# 2001 Escape - Simple Build - Log



## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

So I sold my 2000 S4 last September because I needed something more practical since I had bought my house a little less than a year before that. Can't do much on a Home Depot run with a small German sedan. I decided to go with an Escape because I have about 4 friends with them and they all have had fantastic luck theirs. Plus, it was cheap. Score.
So, happy with the truck, but the severe lack of fun behind the wheel made me want to upgrade the audio... have to get some entertainment from somewhere - and this thing definitely does not have 330hp and 400ft.lb. worth of entertainment.
It's been a few years since I have done an install, and shaking off the rust sucks. My goal here is to maintain 100% functionality of my vehicle. I don't want to lose even a few inches of cargo space to a false floor, enclosures, or anything else of that nature. I often have heavy ass firewood, lumber, tools, and luggage in back, and need to be able to not worry about damaging anything. Obviously that limits me a bit, but if I need to compromise on something, it is going to have to be the audio. Don't want to spend a ton of money or time, and it needs to be pretty simple. Here goes.
Equipment:
Alpine 9813
Alpine SPX-PRO tweets
Dayton RS-100-4 mids
AA Poly midbass
Alpine SPX-F17T passives
Blaupunkt VA-1400
Blaupunkt VA-2200
JL8W7
Plan - 9813 source. VA-2200 powering 3 way front - tweets and mids in kicks, midbasses in ported door enclosures - passive (eewww, passive... yeah yeah, I know). VA1400 powering JL8W7 in ported enclosure in spare tire well. Need to relocate the spare tire to under the car.

I want 2 cubes, and plan on making interchangeable ports. I have my eye on 30hz, 35hz, and 40hz ports.









Tire removed. Notice that I had to cut the little threaded rod that bolts the tire down. It can always be welded back in place if need be.









A little table saw, jig saw, router, and FG later, and this is the start of the sub enclosure. Used packing peanuts... 2.1 cubes. Not too far off.


























Out of the truck. Pretty simple. Double baffle, some MDF and FG. A little trimming with the grinder.

















With the top laid in place. Should stand up well to heavy logs and such, and the cone won't be open for damage.









30hz port and 35hz port. A little roundover on the entrances and around the baffles. A lot less port area than I have ever used, but it should be sufficient for the 8W7. Vent mach stays pretty low at .07. I don't anticipate any noise.

















Mocking everything into place. T-Nuts in place for ports. Need to coutersink the #10-32 bolts into the front of the port baffles.

Still lots of work to do. None of this will ever really be seen, so it will just be carpeted.

That's all for tonight. I'll post updates as I can. Have more pics, but the 10 pic rule ownz me.


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## blong07 (Aug 16, 2008)

i've never seen someone do interchangable ports - that's awesome! you obviously have experience w/ ported designs (and i don't, really), but from what i can see, isn't the port opening going to be a little stifled being closed in there like that?


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

blong07 said:


> i've never seen someone do interchangable ports - that's awesome! you obviously have experience w/ ported designs (and i don't, really), but from what i can see, isn't the port opening going to be a little stifled being closed in there like that?


Good question. It is actually more room than it looks like. There is actually a solid 8-10" between the sub / port and the sheet metal - the trim piece makes it look closer than it really is. I don't anticipate a problem, but then again, you never know. Every ported install I have ever heard / done in an SUV sounds best to me when the sub(s) is closest to the hatch. I'll find out for sure when I finally get it up and running, haha!


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

MSimz said:


> Good question. It is actually more room than it looks like. There is actually a solid 8-10" between the sub / port and the sheet metal - the trim piece makes it look closer than it really is.


This box just makes me happy. Can you do me a favor?

Can you graft grille material straight into the final floor and cover the WHOLE thing in a single layer of carpet? so it is TOTALLY invisible?

That would just be the icing on the cake.


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

Whiterabbit said:


> This box just makes me happy. Can you do me a favor?
> 
> Can you graft grille material straight into the final floor and cover the WHOLE thing in a single layer of carpet? so it is TOTALLY invisible?
> 
> That would just be the icing on the cake.


Thanks for the compliments! And as far the carpet in back - that's the plan. Going to retain the stock carpet / cargo liner... can't get much more invisible or factory than that I figure.

