# Small system for a small car. SQ in a 1990 Miata.



## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

Otherwise known as, how to drive yourself crazy. 

This will be a fairly simple, budget SQ build. Though it does need to get some volume since this is a convertible.

I have been planing this build for a while and have come up with a list of goals.

Minimal loss of space.
Useable bass down to at least 40hz.
Decent imaging.
Decent SQ.
Have both single and two seat tunes available.
Stealth except for the subs in the rear deck.
False floor in the trunk to hide the amps.
Clean up the wiring job from the previous owner.
De-rattle the car.

The biggest goal though, is to have everything properly secured so I don't have to remove it to take the car out on track or for autocross. 

With all that in mind, I have been collecting parts for the last couple months, and today, the final piece, the head unit, showed up.

Before going any further though, this is my toy. A lightly modded 1990 Miata named Morris.



















And out doing his thing.










And hear is the gear going in:










Kenwood KMM-BT312U headunit
NVX JAD 800.4
Soundstream Picaso Nano PN4.520D
HAT Mirus 5.25" Co-axles 
Rockford Fosgate Punch P1S48 (pair)
MiniDSP and MiniDC
Welding Cable from WesBell Wire and Cable (1/0 from battery to fuse block, 6 from there to amps)
Xscorpion fuse block
Stinger RCAs
Hitron 16 gauge speaker wire (This stuff is fantastic if you have not tried it).

The HATs will be installed in the stock locations. The P1s will be running IB in the rear package shelf, which will be rebuilt to be more than a thin tin panel (Which it is now and it rattles like crazy). 

The doors will receive some sound damping, as well as having the window guides replaced. They have disintegrated due to age and the windows rattle with the sound cranked up.

Both amps will be bridged, with the NVX driving each sub with around 300-400w and the Soundstream running 200ish to each Mirus. The amp rack will be bolted through the floor in the trunk using the stock drain holes that are available.


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

this sounds like a solid approach, I think you will do pretty good with this, but I wonder why you didn't go with a component set to get the tweeters up a bit higher? I'm not quite sure how much imaging you expect with coaxials in the stock locations, but I'd suggest not setting the standard super high.


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

First up, a quick overview of the previous instal. It is not bad, but could certainly be better and is not up to my standards.

The head unit the car came with, an older Sony unit. Decent, good adjustment, but a bright blue display that drove me nuts at night (and as you can see, my solution to that. Sorry about the mess, it needs to be vacuumed)










Moving to the back, the car came with a Soundstream XTA 480.4. A decent amp, that now lives in my friends car. But it had a hiss that was unbearable through the super bright $40 walmart 4 way coaxes that were installed. It was swapped for the NVX.

The amp was attached to two strips of wood that are glued to the carpet. Not secure enough for me to leave attached while doing motorsports.










Power is currently run to the amp via a cut up jumper cable that is clipped to the battery...










At least it is fused (for 30 amps).










I color coded the speaker wire after the first time I pulled the amp out.










The head unit harness was done entirely with wire nuts. (which did make it easy to reuse the two parts!)



















So tonight's task was to make a new harness for the Kenwood and take the Sony out. 

Got to play with one of my favorite tools. My Weller Portisol butane soldering iron. A fantastically useful thing to own. 










Finished harness. I don't know where the stock speaker wires are terminated, since I can't find them in the doors and they aren't in the kicks. So I left the speaker wires disconnected and terminated so nothing can short out.










I just screwed the headunit into the adapter that was there, so there are not any pictures of that.

I am pleased with the options available for lighting on this Kenwood. You can make it just about any color you want, and any brightness you want. Which is fantastic, no more blinding blue light when I am trying to drive at night.

For now, I have set it to match the stock lighting in the car.










To be continued.


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

Lycancatt said:


> this sounds like a solid approach, I think you will do pretty good with this, but I wonder why you didn't go with a component set to get the tweeters up a bit higher? I'm not quite sure how much imaging you expect with coaxials in the stock locations, but I'd suggest not setting the standard super high.


