One more 350Z for the IASCA lanes :)

[simplicityinsound]

well, i am back on famaliar ground, got another 350z SQ install done this past week. its really a vast dfference working on a car i am intimately famaliar wtih versus one thats relatively new. normally a full on SQ install takes me a good 1.5 weeks or more, this one, i got done in 4.5 days no corners cut.

this is acutally the first 2008 model year Z i have done, the last year of the 350z.

the goals:

1. making the install sound good, respectably and competive with in the rookie and amateur classes of IASCA
2. fully stealth and durable hatch area
3. limited budget on install, no real show factor, focused fully into SQ.

lets get started:

the signal source starts with an alpine 9886 headunit. i also installed the alpine HD radio module and retained the steering wheel controls. here you see the HU, with its ipod and usb cable in the pocket below:



the amp uses zapco DC amps, so the tuning cables can be routed from the storage compartment behind the passenger seat, for inseat tuning:



the front stage consists of a set of Seas lotus reference 6.5" two way set. Using my past experinces with the Z, i did a few things differently to try and optimize the overall SQ, small differences but to me, noticable.

the midbass is install into custom molded kick panels, trimmed in black suede, they disappear into the interior. infact, i couldnt get the lighting to be bright enough to make them stand out more thats not wrinkles on the suede btw hehe just brush marks.

what i did tihs time, was to try and push the mids further back, compared to some of my other 350z installs, it is further back by about an inch. this to me, allows for a better depths in the stage.

[simplicityinsound]

from the pics, the kicks may seem like they really really protrude out a lot, ubt in reality, they dont come off the stock panels that much, as that panel has a curved out shape in itself.

here are hte build up pics of the kicks to show what i mean:

first the stock kick panel is reinforced with fiberglass, vent hole cut and sound proofed:



then the ring baffles are aimed and attached, they have a slight back and upwards angle to them:



then fleece pulled, resin applied, and chop strand/resin was poured into the inside of the walls to reinforce them. because they are going to be sueded, they only needed minor sanding to get rid of hte major imperfections:



next the walls are lined with modeling clay:



and then another layer of sound proofing:



here they are, with suede wrapped, and the seas lotus ref midbass installed:



here you see how little, the kick panel acutally proturdes from the stock shape: about 2"

[simplicityinsound]

here are the termination of hte midbass:



and screw used on the speaker (pan head)





moving on to the tweets. i also did the A pillars a bit differently, and pushed them as far back towards the windshield as i can, this again helps with depths and also, seems to reduce any thing related with reflections a bit.









quick build up pics of the pillars:

rings attached, mold cloth resined, and then duraglass/resin mixture poured into the inside to strengthen:



sanded smooth and blended into the stock pillar:



and then wrapped in matching vinyl, and tweeters installed and wired:

[simplicityinsound]

termination of the tweeters:



two quick pics to show all the wires running aft is bundled and ziptied every 6 inches:






moving onto the hatch area, as mentioned, the empahsis was purely on a clean, stealthy and durable set up, with no show factor.

here is the normal view, everyhting completely hidden out of sight, stock floor height is retained with the stock floor mats fitting on top:



remove the floor mats and here is the new, fake floor.with four cutouts in it:

[simplicityinsound]

remove the cover panels, and you see this. three Zapco DC amps surrounds a pair of exile audio XT10 10" subwoofers.

upfront, a DC 360.4 is bridged sending 180 watts RMS to the midbasses, on the lefthand side, a DC200.2 powers the tweets wtih 50 watts a piece, and on the right hand side, a DC500.1 sends 500 watts to the xt10s. the two XT10s sits in a 1.0 cubfeet sealed, two tiered enclosure. the fake floor is done in black trunk carpet for druablity.

