# Living in the past - Pioneer/PPI/Image Dynamics Old School Cavalier Build



## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Been a while since I've posted a build - the SQ scene is dead where I'm from, so I kind of stepped over to the dark (SPL) side just to keep involved in car audio. The truck I'm building had some engine issues recently though so I pulled it off the road to fix them, along with some rust issues. I needed a daily driver in the meantime so I picked up this '94 Cavalier for a princely sum of $400.

The standard AC Delco cassette deck and speakers leave a lot to be desired aurally, so I figured it's time to dust off some of my old school car audio collection and put it to use where it belongs! So the plan is this:

Source:
Pioneer DEX-P1 with CDX-P1210 12 disc CD changer

Amplification/Speakers:
Highs - Image Dynamics CD-1 HLCD's with early fibreglass bodies on a PPI A100 
Mids - Image Dynamics IDQ62 6.5" 2-Ohm drivers on a PPI A200
Subs - Image Dynamics IDQ12v2 D4 12" drivers, in Infinite Baffle on a PPI A300





Really looking forward to getting this install done so I can finally listen to all these goodies rather than looking at them! Got a lot of work still ahead, besides the obvious install work, I'll be going through the Art amps with some fresh kapton tape and thermal paste.

First things to be done are the headunit wiring harness and some 6-channel DIY RCA interconnects.


More to come soon!


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## rockinridgeline (Feb 2, 2009)

*Re: Living in the past - Pioneer/PPI/Image Dynamics OS Cavalier Build*

Looking great so far!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk


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

Like looking at a magazine from the '90's.Good luck with the build.


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## MikeCordell (May 21, 2016)

Definitely looking forward to seeing this oldschool goodness!


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## Lorin (May 5, 2011)

Those PPI's look good with the connectors (bridges) in place. Are you going to be able to mount them like that where they are visible?


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Thanks guys! I've made a bit more progress, just need to get a couple more steps done before I post pics.



strong*I*bumpin said:


> Like looking at a magazine from the '90's..


That was my goal!  This stuff has been kept in the dark wayyyy too long!



Lorin said:


> Those PPI's look good with the connectors (bridges) in place. Are you going to be able to mount them like that where they are visible?


They'll be stashed away safely 90% of the time, but displayable when I want them to be. As it's my daily driver, I didn't want there being any chance of them getting damaged in the trunk. All will be revealed soon


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## SQram (Aug 17, 2007)

Love where this build is headed, if I were to try and piece together an old school install, it would look almost exactly as shown.

Looking forward to some progress!


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Next lot of progress! Got the mounting for the sub baffle sorted and the first part of the baffle itself done. Amp rack is all but finished now as well.

This is the lower mount. I welded 8mm nuts to some 3mm right angle steel for the baffle to bolt to. The bracket bolts to the floor via 8mm rivnuts. The crescent shaped piece of galv. is to seal off the spare wheel well. I forgot to get a shot of the top mount, but it uses 8mm rivnuts as well, diectly in to the vehicles sheetmetal.

Factory speakers went in the rubbish, and the remaining holes sealed up with 18g sheet metal urethaned in place.


Figuring out amp placement. As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to keep the amps out of the trunk to avoid any risk of damage. Luckily, there just happened to be the perfect amount of space between the sub baffle and the rear seat to squeeze them in 

The amp rack is simply a piece of 18mm MDF, spaced up 18mm for the wiring to run underneath and out of sight. It's bolted to the floor using M6 rivnuts and hardware.


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

The front end is well under way too. Again, the factory speakers went in the trash. I used the OEM speaker mount as a template to fabricate some new mounts for the IDQ62's. M5 rivnuts and bolts now replace the OEM mounting screws. I do plan on replacing the MDF with HDPE in the near future.