There are two reasons. There is nowhere stock to mount the tweeters and I don't really want to fab something up or cut into the door panels for it (and the a-pillars are just tiny!). And there are only 4 channels on the MiniDSP. And the subs definitely need some EQ, filtering and time alignment, since I am running them up to 200hz to not strain the xmax on the HATs.

As far as imaging. With just the HATs and the balance set a bit right, there is already a very nice, dash board height, center image and a reasonable amount of imaging already. If it gets better, cool. If not, it is acceptable already.


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

that's quite lucky! must say I'm happy to hear it because so many people have super high standards for what they think they need in a daily driver..and a lot of the time its just not possible.


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

Lycancatt said:


> that's quite lucky! must say I'm happy to hear it because so many people have super high standards for what they think they need in a daily driver..and a lot of the time its just not possible.


Well this isn't the daily. That is my Honda Fit and this build will be more experience before I try that one. I am planning three way left and right, two way center, coax rears. JBL MS8. False floor with the sub in the spare tire (since I am not going to ditch the spare) and active for everything. It is going to be a long-term build though.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

jdsoldger said:


> There are two reasons. There is nowhere stock to mount the tweeters and I don't really want to fab something up or cut into the door panels for it (and the a-pillars are just tiny!). And there are only 4 channels on the MiniDSP. And the subs definitely need some EQ, filtering and time alignment, since I am running them up to 200hz to not strain the xmax on the HATs.
> 
> As far as imaging. With just the HATs and the balance set a bit right, there is already a very nice, dash board height, center image and a reasonable amount of imaging already. If it gets better, cool. If not, it is acceptable already.


A guy I used to work with had Miata back in like 95. He did some 6" in the door, and mounted the tweeters on brackets under the outer corners of the dash. The were made from radio back strap which made the angles easily adjustable. The whole thing worked amazingly well. Just a thought.

A while back I did an IB install in a 96 Impala SS on the rear deck. I cut out all the ribbing, and did 1/2" mdf on top and 3/4" mdf on the bottom and screwed them together. Then I used Dynamat Xtreme to seal it from the back window down to the floor under the back seat. Didn't rattle a lick.

Jay


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

I am planning 1/2 or 3/4" plywood for the baffle. I don't know if you have every been into that section of a Miata. But the 8" Rockfords could not be any bigger than they are and still fit. So I am not sure how much wood I can get in there. I will likely do some damping in there, but I am not going to be able to seal it up since I do occationally need to get back in there. I am trying not to add too much weight.


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## Palos (Feb 12, 2010)

Your set up sounds awesome, but the pics aren't opening up


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

Palos said:


> Your set up sounds awesome, but the pics aren't opening up


I can see them just fine on my phone?


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Here's a thread that you may find very interesting. It's a short forum conversation that I had way way back with Rob Hephner, the former Editorial Director at CarSound & Performance Magazine, about his SQ install in his 1999 (IIRC) Miata, regarding his midbass and tweeter choices and their placement, along with their associated XO Frequencies & Slopes. It might help you with your install.

Oh, Rob Hephner's screen name on this forum/thread is "*®*". And I remember him mentioning somewhere else that the midbass and bass response was better with a hardtop...which makes sense because of the attributes of cabin gain.


OT: Rob, Morel Supremo Questions. - CARSOUND.COM Forum


A bit crazy, but I still have a pair of those MB Quart "Phat 5" midbass drivers, too.


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

bbfoto said:


> Here's a thread that you may find very interesting. It's a short forum conversation that I had way way back with Rob Hephner, the former Editorial Director at CarSound & Performance Magazine, about his SQ install in his 1999 (IIRC) Miata, regarding his midbass and tweeter choices and their placement, along with their associated XO Frequencies & Slopes. It might help you with your install.
> 
> Oh, Rob Hephner's screen name on this forum/thread is "*®*". And I remember him mentioning somewhere else that the midbass and bass response was better with a hardtop...which makes sense because of the attributes of cabin gain.
> 
> ...



Thanks for that link. Though I am not sure I would ever call anything on a Miata large. 

Interesting that he had the tweeters mounted low and on the same baffle with the midbass. This is the same thing I have found with mine. It must have something to do with the shape of the under dash, but the sound is all up on the dash, even with just a set of coaxes mounted in the stock spots.

