# 2003 Accord Virgin Build



## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Hey guys. This is my first build/ build log/ post ever, so if I say something stupid hopefully someone will help me out. I'm headed to college in 5 weeks, so I wanted a decent system for the 3.5 hour trip.

Let me start by saying I've been reading posts for over a year now, trying to learn. Bing (I think he gets this alot) has been the biggest inspiration, along with ShawnK's build log for his Accord. Thanks guys.

*Car:*
2003 Honda Accord Coupe, 102,000 miles, no navi, bone stock.

*Goodies:*
Alpine 9886 w/ H100 Imprint (Not decided on using Imprint or not)
Front: ctx65cs (possibly active off Imprint)
Rear: nothin
Sub: Dayton HO 10 DVC
Front amp: Polk PA660
Sub amp: Polk PA880
Dope rca's, Funkin' powers (70% sale :laugh
Sound Deadener Showdown (Front doors only for poor budget )


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

*Front Doors*
I guess you could call me lucky, but my Dad owns a massive machine shop. He started in his garage 25-30 years ago and now has a multi-million corporation. Okay enough blabbering, but needless to say I was able to make my door baffles in a CNC machine using plexiglass. Here's a few pics:









































I'm waiting for all the cables and sound deadening (in delivery) to install everything, but I can't wait to get on it!


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## raresvintea (Sep 17, 2010)

Why plexiglass? During winter could crack easily! Best choise is Aluminium or steel or MDF.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

:worried:Well...crap. I still have the model and setup, I could just make it out of aluminum. Thanks for the info.


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## eisnerracing (Sep 14, 2010)

Is it plexiglass ? Clear plastic is not always plexiglass 
There is acrylic , plexiglass and lexan
Acrylic is brittle - plexiglass in the middle and lexan is 
Very plyable (used as bullet proof glass )


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I know I found a strip laying in the materials section and I was told it was plexiglass, that's about it. It is very plyable though, pain in the butt to break off the excess. It will be covered in sound dampener, butyl rope, and CCF, so I'll use it for now. I'll check it every now and then to see if it cracks.


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## eisnerracing (Sep 14, 2010)

I use plexiglass all the time and it works here in ga 
Winter and summer no problems with cracking


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

That's good to hear. Thanks.


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## teldzc1 (Oct 9, 2009)

Fellow accord coupe owner here. Going to follow this thread closely!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Well, I guess patience is a virtue for sound systems. My sound deadener from Don at Sound Deadener Showdown will be here Wednesday (great guy, better customer service). My wires will be here...who knows when. Hopefully early this week. I'll start as soon as I can. I already have the box built for the Dayton and the head unit in place, so there is nothing I can do. Sorry, blabber mouth here. I'll shut up now


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

raresvintea said:


> Why plexiglass? During winter could crack easily! Best choise is Aluminium or steel or MDF.


I won't ever use MDF on my own car again. Right now I'm a big fan of King Starboard. Works great. Won't rot, no mildew, easy to work with available in many thicknesses to boot. 

No matter what you do, as soon as you put screws in MDF it's a place for moisture to get it through.

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

eisnerracing said:


> I use plexiglass all the time and it works here in ga
> Winter and summer no problems with cracking


I know OCTAVE uses it all the time too. Seems to work for him in Florida.

Jay


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Small update, got all the wires from ANT today, whoop whoop.







So 3 17ft. rca's, 100 ft 16 ga speaker wire, some connectors, and the funkin' audio 4ga multi-amp kit. Second amp and deadener should be here tomorrow, so hopefully can begin this weekend


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Whassup fellas.
I worked all day today on the car and got a decent amount done, still have a while to go.

Guess I'll start with the doors. I used the baffles that I made and secured it with four self-tapping screws and RTV black. I waited on the sound deadening until the RTV cured.

























Next is power wire. I don't know how, but I came across a log a while ago showing this. I'll let the pictures show, but the only modification I did was drillling a hole (13/32") in the black plug piece. If you use a 1/0 ga or two 4 ga, this obviously won't work, but for me it worked out great 









__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content





































I also got the speaker wires into the doors, but the dumb camera died and the charger is AWOL so hopefully I can get some pics tomorrow. This was probably the biggest pain in the butt, Honda thought it'd be a good idea to make their car stupid hard to work on :mean:

Somewhat comical, but I used a clothes hanger threaded through a plastic straw tipped with duct tape, with soapy water as the lube.








I started the wiring through the car and have all the trim pieces laying around the garage, and have maybe 8 zip ties secured just as a place holder (Just for fun I'm going to do every six inches or so), but it's starting to shape up. Hopefully can get some work done tomorrow after Church.
See ya then :laugh:


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

And nothing today. Woke up with a stomach bug and did a whole lot of nothing today, so hopefully it'll be gone soon :sick2:


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Woot woot.
Got quite a bit of work done last week. Basically work at work 8-5, work at home 6-11 haha.

Deadening the Doors:

This was pretty fun actually. Not too bad and kinda easy, just be sure to wear some gloves and it'll go smoothly :laugh:











The passenger side is done the same way, but didn't get good pics.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Wiring:

This was also a fun part. Heck I'm having fun with this whole install :laugh:









The rca's, although soldered together well and looks good, were not stored properly and as you can see the techflex stretched or something and the wires won't go straight (a strong pet peeve for me, but oh well).


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## Fricasseekid (Apr 19, 2011)

Nice work so far! 

Fellow Accord owner here! Tuned in...


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

So right now the wires past ^ point is just laying there. The amp kit didn't have ring terminals for the grounding wires so I need to get some, and a distro block.

Here's my temporary amp rack (it was the one used in my last install in a truck) and I promise it's driving me crazy, but it's functional so I'm okay with it for now.



