Well, all the excitement today and I never took pics of the pods... FAIL. I do have some of the new trunk, but that's not what y'all want to see anyway.
I'm 80% satisfied with the pods and I'm sure I'll talk him into letting me re-finish then so I'm 100% satisfied (well, 95%; I'm NEVER 100%). We went on axis to the center of the car, so there was NO way to wrap them with what we intended, so I did a texture finish and it didn't take as well as I hoped- but Jason is VERY happy, so that should be all that matters. First report is that with a little TA and level matching that they are fantastic even with the flat signal... can't wait to hear it once he gets it dialed in!!!
Man tell be about doing on-axis and trying to wrap them. Went thru that one over the summer last year.
Ok…. Jason wanted me to post what I did take pics of.
First, these drivers are MONSTERS for a 3” driver. The magnets are almost as big as the cutout needed; so the terminals are a challenge. I cut a relief for the terminals as well as chamfers to help aid in air flow around the driver.
Those were mounted and covered with grill cloth to make the blend to the pods; coated with resin, bondo-glass, filler, and a milkshake on the inside and much sanding to blend right… as stated; FAIL on my part to not take pics of the pods when they were finally installed this afternoon; Jason will have to provide.
As far as the trunk- changes needed to be made as we were adding a second amp to cover the 3 way front stage. He wanted options to use the tweeters whether he ends up using them at all.
I could have just put it in the current trunk where the BitOne was; but what fun is that?
So, I took the same basic premise and tried to improve; with the same finishing look as before- STEALTH.
The base was cut to allow the fans to do their job and keep the amps cool- they are also on ¼” standoff spacers to further air flow allowed as well as allow for the RCAs to pass underneath. Also, amps were mounted using T-nuts to allow for any removal/maintenance that may be necessary.
Amps mounted and use of terminal blocks for speaker wiring.
When mounted in the trunk, it hinges up front so you can tilt it up and still get to the spare and jack.
Beauty panel with CF finish
Voila: (Flash used as photo taken in garage- seams are near invisible to naked eye)
nice work, Ryan! That cnc machine is coming in handy, I see.
How did you get the template/drawing/whatchamacallit for the design? School me, oh wise one.
Ok…. Jason wanted me to post what I did take pics of.
Well.....not in the middle of the night......could have posted later this week......I'm a patient man , well maybe not, but you certainly didn't have to do it last night/this morning...but thank you. There are 1 or 2 guys out there who are a bit anxious to see what you created
Those were mounted and covered with grill cloth to make the blend to the pods; coated with resin, bondo-glass, filler, and a milkshake on the inside and much sanding to blend right… as stated; FAIL on my part to not take pics of the pods when they were finally installed this afternoon; Jason will have to provide.
A few pics that I took yesterday - I'll take a few more after cleaning up the car (once I get back from Cleveland )
Led us to trying this idea last Saturday - going to go to the kicks:
I told Ryan it was up to what the physical limitations presented and what was the best option/least compromise. I also told him I didn't want to know until I arrived on Sunday.
In order of preference:
1) pillars aimed across the cabin
2) pillars aimed across the dash
3) kick panel install.
At one point yesterday, I was looking over to one of the work benches, and the XR's were sitting over there so innocently. I said, "All of this for those little speakers." And Ryan retorted, "That is exactly what I have been saying all well." This has been a costly 'upgrade': Ryan's time, flight (voucher + frequent flyer miles), drive to/from ATL, amp, speakers, install.
Even with all of that, the immediate improvement over my good 2 way set up was amazing to me (of course I want it to be, right? but this will hopefully be validated later this week when John hears them).
I was frustrated that I couldn't run Auto TA and Auto EQ before I left Ryan's for the 4.5 hour drive (for some reason the deck wasn't cooperating with me - might be a setting thing that I didn't have time to figure out). It didn't matter at all - as Ryan said, flat eq with a little level matching and a little TA (actually the 'Initial' setting that is a pre-set from Pioneer) provided excellent results - everything was balanced with fantastic tonality and imaging.
These are the pods attached to the pillars:
And Erin, I'm going to try my level best to get down there to Bama - Roll Tide!
Well.....not in the middle of the night......could have posted later this week......I'm a patient man , well maybe not, but you certainly didn't have to do it last night/this morning...but thank you. There are 1 or 2 guys out there who are a bit anxious to see what you created
Aren't you worried that modifying the a-pillar covers are going to impede performance of your airbags? In a crash, at best, they could likely fail to deploy; or at worst, they could turn your a-pillar covers into projectiles...
Aren't you worried that modifying the a-pillar covers are going to impede performance of your airbags? In a crash, at best, they could likely fail to deploy; or at worst, they could turn your a-pillar covers into projectiles...
After the early deliberation last week, we reviewed many deployment pictures online for this particular model. The modification should not impede the deployment across the side windows and the pillars stay intact with the factory three 2.5" screws, so projectile risk is minimum. Plus, the wheel airbag would send it through the windshield if it did get knocked loose.
Er... or were you looking for the easy answer to the question that preceded the statement- "No"
Was just curious if it was ever considered, that's all. Many people modify their vehicles without much thought to whether or not they are doing so safely. I'm not sure if I would be modifying airbag covers, but hey...it's your car.
I almost detect a 'na, na, na, na, na.....' there. I think you are going to be impressed. I played through that little mix cd that I gave out at the last meet - wow!
Re: 2002 BMW 325i Final Re-Install
First report is that with a little TA and level matching that they are fantastic even with the flat signal... can't wait to hear it once he gets it dialed in!!!
There are 1 or 2 guys out there who are a bit anxious to see what you created 
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Press here
I missed that page. My bad; you're not being a 'toolbox' by pointing that out. 
Linear Mode