And yes, the hard top adds significantly to the bass, since you have a very small cabin with a ton of gain then. Though mine, being so early, has no headliner or anything. So you have a plastic roof and reflections are insane.

Though I will be designing and tuning this system with the roof off and windows down, which is how I drive this car 90% of the time. My goal is 110dB (more is better!) So I can enjoy the system out on the highway. Doing the math though, it looks like I will be fairly close to that 107/108 Rob was at.

Overall though, I will be sticking with the coaxes for now. I see no reason to go comps, since if I did, I would just have the tweeter down by the midbass anyway (this was the plan even before I read what Rob had done).

I do have two big advantages though. I will have a DSP for tuning, and I will have two 8" subs handling 150-200hz and down (will be playing to see where the crossovers end up).


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Cool. Sounds good to me. I'm tuned in to see your progress. 

Oh, and Rob did have a very capable DSP in his car for this setup...the Sony XDP-4000X, which IMO still holds its own against any of the current processors as far as SQ is concerned.


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

bbfoto said:


> Cool. Sounds good to me. I'm tuned in to see your progress.
> 
> Oh, and Rob did have a very capable DSP in his car for this setup...the Sony XDP-4000X, which IMO still holds its own against any of the current processors as far as SQ is concerned.


Ahha. Didn't realize that was a DSP.

And I should clarify on the advantages. I meant for getting a bit more SPL. I am sure this will be nowhere near Robs car for SQ.  I don't have to try and dig low with the midbasses, so they can just do their thing while the subs handle the lower midbass and down.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

jdsoldger said:


> Ahha. Didn't realize that was a DSP.
> 
> And I should clarify on the advantages. I meant for getting a bit more SPL. I am sure this will be nowhere near Robs car for SQ.  I don't have to try and dig low with the midbasses, so they can just do their thing while the subs handle the lower midbass and down.


Yeah, you should be able to eek out a lot more (cleaner & louder) performance than Rob's car with your setup. Decent speakers, subs, and a DSP can work wonders. 

Have fun with it!

I got to do quite a few laps at Laguna Seca in the 2010 MX-5's while working on a week-long advertising photo shoot for Mazda.  When we finished shooting one day, professional Grand Prix driver Jonathan Bomarito took my crew and I around the track at full tilt a few times in several of their track cars, and then for the last run he drifted through all of the twisties...we were giggling like schoolgirls, LOL. I came very close to pulling the trigger on a MX-5 at the end of this shoot, but just had too many cars already.

Testing one of the camera rigs...


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

Update time! I have been busy all week (including going to the NY AutoShow yesterday!) but a box from Don over at Sound Deadener Showdown showed up on Monday!










Don really, really, overpacks. He could have sent me sheets of glass and they would have gotten here in great shape. Even better, everything is nicely labeled.










I never would have thought to check that either... Thank goodness for the sticker! 










And the booty. 12 CLD tiles, HH66, 10 Velcro strips, a roll of Butyle rope and a sheet of CCF.










Not all of this is for this car, some is going to be going into the Fit as well. The plan in the Miata is CLD and bytule rope in the doors, then CCF over that on the back of the flat door card. We will see how that is, I may or may not, put some MLV (probably DB33 from HomeDepot since it is a bit thinner) in there as well. The door card is just a sheet of hard board and is fairly dense all on it's own. The CCF will really just be there to keep it from rattling against the door.

I also received the new window guides in a nice little kit. Not cheap, but everyone else was out of stock and the teflon ones should last a good long time.


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

With all the parts here, I spent today putting in the new guides and CLD.

A quick picture of how the speaker is currently mounted. The adapter is hard board at the moment. It will become HDPE eventually, but the hard board is holding up well after a year or so (the paper on it is the template I used to cut it out. It soaked up the brown color from the board.)










The door card on the other hand, after 25 years (10/1989 build date!) is not doing so well. Most of the screw posts where the board attaches to the upper part have broken and the hard board is starting to degrade. I will be making some new ones this year I think. The vinyl is cut in a few places as well.



















