Wicks' E46 M3 Build. Hertz 3-Way Set from Tony D!

[Wicks]

Awsome Werk

Thank you Sir!

Can't wait to get my 2.0K fired up and pushing some weight.

Then probably turning right around and buying a 3.5K from you.

To do that I need my second XL12m2 which is back-ordered.

One of my two subs got damaged in shipping. I don't know how many damage returns you get but mine was the 12" with CF dustcap, white DC logo with direct leads.

Any idea when more XL's come through?

[Wicks]

agree,.. great job,.. very very nice man... really dig the route your taking, and work your doing ..

Thanks!

I'm really trying to get the install clean and nice, with a few tricks (and hopefully the sound will follow).

It's a lot of work without knowing how the box will sound but fingers are crossed.

[Wicks]

I've seen many people use bondo in their build logs so its something I wanted to try.

Seems like a much better idea than silicone or wood putty.

I've also never used fiberglass either and was thinking about it but I'm shooting at getting the box at least functional for a road trip next weekend so its probably a little too ambitious.

So I took a shot at bondo

I used it to smooth out and seal the corners of the box.

While the bondo was drying, I went to add my sub mounting holes in the double baffle.

This is my 90 degree hold jig to make sure I drill the holes as straight as possible (don't have a drill press).

Not perfect but it does help. Drilling some of the mounting holes crooked would be ugly when mounting 50lb subs in an angled wall that can't be removed from the car.

Holes drilled. It took a while to measure out the exact placement of each hole to make sure the subs are both mounted straight (...I hate crooked mismatched subs).

To make sure the 50lb subs don't come loose, I'm using threaded inserts on the back of the baffle to clamp the subs down.

I tried a sample with the threaded insert on the front of the hole but I was able to pry the insert out of the hole with hammer and a little force.

So I went with putting the insert in from the back so they can't be pried out.

I also added a small drop of epoxy to help seal the metal insert into the wood baffle.

Here they are inserted.

Back to the bondo.

I sanded it down which wasn't as hard as I thought it might be. A small electric sander helps a ton.

I know this won't add a lot of structural support to the box but it should seal up the corners and smooth out the airflow a bit.

Given the size of the box and the large port structure across the box, I figure it should be pretty solid.

The weakest point will be the bottom plate but I can't brace that because I have something planned for it which will help the box appeal.

As I type this, I just thought of something...I could glue a brace across the bottom of the bottom plate, since there's a gap there from the "spare tire" well.

[Wicks]

I've seen a LOT of people use Stinger voltmeters to monitor their amps which is great.

I however didn't want a large meter with a lit up brand name on it taking up space.

I found a simple relatively cheap meter here:

http://www.lightobje...om/Default.aspx

They have some good stuff that's not cheesy.

I also didn't want to just drill or tape it to my dash so I came up with an idea...

My M3 has a flip up door which conceals the ashtray and cig lighter.

Since I don't need an ashtray and I like a clean stock look, it seemed like a great place to stash the voltmeter.

I ordered a replacement ashtray from ECSTuning.com. Great place for OEM Bimmer parts.

Then I cut it up to make room for my plans.

I cut a piece of bulk plastic which I had and epoxied it to the ashtray to give me a mounting spot for the meter.

Fits pretty good.

I have a bass knob for the DC2K amp as well which I didn't want to simply drill into the side of my console or dash.

I'm pretty committed to installing it with the voltmeter in this custom location so I went "all in"

The mounting tab was too long to stuff the knob in the ashtray so it needed some adjustment.

Here's the basic look

Yes...I know, it looks a little rough but this is just a test run to prove out the concept. I'll clean it up and make it look better later.

With some finishing touches. I grabbed some brushed aluminum vinyl after seeing some of the work Rogue did in his build log.

A little better but I still plan on cleaning it up even more.

...that switch in the middle of the voltmeter and the bass knob...more on that later...

[KC_Burban]

Just wow man. I just read through that whole build log and I am seriously impressed. Great work and love the Bimmer.

[CJ18]

Awsome Werk

Thank you Sir!

Can't wait to get my 2.0K fired up and pushing some weight.

Then probably turning right around and buying a 3.5K from you.

To do that I need my second XL12m2 which is back-ordered.

One of my two subs got damaged in shipping. I don't know how many damage returns you get but mine was the 12" with CF dustcap, white DC logo with direct leads.

Any idea when more XL's come through?

Hopefully soon, but still waiting.

[Wicks]

Just wow man. I just read through that whole build log and I am seriously impressed. Great work and love the Bimmer.

Thanks Dude!

Appreciated!

[Wicks]

Awsome Werk

Thank you Sir!

Can't wait to get my 2.0K fired up and pushing some weight.

Then probably turning right around and buying a 3.5K from you.

To do that I need my second XL12m2 which is back-ordered.

One of my two subs got damaged in shipping. I don't know how many damage returns you get but mine was the 12" with CF dustcap, white DC logo with direct leads.

Any idea when more XL's come through?

Hopefully soon, but still waiting.

Thx Cody!

Anxiously waiting!

[hip]

Great work! Waiting for more!

[appi]

very nice sub box great work