Diary: my new audio installation

[TStar]

part1
when i put in the spare tire sub last summer, i used acrylic sealing compound to make a static connection to the chassis...

well..and today i tried to remove it...took me like 3hours of work, 1.5litres of pure xylol (the only substance i know that is able to destabilise acrylic compound) to get this enclosure out of my trunk... needless to say that xylol destroys every paint color it gets in touch with.....

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/744/acrylhoelle25yc.th.jpg (http://img99.imageshack.us/my.php?image=acrylhoelle25yc.jpg)
http://img285.imageshack.us/img285/5817/acrylhoelle36hx.th.jpg (http://img285.imageshack.us/my.php?image=acrylhoelle36hx.jpg)
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/2162/acrylhoelle12mi.th.jpg (http://img99.imageshack.us/my.php?image=acrylhoelle12mi.jpg)

my head aches because of the xylol fog, my back hurts because of the work and the unsuccessful lifting attempts..it was hell...... now i have to clean the whole mess up....will take another 1 or 1.5 hours...

the enclosure will be sold and i will build a new one.. my favorite place will be the middle floor area between the rear seats,what do you think?

[chuyler1]

Interesting, the hump in your spare tire well is not nearly as big as the one in my car.

[TStar]

got pics?

[chuyler1]

Nope. I'm working on a spare tire install myself so I'll snap some eventually. It might not be for a while though.

[DiS]

holy shit man! Gotta be careful with Xylol because besides removing the paint it also removes the galvanized surface on the metal, and metal will start rusting. Get it fixed!

[TStar]

what would you suggest to do with the mold? i already thought spraying the whole mold with zinc paint...

[TStar]

(talked to some paintshop today, it's less of a problem than i thought, treatment is pretty easy...)

here's where the new enclosure is supposed to go (if i can make it)
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/4623/subgeaeuse10yz.th.jpg (http://img99.imageshack.us/my.php?image=subgeaeuse10yz.jpg)
the only problem i see is finding a point where to mount/fixate the box properly so it won't move during driving...

[chuyler1]

That isn't very much airspace. What size sub are you putting in there?

[xbbmazda]

whoa nice , good luck and take your time!

[TStar]

http://www.reaudio.com/html/images/re_05.gif
http://www.reaudio.com/html/images/re_ts.gif
http://img285.imageshack.us/img285/3900/re8frequency8lh.th.jpg (http://img285.imageshack.us/my.php?image=re8frequency8lh.jpg)

[chuyler1]

What program is that?

That spot might work for the RE8 but you'll have to widen your design. You need at least 9" if it is going to fire upwards and it looks from your drawing you only have 6" tops.

[TStar]

it's called WinISD...pretty useful tool for box building...

an alternative might be installing the sub to the side, would make things easier.. the one big concern i have is the mounting/fixation points for the box..

[chuyler1]

Just cover the entire bottom with velcro.

[TStar]

i started detailed measuring today, buying additional tools etc... fact: a subwoofer behind the middle console won't be possible, mainly because of the seats coming much too close when slided to the back completely.

so i guess i'll take a shot at the plastic moldings left/right in the trunk *sigh*

[chuyler1]

How come you did away with your tirewell enclosure?

Another alternative is a pair of eD 6.5" subs in the rear doors. You can't create an enclosure but you can deaden the crap out of the doors and get moderate bass from them.

Here's an example...
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2528

[TStar]

How come you did away with your tirewell enclosure?

Another alternative is a pair of eD 6.5" subs in the rear doors. You can't create an enclosure but you can deaden the crap out of the doors and get moderate bass from them.

Here's an example...
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2528

the spare tire mold subwoofer just didn't work for me. the way i built the box didn't allow more than like 11cm of mounting depth for the woofer, that's not enough for a serious application. besides that i had to realise the fibre enclosure couldn't provide the same stiffness as a simple wooden box.

if i can, i will throw out the false floor, put the spare tire back in and build my stuff into the plastic side molding of the trunk.

i might also take the rear speakers off the amp and let them run over the radio internal amp, just as a small rear fill...
i never really liked the way speakers play in the rear doors anyway, even with the sound deadening measures , so i won't put some kickers or 6.5 subs in the rear doors.

if i manage to build a really good enclosure for the sub this time, solid as a rock, i think it will play well, maybe better than a lot of 10" subs which are just installed in a fibreglass enclosure.
i mean there's nothing wrong with fibreglass, but i had to realise i didn't pay attention to the important things when planning my subwoofer installation... i don't want to make the same mistake twice, that's why i spent so much thoughts on the material,the location etc...

