# My first 2008 Subaru Impreza STi :)



## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

well, its always exciting to work on cars i have never touched before, espeically if its a relatively new and exciting model and a subaru (my own car's brand) at that 

its a world raly blue 08 Sti, fresh off the lot from Socal, with about 1k on the ODO...hehe...

the goals:

1. install avic-z1 navigation into the car
2. stealthy in the back
3. a good blend of sound quality and classy looks

lets get started, as mentioned before, an avic-z1 was installed into the factory location, its not the cleanest of sources but navi was a requirement and this unit was already avaiable. note the voice recognition/BT mic install to the left side of the headunit, right next to the guage shroud:










the car features Zapco DC reference amps, and the tuning USB cable comes out of the glovebox to plug into the laptop for tuning:










front stage consists of a pair of Seas Lotus Reference 6.5" two way components, the midbasses were installed in the stock lower door location via 1" spacers, and the door dampened:





































and the tweeters were molded into the A pillars firing across at each other.

first the mold:










then sanded smooth:










and finally, covered in matching vinyl:










and the final result:





































and the front as a whole:


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

the rear door speakres were kept and hooked off hte headunit and mainly faded full forward.

moving onto the hatch, this car turns out had a lot less space than we thought. the spare tire well was shallow (5" or so), and the distance from the original floor to the hatch opening was even shorter (3"), also, the car had two large triangular structural braes in the well, toward the front, whcih effectively eliminated the front left and right quadrants of the well...and we have large pieces of gear to fit in, but after some mocking up and measuring, i managed to get it work 

here is the view fully enclosed, thats just a temporary carpet i cut to cover the install, a darker custom one can be made down the road, as you can see, nothing is visible:










remove the carpat, and the new floor is shown, with two covers for the two amps and a center grille for the subs, the floor is two tone blue suede and dark grey vinyl.










pop offall the covers and here is what you see, two image dynamics IDQ10v3s sit in a blue suede topped enclosure of 1.3 cubfeet, and two zapco DC reference amps are shown under cutouts, a DC1000.4 for for the front stage, and a DC1100.1 for the subs. note tha all the openings have a layer of routed, clouded plexi border 




























flick a switch and the plexi edges lit up blue to match the car:




























and lets see that in the dark:




























and finally, here is the car:










and the far away view from the back:










i forgot to take wiring and below the floor pics for this one.

overall, withoutmuch tuning, it sounds decent, MUCH better rattle and outside noise wise than the old Sti, gonna take it down to LA on friday and tune it a bit more with Eng.

overall, a pretty easy car to work on, though next time, i would prolly prefer to do a single sub and smaller amps hehe


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## Bclark281 (Dec 26, 2006)

Very nice.
I've been kinda eyeballin' one of these myself.........just not the STI. The salesman kinda gave me an odd look when I opened up the back of the car before I popped the hood.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

if you are considering it for stereo, its not bad, other htan t he slightly lack of space i mentioned in the back, the rest of hte car is cake walk and very easy to take apart  much beter built than the old ones too...


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## Bclark281 (Dec 26, 2006)

simplicityinsound said:


> if you are considering it for stereo, its not bad, other htan t he slightly lack of space i mentioned in the back, the rest of hte car is cake walk and very easy to take apart  much beter built than the old ones too...


The main reason I'm considering it is because my Crew Cab Chevy and my Yukon are killing me......$90-$95 to fill each one up. Plus, I have always liked the WRX, and I absolutely love the new body style.
I drove one about a month ago and the salesman is still calling me trying to get me to buy it.


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## MaXaZoR (Apr 1, 2007)

I LOVE your installs!
Any pictures of the build?


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## machinehead (Nov 6, 2005)

Very nice! Man i wish i had a router, just can't make those cuts with a jig saw 

Do you have any fans on the amps?
What did you use to light the plexi?


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## BlackSapphire (Apr 16, 2008)

Bing... when you're making the a-pillars:










What holds the tweeter in place? Pressure fit? Bracket/backstrap on the back side? Is there a cup I don't see?

