Car is an 07 cobalt ss, with the "premium" Pioneer system. The build is to compete in MECA stock class next year. Car has the following upgrades:
DC Racing intercooler
Injen cold air intake
Polished Headers
Magen exhaust
Magen lowering shocks and suspension
Hurst short shift
HID headlight
It's a really fun car to drive, and is the best of both worlds: 205hp/200 ft/lbs of torque, will break traction in 2nd and 3rd gear, and still gets 30+ on the highway. I average 25 mpg around town, and got 31.4 driving to Atlanta last week.
Gear is as follows:
Pioneer DEH-80PRS
PPI Phantom 900.4
PPI Phantom 1000.1
Morel MT-22 tweeters in surface wedge mounts in the sails
Massive Audio CK6 mids in the doors
Earthquake SWS-10X subs IB in the rear deck.
Deadening will consist of
1/4" mdf will cover holes in the door
Alpha Damp
Focal tiles
RaamAudio Ensolite
Various types of eggcrate and memory foams.
The eggcrate foam is a funny story. The past six months, we've replaced about 80 pieces of networking equipment, and the hardware and all the accessories each came in foam padded boxes. I had our network guy start giving it to me, and I have four giant storage tubs full of it now, ranging from WalMart feeling eggcrate foam, to thick, dense material stiffer than memory foam, but still very open cell. I'm excited to see what I can do with these.
Amps will be in an amp rack mounted where the factory sub is now. Wiring at the battery will be dressed in split loom to maintain factory appearance. I've figured out how to also mount the ring terminals to the stock battery terminals to further maintain a stock install.
This weekend I'm working on mounting the amps and doing the wiring. The battery is located in the trunk, so the amps will be grounded directly to the battery.
Here's the pics:
The Car
Stock sub enclosure, where the amp rack will go. I originally wanted to modify another identical sub enclosure to be the amp rack, but my amps are a little too big, especially with the terminals being on the ends. If I still had my XD amps, I probably could have pulled it off.
Stock enclosure removed. Amp rack will be mounted to the same bolts the enclosure was mounted to.
Factory battery terminal. You'll notice the terminal plate has another threaded bolt on it, and the red plastic housing has a wide extension on the back side, as if it were made for wiring accessories. The welded bolt is the same thread as the bolts that hold the sub enclosure, so I'm taking the nut to Lowe's tomorrow to get one for the power wire.
Also notice both terminals have another bolt on the inner side of the terminals. That tightens the factory terminal. I'm going to cut the ring terminal for the groundwire and convert it into a spade terminal, then install it under the nut on the ground terminal.
Another shot of the battery, this was to show the area under the factory trim that the power wire, inline fuse, and ground wires were going to be routed.
This is what I use to crimp wires. Hammer crimp and 5lb hand sledge. It does wonders on 1/0, and can wreak havok on 4 gauge, especially if you need to work out some frustration. Getting to use this is my absolute favorite part of every install.
Factory battery terminal. You'll notice the terminal plate has another threaded bolt on it, and the red plastic housing has a wide extension on the back side, as if it were made for wiring accessories. The welded bolt is the same thread as the bolts that hold the sub enclosure, so I'm taking the nut to Lowe's tomorrow to get one for the power wire.
Also notice both terminals have another bolt on the inner side of the terminals. That tightens the factory terminal. I'm going to cut the ring terminal for the groundwire and convert it into a spade terminal, then install it under the nut on the ground terminal.
Another shot of the battery, this was to show the area under the factory trim that the power wire, inline fuse, and ground wires were going to be routed.
IIRC, the studs on the battery terminals are M5 or M6....pretty sure they're M6. The nuts that came with Pioneer CD Changers fit perfectly...
Thanks for the tip! They take a 10mm socket, so we'll see. amp rack is going to be two separate pieces, one piece that bolts to the stock sub location, and another that will be screwed to that. The second piece will be what the amps mount to, and will have cutouts for the wires to come from under/behind the amps. Going to Lowe's today for nuts, electrical tape, and mdf.
K, so confirmed the bolts are m6, picked some up from Lowe's as well as more mdf.
Here's a shot of the template for the amp rack. I used the factory sub box to trace out an outline onto cardboard, then cut out around it leaving extra room. I then poked holes in the mounting points and wedged the template into the space, bending the extra, and then marking where to cut with a pencil. The areas where I trimmed too much or needed smoothing were added by cutting other filler pieces out of cardboard and then taping them into place while leaving the template in the trunk. The tape also adds a smooth edge to use while tracing.
