[simplicityinsound]

well, after a long few weeks, i just got done with my first C6 corvett install. It was in all, an interesting car to work on, good in some sense installation wise, not so great in others.

Before i begin, i'd like to thank Leon and Eng for helping to tune the car.

So here are the goals:

1. Good Sound quality
2. Classy design with a little bit of flash
3. hatch install able to be hidden out of sight.

those were the original goals...hatch usability was NOT a goal, nor was retaining the T-top storage. but i decided to added one more goal:

4. retain T top storage ability

equipment list:

headunit/processor: Alpine 205/701 combo

front stage: Seas Lotus reference 6.5" midbass, DLS Iridium 3" midrange, Seas reference tweeter

amplifiers: DLS ultimate A3(midbass) A2(midrange) A2(tweet) A6(subwoofers)

subwoofer: 3 x Image Dynamics ID8

lets get started:

The alpine 205 headunit is installed int he stock location, with door chime and onstar retention:

the alpine ipod cable is ran to the center arm rest:

the Seas lotus tweeters were molded into the stock A pillar, aimed across at each other:

and here are some build up pics of hte A pillars:

the factory vinyl was stripped off (a major pita) and the rings attached

mold cloth streched and attached:

after that was dry, the inside gap was filled with resin/glass combo so its rock solid:

the pillars sanded and dampened:

and vinyled in factory matching vinly:

 

[simplicityinsound]

the midbass and mirdange reside in the factory locations in the door, i thought about trying out kick panel midrange, but there is virtually no room behind the kick and keeping hte deadpedal was a requirement.

first, the outter layer of metal is dampened:

then the front panel dampened:

then a mdf blocking baffle was cut out, the back side truck bed linered to prevent corrosion:

and seals the big opening in the back....then, while i was waiting for the UPS man to deliver more dampening, i got bored and did some drawings lol...my best attempt at what i think peter euro looks like?

then the speaker baffles were made and sprayed on both sides:

and attachd tot he door, and new speaker wires were ran into the door:

then finally, the lotus seas midbass was mounted:

the iridium 3 midbass i built a little baffle in the stock midrange cavity, and then dampened the baffle, the dampend was painted black so it wouldnt show through the midrange grille.

and finally, the outter plastic door panel was smothered with dampening as well to prevent buzzing:

 

[simplicityinsound]

and same goes for hte other side:

and finally, two very solid doors that dont rattle or buzz at all

so...moving onto the hatch area...so here is the normal view with things hidden out of hte way, the carpet i have there is just a temp. solution, he is going to have a custom matching trunk mat made in the near future:

remove the carpet,and here is what it looks like, the entire fake floor is in factory matching binyl, with three big cutouts and tw small ones, note corvette logo on a raised vinyl platform upfront and lettering on the covers:

and here is the view of the front of the floor, with a piece of polished plexi with my logo secured on the front:

 

[simplicityinsound]

pop off all the covers, and here is what it looks like. the theme that i had in my head is that of an engine, with two banks of "cylinder heads" flanking three downdraft carb with intakes. dont take it literally, but its the general theme

one the driver side, the A3 and A2, and on the passenger side, we have the A6 and A2, both sit in their own red vinly (factory matching) racks and are at a slight angle. all the wires in sight have chrome techflex and red shrink. the ground and poewr D-blocks are at the front, and the three ID8s sit ithe middle. the amps and D blocks have plexi over them as well, and the subs have an edge lit plexi border.

the platforms that the amps sit on, have an additional layer of edge lit plexi underneath, so with the leds turned on:

 

[simplicityinsound]

I also modified and raised the rear T-top mounting points so the stop still stows with the system in place:

its tight, but it clears the hatch with about 1/8" of an inch on both sides:

IMo the car sound pretty good, Leon mentioned its one of hte better sounding sports cars he has heard...stage is very nice and high and suprisingly wide. midbass impact is one of hte strongest i have personally heard.

