06' Si Sound Quality build

[beckerson1]

Update:

Have just a few items that I want to mention and a future upgrade that will completely change things:

Tomorrow I will be getting two (4 ohms) of these:

Also have already received my 3" flared port for my 6th order conversion. Got T-nuts, bolts, will be getting 1/2" Poly carbonate for a window, some weather seal...

Next month I will be getting the JBL MS8 to further add to my system:cool:

[beckerson1]

Just got home just in time to bring things in as a couple seconds getting into the door it poured cats and dogs, and got really really windy...

Anyway here are some quick pics:

Could have been shipped better IMHO, but checked everything and all is good

Here is the typical shot most people use. Will have to say these are heavy and beefy. Much bigger then whats in my doors now...

Didn't want to focus right so sorry for the quality:

Love the look as well...

[beckerson1]

This is going to be a huge update as we did a whole lot this weekend getting speakers in and working on my 4th/6th swap-able conversion. 4th order for SQ and parallel 6th order for SPL. Enjoy

Friday evening we started to work on getting the Crescendo PWX 6.5's into the doors. Unfortunately as I have said earlier that I ran into an issue fitting these into the stock opening because of the massive 7" basket and what seems to be at least 6" motor if not a little more.

Comparison shots of the Quarts (left) and Crescendo's (right):

As you can see the Crescendo's are a bigger diameter

Look at the puny motor:

Even though the Quarts are not even in the same league they are still wonderful component speakers and I still will highly recommend them to people. Great quality speaker...

In order to fit the magnet and the speaker terminals we had to open up the hole a little bit. Mainly removing the bottom tabs and widening the hole slightly.

After digging metal shavings out of our hands we moved onto building the baffles to accept the speaker. With these it wasn't to hard as we measured from the point the door mount starts to fall off to the other end to get a diameter that would fit and then cut the cutout out for the speaker. We built these out of some leftover birch. We attached these with 4 tapping screws (what we had) and silicon on the baffle to door connection to seal it.

Once we go this in and let it set up a little bit we mounted the speakers. We had to drill a pilot hole into the sheet metal as the screws we used were a little long and instead of cutting them to fit we decided to screw them into the metal which basically doing this further secures the baffle to the metal.

Won't lie these are some sexy speakers:

Yes I know the logo is upside down, its just the way we had to mount the speaker to get the speaker terminals to work as they stick out quit a bit.

Won't bore you with the passenger side but it was the same procedure but took about 3-4 hours less to do. Hate that that happens, would make things so much nicer...

Anyway a little commentary on the speakers:

I did not change anything on the amp so these are running same power as the quarts were (tested just over 110W rms on a 1000 hz -2 db test tone so right around 80 W RMS on music).

With that being said the difference is night and day. The sensetivity on these are really high so the L/R signal is very distinguishable over the Quarts. Currently I'm HPF the Crescendos at 63hz and even played them with no HPF and the low end is very nice and crisp. Nothing like a sub but there is no issue playing the lower end of the spectrum. I will most likely stick with 80 hz once these break in even more. So overall the wait was more then worth it. Also even though these need more EQ they still sound great using Quarts crossovers and tweeters. (Will have to look at getting different tweets though as I feel these won't work with each other)

[beckerson1]

Today we worked on getting the first portion of the 4th to 6th experimental conversion. Personally I haven't seen many if any of these types of boxes over the SPL tuned to SPL daily box. Which in this case I'm going from a strictly SQ tuned 4th to a theoretical SPL 6th due to its mid 40 hz peak.

Anyway here was the way she sat in the beginning:

The first thing in order was to cut an access hatch, the idea here was to be able to get the sub out of the box without destroying the box. So after some measurements we figured our line of attack. Also we decided to round over the edge as well. Originally 98 was going to do this free hand but looking around there were some spray paint cans in which we used to get a consistent radial curve:

Gave a nice curve:

Now it was time to cut this section out. We drilled three holes right on the line in order to get the saw in:

It was a very wide blade and the only one we had so we made it work:

Yes that smoke. Was very tight cornering:

She still looks great, no issues:

Now that the access hole is out we measured and cut out the front panel to mount the access panel onto to allow bolting points and a way to seal the panel. Yep still doing free hand, 98 probably cuts better free hand then anyone I've seen:

Here how she sits:

We had to measure and center the access panel to the mounting panel. Glued the bottom and used screws to hold the pieces together:

[beckerson1]

Of course we over measured for a reason so in order to keep the panel from moving when sanding, bolt hole drilling, and what not we used two screws in both the left top and right bottom corners:

Time to sand:

Birch seems to be vary sanding friendly as in no time we were measuring for the bolt holes to secure the panel to the box:

