My Custom sound system install - VX [+ how to +]

[Demoniak]

Hi guys,
Well i am mid way through my sound system install, and i thought i would put up some pics and details of the install.

I have done quite a few installs now on my cars, most of the time i spent upwards of $10,000 on gear and days on the builds.
Most of the time i would not care about loss of boot (and sometimes back seat) space. However now with a kiddy i need to make sure that we can put prams in the boot as well as kiddies in the back seat.

Anyway on with the details about the sound install.

Tools Used:
------------------
Cordless Drill - phillips head + 3mm hex head + 16mm bore
Jigsaw
Mitre Saw (optional - makes the long cuts nice and fast)
Straight Edge
Measuring tape
Wire cutter
Plyers
Multimetre (optional)

Equipment used:
---------------------------
Electrical tape $3
3M gel adhesive $15
Black Pvc x 3 metres $45
Red PVC x 1 metre $15
Box of chipboard screws x 100 $7
1200 x 1800 x 16mm Plywood $15 (but i had already)
1200 x 900 x 16mm x 2 MDF board $30
Sound deadening x 1m $20 (but i had already)
Perspex 600x900x7mm $56



When i first got the car it had a high input selected kicker amp running 6x9's and blapunkt fronts.
This system was pretty basic and the cabling looked neat, but was of shit quality, so i suspected a "professional" install.

I had some gear lying around, and some stuff i got insanely cheapp. So here is what im putting in the car:

Head Deck : JVC KD-R626 $170 - new and is steering wheel remote ready

Fronts:
JL VR 6.5 Splits (had em already)
Cadence Q2000 2channel 70rms (140rms) (had em already )

Rears
Kenwood 6x9's (came with car)
Kicker Ix252 2channel 30rms (60rms) (came with car)

Sub
Eclipse 12" ($50, bargin)
Cadence Z1000 500rms mono block (had em already, very nice amp)

4gauge cable installs with cadence RCA's (about $200 in parts - blocks, plugs etc)

The install:

The boot:

Well since i also want performance on the car i wanted to keep it fairly light, so first thing i did was say bye bye to the tyre.
This gave me a space for my amps (and a good grounding point too at the wheel well.
So i made a box up to fit both cadence amps.
[img] [/img]








This was done with chipboard (16mm) to a 500x500mm box with 4 legs to support. the base was put above the peak of the wheelwell, and the box walls were 100mm. This should be enough room for most amps, you would push it to 550x500 if you need.

Once this was made i simply took out the orignal tyre cover and traced around it and cut out the ply wood with a jigsaw. I then allowed a 500x500mm hole in the centre and split the piece into 2 pieces (as you could not get it into the boot otherwise. Once this was cut i traced the outline of the PVC again with the plywood piece and allowed 20mm for wrapping around the sides.



Next step was the sub box.
I wanted maximum space in the boot so i wanted it as flush as possible to the back seat as i could.
its done with 16mm ply wood. Heres some pics and the dimensions.





Use gloves for this sticky shit!










More tomorrow, ill get the splits installed and put it all together.
Going to keep the cadence amps in the box and mount the kicker amp on the sub.
Perspex is cut out and doing the LED's tomorrow.

Any questions about the install lemme know and ill be happy to respond / help

[MikeCuzzy]

Looks very awesome, keen to see it all finished. The sub box you've made is a good idea, alot of people place them on the left and right I think yours is better, it allows you to put wider items in the boot.

Very impressive so far!
Mike.

[lufkin]

so whats your plan for when you get a flat tyre?

[acarmody]

so whats your plan for when you get a flat tyre?

Aim the sub towards the road, play a tone and engage hovercraft mode.

[HoZy]

so whats your plan for when you get a flat tyre?

This reason is why I have RACV...

[acarmody]

This reason is why I have RACV...

To get you a tow if you get a flat tyre?

That seems like a lot of trouble.

