# Nissan 300zx Build Log --PRS, Sony C90, JL Slash



## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

Well, I finally have all my gear together to start my build log. So on to the "box shot":










The equipment is:
H/U & Processor: Sony CDX-C90 w/ XDP-4000x (running the optical adapter)
Front Midbass: Pioneer PRS TS-C720PRS Woofer
Front Midrange: Pioneer PRS TS-S101PRS (THANKS WLDOCK!!!)
Front Highs: Pioneer PRS-C720PRS Tweets
Rear Fill: Pioneer PRS-C525PRS Woofer
Sub Stage: Pioneer TS-W12PRS
AMPS: JL 500/5 (25wx2-rear fill, 100wx2-midrange, 250wx1-subwoofer)
JL 450/4 (150wx2-midbass, 75wx2-tweets)

I am planning to go 3-way active up front, plus l-r rear fill, and a ported box built into a false floor. I have the false floor about 60% built and will update with pictures tomorrow or Friday. This will be a slow moving project, and I will give more details of my plans tomorrow.

Just excited I got the last of my gear in today and wanted to get it all posted up. Oh, and thanks again for those special mids WLDOCK!


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

haha nice to finally see this thread taking form. I have been excited about it ever since you mentioned it to me a while back.

If you can, please post up the drawing for your ported box for the sub that you have going into the back. I'm working on the same thing, but struggling on the best way to run the port. You have a coupe correct? 
I will try to post up my drawing here as soon as I get back to my home computer.


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## Tonyguy (Nov 15, 2007)

Nice System! Looks to be very promising.


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## Pseudonym (Apr 17, 2006)

wtf is a sub stage??!?!!!!!?


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## vladi627 (Sep 22, 2008)

Nice gear. Looking forward to seeing the install.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

94VG30DE said:


> haha nice to finally see this thread taking form. I have been excited about it ever since you mentioned it to me a while back.
> 
> If you can, please post up the drawing for your ported box for the sub that you have going into the back. I'm working on the same thing, but struggling on the best way to run the port. You have a coupe correct?
> I will try to post up my drawing here as soon as I get back to my home computer.


Thanks man, and yes, my car is a coupe. I don't have any drawings on hand to scan in, but I can describe my process when I post pictures tonight (can't access photobucket from work). I don't have the ports in yet either, but I have measured and do have room for what I plan to do. I just have to measure how large the fiberglassed area for the spare tire well is before I order the stuff from PE so I can properly calculate port length. Also, if you are still in the drawing stage, I would also highly suggest you use the 13 ply birch as it is MUCH lighter than MDF to use for the box.

My plan for the system is to run the midbass in the stock door location, the midrange in the top of the door by building pods, and the tweets in the a-pillar. 

The rear fill will go in the factory rear speaker locations, and the sub will be upward firing with two 3" aeroports sitting to the left and the right of the sub, all firing off of large/heavy hatch glass which will hopefully help reduce localization issues there.

The reason the project will be slow moving is because: I am doing all this in my free time (like most of us here), I am wanting to do it right (even if that means doing certain parts over multiple times), and I have other interior projects to do at the same time (such as re-upholster all the panels, build a new glove box panel for my boost and a/f controller, foam fill the chassis, and add more sound barrier). I will document everything I can, and think I have taken pretty good pictures of the process so far.

I should note that I have NEVER seen a ported box build or pod build for a midrange driver in a Z32 300zx before. So it should be fun doing something like this.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Yup, I have not seen a door pod for a midrange, other that modified factory Bose enclosures, but that doesn't allow the placement of a midbass in the door like you are wanting to do. I am planning on either MDF or birch for the whole enclosure (no FG), so thanks for the heads up on weight. I will try to post my plans tonight, as I never made it home last night. 

Good call having the sub up-ward firing towards the hatch glass. Just make sure you deaden that plastic trim panel on the underside of the hatch, because I am having tons of trouble with mine. 