now here are some build up pics:

i trimmed out the stoccarpet in the back to gain as much space as possible, and then dampened the entire floor to block noise. i acutally ended up wtih an additioan 2" this way...quite a thick carpet

now one of hte biggest challenges is that the entire floor of hte vette is some kind of plastic, so nothing can be screwed into it if you want it to last...so what i did was make a bottom platform board, and attached it securely to the few metal parts in the hatch area, namely hte crossbream behind the seats and the metal behind the wheel well. and then everyhting i build can attach themselves to this piece instead of hte floor:

here is test fitting the basic design:

here is the jigsaw puzzle that is each amp rack well

vinyled in red:

and assembled, each well have their own crossflow fan pshing air over the amps and out the vent in the back

 

[simplicityinsound]

the H701 rack whcih sits in the passenger side storage pocket:

and here are the platforms the amps sit on,

with a top vinly board and a bottom plexi piece that is edge lit:

and onto the d-block racks:

and the finished product, wired up:

the subbox:

 

[simplicityinsound]

and the top fake floor and side pieces during construction:

plexi attached to the center piece and then leds secured and taped over to prevent light "leakage"

ready to be installed:

final shot of the trunk, all wired up, beofre hte floor goes on:

and here are some panels i dampened along the way:

finally, construction of the covers, whcih ar two-piece each, with a vinyl top and suede bottom, raised vinyl lettering:

the amp covers done:

the d-block covers:

and the sub grille, which is also two piece, with HD mesh secured to one and covered in grille cloth, and black suede on the other:

 

[mobeious]

the iridium 3 midbass i built a little baffle in the stock midrange cavity, and then dampened the baffle, the dampend was painted black so it wouldnt show through the midrange grille.

damn when did DLS start making a iridium 3" midbass
j/k looks good... though i would have put a 10" in that door

 

[Beau]

Your work is beautiful.

 

[simplicityinsound]

10 wouldnt fit, only hte bose vettes have the 10" opening, i am not a fan of anything above a 6.5" midbass IMO...usually end up with a ton of build up and coloration

 

[NeverEnuffBass]

wow. Nicest work I've seen in a while

 

[azngotskills]

Damn thats sexy

 

[simplicityinsound]

what is sexy is the z06 exhaust hes got one, above 3krpm, the butterflys open and man oh man does it sound mean, hwen i drove it, i acutally turned the stereo off and just listened to it lol

 

[ATK_Designs]

wow, very nice Bing. You impress me as always. Wish I was in CA.

 

[Kenny_Cox]

wow, I wish I could build stuff like that. Great work Bing.

 

[Maddman]

Nice installation work!
Any close-up pics of the LED's into the plexiglass?

 

[simplicityinsound]

no i dont, but they are just thin led strips from www.oznium.com, ca glued into the inner edges of the plexi pieces

 

[Rbsarve]

Lovely work as usual Bing!

I love the impact of the RM165 too. But in the next one try the RM220!
And yes you will have to add more damping, but boy are they worth it!

 

[dingaling]

I love this car when the music is on...and also when its off.

When its on...I was pretty surprised at how well it staged once the T/A was aligned. Although a wide car, we were able to get a solid center. The Apillar tweets helped bring the stage up a bit as well. Midbass is solid and loud, and personally I think Bing could have used a 4 chn bridged on them. Doors were sealed very very solid, didn't hear much bass rattling at all from the doors.

I'm not too much of a fan of the dome midrange, but I was able to integrate them fairly well with the Lotus References...although they did require a bit more t/a than a standard mid...I dunno why? Subbass is fast and punchy as you'd expect from 3 8" sealed... Solid extension down to the 30's when needed. I did however set a highpass on the sub channel to prevent over drivin them when the rag top is down and you really need to crank it to hear it.

When the car is off...Holy moly exhaust notes!
The notes u hear when the car goes over 3krpm is just exhilarating...
wish I had a car that sounded like that... frick'n awesome... actually made me go on the Chevy site to briefly consider one

 

[KAPendley]

Top notch work!! You're the man Bing!!