Set up the bolt configuration:

Lol here is our version of a scratch all (we switched to using a screw a couple holes later):

With proper prep work done it was time to drill out the holes:

Yes they are not evenly matched between them but there is a pattern which still looks great:

At this point we used a drill size to fit the T-nuts:

Shot of the T-nuts in place:

Now that mounting is set we moved onto the cutout for the port. Lol not done freehand:

Lol yes a slot port and an areo port on the same box. For this application its necessary to do:

[beckerson1]

After getting the outer flared part mounted we quickly realized Helga the blower came to life (Meant to be dirty lol):

Anyway with the little perversion we got to cutting the port to length (7 in. in length). We didn't have a working ban saw so we had to improvise:

Then to the assembly stage:

Some aluminum tape to help seal and further hold the connections:

Now at this point we filled in some screw holes and hit the kitchen for some food:

With full bellies we moved onto sealing (used this: M-D Building Products 2618 All Climate EPDM Rubber Weatherseal for Gaps 1/16-Inch to 1/8-Inch,White - Amazon.com

Just cut it in half and works wonders, highly recommend this product)

Here is how the port will look:

Time to bolt here down (used washers as well) :

Now at this point I got to excited and forgot to take a picture of bolts secured and box in the car. So will get them up for you tomorrow.

Overall this experiment was a huge success as we up'd the power to 800W RMS at 2 ohms and boy I have a lot of deadening to work on. A lot of my rattles inside the car are from the roof (moon roof area) and rear quarter panels. Over all its much louder then the 4th and don't see an issue making it into the 40's with this setup. Defiantly hurts the ears.

As far as SQ goes the 4th is defiantly better but the 6th isn't all that bad at it either.

So that's as far as we got tonight but here is the future plan. We will be adding a large window for the sealed 4th conversion section and add, probably on a three way switch, red and ultra violet (black light) led's to illuminate the chamber. Also the 6th conversion section will also have a smaller window. Also next weekend we are building a box for a member on 8th and getting mine bondo'd and painted. Then a couple weeks, hopefully after that, get the (windows, leds, switch) and whatnot in, amp area cleaned up and a second floor for the MS8 to mount... So still a lot of work to do so stay tuned

[beckerson1]

Actually need to down the power by 50 W RMS as I believe I heard it distort at one point but its hard to say with all this rattling... Setting it cold verses warm air as well... Ya even though the port on the upper end is smaller then whats comfortable there isn't that much port velocity compared to the lower end...

lol the only way that would work would be to flip the whole thing so ports face forward, move it back as far as it goes and fire it into the cabin... So no

I'm actually getting huge gain firing rear. Cars more meter friendly then ear with the steeper windshield... defiantly tingles the ear drums

Its to the point that I need deadener cause I figured where my rattles are coming from... We will say its not plastic

Roof flexes to hell right by the sunroof, rear view mirror linkage rattles really bad (lol its louder then the bass)... Not to sure what I will do there other then see if I can shove some foam up in there and hope that helps... Rear quarter panels resonate really bad, literally can hear it... Anyway the fun jazz of search and destroy

Still not done with the access panels as still have to make the sealed portion and add windows to the ported and sealed portion...

Also will experiment with red and UV leds integrated inside the box (well not really inside, still have to figure what to do and how to mount, and on a on/off/on switch as well)

And have to make a small hand access point to push the sub up and out if needed... So needless to say I'm about half way done with this box lol

Update:

Want to make a correction to an above statement... Crossing my doors at 50 hz not 63... Solid speakers is all I can say

Sunday will get to filling in holes, applying Bondo, lots of sanding, and possibly painting the base coat

We will see, we have a box order for a member on 8thCivic in which we are building... Should turn out nice

If we can get permission I or 98civic will post some pics of it finished...

Running list of what needs done

1) Buildup, major clean up, amp area to hold MS-8 and figure air circulation method

2) Order MS-8

3) If possible order more SS

4) Order new tweeters

5) Order widebanders

6) Order center channel

7) Install all that, fiberglass into A pillars (at least widebanders)

Find new location for remotes and switches as center channel will take current place

Just keeps getting bigger, lol of course this won't happen at once... next couple years projected

AND... get started on 98's and I's Astro (van, truck, whatever we decide) build

Thinking 4 18 flared T-line (lol changes every week) low end monster

[beckerson1]

This past weekend (cold rainy night with Sandy knocking on the door) we tore the box out and got it painted (no where near as nice as I want it) but will suffice until I can either afford to wrap it or actually take a weeks time and Bondo the entire box, sand it smooth, and get a paint gun instead of spray paint... Anyway here are the pics

Really can't tell by the pics but we initially went with wood filler to fill in the holes but you could see the screw holes perfectly through it (hence the top is black) so we went to Bondo

We literally baked this thing. Used a torpedo heater and closed all the doors for like 5-10 min till it got probably a good 90+ degrees or so and let it set for a while...