I applaud your patience. This car (and this project) certainly requires it.  Good luck.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

Yeah, my option was to either put the sub towards the front of the hatch under the glass or right under the plastic (I had the two sealed boxes that sit on both sides) and I know how bad that would vibrate. Right now, I only have a thick piece of closed cell foam in there to prevent vibration, it isn't perfect, but I am waiting till I shave my rear wiper hole and then I will deaden the area properly.

I am actually going to end up building a baffle on the outside of the door card for the midbass as well. Because no matter how I try, the door panel blocks about 30-40% of the 6.5 speaker since it was designed for a 4" speaker and my 3/4" baffle I currently have stops any vibration, but it also put the speaker's surround right up against the back of the door card.


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## BaMaDuDe87 (Oct 31, 2006)

Damn, you gonna make me come back up to Nashville. Good luck with the build, Ill be watching


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## Deton Nation (Jul 3, 2009)

nice!! Looks great... GL


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## WLDock (Sep 27, 2005)

I think it is cool that you are using all PRS drivers...glad I could help a bit with your quest..it was tough letting those 4's go. However, you have made some nice choices and are off to a great start. I will be watching this one....

Also, keep an eye out...I think I am going to keep the rest of my gear and move forward with my install plans...those 4's were a bit large on my dash so I will see how a 3" works out. I will post pics as well.

Walt


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## vwtoby (Oct 28, 2005)

haha..pretty much the system i want to put together too 

watching


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

WLDock said:


> I think it is cool that you are using all PRS drivers...glad I could help a bit with your quest..it was tough letting those 4's go. However, you have made some nice choices and are off to a great start. I will be watching this one....
> 
> Also, keep an eye out...I think I am going to keep the rest of my gear and move forward with my install plans...those 4's were a bit large on my dash so I will see how a 3" works out. I will post pics as well.
> 
> Walt


Thanks SO much again man. You can't go wrong keeping the rest of that gear either. Like I said, I would love the PRS hu/processor combo if it only fit my needs for rear fill. It sucks because it has better options than my Sony as far as crossover points go, but that doesn't hurt me as bad because I can use the crossovers on the slash amps as well.

Pics are about to go up!


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## Deceptikon (Jan 24, 2009)

drool... PRS

I'm listening to the 720PRS mids and tweeters in my RX-8 coupled with the W12PRS and it sounds great to my newbie ears.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

Steps I don't have pictures of: removing carpet & removing bolt down points for spare tire in well (grinder and dead blow hammer were my friends here). Hadn't had a spare tire since I got the car so I wasn't missing it and it made my work WAY easier. Boring steps anyway.

Bottom panel cut out and hole made for fiberglassing. The spare tire well extends past the carpet and slightly under the plastic panels, so I measured the opening as 22" wide and 24" long. I made two circles using a string line. Then I measured 3/4" off the back wall and made a straight line so it would sit flush with the back of the box. I marked all of this with a heavier pencil mark and cut away with my jig saw. I made all my angles either 90's or 45's so they would be easier to calculate for internal volume.









First time using a router! Did this so the mat would sit flush easier plus I wanted to try my hand at using a router. I also discovered it made my relatively smooth looking jig saw cut look way less even.









Wheel well taped off.









Panel in the hatch.









Panel back in with the sides attached. You can see the back half is stepped down. I did this so after I added my 3/4" beauty panel on the top, the amps and processor would be sitting down nearly 1 1/2" (they have their own 1/4" beauty panel). You can also see where I numbered the panel so everything would match up properly.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

Didn't get any pictures till after the second layer and it was pulled from the car, but...I'm no longer a fiberglass virgin either! It doesn't look perfectly smooth on purpose. Since I was only doing this part to increase internal volume, I didn't care much for how it looked. Plus, I draped the cloth in one big sheet for the first coat. This allowed me to form it to the bottom of the well, but bring it in a bit on the front side and hang it straight down on the back side. This is the only reason I can get the panel in and out of the car because the hatch panels taper slightly upward and I can't pull it straight out.