Awesome job!


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## mfenske (Feb 7, 2006)

Damn Bing, yet another amazing install. You're in nor-Cal right? We just moved to Oregon and I love your work. Hmmmm.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

answers:

1. the zapco have built in fans that cycle air from one end and out hte other, doesnt get too hot at all even after an hour drive 

2. i use LEDs attached on the outside of hte plexi edge to light up the inside.

3. pressure fit with a bit of hotglue


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## Kenny_Cox (Sep 9, 2007)

all the builds look very similar from car to car... the good part is, I LOVE EVERY ONE OF EM. Great work Bing, wish I could have an installer to trust in my area, instead I will have to hack away at it myself (see my door panel thread hehe) keep it up!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

thanks  to me thast the challenge...working with different interiors and gears, yet having hte overall restrictions and theme the same to me always presents vastly different challengs hehe and i do enjoy it as well


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## azngotskills (Feb 24, 2006)

Nice, clean work as always 

Just wondering, how many hours/days does it take you to do an install like this?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

if you count everything, hmmm i would say from start to finish, not ocunting washing the car and tuning it...about 40?

i dont know, i dont quote by the hour so i have no idea hehe


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## Ianaconi (Nov 11, 2006)

Great job sir!

My trunk is gonna be "similar". I am gonna be using a similar layout, the difference are my amps are two 4200SE, and I only have one subwoofer.

Awesome installs like always!

P.S: Any build pics of the trunk?


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## BlackSapphire (Apr 16, 2008)

simplicityinsound said:


> 3. pressure fit with a bit of hotglue


Thanks! What's the best online source for high strength or industrial hot glue sticks? The 'general purpose' stuff for sale everywhere doesn't stick to plastic so well. Sorry for the hijack.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

i just get norm hot glue from my warehouse, it sticks fine, cuase its not relaly there to literally hold sometihng in, but just to sorta grab it enough, the pressure fitting is what really secures it. over hte years, i have yet o have anything attached with hotglue fail on me, then again, i dont attach anyhting bigger than a tweeter with hotglue, and never attach it if its upside down and gravity works against it 

b


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

sorry no build pics, i never really have the time to snap build pics on allt he cars hehe, i will hve a log of my own car's build soetime soon, when i have time hehe

an ever more SQ intensive install is coming next week though 

b


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## garvinzoom (Mar 23, 2008)

Another beautiful install! Going to ask a stupid question but does having the tweets fire at each other make a good front stage? I am still trying to understand imaging.


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## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

Thats a very clean install. Very well done. How are the Lotus' sounding up front? How would you say the acoustics are in that vehicle?
I agree that this body style is FAR better than the last generation.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

IMO tweeters firiung across sounds fine, versus on axis i think you trade tonality for imaging/staging depths?

but maybe i will have Eng make a post after we tune it friday hehe

b


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## jonnyanalog (Nov 14, 2007)

love the new STI and great install!


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## edwelly (Mar 29, 2006)

I never get tired of looking at your install. I was the head installer for a shop about 15 years ago. Granted things have changed a lot, but I still do all of my own work. 

For what it is worth, you are the first person I ever wanted to work on my own car


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## FrankstonCarAudio (Feb 2, 2008)

Another very nice job!

Your client should be more than happy with the result... 

Mark


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## kpozr2 (Jun 4, 2008)

looks great!


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## STI<>GTO (Aug 8, 2005)

Bing,

Door mounted midbasses still limited to 3" tops? Nice install by the way.

This may just be my next car. I still miss my 05.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

well, i cant be sure, but umm with a 1" spacer, the seas ref mid clears with about 1/4" to the rear, and i would say you can prolly space out another 1/2" and still have the front door fit fine.

so yeah, i guess its around 3" but certainyl more room than the old car


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## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

simplicityinsound said:


> well, i cant be sure, but umm with a 1" spacer, the seas ref mid clears with about 1/4" to the rear, and i would say you can prolly space out another 1/2" and still have the front door fit fine.
> 
> so yeah, i guess its around 3" but certainyl more room than the old car


Wow, lucky for the new STI owners. Opens many more possibilities in speaker selection. 

