# My Ford Fucus install thread...



## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

Finally getting around to making this... Im going to just throw up some pics for now(im in the middle of working on wrapping the driver side door pod in fleece) and ill throw out all my plans/info later tonight


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## Sephiroth619 (Jun 24, 2005)

Very nice. Can't wait for the finished results.

I'm curious. What subwoofer is that in the 3rd to last picture in the mid/upper area?


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

looking good so far. one thing I might suggest is to CA glue or staple the fleece all around the ring baffle to secure it in place.


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## Dulyman (Jan 25, 2007)

how much longer till you can hear the speakers?


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## Dulyman (Jan 25, 2007)

it's looking good..makes me want to Stop adjusting my standard doors and make new ones...
looks ike more fun too...


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

sephiroth619 said:


> Very nice. Can't wait for the finished results.
> 
> I'm curious. What subwoofer is that in the 3rd to last picture in the mid/upper area?


Thanks for the kind words, that would be a PG Titanium 10... If I remember right one of the coils is fried...


bobditts said:


> looking good so far. one thing I might suggest is to CA glue or staple the fleece all around the ring baffle to secure it in place.


I have always just glassed over the ring in all my other fiberglass projects, and that works perfectly fine for me 


Dulyman said:


> how much longer till you can hear the speakers? it's looking good..makes me want to Stop adjusting my standard doors and make new ones...
> looks ike more fun too...


It will hopefully be this week sometime(I am out of town until tomorrow, and have been too busy with school and work to glass it over), fabricating is a blast!


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## fit_tuner (Aug 14, 2006)

looks good so far, cant wait to see more progress!


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## demon2091tb (May 30, 2005)

Whats your intended airspace for the drivers and whats your ideal response your looking for?


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## Ga foo 88 (Dec 18, 2005)

I was hoping the 18 was going in the door


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## Robert (Jul 23, 2006)

Nice work you have done so far.


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

I cant wait til tomorrow  More pics will follow... 

Demon- Im getting the maximum amount of airspace while still maintaining aesthetic appeal... I imagine around .4-.6 cubes per side, but ill know for sure tomorrow.


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

Finally started glassing the pods, ill still need to throw on a few more layers of mat/resin, then test.... 


















I like blue  









Testing out some different aiming possibilities for the TG9s

















The PPI and the 880PRS

















What you see when you look back...









My seas neo alum and xt19s









I kinda forgot I had this Titanic lying around, I think this is a sign I have too many subs... lol


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## dBassHz (Nov 2, 2005)

Glad to see someone is getting some fabrication work done! I would suggest aimming the TG9s directly on-axis with the driver or slightly to the right. Those are the positions that have worked best for me.


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

omarmipi said:


> Glad to see someone is getting some fabrication work done! I would suggest aimming the TG9s directly on-axis with the driver or slightly to the right. Those are the positions that have worked best for me.


Im glad to see me actually working on it! lol Thanks for the suggestion, after playing around with them for a bit I def like them better on-axis.


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## azngotskills (Feb 24, 2006)

Good work and dont stop till its done  Let me know when I can hear a demo

(Did you get my PM?)


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

Hey Mark, I thought I PMed ya back but guess I didnt  Just sent ya a PM though. 

Hopefully, HOPEFULLY, ill have the door pods finished enough to try them out by sunday. My mom is bugging me to build her that damned coffee table though, and my brother is coming down for the weekend.... So who knows what ill really get done


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## bangandow (Mar 3, 2007)

Hey, quick question... I was thinking about using almost the exact same drivers you are, but am wondering why you have the TG9 in addition to the RS52... is there a major downside to just using the RS52 for mid duties?

Thanks


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## azngotskills (Feb 24, 2006)

I guess i will answer the question for you Ben...He originally had the Dayton RS52s and I let him borrow my Vifa TG9s. Now he wont give me TG9s back and sold the RS52s  He told me the mids werent to his liking and that they sounded a bit to harsh for him...the TG9s were more of his taste. Please correct me if im wrong Ben, just thought I would help you answer


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

azngotskills said:


> I guess i will answer the question for you Ben...He originally had the Dayton RS52s and I let him borrow my Vifa TG9s. Now he wont give me TG9s back and sold the RS52s  He told me the mids werent to his liking and that they sounded a bit to harsh for him...the TG9s were more of his taste. Please correct me if im wrong Ben, just thought I would help you answer


Listen to Mark


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## bangandow (Mar 3, 2007)

Don't mean to intrude on your thread here, but did you feel like the harshness was anything you couldn't EQ out? Just trying to learn what I can where I can 

Thanks


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

bangandow said:


> Don't mean to intrude on your thread here, but did you feel like the harshness was anything you couldn't EQ out? Just trying to learn what I can where I can
> 
> Thanks


Well, they were less harsh the lower you crossed them over. Even at 500hz 24db/octave slope and 3.2khz 24db/octave slope they were bad(they were mounted off-axis too, as on-axis was even worse). I tried eq'ing a bit out, but it just took away from the music too much. Needless to say, I listen to a lot of hard rock, and to put it simply... They sucked, IMHO.