[MikeCuzzy]

Well I guess you balance the chance of a flat tyre vs the amount of use you get from the set up. I've had 2 flats this year (including 1, 5 days after I bought the tyre). But I live in the sticks with lots of industrial areas so it's a bit more expected.

[Demoniak]

gday all.

Holts tyre weld.. its a 400g aresol that injects gooey stuff into your tyres and is good for 100km. enough to get you out of trouble.
HOLTS TYRE WELD REPAIR TYRE SEAL PUNCTURE CAR 400ML X2 | eBay
(ebay "tyre weld")

And yeah i was aiming for more wider bits and pieces in the boot (like prams) hence why i did it that way.. also the side sub idea (seen em on ebay) are not the big in litres..so you could not have a really big sub in there.



anyway.. heres some more pics of it up.. decided to use 3 amps..so i mounted the last amp on the sub box.

(me putting the JL VR comp splits in the front.. easier then i thought.. the solder in the pic is a brilliant little one.. thermo control +5 heads for $55 delivered (rhino tools))



Perspex cut and in.. all thats left is making the sides match the black pvc and put neons in.. thinking blue and red ones . The old amp had a dodgy 12 gauge power cable that i will use for the neons. Plus mount a switch on it.
Also doing underglow neons.. never had em on a car before.. so going to try it on this one lol.

[Pickle']

Missed the step: Got bored so coloured in my fingernails. Haha.

Nice write up mate, Looks neat.

[Demoniak]

Missed the step: Got bored so coloured in my fingernails. Haha.

Nice write up mate, Looks neat.

thanks and yeah my finger nails get all mangy looking so i chuck a bit on to cover it up. Prob is doing renos and working on the car wrecks it.

[HoZy]

Boot would of looked better using a charcoal speaker box carpet, Plastic PVC/Vinyl look is cheap an nasty.

Cheers
Mat

[acarmody]

Boot would of looked better using a charcoal speaker box carpet, Plastic PVC/Vinyl look is cheap an nasty.

Cheers
Mat

You dishin' MY boot install that used vinyl Hozy? LOL.

It has turned into a pain-in-the-ass though. Seemed like a good idea at the time.....

[Demoniak]

Boot would of looked better using a charcoal speaker box carpet, Plastic PVC/Vinyl look is cheap an nasty.

Cheers
Mat

Didnt really want carpet, over it, so i wanted to try the black leather look. If it ends up being scrappy after a while i might just bit the bullet and get semi-leather. at least then i know exactly how much i need (use old stuff as templates).
Im going to do red pvc on the sides and mount the neons there. Looking at maybe some visual stuff too.. not sure.. as long as the boot can still fit shopping + pram i can get away with it.

I actually had about 5m2 of auto carpet sitting in my storage room. But didnt wanna use it.

[lufkin]

how well will that perspex look after you have had a pram and shopping in the boot?

[kcpwns]

Will the amps get hot being in such a confined space without vents?
Anyways looks good man the vinyl breaks it up from the usual carpet

[showbags]

Pre fab side boxes have more than enough volume for decent subs. Mine will produce bass right down to 25hz without ant problems. But the ones on eBay are a bit nasty and thin though.

[MR_VX]

Pre fab side boxes have more than enough volume for decent subs. Mine will produce bass right down to 25hz without ant problems. But the ones on eBay are a bit nasty and thin though.

wanna make me a set? nice job

[MY_84_VK]

Hey 97bermudacalais, you don't have any pics on how you made them side boxes do you?

[Demoniak]

Will the amps get hot being in such a confined space without vents?
Anyways looks good man the vinyl breaks it up from the usual carpet

very good question from bunnings i bought a cupboard vent and installed it on the right side of the box.. its 200x100 and for 6 bucks its worth every penny

how well will that perspex look after you have had a pram and shopping in the boot?
Its a scratch resistant one, so far after having tile boxes and bunnings stuff on it it is still schmick

If i get worried about it, when i dont want to show it off i might just make a cover for it out of pvc etc.

[jacksa]

Looks good, was thinking of going down a similar path myself.

[VtWagonz]

looks good but you need 2