Install 2007

[MacLeod]

Started on my new install for the 2007 season and just got back in from 3 hours sitting in my truck and listening to my mids in all kinds of locations.

I was really wanting to go with the dash but I just couldnt make them work. After hearing all the great sounding systems at finals with dash mids I was sure it would work but I rekon with my 40 acre windshiled it was just too much glass and reflection to EQ out.

It did require a lot less volume to crank em up and everything was very nice and high but everything just had a harsh, metallic sound to it. Plus, it wouldve been a pretty big chore to get them to fit up there.

So I decided to go with the kicks but, oddly enough, the angle that worked best was with them firing straight back to the rear of the truck. I tried them firing straight across and at the opposite head rest at varying angles but them firing straight focused up the image a lot more.

The downside is that it dropped the stage. It used to be about 6" above the dash, with the mids in the dash it was eye level. With them in the kicks its barely above the dash at all.

Ill have to play with crossover points and phasing and maybe I can get that fixed but Id give up some height for a better focues image.

So now Im off to Home Depot for some supplies and then to Radio Shack for speaker wire and then Ill get to it.

Ill be the only guy with custom kick panels made 100% out of MDF! :D

[beardog03]

Go Mack !
I got your back....
Your gonna take em all this next year !

[audiobliss]

Ill be the only guy with custom kick panels made 100% out of MDF! :D

You'll be the only guy with kicking SR6500 components, mids, custom kicks,....and speaker wires from RS. You're pathetic.


























:p :D


J/K





Kinda. :o

[beardog03]

I wish he lived anywhere near me....my ride would be finished !
So far it`s all still in the box`s !


Team Mac / `07

[MacLeod]

LOL!

Dont knock those Rat Shack wires!

I get the 14 guage flat wire. Theyre a lot easier to snake thru tight corners. 50' for $20! Plus theyre stiff as a board. At first I didnt like that but that also makes it a lot easier to push them thru tight spaces.

I wish he lived anywhere near me....my ride would be finished !
So far it`s all still in the box`s !

Dont bet on it! I work pretty slowly. I aint the greatest craftsman in the world. I dont see how pro installers do this everyday! If it werent my own ride there is no way Id have the patience for it! ;)

[MacLeod]

Well got a lot accomplished today. Now that it gets dark at 5PM I didnt have a whole lot of time.

Im not good enough to look at something and know what I need to do, I have to work at it trying different things til something works right. I started out going to go like Thom and Josh did with their Silverado having the mids in the kicks against the sheetmetal firing straight across but there isnt enough space and way too many wires and wiring harnesses down there so that wouldnt work with my limited abilities, tools, work area and talent.

So after several evolutions I figured out the best way.

Since I want this to look good as well, I decided to use the stock kick panel. Yeah its flimsy but I figure I could either fortify it with modeling clay or something then I thought why not slap a piece of wood on the other side. So that what Ill do. I cut out a piece of 1/4" MDF in the shape of the kick panel and then Dynamated (actually Schoshe Acustamat I picked up at Walmart for $5) the back of it which will be sandwiched between the MDF and plastic.





This is the finished product. I will screw the panel to the inside of the kick panel and then cut out a space around the actual box for the mid. The box isnt sealed. It cuts thru the panel and vents into the kick panel area and thru the sheetmetal which has 2 big holes which are perfect.



Here is a shot of the box from the back before I put the back plate on. I decided on 1/4" wood because I dont have much room to work with under therer and since these werent going to be sealed and are going to be midrange only, I was too worried about flex. Still I decided to brace em up a bit just for good measure.



Here is the finished box with the mid in. Fits perfectly. Theyre not finished yet. I still have to Dynamat the outside of the box and seal the inside with caulk and then carpet the box part and then cut out the kick panel and screw the panel to the wood panel. Then I have to start on the passenger side!



These will place the mid right where I thought they sounded best. Down in the kick panel area and as far forward as possible. Theyll be firing straight to the back of the truck and slightly. Im sure Ill have to chase down rattles and buzzing panels but I feel pretty good about these.

All comments and opinions are welcome. If anybody sees where Im screwing up pretty big, tell me now before I get these done! ;)

[exalted512]

cant wait to see the finished product

and how bout those titans!!!
-Cody

[MacLeod]

Did they win today?!?! I was outside working on this all afternoon!

[exalted512]

yup. Three TD's by their defense. 24-17 over the jags
-Cody

[MacLeod]

Woohoo! Theyre on a tear! Vince baby! I knew as soon as they cut him loose he would be good for em!