I skipped a problem I had early on where the box wasn't sitting flush in the car and couldn't figure out why. Turns out there was a wire going to my rear differential lifting the box up.









Fixed.









Now you can see the top of the box and the beauty panels.









Back in the car with the lower half of the box top sitting in. I haven't attached anything in the remaining pictures because I need about two more layers of fiberglass. Then I have to figure out the total volume of the box. Then I have to order my aeroports. Note the parcel tray, that will be replaced and I will explain in a bit on how.









Now with the top and bottom half. They overlap each other by one inch so I can seal them. I will also be adding bracing to the box before it is closed up.









Test fit.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

With the lower beauty panel. The panels have a 1/4"-3/8" gap all around that I will address later with filler. I left the gap in the back larger on purpose and don't plan to fill it flush. I want to route my power cables along the floor and come up from the back right where they connect. I will route the RCA's on top of the beauty panel so I keep them apart as much as possible. It also won't be noticeable at all with the gear in the car.









With the upper beauty panel. You can see where I so nicely sketched where the sub will be sitting flush, where the two aeroports will be, and how I covered the parcel tray. I plan to router out a perimeter, use a 1/2" roundover to smooth the edges, and put another panel below the opening to mimic the factory parcel tray. I am also thinking about putting a 1/4" Z emblem you can see on there so I have it embossed under the carpet. The panels only overlap a 1/4", and they are open on the ends. I did this for the heat to escape from the amps so it isn't just sitting in a low spot. You can't see this either once the gear is in.









All in with the amps and processor.


















That is as far as I have gotten for now on the box. It will be a bit before any noticeable updates happen since I still have the extra layers of fiberglass to do, I have to get all the bracing in, holes drilled for the sub wiring, holes drilled and t-nuts installed for the equipment and sub. I also plan to strip the interior and add rattle strips to the plastic, deaden some of the plastic, and add more sound barriers to the floor.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

I also have some small baffles I made for my rear fill. They were cut to sit on top of the factory bose enclosure. 









With the bottoms cut out so I can polyfill them and mimic IB since they were way too small.









I plan to put some clay or deadener on them as well to keep any resonance down on the plastic parts.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Looks great so far. This is inspiring to watch. Just now I almost made my own build thread, but realized I need more dimensions before I post stuff. Anyway, thoughts/comments in no logical order: 

You might want to open up the bottoms of those rear enclosure more, as especially the right one looks to me like it might make a little noise. At least round those edges a little bit, but I know they sit almost flat to the wheel humps, so make sure there is sufficient clearance there. 

The tier-ing of the beauty panels for the amps in relation to the sub panel looks good. I like dropping the amps a little bit to take focus off the wiring and draw the eyes up to the sub's beauty panel. 

Also, how the heck do you get that enclosure out of there? I can't even get my cardboard false-floor cover out in one piece, and that is flexible and only 1/8" thick. How much taller are you from the original floor height? Or did you manage to keep it at the same spot? I'm struggling with that myself.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

oh, and also what internal volume are you shooting for in the sub enclosure? Did you make a test box first or no?


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

Very nice gear, specially like the cd90 with the XPD, rare to see these days. 
Best to you with it all, looks like a really good start.
Unusuall dashboard on the 300Zx's though, hope you get around that easily enough.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

94VG30DE said:


> Looks great so far. This is inspiring to watch. Just now I almost made my own build thread, but realized I need more dimensions before I post stuff. Anyway, thoughts/comments in no logical order:
> 
> You might want to open up the bottoms of those rear enclosure more, as especially the right one looks to me like it might make a little noise. At least round those edges a little bit, but I know they sit almost flat to the wheel humps, so make sure there is sufficient clearance there.
> 
> ...





94VG30DE said:


> oh, and also what internal volume are you shooting for in the sub enclosure? Did you make a test box first or no?


Thanks for the tip on the speaker mounts. I hadn't finished them yet honestly and the holes were just opened up enough for the drivers to fit. I was planning on working on them a bit more and I will take a look at the openings.