Here's my work space, functional but small.



Here's my beautiful sub that I have yet to put on here, Dayton DVC HO 10 in a box design I found on here, in fact it's the 2013 Subaru BRZ build, so...thanks man!





I have quite a bit left until I finish.

1) The tweeters are just laying on the dash (I know, sorry)
2) I need a new amp rack, hopefully that'll look good 
3) Using the Imprint system for going active (got the tuning kit Friday woot woot!)
4) Do all this by August 15 when I leave to college :hanged:


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Well I have good news and bad news. Good news is I'm at college with a (for now) complete system. Bad, the camera with the rest of the pics is at home. I didnt have time to do both b4 leaving sadly. But the amps are facing the rear of the seats with the sub facing backwards, want that reversed one day. Everything is secured. Tweeters are in the angle mount pods that come with the ctx's, facing the opposite listener. It's running active off imprint, but yet again no time to run the tuning kit, it's just sitting at home. For the few watching this I promise I'll have pics up sometime, but might not be till Christmas. I'm sorta kinda not really happy with how it sounds, but it's a lot better than stock.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Fricasseekid said:


> Nice work so far!
> 
> Fellow Accord owner here! Tuned in...


Thanks man, I watched your build log for a while b4 starting mine.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

And boom, one semester down.
Merry early Christmas!!

Okay well a little update, got some new amps:

One JL xd 600/1 and one JL xd 400/4


Yeah, holy wiring job. I'm going to fix that, but I'm a little short on free time.

As promised, here's the fuse holder under the hood, ziptied to the hose



And besides that the only thing I got done today was wiring through that stupid molex connector 

I got it done though, here's the cleanest way in my opinion to get it done..

First, a couple holes in the blue plug and separate the wire


Then a couple holes in the female part of the plug and pull the wire through


Finally, due to water and several different sharp edges, I simply covered it in a length of wire loom and ended with electrical tape



Here's a couple pics of the termination and connection to the ctx mids



A good half inch clearance from the window guide


Again that's all I got done today. The head unit is fine, but I never got to try the imprint unit because the rear channel is screwed up. I got the hint that I may get the Pioneer 80prs for Christmas (still a kid here ), so I may finally get to try active soon.

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Here's how the tweeters are now, sorta on axis to the opposite listener



Thanks for looking, I'll be back soon..


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## caraudioworld (Sep 18, 2013)

The hose you use to attach the fuse holder gets pretty hot, probably wont hurt, but I will move the fuse to another place just to keep it comfortable haha


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## UNFORGIVEN (Sep 25, 2010)

2004 accord sedan driver here... alot of this looks familiar 
keep up the good work


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## REGULARCAB (Sep 26, 2013)

Looking good. If you wanna hide those wires you might check out my build log a simple cover would hide things nicely and would take very little time.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

caraudioworld said:


> The
> 
> ```
> 
> ...


Gotcha, I have a bracket that I plan on attaching to a stock bolt, I'll move it some time before I leave again. Thanks.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

REGULARCAB said:


> Looking good. If you wanna hide those wires you might check out my build log a simple cover would hide things nicely and would take very little time.


Oh yeh I've seen your build, looks good. I plan on building a new box/amp rack soon and it'll definitely hold and hide the wires better. Thanks.


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## REGULARCAB (Sep 26, 2013)

WhereAmEye? said:


> Oh yeh I've seen your build, looks good. I plan on building a new box/amp rack soon and it'll definitely hold and hide the wires better. Thanks.


I will admit I have been playing around so much that my amp rack cover is rarely even on


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

REGULARCAB said:


> I will admit I have been playing around so much that my amp rack cover is rarely even on


It's a never ending hobby haha


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

SO...Commence semester 2! I had a great break and took a while to get this up but got a decent amount done.

Long story, thought I had a faulty channel on the 400/4, sold the 600/1, discovered it was a faulty rca, sold the 400/4, fixed the rca, and got an Alpine 900/5 :laugh:

Here's the old rca (bought some at local shop, tired of the diyma ones) the red end is stock, I desoldered the diyma ones and used their ends.





I bought a stinger circuit breaker (again tired of the sticky black stuff on the funkin' audio fuse holder) and covered the power wire in techflex (heard it helps with power flow :laugh: jk).





Also installed a stinger grommet with a 7/8" hole saw and with RTV black as the sealant





Here's the new radio I got for Christmas, Pioneer 80prs.



Kinda blurry here, but all the connections are soldered and heat shrunk


Here's the new amp with the birthsheet, 132x4 baby!





And this is how I mounted it. I'll probably change this later because after the 3.5 hour drive to school it was extremely hot, and this doesn't support the best air flow..









This hole had the black plug to hold the carpet, so no holes drilled and nice and secure



Here's the new amp ground location







I guess I should mention I also got some new speakers: Morel Tempo 6.
For some reason I forgot to take pictures of the tweeters, but they're in the same position as the ID's. They sound much...cleaner I guess? Just all around better IMO.



Same mounting diameter as the ID's, I had these things in in maybe 15 minutes.



That's all I have for now. Over summer break I will probably change something else...mainly because...I pre-ordered an SI MKIV. Can't wait to get that thing haha.

Thanks for looking. Please comment on what I can fix, I'll try to in about four months


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

And an update. I don't have WIFI at home so I don't get to post many pics but here's some of the things I've done so far.

I sold the Alpine due to a small turn on pop problem. I then bought an arc xdi805 which works well, I'm using it at the moment until I can install my new arc ks 300.4 and ks 1000.1



The Dayton 10 is a very good sub, I love it, but I wanted a bit more oomph so I got a used IDMax 10, started with a sealed box but went ported later.

