# 2017 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk Pro Audio install thread



## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Well, it's been a crazy few months, but I managed to get both my Audi S4 disassembled and sold, and my girlfriend's Jetta sold, and purchased our new (to us) Cherokee Trailhawk. It's a single owner CPO from SoCal, really in beautiful shape, and somehow managed to hide on the back lot of a Jeep dealer 2 miles away from us for almost two months! It was scheduled to be sent to auction tomorrow and we got a smokin' deal on it along with upgraded warranties and maintenance for another 4 years!

The plan for this install started off fairly simple with a 3-way Gladen set up front and a single Gladen Pro 10 sealed in the hatch. I have a tough time staying away from pro audio builds, as some of you are aware. So I am working with Jon at Handcrafted Car Audio in Chandler again to come up with something pretty cool that I'm really excited about. I will save the details until the install dates are locked in and some of the fabrication starts taking place. It will be a blend of old school and new, with some versatility built into the fabrication to allow me to tinker and swap gear.

Here are a few pics of the TH:


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

One thing I have wanted to do for awhile and haven't in the past few vehicles I've done is a JBL W1xGTi. With them getting harder and harder to find since they were discontinued, I thought I'd enjoy the hunt.  After messaging a few friends over the weekend, one of them came across a post on the SQ Classifieds FB group. Long story short, the seller was located 7 hours away in Oxnard, CA and I drove over there yesterday with Naomi and my girls to pick them up! Here is what I scored:
























































They left the Harman distribution center here in Phoenix in October 2003, exactly 17 years ago! Sent to Northridge, CA where their original owner kept them for 16 years without ever using or opening them. A year ago, Erik bought them, and never used them as he could not find a third for his install plans, until yesterday, they became mine, and are back home, 6 miles away from the old Harman building. Never mounted, like little time capsules from almost 20 years ago. So what am I gonna do? Feed them gobs of power.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

The plan at this point is to use a Faital 8" mid in the doors, then a dedicated Faital midrange along with horns. JBL W10GTis will be in a large sealed enclosure. I will retain the factory 8" HU/media interface as it is really well laid out and easy to use. I'll have an old(er) school processor handling things to keep with the theme. Some other surprises in store- basically, something I have always wanted to try in all of my crazy, unconventional installs, but never have. I haven't really even seen it done or mentioned, although I'm sure someone has to have tried it! More to come...


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## BMWTUBED (Aug 25, 2007)

Yes! Sub'd!! Cant wait to see what you pull out!


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## Ge0 (Jul 23, 2007)

Dang those things look like Jack hammers. Just don't go cutting holes in your floor to accommodate them .

Ge0


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## brett (Apr 27, 2005)

mikey's back!


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## jimmyjames16 (Dec 12, 2006)

Talk about Diamonds in the Ruff with those subs..


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

brett said:


> mikey's back!


What’s up man! Been a long while. Hope life is good.


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## LBaudio (Jan 9, 2009)

heh, cant live without JBLs, lol


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## brett (Apr 27, 2005)

mikey7182 said:


> What’s up man! Been a long while. Hope life is good.


yeah dude, life's mostly good. i actually semi-finished my install this summer, but i'm already considering changing some things. can't wait to see how this turns out.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Headroom^2 😁👽


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## brett (Apr 27, 2005)

just a heads up mikey, you may want to consider getting the pac amp pro kit. i just bought one yesterday because now they offer a version that will be able to work with base 8.4 systems. not sure which dsp you're going to use, but this will allow for a digital out. i'm really hoping this will clean up my signal and allow me to use full range of my volume. as it stands, i can only use about half the factory volume (18/36) before it starts to distort. i suspect yours will behave the same, and maybe this will help the both of us.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

What made you go from a S4 to a Trailhawk?


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## damonryoung (Mar 23, 2012)

C'mon man... you started this thread a month ago and you still aren't done? Doesn't sound like the mikey I know...


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Yes I sort of dragged my ass a bit on this one 😆

But it is officially time! Going under the knife tomorrow for 2 weeks or so. See you on the other side 👽😈


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

BP1Fanatic said:


> What made you go from a S4 to a Trailhawk?


Simplifying finances to finish school and move across the country. 😎 Seems like a funny switch but honestly I don’t miss the S4 much at all. The Trailhawk is just a blast constantly. I really enjoy it a lot more than I thought I would.

My oldest daughter turns 16 in two years and she’s been riding around listening to my pro audio installs since she was a baby. The plan is to build this to last and give her the Jeep when she’s old enough to drive. 😊


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

brett said:


> just a heads up mikey, you may want to consider getting the pac amp pro kit. i just bought one yesterday because now they offer a version that will be able to work with base 8.4 systems. not sure which dsp you're going to use, but this will allow for a digital out. i'm really hoping this will clean up my signal and allow me to use full range of my volume. as it stands, i can only use about half the factory volume (18/36) before it starts to distort. i suspect yours will behave the same, and maybe this will help the both of us.


Yep I ended up buying one! A close friend tells me the analog inputs on the H800 are superior to the toslink, so I’m gonna go that route to start and see how it does. I’ll let you know my findings. 😎


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

This will be a fun install to watch - great equipment list of course, and an excellent installer. This will be an excellent system to demo for those fortunate enough. That comment about moving across the country may mean there may be a chance for me to get a listen 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

So Jon is going to be taking a number of photos chronicling this build which I'll probably receive once the install is done and then I will upload them. In the meantime, here are a few small updates/teaser shots 

Edit: I realized I haven't listed the equipment officially:

HU: Factory 8.4" uConnect headunit w/PAC AmpPro interface
Processing: Alpine PXA-H800/RUX-C800
Midbass: B&C 8MBX51 in modified factory door locations (FaitalPro 8PR320 as alternates)
Midrange: FaitalPro M5N8-80 in dash pods
Horns: B&C DE120 in Stevens/ID mini horns (FaitalPro HF108 as alternates)
Subs: JBL W10GTi (x2) sealed
Amps: SounDigital EVOX 1200.4 (x2), EVOX 3000.1 (x1)
Distribution: Stinger CBR44
Electrical: Singer 290A alternator
Wiring: FourConnect Stage 2, KnuKonceptz
Dampening/deadening: SoundShield, SecondSkin

Factory shifter console removed to be prepped for modification:











After a few different considerations, this looked like the most practical and accessible spot for the C800 controller. Jon relocated the multi-port by deleting the recess in front of it so everything is retained, and arguably makes better use of the little cubby space where the controller now sits.










When did they start making the entire inner door panel removable?? I don't know how many scars I have from applying deadener through a 6.5" speaker hole over the years!










Future home for the B&C 8MBX51/FaitalPro 8PR320. This was reportedly a very difficult tight squeeze:










And what do we have here? 












More to come! 🔊🎶📣


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## bayarearzr (Feb 26, 2021)

looks good!


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## bassfromspace (Jun 28, 2016)

Looks like the 4" B&C coax.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

mikey7182 said:


> So Jon is going to be taking a number of photos chronicling this build which I'll probably receive once the install is done and then I will upload them. In the meantime, here are a few small updates/teaser shots
> 
> Edit: I realized I haven't listed the equipment officially:
> 
> ...


Can you say REAL front stage imaging!