The enclosure just fit. I actually designed it so it would drop in with the rear three panels removed, and then with enough clearance so I could reinstall them. However, when I got it done, I found I could just pull the box in and out with just some manuevering.

The trunk is much taller. It actually sits flush with the three panels behind the seat. I think I raised the floor a total of 6 1/2". However, it will all look very integrated in the end. I also don't feel like I gave up any useability other than my spare tire (which I mentioned already that I don't use). There is still enough room to set a bag on the parcel tray I am making to carry clothes for a weekend trip for the wife and I, and enough flat area to still take off the t-tops if I wanted. Those were the only two things I was shooting for since this is a "fun" car and not my DD.

I would still probably drive this car daily, but I work somewhere with gravel parking and tons of dust, and it just isn't worth it to me.

I did not build a test box. I read reviews on the subs and shot for 2.6-3.0 cu/ft. after displacement of the sub and the ports. I made it bigger than the 2.6 box that mvw2 had success with and figured I could cut it back down if I needed to. Right now, I just plan to make it as big as I can, tune it as low as I can (around 25-26hz), and then EQ the rest since I have a 10 band peq that goes down to 18hz I am not real worried. 

I will send you those dimensions for the enclosure in just a bit as well. Like I said, it was made with 90's and 45's and with a healthy compromise between ease of build and to get in and out of the car, and maximum volume.


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## Tonyguy (Nov 15, 2007)

Damn that setup looks ****ing sexy in the car.


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## ReloadedSS (Aug 26, 2008)

Great car, great gear, so far great install. Looking forward to seeing the rest.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

Well, put another layer of fiberglass in. Still flexes on one side just barely, but I am out of resin. Will get some more from work on Monday, so until then, I may work on pulling some of the interior out for rd. 2 of deading (nobody told me that multiple layers of raammat wouldn't help much and that ensolite was useless before rd. 1). Now I am planning on some close cell foam and some mlv to help, plus possibly foam filling the chassis to kill any resonance, not sure on that one. I will take pics as I keep moving.

Thanks for the comments so far.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Put the new Dayton 10HO in the back of my car today, ported at 33Hz facing up (basically same driver location as in your car, but port closer to the back of the car) and it rattled the crap out of my entire hatch area. I need to move the port closer to the front of the car, and silence all the stupid panels. It's a mess right now. I guess that's what I get for upgrading components and not install  

So yeah good luck getting the hatch lid to stop buzzing. Let me know if you find anything that works.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

94VG30DE said:


> Put the new Dayton 10HO in the back of my car today, ported at 33Hz facing up (basically same driver location as in your car, but port closer to the back of the car) and it rattled the crap out of my entire hatch area. I need to move the port closer to the front of the car, and silence all the stupid panels. It's a mess right now. I guess that's what I get for upgrading components and not install
> 
> So yeah good luck getting the hatch lid to stop buzzing. Let me know if you find anything that works.


I had good luck with rattle tape/rumble tape that OEM use on the backs of panel for panel to panel contact. I also put a 1" thick piece of foam in there, and then sandwiched it in when I put the panel back on. That killed the rattles at the bottom panel. I plan to do this on the side pieces were the hatch arms are as well this time around. Hope that helps!


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Is that tape double-sided adhesive, or just thick tar/butyl tape that is kind of tacky?


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

Neither. Rattle tape is like a thin (say 1/16") "tape" that is sticky on one side and has a felt type feel on the other. If you remove the rear panels, it should have some old stuff from the factory still on it. I got some from my dad, but would think you could get it at autozone or surely somewhere online. If you apply it to both sides of whatever is touching, it creates a felt to felt section that keeps it from moving and rattling so much.

Also, put some sound deadener on the plastic panels, this will keep them from moving so much in the first place since they will be a bit heavier. Between that, the rattle tape, and the foam (I would use at least 1" thick), you should stop the rattling in the hatch.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

Just did a quick search and couldn't find anything under the names I just gave you. I will try and take some pictures of what I am talking about and post them on here tomorrow or Monday at the latest.


