# The Biggest Project I Have Ever Taken On by Myself :) SQ TL version 3.0 - 500+ pics!!



## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Hey Guys,

Haven't posted anything to the install log section in about two and a half month; mainly because since the last project, I have been working almost nonstop on the biggest project I have ever taken on by myself. Just finished the car and had a great competition debut at my Norcal MECA event this past Saturday. With my long awaited vacation coming a few days away, I figure I better finish this humongous install log and post it up before I leave. 

The car is one that long time members will recognize, it is Mike (ChicoOG)'s 2005 Acura TL, it is the third time I am working on the car and the fourth or maybe 4.5th system in total. But I am fairly certain that this time, I will be the last iteration...maybe small pieces will change, but the bulk of it is gonna stay.

Before getting to the log itself, I want to make sure to thank the following people, for without their guidance, support and expertise none of this would have been possible:
*
•	Scott Baughman for setting up the entire deal with ORCA•	Nalaka and Duane from Orca for all their technical and sponsorship support
•	Scott Welch for his superb tuning ability and dedication on working deep into the night.
•	Justin and the team from Oznium.com for their help with LED lighting products
•	Steve (Whiterabbit) for his awesome soldering skills in fabricating RCA cables for the project.
•	Lucky from AAMP for providing us with Stinger products at a sponsored rate
•	Natan Budiono for providing us with the internal schematics of the OEM TL headunit
•	Matt Roberts for working his magic using those schematics and supplying us with the "best sounding Acura headunit in the world" 
•	Kirk Proffit for lending us his old stock HU to modify
•	Clay with Polaris for his help setting up with AAMP
•	Shelly and Aaron from Zapco for their help with the dual dsp6 and simblink products.
•	Jeff from photoshootmycar.com for making such an awesome display and system diagram.
•	Various guys on DIYMA such as Niebur for helping with tips and tricks.
•	Robert Rugani for additional help with Zapco related questions
•	Various installer friends like Jon Kowanetz, Jon Webb, Troy McGregor, Brittney Parker and other for offering their help and encouragement during the project.
•	And last but not least, Mike for trusting his car to me once again. *

I am sure I forgot some people, so for that I apologize.Let’s get to the system itself. 

As usual, goals:

1. To create a system with a high level of sound quality and a car that we can eventually take to world finals and SBN.
2. To create a system with a classy visual appearance augmented with a few unique touches throughout.
3. Focus almost obsessively on attention to detail, things that are beneath the surface but can be fully appreciated by fellow installers and install judges. 

In other words, we wanted to build a car that can post very respectable scores for SQ and install, and look good doing it. That’s it! My common MOs such as stealth and space savings were completely thrown out of the window… Very quickly I realized this would be the most involved project I have ever taken on since I started working by myself; with many challenging aspects that I would need to overcome as a one man operation, but in the end, it is just about keeping my head down and keep on working until it’s done. I truly believe that given my very limited ability and experience, this IS the best effort I can put forth at this time. 

I want to warn you now that there are well over 500 pictures in this log...and because of that, I will not be able to devote as much info to each picture or the whole thing will take forever. I will also break down the log into a few sections, with the completed pics first, and then followed by various sections of construction pics. 

The project involves quite a few brand names and products, but partial sponsorship came from Focal, Mosconi, Stinger and Oznium.com.



COMPLETED PICS

The signal starts with what appears to be a normal OEM Acura TL headunit, all the stock functions will work as before, rear view camera, radio and CD play back:

















Pop open the glove box and a rack housing a Zapco DRC-SL remote control unit and a digital voltmeter is revealed. The outer portion is trimmed in OEM cream ivory vinyl while the trim is a red suede like material. Having the DRC up front enables front seat tuning and instant preset adjustment:

















The front stage utilizes Focal's Utopia Beryllium No.7 three way component set. The 6w3 Be woofer is installed into fiberglass kick panels, molded off the stock panel and wrapped in ivory tan vinyl. Here they are with the Focal grilles snapped in place: 

































The 3" Utopia midrange and the TBe tweeter went into a set of custom molded A pillar pods, with the two drivers on the same plane firing across. The mod is trimmed in tan grille cloth. Here they are with the Focal grilles in place:

































A shot of the entire front stage with grilles attached:









And here is everything with the grilles removed, showing off the Be drivers in all their glory:









































































Moving onto the trunk, here is what you see when you lift up the lid. A complete boxed trunk design with all new panels was fabricated. All the outer panels are wrapped in graphite colored Alcantara, while the trim is the same red suede like material found on the glovebox rack. Three Mosconi amplifiers reside in a vertically oriented U-shaped rack, with a AS300.2 on the left sending 300 watts RMS to each kick panel mounted Utopia midbass woofer, a AS200.4 in the middle powering the midrange and tweeter with 200 watts a piece, and another AS300.2 on the right sending 1100 watts RMS bridged (4ohms) to the subwoofer. The sub – a Focal K2P 33KX 13” subwoofer, is inverted on the floor, while dual Zapco DSP6 signal processors take up the rack in front. All the major pieces of equipment sit in their own wells lined with red “suede”, with vertical sidewalls that is interrupted by a layer of frosted Plexiglas. On the roof of the trunk there is another panel with a small red strip at the back trimmed by more red “suede”; (We will get to that later) while a opening on the room panel allows bass to vent into the cabin properly.

It’s a bit hard to proper describe the overall look with words, so I will just post the pics…it was hard for me to find the right angle to make it look right, and I do believe that this pics really don’t do this one justice.










































































































































































So now let us take a closer look at the lighting. The frosted Plexiglas rings are all edge-lit with Osmium’s Million colored RGB water proof LED ribbons. Over 40 feet of the stuff was used throughout the trunk. A two channel RGB controller allows me call up virtually any color under the sun via credit-card sized remote control. The Little red strip at the top of the trunk is actually a programmable LED signboard I took out of its original casing and molded into a new rack. Using another larger remote control, I can program up to 9 custom messages to be scrolled across the screen…a feature that I haven’t really seen before in car audio and something I thought could add a little creativity and uniqueness to the overall project. 

Here is everything fired up:


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## SQ Audi (Dec 21, 2010)

OUTSTANDING!!!

The trunk seems a bit out of place, but, the fit and finish is typical Bing, so well done! that car should do very well in the lanes if tuned properly. the A-Pillars look excellent and so do the kicks! Well done Bing, well done!


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## MTopper (Nov 4, 2009)

holy cow Bing. thats one amazing looking install! i bet it sounds amazing with the product choice and locations. i'd be more than proud to get those scores. Keep it up man, enjoy your vacation


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## brett (Apr 27, 2005)

beautiful! great install and love the detailed description. this is 'build log porn' for me!


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## RedAggie03 (Jun 7, 2009)

I have a 2006 TL and I have to say, very impressive. Lots of detailed work in that car!


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## brett.b10 (Dec 1, 2008)

Top draw Bing !!!!!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

But of course, this kind of display is best seen at night or indoors, so here are a bunch of pictures taken in semi-darkened garage, showing off the few basic colors of the lighting and with the message “install by simplicity in sound” scrolling across the signboard:


















































































Here pics fall a little bit short in conveying the full effect, so here is a video I made up of the lighting, complete with a song from my favorite artist, for your viewing pleasure. 







*OEM Source Unit Modification*

*Learning from our experiences on the previous installs, we felt that one of the biggest limitations to sound quality was from the OEM source unit. The signal voltage coming out of it is VERY weak, verified to be far under a single volt of maximum clean output, with high level background noise and just in general, not very detailed. So we focused our attention initially, on integrating an aftermarket source unit to the car. While this solves a lot of our problems for SQ, it does present other issues, chief among which is cosmetic integration, as no matter how much we try, it won’t look that stock with a unit placed below the stock screen, single or double din. By talking with Kirk Proffit, a SQ world champion running the same car, he mentioned that Matt Roberts (MATT R) can build a very good line driver unit for the car. So the conversation started with Matt on that basis, it soon evolved into upgrading the entire unit to become a true audiophile source while still retaining full stock cosmetics and functionality. I then contacted fellow Team Lotus member Natan Budiono, also a SQ world champion, to help with coming up internal schematics for the unit, as Natan was heavily involved in the design of the Acura OEM source unit (and also the new VW Fender audio system). Soon, Matt got the schematic in hand and started working his magic.