The new mounts are 30mm thick to accommodate the monster IDQ motors. I'm going to have to recess the speakers in to the mounts however, as the door panels only just fit over the new mounts. I've got about a 1/2" between the motors and window glass then it's down as it is now, so I'm hoping that recessing them 5/16" will give me enough clearance front and back.


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## dallasneon (Nov 3, 2005)

*Re: Living in the past - Pioneer/PPI/Image Dynamics OS Cavalier Build*

Damn! This is a legit build right here! Loving it so far!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


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## diy.phil (May 23, 2011)

ooooh this is definitely great!!!
yeah even the picture colors/tones looks like something from the OS 90's!!!


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## rob feature (Nov 15, 2015)

*Re: Living in the past - Pioneer/PPI/Image Dynamics OS Cavalier Build*



dallasneon said:


> Damn! This is a legit build right here!


Totally

All subbed up here. 

:lurk:


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## .69077 (Aug 24, 2013)

Yes! Awesome! I had the same ID Horns and midbasses in my 1995 Dodge Dakota pickup


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

diy.phil said:


> ooooh this is definitely great!!!
> yeah even the picture colors/tones looks like something from the OS 90's!!!


You can thank my POS iPhone4 for that! :laugh:


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Got the horn mounting halfway done. The front mounts are built and in place, just need to do the rear motor supports now. Have to modify or relocate the hood release, but other than that, it all went pretty smoothly. Motors are as far out as they can go without cutting sheetmetal.
There's a tonne of room on the drivers (RH) side, but the HVAC system on the LH side limited how far forward I could mount them, so I started with that side, and did the RH side to match.


In the first pic you can see the piece of wire I used as a guide to keep the waveguides parallel. This worked really well, as even though the dash looked reasonable level left to right, the right hand side was actually 3/4" higher than the left, and both side taper up in the centre.


They're not as high as I would have liked...going from the gas pedal to the brake pedal is awkward if I'm wearing my work boots as they hit the rear of the waveguide. Again, something that would be no issue if it were a LH drive car, but I'm sure I'll get used to it!

Also got some of the wiring run, although the power cable is proving to be difficult. If this was a LH drive car, it would be simple, but the HVAC case is right behind the firewall grommet, so feeding a big fat 4g cable though isn;t as easy as I had hoped


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

sinister-kustoms said:


> *They're not as high as I would have liked...going from the gas pedal to the brake pedal is awkward if I'm wearing my work boots as they hit the rear of the waveguide. Again, something that would be no issue if it were a LH drive car*, but I'm sure I'll get used to it!
> 
> Also got some of the wiring run, although the power cable is proving to be difficult. If this was a LH drive car, it would be simple, but the HVAC case is right behind the firewall grommet, so feeding a big fat 4g cable though isn;t as easy as I had hoped


My car is LH drive and I had the exact same issue in my car when I had the waveguides in with my foot hitting the horn body, even worse when wearing my work boots. I just ended up taking my boots to work and changing them there. Like where this is going. Love old school builds.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Kelly, you have a right hand drive car too? What is it? 

Jay


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Oops, I made a typo. I fixed it.


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Got the first of the Arts cracked open, cleaned up and new kapton tape and thermal paste installed. I started with the A100. Felt a little bit sad breaking the warranty seal, but it's also pretty cool knowing that the last time this board saw daylight, was on the PPI bench sometime in the mid-90's!



Caps still look okay. All component solder joints look good as well.

Heatsink cleaned and kapton tape laid down
 
Board back in place with fresh thermal paste.


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

Ah I've found ya. Soooo tuned for this.


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Well this is dragging on a bit longer than I had hoped, but I had a couple of weeks off over the Xmas/New Year period, and managed to get a bit more done.
The front doors, rear deck, c-pillars, wheel arches and rear quarters are now fully sound deadened. On the doors I've used Stinger Roadkill, everywhere else is a mix of Dynamat Extreme, Ratmat and unbranded CLD, just leftovers I've had from previous installs. I've used 8mm neoprene CCF over the CLD and stuffed the c-pillars and rear quarters with nylon pillow stuffing as well. It's all made a hell of a difference! 