On a lighter note, im really digging these TG9s  Sound great on-axis... I still would like to try out the 4" Exclusives though...


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## dBassHz (Nov 2, 2005)

toolfan91 said:


> I still would like to try out the 4" Exclusives though...


Go for it. I listen to a lot of Metal/Hard Rock also (Soulfly, Hatebreed, Killswitch) and you need a midrange that can cover the grunts and growls.


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

omarmipi said:


> Go for it. I listen to a lot of Metal/Hard Rock also (Soulfly, Hatebreed, Killswitch) and you need a midrange that can cover the grunts and growls.


Yeah, the TG9s are alright at hard metal... But really good at everything else. I just want the guitars to sound like they did when I had my 5.5" Exclusives or 7" MGs


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

Well, finished the actual fiberglassing of the door pods  Now just need to get them mounted to test out the RS225s. 

Unfortunately, I have a few mid-terms, 1 research paper, and 1 5pg essay to do this week  My brothers wedding is next weekend, and ill be working 50 hours over spring break. I will find some time in between to get my 8s in! 

Here they are, ready for dyna-glass/rage gold-


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## MiloX (May 22, 2005)




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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

Ill finally have time on wednesday night to start working on it again! Im psyched  Especially considering im picking up a pair of 8" XLS drivers tomorrow, to test out. Damn I have some great friends  Not to mention, ill be ordering the Exclusives sometime this next week


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## azngotskills (Feb 24, 2006)

damn i wish i was in Houston right now....I want to hear


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

Well, a good buddy of mine hasn't quite finished his install yet... So he lent me his XLS 8"s to try out  Hopefully ill have the door pods mounted up, for testing purposes, tomorrow


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## vwtoby (Oct 28, 2005)

any door pod updates?


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

Yeah Im a little pissed off right now...

Fast Forward to last night, installed the door panels, installed the Xenon 200.2, re-routed some wiring... Of course I disconnected the negative terminal from the battery before doing any of this. 

Get the RS225s mounted in the door pods and whatnot... Turn on the car, the 880PRS is on about 25volume. LOUD alternator whine, turn the volume down, then start hearing crackling from the speakers. Turned the car off, came inside, went to bed  

Just checked the radio fuse for my car, fine. Getting voltage to the head unit, it just wont ****ing turn on        



I mean really, how big of a tease is this? I finally get the door pods mounted w/RS225s, and then this ****? REDICULOUS. Doing a bit of research on what I have to do now with the 880PRS    Ill have pics of them mounted a bit later.


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## azngotskills (Feb 24, 2006)

Finally an update ....we need to meet up man


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

Well looks like Ill have to take apart the 880 and check out the internal fuse  

Anyways, here are some pics of the door pods mounted for testing purposes


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## unpredictableacts (Aug 16, 2006)

NIce I see you went with a exotic suade/endangered sealion cloth to cover your new pods, great choice.


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## Hi There (Mar 16, 2007)

Toolfan, I can't wait to hear about your completed install, especially the imaging in this challenging compact car. Even with all the mechanical problems I had, and the impossible quest to get good sound with composite speakers in the factory locations (among other sad attempts), I have a soft spot for my old, departed Ford Focus ('00 SE w/ ztech). 

Up on the dash is about best you can do for those mids, I thinks. In the factory position (midway up the door) as well as with pods, either you get big path length differences (not that you can do much about that in this car), or wrt the pods, you get horrible reflections from the center of the dash (by your right knee) and blockage due to legs in the way. Oh, and as a suggestion, I'd avoid trying to utilize the rear speakers in the factory locale in any way, they really pull apart the stage and decrease stage depth in the position they're in (nearly on a straight line with the driver's ear, think headphones), no matter what you do with delay...I think your main challenge will be getting a good center image while maintaining stage width (pretty much like every car, I guess, it's just easier, imho, with wider vehicles). Centering the image was easy for me with TA...stage width not so much.