Base coat flat black with gloss black for top coat. I like how the wood grain comes through but you can defiantly tell where we Bondo'd

Finishing look inside the car... The bolts really stick out being a goldish color, looks nice:

A little dirty in the pic so that really shows on the camera. The port we noticed isn't painted as nice as the rest and you can really see it. We did what we could do as far as fixing it...

Still have a few things we are going to add to the box such as windows in the hatch and some interior RBG leds to illuminate the inside of the box. If we can fix the port I was thinking of adding RED leds to give a slight glow in the port but doesn't look like it will happen for a while...

A little thinking ahead (well way ahead):

Originally I was going to make a two tier rack for the amps and MS8 but there won't be enough room so have been thinking about doing a true false floor with hatch and inside this hatch the MS8 will have its own little box and a plexi window so it can be seen... Probably eventually wrap it in black and red suede, (SI) emblem somewhere, tare out the stock carpet and built up beauty panels and cover them... Basically a whole trunk cosmetic treatment (want to work towards a, not only sounding good, good show car as well...

Next on the list:

1) I have some rattles to fix in the rear area. Figured out why my mirror rattles really bad, simple fix and if I have to remove it easily for show/events. Deadend my rear quarter panels (have about 10 sheets of alpha left so should be more then enough to do that and possibly deaden some on the roof if the headliner isn't to hard to remove.

2) Fix/clean up my courtesy leds (probably will swap them out for RGB led strips as well). Right now this is whats holding them up:

(Duct tape and Goop)

Any suggestion for cleaning it up would we welcome. I'm thinking bondo and some time to make a pod will do wonders. Passenger side won't be easy as it has a lot of curves to work around...

Work in relays so the lights turn on with the passenger door as well. Right now its just the driver side door. Wire them into a switch so I can turn them off if I don't want them to light

3) Fix my door inserts as I must not have gotten enough adhesive in areas. Its possible the adhesive isn't the best either...

Just stuff to tackle over my friends winter break when he isn't busy.

[beckerson1]

We worked a few hours on deadening the car today. We hit the rear quarter panels as they would move quite the bit.

We started off by taring out all the seats so we can get to the rear panels easier:

We also ended up removing the rear deck as well:

Also removed the rear speakers to provide more area to enter the cabin. While on the topic of stock speakers here are a couple shots:

I seriously wasn't kidding when I said about a half dollar. Look how wimpy. Must be a half inch voice coil:

This is what we found:

From what I could tell this applies pressure to the exterior panel, which we tested does help:

Then there was this random piece of foam in a bag shoved down towards the bottom:

Ended up using two sheets of Alpha damp per panel which helped a lot:

Originally I was also thinking about doing my courtesy lights but running the wire and figuring mounting points and taring the center counsel out we decided to hold off on that till we had more time. Also forgot to mention that we did fix the rear view mirror by adding little dabs of hot glue to cushion the mount. So far its doing great.

Still get a lot of noise out of my roof which might have to be left along unless its not that bad to tare the headliner off. Not to bad outside the vehicle its more for the inside. Overall the quarter panels are much better but still move and have some tone to them but a good 70% better then it was.

[beckerson1]

Small update:

Bought the JBL MS8 BNIB this past Monday from Papasin on DIYMA/8thcivic and should be here this coming Tuesday or so.

Also ordered some barrier strips to help clean up wiring:

Here is the general look I'm shooting for:

The only thing I will have to change is the power and ground configuration as my power wire from the front isn't long enough to reach the position in the picture. Nothing to hard to work around, will just have to figure a mounting point.

Also go some new RCA's.

3' stinger RCA's:

Amazon.com: Stinger 3 Foot 4000 Series Professional 2 Channel RCA Interconnects: Car Electronics

6 channel 17' stinger RCA's:

Amazon.com: Stinger 17 Foot 4000 Series Professional 6 Channel RCA Interconnects: Car Electronics

Yes I currently have a two runs of RCA's to the rear but at the time I was only able to get 12' and ended up having to use a female to female connector to add more length to the current wires. So I decided, since I will be running another set back, that I might as well get a longer set of RCA's.

Here is the look when I eventually work on building the false floor for the trunk. For the time being I will find a temporary place to mount the MS-8. Colors and materials are not set. The MS-8 will be mounted inside the access hatch, flush mount, and have a window as well. All this will be either hinged or a removable piece. Also will be mounting fans to keep the amps and MS-8 cool.