[simplicityinsound]

finally, a bunch of install/wiring pics for you guys.

first is the overall wiring on the amps, neatly bundled and secured. here you see the bottom portion of the two tiered subbox, about .75 cubfeet of air space. a .25 cubfeet portion is attached later to the opening to form the 1 cub feet enclosure. this way, the subbox can also double as supports for the amps.







close up view of the amp wiring:







quit views of the flat head screws used to secure the amps:







and finally, the top part of the subbox is attached, covered in black suede, and the subs installed. onlything missing here is the fake floor top.



no chance to give it to leon for tuning yet, but juts loaded a tune file from an older 350z, making a few changes here and there, and it already sounds quite good. midbass is very natural and snappy, with good, smooth overall tonality. with just a little bit of eqing, the subs blend great. the depths is better than the previous Zs, and the center, right now, is not bad, but it can be improved on with tuning, width is okay also, but i think wtih a little bit of tuning, it can get better. it generally is wider on the passenger side than the driver.

overall, should be good for the upcoming iasca comps in cali

[instalher]

what program are u running on the lab top? oh sorry nice install... do you find a large hole in the sound because of the huge gap between speakers?

[simplicityinsound]

its hte zapco DSP software. no hole in the sound at all given proper tuning the right speakers, locations like these isnt a big issue.

[civic99coupe]

Once again, great install. I don't post much but I follow your installs regularly. Truly inspirational. Keep up the good work bro.

[ChicoOG]

Bing...I think you've done enough installs over the past couple of years to have a fairly large "SimplicityinSound" BBQ/Meet When are you going to send us a team t-shirt? I need an xl thank you

[simplicityinsound]

hahah yeah if all my SQ installs would get together, it would be a large crowd. i been thinking about doing a shirt for some time...maybe for next season. but then you can wear the team lotus shirts i need to enlist some sweatshop illegals from the home land

[98RedGT]

Love the completely stealth install! I'm sure that is a happy 350 owner!

[HondAudio]

Another winner! Did you figure out a way to make the trunk mat acoustically transparent? Isn't it backed by rubber?

[simplicityinsound]

yeah, but bass finds a way, infact, with most of my stealth installs, i have found that having a thick rubber trunk mat in place HELPS the bass response, as it gives the subs something closer to load off of. anyone who had heard my own car knows what iam talking about when i remove the rubber floor mat from my hatch area, the bass performance goes down noticably.

b

[Silver2003srt4]

wow nice clean and classy

luv it
Jeremy

[tdiantonio]

once again, excellent work.

[M-Dub]

Originally Posted by simplicityinsound

These look EXACLY like mine!
How are you vinyling these?
I'm on my 3rd failed attempt.
Do you have a second pair of hands helping out?

[syd-monster]

ahh Bing, 4.5 days!! WOW, thats impressive for a work shop, let alone the 1-man show that you are.
Notch up another nice one for you!

[98AckCL23]

Very nice work.

[Maddman]

nice work, like that fact that its clean and not flashly.

[simplicityinsound]

Originally Posted by Megalo

These look EXACLY like mine!
How are you vinyling these?
I'm on my 3rd failed attempt.
Do you have a second pair of hands helping out?

nope, just me

umm no real trick realy, just a lot of pulling and a tiny bit of heat via a heatgun?

vinyling i think overall, is an art, that you learn slowly over time. you sure yours is exactly like this? and dont have more protusions or concave shapes? because i thought these were prolly the easier a pillars i have had to wrap. so i am thinking maybe your hsapes are a little different?

b

[M-Dub]

Originally Posted by simplicityinsound

nope, just me

umm no real trick realy, just a lot of pulling and a tiny bit of heat via a heatgun?

vinyling i think overall, is an art, that you learn slowly over time. you sure yours is exactly like this? and dont have more protusions or concave shapes? because i thought these were prolly the easier a pillars i have had to wrap. so i am thinking maybe your hsapes are a little different?

b

Here's mine. I can manage to get the vinyl to look good for a week. But then the concave parts start to sag in the Texas heat .

[simplicityinsound]

1. what kind of glue are you using? you cant use any 3m stuff or similar, you have to either contact cement sprayed out of a airgun, or as in my case, bsically the same thting but mixed into an aerosol can. basically something that will hold up to at least 200 degrees without breaking apart.

2. that concave section you have is pretty steep, concave is the big enemy of doing vinyl work, as it puts a constant pressure on the glue. i would say mold that out to be a shallower angle. if you look at mine, you will see what i mean? that will help.

b

[blindbug]

I do believe you are my favorite installer. Everything install piece I see from you, I'm just drooling over.

[simplicityinsound]

love your avatar, one of my favorite cartoons the english version