The biggest noise makers in the doors currently are the windows. Any time you close the door they rattle and shake around. And no wonder! There are two guides, one on the window and one on the regulator in the middle. That's it! And the ones on the windows well...










They just aren't there...










Found about a 3rd of the passenger side on in the bottom of the track. There was about 1/2 of the driver side on in the same spot.










Here is what one of the new guides looks like in place. I also lubed the tracks and cleaned everything nicely. Both windows are working nice now and no more clanking around in the door.










While I had the windows out, I put some butyl rope in between the door bar and the skin. 6 small pieces in each door just to kind of tack it to the bar. What a difference even that made. It went from a drum to a nice tunk. ((taking pictures inside the doors is hard!))










After that, I put almost 2 tiles in each door. Cutting them up and putting them in the middle between the door bar and edges. Don has listed that you measure for 4 tiles in each door for the outer skin, but I find it is probably closer to two with the space you have inside. Coverage may be a little light, but with the rope it makes the doors sound nice and sold. Closing them doesn't result in a cacophony of sound anymore.

Passenger side, just a few of the pieces I put in there.



















and drivers side.



















I ended up using 3.75 tiles between the two doors.

I then spent the next two hours trying to get the passenger window to line up correctly. It always tipped out and I had to put 3/8" weather stripping on the stock seals to make it somewhat seal. After adjustment (turned out I had to shift the whole regulator and guide system!) I now have it back to sealing against the stock seals. The best part is, the window can be put up without having to open the door or have the roof down! That was a trick with a manual window while out driving around by myself.

Next task will be cleaning up all the black goo from the vapor barriers, putting a few strategic pieces of CLD on the inner frame and cutting the CCF to fit. That will have to be another day though.


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## vwjmkv (Apr 23, 2011)

subd!


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## upfront (Mar 6, 2015)

Nice work with the windows mate. Very tricky. Impressed to see you stuck with it.


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

upfront said:


> Nice work with the windows mate. Very tricky. Impressed to see you stuck with it.


Actually, they were overall easy to do. It would take about 10 minutes to put a new guide on if you know what you are doing. The hard part was getting the window to seal. And that was just because I had to shift things a bit, put it mostly together and test, then take it appart amd adjust again.


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## Jimmy the Heater (Jun 18, 2015)

Any updates on this?


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## cggorman (Aug 4, 2015)

Interested in reading the rest of this story! I'm in the planning stages to do a similar install in a '92 Miata.


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

Sorry about lack of updates! Life has been super busy with work picking up and having to put in a bunch of overtime, the AC system in my daily dying (65k miles and 4 years old! The Miata spent a month as a daily since it has mostly working AC), upgrading the Miata suspention yet again, and building a shed. I hope to get back to this soo , but school starts the end of this month.

The bad news is, I have popped one of the spiders loose on one of my subs. So I am either going to fix that or start hunting for new subs. Any suggestions on 8s that would be good for IB with high power handling?


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## MotoCARR (May 27, 2015)

Two things:

First, do you have a link to the window guides/sliders you ended up going with? Every Miata site claims to have the best ones 









Second, color coded heat shrink. Nice detail!


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## MotoCARR (May 27, 2015)

I lied, third thing. What suspension are you running in this pic?


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## glidn (Apr 21, 2007)

nice work,

Quick question, if you are not using the radio's speaker outputs at all?
Why not simply de-pin those wires from the harness? Then you have a nice clean loom with only 3-4 wire. Just a thought anyway.

Will be interesting to see what you are going to come up with in this.


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## vwjmkv (Apr 23, 2011)

OP! its been a good while since you started this post! just curious about the process! hope all is well


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

Sorry about the lack of updates! School hit and my free time went to almost nill. I also did a good bit of traveling this fall and all my free time was spent getting my daily ready for winter (took it mostly apart, did rust protection and some suspension adjustments).

Only things that have happened to the Miata are that it was auto crossed and driven a lot, got a suspension upgrade and two new sets of wheels and tires! Oh, and I replaced the subs since I popped the spider on the one. Ended up going with Power Acoustic RW1-8.  They modeled well for what I needed, were cheap and got good reviews. So far I am pleased and they work well. 

