I May Be Crazy...

littlemissGTO

littlemissGTO

Club Member
After roughly two years of driving around with half of the stock speakers not working, I decided it was time to get started on fixing that. I did bunches of research and then the craziness began. I ordered an Alpine INA-W910, an Alpine PDX-F4, an Alpine PDX-M6,a Stinger dual amp wiring kit, a set of Focal 165 KRs, two sets of Focal 165CA1s, a Sirius XM tuner, and the PAC switch to retain my steering wheel controls, and a new trim plate. I bought bulk RCA cable and bulk speaker wire from a local home Hi-Fi place called Music For Pleasure. Those guys rock, I'll explain that in a bit.
The first task at had was to figure out how to sand and paint plastic. I was amazed at how easy that was. Now the Metra dash kit nearly matches the factory plastic. Once that was done, I met with a friend and started the process of adding sound deadener.






There's more sound deadener in a few places, I just didn't get pictures of it.
Now that the sound deadening was complete, it was time to get started on the "fun" stuff. The stock head unit was incredibly easy to remove. That totally surprised me. Then came the task of measuring and making my own RCA cables. That was an interesting process. After I got that task complete, I installed the rear deck speakers and ran speaker wires to the amp. Then the freaking rain came, and I realized that I left my amp wiring kit 45 minutes away. Oh yeah, during all of this craziness I'm house/dog sitting for my friend, so his driveway was littered with interior car parts...LOL
My helper for the day showed up and we left to go get lunch and the amp wiring kit so we could complete the wiring of the car. After lunch the rain left and the rest of the install progressed. Got the head unit installed, the XM and GPS wired up, and decided it was time to test the rear speakers just to make sure they work. Sure as my name is what it is, only one speaker worked no matter what we did. So I'm exhausted and frustrated and decide to call it a night. Of course I didn't sleep well because I was wondering what the heck could be wrong.
The next morning I wake up way too early and start messing around trying to figure out what's going on with the speakers and amp. It turns out of the four RCA cables I made, only one was working. The lesson here was, never try to make my own RCA cables again...LOL So, now that I know what's wrong, running to Wallyworld was on the list of things to do for the day. While I'm waiting for my buddy Josh to show up I start modifying the stock speaker baffles so that the new component speakers will fit. I don't know know if I hate cutting plastic more than I hate cutting metal yet. Once the baffles were modified, I got the speakers installed.



Thankfully the tweeters fit just fine in the factory location.

I'm excited because I can get the door panels on the car. This is also a great stopping point to go pick up a set of RCA cables to test the speakers.
So we get figured out a place to mount the crossovers so that they are out of the way and I go to measure out the last speaker wire that will run from the right kick panel, along the floor, to the back seat and across the back of the car to the amp. Yeah, I don't have enough speaker wire. So I rigged what I had and made due. Now's the moment of truth. All of the speakers work and are sounding pretty decent. So I had to stop for the day because my son's graduation ceremony was later that evening.
On my way home I stopped by Music for Pleasure looking for more speaker wire, but the guy couldn't find what I was looking for and I had to leave. He took my name and number and said they'd give me a call when they got it in. This morning I headed out to finish the rear of the car. Just as I'm about to get on the highway Rob calls and says they've got my speaker wire cut and ready to go. Sweet! I get there and I explained my mishap with the RCAs and asked for 6 cables to be made. Now, I'm ready to pay for the speaker wire and they send me on my merry way. Yeap, I got the extra speaker wire I needed at no additional cost. Those guys freaking rock!
Now it's time to get down and dirty. Josh and I got the rear speaker mounts modified, painted them, and installed the rear speakers. The only thing left was to make some adjustments to the amp and holy buckets Batman! I am amazed at how great the audio sounds in the car now.
The bluetooth mic installed:

The head unit fills factory location just fine:

Of course I left my camera at home today, but I'll get pictures of how the amps are mounted, how the rear speakers are mounted, and of the rear interior installed tomorrow and post them. I'm ordering my sub in a couple of weeks, and will begin the task of learning to build a sub box. I sure hope that's easier than what I've just gone through. My hat goes off to guys that do this day in and day out.
 