Before:








After:








That is with the box and carpet in place. I will probably have the section where the box opens into the car done in grill cloth, but bound like the existing edges so it looks as factory as possible. Going to listen to it first before I pull the trigger on that.

Plots:








- Mike


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## capnxtreme (Feb 5, 2008)

Looks like you need a 25Hz port more than a 40Hz one. 

Awesome work so far.


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

capnxtreme said:


> Looks like you need a 25Hz port more than a 40Hz one.
> 
> Awesome work so far.


True!! It will be done. Tuned to 25 hz it isn't -3db until 23hz!!!


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## moosejuice (Oct 5, 2007)

WOW that is a great box, my wife has and escape and while cleaning it the other day I was thinking how I would put a sub in the back with out losing any space. great solution to that problem right there....

B-


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

Thanks man. Yeah, it takes up zero space but I'm not gonna lie, I wouldn't mind a little more cone.

Went out for a few minutes before dinner and made some rings for RS100s and SPX-PROs in the kicks. Not done, but a start.


















There aren't enough hours in the day.


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

Haha, I just realized that every driver in my front stage has a phase plug. Yay, phase plugs for everyone!!!


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

I really like that enclosure idea, beautiful!


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

UCF52 said:


> I really like that enclosure idea, beautiful!


Thanks!


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Absolutely beautiful! I love utilitarian installs! Where are you stashing amplification?


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

chad said:


> Absolutely beautiful! I love utilitarian installs! Where are you stashing amplification?


Thanks Chad! It's funny you should ask. I initially planned to have them sunken into the sub enclosure, so they were slightly less than flush with the top of the box, so I could make panels to cover them when need be. However, as it turn out the amps are too long to fit that way. DOH!! So the new plan is under the front seats - stashed away completely out of sight, plenty of ventilation (maybe a fan on the sub amp), and out of harm's way. Toying with the idea of a cap and power distribution pieces under the center console and making a new bottom for the storage tray in the console out of plexi to see what's under there, but only when the console is opened up.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

I wouldn't run a cap, if you have sufficient wire going to the amps you can run a damn good battery and have WAY better performance IMHO. Look into the newer AGM designs like Odyssey ore Kinetik, they are impressive, even a tiny one in my mouse-car helped TONS.


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

Slightly OT - the sub box for the install I am also currently doing in my brother-in-law's MK3 Golf. 1 Concept SS10D4 @ 2 cubes tuned to 35hz.









Just thought I'd share.


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## mSaLL150 (Aug 14, 2008)

UCF52 said:


> I really like that enclosure idea, beautiful!


x2 that is awesome!


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

chad said:


> I wouldn't run a cap, if you have sufficient wire going to the amps you can run a damn good battery and have WAY better performance IMHO. Look into the newer AGM designs like Odyssey ore Kinetik, they are impressive, even a tiny one in my mouse-car helped TONS.


Thanks for the advice Chad. I'll definitely look into that - I have never actually used a cap in one of my own installs before, and I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it, but I was only toying with idea of using one simply because I have one lying around. The battery sounds like a much better option.


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

Had a little time after work, so I got started on the kicks. Shaped the rings for the RS100s today. Rounded them over so shaping will be easier later, and to create some space to staple the material.



















Used the 1.5" PVC coupler trick for mounting rings for the SPX tweets. Roughed up the front lip with some 60 to help the resin stick.

Spent some time cutting up the factory kicks to make some room for drivers. I don't want them sticking out any more than they have to.

I will say this... the Escape SUCKS when it comes to creating good angles from the kicks. Specifically, the driver's side. Absolute garbage. I spent way too long trying to aim these things in a way I think will be acceptable. I'm still dubious, but I am hopeful that I can adjust the seat / myself in such a way to create a little better of a situation. Anyhoo, I spent so much time on aiming, that I forgot to take a picture of them in place. I'll snap a pic once I have them glassed.


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## lyttleviet (Sep 11, 2008)

very nice woodwork....


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## chuyler1 (Apr 10, 2006)

Man that is sweet...and it's going to kick sooo hard. Corner loading FTW...and you don't give up any cargo space...and you don't have to worry about dropping cooler onto the cone by accident. I LOVE IT!


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

lyttleviet said:


> very nice woodwork....