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Just picked up the Trailhawk from Jon and his crew at Handcrafted, and they never fail to surprise and impress me! They had it for about 3 weeks, and this was essentially 100% fabrication and I supplied the gear. They deadened the front doors and rear cargo area, then built an enclosure and amp rack in the rear cargo area, fabricated dash pods for the 5" midrange, installed the horns (grills coming once we get them 100% permanently placed), fabricated/modified the doors to accommodate 8" midbass, and ran all the wiring necessary to the amp rack area. 

Here are some photos from the build process, and a few of the finished product:




























Here is the enclosure with the template for the beauty panel/amp rack cover fitted over it: 










And the enclosure itself carpeted and bolted to the vehicle:










The Trailhawk comes with a full-size spare, which I will be relocating to the roof (via a square roof rack that will also house kayaks, lights, etc.) and take advantage of all this lovely cargo space! Jon modified the factory floor that covers the spare so I can pull out the piece you see missing above, and access this space below. 

Here are a few shots of the beauty panel:



















Here from the back side, you can see a pair of 8" x 2" grills that will house a pair of push-pull fans of the same dimensions that will promote ventilation for the amps and processor:










A pic of the dash pods fabrication:










And the grill for the dash pods:











More below...


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

And some shots of the finished install!

The interior is black vinyl/leather with red accent stitching and silver trim. We wanted to continue with that theme in the install. I furnished the Trailhawk badges for both the dash pod grills and the subwoofer grill.

Jon tied the shape of the silver bezel around the factory head unit into his design for the subwoofer grill:




















Jon's concept for the enclosure was to make it appear "floating." He backlit the underside of the enclosure/beauty panel with red LED. (Sorry for the super grainy ****ty iPad pic):










A quick shot of one of the horns in its temporary position- these will be moved back a few more inches, once they have time to modify the kicks and fabricate the grills:









And the dash pods, finished and installed. These rest over/into the factory dash speaker locations- tho factory grills and speakers were removed and these pods sit down in the dash, and are open on the bottom so they vent down into the dash. I wanted these mids to have plenty of room to stretch their legs.  

They are aimed at the dome light. I am impressed at how relatively unobtrusive they are considering the size of the mid! Jon did an outstanding job on these. 



















Jon sent the Jeep to a friend of his who owns a tint shop. He installed black vinyl on the windshield where the pods are visible. Jon's design of the pods coupled with this vinyl just happened to line up flawlessly with the factory hood vinyl decals and the sideview mirrors, when viewed from the outside:











One more grainy shot of the front end with the RUX-C800 visible:











I spent yesterday afternoon and a bit this afternoon wiring everything and installing the amps. Everything is accessible by folding the rear seats down, which has made things really easy. Not quite fired up yet, but getting close. Probably next week sometime I'll have some initial listening impressions to post.

Huge thanks once again to Jon and his crew at Handcrafted. This is the third vehicle I've had them build, and their level of craftsmanship and creativity has only improved with time. I am eager to hear my first ever vehicle with horns and dash-mounted midrange, one of my many unconventional ideas I've wanted to try for years. 

On a separate note, I successfully passed my Proposal Defense for my Doctoral program this morning. Two more months and I officially graduate after 9 long years of school full time. Naomi and I are relocating from Phoenix to Indiana in May to join Jacob and pursue a slower paced life, and hopefully a few other friends will follow. 

Thanks for looking.


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## UNBROKEN (Sep 25, 2009)

So you’re saying if I go see Jacob I can check this out too? I still tell everyone your S10 is the most fun thing I’ve ever listened to…and it was.


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## BP1Fanatic (Jan 10, 2010)

Nice install!


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

UNBROKEN said:


> So you’re saying if I go see Jacob I can check this out too? I still tell everyone your S10 is the most fun thing I’ve ever listened to…and it was.


Yeah, we live about a mile apart! Are you planning a trip this way? Would be great to see you again!


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## UNBROKEN (Sep 25, 2009)

mikey7182 said:


> Yeah, we live about a mile apart! Are you planning a trip this way? Would be great to see you again!


I travel a lot on business…hoping I get into that area one day.


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## Jroo (May 24, 2006)

interested to hear how the horns below work with the mids on the dash. Dont think I have ever seen that. I have seen a person pair a tweeter in the a pillar with a horn, but not a mid.


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## oabeieo (Feb 22, 2015)

Holy **** ...... 

I love , I mean love this !


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Jroo said:


> interested to hear how the horns below work with the mids on the dash. Dont think I have ever seen that. I have seen a person pair a tweeter in the a pillar with a horn, but not a mid.


I have wanted to try this for years and finally did, and am glad I did 😎 This configuration virtually eliminated the rainbow effect I’ve dealt with forever with horns and big pro midbass. I spent some time tuning it finally the other day after nearly 8 months of driving around with it not sounding good and am honesty blown away by A- how much improvement I got out of a 30 min tune sesh and B- how ****ing good it sounds! 👽 It’s got me excited again, to say the least.
I am probably going to redo the sub enclosure in the spare tire tub so I can have my cargo space back, and also plan to port these subs (they are in a very small sealed enclosure and eat up gobs of power).
I am near the South Bend area if anyone is ever nearby and would like to check it out ✌🏼


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## oabeieo (Feb 22, 2015)

just curious, where’s your crossovers, the doors and horns in particular....

that dash mid looks awesome. Your custom guy is pretty dam good.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

oabeieo said:


> just curious, where’s your crossovers, the doors and horns in particular....
> 
> that dash mid looks awesome. Your custom guy is pretty dam good.


Thanks man! Jon is super talented. My current xover settings:

Subs: LPF 80, -24db/oct
Doors: 80-315, -24
Dash: 315-3.6k, -24
Horns: 3.6k up, -24

I tried the mid/horn point at 2.8k and 3.2k initially like I did in the S4 and Passat installs. 3.6k seemed to open things up a bit more.

In terms of coherence/clarity, this is arguably the best build I’ve done. It’s the closest thing to the distortion-free reproduction of “noisier” recordings on high end home studio monitors (think Korn, Deftones, Tool, Mudvayne) that I’ve experienced in one of my own vehicles. So much detail and separation! A few more EQ and TA tweaks and I think it will be a force to be reckoned with. 👽


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## oabeieo (Feb 22, 2015)

Underdash horns above 3k ..... interesting idea , yeah your sound power is got to be really even.... your probably able to let the dash rip pretty hard also 
Having all the efficiency in the Hf


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

oabeieo said:


> Underdash horns above 3k ..... interesting idea , yeah your sound power is got to be really even.... your probably able to let the dash rip pretty hard also
> Having all the efficiency in the Hf


Yeah, I used smaller compression drivers with the dedicated midrange, so they don't roll off as hard up top, and don't need to dig as low. The large format pro midrange are ridiculous. The detail and output is unlike anything I've heard in a car. I am eager to get the GTi woofers vented!


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## oabeieo (Feb 22, 2015)

mikey7182 said:


> Yeah, I used smaller compression drivers with the dedicated midrange, so they don't roll off as hard up top, and don't need to dig as low. The large format pro midrange are ridiculous. The detail and output is unlike anything I've heard in a car. I am eager to get the GTi woofers vented!


nice , so you want loud but sq , but that , I’m at a super loud concert kinda sound .....sounds like , man those vented are going to be a lot of output

Sound digital amps ?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

oabeieo said:


> nice , so you want loud but sq , but that , I’m at a super loud concert kinda sound .....sounds like , man those vented are going to be a lot of output
> 
> Sound digital amps ?


