# 300zx Build Log finally - 56k maybe ok



## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Alright guys, so I have been taking my time building this system up for a while now, constantly changing things and learning/improving/changing things as I go. This car is basically a test mule for me. As I learn new things, they get implemented into the car. I've been into mobile audio (and to a lesser extent pro audio) for a while now, but I really only got "serious" about mobile audio a year ago. So this will show some of my efforts to learn (and giant mistakes that I have made while learning). My goal for this install is to keep everything as cheap as possible, while getting the best sound I could out of what I had. Please feel free to comment if you see something I did that was stupid/less than optimal. Either I didn't know it was stupid at the time (and haven't had time to change it), or I don't know it was stupid. We will learn together  

I am going to go through the front-stage, then the wiring and amps, and then the sub, which is roughing the order things were installed in. 

To start things off, here is the car. 94 Nissan 300ZX 2+2. Aftermarket suspension and exhaust, which means it handles great and is WAY too loud. The exhaust got done when I had money and a lift, and I didn't think I'd tire so quickly of a loud daily driver. Oh well... 









Here is the original Bose enclosure, with the Bose driver in it. Standard 4.5" speaker that they put it all the cars of that vintage, as well as the 901 setup. Sounded pretty good when they worked, but alas, they did not work for very long. So out they went. 









Decided to stick with that enclosure and see what I could do with it, rather than go flat-baffle or something else. There is ZERO room for kicks in this car, so that wasn't really an option. The doors are fairly car forward for a door, so it isn't TOO bad. 

I went with some JBL GTO 4" in the enclosures for a while, which sounded ok. But I figured I could do better with raw drivers, so away I went. 

Settled on an Aura NS4 (http://www.madisound.com/catalog/PDF/ns4-255-4f.pdf) 4" woofer and Aura 3/4" titanium dome tweeter (Aurasound NT1-204-8D 3/4" Titanium Dome Tweeter from Madisound). Had to make an MDF baffle to get the woofer enough rear clearance, as well as get it a decent surface to mate with, rather than the stupid Bose triangular nonsense. 









Here is a picture of the chamfered baffle from behind. That thing needs room to breathe. You can also see here that the tweeter is basically pressed in with clay for sealing. It looks sloppy, but the second one went much smoother. Turns out a speed-bore through waffled ABS does not make for the smoothest cuts...









This is everything installed in my door. Wiring is 16ga Dayton wire from Parts Express, terminated by Anderson PowerPoles, run through the factory door loom and wrapped in Techflex for the whole run. I tried Molex quick-disconnects, and they sounded like crap and didn't seem that well-connected anyway.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Subscribed.


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## redgst97 (Mar 12, 2008)

I like what you have so far.....


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Oh crap. BTW, for the 3 of you that actually drive z32's, yes I know my wheels are on backwards in that picture, and I'm sorry. Discount Tire doesn't listen to me even when I write on the tires. They were re-mounted correctly shortly after that picture was taken, I promise


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Some links to previous install questions and related threads: 
This is the thread talking mostly about the selection of drivers for my front stage: 
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum.../32423-newbie-starting-road-mobile-audio.html 

This is the thread where I won a free subwoofer enclosure design from member TJ Mobile Audio, and then took way too long to build it b/c I am slow: 
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/classifieds/65925-ill-design-enclosure-free-4.html#post863604 

More pictures are on the way, I just have to track down all my SD cards. Stay tuned.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Found my SD cards, and made some more progress on the sub box. Time for more pics. 

First up we have shots of the speaker and RCA wiring run across the passenger side below the glove box (behind a trim panel). Speaker wiring is Dayton 16ga throughout and run through techflex, and the RCA (for the front stage) is Knukonceptz Krystal Cable 4-channel 6-meter. 









Here we see the signal wire (front channel speaker and RCA) running down the passenger side door sill, zip-tied periodically: 









Here we see how I ran the same wiring through the back corner (that is covered by a large panel). That is actually slightly outboard of the back passenger-side seat. 









After going through a few sets of amps, I settled on these, mainly due to the acquisition of a Clarion 785USB head unit and the power requirements of the Dayton 10HO sub. Here is the temp setup to run everything. Amps are Alpine MRV-F345 4-channel and MRD-M605 courtesy of JAX. The power wiring is 4-gauge Stinger (I believe) courtesy of the install from a local shop. RCAs for the sub are run along the driver side with the power wire, but I haven't noticed any noise issues.: 









The box is actually a Q-Logic truck box I had laying around, and I just threw the driver in it. 0.66 cubic foot sealed, not counting driver displacement. Sounded ok, but lacking output (especially with the lack of power I had at the time). So I cut a big hole in the side, put a 3"ID port through there and some bends, seal the hole with judicious use of Liquid Nail, and bam, you have yourself a ported Dayton 10HO. Huge difference. Originally started tuned to about 33Hz, but there was a huge peak at about 50Hz that I had to EQ out. I just recently added a longer section of pipe in there, and it flattened things out a little bit. Inspiration for that came from Chad's Dayton test box, which I believe can be seen here: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-build-logs/23845-2007-my-civic-si.html#post258325


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

So onto the sub build. This was actually the most challenging part of the build for me, as I did not have the proper equipment to work with wood. My garage is set up to deal with mechanics, so making precise angled cuts was not an easy task. I borrowed a newer Craftsman compound miter (which I was not happy with throughout the project) and bought myself the nicest Dewalt circular saw I could get my hands on on short notice. Equipped with a rip guide, quick grips, and my trusty brand new saw, I made all my cuts. 
You can roughly see my cutting process here: 









Here is a shot of one of the ripped cuts made by the Dewalt and a 24-tooth blade. Very nice. 









Now a lesson to all those newbs out there like me, that get in a hurry. Measure, then cut, then TEST FIT, and then and only then should you continue cutting pieces. Exhibit A and B: 

















Before I started fastening, I finally had the foresight to try a test-fit in the trunk. It didn't fit. Long story short, it was my fault for not dimensioning the trunk space correctly when I first gave them to Tyler (TJ Mobile Audio). I think only about 6 of those pieces were able to be re-used in the new enclosure, the rest had to be re-dimensioned and cut from new wood. That set me back about a month behind schedule. It's a mistake I will not make again. 

