DIY: Tweeter and speaker pods for my SR components

[black magic]

Hey guys,

As you may or may not know, I've been working on making tweeter and speaker pods for my SR components for the last 3 days. I finished everything yesterday morning, but I didn't want to post anything until I listened to them for a while first.

This is my first attempt at making something like this, so the outcome wasn't the greatest but considering the circumstances, I'm still pleased with the way it turned out.

First I had to take out the a-pillars








Then I had to make a mold of them for the tweeter pods:









I started making the mold using fiberglass. I just followed the instructions by mixing the hardener and resin and then I applied 3 layers of fiberglass matting:









While waiting for the fiberglass to cure, I went to admire my SR components:



*drool*


I waited until the next morning. I took the mold off the a-pillars and cut them to my desired size. As you can tell from the pictures, I used a lot of resin.







Then I mixed body filler and fiberglass resin/hardener to apply over the now cured fiberglass







I did the same to both a-pillars:





While I was waiting for the mixture to dry, I started the speaker pods. I bought an extra pair of speaker grills for my Civic in case I ever wanted to go back to stock. I started by making sure they fit and cutting a small adapter for the drivers.













Next, I began gluing the adapter to the speaker grill which I cut out to fit the drivers. I had to test the location of the speakers in different places until I found the right position. After I found the right position, I used tape and glue to hold it in place. Then I used some small wooden supports and glued everything to place.









Then I used a stretchy cloth to cover the speaker pods. I didn't cover the middle since I was going to be cutting it out anyways (for the driver):







Next, I applied the resin/hardener mix to the cloth. I applied 2 or 3 layers and waited for it to harden:







While it was drying I moved back to the a-pillars and essentially did the same thing for the tweeters. It took some playing around and a lot of tape for me to find what I thought was the most ideal place for the tweeter. After I found that location, I used plastic can lids for tweeter mounts:









Once I finalized the location of the tweeter, I glued the plastic lids to the a-pillars:







Next, I used the same cloth to cover the pods:









Now it was time to apply the hardener/resin mix just like I did for the speaker pods:







As you can tell from the pictures, I didn't stretch the material enough, so it began sagging a little when I applied the resin. I waited for it to dry and then I used bodyfiller to even everything down (as you can tell I used too much hardener):

[black magic]

After I sanded it, it became a little more even:




Now both the speaker pods and a-pillars are at the same step of the process


It was now time to apply a coat of bodyfiller and resin/hardener for both the speaker pods and tweeter mounts. You might have also noticed that I cut the a-pillars a little shorter:











When that cured, I put sealant around the inside of the speaker pods to make them as airtight as possible:







Now the fun part! ... sanding. This probably took the longest. I began by using a dremel to cut/sand the ends of the speaker pods so they fit in the stock location. Then I began with 40 grit sand paper and sanded everything down to 600 grit. I applied some filler as needed and kept sanding.



















After all the sanding was done, I started applying multiple coasts of scratch filler and primer. I applied thin coats but put many layers until it was very smooth:







It was now Saturday night. I went out, but as soon as I returned, (it was about 1AM) I started applying coats of paint.







The next morning, I applied a few more layers of paint and 2 thin coats of clear coat (after the paint dried):







As soon as it dries, its time install everything! I started by taking out my momo components, door panels, and coaxial speakers:











I used two plastic cottage cheese bins to make a small enclosure for the drivers in the door. I only put a little bit of dynamat around them and put some polyfill in there. As soon as I get some more, I will do the entire doors:











Now it was the moment of truth! ... fitting the speaker pods and drivers! You can clearly see the size of the driver enclosure in the first picture, I also added some additional polyfill:





It fits!







I did the same to both doors and then I moved on to the tweeters. Since I didn't finish the tweeter pods properly, I will have to do that some other time (probably when I re-do my trunk). I'm thinking of covering it with suede or leather.



Perfect fit!