[exalted512]

yea yea, hes still a longhorn in my book
-Cody

[Greg Peters]

These will place the mid right where I thought they sounded best. Down in the kick panel area and as far forward as possible. Theyll be firing straight to the back of the truck and slightly. Im sure Ill have to chase down rattles and buzzing panels but I feel pretty good about these.

That driver looks familiar- a Polk SR5250 :D

So did you buy those as raw drivers for a 3 way setup, or did you get another complete set?

So what's the plan- tweets in a pillers, SR6500 mids in doors, and SR5250 mids in kicks? With external processor to divide up amongst the three for front stage?

I'll have to say "Team Mac / '07" too.

[Thom]

Looks good, what's the plan for finish materials? Tuck the boxes behind the carpet? Or wrap them in vinyl?

[MacLeod]

Actually it would be Team Polk! We're all in this together. ;)

The plan as it stands is 5250's in the kicks running 200'ish and up. Tweets stay where theyre at in the A pillars running 4K-5K and up. 6500's in the doors handling 200-60 or so and then assuming KIM EVER READS HIS PM'S Ill keep my MM2104 running 40 and down. I may later on put a box in place of my center console for a SR104.

I still short an amp for my sub now since my VR302 will be running my midbass so Ill have to get an amp for my sub before I can get everything running.

I was going to wrap them in vinyl but figured with them being down in the footwell and this being my daily driver, using carpet would hold up a little better. So Ill run down to Radio Clinic and see if they have any tan carpet to wrap em up with. Ill use the SR grills.

A buddy recommended coating the inside of the box with non hardening modelling clay since the box itself is kinda smallish. He said this would work like polyfil in a way and by rounding out the edges and corners would do more to direct the wave thru the cutout and into the kick panel. Never tried that before but I figure its worth a shot.

[MacLeod]

Alright. Got them finished.

Here they are covered in a layer of Dynamat for good measure. I also stuck some strips of Dynamat on the back wall hoping it will help some in breaking up standing waves.



And here they are carpeted and finished. Luckily, Radio Clinic had some carpet that was very close to the stuff in my truck.



This one was a pain cause the staples kept popping out from the back.



Tomorrow Ill figure out where and how Im going to mount them. I was originally going to attatch them to the back of the factory kick panel and still may, but with the Dynamat, carpet and speakers installed, these things are heavier than I thought and the back of the kick panel may not be a sturdy enough mounting spot.

If they dont work or sound like crap then Im chucking them and going with Qforms. Radio Clinic has a set they said theyd give me for $100.

[exalted512]

i think you wouldve been better off putting polyfill in it than strips of dynamat. I would think the foil backed dynamat would be more reflective than anything. Now lets see em in the truck!
-Cody

[avguytx]

To solidify the factory kick panels (if you are), you might do some fiberglass resin and lead shot. That was something we used to do years ago for the Q-Logic kick panels when we used them or did something with the factory ones. It didn't take up any depth and it was rock solid. I agree with the polyfill in the box, too. Experiment with different amounts because it will yield different sonic qualities from the enclosure.

[Thom]

I was originally going to attatch them to the back of the factory kick panel and still may, but with the Dynamat, carpet and speakers installed, these things are heavier than I thought and the back of the kick panel may not be a sturdy enough mounting spot.

Or screw them to the steel, and then trim the kick panel plastic so they can snap on after...

[MacLeod]

Thanks for the input.

i think you wouldve been better off putting polyfill in it than strips of dynamat. I would think the foil backed dynamat would be more reflective than anything. Now lets see em in the truck!
-Cody

I really dont think standing waves will be too much of a problem with the big hole in the side of the box. I was just wanting something to break up the big flat back piece a little. The polyfill is a good idea and I may very well try that.

To solidify the factory kick panels (if you are), you might do some fiberglass resin and lead shot.

The factory kick panel is there strictly for looks. The speaker box itself is mounted to the large flat piece of MDF which will be mounted to the sheetmetal in the kick. The kick panel will be attatched to the flat piece of MDF but the box wont be relying on the kick panel for support so I should be ok. But just for good measure Ill be laying on a layer of Dynamat to the kick panel.

Or screw them to the steel, and then trim the kick panel plastic so they can snap on after...