Here's a list of tools that are extremely useful for car audio people that aren't professionals.

Plunge router:


Table saw:


This thing to grind paint away for grounding:


This thing is a freakin' boss crimping terminals:


And of course a Jasper Jig:


But here's a few pics of building the box for the IDMax:









I had white vinyl on with the plans of making a wall around the sub, but it looked like crap so I ripped off the vinyl and put on carpet (no pics).


Upgraded grounding point:


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Very nice job you've done so far, can't wait to see the end results.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Here's my favorite part of the update. I went to a local Sundown rep and learned that I'm local to Sundown and Stereo Integrity, like 15 minutes away! I was able to talk to Brandon @ Sundown to get some of their components and I definitely got some for a good deal.

In fact, I was able to get a prototype tweeter that apparently noone else has. Nick @ Stereo Integrity was supposed to get them, so sorry man 

And some pics:







I am currently on a mission trip to Canada but when I return I have some fiberglass and resin at home just asking to go onto the a pillars with those tweeters


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Coppertone said:


> Very nice job you've done so far, can't wait to see the end results.


Thanks man, means alot  It's hard to finish everything that I want to get done just cause life is so gosh dang busy haha.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Small update. Went to college today for sophomore year, so no messing with the car for a while 

Back to when I ran the speaker wire into the stupid driver door I said that the way I did was the best...well I lied. Here's the new best way 

I'll basically let the pictures handle the story, but I bought an extra rubber boot from the passenger side and completely got rid of the molex connector


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I upgraded the wiring to all Kicker (1/0 gauge power wire and 16 gauge speaker wire) and secured the circuit breaker under the hood using something other than zipties 











Upgraded the pathetic ground with a JL terminal..



And cleaned up the wiring for the Arc and JL slash


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

The Sundown components sound really good. I wasn't able to fiberglass the tweeter pods yet simply due to lack of time, but I will eventually, and then put a little better review about them. But I looked at the mids in the doors and saw a lot of water (relatively speaking) so I decided to try and protect them. I also had a Package #1 from RAAMmat from the Christmas sale and decided to use it.







Using some sheet metal and self-tapping screws as per Rick's How-to.















I did the same thing on the passenger door but didn't get any pics 

I also made a few trades and got a good JL 10w6v2 so I built a simple .8 cuft sealed box for it for the road.


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## Electrodynamic (Nov 27, 2007)

WhereAmEye? said:


> Here's my favorite part of the update. I went to a local Sundown rep and learned that I'm local to Sundown and Stereo Integrity, like 15 minutes away! I was able to talk to Brandon @ Sundown to get some of their components and I definitely got some for a good deal.
> 
> In fact, I was able to get a prototype tweeter that apparently noone else has. Nick @ Stereo Integrity was supposed to get them, so sorry man


No need to be sorry. I'm good on the tweeter front. A couple XBL^2 tweeters are now sitting on my desk waiting to installed in my Jetta.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Electrodynamic said:


> No need to be sorry. I'm good on the tweeter front. A couple XBL^2 tweeters are now sitting on my desk waiting to installed in my Jetta.


I'll trade 
But for real I have a bm mkIV waiting in my closet, I need a few of those Mids your working on :laugh:


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

^^Can you (or anyone else) give me some ideas on how to secure these tweeters to the sail panel? The way that the ring screws onto the tweeter (as seen below) makes it difficult to mount.








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http://s1284.photobucket.com/user/copper1131/media/DSC00345_zps36efe254.jpg.html


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

Pics of the sails would help.BTW nice choice on the router,I own the same one


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

strong*I*bumpin said:


> Pics of the sails would help.BTW nice choice on the router,I own the same one


Well....lol

I tried to do it before leaving, but the freakin' gorilla glue didn't work at all. I bought some CA glue from HobbyTown, but it was too late to try again. I have some grill cloth and fiberglass resin to use, but can't for a couple weeks.

Originally I made these rings to use, but an easier or more efficient way would be awesome.











The only way this would work is if the tweeter ring fit in the large opening in the back of the sail panel after fiberglassing.

Also I can't just remove the whole rear side of the plastic due to the mounting clip smack dab in the middle of it


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## Hoptologist (Sep 14, 2012)

Hey, nice log ya got going here  how do you like the W6 compared to the IDMAX?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I personally like the IDMax a little better. I don't know anything about sq, but it seems that the w6 is more of a "are you sure there's a sub back there" until you turn it off and can really tell a lack of bass. I guess my 19 year old ears like the bass too much lol.

Surprisingly though, I like the Dayton better than both the w6 and the IDMax. Just something about it that sounds a little nicer to me. But the IDMax box was about a hundred pounds all together, compared to the 30 pounds for the w6


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I think I'm going to secure the tweeters on the ring with the mounting screw, mark the location of the Sundown logo on the front of the plastic ring, use some ca glue to permanently secure the mounting screw onto the back of the plastic ring, then finally unscrew the tweeter from the ring. Then once I mount the ring to the sail panel and fiberglass it in place I can simply screw the tweeter onto the mount. About the only feasible way I can think of. I can post pics of my idea once I'm able to do a little work on it.

But on a different subject, I can give a decent review of the mids. I know that I currently have the best midbass I've ever heard in my car. It's the closest thing to concert style kick-bass drums that my car has ever had. I think it's a big combination of the speakers and the pretty well sealed doors.

Overall I really like the speakers, but I think they are a bit too laid back for me. I know they haven't reached their full potential due to my poor tuning skills, so I'll hold on to them for a while, but don't be surprised if I have another set installed soon...


