# 2012 Buick Regal GS Build Log



## 07exlv66spd (Nov 3, 2011)

Well I sold my last car so I am starting over. I am trying to use as much of the equipment as I cam from my last car but do to the config of the stock radio th 80PRS is out and since this is a lease everything must be able to be returned to stock. The Regal came with the Intellink Harman Kardon system which isn't all that bad for a factory system. It has the steering wheel controls, Bluetooth, USB/Ipod Input, aux input, and 9 speaker w/ 480 watt amp(yea right). The speaker location for the front are low in the door and tweeter in the sails, center high and forward on the dash, rear doors, and 6X9 "subs" in the rear deck.

Equipment I have so far
JBL MS-8
Zuki Eleets Hybrid 5
Hybrid Audio Clarus C61-2
Sub - Still Looking for a slim 12" to go in the spare tire well

Goals
Mostly SQ but like most the ability to get a little loud.
Be able to return th car to stock or at least no mods that would be able to be seen

The plan
Use the stock head unit and hopefully get a reasonable SQ
Replace the stock amp with the MS-8, this will power the center and rear doors for fill directly
Run the HAT comp active from the Zuki using the MS-8 to cross
Sub off of Zuki 5th channel in fiberglass enclosure in spare tire well

Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated

The victim or car in this case


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## Boostedrex (Apr 4, 2007)

There is a Stereo Integrity BM MKIII for sale in the classifieds right now. I don't know the seller, but I know what that sub is capable of. One of the very best slim 12" subs I've ever heard. It ranks right up there with the Alto Mobile Falstaff and Phase Linear Aliante subs.

Nice choice of amp by the way.


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## bradknob (Oct 26, 2009)

Damn, Buick stepping their game up. best looking Buick ive seen. 

GL with the build


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## Haase (May 12, 2011)

bradknob said:


> Damn, Buick stepping their game up. best looking Buick ive seen.
> 
> GL with the build


They did a nice job. But I think that the Opel Insignia OPC (This the Regal is based from) would have been a better car...

2.8L Turbocharged V6, all wheel drive, 320HP, etc.

Anywho, this build looks like it's going to be awesome. We sell these at the dealership that I work for, and I've been waiting for a build like this for a while.

Good Luck!


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## 07exlv66spd (Nov 3, 2011)

Yea, luckily i seen the SI in the for sale forums. I got it. It should work perfect in my well, I have about 6" total depth in there. Now I have to decide if I'm doing a complete false floor with the Zuki and SI or mounting the amp under the rear deck after I remove the stock subs. The 
MS-8 should fit behind the side panel where the stock amp is.


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## Boostedrex (Apr 4, 2007)

6" of depth to work with is more than enough. I had a BM MKIII under each front seat of my Scion xB for the 2010 MECA season.  It's amazing just how small .5ft^3 worth of box can be. Best of luck with the build and gorgeous car too!


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## 07exlv66spd (Nov 3, 2011)

Thanks everybody. The 6" depth has to include the box and excursion for the sub. I'm hoping 1 12" is going to be enough. Thanks everyone for the compliments on the car, it was hard letting the Accord go. I also work at a Buick dealership, Haase where do you work? Here is th start of the build, alot of times I found the hardest part was getting the 4guage through the firewall, but after looking at this one I was able to use the space for the clutch cable (mine is an auto) and it was about as easy as it could be.


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## 07exlv66spd (Nov 3, 2011)

I know this doesn't make sense but I started at the 2 ends, power cable and some additional deadener in the trunk(mine didn't come with a spare so I'm really not giving up anything). I put down a layer of Fatmat then a "ring" of jute around the edge and put the factory mat back down, this should provide a good base for the fiberglass enclosure to sit on.


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## MTopper (Nov 4, 2009)

the buick is a beautiful car and fun to drive. i have a cruze and i ran my wire the same way. mine too is an auto, i removed the clutch cable plate, made a template, cut out of 1/8 steel and put 2 grommets into it. 2 runs of zero gauge later, car still looks stock and has no hole in the firewall. love the new GM designs. almost as if they want you to put aftermarket equipment in (other than an actual radio)


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## 07exlv66spd (Nov 3, 2011)

I just used a hole saw to cut the hole and used a Stinger 4 guage firewall grommet. When I take it out I'll just put a piece of plastic over both sides with some butal on it to seal the hole. I got my fiberglass from US Composites so that is ready to go. Still have to figure out how to fit the amp and sub in the tire well, I made cardboard templates for size and the amp won't fit towards the front because of the curve and if I put it in the back the controls won't be accesable.


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## MTopper (Nov 4, 2009)

what about mounting it on the side of the trunk where it juts out towards the quarter panel closest to the taillight behind the wheel well? not completely stealth but with a cover panel it could look stock to someone who doesn't know what the trunk should look like and it isn't taking up a lot of useable space


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## 07exlv66spd (Nov 3, 2011)

The problem is the amp is 22" long and I need 12" depth for the amp and RCA's to clear. Floor or under the rear shelf are my only real options.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

i vote under the shelf. that has always been one of my favorite uses of an otherwise wasted space. the only downside is weight added up high. but in a car like that i dont really think it would be noticable.


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## chevyrider96 (Mar 5, 2010)

Nice car. One of those si shallows would be nice


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## 07exlv66spd (Nov 3, 2011)

Got my SI BM MKII. Looks like it will be my solution for a shallow mount sub. Not much progress this week except for making up some RCA's for the input on the MS8, i check it and it apears to be low level into the stock amp. Now if i could find some male connectors that would plug into the factory harness it would save alot of cutting. I was thinking of using bullet connectors to make it easy to return to stock but a male connector that would just plug in would be great. Anybody know a source of these? I need 1 8 pin and 2 16 pin and I would be set. Hopefully I will start the fiberglass tub this weekend.


