Intro! If you just want pretty pictures, keep scrolling, there’s a ton. If you have 3 minutes to spare, read on.
Finally starting a build log for my 05 Monte Carlo LT. A little bit about the car: I decided to go with the red/black/chrome theme, and began adding little accents soon after I got the car.
Red stripe:
Seat/steering wheel covers:
Carbon fiber Di-Noc /vent trim:
Brake calipers. While working on painting the front two calipers, I did a stupid thing and jacked up both wheels. The tire jacks caved as I was taking off one of the front wheels and the weight of the car was resting on one corner of the jacks and the tire. See here :
Plexi was set on top of the brushed aluminum. Then, on the top of the spare tire piece, another layer of plexi was attached and the detailed image of the knight's crest was placed atop it. The layering will provide for a 3D look. Finally, a trim piece bordering the crest was attached, and here we go:
Previously, I never got around to covering up the top of the trunk with a trim panel. This time around, one was made out of 1/4" MDF and cut to fit snugly around the amplifiers:
Trunk lid
The old, bare trunk lid was horrendous to look at.
A base board was cut out of 1/4" MDF that fits the shape of the trunk.
Then, a Chevy bowtie was cut and covered in red vinyl. Getting the hang of it finally
LEDs are mounted to provide backlighting...
And finally, a vinyl sticker in the shape of a bowtie was pressed to a thin layer of plexi. The 'Monte Carlo' text is from the old first generation Monte Carlos. I think it looks better than the newer versions.
This was all assembled the day before MECA Finals and secured with security screws. The trunk lid itself is now so heavy that it can't be left up at an angle or it will slam itself shut (even if your head is in the way...). A worthwhile tradeoff? I think so.
6to8 fit snugly in the left side panel. Panel is easily removable for tuning purposes with bluetooth, yet still will not fall on its own, even without screws. I call it the Winslow-inspired securing method.
Distribution block and LED switch. Eventually LEDs will backlight both side panels.
Vinyl decal of system diagram and sponsors/teams (AP, Mosconi, Zapco) backlit by red LEDs from the plexi beauty panels. These front ones are remnants from the previous install - no need to remake them!
So there you have it, the culmination of a few long, stressful weeks of work and doing whatever it takes to get it done on time.
OK Steve. Aftermath of Finals yesterday, while we're at it. 3rd place Modex and Most Improved.
Back to the trunk, probably going to end up swapping out or updating a few things. I just really wanted it to have that 'complete' look for Finals. The plexi will probably be brought out a little so the LEDs light up the perimeter of the bowtie. Red vinyl (I might be becoming obsessed with vinyl) will be added somewhere (not sure where yet) to break up the blackness of the trunk interior a bit. Rear deck will be dyed black to go with the rest of the car. But all of that later. Enjoying the look of it as it is now. Took a lot of busting ass to come together and I'm happy with it. And too tired to do much more for a little while. Need... more... sleep.... :dead:
Looking good there young lady and lord knows I know what you mean about sleep.
There is some things I would like to clean up in the install to finish her off and give it a little cleaner look. It will get done. But great work all around Ally.
It will get done when I'm no longer in a rush. As it should have been. But Finals doesn't come but once a year, so it had to be a bit hurried. Turned out well anyhow.
I think my priority lies in fixing the stabilizers that broke first. That thing hurts coming down. Still hurts. Would not want that to happen to somebody who happens to look down into the trunk, and suddenly...
The midbass I thought was the weakest part of the system. Overall not too bad, but the enclosures need some tweaking. There is a lot of tactile feedback that pulls straight down to the footwells. Not an issue with the Beymas themselves, just a function of having big speakers in the kicks. I need to add more weight in that area and do a bit more tweaking with EQ as they pull down a bit on their own as well. All in due time. Might experiment with other 8" midbass as well just to experience more drivers. Maybe tens...
tl;dr I do like them thus far. They can take a beating.
10's in your kicks...holly crap batman...the 8's are impressive enough, seeing you put 10's in there would be wild. my only question is if you go 10's can you go back to 8's easily? i have a jl 12w7 i could let you borrow if you want to try a 12.... congrats on you awards...that is pretty badarse to get that good that quick after just refinishing the install. big thumbs up.
Yes, that's the one (only?) good thing about having a big car + automatic trans + being a really small person. I have the room for 10" midbass. I don't know any manual trans that can fit a 10, so it would be nice to get it out of my system before that. I've only begun to start browsing options, but coming by one that fits my requirements won't be easy. Not interested in 12" midbass - I DO need to be able to drive the car still - but perhaps for an up-front sub sometime in the distant future. There's room for that as well, perhaps tiptoeing the line between modex and extreme. I could revert back to 8s after 10s if I wanted to, it would just require rebuilding part of the enclosure. Not sure if I can provide enough airspace for a given 10 without further weakening the structural integrity of the car itself. If that's the case then 10s are a permanent no-go.
If I don't end up using 10s, I think I will try my hand at a pair of JL ZR800CWs though. They aren't as efficient as I would like, rated at a full 3db lower than my current Beymas, but we shall see.
Preparing for a ****storm, but the potential issue I take with others reviews of JL is that, well, on this forum you either have a raging hardon for them or you don't. I'd really like to hear them for myself. Playing devil's advocate here, so JL nuthuggers, keep it in your pants. Any and all personal experience with them is still valued, of course. I've got some time to decide.
The point is that losing sensitivity in the midbass doesn't matter when the speakers they are to mate with aren't real high efficiency anyway. You have plenty of power for them.
Just remember that efficiency is measured or is the average over the whole range of the driver. Remove the lower end it may or may not increase.
But,
That is not what was said. Winslow said not to worry when her midranges where only 80-83dbs, he kind of assumed he knew what midranges she is running. which from his statement he does not.
As we the team know they are 86.74 1w/1m
Now if the statement was simply; just do your best to match the efficiency of the mid-bass to your mid-range or the other way around and/or much sure the power handling and power on hand can make up for the difference of the drivers in question. That would be more to the point, not pointing out her mid-range efficiency was low, Which it is not by car audio standards.
Sorry Ally, back on topic. As have dropped a line to you we have something coming for you
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