I fit the other side as well, and put the door panels, stock kick panels and everything back. As much as I liked my Q-logic kicks, its nice having a little more leg room and my dead pedal back

As you can probably tell, I didn't do such a great job with the speaker pods and tweeter mounts/a-pillars... But given the fact that its my first time, I'm still pretty pleased with the outcome.


Before:





Finished product!





Old momo's taking a rest before I give them to my brother:





Okay, now my opinion on the SR components, In case you can't tell, I have the SR6500's. I was so excited to turn on my stereo and listen to these babies... I kid you not, my heart was beating so fast and I just kept praying that I didn't mess anything up. I've had these components since around October and I've only installed them now, so needless to say I was very happy, and some might even say emotional at the same time

As soon as I started listening to some music, I was sooo amazed... especially by the tweeters. These tweeter are unbelievable. I honestly couldn't believe it. I don't know if it was more because of the tweeters or their new location, but they sounded amazing. They were very detailed, smooth and crisp unlike the momo tweeters which I found to be just a tad bit too bright. A lot of my favorite songs are by Metallica and I just couldn't stop listening. I must have sat there for at least 30 min on my driveway just listening to music. The drivers - even though they aren't broken in - sound very smooth as well. They blend in very nicely with my SR subs and the have a decent amount of punch too them. I expect it to be a little better once they are fully broken in, but I'm pleased with the way they perform now. At first, I didn't really know what to expect, but man, Polk really pulled through on this one. I love my old momo's a lot but these are just in a completely different class. I especially love love love this tweeter soooooo much.

Anyways, enough rambling from me for now. This is a long enough post as it is. I hope you guys enjoyed it and find it a little useful... pardon me once again for the sub-par craftsmanship. Feel free to ask me any questions!

[exalted512]

The only thing I wouldve done different is used at least 1/2" mdf for your baffle on the mids. 1/8" hardboard isn't really ideal.

Otherwise, congrats on your first install!

Also, if you have small dents/dips in your fiberglass (cant tell by the photos), I would recommend going to your local fabric store and picking up some vinyl, it covers up some like that pretty well.
-Cody

[black magic]

Thanks for your input. I actually thought about that but I only had 3/4" mdf lying around from my sub box. Anything thicker than that I think would have also stock out too much. My doors are kind of small and I have to be careful getting in and out of the car as it is (so i don't accidentally kick the drivers). I was hoping that the resin would be good enough. I also used the supplied mounting brackets so they're pretty sturdy in there. But you're probably right, I should have used thicker brackets.

And thats a really good idea with the vinyl. I can't believe I didn't think of that. Thats probably what I'll end up doing. Thanks!

[Toxis]

does the window clear the plastic tubs you put in there?

[only126db]

How much do the door panels vibrate from the mids?

[Jstas]

Creative!

Um, next time, leave the holes you want to cut covered when you do the resin. It helps maintain even tension and you won't get that sagging you were talking about.

Also, I wouldn't use less than 1/4 inch stock and at the thinness, I go with plywood with a wood core and resin that. It ends up being stronger and lighter than the MDF or hardboard.

One other thing I've seen done is if you are going with a black covering and want a satin or semi-gloss finish, pickup truck bedliner works great, is extremely durable, won't scratch and actually adds strength to the overall deal. Also, sandable primer, preferably the etching kind that bonds to plastics and other polymers if you are just going to paint. It will help fill voids left by the body filler and then you don't have to worry about multiple coats of paint.

And grilles dude. Those SR's are gonna get popped by something and hurt them. The tweeters should be fine but I'd get another set of MOMO or even the DB grilles and paint the black to cover those mids. That makes me nervous just looking at it.

Otherwise, not bad at all. A little sloppy but you made 'em look pretty enough and all of the sloppy is where no one will see it. Good deal though!

But why didn't you just use the kick panel enclosures?

[black magic]

Originally Posted by Toxis

does the window clear the plastic tubs you put in there?

Yep. I made sure of that. As you may notice, the windows were rolled down when I did it. I made sure that they didn't interfere.

Originally Posted by only126db

How much do the door panels vibrate from the mids?