Thanks man!



chuyler1 said:


> Man that is sweet...and it's going to kick sooo hard. Corner loading FTW...and you don't give up any cargo space...and you don't have to worry about dropping cooler onto the cone by accident. I LOVE IT!


Thanks! I am really hoping to have this thing up and playing by the time we have our New England meet. I would love to have some other experienced ears to give a listen. I just started browsing your Mazdaspeed 6 build page (still on page 2) - nice work man! I can't wait to hear and see it in person!


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## jdc753 (Nov 14, 2007)

Looks awesome. I love the stealth/usable builds where the equipment is all installed but nearly impossible to tell and little to nothing of the vehicles abilities are diminished. Plus those 8w7's seem to be pretty beefy little buggers and should be pretty sufficient for some good bass. 

I know it would take away much of the stealth of the install but what about putting the amplifiers along the side walls of the cargo area. You most certainly have the woodworking/fiberglassing skills to make something very nice in the area and it shouldn't dimish the cargo space too much. Least if done right it wouldn't intrude into the large overall volume of space but may take some of the side smaller/lighter item space.





MSimz said:


> Thanks! I am really hoping to have this thing up and playing by the time we have our New England meet. I would love to have some other experienced ears to give a listen. I just started browsing your Mazdaspeed 6 build page (still on page 2) - nice work man! I can't wait to hear and see it in person!


If you will be there I would love to check out this install in person and see how it looks and better yet how it sounds. I have yet to see an 8w7 in person so would be cool to get an idea of what they can do.


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## Pantani (Jul 17, 2008)

A wonderful solution. I really like your enclosure idea, it's a great space saving design IMO. I would love to do something like that in my wife's car, and I hear what people say about using roadside assistance and all that, but man, I just can't bring myself to drive without a spare.

Props to you though, looks great. I'm a big fan of the stealth install.


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

Pantani said:


> A wonderful solution. I really like your enclosure idea, it's a great space saving design IMO. I would love to do something like that in my wife's car, and I hear what people say about using roadside assistance and all that, but man, I just can't bring myself to drive without a spare.
> 
> Props to you though, looks great. I'm a big fan of the stealth install.


True. I am not comfortable relying on roadside assistance either. I will be relocating the spare under the vehicle. I have noticed that newer Escape and Explorers have them under the truck. I am going to call all the junkyards around and get the mounting hardware off of one of those, then weld it on to my truck. I think while I am at it that I will also try to get a full size rim for the spare, and ditch the donut.


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## Pantani (Jul 17, 2008)

Hmm I wonder if it would fit though. Seeing as how the cargo area of your Escape has the recessed area for the spare, you may not have room under there for it. I would imagine the newer ones don't have as much of a recessed area therefore the mounting equipment might not integrate with your model year. Possibly I'm completely wrong though, as I've never looked at the Escapes that thoroughly. More than anything this post was to just give you something to think about.

Again, props on the install.


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## dogstar (Jan 31, 2007)

Pantani said:


> Hmm I wonder if it would fit though. Seeing as how the cargo area of your Escape has the recessed area for the spare, you may not have room under there for it. I would imagine the newer ones don't have as much of a recessed area therefore the mounting equipment might not integrate with your model year. Possibly I'm completely wrong though, as I've never looked at the Escapes that thoroughly. More than anything this post was to just give you something to think about.
> 
> Again, props on the install.


This may be a good point, but what about making a mount to stand the spare up inside, against the side panels. You've certainly got the room vertically, and it keeps the spare easy to access and out of the mud/road grime/dirt.


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## blong07 (Aug 16, 2008)

MSimz said:


> I will be relocating the spare under the vehicle. I have noticed that newer Escape and Explorers have them under the truck. I am going to call all the junkyards around and get the mounting hardware off of one of those, then weld it on to my truck.


i've actually been thinking about doing the same w/ the spare in my scion tc. i put an aftermarket exhaust on it, and while the stock muffler took up TONS of space, the new one is straight and leaves just enough room.

now if i could just get a hold of a welder..


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## Irishfocus06 (Sep 11, 2008)

Man, you have some skilzz mang! Very nice job with everything. Like someone else said, don't do a cap. Hit up the big 3 with some 0/1g and a dry cell in the back somewhere.

I had 2 kinetiks in my Focus and helped a ton! 

Have fun with it.


