What's your (sound) system like?

[Looneybomber]

I wouldn't worry too much about that. Back in the days, my cousin had a shop install (8) 8" Kickers behind the seats in his '86 Toyota MR2 plus (2) 12" Kickers in a plexiglass bandpass box in the trunk. I'm sure you will be able to fit something back there in your S2K.

You do realize the s2k is a convertible and the MR2 isn't right? If I wanted to get rid of the convertible top and put on a hard top, I would be fine.

[Pho King]

Not much in my car...Infinity 4x6 all the way around, and a Alpine Plt-5 in the hatch. I like it, it's good enough.

[homeslicej2]

Couple of suggestions for you SR20DriftSX, if I may. Mount the amp to the back of your seatback not the box. That box is heavy enough and if you have an accident it will only make the box that much more dangerous, especially in a hatch. Also, the vibration on the box panels from the subs can cause some of the little, more delicate electronics in the amp to "rattle" loose. That said, I know there is not that much sheet metal to secure the box to (thanks to the spare tire well and the gas tank, so I suggest large eyebolts with washer reinforcements in the back of the box and chain (not light fixture chain, get some that's rated for 250+ pounds) going to the seatback latches via snaplinks (Home Depot or Lowe's has all you'll need). I know it seems tacky, but it's the best option I have found to secure my box. I will upload some pictures of my install in the next few days so you can see what I did (I'm new to NICO and have to figure out how to post pics).

[SR20drftSX]

o aight..thats cool man..and thanks for lookin out for my saftey..yeah that 130 lbs box and amp wouldn't feel good smackin the back of my head in a crash.

as far as posting pics , go to http://www.tinypic.com and yu just upload yur pic and then copy the IMG link and then post that onto here , and yu can post as many pics as you want. id suggest getting and acount at http://www.photobucket.com tho , its free and can upload TONS of pics

good luck

and Welcome to NICO

[homeslicej2]

thanks for the welcome and the info for posting pics. I'm glad i found this forum. The info I've found so far has been pretty helpful and there a lot of good resources. It's also nice to get first hand accounts on how to do things from those who have experience with them. Yeah, I didn't mean to come across as arrogant or anything, like you said I just want you to be as safe as possible with your install and offer my 2 cents for install advice. Thanks again for the welcome and info.

Here's some pics. I know mine's not the best either, but it's my first major install and some things are hard to do without the right tools and because of the hatch design even if you have the technical know-how to do it. Besides, most car audio install stores that I have seen don't take the time to secure the box or even remove paint from the body before attaching the ground wire, unless you spend serious $$$, even then some still skimp and cut corners to get it done and get the next one in. This was the best setup I could do. I haven't hooked up the speaker wire to the amp on the left because I am waiting on some adapter plates (from the ebay place) to put my 6.5 infinity components in in the front. I did run the speaker wire already though. It's just tucked up behind the trim and in the door, waiting to be hooked up. I will add pics of the components when I get them done.

Good old Dynamat and Dynaliner. Helps keep the rattles out and quiets the exhaust a little. I Dynamated the whole hatch (bottom and sides including the back of the rear fenders/quarters) and Dynalinered it too (except the wheel well).