More pictures to follow tomorrow as I get them uploaded.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Is this for the Dayton?

Jay


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> Is this for the Dayton?
> 
> Jay


Yep. I don't have it mounted in the enclosure yet (my mid-week is packed and I'm going to coat the whole thing in bedliner first) but pictures are forthcoming. I have about half of them on Photobucket right now, but I can't get to that site from work  The Dayton sounds great in it's test enclosure, and with this new box I am adding volume and tuning a little bit lower, so we'll see how it does. Should have even _more _low-end, while still covering the top-end well enough to blend with my mids.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

The sub build. My goal with this was to get everything below a false-floor in the hatch, while still retaining access to my spare tire and tools. The floor being raised is a worth-while trade for the un-usage mess that I have right now. I won TJ Mobile Audio's enclosure design, and he provided me with these drawings as Google Sketchup files. (original thread can be found here: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/classifieds/65925-ill-design-enclosure-free-4.html#post863604) 
























Original idea was 0.72 CF, tuned to 28 Hz for the Dayton 10HO 

The design was great, and once I build it, failed, remeasured, and then re-built it, it turned out great.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Here are some shots of the box before mounting the two top plates: 




























Neutrik Speak-On 2-pole connector, with Acoustic Research 12ga cable and spade connectors, soldered to the back and heat-shrinked. There is closed-cell foam around it, although it's a press fit and fits almost perfectly. If it leaks, I will pull it all out and silicone it.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Nice. I like it. The link to the "I'll design a box for free" thread reminded me about Sketchup...I might try that for designing my box...

Jay


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Looking good! Do you still plan on doubling the floor to make room for that grommet and wire we originally had to work around?


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

TJ Mobile Audio said:


> Looking good! Do you still plan on doubling the floor to make room for that grommet and wire we originally had to work around?


Nope. The more I thought about it, and the more I poked at things, I decided on a different work around instead. Through the process of building the first iteration of the box (the one that didn't fit because I'm impetuous) I gained a more full understanding of how freaking heavy that whole box is. So I started to try to reduce weight while keeping internal volume as high as possible. Upon further inspection, the wiring there is only 3 (or 4, I didn't check that closely) wires, wrapped inside an over-sized loom. So what I did is remove it from the loom, wrapped it in more electrical tape, laid foam on either side of it, taped it down more to protect it, and then will be covering it in more foam. This way it will only be taking up about 3/16", rather than the 5/8" it was taking up in the loom, or the 3/4" it would have taken to compensate for it with MDF. I essentially only raised my enclosure up about 3/16", but got all that internal space, not to mention less weight and not having to cut a rather complex part. I will have pictures of the final outcome of that process, but I don't have intermediate steps. 

I bought bedliner today, and found my egg-crate foam, so those will be going on hopefully tomorrow at some point.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Pic of the wiring run and stapled down: 









So here are some pictures with the top on the box finally. You can't see it, but the inside edge of the port is radiused, courtesy of my on-its-last-leg Dremel multitool. 


















Picture of the weak attempt at a sealing job using gasket tape (closed cell foam) for sealing the sub. I will re-do it right before I put the sub in. If it doesn't seal, I will re-think my approach, but right now I'm pretty confident. 









Picture of the enclosure settled into the car. Fits right in place, and is removed via one motion. It has to come out a certain way (direction), but it comes out properly every time. It is just heavy, and will be even heavier with that huge Dayton 10HO in it. It will be getting handles at some point. 









Picture of what I call my "happy place", which is the location where I thought I was only going to be able to fit the sub amp, but instead it looks like I might be able to fit BOTH amps and distribution blocks, to keep everything under the floor. If I can have the trunk completely clean and stock looking (other than the elevated floor) I will be ecstatic.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

How is that seam held together?


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

TJ Mobile Audio said:


> How is that seam held together?


Seam is held together via Liquid Nail and a butt joint. I don't have a router table, so I didn't see a better method of attaching them together. I think there will be minimal flex in that panel b/c of the shape, and the underlying sub mounting plate (which is also fixed to the side of the box along 3 of it's sides). So, I'm hoping that will not cause me any trouble. If it does, I will have to re-think my approach. At that point it might all get made out of one piece.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

94VG30DE said:


> Seam is held together via Liquid Nail and a butt joint. I don't have a router table, so I didn't see a better method of attaching them together. I think there will be minimal flex in that panel b/c of the shape, and the underlying sub mounting plate (which is also fixed to the side of the box along 3 of it's sides). So, I'm hoping that will not cause me any trouble. If it does, I will have to re-think my approach. At that point it might all get made out of one piece.


I understand now why you were worried about letting the caulk set up adequately. You're braver than me! I also hope it won't allow too much flexing. I tend to go a bit overkill with structural bracing in my designs, so maybe it will still be okay.

I would have suggested dowels in the joint, then wood glue and clamps rather than liquid nails, but it's a bit late for that suggestion. If you're still worried about rigidity, it wouldn't be too late to drill two or three holes vertically about 1" from the joint in both the baffle and bottom plate. You would space them out, or course. Then, insert some sturdy dowels, or better yet, all-threaded bolts. You don't want to squeeze the box, you just want to restrict flexing in both directions, so you would tighten nuts from the inside and outside just to brace the baffle to the back of the box. You'd also want some type of locking washer and get the bolts tight so they won't come loose under vibration.

Just a thought, but as I said, I tend to go overkill.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Hmmm. I just realized I should probably put the final dimensions of the floor piece on here in case any of the Z32 owners want to know what will fit. I need to draw those up...


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Any progress over the weekend?


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Made a little progress over the weekend. Got the top and bottom covered in bedliner, got the eggcrate foam fastened to the bottom, and got it in the hatch. Things don't quite set right b/c of how I arranged the foam I think, so I am going to have to revisit that. Sub sound pretty good so far, but I've only had about 5 min of listening time (while on the road) to check it out. Worked last night on test-fit for the amps, and it looks like I might have to do something really thin for the base of the amp rack (think 3/8" HDPE) to get the clearance I need. That's money I didn't plan on spending, but here we are. 