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

Pantani said:


> Hmm I wonder if it would fit though. Seeing as how the cargo area of your Escape has the recessed area for the spare, you may not have room under there for it. I would imagine the newer ones don't have as much of a recessed area therefore the mounting equipment might not integrate with your model year. Possibly I'm completely wrong though, as I've never looked at the Escapes that thoroughly. More than anything this post was to just give you something to think about.
> 
> Again, props on the install.


Thanks for the props. As for space, I know that the spare will fit under there for sure. The full size spare idea; that one I'll have to look into a little further. I'm thinking Ill mock it up by taking one of my tires off and using a jack or something to hold it in place and get an idea of the space I have. Good thinking though... I'd hate to have bought a full size spare only to find out it wouldn't fit. I'd hate to have to get under the truck in a foot of snow to have to change the tire, but I don't really want to give it up.



dogstar said:


> This may be a good point, but what about making a mount to stand the spare up inside, against the side panels. You've certainly got the room vertically, and it keeps the spare easy to access and out of the mud/road grime/dirt.


Yeah, I thought about that too, but I really don't want to give up any space in back. My brother-in-law's Cherokee had the spare that way... I'm really trying to avoid it at all costs. But who knows, it is another idea.
My wife and I just got back from spending Friday, Saturday, and this morning in Cape Cod at my buddy's house in Yarmouth. Had I had subs or a spare tire back there, there would have been no way we would have fit all our **** in there. Perfect example of why I really want to lose nothing in terms of space.
I also thought of a new idea I'd like to try out for the design of the kicks, so I may be starting from scratch on those. We'll have to see how feasible it is.


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

So I decided to try to make some kicks that will, hopefully, end up looking a bit less obvious. I am hoping that once these are built, and have grills on them, the shape will help hide the fact that there are speakers in there, and hopefully they will look more or less like big beefy factory-ish kicks. I started by coming up with a shape I felt would be a good compromise of matching up to the factory shape, space-saving, and also fit the requirements of meeting on-axis angle requirements. I continued by cannibalizing the rings I had previously made since, well, I am lazy. I sanded them down so they are thinner on one side, so as to give the mids a bit more angle than the baffle alone will. Did the same with the tweet rings, don't think you can see it in the pictures though.


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Aiming them, then setting them in place with some dowels and hot glue.


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A little reinforcement.










Tomorrow: Glass them... hopefully.


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## moosejuice (Oct 5, 2007)

This is coming along nicely, I hope the kicks work out for you as I just may have to steal that idea down the road.....

B-


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

Well, it's not much, but here is today's progress. Got the kicks wrapped last night, which was WAY more time consuming than it should have been because I was having serious issues with my upholstery stapler. ****ing piece of **** was emotional as all hell. Anyhoo...




























And just for fun, a quick peek in the car...



















One layer of resin on. Still lots to do, but it should go pretty quickly. Have to build them up a couple of layers, and glass all the way around the backside of the lip. Once they are built up a tad, have to fill and shape them. I think I can at least get all the glass work done tomorrow, and with any luck can also get most of the filling done too. I hate sanding, so I tried to make the shape as smooth as possible to eliminate the need for excessive filling and sanding. My goal is to use as little filler as humanly possible. My wife has my truck today, so I can't take a pic of them in place just yet.





































Also, while they were hardening, I finally glued and siliconed the box top in place. I used damn near a full tube of silicone, and a very healthy amount of glue.










That's all I could get done tonight. Hopefully I can have the kicks done by the end of the weekend. I think while the glass is drying tomorrow, I might start to hack apart my door panels to start the vented enclosures for the AA Polys. It has been a while since I made a set of door panels... this could be interesting! Really want to have this done by the time the NE get together rolls around on Oct. 5th.

Hey, by the way, does anyone have a little extra deadener laying around? I'll take anything... it could be fecal-matter based for all I care. I only need maybe 2 sq. ft. I got **** to trade if you need odds n' ends. Oh yeah, also if anyone has any RCA ends. Cool. Thanks.


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## UCF52 (Nov 20, 2007)

Man, you need to vacuum that *****! j/k, looking good so far.


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

UCF52 said:


> Man, you need to vacuum that *****! j/k, looking good so far.


Haha, yeah, no **** huh? That's from the weekend in the Cape... one big beach.


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

Thanks for all of the feedback so far fellas. I really do appreciate it. It is good validation for getting back into the swing of things with bigger installs.