The series of pictures below documents the awesome work that Matt did, being a total NON-electrical guy, I have almost zero idea what they do except that they really seem to make the headunit sound much better. As the headunit was the LAST thing that went into the vehicle, I had a chance to A/B demo the original unit in the car and the one that Matt modified on an otherwise completed build. The difference, to say the least, awesome! The new deck almost doubled the stock voltage, the noise floor is much lower, but listening to highly detailed tracks such as Keith Don’t Go, what appeared to be a series of muffled and jumbled notes all of a sudden came out crystal clear, I started noticing detail in the music I never even realized was there. And keep in mind that NOTHING else changed, no tuning, no placement of anything, just headunit swap…wow…

Anyway, here are the pics, I tried my best to make the descriptions accurate based on Matt’s notes, but since I don’t understand them at all, I apologize if I made any silly mistakes  

Photos below are courtesy of Matt R.*

Stock Circuit board prior to modification









Stock circuit board with the mute circuit on the left and original op-amps









New Texas Instrument model # TI burr brown OPA 4820 op-amps installedMute circuit removed to simplify signal path









Stock coupling capacitors









Stock coupling capacitors removed (above) and comparison with new Panasonic WFA 2.2uf polypropylene coupling capacitors









stock analog power supply filter capacitor









Nichicon Muse Power supply decoupling capacitors installedPanasonic FC power supply filter capacitors installed

















Close up of Panasonic FC 3300uf power supply filter capacitor









Elna Silmic II and Panasonic ECQ capacitors were used for local decoupling of the output devices









Epcos MKP 22uf polypropylene final output coupling capacitors 

















New remote turn on circuitry added 

















Various capacitors and devices installed and glued to circuit board

























Factory signal tapped at pins to provide new simblink signal output









Construction of new simblink output cables









Construction of simblink output cables soldering point at terminal end

















New simblink output female ends

















Central grounding location 









Pass through point for simblink output cables on back plate of chassis









New simblink cables being route through the chassis back plate

















Reassembled OEM Acura TL Headunit with new simblink and remote-turn on output cables


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

*
Front Stage Construction

The key difference this time around for front stage was the placement of the midbass and midrange. Previously, the midbass have always been in the doors and the midrange in the kicks. We decided that this time, the midbass would go into the kicks, pushed far forward, as it would eliminate the buzzing that the doors sometimes suffer despite an insane amount of sound proofing, it would also help in creating a deeper stage. The midrange on the other hand, was molded into the A pillars close to and on the same plane as, the tweeter. 

The balance was still to achieve a high level of SQ while not looking too weird, bulky and vision blocking…so after some listening with the old system, and following what Focal suggested, I came up with a design that faces roughly 30 degrees off axis with the opposite listener. It achieved a very deep and high stage with a solid center and not looking too protrusive.

Effort was spent on decoupling the midbass kick panel from the floor to reduce tactile vibrations, an issue I know well from my own car, and also just over build everything and make things as precise as possible in terms of fit and finish.* 

So here goes:

OEM carpet and padding trimmed around kick panel areaMetal cleaned for better adhesion









Layer of blackhole 5 sound proofing installed to decouple kick panel from floor









Closed cell foam installed over blackhole 5 and surround areas









Identical procedure on passenger side

























OEM kick panel snapped in, area masked off and marked









Identical procedure on passenger side









OEM kick panel scuffed with 36 grit sand paper to promote adhesion15 layers of 7.6oz fiberglass cloth laid down









Once cured, layer of duraglas/resin mixture brushed on to prevent warping









Identical procedure on passenger side

















Kick panel base mold removed from vehicle









Base molds trimmed to desired shape and cutout for ventingAdditional layer of duraglas applied to smooth out the shapeHoles drilled into kick panel to allow duraglas to securely bond with OEM plastic









Two layers of Second Skin Deamplifier Pro installed onto base mold









Base mold approximately 3/8” thick of solid fiberglass









Ring baffles for Focal Br woofers aimed and attached to base mold









Final test fitment of base mold/baffle in the vehicle









Mold cloth pulled across the frame, stapled to OEM plastic where need be









Resin applied and allowed to cure









Pods trimmed and sanded to form basic shape









Combination of Duraglas and body filler applied to smooth out overall shape









Another view of sanded kick pods









Interior of kick panel reinforced with chop-strand matAdditional quart of Duraglas/resin mixture per pod poured into cavity for extra strengthWalls of pod over 3.8” thick









Modeling clay applied to all interior surfaces of pod









Later of Deamplifer pro sound proofing placed over the clay for additional resonance prevention and to hold clay in place









Make-your-own-thread inserts secured to mounting baffle









Closer look at inserts









Pods wrapped in tan vinyl and dyed to match with SEM Classic Coat Acura Ivory Interior paint









Focal 6w3 Be woofers wired with proper termination and Techflex









Woofers installed into kick panel pods with supplied hardware









Another view of kick panels with woofers loaded

















Focal grilles snapped into place









12 gauge speaker cables leading up to driver side kick panel properly labeled and terminated









Driver side kick panel wiring connection









Identical procedure on passenger side

















A-pillar pod mounting baffles precisely fabricated









Test fitment of Focal Be Midrange and tweeter cup









Focal TBe tweeter cup bonded to baffle, top surface ground down to promote adhesion









Focal tweeter cup molded into baffleInterior wall of cup ground down to allow room for upholstery


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Another view of prepped a-pillar pod baffle









Baffles precisely aimed and attached to OEM a-pillar cover

















Mold cloth pulled across frame and stapled to OEM plastic

















Resin applied and allowed to cure









Pod trimmed, body filler applied and sanded smooth

















Interior walls of pods reinforced with ½ quart of Duraglas/resin mixture each









Layer of modeling clay installed to reduce resonance









Additional later of Deamplifier pro installed into pod to further reduce resonance and to hold clay in placeLayer of Deamplifier pro also applied to back surface of OEM pillar trim









Pods painted tan to prevent body filler from showing through upholstery









Pods wrapped in light tan premium grade grille cloth for best OEM appearance

















Focal Be midranges and tweeters properly wired up and terminated









Focal Be midrange and tweeters installed into pod using supplied hardware









Another view of loaded a-pillar pods

















Focal grilles snapped into place









Close up of focal grilles









Back side of loaded a-pillar pods









14 gauge speakerwires leading up to the driver side a-pillar properly labeled and terminated









Driver side a-pillar pod wiring termination









Identical procedure on passenger side


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

*
System Wiring


I have always been pretty careful to wiring organization and tie downs, but this car I decided to take it up another notch. Other than routing things carefully and precisely, I wanted to focus on two key points.

1. Virtually EVERY INCH of wiring has been wrapped in techflex, terminated with heatshrink and junction points at connectors or barrier strips labeled for easy identification. And by every inch I mean it, even down to something as small as power/ground cables for the LED lighting strips, remote turn on wire and system control cord for the DRC is done like this. Out of hundreds of feet of wiring I added to the install, total non techflexed cables add together to a few inches, and those are at places that are impractical or impossible to slide the right size sleeve over. 