At any rate, pics are on my phone, and will hopefully get uploaded tonight.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Anybody ever use a sheet of UHMW for anything? Looks like I might be able to get a sheet from work for free, and I need something fairly thin to use for the base of an amp rack. I was thinking 3/8" thick HDPE, but IME UHMW is pretty cool, it just seems like it might be a little bit too flexible for an amp rack if I get it in the 3/8" thickness I am looking for. Thoughts?


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## pirrimarin (Jul 22, 2009)

I like the concept for your sub enclosure.

Z32's are so awesome!
I keep saying that I will someday own one


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## Fenriz84 (Jul 22, 2008)

I love that sub box...


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

94VG30DE said:


> Anybody ever use a sheet of UHMW for anything? Looks like I might be able to get a sheet from work for free, and I need something fairly thin to use for the base of an amp rack. I was thinking 3/8" thick HDPE, but IME UHMW is pretty cool, it just seems like it might be a little bit too flexible for an amp rack if I get it in the 3/8" thickness I am looking for. Thoughts?


EDIT: Never mind. I re-measured everything tonight, and mocked up everything properly in the trunk, and now the amp rack is allowed to be thick enough to use 3/4" MDF. The sub box was at a slight angle due to the placement of the foam and shape of the floor. Once that was remedied, I had JUST enough clearance. More on that later. Back to where I was last time...


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

I apologize in advance for the quality of some of the pictures. I didn't have the camera out, so my phone did most of these. It does really well for a camera-phone (Nokia E71x), but not great compared to a camera in low-light, even with the flash. Onto the good stuff...

I mentioned the fuel pump wiring earlier as a problem, and said I found a solution. This is part of my solution: 









I pulled the wires out of the plastic split-loom, flattened them out, taped them back up with electrical tape, and then laid CCF on both sides of the wiring (to support a little bit of the load), and then taped over EVERYTHING with black duct tape. 

Here is the layout of the eggcrate foam I had laying around, that went on the underside of the box. This is mostly to help it from getting scraped up on the uneven floor, as well as decouple a little (maybe). There is a spot open for the fuel pump wiring to run, so that is how I'm keeping it safe. Foam from all directions but mostly I think it is seeing empty air. 









This is the top of the finished box. Coating is Rustoleum (I think) spray bedliner from a can, sourced from my local NAPA. 

















Box in hatch: 









Shot of Neutrik connector in back, next to the ABS routing: 









This is what the back looks like with the factory carpet in place. You can see the floor is raise about 3". This is just with the carpet tossed in place, it will be more carefully fitted when I get everything set:


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Onto the amp rack. I got lucky and had enough space for both amps under the false floor, so I am getting creative here to fit everything. Designing as I go along. I think so far it is going well. 

My chosen method for quick mock-up: cardboard, packaging tape, and my box knife produces this in roughly 3 min: 









Amps in place to check fitment, after seeing how it looked on the bench. Looks like I am going to get away with it  









Piece cut out of MDF using cardboard as a template and straightening things out from there:

















It fit in the spot and sits on top of the factory raised edge, so that is cool. Gives just a little bit of space between the OEM jack and tools underneath. Seems to go nicely. 

Making raised walls for the box so that the eventual beauty panel(s) will have something to sit on without scratching my pretty amps. There is literally about 1/16 to 1/8" clearance over the top of the amps. I got lucky again I think (or TJ Mobile Audio can see the _future_).









That's all for right now. If some sort of miracle happens the amps might get mounted into that rack and loosely wired for the time being until I get some more parts in, but more than likely it will sit for a week until I get back from CA. I might still be online, but will be about 2100 miles from my garage and any sort of measurable progress. My housemates are staying home to guard my equipment.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Hey look, you've got Idaho in your trunk! I'm not sure what state the sub box resembles, perhaps an upside-down Montana. But hey, you're going to have some usable trunk space!


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Yeah, it most closely resembles Idaho. 
Nice progress...are you going to leave ghe port bare MDF or paint it?

Jay


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

I believe the sub box is a sideways Texas digesting Oklahoma. Or something of that nature... 

Not 100% sure on how to finish the port yet, but I am leaning towards black grill cloth or acoustically transparent carpet over a wire mesh, to keep stuff out of there. Painting the port would be difficult for me to get a uniform finish on it, and I would want to do it with black paint rather than bedliner, which I'm not sure I have. It needs a grill anyway, so as of right now I'm leaning towards the "two birds with one carpet" approach.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

94VG30DE said:


> ...Making raised walls for the box so that the eventual beauty panel(s) will have something to sit on without scratching my pretty amps. There is literally about 1/16 to 1/8" clearance over the top of the amps. I got lucky again I think (or TJ Mobile Audio can see the _future_)....
> 
> That's all for right now. If some sort of miracle happens the amps might get mounted into that rack and loosely wired for the time being until I get some more parts in, but more than likely it will sit for a week until I get back from CA. I might still be online, but will be about 2100 miles from my garage and any sort of measurable progress. My housemates are staying home to guard my equipment.


Yup, I can see the future, and this is going to turn out to be a sweet setup. I'm excited for some updates whenever you get back from Cali.


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## MTopper (Nov 4, 2009)

Great looking sub box.. really impressive. Can't wait to see the finished product


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## kdxrider200 (Feb 1, 2010)

that is looking really good man. u did an impressive job. i hope you measured twice and cut once. lol


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

Looking good.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

kdxrider200 said:


> that is looking really good man. u did an impressive job. i hope you measured twice and cut once. lol


haha With most of this project I feel like I measured 5 times and cut twice. Haha see the post above about the 'first' box I built


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## w8lifter21 (Jun 12, 2009)

Subscribed. Looking for ideas for my '91 TT


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

w8lifter21 said:


> Subscribed. Looking for ideas for my '91 TT


Does the '91 have the same trunk layout as the '94?


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## w8lifter21 (Jun 12, 2009)

Sure is. Only difference is on the 2+2(back "seat") version.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

TJ Mobile Audio said:


> Does the '91 have the same trunk layout as the '94?