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## Hoptologist (Sep 14, 2012)

Do you have crazy door rattles/resonance? Can't remember if the 03 Accord the same generation as the 07.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Yes the '03 is the same model, aka the seventh gen. However I don't have rattles in the door quite as bad as you incontinence think. I think, looking at your build, considering thebrattke goes away when the window is down, that perhaps the resonance is from the window actuator or something like that? I don't know of course. I do have rattles everywhere else though


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## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

eisnerracing said:


> Is it plexiglass ? Clear plastic is not always plexiglass
> There is acrylic , plexiglass and lexan
> Acrylic is brittle - plexiglass in the middle and lexan is
> Very plyable (used as bullet proof glass )


i always thought plexi and acrylic were the same product? with lexan being the brand name for polycarbonate. I am in the sign business and we use mostly poly.


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

raresvintea said:


> Why plexiglass? During winter could crack easily! Best choise is Aluminium or steel or MDF.


MDF? No.

HDPE? Yes.


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## DBlevel (Oct 6, 2006)

Sub'd, not sure how I've missed this!

Another 7th gen owner here 

I like how the trunk has been done each time! Very clean!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

sirbOOm said:


> MDF? No.
> 
> HDPE? Yes.


Once I find some Mids that I really like, or discover that I really like these, I'm going to make some baffles similar to the current mdf ones out of starboard.



DBlevel said:


> Sub'd, not sure how I've missed this!
> 
> Another 7th gen owner here
> 
> I like how the trunk has been done each time! Very clean!


Thanks  I've been an equipment whore the last year so it seems it changes too often to really put too much effort into the display.

Will say this though...I changed the eq on the front stage to one of the presets and it sounds much much better


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## Hoptologist (Sep 14, 2012)

Do you think you have no door resonance because of the Boom Mat? Does it still allow your speakers room to breathe?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Funny how it's called a boom mat, everything is so boomy. The kick bass as I said was a loud and sweet, but the voices sound like they come out of a disgruntled subwoofer crossed too high...if that makes sense. They don't sound smooth and nice at all (on the lower end with stuff like Phil Collins).

But to answer your question, no they have no room to breathe. I think I'm going to cut out the bottom portion of the mat and let them breathe into the door and see how that sounds. Honestly I don't know if I have resonance because I don't know exactly what resonnance sounds like


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I lied about the w6 because I'm stupid. I had the jl slash on high input rather than low for some reason, I definitely know the difference but don't know how I overlooked it 

I like it though because the w6 sounds really good now, definitely closer to the idmax than before in sq and output. I'm also going to update later about my new amp, after classes are over..not that I'm in class now...


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

As promised, here's the new amp. I am finally done buying amps for a while, I don't think I can upgrade much more from this amp in power or sound quality so I'm good (don't convince me otherwise ). Thanks captainobvious for the amp!





It's not scratched, just dirty. I put it in while sitting in the back seat after Church Sunday, like 85 degrees outside, so I didn't really feel like cleaning it (and I left all my ziptie screw downs at home). I'm just happy at how it sounds, the gains are very low. Channel 6 is currently not being used, instead I have the 10w6 on Channel 5 and it sounds as good as ever.


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## Electrodynamic (Nov 27, 2007)

WhereAmEye? said:


> I'll trade
> But for real I have a bm mkIV waiting in my closet, I need a few of those Mids your working on :laugh:


I'm getting things sorted on those little 6.5" diameter, 2.29" deep monsters pretty soon.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Electrodynamic said:


> I'm getting things sorted on those little 6.5" diameter, 2.29" deep monsters pretty soon.


Let me know asap I want to pick up my two in person :laugh: It'd be great to meet you; I live in Conover so I'm literally right beside you!


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## JoshHefnerX (Jun 13, 2008)

Thanks for sharing. It's been interesting watching the progression of this.

Josh


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I guess I forgot to mention why I didn't use the Arc KS1000. I bought it from a seller on eBay for a very good price, I knew it had to be B-stock, but I was okay with that. He had a very high feedback rating so I was pretty confident. (Just fyi, if you look at my post on classifieds, the Arc KS300.4 was bought from an authorized dealer).

I bought it, installed it, and it made a very loud noise (possibly an internal loop of some sort) so I complained and got another one. The second one came, I installed it, and it FREAKIN' SHORTED ON MY IDMAX, essentially burning the coils and dubbed it useless. The magnet and basket are sitting in my room with no cone. Needless to say I was stupid upset, sent it back and got my money back. The seller offered a very good deal on a couple Arc 12's but I figured they would probably be broken or something.

Sorry just felt like venting for a moment.


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## LordOsama (Sep 7, 2014)

Pretty build.

I'm also a 7th generation sedan owner, it's late 2005 JDM model so a facelift with navunit. I was wondering if you can explain how you have connected your headunit with spliced OEM wire harness?

I have the same pioneer HU, 80PRS laying in my store waiting to get installed as I don't have a wire diagram handy.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

LordOsama said:


> Pretty build.
> 
> I'm also a 7th generation sedan owner, it's late 2005 JDM model so a facelift with navunit. I was wondering if you can explain how you have connected your headunit with spliced OEM wire harness?
> 
> I have the same pioneer HU, 80PRS laying in my store waiting to get installed as I don't have a wire diagram handy


Metra 99-7862 Dash Kit Fits 2003-07 Honda Accord EX/Accord Hybrid models — single-DIN radios at Crutchfield.com

I used one of these, I chose not to splice the stock wiring. I assume it's for both navigation and non-navigation.