2. This point continues to the trunk fabrication, and is a total first for me. There are ZERO SCREWS in the entire install, not very few, but ZERO. Even a tiny barrier strip or wire tie down clips, basically where ever a screw can be used, has been done with a T-nut or threaded insert and then cap bolts. Structural items are always done with lock washers and washers, and the main pieces of gear are installed with higher security bolts with a trapezoid shaped head and center pin. In all, I used:

43 T-nuts
99 threaded inserts
142 threaded cap bolts
81 washers
81 locks washers

This turned out to be quite time consuming as you can imagine, instead of 10 seconds it takes to shoot two screws to secure a simple barrier strip, the MDF have to be first parked and punched precisely at the mounting holes, then pilot holes drilled, inserts tapped or screwed into place, the wood sanded to get rid of any lift, vacuumed, and then the piece can be mounted with the bolt. Took about 5 minutes for each item. Total hours spent on just wiring related items (not counting for the amp racks themselves), was roughly 40 hours.*

Dual 0 gauge main power cables with techflex









14 gauge speaker cables for midrange and tweeter with techflex









12 gauge speaker cables for woofer with techflex









Main Zapco simblink cables with techflex, heatshrink and labels









Zapco simblink cables between line driver and headunit with techflex, heatshrink and labels









Zapco simblink cables ends for unused outputs on DSP6-SL with techflex, heatshrink and labels









14 gauge main remote turn on cable with techflex









Zapco control cable for DRC-SL with techflex, heatshrink and labels









Stinger SPP2150 battery in custom tray with quad SHT303 dual 0 gauge battery terminalsAll engine bay cables ziptied and secured to car every 8” or less









Close up of Stinger battery and terminalsAll connections terminated with heatshrink









Dual Stinger 200 amp circuit breakers within 18” of battery









Upgraded grounding point number 1









Upgraded grounding point number 2 at driver side strut mount









Upgraded grounding point number 3 at passenger side strut mount









Upgraded grounding point number 4 at engine block









Custom fabricated battery tray utilizing stock mounting bolts









MDF baffle for circuit breakers attached to tray









Tray coated with roll on truck bedliner for durability









Stinger battery prepped with terminal grease









XS-power 556 dual top post adapter plates installedTerminal grease applied









Quad top posts installed with supplied hardware









Threaded inserts for circuit breakers installed into mdf baffle









200 amp Stinger circuit breakers installed with bolts









Stinger circuit breakers wired up









Dual 0 gauge main power cables pass through firewall via plastic grommets









Driver side wiring bundle containing speaker wires run back, ziptied to factory wiring loom every 8” or less

























Dual 0 gauge main power cables run back, secured to car every 8” or less

























Passenger side wiring bundle containing speaker, signal, control and remote wires run back, ziptied to factory wiring loom every 8” or less

























Driver side wiring bundle entry point into trunk 









Passenger side wiring bundle entry point into trunk 









Wiring bundles routing to correct entry points under rear seat cushion

























Wiring bundle inside trunk secured to back amp rack every 8” or less

















Date and signature on back amp rack


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Wires passing into main floor area via slots built into amp rack

















Threaded inserts for subwoofer speaker cable barrier strip









Threaded inserts for power distribution block









Threaded inserts for ground distribution block









Threaded inserts for wiring bundle holders at front of trunk









Subwoofer speaker cable barrier strips wired upColor coded heatshrink terminated and labeled for easy identification









RCA to simblink adapter cables from processors passing into main floor section via pre-cut holePower, ground and remote cables for processors, along with subwoofer speaker cables passing into main floor section via pre-cut hole

















Dual Zapco DSP6-SL wired up









Barrier strip for midrange and tweeter wired upColor coded heatshrink for easy identification









Threaded inserts for midrange and tweeter barrier strip installed









Threaded inserts for woofer wired up and threaded inserts installedColor coded heatshrink for easy identification









Barrier strip for midrange and tweeter installed with boltsLabeled for easy identification









Barrier strip for woofer installed with boltsLabeled for easy identification









Threaded inserts for remote cable barrier strip number 1 installed









Barrier strip number 1 for remote cable installed with bolts and labeled for easy identification









Threaded inserts for RGB LED lighting barrier strip installed









Barrier strip for RGB LED lighting installed with boltsColor coded heatshrink and labeled for easy identification









Threaded inserts for auxiliary power/ground barrier strip installed









Barrier strip for auxiliary power/ground cables installed with boltsLabeled for easy identification









Threaded inserts for remote cable barrier strip number 2 installed









Threaded inserts for lighting/sign board/processor fused distribution block installed









Main system grounding point – solid piece of metal uni-body sanded down to bare metal









Dual stinger SPT8212 0 gauge grounding terminals install via bolts









Dual 0 gauge main ground cables with techflex, heatshrink and labels









Dual 0 gauge main ground cables secured to Stinger grounding terminals







Dual 0 gauge main ground cables passing into main floor area via pre cut slots on amp rack










Custom built stinger HPM RCA cables (courtesy of Steve/Whiterabbit) soldering point at male end









Heatshrink at male end of RCA cable









Custom built stinger HPM RCA cable soldering point at female end with heatshrink









Male end secured with heatshrink applied









Female end secured with heatshrink applied









Female end labeled for easy identification









Completed Stinger HPM RCA cables for subwoofer amp









14 gauge remote cable for subwoofer amp with techflex and heatshrink









12 gauge subwoofer speaker cables with techflex and heatshrink









4 gauge power/ground cables for subwoofer amp with techflex and heatshrink









Completed Stinger HPM RCA cables for woofer amp









Dual 12 gauge speaker cables for woofer amp with techflex and heatshrink









14 gauge remote cable for woofer amp with techflex and heatshrink


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

4 gauge power/ground cables for woofer amp with techflex and heatshrink









Completed Stinger HPM RCA cables for midrange/tweeter amp









14 gauge remote cable for midrange/tweeter amp with techflex and heatshrink









4 gauge power/ground cables for midrange/tweeter amp with techflex and heatshrink









14 gauge speaker cables for midrange/tweeter amp with techflex and heatshrink









Dual 12 gauge speaker cables for dual voice coils with techflex, heatshrink and labels









Dual 16 gauge power/ground/remote cables for Zapco DSP6 with techflex, heatshrink and labels wired to Zapco terminal









Zapco Simblink to RCA cable, network cables for DSP6-SL with techflex, heatshrink and labels









Remote and LED wire bundle at the back of trunk, secured every 8” or less









Complete driver side wiring bundle, fully secured and bundled, RCA connection points reinforced with heatshirnk









































RGB LED remote control module installed and wired up









Complete passenger side wiring bundle, fully secured and bundledDual SHD-21 distribution blocks for main power/groundSPD5622 MAXI fused distribution block for lighting, signboard and processors









































Wiring bundle organization behind driver side amp rack

















RGB LED control cables twisted and passing through grommet









Quick disconnects in place for easy service and replacement of LED strips









Wiring bundle organization behind passenger side amp rack

















RGB LED control cables twisted and passing through grommet









Quick disconnects in place for easy service and replacement of LED strips









RGB LED control cables twisted and passing through grommet on center amp rack









Remote IR eye for RGB LED controller secured to trunk sill panel









Remote eye for RGB LED controller visible through trunk sill panel









Wiring termination of Focal subwoofer

















Main floor panel can be removed with no tools in under 30 seconds for full access to key wiring points


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

*

Trunk Fabrication


After removing the old system, I was left with a few challenges. There was no OEM trunk carpet left for me to pull cloth to and form the shape, so everything has to be fabricated new. I also had quite a bit of gear to fit properly, three big amps, two dsp6s, a big sub and all the lighting enclosure and cosmetic spacing requirements. After a good two days of trying out multiple layouts, in the end this was basically the only one that worked well. Thing had to be very precise as if I am off by more than 1/8 of an inch in many places, things wouldn’t look right or fit right. I thought about tilting the side amps a lil bit, but that would leave not enough room for the wiring bundles on either side of the sub and processor racks. There are a few key points I wanna focus on this aspect of the install.

1. All the outer trim panels are wrapped in a single piece of Alcantara, no stitching. This was especially difficult on the two side pieces, where there are multiple compound and concave curves and two basic dimensional planes…took about 3 hours for each side to figure out. All the outer panels are also attached via quick release snaps, so everything can be removed by hand.