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

So I finally got the camera back from the wife... I'll take pics of the latest progress and post it up a bit later on. Started the door panels. Waiting on carpet samples from PE for the kicks. Toying with ideas for the amps still. More to come in a little while....


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

First update in while. First, a quick shot of the kicks. This was a couple of days ago. They are almost done now... just need grilles and covering.










So now, onto the doors. Stock door panel:










A little 'modification' with the knife:



















Also did a little (very) rough enlarging of the speaker hole, as you'll notice. Should have it cleaned up soon enough to prevent rust and what not.

Onto the new parts. Again, the plan is at least .5ft3 per door for a vented enclosure for the AA Polys.
So there are 4 parts so far. A flange, a mounting ring, a baffle, and a grille. The flange is pretty unremarkable. It simply sits behind the door panel and behind but attached to the mounting ring... it is roughly 1/2" larger than the mounting ring in all dimensions, and will serve as a mounting flange for the back of the pods (which will be FG) and the door panel. It is made of 1/4". I could have simply made the mounting ring larger and rabbeted the edge for a 1/4" reveal, but I am really trying to eke out every bit of airspace possible. The baffle is made of 1/2" and is 1/2" smaller than the mounting ring in all dimensions, and the driver will be countersunk into it. The grille fits around the entire baffle, and since it is made of 3/4", sits above it by 1/4". That combined with the countersinking should allow plenty of room for the Xmax of the AA. Onto the pics...

Mounting ring in place:



















Holding the baffle in place, albeit a bit crooked (hard to hold that ****er and snap a pic at the same time):










Grille:










The pieces together on the bench, one with the grille, one without.



















Ten pic limit.....


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

Getting the doors ready to glass the back of the pods...



















Don't think I'll get to the 'glass work till probably Sunday.

I think both amps are going to go under the passenger seat, one on top of the other (not touching, there should be 1/8" to 1/16" of space). I will make spacers to space them properly, still thinking about what to do for wire management though. Possibly thinking about Aluminum C-Channel, or perhaps braided steel lines. Other ideas welcome.


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## tr0y_audi0 (Feb 13, 2007)

nice thats turning out nice..
keep us posted..


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

tr0y_audi0 said:


> nice thats turning out nice..
> keep us posted..


Thanks man!


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

Nasty weather this weekend, but hopefully I can do some of it inside.


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## jukebox (Sep 27, 2008)

wow, doors should look the buisness too...

great work on the pods also, btw, if you dont like sanding, ive found scraping the filler with a hacksaw blade works wonders (not sure if thats the name for it in the usa, hacksaw blade = fine tooth metal blade, for cutting metal tubing,etc..), if you do it at the time when its just gone hard-ish, it takes of the highs, and works like a sanding block, for curved areas you just flex the blade in a U shape and keep scatching it up.. then its very light sanding left..


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

jukebox said:


> wow, doors should look the buisness too...
> 
> great work on the pods also, btw, if you dont like sanding, ive found scraping the filler with a hacksaw blade works wonders (not sure if thats the name for it in the usa, hacksaw blade = fine tooth metal blade, for cutting metal tubing,etc..), if you do it at the time when its just gone hard-ish, it takes of the highs, and works like a sanding block, for curved areas you just flex the blade in a U shape and keep scatching it up.. then its very light sanding left..


Thanks!! And that is great advice on trimming the filler... it really does save time.


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## jukebox (Sep 27, 2008)

were you already doing it? or did you try it.. sure does save alot of work... 

i try to pass it on to any one that says they dont like sanding, cos i dont either and i've tried alot of methods to avoid it.. hehe.

also, you spoke of c channel for wire mannagement, 
whats would you need to do this for?. 

i may have missed something but is it for outside runs of power wire, or something??

i may have some ideas, but need to know what your doing exactly..


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

jukebox said:


> were you already doing it? or did you try it.. sure does save alot of work...
> 
> i try to pass it on to any one that says they dont like sanding, cos i dont either and i've tried alot of methods to avoid it.. hehe.
> 
> ...


Been trimming the filler for years, but instead of a hacksaw blade, I use a sharpened putty knife. I'd imagine the hacksaw blade is great for large scale projects. I'll try and think of a way to describe my ideas with the C-Channel, but I have to think about how to describe it. A few pics for funsies:

HELL YEAH!!!! The Silver Bullet!









