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DIY - 2016 Venza build log - I am going to keep at it until i get it right 😊

83K views 543 replies 59 participants last post by  AudioGal 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey all, I thought i would share my ideas, build and journey out there with the masses . I am no professional and I like to try different approaches and ideas. Learning as I go.

My goal is to get as close to the 2 channel home audio experience in my car as I can. My previous Yaris build was a great learning experience and I am going to build on top of that.

I do not have the system fully planned out and I am faking it till I make it. This is a SQ build not a boom boom or sql build.

I am going to use all my previous equipment.

tweets - Brax ML1
Mids - Brax GL6
Midbass - Brax ML 8
Rear fill - Brax GL3
Sub = ?

Proc. - Helix Ultra

Amps - (2) helix C-fours
(1) helix C-one.

Source - Fiio m11 pro - coax out
and maybe deck integration.

All positive , sharing of ideas, and inquiry focused conversation welcome and negative stuff keep to yourself please.

Let the journey begin with a .........

Vehicle selfie :D

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#289 ·
thanks mumbles no problem at all feedback is welcomed and i totally agree that is one reason i pulled them off the rack.

Although at the cost of the new gear i will not be changing anytime soon. I tend not to equipment flip in general lol!!
 
#292 ·
Okay a big milestone is completed. The basic rack is painted SEM trim paint, the hinges and pneumatic lifts are installed and it all works perfectly so far. The rack is ready to be installed in the car tomorrow hopefully !Closed cell
foam has been installed on all
mating surfaces and on the bottom of the bottom rack.

Once installed ii can proceed on doing some sort of cover panels and get the gear back installed.
 

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#293 ·
Okay a big milestone is completed. The basic rack is painted SEM trim paint, the hinges and pneumatic lifts are installed and it all works perfectly so far. The rack is ready to be installed in the car tomorrow hopefully! Closed cell
foam has been installed on all mating surfaces and on the bottom of the bottom rack.

Once installed i can proceed on doing some sort of cover panels and get the gear back installed.
Looks great! (y) How many rattle cans of SEM for that?
 
#296 ·
Thanks, too many, lol. 4 cans and mostly because this was my first time using the stuff. To do it again 3 would be sufficient.

i spent an inordinate amount of time filling, prepping, priming and sanding so that helped a lot 🤪
That's what I figured, haha. It takes a good bit of paint for full, even coverage on BB or MDF with a rattle can! But your time and effort paid off IMO. ;) (y)

Cheers
 
#298 ·
i spent an inordinate amount of time filling, prepping , priming and sanding so that helped a lot [emoji2957]
All of that effort pays off - I don’t have much patience for it…..the phrase, ‘good enough’ always gets stuck in my mind…..sometimes my wife has to touch up after me [emoji851]

She put a last coat of paint on one side of these yesterday - that is about 1/2 of the doors - lots of sanding, primer, paint.




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#301 · (Edited)
Lol, i did put it in that night, could not wait 😲

After installing and fiddling a bit i came to the unfortunate conclusion that i did not like the SEM texture coat for this purpose. So like the ding dong I am i pulled the rack and I am doing it in bed liner. Easily available here ( EZ liner) . First application coats went very well and look so much better and will be significantly more durable. I figured i should do it how i want and burn some more $dollars$ , yuk and more yuk, and finish it how i want it done. Since this is my only project I am okay with it taking some time, learning and building more skills, but the cost these days is atrocious to say the least. What is that Einstein quote , except replace physicist with car audio hobbyist , 🤓🤪

So more sanding and painting and the night mare continues :ROFLMAO:

Font Orangutan Wrinkle Monochrome photography Primate
 
#305 ·
@bbfoto thanks and no derail, all good here! Sharing in the pain is somehow comforting, lol. And I second and third you on the cabinet refinishing job comments, top kudos to J and V for taking this task on :)

It is interesting, and you bring up a good point about if the work effort is for a hobby we somehow can justify it. I seem to be that way. I cannot build to perfection but if there is something that i do not like or I feel i can do it better i will usually redo it, apparently my labor hours are considered free somehow, lol

The repainting job has allowed me to rethink some things which is a bonus :unsure:
 
#306 ·
Fo' Sure! Hindsight is 20/20 as they say, and we will always find something that can be improved once the finished product is before us and we have time to interact with it, and step back to see it in its complete state. I guess we should count our blessings that we at least have the choice of our own labor being free, LOL. For me, if it's a creative process that I'm enthusiastic about, it's not really work, and it can be therapeutic as well. If you love your work...

Keep on keeping on...
 
#307 ·
Well the repaint is done and i also put on some temporary top covers. I am rethinking what i want to do for the top covers all over again now that i have these completed, lol!!