Doors got 3mm foam PVC to fill the access holes before the CLD/CCF treatments went on.



I made some covers from 3mm foam PVC to seal off where the trunk hinges come up through the rear deck.



Stuffing the c-pillars




Rear quarters/wheel arches


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

You really cladded that on well. All the best with getting the trim back together.
Where did you get the CCF from?


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Recessed the speaker adaptors for more clearance behind the door panels and fitted M4 threaded inserts for mounting the IDQ mids. I added a 45° chamfer to the back of the adapters for a bit more breathing room as well




Got leads soldered to the mids with Deans connectors for easy removal.



Sub baffle is all done now. Two layers of 19mm MDF and one of 12mm for a total thickness of 48mm/2".


Starting on the template for the trim panel


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Kazuhiro said:


> You really cladded that on well. All the best with getting the trim back together.
> Where did you get the CCF from?


I got it off Trademe. Think it was called 8mm sound insulation from memory, was a couple of years ago now. Was about $160 for a roll I think, which was enough to do the roof & doors of my ute, the roof of a mini and this car. It's pretty good stuff for the $$$!


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## speakerpimp (Feb 15, 2012)

I LOVE this build!! Slaying folks in a 1994 Cavalier, that is how it's done!


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

speakerpimp said:


> I LOVE this build!! Slaying folks in a 1994 Cavalier, that is how it's done!


Haha, thanks man!

Slowly getting there. Got the drivers door covered in CCF and mid driver installed


The brains are in now as well. Out with the AC Delco POS and in with DEX-P1 goodness 


Also featuring DJ CDX-P1210 on the 1's and 2's :laugh:


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## Jheitt142 (Dec 7, 2011)

I see those decks pop up on eBay now again and am always intrigued. 

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

I'm loving this build!


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

BP1Fanatic said:


> I'm loving this build!


Thanks man!

Wiring is now all completed. Managed to find the factory firewall grommet in behind the huge airbox and got the 4g cable run through it. The Stinger fuse holder is mounted to the radiator support panel with M6 rivnuts and stainless hardware.






Amp rack is now carpeted and installed for the last time and the factory plastics reinstalled. Getting so close now I can taste it!


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## neuspeedescort (Feb 23, 2010)

this is coming along nicely!


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## a114m4 (Sep 27, 2012)

i thought kapton tape was for heat resistance, not heat transfer...


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## WhereAmEye? (Jun 17, 2013)

I found this build and was super excited to see the the whole thing through to the end but then there wasn't an end..I guess I'll wait..


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

a114m4 said:


> i thought kapton tape was for heat resistance, not heat transfer...


TBH, I'm not up to play on the scientific details of the kapton tape. A good friend of mine does amplifier repair and recommended using it, plus after going through Brett/Darth SQ's PPI build, I see he's using it as well. That can't be a bad thing! 



WhereAmEye? said:


> I found this build and was super excited to see the the whole thing through to the end but then there wasn't an end..I guess I'll wait..


Lol, believe me man, I'm just as disapointed as you are :laugh: I was really hoping to have it done by now, but work & family life is crazy busy so I just haven't had much spare time to work on it. It's soooo close as well!


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Got the other two amps opened up, cleaned and new kapton tape and thermal compound installed.

Found a little issue with the A200 - one of the thermistors had cracked in half. It's weird, it's almost as if it was like this from day one. The thermistor was still fully covered in thermal compound and there's no obvious signs of excessive heat anywhere 







New thermistor installed



Fortunately, the A300 was more straight forward


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Got my XS Power S3400 battery installed. This was in my SPL truck, but figured I'd throw it in the Cavi to keep it cycling over while the truck is off the road. 
I had to remove the factory airbox to fit the monster battery in, and replaced it with just a cheap cone air filter. For $12.50, the induction noise alone was worth it :laugh: It surprisingly made the wheezy little 2.4l quite a bit more responsive as well. WINNING! 
Still need to do the 'Big 3' upgrade, but charging is sitting at 14.73v as it is, so I'm happy! 