BTW, Nice job Bing!


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## xeno_impreza (Jun 6, 2008)

Awesome install. Nice to see a quality setup installed in the new MY08 design after seeing the "limitations" on my generation of the Impreza doors.


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## Robert_R (Jun 18, 2007)

Beautiful install Bing. 

Nice amps too


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## ChiTownSQ (Apr 7, 2008)

I love this install.

Super Simple and Clean. Great looking.. Just what that car needs..

I love Wagons!


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## xclusiv3 (Jun 18, 2008)

damn thats nice, loving the colo


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

ChiTownSQ said:


> I love Wagons!



amen to that brotha 

b


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## maxxis (Jun 10, 2008)

Excellent install. Fits the car perfectly.

Ive been following your work for a while now and its truly inspiring.

Hope you don't mind if I "borrow" some of the ideas for the install in my Civic and Jazz (Fit in the US)


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

borrow all you want, i dont claim to be the original guy who come up with fake floor type of installs anyway hehe, and hell, i get my inspiration somteimes from looking at other installs


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## Vestax (Aug 16, 2005)

The only thing I like is the bear sticker in the corner of the window. Really caught my attention.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

speaking of that sticker, you had no idea how much pain that caused me when trying to aiming the tweeter, as i usually stand infront of hte car to eyeball it.


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## xcoldricex (Apr 28, 2007)

i wish you were closer to michigan


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## vactor (Oct 27, 2005)

thanks for the pics etc. i am getting an STI this monday and can't wait to put a system in it. only problem is, they could not find a black one without the nav ... so ...i have the factory nav  

i wanna put some 6's and tweets in the kicks and see if i can put a pair of tens somewhere hidden in the trunk. how did the kicks look to you when you did this? nice install!!


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## RoughedgesMR (Nov 30, 2008)

maybe a long shot, but have you heard the hertz millie subs. I am on border line between the hertz and idq. I know its two different leagues. The only thing that strays me away from the hertz is the massive power they need.


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## pieces (Dec 29, 2005)

Very nice install! I can't wait to get the rest of my stuff in mine.

Did you by any chance pull of the lower interior scuff guards? For the life of me I can't seem to get mine to pop off. I've done 2 other Subaru's in the past and had no problems. These, not so easy for some reason. I even have Subaru tech manual for directions. Still no luck.


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

NICE! bing, you could have posted that under an alias on another forum and i reckon we would have recognised it from the same photos alone!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

what do you mean vby lower interior scuff guards?


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## meteoro84 (Jul 10, 2006)

nice car , nice instalation ,nice stuff clap clap XD


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## Badmunky (Mar 9, 2009)

Wow that looks hot!

I can only hope to be this good one day.


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## TEGBOY (May 4, 2008)

Great work Bing. A quick question, I have an 05 Forester with nearly identical tweeter mount locations of the 08. I notice you mounted the tweeter in the "A pillar" instead of the mirror sail. Even though these locations are only say 3 inches apart, is there that much difference in sound?

I am weighing up moving my tweeters to the pillars, I cannot get a centre image from the sails.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

to me, as far away as you can put the tweeter helps, so...i never like sail panel, even though it is only as you say 3 inches a part, but to me, 3 inches, in such a small environment like a car, is not an insignificant amount.

if you measure say, the path lenght from one speaker to your ear, and then another, you will see that 3 inches can amount o be a decent percentage of this path lengths. something say around 20-40 percent.

now if you can imagine sitting at home and listening to your home speaker, and moving one spekaer 20-40 pedrcent of the distances, it would be a difference maker for sure.

thats my opinion anyway


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## C3 Customs (Sep 4, 2008)

Very nice install


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

simplicityinsound said:


> what do you mean vby lower interior scuff guards?


The door sills.


