Whiterabbit's Install

[alphakenny1]

Many of you who was at Marv's might have known that Steve (whiterabbit) got into a car accident and unfortunately could not bring his car to the meet. But he's a trooper and still came out to the BBQ anyways. Anyways, Steve had asked Vestax and then Vestax asked me and raadkins16 to come to help steve pull out all his gear out of his car before going into the shop. If any of you guys know Steve, you guys know how much blood, sweat and tears he put into the system and all of us who knew him was crushed at the fact that he had to pull out his gear despite all the work he put into his car. So while I was there I had a camera and took plenty of pics to show off his work. Sorry for some of the quality of the pics, I suck. Hopefully Steve himself can chime in and answer some questions about the install. Let me do a quick rundown of the equipment: 12 batteries, 3 processors, 5 amps, one 15" phase linear aliante, two fuse boxes on both sides of the quarter panels, tons of wiring, fitting 3 drivers in the kicks on both sides (soap stone baffles), 3 cd changers and a shit load of techflex and loom. Also, is there anything in the trunk?

[alphakenny1]

Enjoy!!

[dingaling]

holy crap Steve, didn't know u had that much shit in there....

impressive...yet sad at the same time....

[mobeious]

thats crazy full 3way in kicks

[garvinzoom]

Wow, that would suck having to remove all of that equipment. Did he remove it because he did not trust the body shop or was he afraid of damage due to welding?

[unpredictableacts]

What kind of batteries were those? and why?

[captainobvious]

Man, sorry about the tough luck Steve. Thats a LOT of crap you have in there !

Cant wait to see what you do to improve on the old install

[captainobvious]

they look like the same batteries I used to use for phone system backups

[maestro]

hey steve,

you got a great attitude man! obviously the most important thing is that you and sara are ok. let me know if you guys need any help with anything even if its questions related to your home purchase.

jody

ps if you need a place to keep all that equipment when you're not using it my passat has some room.. especially for that sexy arse aliante 15

[drocpsu]

that is insane!! Where did you even fit all of that stuff in the car? Wow.

[chad]

Originally Posted by unpredictableacts

What kind of batteries were those? and why?

Look like something else you may have seen this weekend Eh?

[unpredictableacts]

Originally Posted by chad

Look like something else you may have seen this weekend Eh?

white trash forum perhaps?

Shot me some info on them..standing out in the cold sucks.

[Ge0]

Steve,

If you are reading this, sorry man... I know how much time and energy you must have put into that install and it must have crushed you to tear it out. Randy (the other hated dude) went through the same thing recently. Look on the bright side. You now get a chance to do it bigger and better next time.

Your car did not look totally destroyed in the photos. Frontal damage mostly in the radiator region. Is the insurance company totalling it? Is there a chance you can put your gear back in once its repaired? Perhaps hope? Just looking to lighten up the mood...

Excellent work BTW.

On a side note, I rather enjoy the volley of chat that goes on between WR and I. I hope you have SOMETHING up and running soon....

Best of luck. Hope you and your loved ones are alright...

Ge0

[Pseudonym]

goddamn, that all fit in a civic?

[alphakenny1]

Originally Posted by Pseudonym

goddamn, that all fit in a civic?

to be honest, he's insane, lol. He cut plenty of metal to fit the 4 amps and 3 processors in the quarter panels. He's just one of the most creative guys in car audio I know.

[shinjohn]

Steve,
More props for you, bud. Again, glad everyone was OK, and can't believe that through all this, you still came over to give me back those tweeters and also listened to my car.

Keep us posted on what happens to the Civic or otherwise.

About the batteries, well, it's just like any other 2nd power source in a car; Steve just chose a bank of cells in this case where he could get higher/better power density than a single brick.

And I agree Steve is one of the most creative (and hard core) guys into car audio, Bay Area or otherwise. Just incredible stuff he does and has done to his vehicle!

[chad]

Originally Posted by shinjohn

About the batteries, well, it's just like any other 2nd power source in a car; Steve just chose a bank of cells in this case where he could get higher/better power density than a single brick.

And in any shape or spacing config you want

[capnxtreme]

WhiteRabbit,

Sorry about your car man. It's really incredible what you've done to it.

I hope you don't mind, but in searching for amp mounting ideas, I coincidentally stumbled upon a 2 week-old post of yours on civicforums:

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit on civicforums

we are quite blessed with our cars, there is TONS of hidden real estate if one is just clever enough to look, and create the mounts.