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## Slammer (Nov 14, 2010)

Nice build thread! This has me tempted to do a "budget" SQ build in my '03 Accord Sedan. Already have a pair of spare new Hertz Mille 6.5s and tweets for backups for my Lexus........ Good quality old school HU and an amp that can let me run an active front stage and I may just have to commit.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Do it. This car is really easy to work with, my main complaints are the limited depth of front speakers (I don't know if the milles will fit) and the stupid hump at the front end of the trunk.


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## perfecxionx (Sep 4, 2009)

WhereAmEye? said:


> I upgraded the wiring to all Kicker (1/0 gauge power wire and 16 gauge speaker wire) and secured the circuit breaker under the hood using something other than zipties


whered u get this fuseholder?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

perfecxionx said:


> whered u get this fuseholder?


EBay...I believe from bag-boy (aka darvex)


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I'm almost ashamed to throw this up here, but I figured I'll let someone else have a good laugh today. I made my first tweeter pods with CA glue and grill cloth, but didn't apply filler and sand smooth and stuff. Basically this is about as "functional over beautiful" as you can get, but it did secure my tweeters in a solid place for the first time ever. Most importantly I learned how NOT to make pods, so the next set will look better 









Afterwards I used the autotune feature of the Pioneer and it's not bad, I'd still rather listen to my Skullcandy headphones but it's getting there. I have a big change coming for almost my entire system over the next few weeks which I'm super excited about so I'll be back soon.

p.s. Yes, that is my dorm's stove I was working on haha.


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

For your next ones, point the tweeter up toward the dome light. Looks like it's firing right into your gauge cluster. Nothing glaringly wrong with the way you did it. Just use less of a lip around the tweeter hole for easier pod fitting excitement and I'd use wood vs. plastic personally because glue holds things to wood better than cutting board plastic. I am not suggesting MDF, I'm suggesting hard board or birch or something not as "dusty and crumbly".


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Okay, thanks for the tips. Earlier in the thread I was complaining about the way these tweeters were made, I didn't really have a choice about the size of the lip. I think the lip is the worst aesthetic part of the pod. But I'll try aiming them higher up and using different material next time.

I purchased some Image Dynamics xs-28 tweeters for cheap from Woofersetc (they're on OBO and they accepted $89.99) and they don't require the same amount of lip, so I can't wait to get them in.


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

The Sundown tweeters did not require the huge ring that you made unless I'm missing something? I can't go back in your thread right now. I'm talking about the excess plastic around the tweeter's rim itself - the distance between the outer edge of the ring you made vs. the edge of the inner hole. Really just need a little material beyond the outside edge of the tweeter to make it look nice once finished. If you're having issues with angle and the depth of the tweeter, thus requiring more lip, then I get what you're saying.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

You're probably right, I could have decreased the lip a little bit, but with my current knowledge and abilities the lip that big was the only way I could get it to fit correctly.
Here's a shot of the back, maybe show a little bit of what I'm talking about.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I'm using xt60 connectors for the tweeters; they're nifty little things.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Dear Sir, I would not laugh one bit! Nice work. 

I recently did my very first fab job of any kind myself with similar construction and I can tell you, you've opened yourself into a whole new world. Believe it or not, I used some really stretchy spandex material for fleecing which worked wonderfully.. But you've got the right idea with the CA glue treatment. That said, I recommend you want to fleece all the way to the edges, whenever possible for as minimal of further "dressing" or smoothing as you'd need.. Do the hard work upfront and you'll save a BUNCH of time later with sanding, filler, etc.. Just coming from a guy who's done one extensive and hairy set with a fleece, then rage gold filler, sand, fill, sand, fill, etc etc then texture paint.

It can be a super long process if you let it become one.. Bunch of guys do kitty hair to fill her in quickly so the filler layer is nowhere near as much as I used.

Start..

























Sanding and iterations of filler..

















Before final paint..

































Texture paint:


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

^Looks pretty sweet, thanks for the compliment. I wish my dash was that flat, my goodness.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Thanks.. I'll tell ya, those things occupied my Saturday's for a while.. I was a sanding and filling fiend. Had I to do it again, I'd just have done some kitty hair, got a closer to full basic shape, and a bunch less filler. But certainly these kinds of fab jobs will bring out the artsy in ya for sure. Took me so long because a lot of firsts.. First with fleecing, first with rings even.. First with Evercoat Rage Gold or any filler.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Yeah I guess. Unfortunately the majority of my weekends involve homework, studying, or stress-relief by playing football or basketball, which is why I haven't been able to do as much as I would have liked by now.


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## DBlevel (Oct 6, 2006)

Liberty university bump.......

I used to live in Lynchburg but Monroe prior to that for a little while.

I like the tweeter pods, simple but I'm sure they still sound great!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

LU LU LU! Thanks man, they do sound pretty good.


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## DBlevel (Oct 6, 2006)

I go up there from time to time to the Lynchburg airport. 

Amherst has a small airfield north I swing thru. Next time I'm up that way I'll pm you see if your available.......


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Sweet, I've always wanted someone to listen to my system and tell me what I can do to make it sound better  I'll be going home for Christmas break soon but I'll be back in January, just let me know!


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## DBlevel (Oct 6, 2006)

Might be Jan before I'm back out that way so that'll work out good...... Dec be mostly NC area. As of mar '13 I travel no more so I'm excited about being stationary in GSO lol.

Hoping weather contributes to less travel this winter but we'll see......

Not sure how much help I'll be in tuning advise but I'd still like to listen to another 7th gen Accord.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Yeah man, sounds good. Haha pun unintended.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

WhereAmEye? said:


> Yeah I guess. Unfortunately the majority of my weekends involve homework, studying, or stress-relief by playing football or basketball, which is why I haven't been able to do as much as I would have liked by now.



Ain't nothing wrong with that. Good priorities I'd say.