I picked up a set of race wheels and tires. Bridgestone RE-71R in 205/50-15 on TR C1 15x7 rims. I run in a street tire class, so 200tw is the max for me.










The suspension was upgraded to ebay coil over sleeves and Summit Racing springs. I went from 342lbs/in front and 228lbs rear to 450lbs front and 350 rear. Up from the stock of 164/96.










Here he is washed, waxed, on the new suspension and on the daily tires/wheels.












MotoCARR said:


> Two things:
> 
> First, do you have a link to the window guides/sliders you ended up going with? Every Miata site claims to have the best ones
> 
> ...


Window guides Here

Well, I had the colors on hand so...



MotoCARR said:


> I lied, third thing. What suspension are you running in this pic?


That setup was Koni Yellows with FM springs and a 1" solid front bar. I detailed the changes I made from that above.



glidn said:


> nice work,
> 
> Quick question, if you are not using the radio's speaker outputs at all?
> Why not simply de-pin those wires from the harness? Then you have a nice clean loom with only 3-4 wire. Just a thought anyway.
> ...


Just in case I decide to use them in the future!



vwjmkv said:


> OP! its been a good while since you started this post! just curious about the process! hope all is well


Sorry! all is well, I have just been super busy with classes and work.


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## MotoCARR (May 27, 2015)

jdsoldger said:


> Sorry! all is well, I have just been super busy with classes and work.


No excuse! 

How do you like the new suspension setup?


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

MotoCARR said:


> No excuse!
> 
> How do you like the new suspension setup?


It is wonderful. Very stiff, but I raised it up a hair lesd than an inch to get up off the bump stops (the old FM springs I have are early ones from when they had problems with spring sag). The car is super planted, and while stiff, it is not harsh and quite livable. It definetly handles the sticky tires better than the softer springs.


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## MotoCARR (May 27, 2015)

jdsoldger said:


> It is wonderful. Very stiff, but I raised it up a hair lesd than an inch to get up off the bump stops (the old FM springs I have are early ones from when they had problems with spring sag). The car is super planted, and while stiff, it is not harsh and quite livable. It definetly handles the sticky tires better than the softer springs.


So you kept the yellows, and swapped to Summit springs and ebay collars.....good to know! I'm in the midst of shopping for 185K mile replacements.....I'm sure you can imagine the ride quality LOL


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

MotoCARR said:


> So you kept the yellows, and swapped to Summit springs and ebay collars.....good to know! I'm in the midst of shopping for 185K mile replacements.....I'm sure you can imagine the ride quality LOL


Very easilly. My friend picked up a turbo 91 with the worst shocks I have ever seen recently. He then lost his job so we put shocks from an 80k mile 93 and a 40kmi 95 on it to hold him over.
The yellows are good for street driving and such, though what you choose will depend on budget.


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## MotoCARR (May 27, 2015)

jdsoldger said:


> Very easilly. My friend picked up a turbo 91 with the worst shocks I have ever seen recently. He then lost his job so we put shocks from an 80k mile 93 and a 40kmi 95 on it to hold him over.
> The yellows are good for street driving and such, though what you choose will depend on budget.


Sounds just like what my car was about to be . I've told myself that I will not install my turbo related goodies or my new Massive SUMMO64 I have stockpiled until I get it at least get it to the point where it's not knocking my fillings out.:laugh:


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

:mean:


MotoCARR said:


> Sounds just like what my car was about to be . I've told myself that I will not install my turbo related goodies or my new Massive SUMMO64 I have stockpiled until I get it at least get it to the point where it's not knocking my fillings out.:laugh:


I know how that goes! A good set of MCU bumpstops (from Rockauto, 2002 Mini Cooper Supercharged for $4.65 each) will go a long wat to help.


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## MotoCARR (May 27, 2015)

jdsoldger said:


> :mean:
> 
> I know how that goes! A good set of MCU bumpstops (from Rockauto, 2002 Mini Cooper Supercharged for $4.65 each) will go a long wat to help.