Yes, that has been my approach to most of my builds over the last 10-12 years or so. I've tried a lot of unconventional things, but all with that goal in mind. I love going to live shows and enjoy the visceral impact you get from being at a concert. I wanted to recreate that experience in a car. My little S-10 is still making the rounds here, I think. That truck was a LOT of fun. I will definitely build another pro audio blowthrough before too long. 

SounDigital amps, yes. Small format, Class D. The high efficiency drivers pick up the noise floor a bit but they are solid little performers and fit in the limited space I was willing to give up.


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## UNBROKEN (Sep 25, 2009)

mikey7182 said:


> Yes, that has been my approach to most of my builds over the last 10-12 years or so. I've tried a lot of unconventional things, but all with that goal in mind. I love going to live shows and enjoy the visceral impact you get from being at a concert. I wanted to recreate that experience in a car. My little S-10 is still making the rounds here, I think. That truck was a LOT of fun. I will definitely build another pro audio blowthrough before too long.
> 
> SounDigital amps, yes. Small format, Class D. The high efficiency drivers pick up the noise floor a bit but they are solid little performers and fit in the limited space I was willing to give up.


Can confirm 12” midbass in an S10 are animals. That thing was stupid fun.


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## oabeieo (Feb 22, 2015)

I remember having 10” b&cs 4ohm , I still have them actually, and 6nd430s and 8g40s and full size horns all active with HD600/4s bridged to each set ....lol and a pair of sundown 15s 

ot was a kick in the Ass...... not just a few ppl at traffic intersections next to me would gock, but everyone in all 4 corners of the intersection would look at me dumbfounded..... lol

get home with screaming tinitus for 30min and feeling exhilarated by a car stereo

man those were the days, playing MatZo balls out


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## Jscoyne2 (Oct 29, 2014)

I'd love to see how you make grills for the horns

Sent from my LM-Q730 using Tapatalk


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Jscoyne2 said:


> I'd love to see how you make grills for the horns
> 
> Sent from my LM-Q730 using Tapatalk


My current horns do not have grills. They are pushed fairly far forward under the dash so they aren't readily visible unless you crawl under and look. 

In previous installs where the horns could not be hidden, I've used 1/8" MDF or something similar. Make a piece that covers the entire front of the horn, with a cutout for the horn mouth. Cut another piece that spans the length of the underside of the horn. Glue both pieces together in an "L" shape. Wrap in vinyl, carpet, grill cloth, etc. Affix the grill to the underside of the horns through the bottom "L" section of the grill.


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## oabeieo (Feb 22, 2015)

So your doing an 8x12dl I Recon? 
(if not you best be thinking twice son) lol (Jk)

like for reals ..... an 8x12dl would be so dope in this car


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## oabeieo (Feb 22, 2015)

Mikey ..... want more pics plz!!!

and also how is the system now after few months .... what have you changed ?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Sorry just seeing this!

I am actually rebuilding the back end. I really liked the aesthetics of the enclosure and amp rack Jon built, but functionally, it doesn't allow me any cargo space. I found a roof rack I like and decided to move the full size spare up there, so the plan is to rebuild the enclosure and amp rack to the spare well.

I purchased a pair of Alpine PDX-V9 amps to replace the SounDigital amps I was running and to simplify things a bit. I'll be doing 100x4 to the horns and midrange, 200x2 bridged to the midbass, and 550x2 to the W10GTis which will now be ported instead of sealed. 

I picked up a router and table, and also bought the factory spare tire accessories molds/trays that came on the non-Trailhawk models so I can use them as templates for the enclosure. The plan is to build a layered MDF enclosure- something I've always wanted to try. Hoping to have it finished in the next few weeks.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Here is a mock up of my idea:










And here is the spare tire well, along with the factory pieces I plan to use as molds for the enclosure and grill/false floor:










This piece fits down in the bottom, and comes up to the first lip/ridge:










And this piece fits in the top, resting in the recessed lip around the perimeter: 










The plan is to make the enclosure by layering 3/4" MDF, using these two pieces as templates. The amp rack will sit 2.5" lower than the subwoofer baffle so that the tops of the amps and subs end up being more or less flush. Then I will build a 1/4" thick grill/beauty panel that mimics this top piece, that will sit down in that recessed lip around the perimeter and probably have a little design to it. Finally, I'll rebuild the false floor that also has grill/mesh material to allow the subs and amps to breathe, but still sturdy enough for me to toss **** in the back without worrying about it.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

And here is the MDF 🤓👽 4 full sheets of 3/4”, cut down to manageable pieces. 

_







_


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## UNBROKEN (Sep 25, 2009)

I’m road tripping Route 66 in June…East to West then back to Texas on I-10. 
We gotta carve out some demo time.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

I'll have it done by then for sure!

Remember I'm in Indiana now, not AZ, though we are moving back to AZ probably at the end of summer. Definitely let me know before your trip and we'll get together! It would be great to see you again. Also, let me know when you start entertaining selling that ST!


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## oabeieo (Feb 22, 2015)

Oh snap!!!!

hell yeah ….. you like the pdx amps , 

the newer Xa70s kick the snot of of them in sq and power….. but the v9s were still very nice….

Man what a sick setup….. that’s a lot of mdf….. of **** it’s gonna bump hard! Can’t wait to see more


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## UNBROKEN (Sep 25, 2009)

Hell I forgot you moved out there. Oops.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Well, a few changes over the past several weeks as I've dialed in what I wanted to do exactly. I've done GTi subs almost exclusively for 10+ years, but I always wanted to try an IDMAX, and I was looking to increase the output of my sealed pair of W10GTi while not needing to run so much power, which is why I initially planned to port the 10s. I decided to do a single sealed IDMAX 15, which has the displacement of more than 3 W10GTi and is more like a 16" sub! This thing is a beast.

Long story short, I sold my pair of W10GTi when I saw a minty fresh IDMAX 15 came available thanks to Dustin. It arrived in less than 48 hours, triple boxed and flawless. It also came in handy as a weight while my glue cured:




















The 15" requires about an inch more overall clearance than the 10s, but I was going to have to rebuild a false floor anyway, so I didn't stress over it. My initial plan to do a layered MDF enclosure was modified once I decided on the 15" sub. I removed the plastic trim in the wheel well that encircles the spare, which opened up the space a TON. I ended up having more than enough room to do a large (2.6cf) sealed enclosure using a simple/traditional cube design, so I'll save the layered MDF project for another time.

The previous build utlized a lot of the cargo space and didn't allow me to fold the seats down in the event I wanted to sleep back there while camping, or haul anything, so the goal for this rebuild was to use the spare tire well space and open the cargo area back up for use. I need to raise the factory height of the false floor by about 2" to accommodate the 15, but I have a fair amount of room to do so and have some ideas regarding beveling/chamfering the edge by the rear gate so it transitions well.

It's been a long week, stressful at times. I haven't done any fabrication work for years, and my primary frustration historically has always been not having the correct tools. So I decided to pick up a router and table, several very useful bits, an air compressor and brad nailer, and several other things. I can't express enough how much having these things elevated this project. I was able to do things fairly quickly that I never would have been able to do by hand. I've really enjoyed getting to know the router and understanding how to achieve some of the results I was looking for, given my limited fabrication skills.

Here are some progress pics of what I have accomplished this week.