I haven't really turned it up too much yet, so none as of right now. Plus the hpf on my amp is at about 70hz.

Originally Posted by Jstas

Creative!

Um, next time, leave the holes you want to cut covered when you do the resin. It helps maintain even tension and you won't get that sagging you were talking about.

Also, I wouldn't use less than 1/4 inch stock and at the thinness, I go with plywood with a wood core and resin that. It ends up being stronger and lighter than the MDF or hardboard.

One other thing I've seen done is if you are going with a black covering and want a satin or semi-gloss finish, pickup truck bedliner works great, is extremely durable, won't scratch and actually adds strength to the overall deal. Also, sandable primer, preferably the etching kind that bonds to plastics and other polymers if you are just going to paint. It will help fill voids left by the body filler and then you don't have to worry about multiple coats of paint.

And grilles dude. Those SR's are gonna get popped by something and hurt them. The tweeters should be fine but I'd get another set of MOMO or even the DB grilles and paint the black to cover those mids. That makes me nervous just looking at it.

Otherwise, not bad at all. A little sloppy but you made 'em look pretty enough and all of the sloppy is where no one will see it. Good deal though!

But why didn't you just use the kick panel enclosures?

Thanks for the suggestions. I put the grills on today. I love the naked look, but I gotta protect those babies. When I re-do my trunk hopefully sometime this month or next month, I will re-finish the a-pillars again and probably cover them with suede or leather. Clearly I suck at painting, plus it doesn't really match with the rest of the interior. I don't want it to be shiny or anything. I had to get everything done this weekend because I don't have much time to work on this, which is kind of why I rushed through it. I didn't use the kick panels mainly because there was very little midbass since it they aren't airtight and they're too small to make an enclosure. Plus they took up a noticeable portion of the legroom. And if I were to use them again, I'd have a hole in the tweeter location since I moved them to the a-pillars - I like them there instead.

Thanks again everyone. I appreciate the feedback.

[exalted512]

Suede/leather/vinyl, use 3M 90 adhesive. Spray both surfaces, wait about 1.5 minutes before putting the material on your surface. A heat gun really helps stretch vinyl as well, great for corners and odd shapes.
-Cody

[black magic]

Thanks for the tip, Cody. I'll remember that.

[Jstas]

A putty knife like you would use for bondo (body filler) will help stuff the suede/leather/vinyl in to tight corners. Just use care 'cause when it is warm, it is easier to mar the surface and have it end up being noticeable.

[MacLeod]

Nice idea on using can lids for tweeter pods. Ill remember that if I ever get brave enough to try and glass up some A pillars.

One thing that makes me squirm a little is that enclosure. The SR's are made to work in free air and that enclosure is way too small. Even if its not 100% airtight it could still choke off the lower midbass from the SR's and buddy, once those things get broke in, theyve got a bunch. Theyll easily hit 40 Hz with authority! If its not a huge PITA you might want to take that enclosure out and see what you think. I have a feeling youll like them better without it.

[black magic]

Originally Posted by MacLeod

Nice idea on using can lids for tweeter pods. Ill remember that if I ever get brave enough to try and glass up some A pillars.

One thing that makes me squirm a little is that enclosure. The SR's are made to work in free air and that enclosure is way too small. Even if its not 100% airtight it could still choke off the lower midbass from the SR's and buddy, once those things get broke in, theyve got a bunch. Theyll easily hit 40 Hz with authority! If its not a huge PITA you might want to take that enclosure out and see what you think. I have a feeling youll like them better without it.

Thanks mac, honestly, that was one thing I wasn't too sure about. It was just my experience with the momo components that they sounded better in an enclosure. I'll definitely try taking out the plastic tubs I used and see the difference. Thanks again for the suggestion. I'll let you know how it sounds.