Either way, i am super happy that i went back to the drawing board and repainted the amp rack in ez liner covering. It is the exact texture i was hoping for plus is appears to be super durable and the amp rack looks much better. Sort of clean, modern and stealthy :cool:

Now i can finally get on with assembly . I am hoping to get them in the car today 😎

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#308 ·
I figured i would try a mock-up run before i put the rack back into the car. To make sure i had the cable holes sorted and everything was going to fit the way i wanted. So far so good. I need to pick up some latches so i can secure the lifting shelf to the main shelf and then after they are installed i can start to work on the in-rack installation. My last build project is going to be centered around a GND distro bar and a 12v fuse bar suited to my needs. Hopefully that turns out to what i see in my head, lol!

This should be my last set of pic's for a while now so i will stop spamming my thread with what must seem like repeating pic's. However i wanted to show the journey mistakes, changes and all.

The more i think about it i should be able to wire the whole rack out side of the car and with the help of my son to lift it into the car when it is done, may be the best option and save my back in the process 😁

Table Wood Gas Machine Rectangle
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#309 ·
Does anybody have a suggestion for LED lights and controller? I am thinking a set of addressable LED light strips that i can run separate colors in different sections of the rack. I am just noodling some ideas at the moment.
 
#310 ·
I've done more than a bit of research into this, and it looks like the favourite among pro installers/makers of custom lighting is the Blueghozt controller from Ghozt industries. Control for this is app-based with fully configurable custom programs/setups. So very easy to set up compared to the arduino-based ones where you have to write code to program the lights.

I have one of these that I haven't installed yet.

But I also ordered a pack of adressable rgb light bars, and with them came a tiny controller module. This was actually very good, it can do all sorts of programs, and also fully configurable ones, down to the number of individual leds and how many zones you want to divide it into. Really impressed with this considering that its a $10 controller. The Blueghozt is 15x that price.

This is it: 6.92US $ 38% OFF|Dc5v Ws2812 Led Aluminum Rigid Bar Cabinet Light 28keys Bluetooth Music Rgb Smart Pixels Controller With Mic Decoration 50/33cm - Led Strip - AliExpress

Well worth a try. Also the light bars/strips in this set works well. I think a 10-pack of the 50cm ones including controller was like $30 in total.
 
#311 ·
I've done more than a bit of research into this, and it looks like the favourite among pro installers/makers of custom lighting is the Blueghozt controller from Ghozt industries. Control for this is app-based with fully configurable custom programs/setups. So very easy to set up compared to the arduino-based ones where you have to write code to program the lights.

I have one of these that I haven't installed yet.

But I also ordered a pack of adressable rgb light bars, and with them came a tiny controller module. This was actually very good, it can do all sorts of programs, and also fully configurable ones, down to the number of individual leds and how many zones you want to divide it into. Really impressed with this considering that its a $10 controller. The Blueghozt is 15x that price.

This is it: 6.92US $ 38% OFF|Dc5v Ws2812 Led Aluminum Rigid Bar Cabinet Light 28keys Bluetooth Music Rgb Smart Pixels Controller With Mic Decoration 50/33cm - Led Strip - AliExpress

Well worth a try. Also the light bars/strips in this set works well. I think a 10-pack of the 50cm ones including controller was like $30 in total.
excellent thank you so much haakono, I really appreciate it !!! I am going to check it out for sure the one in the link!!
 
#312 ·
@AudioGal

have you a car pc ? Is that what I was reading

this thing with linear phase firs would be flat out amazing

you should get a convolution engine of some kind , even an OpenDrc (which is no small machine)

I think it’s right up your alley! And you would really appreciate tuning linear phase

it really opens things up and removes a lot of problems that otherwise can’t be dealt with
 
#313 ·
@AudioGal

have you a car pc ? Is that what I was reading

this thing with linear phase firs would be flat out amazing

you should get a convolution engine of some kind , even an OpenDrc (which is no small machine)

I think it’s right up your alley! And you would really appreciate tuning linear phase

it really opens things up and removes a lot of problems that otherwise can’t be dealt with
Interesting no car PC, but a stand alone music server and BT HD as well for non focused listening and kiddo tunes!
 
#314 ·
Okay some more progress on the system. I have built up my power distribution and ground distribution system. I have enough capacity to handle anything i want now. I will be putting a acrylic top across the whole power management section of the amp rack system. I had fun building these for some reason, lol!

I may buy a big buffing wheel for my drill and spend some time buffing out the copper at some point. for now I am happy with the results.



Musical instrument Wood Musical instrument accessory Audio equipment Rectangle

Musical instrument Musical instrument accessory Guitar accessory String instrument accessory Plucked string instruments

Office equipment Eyewear Rectangle Font Indoor games and sports

Circuit component Input device Electronic instrument Guitar accessory Office equipment

Circuit component Rectangle Passive circuit component Font Electronic component
 
#315 ·
And i did some amp mounting and wiring on the weekend. I got to the point i needed the power distribution system so i had to stop and build that part. Now that i have that part done i can finish wiring out the rack before i install it in the car. I am pretty happy with how everything is coming together especially once i got past the painting / texture part of the build, lol!!