The rear deck is a great location. the amp may hang low, but removing the torsion bars allows tucking much higher.

The spare tire well is a great location. There are many options here from raising the floor a couple inches to removing the spare tire. If one is handy with a jigsaw and welder, more "off the beaten trail" options are also available in the spare tire well.

if you drive a 2 door and never have rear passengers, you can actually use the foot space to install amplifiers. A protective cover allows the occasional rear passenger to ride without damaging equipment, though less comfortable. The same treatment is recommended for under seat amplifiers. rear passengers have legs that get around.

the back of the rear seat is a great location. Rather than a metal plate to mount an amp to, it is a metal mesh. This allows for the 20 second ziptie install all the way through backer boards, expansion nuts, and wiring fed through the mesh so it is invisible until it terminates at the amp.

If you peel back your trunk side carpeting, you will find space between the unibody and car skin. A small amplifier will fit on the drivers side' more space is available on the passenger side. This location requires mounting creativity as the mounting feet toward the front of the car will float. But a clever hardware engineer can figure out a robust solution. With the trunk paneling back in place, the amplifier will dissapear. This location is also great for processors, power distribution, batteries, and other auxiliary equipment.

In my car? I chose a unique location in the coupe. I removed my interior quarter panel and found all the real estate I could want. I suspended a plate of 16 gauge steel inside the cavity and bolted it to the unibody with grade 8 hardware. This gave me a great mounting surface for four amplifiers. I then put the interior paneling back in and it's invisible.

Each location has positives and negatives, but all locations share tidy and organized wiring that does not get kicked, pulled, or messed up by objects in the trunk, and take a minimal amount of space, if any at all.

The best equipment disappears, allowing you to concentrate on what is truly important when driving your car.

Not to make this more complicated than it needs to be, but could you please elaborate a little on the back-seat mount? By backer board, do you literally mean tile "backer board"? You zip-tie the "backer board" to the metal mesh, and then screw the amp into expansion nuts mounted in the board?

Thanks! Truly inspiring.

[3.5max6spd]

Steve, i'm speechless looking at these pics as one has to truly see to believe how complex and large your system was, and to still make it 100% stealth.

I'm very sorry about the damage, but the fact that you and and your girl were able to walk away from it is the important thing. Needless to say, i'm very much looking forward to your future builds and what you share of them, I've always found you to be one of the most positive, helpful and hardcore guys in this community .

Peace.

[Zorasmiles]

A true "STEALTH" install. In fact I stand corrected, "this install is the definition of a stealth install"! Sorry to read about the accident, and I hope you have minimal time away from your family, friends and car audio. Goodluck with your next build if your ride is totaled by the insurance company and you have to work your magic on a new ride.

[unpredictableacts]

Originally Posted by chad

And in any shape or spacing config you want

OK I am interested....where can they be bought and what size voltage are they?

[alphakenny1]

Well I just talked to steve and the insurance company has declared the car totaled as the estimated costs exceeds the actual value of the car. Sucks really. But the funny thing is that steve is ecstatic about getting a new car. Haha and its not surprising at all. He's looking into some car audio friendly such as the 7th gen accord due to its "massive quarter panels." Haha. Well good luck man and can't wait to see the next install!

[Oliver]

Originally Posted by unpredictableacts

OK I am interested....where can they be bought and what size voltage are they?

search for 12 volt batteries turned up this ..

http://store.sundancesolar.com/12vol18amsea.html

[Jroo]

I want to know what type of batteries they are and how he wired that many up. Every time I stop by a shop and talk about batteries and caps you get different answers. Everybody has their own answer and how their shop would do it. Are each of those batteries wired up in series? Did he do what the SPL guys did just with a buch of smaller batteries?

[Rudeboy]

Originally Posted by alphakenny1

Well I just talked to steve and the insurance company has declared the car totaled as the estimated costs exceeds the actual value of the car. Sucks really. But the funny thing is that steve is ecstatic about getting a new car. Haha and its not surprising at all. He's looking into some car audio friendly such as the 7th gen accord due to its "massive quarter panels." Haha. Well good luck man and can't wait to see the next install!

How did the car hold up with all of the structural mods Steve had done. IIRC, he extended the driver's seat rails and at one time had cut out the front floor to mount subs I'd imagine that was just the tip of the iceberg.