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CamaroKid91Z said:
Looks real good! Some nice components in there too. Keep the pictures coming and I will keep looking.
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Thank you. The car has left it's mark on me again. Please forgive me, I totally forgot my camera today, so I just took a few shots with my phone.
Golden said:
Nice work. I bet it sounds really nice.
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Thank you. It sounds freaking awesome. I can hardly wait to get the sub ordered and installed. I won't need any audio equipment for the car for a while.


Stock rear speaker pod (I'm not sure what else to call this part) modified so that the new speakers will fit and painted so it won't rust.

Test fitting the rear components. Yeah, I'm getting even more excited at this point.

New speaker installed:

Today I finished the install. The first stop was Music For Pleasure for new RCAs that actually work. I can't stress how cool these guys are. Dwayne had the RCA cables made and waiting for me when I got there. I have enough wire for both the cabin speakers as well as for the sub.

My next stop was to put the interior back in the car. I was quite worried that the factory panels wouldn't fit because the new speakers are slightly different than the factory ones. Yes, I was wrong. Everything went back together and I didn't have any leftover screws...LOL

When I pull the seats out to run the sub wiring, I'll get a photo or two of how the amps are mounted in the car. As soon as I figure out how to post video on youtube of copyrighted music, I'll try to get a short clip of how the car sounds now. I'm really proud of myself for doing this and it turning out so well.
 
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I have heard a lot about the Focal car speakers I deal with Crutchfield for audio needs would love to know how the Focals sound in real world compared to other brands
 
mr Glenn said:
I have heard a lot about the Focal car speakers I deal with Crutchfield for audio needs would love to know how the Focals sound in real world compared to other brands
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I'm probably biased right now. The only other aftermarket car speaker I've used are Rockford Fosgates, and Focal blows them away. I should have known that Focal car audio was going to be great, heck I've got a 10 in Cub subwoofer in my place and I love it.
 
Figured I'd update this. Today I ended up coming home with a JBL W10GTi MkII courtesy of a friend. This week, I will sound deaden the trunk, pull the rear interior, run RCAs and speaker wire and see what this thing sounds like. I hope it's all I need. I will eventually build a fiberglass box for it so I can gain some much needed trunk space.
I'll have better pictures posted once I finish up the install.

 
What a day! It started easy enough. I pulled the carpeting out of the trunk and got busy sound deadening it. Then I realized that I didn't have any 8 gauge power or ground wire, and I managed to leave the remote knob for the PDX-M6 at a friend's house. I couldn't get it because he was out golfing. No biggie, I'll just hit a local car audio place and I'll be good, right? The first shop made me so mad it wasn't even funny. I told the salesman that I needed a foot of 8 gauge power wire and a foot of 8 gauge ground wire. I also told him that I misplaced the remote knob, and I'd like to purchase one of those as well. His first comment was, "Well the only wire we sell in bulk is 0 gauge." I just looked at him like he was a fool. I told him that I didn't need 0 gauge, that I needed 8 gauge. His reply was, "The only way I can sell you 8 gauge wire is to sell you an 8 gauge amp kit and that's $50." I said, "Why would I buy an amp kit, if I only need a total of two feet of wire?" He stuck to his $50 amp kit. So I said, forget the wire. What about the remote knob? "We have 6 of them in stock, and they are $50." I said, " I can get one from Amazon for less than half that price." That's when he went on about the remote not having a lifetime warranty. I stopped him and said, it's a freaking remote volume knob, not an amp." At that point I just walked out of the store rather pissed. My next stop was the car audio shop a few miles away. Guess what, they GAVE me the wire I needed. They didn't stock the remote knob, and as it turns out, I didn't need it anyway. Thank goodness.
Here's what the trunk looks like with the deadner in it:





This is the gas tank, this is also why I can't run IB in this car:

The goal here is to keep the spoiler from rattling.