What year is that Focus, btw? You had the rear wheel hub replaced yet? How about the vacuum hose from the PCV valve back to under the throttle body, that collapsed yet (if it does, replace it w/ a length of fuel hose on the cheap...I'd suggest you check for it now, it may be puckered and not allowing full air flow, very common thing on these cars, usually puckers very near where it enters the the rear of the engine on the underside of the intake manifold, feel underneath it just to the rear of the connection for signs of imminent collapse if you get a chance, look for a soft spot on the underside of the hose that folds in under vacuum--it's a ten-second check that can save you tons in gas mileage and performance, and because it's a gradual thing, it's common for people to drive around with it, .Ford gets these all the time, but as far as I know, they're still using the same bs part to replace the hose that they had in the first model year)? Got water in your DPFE sensor yet? Any cracks in your ignition coil? Fuel pump sender unit cutting your fuel off whenever you take a hard right? How are those factory front disc brakes, they gone yet? Done the door powel recall for the rear doors yet? How are those AC seals, they leaking water into the cabin? Hope you upgraded the factory wiring from the alt, that stuff has brittle insulation and won't keep up with the vehicle's own demands, much less your install (if the car is 3+ years old and you haven't done the recall on it or replaced it with your own...as i suspect you have). How are the wires to your ignition coil, they cracked and showing copper yet? Oh, and even though it's a non-interference car, get that timing done at 90k like they suggest. 

As you probably suspect, the above are problems i had, if you ever have any similar problems with it (hesitation, low engine output, etc.), you might consider pm'ing me for suggestions on things to look for before you pay to have it diagnosed (unless you yourself are handy in this regard), I know that car backwards and forwards, had a laundry list of problems that read like a case study in common Ford Focus foibles, they are things the car is known for and for most of them, you can find pictures of the problem, lists of symptoms, and how-tos on how to get it fixed on the web. 

Sorry to sprint off-topic there. Great work so far.


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## Exalted512 (Jul 23, 2006)

Sucks about the radio man. Hurry up and get something else in there so I know how my XLS' sound 

Door pods are looking good btw. Are they ready to be covered or is there still more work to be done? How are they being mounted to the door?
-Cody


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## azngotskills (Feb 24, 2006)

any updates :blush:???


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

Exalted512 said:


> Sucks about the radio man. Hurry up and get something else in there so I know how my XLS' sound
> 
> Door pods are looking good btw. Are they ready to be covered or is there still more work to be done? How are they being mounted to the door?
> -Cody


LOTS more work to be done  Im just kinda holding off on everything until I get my 880 **** taken care of   



azngotskills said:


> any updates :blush:???


I wish man, finals have been PWNING me hardcore  I have my last 2 tomorrow, then I start the may mini-semester on monday. Fifteen hours over the summer is going to be fun, no damn time for the system


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## Boostedrex (Apr 4, 2007)

Exalted512 said:


> Door pods are looking good btw. Are they ready to be covered or is there still more work to be done? How are they being mounted to the door?
> -Cody


+1 How are you mounting them to the door? I don't remember seeing any carridge bolts in the back panel of the pod prior to you glassing it.

I like the install so far though. And I'm really looking forward to seeing it finished off. Keep up the good work and best of luck with the 880 problem.


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## Hi There (Mar 16, 2007)

toolfan91 said:


> Fifteen hours over the summer is going to be fun


 

I hope those are low-level elective gimme-type classes?


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

Boostedrex said:


> +1 How are you mounting them to the door? I don't remember seeing any carridge bolts in the back panel of the pod prior to you glassing it.
> 
> I like the install so far though. And I'm really looking forward to seeing it finished off. Keep up the good work and best of luck with the 880 problem.


They are mounted via 4 1/4" bolts... A couple of them are mounted with a tnut, the other 2 are mounted with butterfly nuts. Lock-tite will be used once mounted permanently. 




Hi There said:


> I hope those are low-level elective gimme-type classes?


I ended up not taking the summer mini(thankfully), as I needed a 3 week break. Ill just be taking eng 1301, speech 1315, eng 1302, college algebra 1314. It won't be too bad at all


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## Dan (May 14, 2007)

any updates on this project?


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

Dan said:


> any updates on this project?


Im actually going to create a completely NEW install thread within the next few weeks, I just spent a LOT of money on new gear


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## SQ4ME2 (Jul 22, 2007)

i know its hard to do but when i do pods or stretch work i like to build it up from the inside. it cuts down on sanding and bondo time and those sexy lines stay in too. yours was a tough situation though.


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

SQ4ME2 said:


> i know its hard to do but when i do pods or stretch work i like to build it up from the inside. it cuts down on sanding and bondo time and those sexy lines stay in too. yours was a tough situation though.


Yeah, I actually made it work for the most part, and was going to use foam as a filler(easy to shape/cover) to seem it up with the upper door panel... For the mids to be aimed how I wanted, they came out waaaay too much  

Back to a 3 way I go


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## Dan (May 14, 2007)

So where will the new speaker locations be?


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

Dan said:


> So where will the new speaker locations be?


Tweeter in the a-pillar, dome mids in kicks, midbass IB in doors...


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