2. For trim, I decided to use flocking. Cardinal red nylon fibers were used on 21 pieces total in the trunk. Each well for example, is actually four separate pieces, a base plate to mount the equipment on, and series of match routed rings to build up the side wall. Two of the ½” mdf rings were mated together to form a 1” ring at the bottom, and then a layer of ½” match routed Plexiglas that’s 1/8” smaller on the outer diameter to allow for the LED strips, and then another layer of ½” mdf flocked, and finally a top opening that has to be match routed as well. Everything was built down to 1/16” tolerances, and I wasted a ton of wood on stuff that was off only marginally. 

3. Each flocked piece had to be prepped this way: 

A. The wood sanded smooth and any imperfections or scratches removed	
B. The surface was then sealed with resin to prevent the flocking adhesive to soak in 
C. On the double ½” mdf rings that are joined, the joint had to be filled with filler and smoothed out to make it appear like a single piece	
D. Then all the surfaces was hit with red primer so the color of the wood doesn’t show through the end flocking color	
E. Finally all the surfaces were flocked individually.In all, about 40 hours was spent on just prepping and flocking the pieces, going through roughly 4 lbs of the fibers. 

4. Again, no screws used at all in the build
5. The LED signboard has to be very carefully taken out of its original casing, and a custom rack made for it, since the IR eye is on the front of the sign, the outer opening had to be made precisely so all the lettering show through and the IR eye exposed. Routing such small pieces to fine tolerances took me a few tries.
*

Trunk floor sound proofed with two layers of Second Skin Deamplifier ProOEM navigation module wires repaired and extended









Trunk lid sound proofedPower/ground and video cables for reverse camera repaired, extended and bundled to factory wiring every 8” or less









Power/ground and video cables for reverse camera repaired, extended and bundled to factory wiring every 8” or less









T-nuts bonded to floor using HD epoxy-weld for OEM navigation module mounting









Rack fabricated for OEM navigation module







OEM navigation module mounted and wired upNAV-TV video interface module mounted and wired up









Trunk roof panel cut and assembled









Slanted transition piece added to trunk roof panel joint









Trunk roof panel test fitted in vehicle, attached with bolts









LED sign board in original casing









LED sign circuit board removed from original casing









New casing for LED sign board fabricated out of ½” MDF and test fitted









New casing for LED sign board









Front cosmetic cover for LED sign board fabricated out of ¼” MDF









Front and back casing for LED sign board









Low heat plastic flush mounting boarder attached to casing for LED sign board

















Test fitment of LED signboard to new casing









LED sign board casing attached to trunk roof pane
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Completed trunk roof panel attached to vehicle and mold cloth pulled across frame, secured by OEM weather stripping









Resin applied to mold cloth and allowed to cure









Trunk roof panel piece removed from vehicle









Trunk roof panel trimmed and sanded to desired shape









Filler applied to panel and sanded smooth

















Trunk roof panel wrapped with single piece of alcantara

































LED sign board attached to casing and wired up

















Grille mesh attached to cut out for proper venting of low frequency energy









Front trim panel for LED sign board sanded smooth









Front trim panel for LED signboard sealed with resin









Painted with red primer to prevent color differential post flocking









Flocked with cardinal red nylon fibers









Spare tire well cleaned up









Spare tire well taped off









One cubic foot of volume measured out with Styrofoam peanuts









Two cubic feet of airspace measured out in the spare tire well









20 layers of 7.6oz cloth laid down into well


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Cured mold is removed from vehicle

















Mold trimmed to desired shapeSupport platform for top baffle temporarily glued into place









Mold trimmed to desired shapeSupport platform for top baffle temporarily glued into placeVerified with level to be precisely flat









Subwoofer enclosure top baffle fabricated and outer edge rabbet-routed









Top baffle secured to enclosure aligned by support platform, verified to be flatSupport platform then removed from enclosure









Mold cloth pulled over the entire frame









Once cured, the enclosure is trimmed and rough sanded to the desired shape









Subwoofer enclosure removed from vehicle

























15 layers of cloth is used to reinforce the sidewalls of sub enclosure









Enclosure sanded and smoothed out with body filler

















Holes cut out for subwoofer and ports

























Spacer/mounting plate for subwoofer fabricated









Spacer/mounting plates for ports fabricated









Outer port flanges attached with HD epoxy-weld









Port mounting plates secured and sealed to subwoofer enclosure

























Threaded inserts for attachment of main floor piece installed

















Port flange counter sunk into panel

















Port assembly attached with HD epoxy-weldDual 3” ports x 13.5” - 34hz 

















Clearance holes drilled for subwoofer mounting bolts









Threaded inserts for subwoofer mounting installed onto spacer baffle









Hole drilled for subwoofer enclosure mounting bolt









Mounting bolt, lock washer and washer inserted from inside of enclosure









Nylon lock nut attached from below the vehicle floo
r









Bolt and nut Sealed against the elements with undercoating









Initial fabrication of main floor piece









Mounting strips for side amp racks fabricated with 8 t-nuts per side









Mounting strips secured to main floor piece


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Side amp rack mounting baffles lined up with mounting stripsBlack spray paint used to locate t-nuts mounting points

















Side amp rack mounting baffles with spray paint markings









Side amp rack mounting baffles with holes drilled out for bolts









all mounting points test fitted with bolts, washers and lock washers

















Front amp rack mounting baffle fabricated with holes for t-nuts/bolts









Back of front amp rack mounting baffle with support bracket and t-nuts attached









Black spray paint used to locate t-nut mounting points for front amp rack mounting baffle on main floor









t-nuts for front amp rack supports installed into main floor piece









t-nuts installed into side amp rack mounting baffles

















Center section of main floor piece cut out

















Front and side amp rack mounting baffles secured to main floor piece using brackets, bolts, washers and lock washers

















































Fully secured main floor piece with all three amp racks









































Center floor baffle with holes cut out for sub and portsThreaded inserts installed for attachment of equipment and sidewall ring baffles

















Close up of various threaded inserts for attachment of equipment and sidewall ring baffles









Spacer ring for subwoofer attached to bottom of center floor mounting baffle









Support beam for center floor baffle added to main floor pieceMain floor piece attached to sub enclosure with bolts, washers and lock washers









Close up of bolt, washer and lock washer









Center floor baffle test fitted in vehicle









Stack of ½” MDF pieces cut to appropriate dimensions for side wall ring baffles









Jigs for various side wall ring baffles measured out









Jigs for side wall ringbaffles fabricated









Stack of mdf rings match routed to jigs for side wall ring baffle construction









Match routed ½” Plexiglas rings for side wall ring baffle lighting


----------



## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Amp rack side wall ring baffles test assembled









Mounting holes drilled through side wall pieces for bolts









Side cosmetic trim pieces fabricated









Amp racks with sidewall baffles and side cosmetic trim pieces test fitted to vehicle.









Holes drilled into side cosmetic trim pieces for quick release snaps









Additional attachment pieces for mold cloth secured to side cosmetic trimOuter edge of trim pieces rabbet routed









Mold cloth stapled to side trim piece, pulled and secured with OEM weather stripping

























Resin applied to mold cloth and allowed to cure







Additional layer of Duraglas/resin mixture brushed on to prevent warping










Complete side trim piece removed from vehicle









Both side pieces molded to shape and sanded smooth with Duraglas and body fillerTest fitted in vehicle

















Center floor and front trim panel fabricated and tested fitted in vehicle

























Front amp rack mounting baffle sealed with resin









Front amp rack mounting baffle after red primer to prevent color differential post flocking









Driver side amp rack mounting baffle sealed with resin









Driver side amp rack mounting baffle after red primer to prevent color differential post flocking









Passenger side amp rack mounting baffle sealed with resin









Passenger side amp rack mounting baffle after red primer to prevent color differential post flocking









Center floor trim sealed with resin









Center floor trim after red primer to prevent color differential post flocking









Subwoofer mounting/spacer plate sealed with resin









Inner edge of single piece sections of sidewall baffle rings sealed with resin









Dual piece sections of sidewall baffle rings bonded together, sealed with resin and then blended with body fillerProcess is repeated 10 times for all 5 double stacked baffle rings