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

WhereAmEye? said:


> As promised, here's the new amp. I am finally done buying amps for a while, I don't think I can upgrade much more from this amp in power or sound quality so I'm good (don't convince me otherwise ). Thanks captainobvious for the amp!




Muahahaha...lol


First time catching your thread, and I thought I burned through equipment like crazy haha. Looks like
It's coming along well. Don't sweat the tweeter pods. I've built way uglier crap in my earlier days. It takes time, but it gets easier. Keep it up!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

bradknob said:


> Muahahaha...lol
> 
> 
> First time catching your thread, and I thought I burned through equipment like crazy haha. Looks like
> It's coming along well. Don't sweat the tweeter pods. I've built way uglier crap in my earlier days. It takes time, but it gets easier. Keep it up!


Haha my goodness, you convinced me otherwise I guess. Thanks for the encouragement


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## UNFORGIVEN (Sep 25, 2010)

Just read your whole build log. 
great work! reminds me of all the many changes I did to my 7th gen accord over time as well. 

I located my HAT L3SE's in the same location as your tweeters... quite large but it works well for staging. Keep it up!


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

eisnerracing said:


> I use plexiglass all the time and it works here in ga
> Winter and summer no problems with cracking


You guys ever rebuilt an MEL 462 big block?????


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

There's a youtube of a guy fleecing some pods similar to yours.. Convinced me of one thing. You want the doggone stretchiest fabric you can get your hands on.. Something that stretches in both X and Y directions, like a bunch. thin spandex is nice. Old hose (legging) material also I've of guys using.. To get a nice even flat thin membrane from the part's outer edges all around. I had to do some rather interesting 'folds' and wrapping in such a way I knew the folded areas would be under the filler. And what also makes it fun, when you're gluing you get one shot at it. 

For sail piece pods like these, I'd literally grab and pull tight the fleece material from the back side of the part, stretching it flat all around the front side. Then, while holding it on the back side tight, glue 'r down. 

Can't wait to do my truck. Gonna be sooooo much easier than those dang suspended whoppers in my Civic. I guess it's good to get a hard job under your belt, to appreciate rings relatively close to the plane of the part attached to it.


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

Heres a walk through I did while making mine for my truck. I still learn new tips and tricks every time I do a pair.

http://www.ramforum.com/f51/custom_sail_panel_build-55759/


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

UNFORGIVEN said:


> Just read your whole build log.
> great work! reminds me of all the many changes I did to my 7th gen accord over time as well.
> 
> I located my HAT L3SE's in the same location as your tweeters... quite large but it works well for staging. Keep it up!


Thanks man! I actually wanted to run some l3's, but I'm limited to a high pass of 2500hz on the Pioneer for now..



Babs said:


> There's a youtube of a guy fleecing some pods similar to yours.. Convinced me of one thing. You want the doggone stretchiest fabric you can get your hands on.. Something that stretches in both X and Y directions, like a bunch. thin spandex is nice. Old hose (legging) material also I've of guys using.. To get a nice even flat thin membrane from the part's outer edges all around. I had to do some rather interesting 'folds' and wrapping in such a way I knew the folded areas would be under the filler. And what also makes it fun, when you're gluing you get one shot at it.
> 
> For sail piece pods like these, I'd literally grab and pull tight the fleece material from the back side of the part, stretching it flat all around the front side. Then, while holding it on the back side tight, glue 'r down.
> 
> Can't wait to do my truck. Gonna be sooooo much easier than those dang suspended whoppers in my Civic. I guess it's good to get a hard job under your belt, to appreciate rings relatively close to the plane of the part attached to it.


You can see where I had to fold some of the grill cloth over when I risked breaking the panel I pulled so hard. I may sneak some of my sister's leggings into my build lol.



bradknob said:


> Heres a walk through I did while making mine for my truck. I still learn new tips and tricks every time I do a pair.
> 
> Custom sail panel build - DODGE RAM FORUM - Dodge Truck Forums


I figured you knew a little bit about diy  
I'll keep that post in mind next week.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

WhereAmEye? said:


> You can see where I had to fold some of the grill cloth over when I risked breaking the panel I pulled so hard. I may sneak some of my sister's leggings into my build lol.


Seriously not a bad idea.. Or hit the local fabric shop for spandex. Stuff works great.


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## knever3 (Mar 9, 2009)

I really enjoy reading this thread, it's Christian centered and the words chosen to describe your troubles are soft on the heart. I am glad to hear you were on a Mission in one of your earlier posts. Very nice to read a thread without all the excess vulgarity. We have a saying at work K.I.C. Keep It Clean Great work!


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

^^^. Now hearing hearing this touches my heart as its sometimes very hard to read some of these postings with the language being conveyed in the posting. I know that most think of me as a prude for not expressing myself that way, but that is not how I conduct myself. Bravo to you and to your coworkers for being who you are.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Yes, bravo. It's always more difficult to have a hold on your tongue than to let it slip whatever hits your mind.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Happy belated Thanksgiving guys. I put a bit more effort into the car last week while on break and am to a point where I'll be happy until at least Christmas break.

First things first, I sold the Leviathan III. Nothing against the amp, I loved the amp and I had no intentions of selling it anytime soon, but another member on here had the matching amp (modded by captainobvious) so I sold mine to him on a whim and found a JL HD 900/5 on classifieds to use instead.



I've always wanted my amp to go under the rear deck of my trunk, and with the tiny footprint of the JL, (but more importantly the time to be able to do it), I was able to do it.

First I looked up to see where space was available and saw this thing bolted down. I'm going to go on a limb and say it is just for mass to hold down vibrations since there was no wires connected to it and it weighs a good 7-10 pounds. Anyway I removed it and found a perfect location for the amp.