Yeah, the years don't have any significant shape differences. In fact, I'm not certain that the actual hatch area is different from the coupe to the 2+2. I took John's measurements from his coupe, and they seemed to line up with my measurements from the 2+2. When I get to my other computer, I will post up the dimensions for my main panel layout, and you can compare them to your hatch for educational purposes. 

Today's progress: 

Put carpet on the amp panel. Used 3M Super 77 spray adhesive, which I like a lot better than Elmer multipurpose spray at this point. 










As it turns out, the PartsExpress un-backed black carpet worked great for this because I was able to stretch the carpet into the contours, rather than having to do relief cuts everywhere. This made my life a LOT easier, and made it so there are actually no seams on the top side of the rack. I only had to do relief cuts in the back. 










Finished: 










Amps mounted and power wiring ran. Wire is PartsExpress 4ga wire and Anderson breakaway power connector, which is fastened to the amp rack: 










This one shows the Dayton speaker wire I used as my remote wire, then tied together at the end in a Anderson PowerPole - 









Tomorrow I will be doing the car-side of the harness to wire in a Monster switched circuit breaker and the other Anderson quick-disconnects (for power and remote). I'm making a Parts Express order right now to get the Neutrik connectors coming for the speaker wire, and then I have to figure out the cleanest way to set everything up on the vehicle side. I'm trying to figure out a docking station of some sort, rather than a bunch of loose wiring, but it might end up being loose wiring anyway.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I use Powerpoles on my RC cars.  The come apart much easier than Deans connectors...which, incidentally, I *am* using for my speaker connections up front 

I ordered PE's "Jet Black Trunkliner" to do my Dayton Box, and it's essentially the same unbacked black carpet we have at work (which I could have gotten for free, probably). 

Looking like I will be assembling my box tomorrow...got everything cut, and everything that needs to be routered, um, routered...
I'd have started tonight, but I left my glue in the garage (so it's kinda thick) and found out one of my clamps was broken, so I need to see if I can exchange it tomorrow.

Jay


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

OP, 
FINE, car! I'm diggin the stealth/false it sure does fit in. Makes it look as if you have all the orig hatch space! VERY COOL!




JayinMI said:


> I'd have started tonight, but I left my glue in the garage (so it's kinda thick) and found out one of my clamps was broken, so I need to see if I can exchange it tomorrow.
> 
> Jay



A little tip I learned while using fiberglass in winter. You can
fill your kitchen sink in hot water. Drop in the can of what 
your trying to use but cant due to it going thick in winter.
Glue, resin, paint, yadda yadda. Just fill the sink up to 3/4
up the side of what your wanting to warm. NOTE: doing 
this with resin will cause your pot life to shorten, you still
use a proper amount of hardener.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> I use Powerpoles on my RC cars.  The come apart much easier than Deans connectors...which, incidentally, I *am* using for my speaker connections up front
> 
> I ordered PE's "Jet Black Trunkliner" to do my Dayton Box, and it's essentially the same unbacked black carpet we have at work (which I could have gotten for free, probably).
> 
> ...


Yeah I had some PowerPoles laying around. Since space isn't as much of a concern on this build, I elected to use a pair of SpeakOn connectors for the speaker wire. Way easier to disconnect, and much cleaner looking in my opinion. 

I saw your pile of cut wood, and remembered my feelings when I saw mine. It's exciting  Looking forward to progress for both of our vehicles hahaha


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> OP,
> FINE, car! I'm diggin the stealth/false it sure does fit in. Makes it look as if you have all the orig hatch space! VERY COOL!


Thanks for the kind words. When all is said and done I think I will have lost about 3 vertical inches of space in the hatch area, but that is still MUCH better than what I had before, and is much cleaner looking hopefully. The space is now much more useful, and my t-tops actually fit again


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> OP,
> FINE, car! I'm diggin the stealth/false it sure does fit in. Makes it look as if you have all the orig hatch space! VERY COOL!
> 
> 
> ...


Yep. I learned that trick a long time ago...but for spray paint.I just brought my glue inside, and I'll be at Harbor Freight to get a new clamp as soon as they open 

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

94VG30DE said:


> Yeah I had some PowerPoles laying around. Since space isn't as much of a concern on this build, I elected to use a pair of SpeakOn connectors for the speaker wire. Way easier to disconnect, and much cleaner looking in my opinion.
> 
> I saw your pile of cut wood, and remembered my feelings when I saw mine. It's exciting  Looking forward to progress for both of our vehicles hahaha


Hmmm...I'm still tring to decide how I'm going to run the wire into the box. I bought some PE Satin silver speaker terminals, but I'd have to put them on the fron of the box, and I don't want to, so I'll probably router a channelon the bottom ot the box and run in from underneath.

Maybe someday when both cars are done we can meet up. I'd like to hear your setup sometime.

Jay


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> Hmmm...I'm still tring to decide how I'm going to run the wire into the box. I bought some PE Satin silver speaker terminals, but I'd have to put them on the fron of the box, and I don't want to, so I'll probably router a channelon the bottom ot the box and run in from underneath.
> 
> Maybe someday when both cars are done we can meet up. I'd like to hear your setup sometime.
> 
> Jay


See my reply in your thread: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...dai-genesis-coupe-build-log-6.html#post954984 

And yeah that would be cool to meet up and demo the cars. You can tell me _exactly_ how bad my tuning is :laugh:. 

Once I get this all setup I'm going to do a new tune as see how things sound. Then I'm probably going to tear back into my front stage. I have these on the way right now, so I am looking to try some stuff out (as inspired by PB here).


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Today I got the power wiring done in the back, which included my breaker and the other Anderson breakaway connector. The wiring is a little bit un-even length right now because my extra wiring is under my rear seat, which is covered in 200lbs of sand right now. So I'll tear into that in a couple months when it gets warmer, and clean everything up at that point. 

Here's a pic of my connections for the breaker and connector, Everything crimped, soldered, and heat-shrink'd: 









Pic of the sleeve I made to keep the connections safe without having to build an entire enclosure for the switch. Yes that is random 1" ID reinforced tubing I had laying around in my garage: 









Here's a pic of the connections under the slit: 









And here is a pic of the PVC end sleeves that also came from pieces I had laying around the garage. It fits the tubing perfectly, and the ID was actually already textured (for extra grip) from a previous project. Score: 









The whole thing fits very well, took me 3 minutes to build, completely protects the connectors from stray contact, and was free in my garage. I think I'm calling that a win. 

