# 2013 Scion FR-S Build



## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

Hi All.

Just got my car a couple weeks ago, and been working on getting everything installed. I am working with All Pro Audio in San Jose as I just don't have the time or tools to work on it myself right now.

The plan so far:

Kenwood DNN990HD
2 x JL HD900/5
2 x JL 10w6v3
2 x MiniDSP
HAT L6SE, L3SE and L1 Pro R2 set (thanks to quietfly and Got-Four-Eights)

Hopefully everything comes together nicely ! Need to start looking into MiniDSP settings


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

Some pictures of my 2011 Scion tC I sold a few months back when I had to move.


























Kenwood DNX9990HD
JL HD1200/1 (w7)
Focal FPS2160 (active utopias)
Kicker zx500.1 (w3 midbass)
Kicker zx350.4 (rears and back)
Focal Utopia Be 165WRC
Focal KRX2
Focal 165KRC
JL 13W7
JL 8W3
4 x Kinetik HC600


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

cool, love to see what Jim and the gang comes up with in the FR-S


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

In that second pic, it looks kinda flat. Is it a matte orange wrap? Or is it just the pic?

Jay


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

simplicityinsound said:


> cool, love to see what Jim and the gang comes up with in the FR-S


Jim, Brian and the team are awesome, very happy so far.



JayinMI said:


> In that second pic, it looks kinda flat. Is it a matte orange wrap? Or is it just the pic?
> 
> Jay


Yeah, I had a matte orange wrap on that car. I was very happy with it, still trying to find a good vinyl shop out here in the Bay Area.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

deaddawg said:


> Yeah, I had a matte orange wrap on that car. I was very happy with it, still trying to find a good vinyl shop out here in the Bay Area.


the two places that always get recommended are

https://www.facebook.com/likevinylstyles

https://www.facebook.com/SSCustomsWeb

not sure if you have checked them out, lyle and shareef, respectively.

but the GT-R thats sitting in our shop from Vancouver has an AMAZING wrap job on it, i have never seen such high quality to be honest.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

deaddawg said:


> Jim, Brian and the team are awesome, very happy so far.
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah, I had a matte orange wrap on that car. I was very happy with it, still trying to find a good vinyl shop out here in the Bay Area.


Do you know what kind of vinyl they used? I'm considering a matte orange wrap on the parts of my car that are white now.

Jay


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

sub'd


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

JayinMI said:


> Do you know what kind of vinyl they used? I'm considering a matte orange wrap on the parts of my car that are white now.
> 
> Jay


This is the brand that was used on the old car. It held up very well over the 1 year period I had it, including the winter time and many automatic car washes. It was done at a place called ReStyle It in Toronto, ON, Canada. Best wrap I have ever seen ... maybe I should stop by and see that GT-R at SiS !


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

So I am going in a much different direction than my last car. This time I am going for a more stealth install, but still want excellent SQ and a bit more bass than needed.

Here are the pics of the progress from yesterday.

Getting the two HD900/5's all wired up. Going to put one under each front seat.









Seat removed.









So I found out the back seats in these cars are actually usable .... once you take out the front seats.









Temporary box until fiberglass boxes are complete for the rear trunk cubby holes. 0.75 cuft before woofer displacement is how big the final ones will be, which conveniently is the same size as this temp box.









Figured we may as well rip the interior apart just once and put the sound deadening in the rear now.









One of the amps mounted under the passenger seat. I forgot to take a picture of the driver side. Amp is screwed to foam board place under the carpet. Had to trim the factory foam to have enough clearance. Also, 0ga distro block is under this seat.









Two 10w6v3's going in.









Good enough, for now. The box is at the back of the trunk with the drivers facing towards me to give me an idea of how it will sound when the fiberglass boxes arrive.









Can slide the seat ahead to access amp controls on each side.

















This is a picture from the front of the seat when it is in my driving position and me holding the carpet flap open. These amps are hidden quite well, I hope they don't have heat issues though.









And a final pic of the fuse and mounting bracket made from plastic. I ordered a Stinger SPP1500D battery that should arrive next week.


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## kmbkk (Jun 11, 2011)

Looks great! I can't wait to get started on my install.


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## ecbmxer (Dec 1, 2010)

Looking good! I'd consider an upgraded battery. Looks like the same one that was in my WRX. It would die if I ran the stereo for 5min with the car off. 

I have amps tucked under the front seats as well and have had no overheating issues (and they are A/B main + D sub). Do you have a vent under there for the rear passengers? I think in my car that helps cooling by just keeping air circulating even if it's blowing warm air in the winter.


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

No vents in mine. I ordered a new batt should be here today.