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## vellocet (Nov 14, 2008)

Sweetness! I will probably have a build thread coming up soon for my 300zx (2+2). It's still in the shop being refurbished. Haven't even gotten to drive it yet. Will definitely watch this build.


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## eskateboarding7 (Mar 18, 2009)

300zx is a hot car, this should come out nicely


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## vellocet (Nov 14, 2008)

Needs update. *impatient*


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

Not much to update. I finished the fiberglass on the box. I will be ordering the ports and rca ends to make my custom cables, and everything else this week or next. I just figured out that volume of the box is 3.4829 cu/ft after displacement of the driver. I am going to tune for around 24hz. I am looking to get some more closed cell foam and mlv to properly deaden my car, so I am working on stripping the interior. I am also looking for some input on midrange locations (see the bottom). So on to the pictures I do have:

Interior removal progress:










I wanted a good grounding lug, but didn't want to pay $30 for the JL one, so I made my own:










Drilled through the body and exposed the metal for good grounding:










Grounded to the body and the frame (I will paint to avoid rust and cover the wire for protection before I am done):










Where to mount the midrange....
In the dash?!?



















In the kicks?!?










But watch out, there is a fuse box in the back on the DS kick:










PLD's are 1" between the two locations (8" and 9" respectively and only 1" difference in total distance). Which means if I go high, I battle reflections, if I go low, I either block sound from the tweets or mount them far apart worrying about a drop in response.


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## vellocet (Nov 14, 2008)

I have been thinking about how to do a 3 way front stage for when I get bored with my k2p's. I'm going to be using some good thick plastic to make speaker baffles for the large hole left by my bose stuff. I've thought about just mounting both of them on that plastic and perforating the door cover under the cloth covering it. That's what I'm going to do instead of making a speaker pod or chopping my stuff up.


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## WLDock (Sep 27, 2005)

pionkej said:


> PLD's are 1" between the two locations (8" and 9" respectively and only 1" difference in total distance). Which means if I go high, I battle reflections, if I go low, I either block sound from the tweets or mount them far apart worrying about a drop in response.


Is it possible to aim the mids in a forward pod vented to the dash? Would be a shame to have to fire at the windshield... In my car the dash took a ton of tuning to deal with the issues

As far as the kicks, given the fact that the mids can go fairly high, you might be able to get a kick mid/ A pillar tweet to work if you cross over high...5kHz or higher might do it. It might be a good idea to get the rest of the system playing before deciding on mid and tweet location. I would temp mount the drivers in all posible configurations to hear what sounds best and would need the least amount of tuning.


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

I originally planned to put pods on the dash, but doing so will bring them forward considerably because my front windshield is on a small angle being in such a low to the ground sports car. They would actually only fit if I brought them over near the sail panels, which would kill my pld's for a 2 seat car.

I have a set of Alpine SPX Pro tweeters. Since they are more of a on-axis type tweet being a ring radiator, I could put the 4" PRS mids and tweets in the kicks run them full range. I could then add the SPX tweets up high and have them attenuated and crossed over just to fill any gaps and raise the stage up a bit.

I think if glass reflections are going to be that difficult to tame, I am going to put the 4" mids in the kicks and then play around with the tweets down with them, in the a-pillars, or both using an additional set of tweeters to raise the stage.


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## pjc (May 3, 2009)

I like it so far. Good luck with the rest of the install.


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## vellocet (Nov 14, 2008)

Anything new???


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

vellocet said:


> Anything new???


I got a few more pictures, but I want to try and get the box closed up before I post them. Sorry it has taken so long, but I am doing this, while un-doing some mistakes I made my first time around, while improving power mods, all in my spare time. But I will update pictures before the end of the weekend, finished with the box or not.


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## tinctorus (Oct 5, 2009)

Any updates on this car man?


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