The same 54mm at all four corners?


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

MotoCARR said:


> The same 54mm at all four corners?


Trim to suit, although 54 should be fine at stock height. You wi need to make some spacers about 1cm tall to make sure the shocks don't bottom internally. HDPE works well. The MCU can compress more than the stock rubber ones, so needs the spacer.


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## JBThompson (Oct 3, 2013)

I've always wanted to buy one of these to flog around Mid-America. Sadly I'm 6'4" and I physically do not fit. Actually last time one came to my shop I had to have one of the midgets pull it into my bay


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## MotoCARR (May 27, 2015)

JBThompson said:


> I've always wanted to buy one of these to flog around Mid-America. Sadly I'm 6'4" and I physically do not fit. Actually last time one came to my shop I had to have one of the midgets pull it into my bay


You may fit in a 3rd generation, NC Miata


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## craiggus365 (Apr 5, 2009)

jdsoldger, if you ever are near Monmouth county shore area with the Miata I'd love to see it in person, audio or not.
I appreciate more than audio!
Exit 98 - Belmar.


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

craiggus365 said:


> jdsoldger, if you ever are near Monmouth county shore area with the Miata I'd love to see it in person, audio or not.
> I appreciate more than audio!
> Exit 98 - Belmar.


I am not down there often, but I hope to do a track day at Raceway Park sometime next year.


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## tkblazer (Dec 16, 2012)

Not sure if you have seen or heard of these, but I have many friends running these on their cars and they all say their speakers sound better with them installed. The increase in chassis stiffness is nice as well. I cannot post any links now but they are delrin door bushings by garage star. Fm sells them now I believe if you do not want to purchase direct from garage star


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

Yeah, I am planning on looking into some door blocks at some point. I will probably make my own out of HDPE that I have around. I have access to a lathe and a mill, so it shouldn't be too hard to roll my own.

Also, I snagged a quick picture of the replacement subs and where they are currently installed (since the car is outside with the top down anyway). Anyone who has had the rear carpet up will correctly guess that these rattle like mad (even with weatherstripping everywhere!). And I have a replacement carpet, just want to get the subs in their final place before cutting it up.


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## tkblazer (Dec 16, 2012)

How do the subs work there? When I had an Na I used a footwell sub box with an 8" type r sub


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

tkblazer said:


> How do the subs work there? When I had an Na I used a footwell sub box with an 8" type r sub


They work well and sound decent. Only so much bass (because no cabin gain...) and you have to watch the excursion since they are running free air. They rattle like mad though since the previous owner just cut holes in the thin panel that is bolted in there... It will eventually be replaced with a nice solid baffle.


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## tkblazer (Dec 16, 2012)

oh ya those are mounted on the thin parcel shelf over the gas tank.


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

tkblazer said:


> oh ya those are mounted on the thin parcel shelf over the gas tank.


Yup. I advise people not to do that unlesd they plan on making a new one our of wood or something.


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## MotoCARR (May 27, 2015)

jdsoldger said:


> Yup. I advise people not to do that unlesd they plan on making a new one our of wood or something.


Just sacrifice the spare tire and blow it into the cabin


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

What's this, an update? Yup! I spent most of the winter working on maintenance that is needed on a 26 year old car that is run hard. 










But today I finally got the negative battery cable off the battery (it has been corroded on since the summer sometime). But the bolt snapped while doing it, so I finally decided to do the wiring upgrade for the battery and sound system I had been meaning to do. The PO installed an amp, and used a cut up, tiny jumper cable to power it (at least he fused it.) I have been meaning to fix that, and the way he mounted the amp, so I don't have to take them out for autocross or track days.

New negative cable made.










Fuse block that will be running the audio system, as well as the car. All power will pass through it and is fused. I have never liked that the main positive lead runs all the way to the front of the car before going through a fuse. It get's an 80A one here, two 40's for the two amps.










Fuse block and 4Ga positive cable. It will be trimmed to length later. 










Hooked up to the battery. The PO put in a sealed lead acid from a UPS. Duno why, it works though. Unless it is below 20F, then it won't do anything.