So, I cut the shape out of 3/4 mdf, and due to the trunk carpet, it wouldn't flex enough to let me bolt it down. So I cut another one out of 1/2". It was better, but the bottom two bolts are slightly recessed. So, I cut a slice out of the middle of the 1/2" template and bolted the two pieces separately. I then used the original 3/4" cutout as a template to make the actual amp rack. I cut out the bolt holes with a 1" hole, and then screwed the rack to the mounting plates:
I can now remove the whole assembly as one single unit. You can see the outline of where the amps will be. I wanted to have them straight, but the monoblock is just too wide, so they both will be mounted at an angle. power and grounddistro blocks will go on the bottom. I'm still waiting on the fused distro block to arrive, so still not sure how they'll be oriented. speaker wires will come over the factory trunk liner and be routed behind the rack, then up through access holes to the amps. It will be covered in split loom where it crosses over the carpet to maintain a stock look as much as possible.
Next I will test mount the amps and drill cutouts for the wires, and if needed trim any excess from the rear mounting plates. Once everything is good, I'll unscrew the plates, add some wood glue, and reattach the screws, while adding a few more for support. Then it will be carpeted and ready for install. I have some 1/8" mdf that I will use to make a cover for it. If I can fit it, I'm going to put the Chevy SS logo on it.
One all this is done, I'll be waiting on the mids, subs, and the radio to arrive.
You probably will not be able to use much of the foam except inside encloser or behind panels to help rattles. There are no acoustic treatments allows in stock class.
That was the plan. I do wish they allowed dash mats in stock. That would help so much.
There is a recess in the rear deck that will have to be filled with foam, and I may put some under the trim panel on the rear deck to help with rattles, but other than that, all the foam will be in the door panels.
Didn't do a lot today, the wife and I spent the day together and went to the small local zoo. I did get the amp rack finished though. Just now have to start pulling cables so I can pre-route the wires on the amp rack.
Carpeted and mounted again for a last test fit. the area below the rack looks open because the factory carpet curls up some, it's mainly just the angle of the shot:
Here's the back. Wood glue, and about 6 screws per brace were used to anchor them. The holes for the wires to come through have been drilled, and I went over the edges with my router and a 3/4" roundover bit to help with routing the cables. The first two were a little too deep (whups), but I think it turned out well.
Good luck on the install. I'm stoked to see someone else working on an '07 cobalt, well other then a wall of woofer that is. That carpet used for the amp rack looks like a good match. Could I ask if it actually is, and if so where to get it? I spent about 12 hours yesterday in my '07 black cobalt laying cld, ccf, mlv, what a pita. No SS though, insurance is killer up here. Good luck again i'll be following this one for sure!
I like where this is going. I should probably pick a sanctioning body and try and work around class rules, but there are literally NO SQ shows in MI...the 5 shows I know of are all SPL. I guess I'll just build it, and see where I fit in later, if I try to compete.
Getting ready to pull wires, doing some deadening today. Door panel removed and plastic water guard removed.
Deadening: There are two support bars spanning the length of the doors. The gaps were the perfect fit for the focal black hole tiles. I alternated tiles with squares of alpha damp with eggcrate foam glued to them. They easily clear the windows too. This is done up to the window motors. Past that, there will be larger strips of alpha damp and actual acoustic foam. A couple of focal tiles will be on the back side of the panel as well.
I didn't take pics, but have the cutout templates made for the hole covers. They will be screwed in with self tapping screws. I wrapped them in aluminum tape for waterproofing. You can also spray glue regular aluminum foil to waterproof baffles as well.
In regards to the foam, my doors hardly leak, if at all, and I had foam in my accord that was bone dry after it raining nonstop all week, so I'm not worried about it. Also, all of the metal is painted, and the foam is glued to deadener, so rust isn't a concern either. Finally, an action shot of the wife at work. She did all of the deadening in the inner doors.
Out of curiosity, have you had any problems with the doors leaking? We've had a few Cobalts come in with left front speakers shorting out, or just plain dead because of water damage. Just wondered if it was a common problem, like the old Neon 4 doors.
None so far. The bottom row will be waterproofed. I was in the rain the day before pulling the doors and it was dry. They're doing construction several places around my house and I drove through two miles of potholes and puddles the night before.
Nice job....never been to Chattanooga but friends say the aquarium and zoo are nice. Spent lots of time in Sevierville/Gatlinburgh and Asheville though and it's beautiful in the fall....
2007 Chevy Cobalt SS MECA Stock Build
Linear Mode