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## KMelt (Jan 19, 2009)

very nice install


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

ah door sills haha, same as my legacy, a bit annoying to get off, just forceful but careful muscle power


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## Suneet (Jun 19, 2007)

Did you have to remove the spare tire to build that false floor setup, or is the spare tire still under there?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

no spare, pretty much all my fake floor installs dont involve the spare being left in place. for me, quite frankly, i dont see the point. most of hte guys that tediously do the spare and then fake floor install, sacrfice air space for the sub, and/or if they ever hae to pull the spare itire out, there is so muc hwiring and stuff that its so annoying and easy to short something out. 

or the ones that leave the spare tire well alone but build a system on top that makes removal of spare difficult, there are exceptions of course, but a lot of what i have seen fits the profile 

short trips around town, AAA card and can of fixaflat, long road trips, throw the spare on top still takes up less room than a stereo install in the trunk


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## markland556 (Dec 2, 2008)

That is my current battle. The dam spare tire.. I have a full size spare with the stock rims, but with my new ones im basically SOL. I have been working very hard to find a good deal on an 18" collapsible spare. I have a very large spare where the tire goes so I am shooting for an install that can easily be lifted up and have the spare pulled out when needed... But I think I might just go with the fix a flat and a compressor... maby throw a tire repair kit in there aswell.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

I wanna hump everyone of your installs.... !!!


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## markland556 (Dec 2, 2008)

Id like to see some of the wiring for this. Looks pretty impressive. How did you do the acrylic border? Just route it out the same size as the openings?


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## Suneet (Jun 19, 2007)

I didn't point this out in my initial message, but this is a beautiful install.

I love the fact that you show these pictures. I've been car-less for about 8 months, and I used to own a Lexus LS400, which was great for audio setups due to its quiet nature, but difficult to work with.

I'm considering purchasing a Subaru Impreza WRX this time around, and seeing this thread really helps make the decision easier!


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## azbass (Aug 8, 2007)

very well done


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## vactor (Oct 27, 2005)

i would LOVE some more details and pics as i have the same car and am scratching my head about what and how to do it.


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## brianlin87 (Dec 9, 2007)

that install looks so awesome, can't wait to drop my car off!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

unforutnately i dont have any more pics, even forgot to do the wiring pics like i normally do...the car is long long out of my hands and happily down in socal with its owner sorry 

seen you in less than week Brian


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## imahemi (Oct 10, 2007)

you make it look SOOO easy... LOVE the looks of your builds!!!!


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## kinchu007 (Apr 5, 2008)

beautiful install!

Just one question: for the front tweeters, why not face them towards the listener and take advantage of on-axis response?

Is it just normal practice these days to set tweeters up off-axis?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

that question is one i have answered too many times 

but mostly due to two things:

1. i cant stand the look of on axis tweets unless the A pillar lends itself to it, and virtually all my customres, after showing them on axis tweeter pods, tell me to stay far away 

2. for quite a few cars, i acutally do prefer the sound of off axis, to me better depths and in some cases better center. and a less in your face sound that i myself dont quite like  

there are a good handful of my off axis tweeter installs running around down in LA, including this Sti, should try to make a meet and take a listen


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## InterHat (May 12, 2008)

The trunk looks absolutely fantastic. I love how well-integrated everything is. Did you have a hard time working with the a-pillars in that car since it has curtain airbags?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

notreally, 90 percent of the cars i do A pillars in have curtain airbags, doesnt really affect me at all.


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## Echo42987 (Dec 25, 2008)

wow I'm jealous!


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## pieces (Dec 29, 2005)

simplicityinsound said:


> ah door sills haha, same as my legacy, a bit annoying to get off, just forceful but careful muscle power


I finally got my door sills off yesterday. Those things are unreal! Heat gun was my friend.


