Car Audio Installation

I’ve decided to build a decent audio install into my car.

So far I have the following installed and running but with the quality of the gear I can’t help but think that if I spend a bit more time on fabrication like building fiberglass door pods and proper baffles for the mids that I would get much better sound.

Currently I have the following in my poor old GIII GTi, incidently it recently rolled over 340 000 km’s on the clock.

DLS R6A 6.5” splits
DLS RA41 amplifier
Kenwood KDC-5751SD deck
JL Audio 12W0v2 subwoofer with custom built box
Stinger 4AWG kit

I’m not overly satisfied with the deck but it does do SD cards so I have about 140 albums on a 16GB card with space to spare. Problem I have is that my FLAC collection is pretty large and I haven’t found a deck that plays them yet.

Anyone have a similar experience and can give me some ideas with amp mounting and door pods fabrication? There plenty of info on the net but I’m very interested in someones first hand experience.

waits for PMM to spot the thread :slight_smile:

All i can say on the matter is that alot of the quality is in the installation, i made MDF panels for 6x9’s that fitted in the back of mine and they sound so much better than when they were in the parcel shelf it is unbelievable, like having a whole new stereo system.
Bibby was the man but there’s a name we’ve not heard of for a while :frowning: althought i’m not sure the ladybird red and black spotted carpet did help with the sound :rotate:

Just checked. Bibby is still showing on The Clangers forum if you want to try and contact him

/edit Just poste on the clangers forum to see if anyone can advise m8 :xfinger:

The only “install” I have ever done was the BFO speaker box and 4 new speakers in the pink van.
I slapped 4 6x9’s in as well and routed some ply to fit them with but using roofing timbers to raise a seat for the woofer box thingy isnt really an option in anything but a shonky old van.

Are there any SPL competition videos on You tube to give you some hints ?

Dont go this far though

Thanks for the advice guys, I’m going SQ not SPL. If I were to go SPL I’d probably have 4 or more DVC 15" JBL’s and a few 2000 RMS amps. Too much money and I’d sound like a taxi driver or Chav to you guys;)

Had a reply from Bibby on the Clangers forum:

Re: TPR Juggy needs car audio advice

Postby Bibby » Wed Dec 07, 2011 2:36 am
Hello. :wave:

This could be a massive reply but I’ll try and keep it succinct.

Install is everything! Seats out, carpet up, doorcards off, bootliner out, roofliner too if you want to go daft, then a good clean and lay down some sound deadening material. If you can’t afford the expense, just do the front doors.

With everything out, now is the time to get your cables routed. Conventionally, power from alternator through to the boot, earth in the boot for your amps (short as possible), speaker cable either side of the car to your comps up front, rca cables down the middle with your remote cable from head to amp. Again, plenty info online will elaborate. Don’t skip getting your “big 3” sorted, so new heavy gauge cable from alt positive to battery positive, engine earth to chassis and battery earth to chassis.

The kit, million ways to skin a cat, it’s up to you. Again, guides online with all the detail:

Amps in the boot can be anything as basic as fitting in a birch ply base (or mdf) and mounting to that, either to back of the rear seats or to the floor, or going crazy with a big fibreglass build. False floor is a good compromise, hides all the cables underneath with the amps on show, or you could even have another floor with the amps hidden from view and just have an access panel.

Subs, I’m guessing a sealed enclosure here, very simple to make yourself or buy. Big fan of a fourth order myself, but it’ll take up a lot more room and takes time to get right, but lots of fun!

Comps up front, a router is your friend for making decent baffles. You must spend time getting the comps in right or it’ll just sound bonk. Spend time aiming them before install (lay them on an old t-shirt or something, bamboo cane works well as a visual guide with aiming), and fix them in solid. Fibreglass builds in the footwell are easy, as is a doorcard build, but you have to get them in secure. I had 4 x 6.5" comps in each front door in one install, was sweet! Lovely midbass…

Anyway, the fun is in the installation. If you’re like I was, as soon as you’d finish one install you’d be thinking of the next, I don’t think I ever went 3 months before starting another when I was still installing.