I used four 1/4" bolts to secure the amp rack to these four holes here:










Random notes; measure twice cut once stuff.


Shameless plug:








I used some Ensolite on the braces to fight against rattles.






And here the amp is secured








Here's the 12 gauge Kicker wire coming out of the side for the sub. The sub which I will build a box for after finals.


Here's the view looking into the trunk with the amp installed; completely hidden!


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I also remade my tweeter pods, along with changing the location to the a-pillar, and I think they look quite a bit better. Like I said before, I got some Image Dynamics xs-28 tweeters a couple weeks ago and they were much easier to install than the Sundowns 

My first aiming was towards the dome light, and I was uber excited about it.


The problem was that I wasn't skilled enough yet to be able to wrap them to where they look good, so I went as simple as possible and did off-axis. I'll admit the end product is not aimed where I want them, they're basically aimed towards the middle of the dash (towards the windshield and slightly downward), but I'll redo it later. My friends said they look good, so it'll do for a while.

First off I made the rings out of an old clipboard I had laying around. I won't be using it next time around, since it's basically compressed cardboard, but it worked good enough.








I used CA glue again because it worked so well.





For future reference, make a smooth cut on the grill cloth or it will bulge later on.


This stuff works really good, I found it at the hobby store for like five bucks. And the paint mixer thing I found in one of my old art boxes haha.








I wrapped the pillars in two layers of grill cloth which matches the headliner pretty well. Here's the finished product


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Oh yeah...


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

Nice work in the pillars man. Came Out real nice. I've heard great things about the arc black.

And thanks for letting me get my leviathans long lost twin brother from you. Keep up the good work


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

bradknob said:


> Nice work in the pillars man. Came Out real nice. I've heard great things about the arc black.
> 
> And thanks for letting me get my leviathans long lost twin brother from you. Keep up the good work


Just a little bit of social work lol. I'm going to building a box for the Arc sometime in Christmas break, after final exams :worried:


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Here's a quick mobile update. I'll post a few build pics later but this is the box I built for the arc black. It's 1.25 net with a pound of polyfill.



This is the most fun sub I've ever had! It doesn't move much air, per se, it just sounds like it's there making beautiful music. It's the most upfront sub I've ever had, listening to lotto by Canon made my drive home from work so much fun. I steal need to tune and such because I think I'm getting a good amount of cancellation but it's still a very good sub. I love it so far.


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## teldzc1 (Oct 9, 2009)

Nice job on this build. Was it hard to mount the amp on the rear shelf? 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

I'm digging that amp rack as well. Nicely done! Stared at my trunk deck a good bit contemplating if I could hang a mono and 4-ch there, with a rivet-nut tool on the shelf tempting me to hang a rack. With a single 5-ch amp though that's certainly more feasible.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

teldzc1 said:


> Nice job on this build. Was it hard to mount the amp on the rear shelf?
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


It was easier than I expected. I wanted to secure the amp to the rack before securing the rack to the car but it didn't work out that way. It will be a pain to remove though haha.




Babs said:


> I'm digging that amp rack as well. Nicely done! Stared at my trunk deck a good bit contemplating if I could hang a mono and 4-ch there, with a rivet-nut tool on the shelf tempting me to hang a rack. With a single 5-ch amp though that's certainly more feasible.


Yeah I'm pretty happy with out it turned out. That's what I wanted to do with the pdx I had if not for the turn on pop it had. I personally would suggest using a bolt through rather than nutserts though, they're much more stable.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

WhereAmEye? said:


> Yeah I'm pretty happy with out it turned out. That's what I wanted to do with the pdx I had if not for the turn on pop it had. I personally would suggest using a bolt through rather than nutserts though, they're much more stable.


Certainly solid being the goal. I imagine with rivnuts, if you pass a screw through, then through bolt it above, it'd be pretty solid, using the rivnut locked against the bolt above. 

My thought at one point was a suspended shelf with amps upright on top of the board, but as you know that'd be somewhat extensive compared to the amp upside down underneath a single board. I've seen simplicityinsound (Bing) do a top board, then mount an amp board to the top board. I guess every scenario and car lends itself to what works, using what's there.

In the end, I gave up and did a board in the wheel well. I wussed out. hehe Thinking back though after doing some rivnuts, it wouldn't be bad to crawl in, start drilling up with a template and have some nicely evenly spaced mounting points. I may revisit the idea.


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## pjc (May 3, 2009)

knever3 said:


> I really enjoy reading this thread, it's Christian centered and the words chosen to describe your troubles are soft on the heart. I am glad to hear you were on a Mission in one of your earlier posts. Very nice to read a thread without all the excess vulgarity. We have a saying at work K.I.C. Keep It Clean Great work!


Glad you pointed that out. There are many times I'll start reading a build log and get turned away from it by the language. Not saying I'm perfect by any means. But it's nice to see a clean thread. 
The fact that this guy is a youngster compared to a lot of us, and into SQ at his age is a cool thing. 
Great work.


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

I agree I mean about the clean part not about the youngster lol. I don't consider my 49 years of life " older " then the rest of you ( or so I tell myself ). But it's very refreshing to hear that someone is into the sq aspect of the music as opposed to which car alarm can I set off with my stereo mindset. Hopefully this will spread to others and pretty soon we can all learn from each other.


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## pjc (May 3, 2009)

Coppertone said:


> I agree I mean about the clean part not about the youngster lol. I don't consider my 49 years of life " older " then the rest of you ( or so I tell myself ). But it's very refreshing to hear that someone is into the sq aspect of the music as opposed to which car alarm can I set off with my stereo mindset. Hopefully this will spread to others and pretty soon we can all learn from each other.