I cant mount the panel right up against the sheetmetal due to a whole bunch of wires and wiring harnesses that would be a huge PITA to move. So what I figured Id try would be to slap the speaker box onto the back of the kick panel as planned and then using 2" screws drill them into the sheetmetal. There would be a 2" gap between the sheetmetal and the kick panel but I figure since this is an IB setup anyway it shouldnt matter and itll still let the waves vent into the frame thru the pretty good size holes in the sheetmetal.

[MacLeod]

Well I got them in and I dont like them.





1) They look like crap. Nothing like the way I imagined them looking.

2) The way my stupid sheet metal is slanted in and the way the kick panel fits, they kind of angle in which makes the speaker fire out into the door as opposed to straight back which makes the left speaker localize A LOT!

3) They look very amateurish. I know Im a horrible craftsman and installer but I usually am kinda proud of my installs. That aint so with these.

I have $130 to my name right now and I think Im going to run down to Radio Clinic tomorrow and dump $100 on those Qforms. Goddammit!

However, these 5250's sound simply amazing! Theyve only got maybe 15 minutes on them but they are awesome! I think I like them better than my 6500's! They dont have quite the midbass the 6500's do of course but the midrange is so much sweeter! This is going to be a great competition season!!

Hopefully theyll sound just as good in the Qforms.

The bright side I guess is that although it took me 3 days to build and install these things Im only out $30 ($3.50 wood/$20 Dynamat / $5 carpet / $2 screws) so I guess I cant bitch too much.

[joeaudio26]

Hey, mac not everyone can be GARY BIGGS, wood working is a art and art takes time i'm with ya team polk...:)

[black magic]

lol. i think you're beating urself up too much. i think u deserve a little more credit than you think.

where do you guys buy your "carpet" for enclosures and such. the sub i ordered finally got here and i built an enclosure for it, its got exactly the right amound of volume (i was pretty impressed with myself :D ) but i cant find any material to cover the wood with. most ppl i've talked to order it online but i dont want to wait another week or 2. i wanna get this **** done!

[avguytx]

Gary Biggs? What a dork! No, seriously. I've known him and his wife for about 14 years. We worked together at Car Toys in Tulsa for about 7 years and we both left the same year (2001). He's a great guy. Boy, the stories I have on him!

[MacLeod]

After getting over being tired and pissed off and looking at these things some more I actually am kinda proud of myself. Considering I have little room to work with, very few tools, zero work space and limited talent, I dont think I did that bad. These things are rock solid too. No vibrations or resonance at all.

Still, I bought a set of Qforms today. These things are sturdier than I thought they would be but Im still going to coat the backs with Dynamat. Best of all though, they look like the actually belong in the truck!

I get my carpet and all my installation supplies from one of the local shops here, Radio Clinic. Ive been buying stuff from them for years. Got a great deal on the Qforms too. Got them and a 4 ft2 pack of Dynamat for $120! Thats about $80 off retail.

Of course now Im flat dead broke for another week.

[MacLeod]

Just got thru damping these things.

Anybody wanting to use these, get a Dynamat Wedge Pack. Its 4 ft2 and it was enough to completely cover the back of the kicks with 2 layers each and I still had a little left over!

It made a huge difference! These things are hard as a rock now!



Assuming it doesnt rain, I should have them installed tomorrow.

[exalted512]

tweeter hole going to be empty or r u putting the sr tweeters there?
-Cody

[MacLeod]

Im going to leave it filled in. Im keeping my tweeters on the A pillars for stage height.

[exalted512]

you should put your momo tweeters in there. Dont hook them up or anything, just tell the judges it helped your stage width:D
-Cody

[MacLeod]

Good Gawd I love these Qforms!! These things look great, look like they came with the truck, take up very little legroom and I can still use my emergency brake!

They went in extremely painless and after 2 layers of Dynamat, are very solid.

They image great! At first center was all over the place and I kinda panicked and then remembered Id flopped the polarity of the tweeters while experimenting with my homemade kicks. After putting the tweets back in phase, the image focuses up quite nicely. Its still not as good as it was with them firing straight back but its still very good.

Most importantly, they sound great! These 5250's sound a lot better than I thought they did! Apparantly my homemade boxes werent right somehow cause theses things have come to life in these Qforms! The midbass is excellent now. First impressions are that they are as good as the 6500's! If these things get much better after breaking in, I may not have to go with a 3 way setup after all!! God I love Polk speakers!!

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny so Ill get up early and finish up the kicks, running wires and everything else and should hopefully be done with everything by tomorrow afternoon and will finally be able to clean my truck!!

[Topper]

very interesting post bud :). Following your progress closely :)