school.


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## DLO13 (Oct 24, 2010)

Lookin good lookin good!


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## eviling (Apr 14, 2010)

ahhh you are doing a very good job of showing how your doing things, be very proud  not enough people do that, i tried to be as detailed in my build pics as possible tehe but things do get annoying in the end of the build and i take less pictures XD 

might i also add your doing things very well. getting me pumped about doing my next set of A pillar pods ( my 3rd set)


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## Scooby (Feb 23, 2008)

Fantastic work!


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## justfuz (Aug 28, 2008)

Looking good... its nice to have an extra hand too! I'm working on an old school install myself with a 1000s & 705. I'm hoping to get a build log going soon. I'll be keeping an eye on this one for sure!


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

pdate for the day....Headed out to start throwin on some bondo right now!


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## rsutton1223 (May 29, 2011)

Nice work. I can't wait to see how this comes out installed. Are you using anything in the door cards to support the extra weight? Or just relying on the fiberglass?


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

As of right now I am just relying on the fiberglass since its only 1 speaker. If I experience any problems then I will have to go back and beef it up a bit. Im just in a time crunch. I have like 4-5 days to finish this.


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## tamos2006 (Aug 15, 2011)

looking nice, love it!


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

Pillars are done for a few weeks until i can get into our machine shop and machine the last piece. How do you think they look so far?


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

Thats everyone! Im loving the way its turning out. Here is the wrap job on the lower and upper portion of the door. i think it look great and super factory still!


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

You should really like your front stage. I installed the same set up in my buddies IS, 
I was surprised at how much midbass he got from them. I still have to do his pillars, 
I only hope mine turn out half as good as yours. NICE WORK!

I dig the fabric you used on the sub enclosure. Have you had any idea's on what to 
use for a filler in the trunk lid relief cutout? If not, you could get a cheap (black) shop 
broom and cut it down to fit on each side. The bristles should hide the cut out well 
and be a pretty cheap fix. That is unless you have another plan....

Cheers,
Scott


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## PottersField (Mar 18, 2011)

The bristle idea would actually look relatively factory too.

The car looks to be coming along well, sir. I'm digging the front stage.


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

That pillar wrap looks awesome! What vinyl and adhesive did you use? I'm hoping to wrap mine similarly.


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## Lazy1 (Jun 21, 2011)

How much sound deadner did you use on the car? My car is about the same size and working double shift for two weeks is preventing me from having daylight to measure everything.


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

> You should really like your front stage. I installed the same set up in my buddies IS,
> I was surprised at how much midbass he got from them. I still have to do his pillars,
> I only hope mine turn out half as good as yours. NICE WORK!
> 
> ...


Thats not a bad idea at all but too bad i already started to build the box for a different design. that would be pretty slick though.



> That pillar wrap looks awesome! What vinyl and adhesive did you use? I'm hoping to wrap mine similarly.


Thanks man. I used this 2 way stretch xtreme vinyl (XTR-601) at a local upholstery shop called perfect fit. Here is the link 

XTR-601 

and the adhesive I used is the stuff I believe all the big boy shops use. The DAP contact adhesive. 

Contact Adhesive



> How much sound deadner did you use on the car? My car is about the same size and working double shift for two weeks is preventing me from having daylight to measure everything.


I used two packs of RAAMAT BXT which was a a good start. 3 packs would probably be plenty but I wish I did some MLV but Ill get around to that some day.


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## Geordie68 (Apr 8, 2010)

great work; looks awesome.


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## Compressionfed (Jul 5, 2011)

Very nice!


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

Just wondering if you had an update on how the vinyl is holding up? I'm gonna be vinyling my new a-pillars soon and am trying to get all the tips I can. Also, in addition to the contact cement, did you use something on the backside of the pillar where the vinyl wraps over the edge? Like something stronger (if there is such a thing, super glue, IDK)? I plan on getting the 4way stretch vinyl and giving it a shot. I think I'll wrap my center arm rest (plastic) also while I'm at it.


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

The glue has been holding up great through the last part of summer which has easily been a steady 90 degrees where i'm at for about 70% of the days. The only adhesive I used was the contact cement for the front and back and I used 2 way stretch vinyl so you should have no issues with 4 way. It is honestly the ONLY adhesive that will last man.


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## blackknight87 (Jul 11, 2011)

looking good.


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

Aarondost08 said:


> The glue has been holding up great through the last part of summer which has easily been a steady 90 degrees where i'm at for about 70% of the days. The only adhesive I used was the contact cement for the front and back and I used 2 way stretch vinyl so you should have no issues with 4 way. It is honestly the ONLY adhesive that will last man.


Good deal. I'm hoping to have the cloth pulled/resined this weekend and maybe pour some duraglass-resin-mix in it. I'm trying to make this iteration way cleaner/smoother than my last version since I want to vinyl it this time.


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## Aarondost08 (May 23, 2011)

The final prep job doesnt have to be that good for vinyl. I mean dont half ass it and leave big waves or divots, but if there are like 80 grit scratch marks it doesnt matter.....at leat IMO


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## malutki (Apr 28, 2011)

very nice instal


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## SSexpo03 (Jul 30, 2010)

Looks real good so far! Nice work on the front stage!


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## blackknight87 (Jul 11, 2011)

Cool build!


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## DLO13 (Oct 24, 2010)

whats going on!?!?!?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Aarondost08 said:


>


The only problem I see is that the speakers will block the defrosters for the side windows. I designed mine to leave that area unobstructed.



















Jay


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## [email protected] (Jul 21, 2011)

His will still allow airflow around the shape of his pillar. Yours would have blocked it completely... Also 2 different versions of the car... 

Still nice pods in both cases!


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Two different cars completely. His is a Subaru, mine is a Hyundai. I was talking about the small vents on top of the dash that blow on the side windows, not the one on the windshield.

Jay


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