[TStar]

next step:
today i cleaned the acrylic mess completely and there were many scratches in the mold, some of them too deep for my taste.. so i decided to zinc my spare tire mold to protect the metal from rust...

before:
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/5591/zink1before2pm.th.jpg (http://img166.imageshack.us/my.php?image=zink1before2pm.jpg)
after:
http://img344.imageshack.us/img344/4144/zink2after3xh.th.jpg (http://img344.imageshack.us/my.php?image=zink2after3xh.jpg)

[TStar]

step3
http://img310.imageshack.us/img310/8521/step3bitumen8as.th.jpg (http://img310.imageshack.us/my.php?image=step3bitumen8as.jpg)

[TStar]

step4
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/4341/step4a2ky.th.jpg (http://img140.imageshack.us/my.php?image=step4a2ky.jpg)
http://img309.imageshack.us/img309/1554/step4b0eb.th.jpg (http://img309.imageshack.us/my.php?image=step4b0eb.jpg)
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/1831/step4c2ka.th.jpg (http://img140.imageshack.us/my.php?image=step4c2ka.jpg)
http://img309.imageshack.us/img309/8539/step4d3kg.th.jpg (http://img309.imageshack.us/my.php?image=step4d3kg.jpg)

not bad for a moron with a few new tools, eh

[TStar]

step5 - the fibre works

http://img309.imageshack.us/img309/1587/step5a6wk.th.jpg (http://img309.imageshack.us/my.php?image=step5a6wk.jpg)

what would you say ? at what position (vertically/horizontally) should the woofer actually reside?
take the pic and use a paint software on it.. maybe you got a nice idea.. i'll start the work tomorrow so you got a chance to influence me ^^

[chuyler1]

I'm not exactly following what you are doing? Do you plan on putting amps or something in the tire well?

For the sub, I personally would put it at an angle that uses up the least amount of space but if you are going for a more showy look you might want to angle it out towards the back of the car. I don't think the angle will make much difference as far as SQ is concerned but you never know.

[TStar]

exactly. amps+powercap will be mounted on the wooden board in the tire well...
the mounting location of the subwoofer should be 'ok' for optics,no more.
more important is the sound quality... the form of the enclosure might even allow it to be vented, but a proper calculation would be too difficult, i guess :\

furthermore i will mount the sub pretty high to prevent items in the trunk damaging the sub cone...

[TStar]

new piccies
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/5508/step5b3nm.th.jpg (http://img140.imageshack.us/my.php?image=step5b3nm.jpg)
http://img309.imageshack.us/img309/8762/step5c9ls.th.jpg (http://img309.imageshack.us/my.php?image=step5c9ls.jpg)

[DiS]

wow dude! That looks awesome! I GOTTA see it when everything will be finished! Lots of props to u man!

[TStar]

ah crap, a little accident happened..when putting resin on the outer ring, some of the resin went into the predrilled holes and got hard.. unfortunately there were already tee nuts installed on the inner side which are now unuseable..how can i get those nuts out without destroying the mdf (i'd like to put a new tee nut in place of the old one)... help pls

[chuyler1]

been there, done that, fucked myself over, filled them in with bondo, and rotated the sub 5 degrees and drilled new holes. From now on, cover the holes with masking tape. You live, you learn.

[TStar]

yep.. i wanted to kick myself for not thinking about covering the holes.. oh well, turning the subwoofer will look a little stupid (because of the logo) but i guess there's no other way.

[TStar]

well, 3 pics taken before i got problems with my health...

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/7600/step5h5ky.th.jpg (http://img150.imageshack.us/my.php?image=step5h5ky.jpg)
http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/8868/step5i8pf.th.jpg (http://img162.imageshack.us/my.php?image=step5i8pf.jpg)
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/9257/step5j8wa.th.jpg (http://img150.imageshack.us/my.php?image=step5j8wa.jpg)

the fabric taken for the subbox is this one in black colour:
http://www.carhifi-shopping.de/assets/big/Lt.jpg
btw: the box itself weighs 9.5kgs ^^

the false floor will also be covered with the same fabric...