Trying to show the contours:


















Some trimming:


















A couple of the box with some carpet:


















Note that the woofer is not actually mounted in those pics, just there for looks. I'll update the door pods soon, as I have made more progress than shown in the pics.


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## jowens500 (Sep 5, 2008)

Looks real nice. You need to paint the port.


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## chuyler1 (Apr 10, 2006)

Port won't be visible once he installs it.


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

jowens500 said:


> Looks real nice. You need to paint the port.





chuyler1 said:


> Port won't be visible once he installs it.


Thanks Chris. J, if you look back to the beginning of the thread, you'll see what he means.
On a side note, this PE carpet is pretty plush. Stretches well too. Was going to do my door pods in vinyl, but might do this instead... may reflect a bit less than the vinyl.


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## jowens500 (Sep 5, 2008)

MSimz said:


> Thanks Chris. J, if you look back to the beginning of the thread, you'll see what he means.
> On a side note, this PE carpet is pretty plush. Stretches well too. Was going to do my door pods in vinyl, but might do this instead... may reflect a bit less than the vinyl.


With the level of detail gone into it already, it just looks a little unfinished IMO.


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## tr0y_audi0 (Feb 13, 2007)

nice man keep it up im like'n the way this is looking..


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## moosejuice (Oct 5, 2007)

Wow this is coming along great. I can't wait to see how the door panels come out....

B-


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

Some pics of the door progress. I'll likely have them done tomorrow, if everything goes without a hitch. It is going to be painfully close to .5 cubes, but sadly, not quite there. I'll have to do the math, but I think after I add the port, it will probably be somewhere around .40 - .45ish. I guess I'll need to spend a few more minutes with WinISD once I have a final volume. The box is more or less done, the kicks need grilles and need to be covered (carpet for durability - New England winters), and 100% of the wiring and amp install needs to be done (which includes some minor modification of the passenger seat). I also have no idea where to mount the crossovers (I need to have access to them, preferably from the driver's seat), but I am thinking it may be the center console that wins. I am really going to try to get it all done tomorrow so I can have it playing for the get together on Sunday. What sucks is that I have to cut the day short tomorrow for a friggin wedding. Anyhoo, more pics...

In place:


















Some to try to show contour:



























Now I'll try and explain about the wire management issues I am having. The amps will both be under the passenger seat, one on top of the other, piggy-back style. I made spacers so the amps will not physically be touching, but what I am unsure of is how to get the wires to the upper amp without them looking cheesy or out of place. I think for now I may simply tie them to the lower wires, until I can come up with something a bit more permanent.


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## jukebox (Sep 27, 2008)

looking the goods, me likes so far...top work..

with the wires, you cant tuck them back under the top amp, back to the middle of the amp, then off to the side, and do the same with the bottom amp so the wires meet at the same point,,, if that makes sense.. 

keep up the good work, eagerly awaiting these doors mate... wanting some ideas cos i like the look so far.. hehe, watch and learn , as they say..


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

jukebox said:


> looking the goods, me likes so far...top work..
> 
> with the wires, you cant tuck them back under the top amp, back to the middle of the amp, then off to the side, and do the same with the bottom amp so the wires meet at the same point,,, if that makes sense..
> 
> keep up the good work, eagerly awaiting these doors mate... wanting some ideas cos i like the look so far.. hehe, watch and learn , as they say..


Thanks for the compliments mate! The doors probably won't look too fancy when done, since I will more than likely be finishing them in carpet - still trying to keep things pretty low-key looking.
As for the wire issue... your solution would be a great one - effective and easy to implement. However, there is about 1/16th of an inch in between the two amps - there has to be in order for them to clear the seat bottom. Definitely not enough room to fit 4ga in there. I'll play with it today, and see what I can come up with.


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

Didn't make as much progress as I would have liked, but hey, what can you do. 

Made up some brackets for the pods; cut and bent up some Simpson Strong-Ties, then put them on the grinder to smooth them up a bit:









On the driver's side pod, screwed and glued:









Mounted to door with brackets (also put a little bit of speaker gasket material on the feet in between the door skin and metal feet):









I'm pretty pleased... those ****ers are on there. I gave them a pretty solid tug, and they didn't budge. Overall, happy with the brackets. It was a lot of measuring, but well worth it.

