Started my first system build ever. I've always used a professional installer but I'm sick of paying them the ridiculous amounts of money they ask for and I'm sick of not getting exactly what I want. So, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

Setup will be 3-way components in the front, a mix of rainbow audio stuff. Mids and tweets will be in the dash and the mid-bass in the stock location. New 12" Fi Q will also be installed. I haven't had a sub in a while so I've been missing some beats. Amps will be replaced eventually but I don't have enough money for new ones right now. Also lots of miscellaneous sound deadening.

Here's some pics of the progress so far.

The car:


My buddy deadening:


Speaker holes:


Other miscellaneous pics:




Update 8/15

Did a little more work last night. I actually didn't think the cable I bought was soo thick so I hope I can make it all fit. I ran cabling for the tweeter and for the mid-bass in the door.

Tweeter:


Comparison of speaker cable next to 4AWG power cable
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Update 8/26

Here's some pics of the work on the dash so far.



Showing the angle:


In it's new home:


View of the whole dash so far:


Not quite level:


A little better but not perfect yet:


Still to come more sanding, body filler, and a trip to the upholstery shop. A-pillars still need to be done too.

Update 9/6

Got more work done over the long weekend. Had to re-run all the cables because they were too fat to under the panels along the doors. They now go along the center console and then cut over to go under the quarter panels. Here's some pics of the temp setup until I get the dashboard finished. Only thing that will change is the addition on the mid in the dash and switching from 2-way to 3-way crossovers.





Update 9/9

Dash with the mid has been installed and the 2-way crossovers swapped for 3-ways. It was a little difficult getting the speakers screwed-in but I have a plan. Crossovers are a mess right now, I'm going to have to think of what I can do with them. Upholstery will be done next pay check.




Update 9/18

Been working on another project as well but I put the air ducts back on and changed some connectors. Everything fit very nicely. The speakers can now be installed in the dash, then the dash in the car and then I can connect the cables together. I'll have pics of the connections later. Here are some pics of the underside of the dash with the air ducts installed.

 

wow, i would of done without the speakers in the dash. Waiting to see the final output.

 

I love seeing people di it themselves. I did mine myself and saved alot of money. And I love telling people its all DIY.

Good luck and good work.

(not a fan of in the dash speakers, but if done correctly it can look ok)

 

Dude, looks like your takin A LOT of sh*t out that car....can't wait to see the finished product...should be bad a*s!

 

They're going in the dash because everything below ___ level in the front of the car gets kicked. So it's either fiberglass the doors or cut holes in the dash. I listened to the tweets there for a week and it sounded really good.

Also if anyone needs any pics or has questions about how to remove anything feel free to ask. Most of the interior panels will be off the car for the next week.

 

haha i guess youd be a pro at taking stuff out, eh?? haha

 

OMG.....I can't believe that you cut those big a$$ holes in your dash. That is why you take your car to a professional because they will tell you that is the worst idea ever. I am a professional installer and I would never do that to a car even if someone wanted to pay me to do it. I wouldn't do that because...First off you just ruined your dash so if you ever want to sell your car you are screwed. Second that is going to look terrible no matter what you do because the dash is curved and the speaker will not sit flush. Third....wow. Forth the speakers are going to be sitting in direct sun light which will make them brittle and cause the surround to degrade. Fifth that is a huge hole for a mid what size mid are you putting in? Sixth, it is going to sound like crap because you will have no imaging at all and the timing will be all screwed up because the mid and tweets are so far away from the mid bass oh yeah and again the mid won't seal correctly because of the curved dash. Seventh, that dash piece is probably about a grand to replace.

WOW...

 

i would have fiberglassed the doors and put in the 3 way setup. the poster above sounds a bit harsh but has some valid points especially about imaging and timing, and the sun shining directly on them. i'm sure you have some ideas of how to make them sit right and sealed.

 

thats a big hole in the dash.....very nervous

 

I chatted with rocketgyrl before I started and her only concern was that I needed get a dash mat or something in order to prevent reflections off the windshield. The sun is a good point though I hadn't heard that before before but one of those ugly mirror things should fix that problem.