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

So I bought L6se, L4se, L3se and L1 pro r2

Need to decide if I want to go with L3se or L4se in the dash with tweeter. I think ill be OK to power either, just not sure what will be better for the car. I could throw L3se in the rear for fun too if L4se fit in the dash.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

deaddawg said:


> So I bought L6se, L4se, L3se and L1 pro r2
> 
> Need to decide if I want to go with L3se or L4se in the dash with tweeter. I think ill be OK to power either, just not sure what will be better for the car. I could throw L3se in the rear for fun too if L4se fit in the dash.


if sound quality is your ultimate goal, i would do the l3 in the stock mid location but move the tweeter to the a pillar molded. the tweeter location under the dash had an opening thats way too small for something like the L1. played around quite a bit with the mid and tweet on the last FR-S we did and look at things on the RTA.

not sure what you would do with the L4 though


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

I saw someone with a BRZ on ft86club put an L4se in the dash without too much trouble. You think there was actually some modification work to get it in there and not shown ?

BRZ Custom SQ Audio Install - Scion FR-S Forum | Subaru BRZ Forum | Toyota 86 GT 86 Forum | AS1 Forum - FT86CLUB


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

deaddawg said:


> I saw someone with a BRZ on ft86club put an L4se in the dash without too much trouble. You think there was actually some modification work to get it in there and not shown ?
> 
> BRZ Custom SQ Audio Install - Scion FR-S Forum | Subaru BRZ Forum | Toyota 86 GT 86 Forum | AS1 Forum - FT86CLUB


yeah i saw that thread a while back, its a lot of work to put the 4" there IMO, and i am not convinced the advantage is there versus a 3". ganing perhaps 50-100hz and being that its on the grille, yo may not want to go too low due to resonance.

i do not like the tweeter location there though, i am not sure if he opened up the grille any, but IMO that little opening is too small even with the l1 right up to it and may cause some really funky things.

my suggestion? play wtih different layouts and use the rta to see what works best. but my experiences says to put the tweeter on the A pillar if possible.

b


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

Some toys arrived.

L1 Pro R2, L3SE, L4SE









MiniDSP Love









Now hopefully FedEx makes the saturday delivery of my L6SE's and I should have some good sound by Monday !


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## b.w.1974 (Feb 12, 2013)

that's nice car, and very nice install so far. Keep updated when you get fiberglass boxes in. I am running 1 10w6v3 and I like it, but I think I need to go bigger on the box. I been running in .65 sealed


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

b.w.1974 said:


> that's nice car, and very nice install so far. Keep updated when you get fiberglass boxes in. I am running 1 10w6v3 and I like it, but I think I need to go bigger on the box. I been running in .65 sealed


0.65 before or after driver displacement ? 

My boxes are only slightly larger at 0.75 before driver displacement, however I have never heard them in anything else, so don't really have a reference point.


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## b.w.1974 (Feb 12, 2013)

I built it to exact what JL called for this first time ,.65 including sub displacement. It sounds good, but its lacking volume. I had planned to build a ported box and try it since they released the ported specs, but now Im not sure if Im gonna do that or just sell this sub


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

So I really don't know much about setting up a crossover for a 3 way active front stage and subs, so here is my first attempt so I have something loaded on the DSPs when they get installed.

65Hz low-pass 12dB Linkwitz–Riley - 10w6v3's
65-300Hz band-pass 12dB Linkwitz–Riley - L6SE
300-6000Hz band-pass 12dB Linkwitz–Riley - L3SE/L4SE
6000Hz high-pass 12dB Linkwitz–Riley - L1 Tweeter


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

i am pretty interested in hearing this set up when you are done. if you need help tuning let me know. 

remmeber you guys have a sealed trunk with a pretty closed up rear deck, so a lot of times, the bass trapped in the trunk and often, bigger the subs, louder the rattle, one common source is the rear deck contacting the rear glass. 

but love to take a listen when you are done!


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## Golden Ear (Oct 14, 2012)

Nice car and nice equipment! I'm looking forward to the results of this build.

Would sound good if you could high pass your L3/L4 around 250 vs. 300. Might not seem like a big difference but when I went from 300 to 250 with Nz3s it sounds much better. 

Wouldn't the L4 play with more authority a little lower and help raise the stage? I bet having 150 or 200hz on up on the dash would sound killer! IMHO


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

Well I am def going to try for the L4 in the dash, hopefully it works out. Ill play around with the xover points once installed, I used the same settings at the 3 way passive crossover HAT sells for the initial install.

Thanks for the tip at 250hz, likely the first thing I'll play with, then start on time delay.

I am thinking about getting the Mic that MiniDSP sells and using REW as a baseline and tweak from there, but also not sure if that is really needed.


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

simplicityinsound said:


> i am pretty interested in hearing this set up when you are done. if you need help tuning let me know.
> 
> remmeber you guys have a sealed trunk with a pretty closed up rear deck, so a lot of times, the bass trapped in the trunk and often, bigger the subs, louder the rattle, one common source is the rear deck contacting the rear glass.
> 
> but love to take a listen when you are done!


Thanks ! I'll def come by with it once I have some of the new toys in.


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

FedEx arrived, and my tower of power has grown !


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

I'm watching this one as well - very interested to see your final speaker placement!


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

I am pretty sure I am sticking to stock locations for this iteration. I may revisit tweeter location as was suggested, and possibly even mid location.

The goal today is to get everything in and start tuning. I ordered the Mic from MiniDSP, so that and REW will become my new friend/enemy I am sure.