Also, I don't see a ton of build logs that include pics of the individual, so I thought I'd make this a bit more personal. My amazing girlfriend Naomi hung out with me for most of the week and got sneaky with her camera, so I figured I'd include some of the pics she took of me hard at work, and possibly consuming moderate amounts of DIPAs and Peanut Butter Coffee Porters 👽

Designing the enclosure- I used the factory spare tire mount down in the wheel well which is a raised threaded bracket, to secure the enclosure. Here I am measuring it out:










Getting to know my new Freud flush trim/offset bit (this thing is ****ing awesome):










Securing the sides of the enclosure:




















Double 3/4" baffle:



















I built a little 4.5" x 4.5" x 1.5" MDF hut around the spare bracket.  This holds the enclosure to the vehicle, and then it will be additionally secured to two factory bolt locations via the amp rack.










Test fit before the lid goes on. You can see the two factory mounting locations on the large portions of the subframe- this is where the spare tub trim used to secure to, and where the factory false floor rested:


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Here is the sub resting in the enclosure to ensure it clears the MDF hut, and to figure out where I need to center the mounting hole:










Here is the enclosure with the baffle in place. I am using 8-32 threaded inserts to secure the subwoofer. I typically use 10/24 inserts for a heavy sub like this, but since it is resting flat rather than mounted vertically, I wasn't as worried about the shear weight:










After playing with several ideas for the amp rack, here is what I came up with. Resting the amp rack flat horizontally did not give me the clearance I needed when folding the rear seats down, but propping the rack on a slight 15* angle gave me just what I needed. I made angled brackets using multiple layers of 1/2" MDF and a 15* chamfer bit on the router. 3 layers of MDF slid perfectly into these little grooves in the factory subframe, and gave me easy access to use the factory mounting tabs to secure that portion of the mount. The other section was affixed to the side of the enclosure using brad nails:










I test fit this a few different times until I got the desired height, trimming a bit off the bottom of the mount between the subframe and lowering the portion mounted to the enclosure for a perfect fit:




















Once I had my height figured out, I pulled the mounts, gave them a quick sand to get rid of a few little notches, and installed a total of six 8-32 threaded inserts (3 in each mount), which is how the amp rack will secure to the mounts:










Then the mounts were put back in place:











I modified some simple L brackets to secure the front mount to the vehicle:











The initial mock up of the amp rack:











Once I had fitment figured out, I trimmed a bit more off the perimeter, installed threaded inserts for the amps and processor, drilled holes for where the rack secures to the mounts, and then carpeted it with black carpet:


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

A few more photos of the amp rack. Difficult to see now that it is carpeted, but the front of this is also chamfered at 15 degrees to match up to the side of the enclosure:






















































Playing around with the router and some different ideas, this gave me a chance to get creative with a few things. Originally I wanted to mount my Streetwires distribution block on the amp rack, but after figuring out the layout, it was going to be too crowded. So here's what I came up with:










First I flush trimmed the block onto 1/2" MDF:











Then I made 5 more layers of this same template to build a 3D block of sorts. I attached it to the driver's side of the enclosure with brad nails, attached the original mounting template to the 3D block, and installed 6-32 threaded inserts to attach the distribution block to the base layer. The 1/0 power wire will hide the visible triangle of the block underneath, and while it's not really obvious that the 3D block is an outline of the distribution block, I thought it was cooler than making plain rectangles:


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

And here is the amp rack, carpeted and test fit before I carpet the enclosure and permanently install it:



















Another shot of the distribution block:










Terminal clearance with the seats folded up:










And a shot of the cargo area:











Next up will be carpeting the enclosure, carpeting or spraying the other accessory pieces of MDF, then designing and constructing the false floor that will reside over this whole area. I need to figure out a grill idea for both the sub and the amps that will still provide rigidity/structure to the floor so I'm not worried about tossing stuff back there. I'm pretty tight on clearance as it is so I don't have tons of room to make layers and layers of grills, mesh, lighting, pop-in panels, etc. We'll see what I can come up with. I'm hoping to have it up and running within the next week or so. 👽


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## OCD66 (Apr 2, 2017)

That's some tasty work.


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## Flygts (Aug 17, 2021)

Looks nice


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## CrimsonCountry (Mar 11, 2012)

Good stuff Mikael! Being a pro audio fan myself, Ive always enjoyed seeing your builds over the years. 

I'm nearly as excited to see it finished and hear what you think as when I first bought the sub. Haha. Glad to see it arrived safely and now being to use in a clean build.


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

Excellent results! You are a fast learner - the finished pieces looked like they were done by a 20 year veteran  That IDMax is phenomenal! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## UNBROKEN (Sep 25, 2009)

Looking great, Mike.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Thanks guys! I have a few ideas for the false floor and grill. Hopefully it will be another productive week. 😎


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Made some more progress today! As impulsive and rushed as I have been historically in a hurry to hear a setup, it has been really nice to take my time and be more thoughtful about planning things out.

I kicked around some ideas for my false floor, and I came across a build log here from years ago from a member over in Europe, and it inspired my idea. Given my limited vertical space since I'm already having to raise the false floor, I didn't have a ton of room to do layers and layers of grills, lighting, recesses, etc. So working with the space I have, I decided to leave the enclosure more or less as it is (though I will probably end up coating it in a spray-on bed liner/rubberized undercoating material), and make a 1" finished layer over the whole wheel well, using the enclosure as my mounting point. I will do the same for the amp rack, with some chamfered viewing windows centered on each amp and the processor. Nothing fancy; just a nice cover wrapped in vinyl most likely, possibly some LED lighting that I have from the previous install if I can pull it off without looking cheesy. 

I was fortunate to have the factory false floor to use as a template, which saved me substantial time. The front half of the floor already had holes drilled in it from the previous enclosure setup, and I don't intend to ever use them again, so I decided to play around with some window ideas to get a feel for how it might look. I very roughly cut squares with the jigsaw just to see where I ended up:



















Here is the portion that will reside over the subwoofer, brad nailed to the MDF and ready for flush trim:










I cut two pieces of 1/2" MDF using the flush trim bit, then brad nailed them together for a test fit. The curved edge came out very nice! 










If you notice near the two recesses in the plastic, those are for the factory tie-down hooks (which are currently removed). Due to this, and how that center plastic trim overlaps the side pieces, there is a bit of a bulge in those areas where the floor doesn't sit quite flush, and it also leaves a small gap where you can see down under the floor. So I routed and affixed a small section of 3/4" MDF on each side, and used the 1/8" offset to trim into that area:



















Once this portion was centered and in place, I measured where the subwoofer resides in relation to the panel. I then used the Jasper Jig to cut my hole through both pieces. You can also get a better look at the two 3/4" side pieces where the tie-down recesses are:










I brad nailed two other small sections of 3/4" MDF to the back side of this, so it would sit level on the table, and elevate my working area off the table so the router bit wouldn't eat into it. I took a quick shallow pass to make sure it was lined up, and then 3-4 more passes gradually until the full cut was finished:










Turned out perfect! I had a 30 degree chamfer bit arrive today, along with the 45 and 15 degree bits I bought last week, so I will play around with a few scrap pieces to see what kind of edge I want to put around the subwoofer floor section. You can see in this pic how the floor comes up above the level of the rear bumper area already, and there will be another 1" above this to ensure the sub can achieve xmax without any issue. I will probably end up doing a combination of different angle chamfers on the various false floor levels to roll the edge of the floor down gradually. 