Here's everything as it sits right now. I am waiting on the SpeakOn connectors to connect the front stage, so I'm leaving everything messy right now. 









And this is what the hatch looks like right now with everything under it: 












Not bad I think. I still need to build the grills for the sub and port, and put them into the final beauty panel that I build, but I'm not sure what I'm making that out of. Leftover 7/16" OSB anyone?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Nice. I like it. I hope when you say your back seat is "covered in 200 lbs of sand," that it's still in bags  It's not like anyone could ride back there anyway 



Jay


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## w8lifter21 (Jun 12, 2009)

Concerned about heat build up with the carpet over the amps?


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> Nice. I like it. I hope when you say your back seat is "covered in 200 lbs of sand," that it's still in bags  It's not like anyone could ride back there anyway
> Jay


Haha yeah, _most _of it is still in 4 separate bags. I thought about making a fiberglass tub for it so that it made less of a mess, but if I'm honest the interior isn't that nice anyway. Too many years of it being my only vehicle... 

And to answer w8lifter21 (my multiquote hasn't been working for a while now, don't know why) I'm a little tentative about heat buildup, but mostly on the sub amp. The 4-channel is barely breaking a sweat with my tiny frontstage, but the mono is working it's butt off. I am trying to find out "how high temp is too high temp" right now, and if I start seeing temps above that on the amps, I will look at active ventilation. I deliberately didn't close in all sides of the amp rack though, so that it has airspace to play in. We'll see how it does.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

94VG30DE said:


> ...my multiquote hasn't been working for a while now, don't know why...


Oh, that's what ' "+ ' means...I didn't even know that was an option. Learn something new every day.

Jay


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

Yeah, my multi-quote seems to be broken too, it has been for like a week. Bizarre.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Ok, so I have a little piece cut to hold the Speakon jacks to the amp rack, but I'd like to cover it in carpet too. Does anyone have an easy way to make a 7/8" circular hole in this carpet without it looking like crap? The carpet stretches pretty easily, so I can't drill it. It's a pain to cut with a box knife. Scissors work, but I don't have a pair of scissors small enough that will but a 7/8" hole accurately. Thoughts?


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

The boring way: try an x-acto knife with a brand new blade. You could press down the carpet with a 7/8" dowel or similar, and trace the edge of the dowel with the knife.

The fun way: heat a 7/8" metal rod until it's red-hot and use that to fuse through the carpet.  I'd try that first on a scrap, though.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

TJ Mobile Audio said:


> The boring way: try an x-acto knife with a brand new blade. You could press down the carpet with a 7/8" dowel or similar, and trace the edge of the dowel with the knife.
> 
> The fun way: heat a 7/8" metal rod until it's red-hot and use that to fuse through the carpet.  I'd try that first on a scrap, though.


Yeah I thought about the xacto-knife method, but I'd have to find mine. 

I don't have any metal rod that big, but I definitely thought about that method. I thought about using the soldering iron, but that would take longer than the xacto method and probably still not be any cleaner. 

I wonder if I clamp a 3/8" drive socket that is the correct size to the felt, and then heat the socket, if I can get it to melt the carpet like a cookie-cutter. That would be sweet. I promise to take pics if I try it


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## ReloadedSS (Aug 26, 2008)

Great install, love those cars. I did an install way back when with a friend in his Fairlady, and wondered about this as well:



w8lifter21 said:


> Concerned about heat build up with the carpet over the amps?


We had a pair of Alpine amps under a carpeted board with the sub mounted on a baffle over them, all in the hatch area. The amps would get hot to the point where you couldn't touch them. We cut holes in the board to vent air on each side of the amps, with no big change. Now, this was a number of years ago, so presumably the amps you are using are more heat-efficient, but I'm still curious.

FYI, this was in California, so temps were in the 80s/90s.


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## CA4944 (May 2, 2009)

Regarding the carpet hole question: could you take a short section of copper pipe, sharpen the edge all the way around and then hit it with a hammer over where you wanted the hole to be? Otherwise, you could always cheat and use an eyelet or grommet to keep a nice edge after cutting the hole with nail scissors.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

CA4944 said:


> Regarding the carpet hole question: could you take a short section of copper pipe, sharpen the edge all the way around and then hit it with a hammer over where you wanted the hole to be? Otherwise, you could always cheat and use an eyelet or grommet to keep a nice edge after cutting the hole with nail scissors.


I don't have any copper laying around I don't think, but that is a fantastic idea. I thought about sharpening a socket, but not sure how well that would work. Unfortunately b/c of my lazy design, I don't have much room for a grommet. It probably wouldn't look much better than a rough hole. 

I like ideas with melting though b/c it will produce a clean edge (like a hotknife through techflex) but I might use a combination of ideas to get that achieved. 

And yeah I'm a little bit worried about heat, but not for the next 6 months haha. It's 29 degF right now.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

What about a piece of conduit? It would have a thin wall, so it might cut easily. Oh, and it's cheap.

Jay


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

yeah I might hit the hardware store real quick and grab a small piece of conduit. I only have plastic stuff laying around the garage, no metal scraps. So anything metal I have to buy, which makes me not want to use it. 

Sorry about the slow updates guys, the girl's car ruptured a brake line and she put it into a snowbank. So I have to get that thing back on the road before I have any spare time to do stereo stuff.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

94VG30DE said:


> yeah I might hit the hardware store real quick and grab a small piece of conduit. I only have plastic stuff laying around the garage, no metal scraps. So anything metal I have to buy, which makes me not want to use it.
> 
> Sorry about the slow updates guys, the girl's car ruptured a brake line and she put it into a snowbank. So I have to get that thing back on the road before I have any spare time to do stereo stuff.


Why would you put a ruptured brake line in the snow bank? Oh, sorry, the car. I suppose there are worse places you could put it, though.


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

94VG30DE said:


> Sorry about the slow updates guys, the girl's car ruptured a brake line and she put it into a snowbank. So I have to get that thing back on the road before I have any spare time to do stereo stuff.



