# 2018 Toyota Camry Build Log - 3 Way Active



## EvanJohnson1982 (Nov 20, 2014)

First time posting a build log. This was a mix of components I have had sitting around for years and squeezed in during Rona 2020 between house projects.

Fronts:

Image Dynamics CTX25 tweeters in stock JBL A-pillar trim
Infinity Kappa 20MX 2" mids in stock tweeter location in the dash
Focal ISS200 8" drivers in door

Rears
- JL Co-ax 6.5" in rear door

Sub
- Image Dyamics IDQ12v4 in pre-fab box and sealed (for now)

Processing
- JL Twk 88

Amplifiers

JL300/4 x2 for front 3 way active + rear fill
JL500/1 for sub

Head Unit
- Kenwood DMX7705S









Here is my amp rack before I mounted it in the car. This is just a piece of plywood (for now, or maybe forever). It definetly made wiring a whole lot easier. I can't image doing this all up side down on my back in the trunk. It got mounted inverted with a series of riv-nuts into the stock deck sheet metal. I do not have any deck mounted speakers to get in the way.









Radio installed. I am loving the Apple Car Play.









JL DRC-200 installed in an ergonomic location near the shifter and console. I really like not having to reach up to the dash to make sub or master volume adjustments. The steering wheel controls still work but I leave the volume level at 3/4 max and adjust from the DRC.









Stock "non-JBL" vs upgraded stock "JBL" A-pillar trim. I was not able to get a second run of wires into the doors to mount the tweeters in the sail panel trim as I had hoped. So, this was a much simpler installation.









The Image Dynamic 1" tweeters fit nice and snug with a single roll of speaker gasket. I know the silicon looks super messy but that is as good as I could do. I soldered on quick disconnects to the lead (out of the photo).









All doors have CLD, CCF and MLV. I also did MLV on the complete floor, trunk, etc. Initial dB loss at highway speeds (75mph) are showing 66dB -> 62dB. This is also with a iPhone mic and not a calibrated mic, but it def sounds better to my ears at least.









Tons of room behind here. I also only installed a 3" deep double din radio. This made wire routing and radio install super simple, well, except for having to remove the entire dash to get the stock radio out. Aligning the aftermarket trim piece was quite a pain.









Here is a view looking up as steeply as possible. The next photo will show a view as you stand behind the trunk.









Just opening the trunk, this is all that you can see. I wasn't trying to be super stealth, but it seems to work. Also, with the sub taken out (also on a quick connect), I can load long objects, etc without anything blocking the trunk opening.


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## Truthunter (Jun 15, 2015)

Nice build! I'm a fan of hiding the amps under the rear deck


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## ProYoda (Jun 5, 2020)

Nice Toyota build!


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## Granite (Jun 3, 2020)

Dude this is sick - too bad the amp rack will never be seen. Good job.

I’ve got an es350 and was thinking about doing the same thing with my amp rack - maybe even with drawer slides.

How did you end up securing it to the subwoofer deck?


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## SheepishLordofChaos (Aug 14, 2020)

Very clean build sir. What wiring am I seeing on that amp rack? (RCAs)


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## EvanJohnson1982 (Nov 20, 2014)

Granite said:


> Dude this is sick - too bad the amp rack will never be seen. Good job.
> 
> I’ve got an es350 and was thinking about doing the same thing with my amp rack - maybe even with drawer slides.
> 
> How did you end up securing it to the subwoofer deck?


Thanks man! I appreciate the kind words. What I used to secure it to the deck was rivnuts. You can search online for a tool or a video on youtube, but basically you pre-drill a hole, screw the rivnut and clamp it into the sheet metal and you are left with a threaded fastener. You could remove the back seats, trim, cover over the rear deck, etc and just use bolts, but that cover looked quite difficult to remove to me.

I started with a few simple areas which I was sure I could get a fastener into, made a template out of cardboard and drilled those starter holes into the piece of wood and also the deck. Once I got the piece of wood bolted up, I picked out a few more locations, marked them with a pen, bolted it back up again and drilled through the board and the deck. I did this to make sure everything lined up as best as possible. There are also some fasteners under the amps. I didn't want to do this initianlly so I could take it in and out, but it weights a ton with 2 class A amps in there, sub amp, the plywood, etc it ins't really feasible for me to put it in, line it up and bolt it in as an assembly (unforutnately).








There are two cutouts on the "front" for the rear seat releases so you can fold them down. I didn't want to relocate these and made sure the panel wouldn't hit the cables as they are routed back to the seat release.