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## oftheheavens (Jul 10, 2009)

sorry to bring up a dead thread, but do you think that you could get 2 JL 12W6's into the same setup on an STI? i would assume that the floor would be even higher, but do you see it as doable?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

any higher the floor would be above the rear trunk opening, and that would defeat the point IMO of a fake floor set up


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## oftheheavens (Jul 10, 2009)

simplicityinsound said:


> any higher the floor would be above the rear trunk opening, and that would defeat the point IMO of a fake floor set up


i wish i would have gone with the 2 10W6's but i got a good deal on the 12's. what would you recommend for my 2 12's? i want to try and keep as much storage space as i can.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

anyhthing shallower than 5.7" would do.


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## bsymac (Apr 8, 2008)

Sweet installation


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## fuji6 (Feb 4, 2008)

2 Quick questions if you don't mind. 
First are you using time alignment between the mid and tweet. (I assume you have it available). 
Second if you didn't have it available would you still use the same tweeter mounting positions?


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## vactor (Oct 27, 2005)

fuji6 said:


> 2 Quick questions if you don't mind.
> First are you using time alignment between the mid and tweet. (I assume you have it available).
> Second if you didn't have it available would you still use the same tweeter mounting positions?


i have an '08 STi also, and have a build log too. i have time alignment options available, and put my mids and tweets in the kicks. not much is required due to the good PLD's, as opposed to other mounting options. i would use kick panel tweeter and mid mounting over pretty much any other mounting area in a car. that's because in _most_ cars, the kick panels offer the best PLD's (usually) and allow good on axis aiming, and are not too close to well reflecting surfaces. they also avoid horn loading concerns that might arise if mounted in other areas of the car. this is my 3rd serious system, and in each one, kickpanels have been far and away *THE* way to go when it comes to the ebst place to install mids and tweeters. in each one i have found a way to make the space for 'em 

hth

cheers!


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## fuji6 (Feb 4, 2008)

vactor said:


> i have an '08 STi also, and have a build log too. i have time alignment options available, and put my mids and tweets in the kicks. not much is required due to the good PLD's, as opposed to other mounting options. i would use kick panel tweeter and mid mounting over pretty much any other mounting area in a car. that's because in _most_ cars, the kick panels offer the best PLD's (usually) and allow good on axis aiming, and are not too close to well reflecting surfaces. they also avoid horn loading concerns that might arise if mounted in other areas of the car. this is my 3rd serious system, and in each one, kickpanels have been far and away *THE* way to go when it comes to the ebst place to install mids and tweeters. in each one i have found a way to make the space for 'em
> 
> hth
> 
> cheers!


Thanks, I've thought about kicks and just thought I wasn't that committed to the project at this point. Plus I don't know if I can cope with the loss of the dead pedal. So I was hoping on any comments on the exact placement used in Bing's install.

I checked out your install. It looks amazing!!!! I am actually pondering the exact same navi unit. How is it so far from a sq standpoint? Are you able to use the dual zone feature or you using the F/R channels for tweet/mid?

I hope mine can turn out even half as good as either of your installs.

Thanks,
Fuji


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## vactor (Oct 27, 2005)

fuji6 said:


> Thanks, I've thought about kicks and just thought I wasn't that committed to the project at this point. Plus I don't know if I can cope with the loss of the dead pedal. So I was hoping on any comments on the exact placement used in Bing's install.
> 
> I checked out your install. It looks amazing!!!! I am actually pondering the exact same navi unit. How is it so far from a sq standpoint? Are you able to use the dual zone feature or you using the F/R channels for tweet/mid?
> 
> ...


loss of dead pedal was nothing to me. i have been driving a manual since my first car and never used the dead pedal. and better to put speakers there than my foot 

i got rid of the kenwood and went back to the stock navi system and a rockford 3sixty.2. what a great piece!! the kenwood unit was terrible!!! the nav was useless and the EQ sounded terrible. it was glitchy and SLOWWW!!! all in all a very poorly designed unit. the stock unit blows it away from the point of useability and navigation. the 3sixty is ten times the processor and freaking amazing! and no, you cannot use the kenwood to run a 3 way setup (tweet, mid, sub). expensive piece of trash imho


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