With the door panel:









Miserable day with the baffles. The damn AAs are too deep, so I had to make a spacer ring. That pretty much ****s over the grilles I had already made. I have to come up with a new ideas for grilles now. ****. Anyway, made and mounted the rings, and then mounted the ports. Will have these done tomorrow for sure:









Also got some of the wiring done. Here you can see the 1/0 (which will be split into 2 x 4ga) and the 2 4ga. grounds. RCAs are run too. Need to run the speaker wires still, mount the XOs, mount the amps (which includes some modification of the pass. seat). Other than that, just minor stuff:









Gonna try my damndest to have this done tomorrow... early.


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## moosejuice (Oct 5, 2007)

Looks good the pods look like they will be pretty strong...

B-


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

Almost done. Still plenty to do, but it is mostly pretty small stuff.

Kicks carpeted. Still have to make grilles for the kicks.




































With the drivers in it.









In place on the driver's side.


















Some work on the pods.









Drivers.









Painted the ports.


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## chuyler1 (Apr 10, 2006)

Oh man, you've got to make the next New England DIYMA meet...I've got to hear what those ported door enclosures sound like.


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

chuyler1 said:


> Oh man, you've got to make the next New England DIYMA meet...I've got to hear what those ported door enclosures sound like.


Chris, trust me man, I wanted to go so badly. I hope we do another one soon. I got the gear up and running, and I think something is lacking (with literally about 5 min listening time, my initial impression is somewhere between 1k - 4k). It is going to take me a long time to tweak this.

In, finally. The carpet looks lighter here for some reason.









With door closed. Now you can see the carpet is much closer in color.









I'm gonna see how I like the carpet... I may try to find some perfectly matching vinyl over time.... I'm in no rush.

Still have to make the grilles both for the doors and for the kicks. Also need to make a small piece for the back. Hopefully this week.

Also did a bit more work to my brother in law's Golf...




























The interior is pretty faded (the car is a 96) so the new black is definitely darker than the factory interior, but it is really not too far off in daylight.


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## chuyler1 (Apr 10, 2006)

Hmm, not crazy about the carpet...it's a quick fix to getting it finished but I'd love to see those covered in another layer of fiberglass (to get rid of the lip around the midbass) and then painted, colored vinyl might work too. However, overall very nice job. They look more solid than home speaker enclosures.


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

chuyler1 said:


> Hmm, not crazy about the carpet...it's a quick fix to getting it finished but I'd love to see those covered in another layer of fiberglass (to get rid of the lip around the midbass) and then painted, colored vinyl might work too. However, overall very nice job. They look more solid than home speaker enclosures.


Yeah, I agree. That carpet will definitely not be the final iteration of finish for the doors. I feel like I'll never get the color perfect, so I am considering doing both the door pod and the grey vinyl insert around the door handles in a different color, probably black, since plenty of other parts in the car are black.


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## jdc753 (Nov 14, 2007)

MSimz said:


> Yeah, I agree. That carpet will definitely not be the final iteration of finish for the doors. I feel like I'll never get the color perfect, so I am considering doing both the door pod and the grey vinyl insert around the door handles in a different color, probably black, since plenty of other parts in the car are black.


That should look very nice. I would think just building out the pods a little more to smooth them out and get the speaker more flushed or recessed into the pods.

Looking good so far  Hopefully if we do another New England meet up I will get a chance to hear it.


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## MSimz (Oct 7, 2007)

I've been putting some non-stop thought into the pods, trying to formulate a plan to get them to look better, but still look factory enough while also trying to keep in mind I want to cover the whole damn thing with the grilles. Think I am close to a solution.

As far as the sound... I have to say, when I first fired it up, I was pretty pissed. I spent a good couple hours today tuning and tweaking, and have found some HUGE improvements. Now its getting somewhere.

The sub sounds incredible. It is everything I expected from the w7 (I have not tried the 35hz port yet, only the 30hz port). It sounds like the 13w7 I had in my Mustang, but not quite as loud, obviously. It is accurate and controlled, surprisingly loud for a single 8 (can't wait to try the 35hz port), and blends friggin beautifully - it is almost uncanny as it seems like the vehicle itself is the sub. I think part of the reason it blends so well is....