Also got the horns and the brackets dampened with some Stinger Roadkill, and a layer of CCF on the underside of the brackets, where they meet the horn mouth to help tame reflections.


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## GEM592 (Jun 19, 2015)

I'm sure you know to be careful putting the back plates back on, they need to press on the devices just so.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

Those PPI's look good!


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

Take your time, can't have you finishing before me haha.


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

GEM592 said:


> I'm sure you know to be careful putting the back plates back on, they need to press on the devices just so.


Yep, got that under control man!



BP1Fanatic said:


> Those PPI's look good!


Thanks!



Kazuhiro said:


> Take your time, can't have you finishing before me haha.


Haha, we'll see  All going to plan, I may actually have some music playing in this thing by the end of the weekend. Need to trim the sub baffle down a fraction - I made it super tight, and now it doesn't quite fit with the factory carpet back in place - so once that's done, it's just carpet, wire in the subs, plug the amps in and we're good to start tuning!


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## PPI_GUY (Dec 20, 2007)

Love this build! Seeing old school gear actually being put to use instead of sitting on display shelves is sooooo awesome!


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## Kazuhiro (Apr 28, 2015)

You win haha, I'll be another month most likely....3d printing and dash fabbing


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Kazuhiro said:


> You win haha, I'll be another month most likely....3d printing and dash fabbing


Well at least yours will look cool!


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

So I got a bit more done this past weekend. Got the sub baffle trimmed to fit with the factory trunk carpet, front is carpeted and installed along with the subs. Still need to make the trim panel and grill to protect the subs. 
I can't figure out how, but the flush mount layer on the baffle must have moved when I was clamping and gluing it, because it's not quite centred around the subs  fortunately the subs still fit. I'll have to make a jig and enlarge/centre the opening slightly.




I've been waiting a long time to see this view! 




Now full of excitement like a 12 year old boy with his first porno mag, I realise I've made another faux pas and cut the sub speaker wires too short. I don't have any spare so will need to order more before I can wire them up.

I decide to carry on and set the amp gains....only to find my test tone disc has a crack in it. When it rains, it pours!!! 

After swearing and cursing for a few minutes, I figure, screw it, I'm playing some music!!! I did some basic x-over settings on the P1, turned all the amp gains down and threw on some David Gilmore.....

Holy ****. Straight out of the box, this is the best sounding system I've ever had....and it's only the mids and horns playing! 
I just sounds so effortless. It seems the 8ohm compression drivers on the A100 and the 2ohm mids on the A200 are a perfect match. I dialled the gain up a tad on the A200, but I don't think it needs to go up much more...I'm already getting vibrations in the seat! I'll get another disc burnt and hopefully set the gains properly tomorrow.


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## High Resolution Audio (Sep 12, 2014)

Nice build. I love the old school components. 

Just read the whole thread. I like how you routered out to make the speaker face flush with the surface of the MDF.

I'm glad that you finally have music. 

I can't wait to see what you think when you get the Subs pumping.....


Keep up the progress.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

Clean install!


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

this is cool.


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## vwtoby (Oct 28, 2005)

love it


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## oabeieo (Feb 22, 2015)

Love the gear....
Only thing I would recommend getting the new ES compression driver 
The early cd1 was a piezo. You'll thank me later


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## SQram (Aug 17, 2007)

oabeieo said:


> Love the gear....
> Only thing I would recommend getting the new ES compression driver
> The early cd1 was a piezo. You'll thank me later


Nope, the early CD1 driver was a Radian 450PB. Have another look at his pictures.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

oabeieo said:


> Love the gear....
> Only thing I would recommend getting the new ES compression driver
> The early cd1 was a piezo. You'll thank me later


Piezoelectric was the cd1e (economical?) iirc


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Yeah, definitely not Piezo drivers. Not that I'm an expert, but there's nothing Piezo-ey about these at all. I still haven't done any serious tuning, but these CD1's sound great! 