Also, combatsteve's point about imaging and timing is incorrect. Look at the kick panel locations in our car compared to the dash locations. They're almost equidistant. So regardless of whether I put them in the dash or in the most popular place for most sq installs imaging would be the same. And in case you missed it (combatsteve) I'm doing a 3-ways setup, you don't need to seal the mid. It's a 4" mid and it won't be mount to the dash itself but rather to some brackets I'll be making. So it will protrude through the dash making the curve irrelevant.

I chose not to do the doors because the imaging would probably be even worse. I wanted to get the speakers as far away from me as possible without putting them in the kicks. I thought about glassing the a-pillars but that would be too much of a bulge so I decided against it. In order to make the install look clean I had already planned on covering a majority of the interior in new fabric (hence this thread). I'm still debating on what I'll cover the dash in.

Sheesh didn't realize there were some many unadventurous ppl on these forums. Scairdy cats.

 

If you don't have an imaging/timing problem (without equalization or time-alignment) it will be some kind of miracle. I have my tweeters in the defroster vent locations, and run the tweets -3db and have the top end softened through an EQL-- left on their own, they're just way too bright.

And you have the mid up there as well, right against the glass. I honestly hope you don't get as many reflections as I think you will. I also hope you don't get a hole in the middle of your soundstage, with the midrange so far off-axis from the midbass, and so much louder due to horn-loading effect.

I'm not saying it's a certainty, but I'd reckon that setup would have to be run active to get it tuned properly. I wouldn't try it set up passive. No way.

 

Running active is stage 2. And something (don't know what yet) will be put on the dash to deal with the reflections. Also the x-overs I have a from a Profi set and there may be a setting to deal with driver placement but the instructions are in German.

 

ehh good luck. looks like your gonna need it. hope it works out though.

 

Just to clarify - I didn't say this install would be ideal. You've pointed out your reasons in the PM, and given those criteria, your locations are the best compromise. It IS possible to get to sound good with the amount of processing power you have - but the tuner will have their hands full. I wish you luck.

The reflections from the speaker onto the glass, and then your ears WILL cause an issue at whatever frequency that distance is equal to. It will be in the critical midrange, and thus my suggestion for kick-panels. You're creating TWO sources of sound - the first being the cone of the speaker (direct to your ears). The 2nd is from the glass. You can see the reflection of the cone while looking through the glass. This is where the sound will appear to come from. It's not going to be perfect, but a damn close approximation. Also, the glass is curved, and will smear and distort the imaging and focus of the overall sound-stage.

With these speakers and locations, I suggest you use your subs to 50hz, midbass' from 50-125, dash from 125hz+. The HIGHER you crossover your midrange to the tweeter, the better...within the driver's limits; something like 3.5KHz I'd imagine. Try to keep everything matched with 24dB/oct slopes, and IN phase. Use time correction to dial in all the drivers, and don't be too focused on the mathematical values vs. "real world" values. LISTEN and let your ears tell you when it sounds "right". A good idea is to mute the mids or midbass (effectively creating a 2 way system) - and dial them independently, then change the xover back to the 3 way system.

Also, I'd have installed the tweeters on the A-pillars, or at least outside of the midrange drivers. These locations you've started with will inevitably give you a narrow soundstage.

To keep your head up, and balance out the nay-sayers, the 2006 IASCA World Champion - Rookie Class - had almost identical speaker position/angle/setup to what you've started....

 

Right now I don't have much choice where the speakers are crossed over since I using passive x-overs right now and the manufacturer recommends a crossover point on 80hz at 12db for the mid-bass. However I could swap them out for the Profis that are sitting in the box. Processing power is a little ways out at the moment and I don't think I have any time correction w/ the hardware I have. Once I get everything install I'll decide if I want to change anything (like moving the tweets).

 

New pics in the first post.

 

Ok just an update for all you haters that don't like dremel customization. I finished most of the sound dampening. Did 2 layers of eDead v1SE in the hatch area, 2 layers of damplifier covered with a layer of eDead v4 in the rear quarter panels and wheel wells. Still a layer of v4 to be added in the doors.

Also moving the tweets to the a-pillars and I've decided to glass the dash for the mid-ranges. I'll have pics later tonight. And here's a pic for the nah-sayers.

DLS Car

 

theres a difference between a dls audi show car and a daily driven scion tc. i don't think anyone was bashing the placement just how you went about modifying the dash to do so

 

Ya but you should know it's illegal to criticize someone modifying a scion.

 

Updated first post w/ more pics.