Inner edge of side wall baffle rings after red primer to prevent color differential post flockingProcess repeated 10 times for all baffle rings









Front amp rack mounting baffle after flocking with cardinal red nylon fibers









Driver side amp rack mounting baffle after flocking with cardinal red nylon fibers









Passenger side amp rack mounting baffle after flocking with cardinal red nylon fibers









Center floor trim baffle after flocking with cardinal red nylon fibers

















Subwoofer mounting/spacer baffle after flocking with cardinal red nylon fibers









Sidewall baffle rings after flocking with cardinal red nylon fibers

























All Plexiglas rings are clouded with 60 and 150 grit sandpaper









Assembly of front amp rackFirst, a double ring baffle is placed onto the main mounting board









Next is the Plexiglas ring









Topped by a single ring baffleNote male snaps attached to the outer ring









The rings are test secured to the main amp rack board with 2.5” bolts, washers and lock washers









Sidewall ring baffle ready for LED strips









HD double sided mounting tape is placed onto the outer edge of the Plexiglas rings









RGB LED strips are then secured to the tape









A layer of electrical tape is added to prevent light leaking through


----------



## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Completed structure is secured back onto the main amp rack baffle for test fitment









Trapezoid-head high-security bolts used to mount all amplifiers









Mosconi AS200.4 amplifier for midrange and tweeters secured to front amp rack baffle
All wires attached to amplifier with proper termination









Side wall ring baffle is bolted back in place around the amplifier









All wires are bundled and secured to the back of the amp rack every 8” or less









Entire process is repeated on the driver side amp rack

























































































































Entire process is repeated on the passenger side amp rack


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Entire process is repeated also for the subwoofer and processor sections on the center floor trim

































































































































All wires for processors and subwoofer routed to their correct locationDual Zapco dsp6-sl mounted and wired up
Grille mesh secured under port cutout
All cables bundled and secured to the bottom of center floor trim every 8” or less
Grille mesh secured under port cutout

















Dual Zapco dsp6-sl mounted with trapezoid-head high-security bolts









Focal 33KX subwoofer mounted with trapezoid-head high-security bolts









Female snaps installed onto side trim piece

































Female snaps installed onto front trim piece

















Female snaps installed onto floor trim piece

















Front of panels blended in with body filler, test fitment onto amp rack

























OEM trunk sill piece installed, edge contours matched with additional layer of Duraglas









Completed passenger side trim piece

























Passenger side trim wrapped with a single piece of AlcantaraExcess material for pulling over the edge of trunk to be tied down by weather stripping

















Completed driver side trim piece

















Driver side trim wrapped with a single piece of AlcantaraExcess material for pulling over the edge of trunk to be tied down by weather stripping

















Completed front trim piece









Front trim piece wrapped with a single piece of AlcantaraTop portions hide trunk roof mounting bolts









Completed floor trim piece with raised front corners to accommodate wiring

















Floor trim piece wrapped with a single piece of Alcantara


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

*MISC

Here are some various install pics that didn’t fit into the other categories.*


The Matt Roberts Modified (MRM) Acura source unit installed in OEM bracket









Simblink balanced output and remote turn on cables from MRM source unit connected 









Simblink connection reinforced with heatshrink









Dual Zapco SLB-U line drivers secured showing wiring organizationSimblink cables with techflex, heatshrink and labels









Zapco DRC control cable and power/ground cable for digital voltmeter routed to glove box with techflex, heatshrink and label









Zapco DRC-SL and digital voltmeter connected









Front fascia for glove box rack for DRC-SL and digital voltmeter









Mounting baffle for DRC-SL and digital voltmeter









Mounting baffle sealed with resin









Front fascia wrapped In tan vinyl and dyed to match OEM interiorMounting baffle flocked with cardinal red nylon fibers









Two pieces joined, DRC-SL and digital voltmeter installed









Rear view of glove box rack









Test fitment of rack in glove box









Fuse box relocated to gain room for kick panel enclosure (done previously by another party)









Alarm system brain tucked high near firewall behind dash (done previously by another party)









Bottom of under dash panel lined with foam to reduce reflection (another party)









Various interior panels lined with CCF to prevent rattles (another party)

































Rear deck sound proofed (another party)

























Remote controllers for LED sign board and RGB lighting










So That’s it…a whopping 540ish pics  

Basically everything in this install tested my ability experience, and most of all, patience and attention to detail to its limits. Sitting there with a half built trunk, looking at the six bags of inserts, t-nuts, bolts and washers after spending 10 mins doing just two tends to give you a sinking feeling  But now that it’s done, I am very happy to say that the effort was well worth it.

Just this past Saturday the car debuted at my first car audio competition here in San Jose, where working with unbroken in speakers and a awesome baseline tune by Scott Welch, the car easily won his class and scored the second highest SQ score out of the entire show of more than two dozen cars with a 84.0 (second to Scott’s own badass charger by just .25 pts and destroying my own car by a good 6 pts). Giving the complex presentation for the first time ever, Mike also did very well on install and scoring a 93.5, good enough for second place behind Steve’s insanely engineered Mazda 6 (those who know that car knows what I mean ?)…and again beating my own car, which usually ranks among the top 2 or 3 cars in terms of install scores at comps, by a healthy 6 points! With more tuning and practice, I hope to see both scores improve as the season goes along…and hope to make it there to finals and SBN!

If you have managed to read the words of this entire log, I cannot thank you enough, as it took me three full days just to organize it and put it up

I leave you with a pic that my friend Jeff at www.photoshootmycar.com designed for the project, it is printed on a pedestal stand next to the vehicle at shows…simply gorgeous!

Now I am ready for my long awaited vacation to the OBX of North Carolina!

Cheers,

Bing


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## Tambiengabriel (Aug 14, 2008)

I think you need to pay more attention to detail.


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## quietfly (Mar 23, 2011)

OMG this is awesome


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

After seeing all of the hints about what you were working on, I was really looking forward to seeing this. Incredible work - huge amount of pride on this one. You deserve a vacation! Loved the video by the way - great way to show the artistic value of the build. Great Job!


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## superjay (Oct 1, 2010)

Bing, Truly amazing work. I'm impressed.


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## superjay (Oct 1, 2010)

Tambiengabriel said:


> I think you need to pay more attention to detail.


dammit Chavez!!! I blew coffee all over my office


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## BlueAc (May 19, 2007)

Can't wait to get home to check this out. My Tapatalk app is about shutdown the entire CDMA network... Lol!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

yeah the vacation is definitely needed, too bad i cant quite take this week off completely, have to throw a sub woofer in a ISF  

and to be honest, i feel like i need a vacation just from writing the install log lol


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

I had Ant delete the posts that were made in between the log, sorry about that guys  you can certainly post it again if you wish


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## Bluenote (Aug 29, 2008)

Bing, this is one I did'nt get to see in person, but the pics are worth more than a thousand words! This install left no-stone-unturned! 

Excellent Job! 

Bluenote


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## m0sdef (Nov 16, 2010)

Amazing attention to detail and awesome build Bing! You definitely deserve a vacation haha


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## Jumbo Jet (May 31, 2008)

Cant wait to see/hear this in person next year at SBN.


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## AccordUno (Aug 7, 2009)

Bing, the one this I'm not feeling is the side amps, but those amps look huge, so I understand what you did. But other than that, great install, no screws, man that's awesome work.. Need to review the pictures again and rethink my trunk..


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

Holy ****, thats all I got to say about that.

Great job, How long did it take you to build this ride???

I don't even want to know how much all is worth! 


Great Job


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

WOW....this is a great install Bing! I don't know how much I actually helped, but thanks for the props. It looks beautiful, you are truly a master at what you do. I hope one day I would be confident enough to go through all the work you did. 

I do have 1 question.....these factory HU have been failing at an alarming rate (hence one of the reasons I changed mine out), and it seems to be the CD mechanism, along with other issues, did Matt look into this problem at all? I know he could probably do any repair needed, but it would be very embarrassing to have this happen at a show. Failing Head Units seem to be popping up daily over at Acurazine.