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## chevyrider96 (Mar 5, 2010)

Can't wait to see this finished. Amp under deck lid is the best choice for your situation IMO.


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

If you haven't found your sub yet, suggest you look into P.Audio Pulsar-12 
http://www.loudspeakersplus.com/product/UFO_12/P-AUDIOUFO-12/
http://www.loudspeakersplus.com/pdfs/Pulsar-12.pdf

Modelled and actually looks pretty good in 0.7-0.9cuft 
Found that sub 2 days ago, so NO, I haven't heard it yet 

Kelvin


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## 07exlv66spd (Nov 3, 2011)

Not much progress lately but I did get the amp rack built under the rear deck, some aluminum strap and 1/2" MDF carpeted. Can hardly see it unless you look up at an angle since it is only 1/2" lower than the bottom of the factory rear deck speakers. Right now the passenger side door panel is off while I try to figure out how to get the 4 conductor speaker wire in. Just not much time to work on it right now. The SI in the spare tire well will probaly have to wait till spring due to the cold weather and I don't think I want to do fiberglass in the house.


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## 07exlv66spd (Nov 3, 2011)

Still not much time to work on it but I did manage to get the front doors done. No additional sound deadening has been done yet, the doors have a factory mat behind the speaker location and are pretty solid and sealed front to back the way they are so I'll wait till I get it playing and then see if I need to do any further treatment to them. The baffles are 3/4 starboard, routered speaker cutout and jigsawed outer. I used rope caulk between the door and the baffle and attached them with countersunk bolts with nuts on the backside, very solid. I did have to use the Hybrid grill base between the baffle and the speaker, the window barely clipped the magnet without it. I used CCF between the baffle and grill base and them more rope caulk around the speaker basket to seal it to the grill base. The tweeters were installed in the stock sail panels, the factory tweets were removed and the Hybrids were hot glued into place using the back part of the flush mount cups they came with and simply snapped back on. The molex connectors in the door jam were a b**ch but I finally was able to get the 2 speaker wires through under the connector. The boot has a hook on the bottom and a clip at the top so the wire is between the boot and the connector not touching any metal. The wires are covered in black Techflex and wire tied to the factory harness. The stock wiring is not being used at all and is just wire tied up out of the way so I return it to stock easily. Hopefully this weekend the MS-8 and Zuki will be wired up and running. The SI BM MKII in the well is going to be a while but at least my front stage will be working and the rear doors and center channel off of the MS-8.


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## 07exlv66spd (Nov 3, 2011)

Have not had much time lately to do much, and some small issues along the way, But today I finely had a little time to work on it. I built a .55 cuft temp enclosure for the SI and played with the inputs to the MS8. I found the best combo was to use the front/rear and sub outputs of the factory amp. If i didn't use the rear I lost my backup sensor beeps and if I use the center out of the stock amp my center wandered, so for now everything seems to be working correctly ie; parking sensor beeps, bluetooth and no turn off thump since I put the MS8's turnon before the stock amp. Still alot off tuning to do and a fiberglass enclosure in the spare tire well and alot off cleaning up of the wireing. Everything is just temp till I got everything working correctly.


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## 07exlv66spd (Nov 3, 2011)

Some photos, the wiring is all temp till I finalize placement of everything and build the sub enclosure.


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## 07exlv66spd (Nov 3, 2011)

Stock amp


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## 07exlv66spd (Nov 3, 2011)

Clarus tweets in sail panel


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## talan7 (Jan 19, 2014)

How did the install turn out? I have an 12 Regal GS with the hk system as well. I have the MS8, MS-A5001, and MS-A1004 to install. How's the sound quality? Is it much better than stock?


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## talan7 (Jan 19, 2014)

I was thinking that I might not have to dynomat the doors because there may already be some soundproofing. What do you think?


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## CounterTorque (Apr 28, 2014)

I just got a 2013, but it doesn't have the HK system. I probably should start a new thread, but does anyone know how easy/hard it's going to be to get output from the factory unit for adding a sub?
I've done a few installs over the years but usually I have some kind of wiring in the trunk to get started with....


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## CounterTorque (Apr 28, 2014)

CounterTorque said:


> I just got a 2013, but it doesn't have the HK system. I probably should start a new thread, but does anyone know how easy/hard it's going to be to get output from the factory unit for adding a sub?
> I've done a few installs over the years but usually I have some kind of wiring in the trunk to get started with....


Just opened up the trunk side wall and it doesn't have any amp back there like the HK system does. Now to figure out how to disassemble the dash to get to the head unit. 
I promise I won't muddy up this thread anymore with my own posts, just wanted to report my findings. 
Good luck on your build!


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## xogiox (Sep 25, 2014)

Very nice!!


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## jrs1006 (Sep 19, 2010)

Thinking about picking a used one up with 24K miles. blk on blk 6sp MT. Where exactly are the speakers and do you happen to know the size. This will sound crazy but will 8" subs fit in door locations. Thinking about a crazy 3/4 way up front. maybe no rears and 2 free air 15". I check out the car this weekend.


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## Black Rain (Feb 27, 2011)

Any new updates on this build. Jump start this thread...


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## mikewohlwend (Mar 26, 2008)

Looking for updates on this install as well. I have a 2017 GS that I am looking into upgrading the speakers in.


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