This piece and the matching amp rack will likely be wrapped in black vinyl, and then I'll finish the false floor in a heavier duty carpet that matches the factory interior. 










It got dark before I could get much else done, but I did get the first 1/2" layer of the amp rack section flush trimmed. The front-most edges of the processor and amps are slightly higher than the top of the subwoofer enclosure so the rack could clear the rear seats' range of motion. So I will most likely end up doing a 1.5" amp cover, compared to the 1" subwoofer cover. The top-most piece of the amp cover was still hitting the edges of the amps and processor, so I decided to make my own rabbeted groove which I did by hand with the router and a straight bit after measuring out the section that needed to come in:










I left about a 1/2" lip on the front edge, so I can affix a 2-3" tall strip of 1/2" MDF which will hide the terminals and wiring on the front side once the amp cover is in place. I still need to figure out mounting feet for this, which will most likely be positioned on either side of the processor between it and each amp.

Naomi and I are headed down to Indianapolis tomorrow to see All Them Witches live at a little intimate venue, so I'll have some more updates later this week. Here's their latest track for anyone who's looking for some new tunes 👽


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## SloVic (Oct 1, 2016)

mikey7182 said:


> Naomi and I are headed down to Indianapolis tomorrow to see All Them Witches live at a little intimate venue, so I'll have some more updates later this week. Here's their latest track for anyone who's looking for some new tunes 👽


Nice, like the few tracks I've heard from them. My parents and their friends saw shows at The Vouge a lot when I was a kid, they all enjoyed the venue. Will make it down there one day.

Have you been to the TCU amphitheater in the White River State Park? It's fairly small outdoor venue in the middle of Indy. I like it more than Deer Creek.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

SloVic said:


> Nice, like the few tracks I've heard from them. My parents and their friends saw shows at The Vouge a lot when I was a kid, they all enjoyed the venue. Will make it down there one day.
> 
> Have you been to the TCU amphitheater in the White River State Park? It's fairly small outdoor venue in the middle of Indy. I like it more than Deer Creek.


Nice! Do you live in Indiana? Naomi and I went to TCU Amphitheater last September to see Primus 🐽 I really liked the venue! We were right up front watching Les work his magic:












Looking forward to tomorrow for sure. 👽


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## SloVic (Oct 1, 2016)

Kokomo since 99. Les is awesome, actually saw him there as well. Been to TCU twice, first to see The Flamming Lips (very good) with The Claypool Lennon (awesome) Delirium and the second to see Umphrey's McGee(great, got pretty heavy kind of metal-y) with Sunsquabi (missed) opening for them.

Would love to see more of Les Claypool, really hoping one day Oysterhead comes close enough to see. Bet they put on a great show.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Primus is playing Clyde Theatre in Fort Wayne in May  They’re doing the second leg of last years’ tour. They played Rush’s A Farewell to Kings front to back, plus an entire Primus set. Definitely worth seeing!! CLD puts on an awesome show. I’ve seen them and/or Primus 10+ times, including 4 of their New Years Eve shows in San Francisco. Sausage got back together after 25 years for the last one I attended in 2019. What a treat that was 👽


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Another little update- spent about 4 hours this evening working on the amp cover. 

First I measured out where the amps are in relation to the floor/cover. I left a 1" perimeter roughly around the amps, and just kept the window positions similar for the processor so both the Alpine logo and power light would end up visible:










Then I flush trimmed a second layer of this using 1/2" MDF, which you'll see shortly. I rough cut the holes in each piece to prepare for routing, and rigged up some very rudimentary but very functional templates. Here is the first layer of floor. I did the same/similar thing on the other piece:










I decided to use a 30* chamfer around the perimeter of these windows, which made things a little adventurous because the bit I have is not tall enough to cut both pieces at the same time. So, I calculated that on 1/2" material, a 30* chamfer comes in 0.289" from the edge, by the time it reaches the top. So I used my offset bit and brought the window of the top layer out 1/4" all the way around, so that the edges would closely align (off by 0.04"). Also, the round of the rabbet bit gave me a nice curve on the corners:










Given that I did these separately, and set up templates manually on each piece as I worked, I am very happy with the initial results. I will most likely do a little touch-up trimming on a few of the edges that didn't line up perfectly, but it's thousandths of an inch. The main areas that didn't align are the corners, and I may use a Dremel or some sandpaper by hand to smooth the transition there. 

Here's how it turned out:




















Nothing is bolted in place, and I was trying to avoid my shadow in the photos, so some of the angles look a bit off, but they will be well centered on the amps. The amps are also on an angle, so that plays with the look a bit.

Here is one of the windows from the underside. You can see the very faint lip. I am not sure if I want to gently sand it or reposition the templates again and adjust my bit height to graze a bit more off. This will most likely be wrapped in black vinyl.










Here's a better shot of the two pieces sitting together- a bit grainy and the near edge appears to not align but they are flush trimmed. Essentially the cover pieces over the amp rack and enclosure are going to be 1.5" thick, and then a final 1/2" false floor with mesh grills/vents over the equipment. So for the amp cover, there will be a third layer under these two just for the portion that rests on the enclosure, so it will not have the windows in it. I will then build feet that attach to the amp rack and secure this cover in place. I am also going to attach a 3" x 38" strip of 3/4" MDF to the edge/lip where the channel is, and that will cover the terminals on the amps and help hide the wiring when the seats are folded down:










It was dark and snowing by the time I snapped these last pics, so not the greatest, but gives you an idea of how it is coming together. There is currently a 1" layer of floor/cover around the sub/on top of the enclosure. It will get one more 1/2" layer, and then I will do a 45* chamfered edge on the second and third layers and wrap this piece in black vinyl as well. Then the final 1/2" layer will be the false floor hiding everything, and will have heavy gauge mesh flush mounted from the top and hidden beneath the carpet.










Here is a pic of the build I found from years ago that gave me some of the ideas for the approach I'm taking with the false floor:










That's all for tonight. 👽


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## UNBROKEN (Sep 25, 2009)

That’s exactly how I did my first false floor cover and how I’ll be doing the new one as well. It was super easy to router the top to flush mount the mesh in place. I just smeared some epoxy on top, sanded it smooth and covered in carpet. I sealed and painted the bottom flat black and it works just fine for me. Those aerosol cans of polyurethane sealer from Home Depot make quick work of sealing the wood before painting.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Got a few more things finished this afternoon. I bought some sanding wheels for my drill and smoothed out the corners of the amp cover.

I also fabbed up some mounting feet for the amp cover, as well as the trimmed edge to hide the amp terminals:





























I made the third and final layer over the subwoofer enclosure and flush trimmed the cutout. 

Here is the sub and amp covers test fitted in place:



















I sanded the corners of the amp windows to smooth the transition a bit more:












A little more finish work and then everything will be ready for vinyl and carpet.


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## Sam b (Oct 10, 2020)

Awesome stuff. Love what your doing


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

gonna bevel the sub opening like the amps? looks like it might be a bit close to the seam though.


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## MrHarris (Feb 3, 2011)

I have the same car and your feedback and your thoughts influence me greatly. Thanks for always sharing your progress, achievements, failures, and everything inbetween. Cheers.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

nadams5755 said:


> gonna bevel the sub opening like the amps? looks like it might be a bit close to the seam though.