Memphis PR 12 in Memphis vented enclosure w/protective grill, rated @ 250w RMS.Two Orion 3002 amps: 75w RMS x 2 into 4 ohms @ 13.8v rating (for the left supplying components, eventually) and 300 x 1 into 4 ohms bridged @ 13.8v (for the one on the right supplying the sub).A better shot of all the Stinger distribution hardware. You can also see that I chipped up the factory sound deadening. It was so brittle that at ~70 degrees F it came right up. Most places told me to freeze it with dry ice and then chip it or get it hot and gooey and clean it off, but I didn't have to either. Also you can see the two brackets I used to secure the box to keep it from shifting around (so the eyebolts wouldn't hit my amps) and the big eyebolts w/washer reinforcements on them.Stinger HRM 1.2 farad cap w/voltage display. Had to remove part of the interior trim to fit it there and run all of the wires. Can't see it here, but the ground is in there a little ways. Yes, I did remove the paint and secured the ground wire to bare metal via a grounding block. You can kind of see it in the previous two pics.The chain location I was referring to.A better view of how it all looks with the seat down.And the other side. I should note that when I had the interior out, front and back because I like to run my wiring correctly, such as under the carpet and secured with zip ties behind panels, power wire running along one side, RCA interconnects under the console, or on the other side away from the power wire, and under the back seat to the amps, etc. I found that these loops for the seatback locks are only secured to a relatively thin (i.e. regular body sheet metal) piece of the metal by two bolts. That said, it is better than nothing and should hold the box fine in most accidents. This is how it looks with the seatback up and locked in place.And the end result. I removed the metal support bars that were on the bottom of the privacy cover because of the box height. Now it seals up nice and tight, but not crushed, between the box and the hatch. Plus no one can see my stuff, which is nice. Only people who have seen it, or heard no I have a system. So I think it helps keep the chance of theft down (at least I hope).My headunit. A Pioneer Premier 770mp. It's a little dirty. Had to have it professionally installed (only pioneer approved dealers can sale and install premier units, aka not walmart, circuit city, etc. At least when I bought this that's how it was)Optima Red Top, Hyper Earth universal grounding system, Stinger battery terminals and side and top post. The one ground wire looks tight but there is actually some slack in it. Now I have to get a battery tie down. The old one was pretty much rusted away. Yes, the system fuse holder is screwed down to the top of the fuse box, but the screws are so short that they just barely go through on the other side and do not hit any of the fuses.

Here are pics of the finished component install. I forgot to take them along the way but suffice to say that the ebay front plates work well. You will need to trim the top screw tab off and I went ahead and took out the plastic part that holds the screw in the speaker grill. I used a dremel to trim everything down. Also, I could not find anywhere under the door panel w/enough space to mount the crossovers, those w/power windows might have better luck, but my handle was in the way and I will not put it inside the actual door. 17yr old weatherstripping and the fact the water and moisture get in there anyway, is a fried crossover waiting to happen.



So final list of stuff: Memphis PR 12 in Memphis box, Stinger multi-amp 4-gauge wiring kit w/1.2 farad digital voltage display cap, Orion amps, Pioneer Premier headunit, Optima Red Top, Grounding kit. I upgraded some of the Stinger stuff, like Bullet series interconnects, 12-gauge HPM speaker wire to the doors, 10-gauge Stinger Expert series wire to the sub and in the box from the box terminals to the sub terminals, additional battery terminals (as you can see), I think that's it. I also listen to mostly hard rock and I prefer the sound of a vented enclosure to a sealed one even though they are larger and don't go as deep. That's one thing I wish my amps had, a subsonic (or infrasonic, take your pick) filter to keep those frequency's below the tuning of the port (38Hz I think) from going to the sub. Sorry for such a big post. I'm just passionate about Car Audio.

What do you think?


Modified by homeslicej2 at 3:57 PM 1/26/2007

[Notorious170]

hard to tell with such large pictures. you should try to resize them, 600x800 or something so they fit on the screen without scrolling.

[homeslicej2]

Did that fix it? I resized them from 2592x1944 to 800x600 like you said, but my browser is still displaying the pics in the post at the same size they previously were (I use Mozilla Firefox). What is your browser display set at?

[homeslicej2]

Yeah I like Memphis for their subs and their amps. But their speakers just seem too warm and not bright enough, no matter which models you buy. I put the PR (power reference) 6.5" coaxials in my fiancee's Saturn SL1 (don't laugh, she likes her car) and while they sound good they just don't do it for me, again too warm, but seriously lacking in the high midrange (1kHz-3kHz) without equalization, most 6.5" coaxials have that problem, cause the tweeter is in the way. Infinity reference is my favorite speaker choice. Good price, excellent sound, a little bright in the highs, but the best overall sounding speakers I have found in their price range. Polk's db series come a close second.

[PoorManQ45]

Hifonics BX1205D is on it's way.