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## kustomkaraudio (Jun 20, 2009)

Great job Bing. I was pretty bummed that I could not make it to the show. I know how you felt, big jobs can be a "daunting" task at times. Later , Scott


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Niebur3 said:


> WOW....this is a great install Bing! I don't know how much I actually helped, but thanks for the props. It looks beautiful, you are truly a master at what you do. I hope one day I would be confident enough to go through all the work you did.
> 
> I do have 1 question.....these factory HU have been failing at an alarming rate (hence one of the reasons I changed mine out), and it seems to be the CD mechanism, along with other issues, did Matt look into this problem at all? I know he could probably do any repair needed, but it would be very embarrassing to have this happen at a show. Failing Head Units seem to be popping up daily over at Acurazine.


in my experience, with TL headunits, its a hit or miss thing, some are extremely unlucky and have multiple failures of headunits, others goes strong for ages. i have seen it both ways.

This particular unit was in Kirk Proffit's car for a few years and worked flawlessly, winning him world championships in the process. I dont think we looked into the cd mechanism persay...but there isnt much you can really do about it is there?  i dont think anyone can spot a part that may fail in the near future unless its very obvious.

cant worry about having it fail at a show really, i mean, i have see way more failures of processor and speakers at comps than an OEM headunit of any make...the chance is always there, but it shouldnt be that significant of a problem hehe 

fingers crossed


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

kustomkaraudio said:


> Great job Bing. I was pretty bummed that I could not make it to the show. I know how you felt, big jobs can be a "daunting" task at times. Later , Scott


Scott, we've been getting whiffs of the awesomeness you are up to over in Santa Rosa...when can we get a peak at it?!??!


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## MTopper (Nov 4, 2009)

you're a jerk for deleting my post Bing!!!!! 


kidding, still amazing work, i'm always amazed at what you can accomplish even if the visual side of it "isn't much" to some people


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## bolle_ (Feb 17, 2009)

Asome work as usual bing!  And it sounded veary good with so little tweek. And it was nice to meet you.  and was you know lagom is perfekt!


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## lashlee (Aug 16, 2007)

Wow! Just speechless...


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## stereo_luver (Oct 30, 2007)

Damn Bing! My computer locked down with 439 items left to download....LOL. I'll check this when I get away from the crappy motel internet service and back in ATL.

I was out in Milpitas, CA doing some work. I wish I would have known about this. I was driving over to San Jose a couple of times a week meeting with a home audio friend there. He introduced me to a cool old Asian man who built a little tube amp at his dining room table as we talked audio. Took him about 1.5 hours to get it playing music.

Nice build from what I can see so far. 

Chuck


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## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

The wiring throughout the car and the entire trunk build exhibits incredible attention to detail. Both the LED strips and scrolling sign really do set it off. 
The modifications to the stock source unit are also especially trick. I like it - I like it a lot.

To be honest, I'm not wild about the grills on the front stage drivers. Personally, I think color matching them would look much better.

Awesome work for sure, and I bet it sounds even better than it looks.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Vacation more than deserved. EPIC, EPIC build! What can one say!
My fav part was the floking.


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## keepitreal07 (Apr 26, 2008)

THIS IS the best installation i have ever seen.

Your meticulas attn to detail.

If you could id send my car to you from Australia just to do.

Congratulations on a job well done.

With the acrylic, what thickness is it, and are the edges sanded to a smoky finish or they the polished clear.

I have the same amps goin into my car, alot less room thought


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

thanks guys 

this is by no means the best or anything close to the best install hehe, this is just my best effort and being anal about little details...

the plexi is 1/2" thick, i clouded the edges with 60 then 150. though i do wish i had a sand blaster 

the point about grilles is a good one, i am gonna ask Focal if they make or can make a set of grilles with tan cloth. the way they work, its really most ideal to use their grilles, especially on the midrange and tweeter.


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## astrochex (Aug 7, 2009)

Gorgeous install!

Quick question about the LED strips, is the double sided tape the width of the plexiglass or a little less? I was thinking if it was full width, how would the light get through?

I just realized I am flying into your necks of the woods this evening. It would have been a wonderful experience to see and hear your car. I hope it brings you much success (and business)!


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## dvflyer (May 11, 2007)

Amazing.....


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## malutki (Apr 28, 2011)

wow! great job. do you know how much more your car weight at the moment? I think a lot, but i'm interested if you know it


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

the double sided tape i used is transparent  its about 3/8" so slightly thinner than the plexi. you flying into San Jose area or you flight to Chico? where the car actually is? you are welcome to stop by my place and listen to my car, but it doenst sound nearly as good as this one.

as for weight, i have no clue, but i think this system actually weighs less than the previous system, those DIYMA12s were no joke and those huge sideboxes werent either.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Incredible install Bing. Just so thorough. I really admire the dedication to not use a single screw. Super labor intensive, but there is no greater testament to your attention to detail (and ensuing clinical insanity) than that feat. Well done sir. PMing you a specific question.


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## The A Train (Jun 26, 2007)

someone dropped major coin on this one! great work!


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## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

Bing,
Nice install! It really looked great last weekend at the show.
BTW, I thought that car looked familiar. (LOL, it's so different from what I saw installed before!) Mike, congrats on the great new system/install and good luck to you guys at the competitions!


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## Dougie085 (May 2, 2006)

Amazing! I had to look up what flocking is! I may have to try this when I get my E36 M3 and start building it...... Not sure if I'll do the stereo before the engine build and forced induction though?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Vinh (circa40) started doing it and i saw some of his work and got info from him...as well as to where to get it. DonJer Flocking Fibers Supplies Suede-Tex Soft Flock Rayon Nylon Spray Applicators Kits Adhesive Cars Decoys Rods

basically, you brush on adhesive that is color coded, and then spray on nylon or other kind of fibers thats that color onto it so it sticks and forms a suede like finish after it dries 

b


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## trojan fan (Nov 4, 2007)

Dougie085 said:


> Amazing! I had to look up what flocking is! I may have to try this when I get my E36 M3 and start building it...... Not sure if I'll do the stereo before the engine build and forced induction though?


Back in the day, Rockford used to sell flocking kits


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## Sagacious (Dec 8, 2010)

first off, awesome job. second, i've been looking at your OEM acura HU modifications in detail, how did you pick off subwoofer outputs on the headunit? i saw the front and speakers but does the factory head unit have subwoofer pins to jump off of as well? thanks.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

yeah the stock headunit offers direct control for fade balance, center channel volume and subwoofer channel volume


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## Larry_Moe_Curly (Aug 20, 2009)

Bing,

I'm stunned by your amazing level of craftsmanship! This is truly inspiring work. Congratulations on your recent SQ win and thank you for your generous contribution to this forum!


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## scooter99 (Dec 21, 2008)

Bing, you're an amazing man! I'm completely jaw dropped right now! I bow down to you!


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## kustomkaraudio (Jun 20, 2009)

simplicityinsound said:


> Scott, we've been getting whiffs of the awesomeness you are up to over in Santa Rosa...when can we get a peak at it?!??!


Actually , that project has not started yet. I have never done a build log on this site, so when it gets going, I'm gonna do my best to put up a good spread. Enjoy your time off. Later, Scott


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## DanMan (Jul 18, 2008)

I have always been grateful that Bing blesses us with these install logs. Kind of a "how to" on doing outstanding install work.(Not that it would be easy to replicate.)

Thanks Bing, for taking the time to post this!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

thanks  the way i see it, my install level is low enough that anyone with some decent hands on skills and patience can replicate...versus watching some of the true masters's work log just makes me feel useless lol


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## Moutee (Jun 10, 2009)

This is your most meticulous installation to date; you weren't joking when you told me you had your work cut out for you! Phenomenal job altogether, and thank you for taking the time to share this project with DIYMA!


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## wdemetrius1 (Aug 16, 2007)

Speechless,:shocked2:

Bing,

You never cease to amaze us all!!! Your installs are always a treat.