Yeah I'll most likely do a 30* chamfer on the top 3/4"-1" of the 1.5" cover. The tolerances are definitely a bit close but I think I can make it work. On the seam edge, I think I have 1.25", and a 1" deep 30* chamfer will come out about 0.6". I have some more space on the other end near the liftgate, but am also wanting to chamfer that outer edge in addition to the subwoofer surround, so that will get a bit more interesting 

I am wrestling a bit with what material(s) to finish everything in. I don't know if I want to do these pieces in vinyl or carpet. I don't have a spray gun to do DAP Weldwood adhesive. For the final false floor, I'd love to find a heavier duty carpet that matches what the factory false floor was finished in, because the same carpet is on the backs of the rear seats so those two surfaces will be up against one another. Anyone have any recommendations?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Another few days off, back out in the garage getting after it!

Today, every sharp piece of metal was out to get me  I figure it's not a DIY project unless it has a bit of my blood on it, which is visible here near the bottom edge:










You can get a better idea of how close my tolerances were here! I flush trimmed the subwoofer baffle cutout onto this final false floor piece, then rabbeted the perimeter to flush mount the heavy gauge grill mesh. I am absolutely falling in love with this router, LOL:










I flush trimmed the final layer of the false floor with the sub and amp covers. This final piece will house the grills/mesh over the sub and amp rack. I put a 30* chamfer on the top 3/4" of the layer that will get vinyl, as well as the final 1/2" top cover, to taper the edge near the lift gate. The driver's and passenger's sides are asymmetrical because of the different sized storage pockets and the bar on the driver's side, so I gradually tapered the chamfered edges around the bend, then brought the sides out where they needed to be:










I then flush trimmed the amp and processor windows from the lower amp cover, and then rabbeted perimeters for grill mesh like I did for the sub:










I did not mirror the outer "chamfered" edge because I wanted to leave enough room for the rabbeted perimeter for the mesh, since this top piece is going to be purely functional, rather than aesthetic. Once the false floor level is removed, the chamfered edges around the amps and sub will be on display:










I did not get a chance to snap a picture of the top when I was placing the mesh with epoxy, but I got the grinder out and went after it. I was able to get all 4 pieces out of a 24" x 24" square, which I picked up at Menard's for about $30. I used Gorilla Glue quick epoxy then weighted them down while it cured. Here it is from the underside:










While the epoxy cured, I measured and installed a total of 7 10-24 threaded inserts into the enclosure. The 2" bolts feed through the amp and subwoofer covers and secure to the enclosure, which is secured to the vehicle. Here are the bolts in place while the wood glue dries around the inserts:










And here are the bolts, countersunk and installed. These pieces will be wrapped in black vinyl, so I will probably cut small crosses/Xs in the vinyl for the bolts, and possibly get some black screw covers/caps/plugs to pop in over the bolts for a cleaner look:











Even though the enclosure itself will not be visible really, small portions of it potentially will be, and I wanted to seal the wood as best I could either way to protect from moisture, etc. So this was the last thing I got done today. I masked off the threaded inserts on the enclosure, the amp rack mount, and then also masked off the perimeter of the false floor so the carpet will glue down when I wrap it around the underside. I then coated the enclosure, amp rack mount, and underside of the false floor in two coats of grey primer:






















Tomorrow I will hit everything with a few coats of basic black spray paint, then a few coats of clear coat, just so there is no visible exposed wood and things blend in a bit better.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

I forgot to upload this last night, working on the grill mesh. Naomi snapped this of me right before she fled the garage (and I did end up putting glasses on... just wanted to see which wheel was going to work best). Also, clearly I gave up on sawdust management. I swept the floor 5-6 times just yesterday and this was between shots: 🔥


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

mikey7182 said:


> I forgot to upload this last night, working on the grill mesh. Naomi snapped this of me right before she fled the garage (and I did end up putting glasses on... just wanted to see which wheel was going to work best). Also, clearly I gave up on sawdust management. I swept the floor 5-6 times just yesterday and this was between shots:
> 
> View attachment 328211


That is a great shot!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

A little teaser of the next and final leg of this project- the OD of the new FaitalPro 10PR320. 8s are yesterdays’ news 😁






Faital Pro 10PR320 10" Speakers - Faital Pro 10PR320 10" bass guitar speaker and that has a lightweight neodymium magnet - Faital Pro 10PR320 600 watt 10" with efficiency of 96dB SPL. For all high power bass applications. Faital Pro 10PR320 bass guitar speakers.


Faital Pro 10PR320 lightweight neodymium 10 inch woofer for speaker replacement or upgrade. Faital Pro 10PR320 10 inch speaker for all high efficiency speaker systems. The Faital Pro 10PR320 delivers warm defined bass with 600 watts program power handling. Faital Pro 10PR320 speakers here.



usspeaker.com






























The inner diameter of these rings are the OD of the 8s currently behind the panels. There’s a decent chance I can fit the 10s behind there with minimal modification. I’ll have to check to see about the additional 0.7” depth. Worst case I’ll get to try my hand at fiberglass for some grills. 😎


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## CrimsonCountry (Mar 11, 2012)

mikey7182 said:


> A little teaser of the next and final leg of this project- the OD of the new FaitalPro 10PR320. 8s are yesterdays’ news
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Oh no you didn't! I'm wanting to do the same now and ditch my 8s along with possibly mounting the Audax in the kicks. Too many ideas...


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

CrimsonCountry said:


> Oh no you didn't! I'm wanting to do the same now and ditch my 8s along with possibly mounting the Audax in the kicks. Too many ideas...


In my experience, sometimes too many is just the right amount 😆


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Well, a few things did not show up this week, delaying progress a bit. But, I used the time to get some more fabrication done. I kicked around some ideas for placing the false floor on hinges or struts so I could pop it up and show off the vinyled layer below, but none of those ideas seemed to pan out. So I decided after getting everything together that I would make the amp and subwoofer grills removable to achieve this. Doing this retroactively was a bit tricky, since the entire false floor was already constructed as a single piece, and I didn't want to remove much material around the grill perimeter so the grill would still press into the floor around it. I also needed the design of the new removable grills to leave the mounting hardware hidden on the layer below. 

The solution I found was a very small diameter flush trim router bit- 3/16". This thing was TINY! It did very well on the subwoofer grill with the exception of one small corner spot where I didn't keep the bit tight enough against the template, and it wandered a smidge. So on the amp grill, I was very careful to keep it firmly against the template, and sadly, I was a bit TOO overzealous with it, as about 1/3 of the way through, this happened  










So while $32 for about 60" of cutting was not an ideal return on my investment, it was a good lesson learned. I ended up finishing the cut very carefully with a jigsaw and a guide against the other side. So there's 3/16" of material gone on the portion I did with the router, and 1/16" gone from the jigsaw blade. So I am going to offset trim 1/8" off the remainder of the perimeter so it is uniform. 

Here is the design I came up with, and the cutout result:



















I then placed a total of 9 threaded inserts strategically around the false floor to secure it to the layer below. 7 of them are 10-24, and the top two near the little legs of the floor at the edge of the amp rack are 8-32 as the space there was pretty tight and I wanted to retain the integrity of the wood. I need to pick up some black 8-32 bolts as they did not have any at the local Ace, but all of these should hide well in the carpet:










I picked up a roll of 3/16" H x 3/8" W weather stripping with double sided adhesive from Ace, which compresses down to as thin as 1/16" H. Between two carpet edges and a layer of foam on the grill perimeter, the grills will press down snug in the surrounding floor. Here is a quick test fit I did with just a single layer of the foam:










So both grills will be wrapped in black carpet, along with the surrounding false floor area, so it will all blend in when the grills are in place. Remove them, and you see the chamfered windows around the sub, amps and processor wrapped in black vinyl.  