Here you can see an M5 rivnut, but some locations are actually M8 or M10 for more strength.


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## EvanJohnson1982 (Nov 20, 2014)

SheepishLordofChaos said:


> Very clean build sir. What wiring am I seeing on that amp rack? (RCAs)


I am not sure if you are asking what the wiring is, or what brand of wiring I picked out.

Yes, there are RCAs from the JL TWK 88 processor to each of the amps. I am not actually sure what I picked for those. I would have to go back through my amazon order list, lol. I just made sure they are shielded and the length was what I needed. I didn't have space to tie up extra slack, especially a thicker shielded cable.

The RCAs from the head unit are a KnuKonceptz Krystal and the sub is a JL cable.

The rest of that on the rack is 4 gauge power and ground distribution inside of Techflex. I might have watched too many CarAudioFabrication videos on youtube. The fused distribution block is a JL piece as well. I am running 1/0 gauge from the battery, then 4 gauge power and ground to each amp. The fuse block is also 1/0 to a new chassis ground I made in the deck. I used my meter to make sure I found a low resistance location, etc. 

I hope I answered your question. Let me know if I didn't.


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## SheepishLordofChaos (Aug 14, 2020)

EvanJohnson1982 said:


> I am not sure if you are asking what the wiring is, or what brand of wiring I picked out.
> 
> Yes, there are RCAs from the JL TWK 88 processor to each of the amps. I am not actually sure what I picked for those. I would have to go back through my amazon order list, lol. I just made sure they are shielded and the length was what I needed. I didn't have space to tie up extra slack, especially a thicker shielded cable.
> 
> ...


You certainly answered it, thank you. I'm planning my system and wiring is high on my priority list to get right. I've used Focal in the past and it was phenomenal so I may stay with them but I'm open to learning more


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## EvanJohnson1982 (Nov 20, 2014)

Truthunter said:


> Nice build! I'm a fan of hiding the amps under the rear deck


Thanks for the comment. I happened to notice the Dynaudio MW182 in your signature. Did you put these in the door? I was looking at the Dyn 172s for my 8" in the doors, but the cost kept me from going that route. I was close to buying AF GS690s and staying the stock 6.5" size but found the Focal ISS200 set used on the forum.

Thanks for any feedback.


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## Truthunter (Jun 15, 2015)

EvanJohnson1982 said:


> Thanks for the comment. I happened to notice the Dynaudio MW182 in your signature. Did you put these in the door? I was looking at the Dyn 172s for my 8" in the doors, but the cost kept me from going that route. I was close to buying AF GS690s and staying the stock 6.5" size but found the Focal ISS200 set used on the forum.
> 
> Thanks for any feedback.


Yes, in the doors. I bought them used to keep costs down also 👍


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## EvanJohnson1982 (Nov 20, 2014)

Truthunter said:


> Yes, in the doors. I bought them used to keep costs down also 👍


If you happen to have a photo, I would appreciate it. If not, no worries.


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## Truthunter (Jun 15, 2015)




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## EvanJohnson1982 (Nov 20, 2014)

Thank you very much for the photos. I really appreciate it.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Really nice work on your install, Evan.  Clean, solid, and great use of available space without sacrificing too much cargo area.
👍


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## mfenske (Feb 7, 2006)

This is great! I'm working on a build right now and always forget to take enough photos (so I appreciate the reminder). Looking forward to how this shakes out.


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## loled1 (Dec 20, 2018)

EvanJohnson1982 said:


> Thank you very much for the photos. I really appreciate it.


Hi Evan. 
Can you tell me what is the available mounting depth for the front doors of your Camry is? Are the doors able to accept a 6x9 midbass? Thanks.


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## lithium (Oct 29, 2008)

Damn, didn't know you could fit 8's in a Camry's front door. Jealous!


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## Six God (Jun 27, 2020)

I have a 2019 camry with a 3 way active and we have an eerily similar set up, even my dsp remote is in the same spot. 

The biggest difference here is, I still thought gain was a volume knob on an amp before I did all this. I wish I had the foresight you had doing your install. Overall I've had a shop check my install out, and they were impressed at how good it sounded since it was my first time as well as overcoming factory EQ.


ANYWAYS... I HAVE 2 BIG QUESTIONS

*Have you had any issues with windshield reflections, and at what frequency does it seem to Appear?* 


*why exactly did you go with 8" mid-bass, when your mid-range is 2"? what are you x-over points? how did I decide on them?


Can I see a picture of your headunit?*


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