I'm still just enjoying the front end as I haven't had time to wire up the subs.
Had a bit of a face palm moment this morning - I finally got around to loading up the CD stacker yesterday. The P1 was recognising that there was discs loaded, but it wouldn't play. Frustrated, I gave up and left it. It wasn't until this morning, just before leaving for work, I was removing the discs that I noticed written on the trays is 'Place CD's label side face down'...I had loaded them with the label side facing up. DOH! At least it was an easy fix. The changer works perfectly! :laugh:


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## Weigel21 (Sep 8, 2014)

Love the build, would like to do similar with my beater, but I don't think I can justify it, not when the car is in as bad of shape as it is. 

Your dash all cracked on your Cavalier? Mine rattles to beat hell with how busted up it is. You do any deadening to the dash area? 

And just how much improvement did stuffing the pillars provide? Seems like a cheap modification that should be simple enough, if it was actually worth it.


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Weigel21 said:


> Love the build, would like to do similar with my beater, but I don't think I can justify it, not when the car is in as bad of shape as it is.
> 
> Your dash all cracked on your Cavalier? Mine rattles to beat hell with how busted up it is. You do any deadening to the dash area?
> 
> And just how much improvement did stuffing the pillars provide? Seems like a cheap modification that should be simple enough, if it was actually worth it.


Thanks man. The panel up by the windshield is a little busted up but the dash itself if good. Haven't done any S/D treatment on the dash thus far, but I'm not getting any rattles either, even when really wailing on the front end 
Still waiting on my wire to get here so I can get the subs playing. Might be a different story after that.

There's definitely a hell of a lot less road noise coming from the back since I did the deadening treatments. I couldn't say how much of that is from the stuffing vs the CLD/CCF as I didn't do a comparison between the stages, but combined, it was well worth doing IMO.


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## Weigel21 (Sep 8, 2014)

I pulled the dash pad off on mine today and looked for some of the broken pieces of the sub-dash that runs along the window, roughly half of mine was broken off and probably 1/4 of that was missing, much of which I found under the dash pad. Used some old PC7 epoxy I had to put much of the dash back together along the windshield. Think I'm going to buy a cheap dash cover to glue onto the area along the windshield and then use Velcro to secure the area over the dash pad. 

While I had the dash pad off, which it still is now, I looked at all the voids under there and thought to myself, wonder if filling much of these will make any improvement. Maybe use some door/window expanding foam or similar to fill some of those voids. IDK, might work out well, might just be a huge mess and cause new problems (LOL). 

I had placed a minimal amount of lower quality CLD tiles in areas under the carpeting and along the firewall, then placed a layer of jute and a layer of MLV from Home Depot, made a noticeable difference, though I'm sure it could have made a larger difference if I had spent a bit more for better products instead. My thought at the time was, I'm not going to spend $200 to polish a turd. Doors have just a few scraps of CLD tiles on them as well, then since there was no plastic barrier on them anymore (previous owner must have removed it), I used flashing tape (free from work) to cover it as a moisture barrier. May have made a slight difference... maybe. 

In my beater, I'm running a set of Alpine SPS-610C's active with an Alpine CDA-117 W/ Imprint and then a single 400RMS 10" Power base sub in a sealed enclosure off a JBL MS-A5001. By no means is the setup a thumping system, but it's more than enough to get things to rattle. Surprisingly those Alpine mids produce a fairly strong mid-bass and the sub is enough to blur the rear view and re-adjust it (not that such really says anything). 