Also, I got started on the wire prep with what I had on hand. Nothing is permanently placed yet, and I will face the labeling on the heat shrink so it is not visible, but I stuck with the red and black theme of the Trailhawk:










That's it for the week. I'm having custom RCAs made for both length and configuration to accommodate the necessary y-splitters for the PDX amps. The plan is to run one amp per side as follows:

Ch1- horn
Ch2- midrange
Ch3+4- midbass
Ch5- sub

Per the birthsheets, this will give me roughly [email protected] 4 ohms for the horns and midrange, 250x2 for the midbass, and 550x2 for the sub. 

This will help with L/R separation, and lets me spread the load equally across both amps. I'll run one coil of the IDMAX per amp after matching the gains with a DMM. 

More to come next week!


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Well, she's officially up and running!! I am beyond pleased with the initial results. I loaded my previous tune for the H800, and had it sounding pretty good. One thing I've not been able to do is run ImprintEQ, because the Jeep does not have a factory CD player. About 6 months ago before I dismantled the previous install, I ripped the Alpine setup disc to my Apple Music, then tried running it through BT, through USB, through the Aux input, etc etc and nothing would work. So out of sheer curiosity, and for a cheap experiment, I ran down to Walmart and picked up a cheap Dual single DIN CD player for $59, then MacGyver'd a quick first run of ImprintEQ   I will say that despite the turn-on pop, this actually worked out far better than I expected it to! The tune after Imprint was night and day better than my previous tune. Stage is higher, wider, and deeper with a more focused center image, and the up front bass is ridiculous. I am looking into options to add a CD changer or external single CD player down the road. We'll see what I can figure out. 











Here are a few more small photo updates of the build. I picked up a stronger bolt to secure the enclosure down to the factory spare location, including a larger rubber washer and lock washer so it doesn't back out and helps decouple a bit:



















I purchased two pair of Dayton terminals and installed them in the enclosure, then wired up the sub:



















I ended up with about 1.5lbs of polyfill in the enclosure:










Over the next few days I am going to finish the upholstery on the floor and get the wires bundled, cleaned up and secured.  The impact in this thing, especially given how relatively little power I am running, is absolutely insane. Yet another testament to pro audio drivers. I am particularly surprised how well the dash-mounted midrange do with horns, and the overall stage. I don't have any perceivable cues coming from below the top of the dash.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Well, today was absolutely freezing, but I had already begun the vinyl pieces so I spent some time in the garage today. The vinyl I ordered was not 4-way stretch like it was advertised, and while it did pretty well on the half that covers the sub, I tried and failed twice to get it to take to the tight corners on the amp windows. :/ In between the first and second attempts, I pulled up a CAF video on YouTube to see if he had any tricks to ending up with more slack in the windows, and the vinyl he used in the video ended up having the same problem I did! 😂 That helped assuage some of the disappointment as I've really been wanting to get this finished up this week. My custom RCAs are also delayed by a week, so I guess it's a lesson in patience. 

Also- I noticed in the last few pics once I got the floor out in the light, there are a few small spots where the DAP cement bled through along the front edge. Does anyone have any tricks or tips on how to remove that without fading the carpet dye? Or is there a simple way to dye those spots black? I'd really prefer not to redo the whole piece. Upholstering is not my strong suit- something I've done only a small handful of times over the years- and I am generally happy with how the piece turned out otherwise. 

Here is what I finished today. I have the two grill inserts to finish in the carpet, and then the amp rack to redo when the new vinyl comes. I didn't have the top piece quite centered as it was not bolted down; just a quick test fit. I've also got some black 8-32 bolts for the sub coming from Fastenal.


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## CrimsonCountry (Mar 11, 2012)

mikey7182 said:


> Also- I noticed in the last few pics once I got the floor out in the light, there are a few small spots where the DAP cement bled through along the front edge. Does anyone have any tricks or tips on how to remove that without fading the carpet dye? Or is there a simple way to dye those spots black?


Try Dupli-color Vinyl and Fabric Dye. Its fairly cheap and easy to get as its sold at all the autoparts stores around here. I used it on my carpet and panels when I changed over my interior to black and its held up pretty good over the years. SEM would be a good option too, I just didn't want to wait for shipping at the time.

And it looks great man! Very clean.


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## DaveG (Jul 24, 2019)

Looking fantastic! Try wd40 on the glue. Let it sit for a little bit.


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## mfenske (Feb 7, 2006)

Looks excellent!!!


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Thanks guys! 

I picked up my black hardware from Fastenal, and also picked up WD-40 and the vinyl + fabric specialty coating today, along with some deadener to address a few rattles and vibrations in the front doors and cargo area. For being in a small town, I am surprised by the things I'm still able to get fairly quickly:











The cargo plastics over the wheel wells and rear gate were pretty scuffed up from the previous (original) owner, so I masked things off, cleaned up the plastics, and gave it a go. I've used SEM in the past, but I'm pretty impressed with this DupliColor stuff:

Before:












After:











The two little side pockets in the rear corners were rattling a fair amount, so I removed them, applied a layer of deadener to the outside, and then some 3/16" weatherstripping under the lip so it clips firmly into place and decouples it a bit from the wheel well:











I also borrowed an AudioControl RTA from Jacob, and spent about an hour making adjustments from outside the Jeep:










As good as I thought it sounded the past few days, I knew there were some significant things that needed to be addressed, and this helped me take some of the guesswork out of it. I had some serious peaks and valleys. Here is the before shot. Each level is +/-2db. Needless to say I have no idea how it sounded even decent, LOL:










And here here is where I ended up after spending about an hour with it. I played with L vs. R for a bit, and there did not appear to be dramatic differences between sides across the spectrum. Between levels, gains, and EQ, I ended up making a number of adjustments to achieve these results. Each level is again +/-2db. This was a screenshot of a video so the dots were bouncing around a bit, but it is a vast improvement audibly over the previous tune. I basically made all the changes before listening to it again, so I could get as much of a true "before vs. after" as possible. The difference is substantial, and this install has some solid potential. Sonically it reminds me a lot of my Passat, with a bit more bottom end. I still have a significant drop off after 12k (at least per the RTA) but my ears aren't missing as much sparkle as I would have expected. I also ended up lowering my SW level about 5db after this to smooth out the bottom end. 











I am going to spend some more time with it tomorrow, but the results from today were very satisfying. 👽


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Well, stretch vinyl was delayed until next week, but my custom RCAs arrive tomorrow, so I am getting very close.

I gave the interior of the Jeep a very deep clean which is desperately needed, and got a few other touch-ups done, including repainting some mild rust on these storage hook brackets:











I also got the two grill inserts carpeted and trimmed. I know the whole removable grill idea was an afterthought so a lot of things I had to do or will do backwards (such as painting the edges of the grills). This has been a good learning experience to anticipate things for my future builds. Turns out the Ozite carpet ended up being thick enough to create a snug fit with just one edge carpeted:










Please excuse the terrible lighting. Indiana can't make up its ****ing mind on weather lately!





