In a nutshell: Kit is a contributor, but the not as important as the install.

Been a member of this forum since 2003, more info than you can shake a stick at. Start with the tutorials, everything you’ll need is in there. Talk Audio - Information … tutorials/

Keep it simple, stick to the basics, take your time. Have fun! :chuckle:

hth

Nice, thank you Droid. Most of that is what I already have most of that installed.

RCAs down the middle
Xovers in the glove box
4 guage in the down the left from the battery with a 160 amp fuse
Etc

the place I am stuck is with the fabrication of the boot and door pods.

Reckon I’ll register on Clangers and fire off a Q or 25.

Baaie dankie;

Am I stooped or is there really no “register” button on the Clangers forum?

It does get removed due to spammers. I guess you hadn’t even managed to register anything m8 am I correct?

Unfortunately not, I thought I was a member from years back but it appears I was wrong.

You be waiting a longtime these day’s more chance getting spotted quicker over at Aria lol

God long time now since I pimped up the Mini… but lot of work to get it sweet sound quality over boom boom for me but its still got plenty of boom boom.
[ul]
[li]All the interia came out and door panels rear panel cards
[/li][li]Sound deadening material and goop on the floor to null resonance
[/li][li]2 heavy duty 12"x12" Bitumen panels in the rear to null bodywork twang and over covered with lighter weight foil backed deadening material.
[/li][li]Custom sub enclosure under the rear seat to house 4 * 6.5" subs as the sub is not in the boot it does not need silly power
[/li][li]Re-did parcel shelf and foil backed bitumen covered
[/li][li]Custom front door pods made from MDf/fiberGlass with fiber wadding to help sound.
[/li][/ul]With exception of subs all speakers are Genesis audio units, DLS that you have mentioned I remember being highly rated.
Got a JVC 5 channel amp in the boot & JVC head unit.

Not got much of the build pictured unfortuantly… one thing I will say is if you build anything look at the specs for the speakers and what sort of enclosure size is best etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ11P5ZIg6E
minisubs.jpg

speakerpods

Thanks PMM, the door pods is exactly what I wanted to see as I’m planning the same for mine.

[QUOTE=PMM;462956]You be wa

iting a longtime these day’s more chance getting spotted quicker over at Aria lol

God long time now since I pimped up the Mini… but lot of work to get it sweet sound quality over boom boom for me but its still got plenty of boom boom.
[ul]
[li]All the interia came out and door panels rear panel cards
[/li][li]Sound deadening material and goop on the floor to null resonance
[/li][li]2 heavy duty 12"x12" Bitumen panels in the rear to null bodywork twang and over covered with lighter weight foil backed deadening material.
[/li][li]Custom sub enclosure under the rear seat to house 4 * 6.5" subs as the sub is not in the boot it does not need silly power
[/li][li]Re-did parcel shelf and foil backed bitumen covered
[/li][li]Custom front door pods made from MDf/fiberGlass with fiber wadding to help sound.
[/li][/ul]With exception of subs all speakers are Genesis audio units, DLS that you have mentioned I remember being highly rated.
Got a JVC 5 channel amp in the boot & JVC head unit.

Not got much of the build pictured unfortuantly… one thing I will say is if you build anything look at the specs for the speakers and what sort of enclosure size is best etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ11P5ZIg6E
minisubs.jpg

speakerpods[/QUOTE]

If time permits I’ll put together a quick guide on how NOT to do an install.

Photos will come from my daughters car, thrown together on “Mates Rates” by a former mate of hers and including

A SUB in the boot that isnt attached to anything
Parcel shelf speakers on the worlds wobbliest parcel shelf
Speaker cable joined with twisted wire and leccy tape (recycled from the scrappy)
Free floating head unit, the dashboard wasn’t din compliant

Before you ask, NO I’m not going to fix it