Mine is a 99' RS coupe that was once a rig rocket (oil field workers car), it's had a rough life to say the least. Just resealed the rear window back to the car last weekend as it's been loose ever since I bought the car two years ago, always been afraid to drive it on the highway with the windows down. Just resealing that rear window to the car reduced a fair amount of rattles. Hopefully the dash makes less noise now too. 

Hope you don't get any new rattles once you get those subs thumping.


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

So I have FINALLY got the subs wired up. Spent an hour or so dialling in some settings by ear, x-over points, phase, T/A etc and then ran the P1's Auto-EQ function. HOT DAMN does it sound good! 



Centre image is great. Height and left to right separation could be a little better, but I'm pretty happy with how it so far considering how little tuning it's had. This is my first HLCD install, and I was a little concerned about them being too harsh, but I needn't have worried, there's no screeching there at all. Midbass/midrange is awesome, I was really chasing that sharp attack from the snare and toms, and I'm definitely getting that now. Not quite thump your chest stuff, but they are only 6.5" mids, so I'm not expecting too much more from them. When life slows down a bit, I'll bust out the RTA and get some decent seat time on the tune.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

Nice installation!


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

Non-audio update. I've been looking out for a new set of shoes for the Cavi. Was really after some 17's but some 15x6 Enkei rims came up for next to nothing and I figured 15's still fit the 90's theme of the car/audio so snatched them up. 
Going from 195/70/14 profile tires to 195/50/15 has dropped the car over an inch!  The new asymmetrical rubber seems to be a lot quieter than the old re-treads that came on the car too.

Before




After




Pretty happy with the new look. 17's would have filled the wheel arches out a bit more, but beggars can't be choosers lol. 
I also managed to pick up a full set of lowering springs at a stocktake clearance sale, I just need to find the time to put them in:blush:


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## edouble101 (Dec 9, 2010)

sinister-kustoms said:


> Non-audio update. I've been looking out for a new set of shoes for the Cavi. Was really after some 17's but some 15x6 Enkei rims came up for next to nothing and I figured 15's still fit the 90's theme of the car/audio so snatched them up.
> Going from 195/70/14 profile tires to 195/50/15 has dropped the car over an inch!  The new asymmetrical rubber seems to be a lot quieter than the old re-treads that came on the car too.
> 
> 
> ...


Nice wheels!

Are you aware that the smaller diameter wheels will affect your speedometer reading and gearing ratios?


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

edouble101 said:


> Nice wheels!
> 
> Are you aware that the smaller diameter wheels will affect your speedometer reading and gearing ratios?


Thanks! Yeah, full aware of that man. Actual speed now is approx. 8% less according to the online calculators so roughly 5 mph out. I only use it around town and short trips so not stressing over it.


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## neuspeedescort (Feb 23, 2010)

everything is old school in this build...the audio, 195/50/15's. may as well just cut the springs.


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## sinister-kustoms (Jul 22, 2009)

neuspeedescort said:


> everything is old school in this build...the audio, 195/50/15's. may as well just cut the springs.


Haha, the ride quality is spongy enough as it is, don't really want to make it worse :laugh: I scored a full set of Koni lowered sport springs for $160NZD (just over $100 USD) so hopefully they'll stiffen the right up a touch.


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## Notherner (Apr 23, 2020)

Sweet mother you guys take this stuff seriously don't you? Dang I'm beat before even getting started - I can't stand that factory rubbish speakers any longer though so I gotta do something. 


I have owned 4 Cavies - the one I have now is my baby - 4 door manual (stick shift) that there probably aren't that many of them left on the planet that haven't been sent to crusher. 


It is bizarre to see a right side driver seat - don't think I've seen a Cav like that before.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

I feel you on the factory speakers. I blew the rear deck speakers last year. I'm going to remove them and leave the holes open for 2-8's or a 15.


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## Notherner (Apr 23, 2020)

I have Saturn vue same year and engine basically and their factory speakers are much nicer than the cavalier garbage.


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