This is how the amp was originally held in. Two strips of wood glued to the carpet. Not gonna fly (well actually, it might, that's the problem.)










So I did some CAD (cardboard aided design) work and figured out an amp layout and such.



















Going to bolt it through these holes.










transferred it to some 1/2" ply.










Cut it out and test fit, trimmed as needed.


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

Then, I got to use my router for the first time. Doing a 1/2" round over on 1/2" ply. These things still scare the ever loving **** out of me. But I managed it without loosing any body parts.



















After that, it fit nice and snug in the little well thing. 
Next was to lay out and drill some holes.










And then, to prove my insanity, and continue my tradition to over build everything, everything will be held in place by 8-32 machine screws and t-nuts.










The whole thing will be bolted down with 5/16" bolts and t-nuts (biggest t-nuts I could find locally).










I will be carpeting it before installing, so it all looks nice. Also need to do the wire layout and tie them all down nice as well.


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## teldzc1 (Oct 9, 2009)

Nice job!


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## Reverend Greg (Jan 13, 2016)

Subbed


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

Picked up some #4 hardware to mount the speaker wire terminal strip. Might be a bit overkill though...



















Finished layout for all the t-nuts










Spray glue for putting the carpet on.










Carpeted! Not bad for my first time doing this.



















And test fit, matches fairly well.










poke holes to feed the screws through










And mount things up. Not the finished system, but I wanted to have sound for the meet tomorrow evening.


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## Reverend Greg (Jan 13, 2016)

One thing noticed after reading the whole thread was the misconception that a 6'04" dude won't fit. 
The answer is a foam-ectomy,Google for a better description,but basically you cut the seat back and bottom foam in half and reinstall it.
I'm 6'03" 220-230lbs And I fit great I my Miata. It is small but,there is no other car like it.
The pics don't come up for me all the time,but let me ask this..main power from the battery to a distribution block ,then power to the amp, dsp, & the chassis fuse box? Where did you put the distro? And you grounded all to the same point in the boot?
Also they let you autocross with a system? You have to disconnect the amps right ?


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## tonynca (Dec 4, 2009)

hehe there's nothing SQ about a Miata. The road noise is going to drown out the best SQ speakers on this planet. I have one and I've sound deaden half of the car and it's still noisy. Maybe a hard top would help but still. That car is just too rumbly.


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

Reverend Greg said:


> The pics don't come up for me all the time,but let me ask this..main power from the battery to a distribution block ,then power to the amp, dsp, & the chassis fuse box? Where did you put the distro? And you grounded all to the same point in the boot?
> Also they let you autocross with a system? You have to disconnect the amps right ?


Near the battery as I can get it on the amp rack. And yeah, the main positive cable, amp positives, and DSP all come from the fuse box.

All grounded right to the point where the stock ground cable grounds too, by the antenna.

They didn't let me before, but that was because the amp was poorly mounted. I hope this set up can just stay in, taking the amp in and out and hooking and unhooking everything gets old. I plan to have everything solidly mounted enough to not have to worry about it.



tonynca said:


> hehe there's nothing SQ about a Miata. The road noise is going to drown out the best SQ speakers on this planet. I have one and I've sound deaden half of the car and it's still noisy. Maybe a hard top would help but still. That car is just too rumbly.


Well, you can just turn it up loud enough that you have an acceptable noise floor. :laugh:

Hard top makes it worse. It is all plastic inside, reflections galore.


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## tonynca (Dec 4, 2009)

I'm doing the floor and firewall next. If that doesn't help further, I don't know what to do with the Miata for less road noise. I have yet seen a quiet Miata. 

Good luck with your build and I hope you get the SQ you're looking for.


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## jdsoldger (Feb 14, 2012)

tonynca said:


> I'm doing the floor and firewall next. If that doesn't help further, I don't know what to do with the Miata for less road noise. I have yet seen a quiet Miata.
> 
> Good luck with your build and I hope you get the SQ you're looking for.


I am mostly there already, even without a DSP. This is the toy car, so I am not looking for super SQ. Just decent and enjoyable and enough to catch people's attention.


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