WOW, sorry to hear//read about the accident. I hope everyone
is ok and you have your ride back on the road in short order....


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

If I'm using holesaws on carpeted timber, I normally run the holesaw in reverse till it breaks through the carpet so it doesn't catch, then forwards to cut the hole.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Yeah, the girl was alright. She had actually just gotten back from about 40 miles of interstate driving, and then parked it in the garage. When she pulled out of the garage to leave again, she had no brakes and hit the pile of snow across the street at the end of her driveway. No injuries obviously, and it is the best possible way to have a brake line fail, but it is still a wrench in my schedule... 




Big_Valven said:


> If I'm using holesaws on carpeted timber, I normally run the holesaw in reverse till it breaks through the carpet so it doesn't catch, then forwards to cut the hole.


Big, you are an absolute genius. If I would have thought of that about 4 days ago, this would have gone completely different  

Instead, I got the holes cut in the carpet using a silly method, and it ended up stretching the carpet a little too much. During this procedure I realized that the surface-to-void ratio on that little piece is way too small to actually be able to properly mount carpet to it. It might have worked if I carpeted it beforehand and then used a hole saw like Big mentioned, but I guess that is for next time. So, I got all pissed off, tore off all my masking, and then saw the can of spray bedliner sitting right there on the table. So I said "screw it", masked everything back up, and sprayed it with bedliner. Pics coming later today.


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## ReloadedSS (Aug 26, 2008)

94VG30DE said:


> Yeah, the girl was alright. She had actually just gotten back from about 40 miles of interstate driving, and then parked it in the garage. When she pulled out of the garage to leave again, she had no brakes and hit the pile of snow across the street at the end of her driveway. No injuries obviously, and it is the best possible way to have a brake line fail, but it is still a wrench in my schedule...
> 
> Big, you are an absolute genius. If I would have thought of that about 4 days ago, this would have gone completely different
> 
> Instead, I got the holes cut in the carpet using a silly method, and it ended up stretching the carpet a little too much. During this procedure I realized that the surface-to-void ratio on that little piece is way too small to actually be able to properly mount carpet to it. It might have worked if I carpeted it beforehand and then used a hole saw like Big mentioned, but I guess that is for next time. So, I got all pissed off, tore off all my masking, and then saw the can of spray bedliner sitting right there on the table. So I said "screw it", masked everything back up, and sprayed it with bedliner. Pics coming later today.


Glad to hear she's okay - it's a pretty good outcome considering she had no brakes. Must have been a briefly shocking experience, though.

And Big, that is great advice. I'll file that away for use in the future.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

The only issue I had with Big Valven's advice (which I've been doing for a long time anyway) is that it sometimes stretches the carpet and leaves an ugly edge...and sometimes, if the glue isn't great it twists the carpet up.

Just gotta be careful.

Jay


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Girl's car is back together, no one died, I'm happy to be done with that car for this week. For those interested, this is what did its best to make my weekend crappy: 









Onto progress. I devised a method for cutting the little carpet trim piece that goes over the Speakon connection, and as usual I used things I had laying within arms reach. Yes, that _is_ a banjo bolt from a scrapped 14B turbo. Thanks for asking. 









Then I masked the area, sprayed my glue, and tried to put the piece on. Turns out that even though I had it clamped and was cutting with a brand-new box knife blade, the carpet still stretched enough to be unusable. There was not enough surface area on the sides anyway to decently hold the carpet. So then I got all pissed off and yelled a lot, and I don't have any pictures of that process. 

Decided that rather than trying to cut a new piece of carpet and fit it nice, and then have to cut that piece too and maybe have the whole thing still not stay in place anyway, I say "screw it" and took the 15 seconds to spray bedliner on the piece and call it good. Since there was already drying glue on it, I took a scrap piece of the carpet and rubbed it around a little so that there would be a little bit of carpet-texture on the piece. Here is the result of that: 








That is by car that sloppiest thing I have done throughout this build, and I'm not happy about it, but oh well. It's job isn't that complicated, and it is now done and unobtrusive. It actually blends in a lot better in the car, it just picks up the flash on my camera better than the carpet does. 

Here's a closeup of it in action with the wiring actually run and connectors on. Connectors are this and this, with the Dayton wiring wrapped in techflex: 










Here's everything as it sits right now: 










It's kind of a tangled mess of wires, and once I stop changing stuff I will go back and clean it up and tie it down at least. Unfortunately to be effective at "quick removal" the RCAs need to stay loose, which will always and forever make it look kind of sloppy. 

It sounded like crap when I first powered it up (not sure why) but with resetting everything and re-tuning a little bit, it actually sounds pretty good right now. Sub has tons of output (had to turn it down actually), and switching the phase on my tweeters put everything in focus. Got a fair amount of clarity, and I toned them down (which the 785USB makes it super easy to do) to level match them to the mids. After a couple days of listening I will start working on the 2" widebanders as tweeters, and see what I can do with those. 

I haven't spent any time driving it yet, just idling in the driveway, so I'm not exactly sure how it fares under load. My exhaust makes the sub work a LOT harder though. Everything sounds a lot better with the car KOEO hahaha.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

KOEO=Key on, Engine off?

Jay


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> KOEO=Key on, Engine off?
> 
> Jay


Correct. Sorry when I'm trying to do too many things at once I slip into acronyms.


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## [email protected] (Feb 9, 2010)

How's it comming?


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## budahbuddy803 (Oct 21, 2008)

I would spend more time on the wiring. It's easy and not that time consuming to clean up that "rat's nest" of wires. Cutting holes in the mdf in front of the amp connections and running wires under the amp rack makes things look a LOT better!

im sort of a neat freak.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

budahbuddy803 said:


> I would spend more time on the wiring. It's easy and not that time consuming to clean up that "rat's nest" of wires. Cutting holes in the mdf in front of the amp connections and running wires under the amp rack makes things look a LOT better!
> 
> im sort of a neat freak.


Wait, who's going to even see it?

Did you not read why he did it that way? How would you suggest wiring it with his objectives in mind, that everything be quickly removable for access to the spare & tools? Looks pretty clean in this pic, anyways:



94VG30DE said:


> Not bad I think. I still need to build the grills for the sub and port, and put them into the final beauty panel that I build, but I'm not sure what I'm making that out of. Leftover 7/16" OSB anyone?