Circuit component Audio equipment Electronic instrument Electronic engineering Electrical wiring

Musical instrument accessory Office equipment Window Gas Audio equipment

Electronic instrument Circuit component Audio equipment Musical instrument accessory Computer hardware
 
#317 ·
Thanks Mumbles , i became fed up looking for pwr and gnd solutions i liked so… i rolled up
my sleeves and ha a go at it!!

Many firsts for me in this whole build in general 😁
 
#319 ·
That wiring work already looks ‘Bingish’ [emoji106] Really fantastic to be able to meticulously wire outside the vehicle then stick the entire package in the car.

You have certainly proved the adage ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ - what you have in mind as the best solution isn’t always something that can be ordered off Amazon - what i find continually impressive is that you are willing to push your boundaries and you have the capability to execute. Well done!


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#320 ·
That wiring work already looks ‘Bingish’ [emoji106] Really fantastic to be able to meticulously wire outside the vehicle then stick the entire package in the car.

You have certainly proved the adage ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ - what you have in mind as the best solution isn’t always something that can be ordered off Amazon - what i find continually impressive is that you are willing to push your boundaries and you have the capability to execute. Well done!


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Thank you, I am planning on adding a bit more bling at some point (effect lighting) but that may have to wait until next year which i am fine with. Always nice to have a project on the books!! Even once the rack is installed , all it will take is disconnect of the 1/0 cables, DSP to conductor (or director) and speaker cables and the whole thing will come out again no problem.

There is a saying that you can take the girl away from the farm but you can not take the farm out of the girl and i guess it is true!! Growing up on the farm and doing everything i could including working on equipment with my dad has rubbed off i guess, lol!

Wiring outside the car is a dream, and i love it. I lucked out on this build in that regard :cool:

Taking my time has been a positive outcome on this one for me. As it has allowed me to try some new things and ideas and i have been able to iterate my thoughts and redo things if i did not like the outcome the first or second time. I did not always rush before but i had a different attitude and mental pace previously. I do not have a hard deadline to be done by and i am just enjoying the process and build overall so i am in no hurry and this is a shift for me. Always a life lesson to be had :unsure:😂
 
#333 · (Edited)
I have not measured this system yet, however i would add that although it may seem i am running a 3-way with mid-bass i am more or less running a 2 way with door subs that go down to mid 35hz range so that changes the calculus.

The Brax line is a significant step above Class D amps in SQ so depending what your priories are, that drives things. The GX 2400 is a high bias class AB design so the idle current is higher for sure and the MX is biased even higher, In an electric car i have not spent any time on the math of what percentage of battery would be consumed by a Brax amp install compared to the car capacity and range reduction. In a commuter car it may not matter as the trips are short and the car sits charging most of the time, but in a car used for highway driving it may really matter i do not know.

I do think the type of music you listen to will be a determining factor. If you listen to acoustic music, and music with real instruments the current draw will be far less than EDM, techno, electronic and other tech synth music with exaggerated low end which will drive up the current a lot. That being said a reasonable compromise is class AB for the front stage, cross the MB at 80hz or a little higher and run the sub stage at class D where the bulk of the current draw is anyhow. If i had an electric and i was going to do a serious SQ build i would entertain this option highly. The electric for me would be a commuter car only. To use an electric to drive outside of the city where i live , while it can be done is highly impractical due to distances and total lack of infrastructure and the seriously cold temps in the winter.
 
#344 ·
Is the tunk done ? Can we see some pics ? Your doing a great job . I love my venza.
Nope not yet. I got hung up with COVID late summer and a few other things so i did not get a chance to finish it to where i want it. However what i have done i really like overall :)
 
#345 ·
It seems i do have a few more pic's to share if people are somewhat interested.

The following pics detail the sound deadening in the hatch area that i did. Nothing fancy just straight up as much coverage as i could while the area was exposed.
Hood Automotive tire Motor vehicle Tread Automotive lighting
Automotive tire Motor vehicle Automotive design Vehicle Gas
 
#346 ·
the next series of pictures is the installation of the rear-fill speakers, Brax ML3. I had these speakers already so I figured I may as well just use them :) the panels where deadened more than the pics show and installed in the car.

I needed to fabricate up a simple adapter plate that i could attach to the panel in a non destructive manner. I could not use the VENZA mount since it was designed for a smaller speaker. I am fine with this as rear-fill in my use-case is for a diffuse sound field effect so pointing into the rear cabin instead of directly at the front in fine and most likely preferable anyhow. My rear-fill is set up as center channel minus left and center channel minus right using the virtual; channels architecture of the Ultra. The Helix c-fore is driving rear-fill , yes it is stupid overkill but i already have it so......... 😁.



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