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## jimlg28 (Apr 26, 2010)

I really like the stock looking interior. Is this car a daily driver as well?

BTW It looks like we'll have nice weather at OBX, I am going to be in there next week as well. One of the absolute best places to go, forget everything else and enjoy family and the beach.

James


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

I have showed my one of my good friends your work.
He was so impressed with your work, I though he will send his car over your way lol.

Anyhow, that kind of work is just speechless to me..


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Bing, you are far too modest. This is an amazing install. 
I bet just doing all the techflex/threaded inserts/bolts doubled the time it took (at least). 

Whenever I log into page 1 with Firefox, it locks up. I finally had to switch to Safari to read the whole thread....Well worth it!

Done any more with the Kia?

Jay


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## IBcivic (Jan 6, 2009)

:thumbsup:


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

the kia...yeah i really want to build it, the interior is really nice for SQ i think...almost flat dash, big A pillars...

but i am also wondering if its worth it since i dont know if my wife will let me take it to go compete


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## aeon (Oct 11, 2007)

Wow insane build! Awesome work!


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## bugs ears (Nov 21, 2009)

it's really great work ..

the realization has no default. knowledge is impressive!

What attention to detail.

ps: a French admirer


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## Melodic Acoustic (Oct 10, 2005)

Goes without saying, great job as always sir!


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Super nice! Excellent! As with all of your installs man, I love it!

Nuff said


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## handcrafted (Sep 22, 2009)

Good lord Bing, I need to take a nap after looking through all that! Thank you for the props man and let me just say, we could all learn a thing or two from you!


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## bafukie (Nov 23, 2007)

ur one hell of an installer bing... u should be proud! job well done there...


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## d5sc (Aug 14, 2007)

Bing,

WOW, AWESOME install and integration!!! You just keep raising the bar on what you do for yourself and your customers, although your humbleness and modesty remains the same (which is nice to hear in today's world).

George


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Thanks Guys  Jon i learn a bunch everytime i look at your install logs, infact, your tundra one gives me quite a few ideas 

George, we missed you last weekend at the comp, any plans to bring the bad boy out next time? i plan to hold another one in about a month 

b


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## Schnitz (Jun 26, 2008)

simplicityinsound said:


> the double sided tape i used is transparent  its about 3/8" so slightly thinner than the plexi.


Were you able to place the led strip directly on the tape or did you have to use some sort of spacers to keep the actual led from touching the tape? Why use the doublesided tape at all if you tape the back side anyways? Doesn't seem like they could move around.

I'm asking because I'm edge lighting a 3/8" piece of acrylic. I've studied all your installs and hopefully mine comes out nearly half as good.


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## AdamTaylor (Sep 7, 2008)

ameuba10 said:


> someone dropped major coin on this one! great work!


yeah... someone isn't being hit by the recession too hard if they can pay this bill off


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## dot8905 (Apr 8, 2011)

Unreal work, i hope to achieve craftsmanship like this one day.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Schnitz said:


> Were you able to place the led strip directly on the tape or did you have to use some sort of spacers to keep the actual led from touching the tape? Why use the doublesided tape at all if you tape the back side anyways? Doesn't seem like they could move around.
> 
> I'm asking because I'm edge lighting a 3/8" piece of acrylic. I've studied all your installs and hopefully mine comes out nearly half as good.


the particular ribbons i used, whcih is the thin waterproof ribbons, have a silicone case over the entire strip, so the LED itself is never touching the tape. 

the black electrical tape on the outside is not to hold it in place, infact, if i left that tape to hold the entire strip in place it would fall off in a second, it is there just to prevent any leakage of lighting and shining somehwere else i dont want to, no tape i think can really work that well holding anything down once heat hits it 

the one thing to remember is that the strips naturally want to be straight, so when you put them around corners, there is a certain degree of stress on it, and you have to put something there to ensure it wont fly off, stronger than a layer of tape on the outside. i used to use ca glue, but found this very strong double sided clear tape to make it a less than permenant solution 

b


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## Tnutt19 (Dec 22, 2010)

I agree that that is the best Acura HU ever. i wish I knew someone that could do that on an is350 head unit, i had to replace it with a deck and i still miss the oem look.
Nice work!!


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## quietfly (Mar 23, 2011)

Tnutt19 said:


> I agree that that is the best Acura HU ever. i wish I knew someone that could do that on an is350 head unit, i had to replace it with a deck and i still miss the oem look.
> Nice work!!


Matt's work is supposed to be top notch... check out the threads on his work on the modded MS8..... It looks like a beast... wish i could hear it.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

i believe if you can get him an internal schematic, he can pretty much mod any headunit


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## quietfly (Mar 23, 2011)

In my case he's already done an MS-8, i'm just getting up the stones to do a 1k"upgrade" on a 700 dsp.......


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## Tnutt19 (Dec 22, 2010)

Did he mod your dsp 6's also. I am running a dsp 6 now, I would be curious to see what he did. 
I will check out that ms8 thread.


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## Tnutt19 (Dec 22, 2010)

How much does he charge to mod the headunit. Does he take care of the factory EQ also as to get a flat signal out of the box.
I would be interested in doing this to get my stock look back. I could get 400 bucks for my hu back too to put towards this.

your install is absolutely flawless and has given me a bunch of ideas of things I would love to do also. Thanks for taking the time to post all the pictures and explanations!!


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

for any headunit related questions, just PM matt direct: member Matt R  

didnt modd the dsp6s this time, though if we get everything else sorted out and eventually feel that they are the limiting factors, that could be a possiblity 

b


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## quietfly (Mar 23, 2011)

simplicityinsound said:


> for any headunit related questions, just PM matt direct: member Matt R
> 
> didnt modd the dsp6s this time, though if we get everything else sorted out and eventually feel that they are the limiting factors, that could be a possiblity
> 
> b


Bing, 
other members have said that Matts modded DSP6's are TOTALLY BEASTS and are worth of much admiration...... 
you should DO IT...


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## Tnutt19 (Dec 22, 2010)

thanks for the info, i hope im not detracting from your post, i was just in awe when i saw those pics and read that section because i have been scratching my head on that one for two years now


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

if it was just up to me then perhaps, but i think the customer has say on this one


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## quietfly (Mar 23, 2011)

simplicityinsound said:


> if it was just up to me then perhaps, but i think the customer has say on this one


LOL I'm certain you have considerable powers of persuasion... 

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk


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## d5sc (Aug 14, 2007)

simplicityinsound said:


> Thanks Guys  Jon i learn a bunch everytime i look at your install logs, infact, your tundra one gives me quite a few ideas
> 
> George, we missed you last weekend at the comp, any plans to bring the bad boy out next time? i plan to hold another one in about a month
> 
> b


Hey Bing,

Work has been busy as of late and my car just sits in the garage.

Might try to stop by for the next comp. if things slow down at work, and will bring my POS Honda beater/commuter with barely a stereo to speak of. 

George


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## Schnitz (Jun 26, 2008)

Thanks for the answer Bing. It all makes sense now.
I would say keep up the good work but I know it'll only get better.
Anxiously awaiting next build.............


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Holy crap what a day! I'm on 64 driving from dc to nags head lol should get there around 330 am...was suppose to fly into Norfolk at 10 pm....long story


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## winegamd (Mar 3, 2010)

subbed


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## jimmyjames16 (Dec 12, 2006)

Bing.... your a living Legend!


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## ChicoOG (Nov 27, 2007)

cedoman said:


> Bing.... your a living Legend!


I'll second that!!! I'm the lucky recipient of Bing's and his entire crews masterful work. It took me over three hours to read every page of the Install Log Presentation Binder. I'm still haven't completely absorbed how phenominal the install is. That being said, I'm not much on fancy/flashy installs. I'm in it for the SQ!!! I was actually shocked at how well it scored at the competition, not that it doesn't sound incredible, it's just Scott has only complete on round of tuning and there is sooooo much more potential!!!