It's not that your ideas aren't welcome, but it sounds to me like you just looked at the pictures and threw out a blanket statement for why it was wrong, without taking time to look at the text or consider why it might be right. This forum is a bit more advanced than that, so generalizations don't always fit. Keep that in mind, and you'll enjoy your stay a whole lot more.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

[email protected] said:


> How's it comming?


Sorry about the lack of updates lately guys. I have not been spending a TON of time on it, but there has been progress. Hopefully I can get some more pics tonight and show you guys what I've been working on. Otherwise it won't be til tomorrow. I will also explain the reason for wiring things the way I did at that point.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

94VG30DE said:


> Sorry about the lack of updates lately guys. I have not been spending a TON of time on it, but there has been progress. Hopefully I can get some more pics tonight and show you guys what I've been working on. Otherwise it won't be til tomorrow. I will also explain the reason for wiring things the way I did at that point.


Haha, sorry. I hope I didn't steal your thunder!


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Alright folks, let's recap. Since last time we spoke, I built a beauty panel, made my own grill, and carpeted said beauty panels. Then I decided to go on a tangent and throw some wideband drivers (ala this) in the dash. Onto the pics. 

Cover panels were made out of a spare sheet of 7/16" thick OSB I had left over from another project. I wanted to stay at thin and strong as possible. With carpet thickness, it should be just enough to clear max excursion on the sub. To make the forms, I made one big piece using the original composite panel as a rough template, rounding corners and changing dimensions as necessary. Then I cut it in half, and finished trimming. It didn't feel like the fastest method, but I am pretty pleased with the result. 










I used steel fencing I found at the local hardware store to make the grill, and stapled it gratuitously. 










Here it is with the carpet on. This is what it looks like from the underside. 









Unfortunately I can't find the pic of the finished panels in the car, but they line up pretty pretty well. I will get one when it's light outside. I will give you guys a spoiler though: I bought charcoal carpet, and didn't notice til I got it out to the car. Classic mistake. It still looks clean, but it doesn't look as factory. Oh well. If I don't like it, I'll redo it. 

Here is one of the neat little things I've been toying with: 










There will be more pics if I can get it to sound decent. Right now (with about 2 min of listening) it is very easily localizeable to exactly where it is on the dash, and stage width suffers dramatically. I take this to mean that my transitions to the windshield and dash are too sharp, and the gaps are creating problems. So I will work on it some more and get back to you.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Also, with an answer to why the wires are (for the most part) up on top and look like a mess. If you look in one of my posts on the first page, you will see this: 








[/QUOTE]

You can see that on the right I have a stack of tools for the spare that I retained in the build. This means that the amp rack is sitting directly on that. Most of the amp rack (specifically the spot in the middle where all the wiring meets) is sitting directly on that box, so there is no room for wiring to run on the underside. I did run the power and ground for one of the amps under the left side, b/c there was literally no way to run it over the top. It runs in the part to the left that isn't where the tools are. So the wiring runs along the top, all through the same spot, mainly b/c I don't have a better place to put it. 

Also, it's under two coverings and I don't care that much how it looks


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## [email protected] (Feb 9, 2010)

I like the dash speakers


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

It ain't summer if my door cards aren't on so that I can re-work my front stage. Got bored with the on-dash waveguides for right now, and decided to focus on things that I have been meaning to do for a while anyway. So I pulled out the enclosures for the front and am reworking them. 

The baffle is going to be changed from the thick chamfered stupid-looking piece to a decent thinner HDPE piece. It will sit closer to flush with the enclosure face, and the back of the speaker should be able to breathe a little better. The tweeter is also getting set back a little bit, so that the lip is more flush with the face of the enclosure. Also pulled the clay out that I used to seal it, because it was starting to leech oil, and that made me angry. 

Pics to come as I start finishing things, I only got about an hour in today.


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## TJ Mobile Audio (May 6, 2009)

^ LOL, you and me both. I've been getting the itch to redo my front stage in my car, as well as to start a complete installation in my truck. Only it started snowing again here, and that puts a significant damper on my desire to work on my own (non-paying) projects.


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## e36bumpin (Mar 20, 2008)

Really making the best use of a small space!!


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

ok, some updates on pics. Some of it is stuff I've had done for a while, and some is just stuff I buttoned up tonight. 

As promised, here are some better-lighted pics of the trunk with the beauty panels in place. You can see that they are charcoal, not black. That is b/c I don't double-check my parts-express cart before I click buy. 



























You can see in the last picture that I didn't quite add dimensions ahead of time, and that beuaty panel actually comes up to the edge of a protruding factory panel. Not sure what I want to do about that yet. I have to level the panels a little bit more first, and then see where it sits. Right now the sub box and amp rack don't sit perfectly level, so the panels are a little bit off. 

Front stage redo:
As I said earlier, when I pulled the door card off, I noticed that the clay leaked oil down the front of my enclosure around my tweeter. Lame. So that came out, and I devised a new plan. 
Here you can see the old setup: 



















So I decided to make a baffle out of some thin HDPE I had laying around, and mount the tweeters in that. This also recessed them a little more, so that they were almost flush with the baffle. I used this to attach the HDPE baffle to the ABS enclosure face. Seemed to work very well.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Ported Tweets! I love it!  +3db gain FTW!


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

This is the tweeter mounted into the baffle: 










Here you can see the tweeter through the face, with 3/8" wide x 1/8" tall closed cell foam (speaker gasket) surrounding it. This is to ease the transition to the face, as well as cover up some of my mistakes from the first round (where I did a crappy job of making the hole). Plus I think it looks kind of cool. You can also see the fresh gasket tape around the main hole for the mid. 










Next I decided to make a shallower baffle out of more HDPE. The baffle now puts the speaker about exactly where the OEM speaker was (as far as protrusion from the face goes), and is a much more solid mount for the speaker. You can see that here: 




























As you can see, the back edge is again baffled to ensure proper venting for the driver. 