Just ordered it. Total cost shipped = ~$200

I was going to go with the JL 1000/1 which I can get for ~$350, but I didn't want to pay that much, and the difference between that and the hifonics isn't that much

[Notorious170]

Did that fix it? I resized them from 2592x1944 to 800x600 like you said, but my browser is still displaying the pics in the post at the same size they previously were (I use Mozilla Firefox). What is your browser display set at?

THATS MUCH BETTER. now i can see that you have a nice setup there. mine is 1024x768 or something like that.

[homeslicej2]

Thanks Notorious. I tried to do the best I could given the hatch floorpan design. I am going to install (hopefully, if I have the time) my infinity components up front this weekend using those ebay PVC adapters. I will add some pics of the install and finished product to the post when that's done.

[SR20drftSX]

ME JEALOUS X's 4894

[homeslicej2]

What does your post mean?

[SR20drftSX]

uhh it means that i envy your set-up..its pretty sweet and nicely done..and i just like it..lol...

[homeslicej2]

Well thanks. I appreciate that. I wish the hatch floor had a little mor material to attach a box to though. It took me about four days to do it all. I removed almost the entire interior except the dash, headliner, and I didn't pull the carpet out, but console, all the seats, all trim in the back, the trim panels for the quarters by the back seat, glove box, door panels, it all came out. By the way, getting a thick wire, like stinger's 12-gauge HPM, which is wrapped in extra armor (almost the same size as their 4-gauge power wire), into the door through the factory boot (because its the only opening I found), is a royal pain the *** . Those ruber boots have like kevlar in them or something. They are almost impossible to get another wire through. Even if you try to cut them, which i had to, its hard to get any kind of blade in there. I also glued dynaliner to the back of the rear quarter trim panels to help cut down the exhaust noise. Having some more tools suited to car audio installation would have been extremely helpful. Thanx for the . Like I told Notorious, I tried to do the best I could with what I had so I appreciate it. I think your's looks nice too, just to clean up your wiring and all in the back.

[slowzenki]

Here's my setup:Clarion Head Unit (used to be a Nakamichi one, but it was stolen )Nakamichi Front componentsAlpine RearsNakamichi 6 channel Amp2 Nakamichi 10' Subwoofers

[homeslicej2]

Looks nice. Did you fiberglass the wheel well for the subs or are they free airing it?

[qsiguy]

Good job slowzenki, it's refreshing to see a sub box that's not a cube sitting in the trunk.

[SR20drftSX]

wait till yah see my custom set-up when i get it done this summer

[homeslicej2]

wait till yah see my custom set-up when i get it done this summer

What do you plan on doing?

[SR20drftSX]

well , the whole rear hatch area is gonna be a custom fiberglass and wood box , with two amp slots , and my two alpine type r's and possibly some 6x9's its gonna look flush with the seat back to the latch area

[homeslicej2]

I wish I had a custom fiberglass box. I have never worked w/it though and don't want to pay someone for one. Can't wait to see the finished product later on.

[PoorManQ45]

I wish I had a custom fiberglass box. I have never worked w/it though and don't want to pay someone for one. Can't wait to see the finished product later on.

I recommend you give it a try. Just buy some resin and fiberglass mat. Then lay it up on some cardboard.

This will allow you to get a feel for what it takes to get the stuff properly mixed and how long you have to work with it.

There are literally hundreds of how-to guides on the net. I seriously recommend that everyone give it a try

[homeslicej2]

okay. Next time I need something fabbed up I'll try it.

[SR20drftSX]

good ideas

[homeslicej2]

I forgot to take pics of the process of my component install. I will post pics of the finished product tomorrow though.

[SR20drftSX]

ill be awaiting their arrival

[homeslicej2]

I added pics to my previous post.

[SR20drftSX]

nice nice nice! uber clean

[homeslicej2]

Thanks. I tried to find a spot under the door panel for the crossovers, but after several test fits it proved no avail. I decide that the storage compartment would be the best compromise. It works and I think them sitting in there is growing on me. It may look funny to some, but it's better than putting them in the door to get wet. The tweeter placement took a long time. I measured from five different points about 2439 times before drilling them out. They are extremely close to the exact same spot and OMG the components sound so awesome! The tweets are ~10" from the woofer, but there is not much phase misalignment present, which is nice.