[black magic]

Hey Mac,

Thanks a lot for your advice. It worked like a charm. Midbass is noticeably better now. I absolutely love it... I just thought they needed some time to break in, but it was definitely the enclosure I had them in. I just vented it into the door and I noticed the difference immediately. Now I just need to get a processor

Here are some pics... I also re-finished the speaker pods with black leather. Hopefully I'll do the same to the a-pillars tomorrow. The black suede I found I didn't like so I got some tan instead... I thought it would have matched better with my interior, but it didn't so I ended up using the black leather. I think it looks much better than before now (if I may say so myself)

[Topper]

great work bud . looks very professional

[frosty2k]

haha, that shot of your floorboards/hood release looks exactly like my RSX, except in beige.
What kind of honda is that?

[engtaz]

Thanks for taking the time to post pics of your work. congrats

engtaz

[black magic]

Thanks for the comments

Originally Posted by frosty2k

haha, that shot of your floorboards/hood release looks exactly like my RSX, except in beige.
What kind of honda is that?

Its an EK Civic. I love it

In the future I'd like to get a k20 or b18c swap depending on availability.

[DaRtH_vAdEr]

hahah what are you going to do with all the momo stuff? everything looks great btw

[black magic]

Originally Posted by DaRtH_vAdEr

hahah what are you going to do with all the momo stuff? everything looks great btw

Thanks.

This is the plan... I'm giving the 6.5" components to my brother as well as my rear momo 6x9's since I won't have room for them when I mount my subs in the rear panel. So instead I'm going to use the 5.25" momo coaxials as rear fill until I replace them with something that'll fit from the new mobile monitor line. After that, I'll just get rid of them.

[black magic]

If anyone's got any opinions on how to improve my painting, please please let me know, as I'm going to have to do it in the future when I fit the alpine w-505 into my dash.

Thanks in advance!

[Canuker]

Nice job, I just had my SR's installed into kicks. Looks like you did a great job, I only wish I could handle doing it all myself.

[black magic]

Thanks man! I just finished my exams so I'm gonna re-do the a-pillars completely. This time I'm not going to make a mold or anything. I'm going to do the work to the actual piece.

[ben62670]

Are you going to take any pics :P
Ben

[black magic]

lol. I'll try not to take nearly as much

[ben62670]

Its all good. I enjoyed watching the progress. Not exactly a video, but close
Ben

[black magic]

Hey, if you want a video, just ask

[GhostRyder]

Originally Posted by black magic

If anyone's got any opinions on how to improve my painting, please please let me know, as I'm going to have to do it in the future when I fit the alpine w-505 into my dash.

Thanks in advance!

the best thing i can tell you is with painting the more time and work you do to the surface is what determans the quality of the paint.
if you use good quality products and primer surfacer with sanding in between coats with 320 400 or 600 grit you will end up with a nice smooth surface and when you apply the color coat use 1 lite get aquanted coat and then 2 good medium to wet coats just watch out when applying the wet coats as not to run or sag the paint there is a fine line inbetween a nice wet gloss and to wet as in runs and sags.
practice on something first to hone in your technique of spraying and coats so you can get that nice wet gloss look.

also great job on your speaker pods they look great after the leather for a first time project exelant job

[TakeTheTime]

This looks good, but the thread is very old? By the way, is this you black magic?: Youtube.

[black magic]

Originally Posted by GhostRyder

the best thing i can tell you is with painting the more time and work you do to the surface is what determans the quality of the paint.
if you use good quality products and primer surfacer with sanding in between coats with 320 400 or 600 grit you will end up with a nice smooth surface and when you apply the color coat use 1 lite get aquanted coat and then 2 good medium to wet coats just watch out when applying the wet coats as not to run or sag the paint there is a fine line inbetween a nice wet gloss and to wet as in runs and sags.
practice on something first to hone in your technique of spraying and coats so you can get that nice wet gloss look.

also great job on your speaker pods they look great after the leather for a first time project exelant job

Thanks for the tips, GhostRyder. I'm gonna be taking another whack at it sometime this summer.

Originally Posted by TakeTheTime

This looks good, but the thread is very old? By the way, is this you black magic?: Youtube.

Yup, that would be me.