I can't name any one thing as being my favorite part of the install. All tech-flex, labeling, no screws, easy access to everything, flock is way cool, the LED programmable message board, multiple grounding points, battery tray/hook-up, everything is over engineered for strength and durability, the totally trick customized OEM HU (Although I think Matt left some things on the table) And, most important, the incredible sound. 

I'm looking forward to multiple tuning sessions leading up the regionals and enjoying driving the car every day.

Bing has already acknowledged everyone who made a contribution. I especially want to that Focal, Orca, Mosconi, Stinger, and others for their tremendous support. 

I came into this hobby loving cars and loving music, but knowing absolutely nothing about combining the two. I have found that everyone is more than willing to freely share their knowledge and experience (well, they share almost all, I know there is some real trick stuff out there that will be top secret until a competitor retires  ) I really appreciate everyone who has tolerated the 100's of simplistic questions and demands to make something happen, forget about physics and all that stuff...just do it 

Anyway, enough from me. Hope to a see lot of you in Huntington Beach, the next competition I intend to attend...


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## trust7 (Jan 30, 2009)

****ing bonkers is all I can say, very nice attention to detail I myself in many industries have used the no screw technique and that is what I am most impressed by here


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## jonz80 (Jun 30, 2008)

very nice install!!! two thumbs up for you!


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## BlueAc (May 19, 2007)

simplicityinsound said:


> Holy crap what a day! I'm on 64 driving from dc to nags head lol should get there around 330 am...was suppose to fly into Norfolk at 10 pm....long story


Got your tools with you? Lol...


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## ryomanx (Feb 18, 2011)

What can I say that hasn't already been said?

Bing, the living legend.


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## bugs ears (Nov 21, 2009)

how do you cut the rounded corners of the Plexiglas?

with the router?!


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## bugs ears (Nov 21, 2009)

the number of installation you have done is awesome!

but you have pictures of your car?

I have amps that I'm in love with SINFONI (90.2/60.1/45.2) and I do not count changers but I just have your impressions of the Mosconi over sinfoni.vu you had the opportunity to listen both with the installation of the BMW serie5


thanks


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## andy_b22 (Dec 3, 2010)

Wow, great job and attention to detail!


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## Gary Mac (May 12, 2009)

Simp-in-sound,

Did you have any issues with the hu integrating with the rest of the electronics after the mods? Ive been talking to matt about getting them done to my tl, he mentioned a cassette error message, was that a one-time message or is it a constant nuisance?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

its only one start up, and its due to the fact that we removed the tap deck. i think in power up, seomtimes the HU goes through a diagnostic and realizes the tape deck is missing, a quick push of the CD/changer button brings it back and you can play it straight for 6 hours without having any issues (we did indeed play it for 6 hours during tuning )

there may be a way to do it while retaining the tape deck, but we chose to delete it since who listens to tape these days?

no other electronic interfacing issues what so ever.


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## Gary Mac (May 12, 2009)

Thanks- your hu has navigation correct?


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

I marvel in the level of detail every time I see a new install Bing... simply incredible...


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

yup, everything other than the tape deck still works and functions like stock


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## Nick337 (Nov 19, 2009)

how far is san jose from bakersfield next time i fly into cali i wanna check out how it sounds please.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

bakersfield is about 4 hours away so quite far...you would want to fly into SJC, SFO or OAK for norcal 

but the car isnt in San Jose, its up in Chico, 4 hours north of me.


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## Nick337 (Nov 19, 2009)

By far one of the best and cleanest installs i've seen on here. I have the same exact front stage as you do. I had Vinnie from Chaos Music design and build my a pillar install. He won the Pioneer Soundoff Competition for SQ last year. I haven't seen too many install of the Utopia's in a 3g TL. Yours and mines might be the only ones so far.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

Nick, love to see your A pillar set up, thats one aspect we can always change and make improvements as we go forward...the current setup has its advantages and drawbacks...always a balance between the two.


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## Nick337 (Nov 19, 2009)

Man I have a crappy camera, but I will take some pictures at night. I think im done with the a pillars, not going to change them at all . Too much trouble. I'm really interested in seeing how modified factory oem deck goes against a pioneer double din. I currently have a pioneer 4200 avh model installed. The main problem i was having was I wasn't having enough power out of the deck, and I felt that I didn't have alot of volume. I really wanted it to be really loud and clear, and not lose it composure when i cranked it up really loud. I'm also interested in knowing why you didn't choose the dynoaudio line for your build. My installer Vinnie had asked me if I had wanted to compete because if I did both the a pillars would not look the same, so I had told him I didn't want to compete and both the pillars are identical on both sides. I think later on I might yank all the amps out and replace them with All audison amps or Focal amps. Been hearing alot of good reviews on them.


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## Nick337 (Nov 19, 2009)

here it is. this is an old picture, the tweeter is not in the factory location anymore. That has been replaced with a new tweeter cap.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

very cool, what is that wrapped in? i thought about that kind of design but was advised to do one where the two drivers are on the same plane. do you have a pic of the driver side? as thats the side i think that presents more trouble due to the higher dash 

as for why focal? they are the primary sponsors of the build and i am not a dealer for Dyn hehe


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## ChicoOG (Nov 27, 2007)

simplicityinsound said:


> bakersfield is about 4 hours away so quite far...you would want to fly into SJC, SFO or OAK for norcal
> 
> but the car isnt in San Jose, its up in Chico, 4 hours north of me.


I'd be more than happy to hook up when you are in the area....


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## Nick337 (Nov 19, 2009)

Here is a crappy picture from my camera for the driver side mids.







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As for the fabric, its pretty close to the factory color, maybe a shade off. My installer also ordered the fabric for me. So I have no clue as to where to get it. You got pm Simplicity.


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## KennyT (Mar 14, 2008)

very very nice...


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## reker13 (Oct 26, 2007)

Amazing. I learned a lot from all the detailed pics. thank you for taking the time to post.


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## bahlgren342 (Dec 31, 2009)

*tear*


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## DLO13 (Oct 24, 2010)

in case someone missed this... Bump for your pleasure.


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## tr0y_audi0 (Feb 13, 2007)

reker13 said:


> Amazing. I learned a lot from all the detailed pics. thank you for taking the time to post.


Bing does a great job with the photo's always helps to lay it out like he does.

Another thumbs up!


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## cchrono (Oct 8, 2009)

Where do you get your grill cloth from for the pillars need to get some for my current build. Thanks awesome work.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

i cant even remember...selectproducts or perhaps ebay


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## Cooluser23 (Dec 23, 2009)

Great attention to detail!

Random question: Why did you choose to run the Tweet, mid ranges off axis, rather than aim them?


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

at the time of this posting, we didnt want to go to a full on axis pod and experiment with a more subtle and cosmetically pleasing option...but since this post, the car has had more on axis pods built hehe, but i dont have any pics of it since i had my friend Scott aka SQHemi, build it for him 

b


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## cchrono (Oct 8, 2009)

simplicityinsound said:


> i cant even remember...selectproducts or perhaps ebay


Cool actually found some on ebay. One more question what is it that you use to make your speaker rings flush mount i have seen you use it in almost all your builds and am looking to use the idea.


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## FSUnoles (Apr 29, 2007)

wow this has to be the most expensive detailed install on this board


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

FSUnoles said:


> wow this has to be the most expensive detailed install on this board


Check thr hyundai genesis log  but either way no where near the.most.expensive. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I think most expensive might have been the Mini Cooper pickup elsewhere on the board. He had some ridiculously expensive products in there.

Jay


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## BuickGN (May 29, 2009)

I've heard this car and it sounded great. I don't think it was the current version, from what I remember it had a 12" on either side of the trunk and a 3-way up front with a door mounted midbass and a 3-4" midrange in the kicks. This was one of the first if not the first SQ system I ever heard and it made me rethink everything about my system that I thought sounded so good up until that day. I also heard "Neel's" TL with the IDQ15s IB, some ID horns, ID 4x6 (I think that was the size) in the kicks vented to atmosphere, and a Rane processor. Talk about a reality check.


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