I been texting Alex since buying an amp from him. Joked with him about the youngster thing. I'm not old either even though my body feels like a 70yo due to power lifting. 
I know I wasn't attempting the things he's trying when I was his age. I was busy squeezing too big of subs into way too small of spaces ha.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Okay another update.

I was planning on using Stereo Integrity's new shallow mount speakers, and I have nothing against the company whatsoever, but I received some Image Dynamics x65 mids and thoroughly enjoy them so I'll stick with them for a while.









The JL HD900/5 I bought was meant to be short term after selling the Leviathan until I could get what I wanted. I already sold it and bought a couple used amps: a PDX-M12 and a SAX 100.4b. The Sundown is in pretty bad cosmetic shape but it sounds good so I'll keep it. (As per usual, I haven't organized the wiring yet  )





And yes, that is a vent. I built a 1.5 cuft @ 30 hz for the Arc Black and it sounds really good. The alpine's gain is all the way down and the sub channel on the pioneer is at -6db and it's plenty, so that's pretty awesome.





Anchored up top with a self-tapping screw and L-bracket:


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## teldzc1 (Oct 9, 2009)

Nice progress!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

teldzc1 said:


> Nice progress!
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


And I can say I'm happy with how my car sounds. I haven't truly been able to say that yet. Although I do want one of Eric Stevens new amps.....


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## teldzc1 (Oct 9, 2009)

Do you like the sealed or ported better?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

teldzc1 said:


> Do you like the sealed or ported better?
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk


I like it ported better for sure. I can't hide that I love hard bass, and with some of my favorite music (Hands Like Houses or The Browning, for example), a lot of synthetic bass is added for effect; the sealed box just didn't do it for me on their songs. The fact that the box is tuned low helps it not to sound boomy I think but overall I like it ported better.


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

The Browning!!!! Best of both worlds. Love their stuff.

I agree, with that type of music and 1 sub, ported is definitely the way to go. My 1 MKIV sealed just wouldn't cut it for the bass head in me on a lot of music I listen to. 

Builds coming along nice. Only took about 75 equipment swaps but it's getting there. Lol


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

bradknob said:


> The Browning!!!! Best of both worlds. Love their stuff.
> 
> I agree, with that type of music and 1 sub, ported is definitely the way to go. My 1 MKIV sealed just wouldn't cut it for the bass head in me on a lot of music I listen to.
> 
> Builds coming along nice. Only took about 75 equipment swaps but it's getting there. Lol


I love the Browning too, I'm definitely a bass head on some occasions haha.

Yeah for now I'm 100% happy with how the speakers sound, (the Image Dynamics and the single Arc Black), but I'll continue to change up the amps because, well, it's fun 

A few things I'm looking to do in the future:
- upgrade to a Diehard Platinum battery with the Big Three
- upgrade the ground location to the spare tire well with a JL ground lug (Car Audio - Connection Systems - Power Connections - Master Ground Lug)
- run new power and ground for the head unit from the distro block so as to have one common ground (I'm having a big problem with noise)
- install a relay using the remote turn on from the radio to turn on the amp
- make my own rca's

I'm sure there's more to do but at least I have enough to keep my busy outside of homework and work


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

So I was going to buy a Zuki Eleets v1 4 channel from DBLevel, but things happened and I ended up driving away with a Zuki Eleets Hybrid 5 channel haha. So I sold the Sundown and the Alpine is in the classifieds. I thought that going from 1200 to ~700 on the sub would result in a significant drop in bass (relatively speaking) but to my surprise it was still very good. I also got a bit more power on the front speakers which is always a good thing. My friend said it looked like an atari, which I had to agree


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Well, my journey on this car is done. I'm in the process or returning the car to stock so that I can sell it and get another car. The car was meant to go to my sister after a couple years of me driving it, but she hates it and is daddy's little girl so she'll get something different 

Anyway I plan on getting a ~2008 Nissan Altima 4D. It has good gas mileage, good reviews, four doors (I have more than one passenger on a weekly basis so I need an extra set of doors lol), and most importantly, a good chassis for sound quality 

I'm still going to Jason's meet, I just won't have any audio upgrades and will be rocking stock until I can sell the car. Cheers


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## Hoptologist (Sep 14, 2012)

^^Well that was unexpected!  Are you going to be reusing any of your gear?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Hoptologist said:


> ^^Well that was unexpected!  Are you going to be reusing any of your gear?


Every bit of it of course :laugh:

Literally, I'm taking everything out and reusing it: speakers, Arc Black (  ) and the current ported box, amps, Pioneer head unit, power wire, speaker wire, etc. I bought the trim pieces needed to return the car to stock a little while ago (a-pillar and rear-view mirror 'garnish') so it's just a matter a spending a good day baring the car naked one last time and removing it all 

I actually sold the Zuki and got an Alpine pdx-f6 to match the m12 so I'll be using a new (to me) amp in the new (to me) car 

Edit: I'm really excited to start on a fresh car and using what I've learned to do my build right the first time


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## Hoptologist (Sep 14, 2012)

Haha, right on man, I love how much fun you have on your builds. When can we expect to see your next build log started?


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

Hoptologist said:


> Haha, right on man, I love how much fun you have on your builds. When can we expect to see your next build log started?


Hopefully sometime this summer or earlier. I'll spend a couple weekends removing everything and then putting it up for sale. Anyway as soon as I get the car most likely


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## pjc (May 3, 2009)

Congrats on the new car! Looking forward to seeing the next.


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

pjc said:


> Congrats on the new car! Looking forward to seeing the next.


Thanks man. But to clarify I don't have a car yet or even one waiting for me, I have to sell my car before I can come close to thinking about a new one


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