The midbass is kind of silly. It is punchy as hell. When I run them without a HP at absurd volume levels, they get a tad muddy down low (sub 45ish), but really not too bad at all. HP @ 63, and they are nuts. Bass drums are great. However, I do have to say they sort of lack 'fullness'. I don't really know how to describe it. Regardless, the overall effect of these with the w7 is wonderful. Bass guitar blends seamlessly, drums have great impact... again, they just kind of seem.... I dunno, hollow... for some reason. For ****s and giggles just to compare, I'd like to try some other drivers if they'll fit and they would work well with the enclosure specs. I have found that I have to use the steeper of the 2 crossover slopes on the XOs in order to keep as much midrange out of them as possible so they blend better with the....

Midranges. The RS100s are animals. In the case of this install, I don't necessarily mean that in a good way. However, I also don't know that I can blame it 100% on the drivers in this install. When I first fired up the frontstage, it was harsh as hell (only at ridiculuous volume levels, but still, that's usually how I listen on the highway). I almost couldn't take it. There was sibilance and breakup abound, and it was killing me. I was pretty depressed. I initially suspected the tweeters. It wasn't until today that I got to sort things out. I unplugged the AAs and Daytons, which led me to the discovery that the tweeters weren't the problem. I plugged in only the midranges, and... harsh, sibilant, unruly. Damn. I played around and listened for a solid 40 minutes or so, and ended up cutting BIG time at 2.5k, a tad at 800, and a tad at 4k (I think, can't remember). It ended up much better - it tamed them down quite a bit. Hooked up the tweets, and it was a whole better, but something was still off. I flipped the phase on the RS100s, and that improved things further still. The reasons I suspect it may not be 100% the driver is 1. I don't know the the type of crossover design (LR, Butterworth, Bessel, etc..) used in these things, therefore it may somehow be an artifact of that, and 2. I didn't chamfer the back of the mid baffle, and it is quite deep, so I don't konw if that has something to do with it either. Anyhoo, once I got that harshness out of there, the listening experience was much, much better. The RSs are obviously very nice mids, low distortion and all. The only thing I notice is they lack a bit of impact compared to the Focal Mistral (kevlar cones) series mids I had in my Mustang. With those things, the snare drum on KSE's Alive or Just Breathing album would absolutely tear your nuts off, but would stay perfectly clean and distortion free - you could actually feel the snare in your chest. No such impact with the RSs, but they don't really offend either. The big thing was that B.S. in the 1K - 4K, which actually cleaned up rather nicely, and led it to blend better with...

The tweets. The Alpines (SPX Pros) are nice tweets, for sure. Pretty laid back, no real harshness or anything offensive like that (which I found out after playing with stuff today). They fall off pretty quick off axis, but it isn't a problem, luckily, in this install. Flipping the mids out of phase improved everything quite a bit, including the blend with the tweeter. After the ****ty initial FR and harshness / sibilance issues, the other thing making me depressed was how easy it was to locate the speakers. It was very easy to tell where the sound was coming from (mostly the R side), and the stage height was LOOOOOOW. It also seemed like treble was biased toward the right, pulling the stage in an odd right and downward direction. I found that cutting the R side tweeter by 2db compared to the left worked magic. The stage height instantly lifted drastically, and the image centered up surprisingly really well (with no TA). There was no longer that strange right and low bias.

After the tweaking things are really starting to come together. I may try to mod the kicks a bit and get some better performance out of the RS100s. I like to tinker. I am also very curious to try some different gear, just to see what the results are.
I still have to say though, that my Mustang sounded better. Granted, you can't even start to compare the structure of two vehicles (coupe vs. SUV), not even a little bit. The seating position in the Rustang was so low and far back as compared to the Escape. I have never owned an SUV before, so it is all new to me. I also had a ton of tuning time in the Rustang, and way more processing power. Regardless, I am beginning to see the light in the Escape, and I am pretty confident that modding the kicks will yield some nice results from the Daytons.


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## chuyler1 (Apr 10, 2006)

Some recommendations for you regarding the "hollow" sounding midbass.
1) Cover the inside (and outside if you can) with a layer of raammat.
2) Pack some polyfill into the enclosure
3) Optionally, try sealing off the port...you'd be able to give them more power so they can get more punchy.


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