Anthony Collova Posted September 22, 2009 Report Posted September 22, 2009 Thought I would share the install my new friend John at Hand crafted Car Audio of Chandler AZ did for me a couple weeks ago. I met John through a Second Skin sales rep named Bob Morrow. Some of you guys already know of Bobs Tacoma which has been reviewed in this DIYMA thread: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/member...h-t-tacoma.html So Bob introduced me to John, one of the customers he calls on. John is a true DIY guy turned professional. He works out of the garage in his home in east Chandler AZ and within the first minute of walking in, I knew I was in the right place. The tools he has and the cleanliness alone were enough to make most retail install bays jealous. You can see a shot of his garage on the home page of his website: Handcrafted Car Audio - Mesa, AZ - Car Audio, Video, Security and Accessory Sales and Installation. After talking with Bob and John for a few hours, we came up with a game plan. I already have tons of amps, subs and components to choose from. Most all brand new, but some simply wouldn't work. I really wanted to keep everything as factory looking as possible. I did not want fabricate pods in the dash, or put the tweets in the pillars. We did not use kicks, and I opted to keep the factory spare tire. My biggest concern here is that I travel to Mexico 6-8 times per year. It is a 4 hour drive to the beach so I would absolutely hate to blow a tire on the way and be stuck in the middle of the desert with no spare. The spare had to stay. The problem with this was that it limited the space we could use for the amp rack, as well as the subs. We ended up glassing one sub on each side of the hatch while making the amp rack adjustable so that I could still access the spare tire with ease. It turned out better than I could have hoped for! All in all, everything is very factory. The mids are in the doors and the tweets are in the factory dash corners. I knew that I would be compromising on this but I honestly would rather keep everything factory, and take my licks afterwards. Here is what we used: Head Unit - Factory Infiniti integrated with: Arc Audio SRI Components Ultra Subs SS-6 Subs (2) JL Audio 8W7 Amps (2) JL HD750/1's (2) JL HD600/4's I only needed one of the 4 channel amps so that one is sitting back in my closet. Crossover Arc Audio IDX Sound Deadening Second Skin Damplifier Pro All in all, everything is still very factory. The mids are in the doors and the tweets are in the factory dash corners. I knew that I would be compromising on this but I honestly would rather keep everything factory, and take my licks afterwards. Here are the pics:
Anthony Collova Posted September 22, 2009 Author Report Posted September 22, 2009 Overall I am very happy with the results We still have some tweaking to do, but without messing with it too much it is very loud, and crisp. A bit too crisp o nthe highs in fact. Having tweets with 150 watts in the corners of the dash bouncing off the windshield certainly is not doing me any favors, so my one of my next steps is to kill the tweets and replace them with a with a set of HAT L4s that Scott just sent me. Some time alignment would be great, as would an EQ. I am looking at a 7 band Arc model but I am open to some suggestions if you guys have any. Today, Matt at Image Dynamics suggested an Audio Control unit. If anyone has some ideas, please throw them my way. The factory head unit is lacking for sure. Manville sent me the bass controller for the sub amps, but I am not sure if I will need it once we get the EQ put in. Just gotta get the right EQ and find a place for it. Enjoy! ANT
Applejack Posted September 22, 2009 Report Posted September 22, 2009 Very clean looking! Midwest Car Audio is on facebook! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Midwest-Car-Audio-Association/101253286585630
kingsuv Posted September 22, 2009 Report Posted September 22, 2009 Pure Sex! Nice job on the build! Designing, building, and shipping boxes. Yahoo IM - kingsuv00If the listening level is too loud, please inform the driver, so he can promptly pull over, and let you out. not many cars can get me to pluggin my ears but this one.......damn. I mean the first minute is ok but that thing just really starts digging deeper and deeper in your earhole till you cant stand it no more. Seems like it does it with relative ease....16 12's on 8 amps.........gotta love it.
Anthony Collova Posted September 22, 2009 Author Report Posted September 22, 2009 Pure Sex! Nice job on the build! Glad you guys approve! ANT
Riff Raff Posted September 22, 2009 Report Posted September 22, 2009 nice and crisp install 01 Tahoe Big 3 20 ft.1/0 streetwire under hood 4 Batteries Stock Battery and 1800 Kinetic Batt under hood 2 Sprinter S12V500F Battery,165 AH Kicker 1/0 going from front to back Sirius sportster Alpine 9886 Kicker 650.4zx mids and highs Q-Logic kick panels w/Kicker6 1/2 comps. XXX re comp 6.5 in front doors Alpine6.5 coax in rear doors 2 Audioque 2200d strapped 2 Audioque 18 HDC3 5% all the way around 2 layers raamat on roof doors covered in raamat
wL<3bass Posted September 22, 2009 Report Posted September 22, 2009 Very clean install....I'd like some more info on those HAT L4s or some pics. Vehicle: 1997 S10 Blazer 4dr 4X4 Exterior: Rear End Bagged, Black Grill, Lifted 2" Amplifiers: Rockford Fosgate T8004 & T10001bd Batteries: 2 Stinger SPV35, Kinetik HC2400 Electrical: Big 3, DC Power 290amp Alternator w/ MLA at 15.5v Enclosure: 4.2 ft³ @ 33Hz 84sq.in. of port (20sq.in. per cube) Headunit: Eclipse CD3200 w/ 80G iPod Mids/Highs: Rockford T152s (a-pillars), Rockford T162s (doors) Subwoofers: 1 15" Fi BL Fully Loaded Wire: All 1/0g Kicker Hyperflex My YouTube Videos My Fiberglass A-Pillar Build My "Seamless" Looking Box Build My DD1508 T-Line Bandpass Build "Seamless" w/ Acrylic Windows (for '05 TrailBlazer) My Stealth 8" Fiberglass Build (for '05 TrailBlazer) My Build For A Friend's '08 Cobalt 15" BL Sealed Off From The Trunk My feedback/references...
Anthony Collova Posted September 22, 2009 Author Report Posted September 22, 2009 Very clean install....I'd like some more info on those HAT L4s or some pics. Still waiting on those to get it. I'll take some pics once we get them installed! ANT
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.