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## Golden Ear (Oct 14, 2012)

deaddawg said:


> The goal today is to get everything in and start tuning. I ordered the Mic from MiniDSP, so that and REW will become my new friend/enemy I am sure.


The word is 'frienemy'


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

hahaha. The only person I've ever heard use that word in person is my GF's 9 year old niece.

Jay


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

Due to the shop being short handed today, I only got the L6se in the doors, sound deadening / second skin installed, and the new battery installed.

Not sure when I will be able to get more work done, I was told 1 - 1.5 weeks :-\ Kind of sucks as I have no midbass now, just tweet/mid off deck and subwoofer.


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

So here is some progress from today:

Door panels off









Dynamat on door skins

















Speaker baffles









Second skin installed

















Stock vs L6se









L6se installed


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

Some pics with the mid/tweet. I really don't know what I am going to do here. L4se does not fit, I think that previous thread was really L3se, as I have no idea how a L4 would ever fit.


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

So i noticed that the second skin does not make a full seal at some points, and it is very stiff once cool. Is there a way to make sure there is a full seal everywhere, like should I use more dynamat to seal the spots where the second skin doesnt ?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

okay, i am glad i wasnt on crack when i thought the l4se would not fit without some serious trimming

also you see what i mean about the l1pro being far bigger than the stock tweeter than mounting it in that location would create a weird tunnel effect, adding that to firing into the windshield so far inboard, this is why i avoided using that tweeter location and went to the A pillar method.

i would ask the customer with that arrange to come but he recently got damaged by a hit and run and i think his car is in the shop.

on the other front regarding second skin, which exact second skin product are you using? i only used the damplifier pro back when i carried it but never had to heat it up.


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

I was told it was a second skin product, but I didnt see the box. It seems to be almost like a hard plastic, but it can be moulded when used with a heat gun.


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## [email protected] (Nov 7, 2010)

I looked at that thread and thought that looked more like a 3" than a 4.. I think it was possibly labeled wrong.. Look at the size of it compared to the tweeter...


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> I looked at that thread and thought that looked more like a 3" than a 4.. I think it was possibly labeled wrong.. Look at the size of it compared to the tweeter...


Yeah, I guess since I didn't have the tweeter at the time when I ordered the L4se, I had no idea how large the tweeter really was


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## ANT (Oct 15, 2005)

From what I can see, you are not using a second skin product.
Damplifier and Damplifier pro (which I designed) are both 12" wide.
Damplifier is 24" long while Damplifier Pro is 20" long.

To me it looks like hat sheet is WAY too big to be either Damplifier or Damplifier Pro, but it could also be that your door is very small and I am not properly gauging things
Look more like a Cascade product to me.. Hard to tell though

Take measurements on that big piece of damper and see what it comes out to be.
If you paid for Second Skin , and got something that is not adhering properly, and is the wrong size, you got ripped off.


ANT


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

I found out the product that was used. It was cascade, very good guess !

VB-2HD is a highly moldable, lightweight vibration damping material.

Not sure if anyone know what it is, and if it is a decent product or not.


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## koteman (Apr 20, 2013)

I fit 4inch cdts in my frs if u want an idea here's a pic









Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

koteman said:


> I fit 4inch cdts in my frs if u want an idea here's a pic
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have a feeling my car would get broken into if I had it looking like that 

Do you have any type of grill or acoustic fabric to cover it up ?


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## koteman (Apr 20, 2013)

Nope that's how it is showing I could make a magnetic grill to cover them though that would not show them off

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## derickveliz (May 15, 2009)

I like the speakers, love the car!

Very nice.

.


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## kmbkk (Jun 11, 2011)

Deaddawg, please keep us updated on your progress! I also have an FRS & will be doing an install in a few months. I'm gathering my PHD goodness right now.


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## kmbkk (Jun 11, 2011)

Koteman, thanks for the dash pod pictures. I'm planning to do one thing similar with a 4" & tweeter. I'm still trying to decide if I want to incorporate grills or not.


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## Mrnurse (Sep 8, 2011)

koteman said:


> I fit 4inch cdts in my frs if u want an idea here's a pic
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That looks killer man, how do you like the CDTs? I have looked at them several times but never could make that jump. I am only adding a sub to mine for now. After school I'll revamp the entire car with all new stereo amps DSP sound deadner. But for now just the sub. Do you have any build pictures?


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## koteman (Apr 20, 2013)

Mrnurse said:


> That looks killer man, how do you like the CDTs? I have looked at them several times but never could make that jump. I am only adding a sub to mine for now. After school I'll revamp the entire car with all new stereo amps DSP sound deadner. But for now just the sub. Do you have any build pictures?


I love them now that I just got a better Amp they r awesome once u high pass at 120 and have a sub added I have some pics on ft86club 

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## kmbkk (Jun 11, 2011)

Yep, I'm definitely "borrowing" thus from you Koteman! I have the PHD AF1.C tweets and think they're too sexy to hide under a grill, lol!


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## deaddawg (Jan 12, 2009)

Big updates !


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