So far, so freaking good! Without a doubt this is the best sounding system I have ever owned in a vehicle.
Tomorrow I'll get some pictures of the carpeting reinstalled in the trunk and show you guys how the sub sits for now. I do apologize for not getting photos of how the amps are mounted again. I was sorta pressed for time. I had a car club meeting that I had to get to...LOL One day I'll get a photo or two of the amps mounted, I promise. :)
 
Infinite Baffle. Speakers without a box. Basically uses the trunk as the "box". Many audiophiles swear by it for SQ purposes. I prefer sealed boxes myself.
 
Very cool Shauna. This is a great thread for people considering doing car stereo for themselves. Hope I can experience this awesome system at the Woodward lot this year. Who knows, maybe I'll get inspired :)
 
DeFormula said:
Very cool Shauna. This is a great thread for people considering doing car stereo for themselves. Hope I can experience this awesome system at the Woodward lot this year. Who knows, maybe I'll get inspired :)
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Thank you. Bring your favorite tune and let's see how it sounds. :)
 
RBOD said:
Infinite Baffle. Speakers without a box. Basically uses the trunk as the "box". Many audiophiles swear by it for SQ purposes. I prefer sealed boxes myself.
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if the speakers are using the trunk for a box, then it's not infinite baffle. people will often use IB subs and then use the entire trunk as a very large enclosure, but it's technically still not IB.

nice looking setup Shauna!
 
Actually, anywhere there was a hole, I left open. It turns out I probably should have covered them. I know I'm going to have to pull the door panels off to replace a door lock actuator and have my door handle painted, so I essentially left the doors serviceable. I guess that's the technician in me.
The sub fits my needs perfectly. It pounds when I'm listening to bass-heavy music, and it carries lows like no ones business. I'm hoping to get some decent video of how the system sounds over the next day or two. I tried with the GoPro, but the mic on it just sucks...LOL
 
RBOD said:
Infinite Baffle. Speakers without a box. Basically uses the trunk as the "box". Many audiophiles swear by it for SQ purposes. I prefer sealed boxes myself.
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Speakers with a weaker magnet work best in open/infinite baffles. They move more air in free space than they do a box. If you look at the Thiele/Small parameters of various drivers, ones with a higher Qts are more suitable for open baffle use. The perfect open baffle drivers will have a Qts of 0.6 to 1.0 or so. Higher Qts drivers are also excellent for sealed boxes or aperiodic enclosures. The best reason for open baffles is to have di-pole response, which cancels out any room interactions youd normally have in a box cabinet design. Open baffles are great because unlike box speakers, they dont have 1-note bass. With ported designs, youre also getting the noise from the port as well as the direct radiating bass from the driver.
 
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MxRacerCam said:
if the speakers are using the trunk for a box, then it's not infinite baffle. people will often use IB subs and then use the entire trunk as a very large enclosure, but it's technically still not IB.

nice looking setup Shauna!
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Correct. To get full use from an open baffle speaker, you need at least 3ft between the speaker and the wall/surface behind it. Any less and bass response will suffer.
 
Well I get to do this again. Some asshat broke into the car last night and stole the radio/head unit. So far I'm looking at $2500 in damage. The hard part is finding the same head unit for what I paid. Crutchfield has discontinued the one I bought and the other places that have it are selling it for $200 more than what I paid. I fucking hate thieves. Here's some of the damage they left behind:




 
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Some internet sleuthing netted me another INA-W910 and a PXA-H701 for about $50 more than I originally spent. I'm pretty sure I'll have to purchase another XM unit. Once I get the car back, I'll figure out where I'm going to mount the PXA-H701 and have the RCAs I've got repaired and use them instead of buying new ones. If all goes well the system will sound even better than it did before. I also found an annoying siren that I plan to wire in with the factory alarm. Who wants 110-115db siren going off while they're trying to steal something?
 
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