Aside from vinyl-ing (vinyling? applying vinyl to) the amp rack, this is the final piece of the install and will fit over the floor I've built. I'm looking to see if there is a Trailhawk version, but so far no luck:




















It might require that I trim 1/2" or so off the front edge where it butts up against the backs of the rear seats, but I need to get it here to test fitment. I may also consider the WeatherTech waterproof ones... I'm not 100% sure yet.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

My custom RCAs are finally here 😎 I wanted the cabling on this to be clean and without tons of extra zip tied and tucked away, and my space was also a bit limited. I looked for WAY too long for matching interconnect that came in all the lengths and configurations I wanted and kept coming up empty.

A year or two ago I purchased some RCAs from a company on Amazon called World’s Best Cables. They sell tons of different lengths and plugs using Mogami cable and others, most of it made in Japan.

One thing they don’t sell is a Y adapter. So I messaged them, and turns out they will customize pretty much anything you want, and the pricing is extremely reasonable!

They have a whole step-by-step process that they email you and once the order is agreed upon, the turnaround time from order to arrival was about 2.5 weeks. They sent me an Amazon link once the cables were ready and I got them the next day (today). 🤓

The PDX amps require input on all RCAs, even for subs and when bridging midbass. So I ordered 4 custom 1male-2male cables- two for the midbass and two for the sub (one coil to each amp). I’ve got one more in the mailbox, but essentially I got a total of 8 cables- 4 12” and 4 30”- with 8 ch of output and 12 ch of input for $140 shipped. The Mogami 2964 cable feels high quality and flexible, and the Amphenol plugs are sturdy and heavy, and were the lowest profile ones they had available.


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## MrHarris (Feb 3, 2011)

mikey7182 said:


> Well, she's officially up and running!! I am beyond pleased with the initial results. I loaded my previous tune for the H800, and had it sounding pretty good. One thing I've not been able to do is run ImprintEQ, because the Jeep does not have a factory CD player. About 6 months ago before I dismantled the previous install, I ripped the Alpine setup disc to my Apple Music, then tried running it through BT, through USB, through the Aux input, etc etc and nothing would work. So out of sheer curiosity, and for a cheap experiment, I ran down to Walmart and picked up a cheap Dual single DIN CD player for $59, then MacGyver'd a quick first run of ImprintEQ   I will say that despite the turn-on pop, this actually worked out far better than I expected it to! The tune after Imprint was night and day better than my previous tune. Stage is higher, wider, and deeper with a more focused center image, and the up front bass is ridiculous. I am looking into options to add a CD changer or external single CD player down the road. We'll see what I can figure out.
> 
> View attachment 329435
> 
> ...



What size are the bolts / washers / rubber piece and where to buy from?


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## MrHarris (Feb 3, 2011)

Also, have you ever thought of using Secondskin Spectrum liquid sound deadener for your Jeep? Either on the interior or exterior?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

MrHarris said:


> What size are the bolts / washers / rubber piece and where to buy from?


The bolt was whatever thread pitch the factory spare tire mount was- I believe it was an M8-1.25. The rubber washer was a 3/16" x 2" OD. I picked these up with the washer/lock washer at a local hardware store (Ace). 

I haven't used Spectrum before, but I did use Luxury Liner to decouple a number of surfaces in the Jeep, and have used a lot of various SS products in previous builds. The S-10 I did had Luxury Liner Pro under the floor carpet, among other things. Probably one of the quietest S-10s I've been in


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Well, I had a few hours free this weekend, and the vinyl and other odds and ends arrived, so I went ahead and finished up the install finally!

The 4-way stretch vinyl I ordered was much easier to work with than the other stuff I used, but I still for the life of me could not get the corners of the amp windows to grab. I tried several coats/layers of DAP, let it dry completely, heated both surfaces with a heat gun, etc. This is my first real attempt at doing vinyl upholstery, and it was a fairly complex shape considering I haven't really done it before, so I'm continuing to learn things for future projects. I think it was a combination of the angles being pretty sharp, and the edges of the MDF soaking up a lot of glue. It's going to be hidden from view most of the time, and I need a functional floor, so I decided to roll with what I got for the time being.

I also had not one, but TWO awesome members here offer to machine me some 4awg 90 degree terminals for the amps! DeLander made me two pair, and so did Shaggs. They both ended up perfect and were more or less identical, but I didn't have access to digital calipers when I gave Todd the PDX input diameters, so I had him make the input pins just a bit too small to really grab much surface area inside the amp terminal. He fabricated them perfectly though, and I will likely find a use for them before too long. 

So here are some final photos of the install. Fortunately, even though the corners didn't grab, it doesn't jump out a ton:



















And installed (I need to pull the amp cover one last time and paint or upholster the feet:























And some shots of the custom input terminals and wiring:







































Here is the area between the false floor and the rear seats when folded down. The factory floor had a little flap that folds over and bridges the gap. I plan to build a little platform that rests on angled feet similar to the amp rack cover, and it will essentially rest on the backs of the seats and butt up against the false floor to make this area flat for storage, camping/sleeping, etc.










And all finished! I will likely build some little inserts for the side pockets to bring them flush with the floor so they blend better, but overall I am happy with how things turned out. I have a few tuning tweaks to figure out, but it's come together very well. Thanks to everyone who offered input, advice, support, and even fabricated stuff for me. Nice to have another project checked off the list.


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## SHAGGS (Apr 24, 2011)

Looks great man! Thou, I'm still a little worried about the bat terminals being somewhat exposed.
I wonder if something like brush on liquid electrical tape might be an easy way to insulate them.
It does come in both red and black...  


https://www.lowes.com/pd/Star-brite-Liquid-Tape/1001312822




https://www.lowes.com/pd/Star-brite-Liquid-Tape/1001326662


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## DaveG (Jul 24, 2019)

Very nice build! Congrats! Where’d you get the four way stretch vinyl?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

DaveG said:


> Very nice build! Congrats! Where’d you get the four way stretch vinyl?


Thanks! I ordered it from yourautotrim.com. I also got the Ozite carpet from them. Shipping was a bit delayed and I should’ve ordered both at the same time but ultimately both materials were solid quality and easy to work with.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

SHAGGS said:


> Looks great man! Thou, I'm still a little worried about the bat terminals being somewhat exposed.
> I wonder if something like brush on liquid electrical tape might be an easy way to insulate them.
> It does come in both red and black...
> 
> ...


Good call! I didn’t even know that stuff existed. I had considered heat shrink or something similar but that liquid tape will be perfect.


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

another job well done Mike! I always appreciate you pointing out the minute details that tend to make a major difference. So what's your take on the IDMAX15 sealed?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

fish said:


> another job well done Mike! I always appreciate you pointing out the minute details that tend to make a major difference. So what's your take on the IDMAX15 sealed?


Thanks! I am really impressed with the sub honestly. I got the bottom end I was missing with the W10GTis and it’s very articulate/snappy. I don’t remember the last time I didn’t have at least a 15” sub, so lesson learned. 😂


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## MrHarris (Feb 3, 2011)

Do you use the optical out from the pac amp pro? Do you think the pac amp pro is the ideal way to start the flow of things? Do you think it’s ideal to go with the pac amp pro if also planning to incorporate a helix 8 channel dsp.3?


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## Speedhunter (Feb 21, 2020)

Nice build! I have question related to RTA device due to seeing some guys like Zimmerman using it.I never had experience with it because I use REW, are there any advantages over the REW software?


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