Here is how it looks from the back: 










And full frontal:









For reference, here is how it used to look: 










It certainly looks a lot better now, and I actually kind of like the look of the tweeter "flange" around the dome tweeter. It is hard to notice from the front, but the mid is actually set back about 3/8" from where it was before. From the side, it looks a lot better. 

Now I just have to do the driver side.


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## 240phil (Oct 11, 2010)

Its been a while. 
Any updates?

I'm starting my Z32 built too. 
Well, a couple of them. 

I've got a N/A coupe that I'm doing. 
Going to start a 2+2 as soon as I finish the TT swap. 
and my brother is going to want to start his as soon as he finishes his TT swap on his coupe.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> Ported Tweets! I love it!  +3db gain FTW!


haha oh hush Jay, you know those are sealed back dome tweets. No porting needed, they already are like 6dB more efficient than everything else in that car.



240phil said:


> Its been a while.
> Any updates?
> 
> I'm starting my Z32 built too.
> ...


No updates really. The car has a broken clutch and has been sitting since roughly 2 weeks after I moved to Chicago. I am in the process of selling it, but it's tough to sell a sports car right before winter. 

I never got a chance to pull out the left side front-stage to redo it because I've been so busy with work and other pursuits. I need to do an install in my new Lexus before the 300zx left channel front stage gets re-opened. I know that is ghetto to not have the front installs match, but it's really tough to care b/c the car is parked right now, and it is such a miniscule difference anyway. As-is it's not necessarily _wrong_, it's just not the _best_. 

So if you are looking for a cheap 300zx in Chicagoland area, hit me up  Otherwise good luck with the build, I would love to answer any questions you have.


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## 240phil (Oct 11, 2010)

Actually... it depends on how cheap is cheap. 

I have access to a truck and trailer... gas would kick my ass, but it could be worth it if the price is right...

e-mail me about if you would...

[email protected]


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Just rehashing an old thread (2 yrs!). I currently have a 90 300Z in the shop. Getting a budget all-Alpine system. Kind of looking for ideas.

Jay


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## 240phil (Oct 11, 2010)

wow. 

been way to long since I've seen this thread. 


Anyway, 

what kind of budget are you working with? 

How involved do you want to be as far as fab work and all of that? 

what kind of ideas are you looking for? cheap deadening ideas? install ideas? equipment? custom box?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

It's not my car. It's for a customer. We're doing Alpine SPS-610C's up front, SPS-610's in the back, SWS-1243d for the sub and an MRX-V70 amp. The radio is a CDE-136BT. We're building a box and trimming in the back of the car. There might be some lighting, but since the sales clerk under quoted the job by several hundred dollars, maybe not.
We aren't doing any deadener....not in the budget.

Jay


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## 240phil (Oct 11, 2010)

i was about to say, deadener is really the key with these cars. 
the steel is pretty solid, so you don't get much buzzing and you don't get a lot of resonance originating from inside of the car, but typically, it is the exhaust note you have to over come. 
With my builds, it is has always been 1, exhaust followed by 2, window noise from poor weather stripping, and 3, road noise from loud tires, and wheel wells that have nothing in them anymore. Then it was getting the bass and what not under control and all of that. 
as for set up, if it is possible, get the rear speakers (I'm assuming stock locations) turned way down. Getting anything in there with any kind of power behind it and it really flips the sound stage around because of the way the hatch channels the sound right up to the listeners head. 
and the fronts, you might have to turn the highs up because the legs of the listener will block a lot of the sound because of the way the door cards bulge out.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Jay, was there a specific reason you are putting 6.5" speakers in the back? Are they going to be bandpassed as midwoofers? I eventually had the rear speakers turned off, and the car did just fine. 

Bass is super easy b/c it's a tiny hatchback, so anything you put in the back is going to rock. I had good results with the woofer in the position shown, but anywhere along the back should be fine. Don't put it in the front, the timing gets weird to handle. 

I agree with the earlier comment on the tweeters though, being so low in the door you get decent pathlength, but lots of reflections.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

The salesman only had so much to work with...and the product was already picked out before I got to it. It is getting front comps, rear coaxes. It's not an SQ build.

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Here's what we came up with.



















in case anyone wanted to see.

Jay


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Looks good Jay. I like what you did with the "shelf" behind the seats. It all looks clean.


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## MinnesotaStateUniversity (Sep 12, 2012)

Thanks for the pics

I was curious what red on tan would look like!


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Well, we were planning to go with blue LEDs, but the roll of Red and Blue got switched (they were in each other's respective boxes) and I didn't notice until it was done. Frankly, tho, I would have preferred red over the blue anyway...there's no blue ANYWHERE in the car...so it worked out.

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

94VG30DE said:


> Looks good Jay. I like what you did with the "shelf" behind the seats. It all looks clean.


All I did was recarpet it so it would match the trim work. lol

Jay


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> All I did was recarpet it so it would match the trim work. lol
> 
> Jay


I know, this is what I'm saying. If you would have left it OEM it would have looked ridiculous. At least now it all looks "the same". 

Is there a panel that goes over all of that, so that the hatch area is still functional/stealth?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Yeah, it would have. The carpet we used is actually a closer match to the front of the car. The back of the car was almost a chocolate brown.

No stealth cover...he didn't even come close to paying enough to get what he got. I had planned to do the trim in 2 stages to it could be more "Bing"-like, but I only got about $200 labor for the whole trim job, which is probably only half what it should have been. If he wants a cover made, he can pay more...and get some deadener whle he's at it.

Jay


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Fair enough. Looks _too_ clean for that price. Gotta love it when the sales guy "quotes you into a corner." It happens. 
I know that carpet color though, and you did a good job. I always hated the tan color they used in that car. The charcoal interior is much better. That's why mine was Sapphire Blue


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

94VG30DE said:


> Fair enough. Looks _too_ clean for that price. Gotta love it when the sales guy "quotes you into a corner." It happens.
> I know that carpet color though, and you did a good job. I always hated the tan color they used in that car. The charcoal interior is much better. That's why mine was Sapphire Blue


I've never been a big fan of tan/brown/beige interiors.

He definitely got his moneys worth. I had the same problem on the Touareg...it was about $1000 light on labor. And I chipped in a bunch of techflex and stuff out of my personal stash.

Jay


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