[simplicityinsound]

Hey all, don't be deceived by the title of this thread, the truck was here for a whole three weeks, its just that the audio portion wasnt super fancy.

The truck unfortunately was a victim of a break in, so we repaired a lot of the damaged dash pieces, integrated a full compustar alarm/remote start with GPS tracking and installed various other pieces as well. that took quite a bit of time...but of course, this log will focus purely on the audio stuff

I build the amprack and sub enclosure, Joey handled everything else

lets start with the goals:

1. repair broken dash items, install pioneer headunit and integrate a switch panel with customer supplied switches (will be used for exterior flood lighting later)

2. improve up on the OEM Bose system, nothing too fancy here, just clean and simple

3. keep everything audio related INFRONT of the third row seats, in other words, all the major components such as subs and amps had to go under the 2nd row seats.

lets get started.

the signal starts with a pioneer 8400 double din headunit, this is actually a whole new dash bezel:

we replaced the spot left by the oem dvd player and as directed by the customer, installed a switch panel using switches he supplied, we also integrated the alarm LED and the remote bass knob for the arc amps into it:

and here it is all switched on:

and the entire new dash all together:

we also installed a rear view camera so he can look back, it shows the bottom edge of his spare tire, which is the furtherest point on the vehicle, along with his hitch:

here ist he harness work that Joey did, and as any one with experiences in the late model GM cars know, there are quite a few modules and harnesses

here is the fabrication process for the switch panel, the main panel was built out of ABS, with square holes routed out, and then textured and the switches, bass knob and led installed:

and here is the organization of the wiring behind the panel:

the front stage received a pair of Illusion Audio Luccent L6 componet sets, with the ample amount of jute on the GM doors, the speaker was installed in the stock location:

while the flimsy stock door panel recelived its attention of STP damper to reduce resonance:

and the door back together:

the back door got a set of illusion audio Electra 5.25" coaxials, a similar process was used to install them and the door card sound proofed:

turning back to the pillars, the Luccent tweeters were installed int he factory a pillar locations:

and a quick shot showing the wiring of the tweeter via new speaker cables:

 

[simplicityinsound]

moving to the back, as mentioned, the customer dictated that all the major component had to go under the rear seat, which wasnt the easiest thing to do...but here is the view normally, as you can see, both seats are in their full down position, nothing showing at all:

lift up the seat backs and you see a single continuous rack running the entire width of the space, but careful as to now go too far out to be easily visible when standing next to the vehicle with the door open, three separate cutouts are featured on top of the rack:

remove those covers and here is what you see, two Morel Primo 8" subs on the driver side, trimmed in black vinyl, while two mesh grilles with arc audio emblems reside over two arc audio Xdi amps, chosen for their diminutive size and power output, the dip in the middle of the rack accommodates the separation of the two seat cushions, where a hard metal frame means it must be kept at a lower level than the rest of the structure:

lets take a closer look at the construction of this amp rack/sub enclosure.

first thing i did was to ensure the entire structure is well anchored to the floor, so i trimmed the carpet and added a total of 8 quater inch rivet nuts to the metal floor:

then, i bolted 3 pieces of 3/4" mdf to those spots, acting as foundational support for the entire amp rack/enclosure:

then, i built the structure out of mdf, with proper platforms and supports, and also made the bottom of the sub enclosure out of fiberglass to gain additional mounting depth and air space. note part of the box runs under the amp supports for additional air space as well. rough estimate is around .65-.6 cub ft total of sealed space:

then, with the top of the enclosure secured and wrapped in black vinyl, i maked that part off and then sprayed the rest of the structure with truck bedliner, this is to ensure that no bare mdf is visible through any gaps on the floor, even if you duck down and stared at it:

then i bolted the whole thing to the support platforms via threaded inserts, and wired it all up. wiring this whole thing was perhaps one of the most challenging parts of the entire build, making sure all the wires is properly secured, ziptied, but still remains totally within the confines of the top cover, and not visible at all when done...but after about 5 hours, i managed to do it. two xdi amps power the entire system, an 805 sends 80 watts to the rears and also to the tweeter (front stage bi-amped via the illusion passives), 400 watts to the subs, while an 804 is bridged sending 240 watts to the front midbasses:

here is the top cover, built out of 3/8" MDF:

and wrapped in a single piece of black carpet:

and then, using the log plates i removed from the top of the XDi amps and a piece of grille mesh, i made little grilles with the arc logo plates:

and finally, here are all the press fit grilles, all vented, before and after carpet:

so thats it, overall it sounds pretty good, must much better than the stock bose, the illusions, even run passively, is very natural and smooth without much of any tuning ability. we could have obviously gotten better bass response with a bigger sub system in the back, but for where it is, its not bad, provide solid low frequency reinforcement while sacrificing no storage space

cheers!

Bing

 

[optimaprime]

Nice and simple looks great !

 

[Mathematics2]

Probably the cleanest looking "under the backseat" install I've ever seen, nice work!

 

[reithi]

Awesome....considering the space you had to work with for amp/subs rack.

 

[Lunchbox12]

You guys fit a lot of stuff under that seat. Great job getting it all in so nicely!

 

[mattyjman]

really nice work bing!

 

[simplicityinsound]

really nice work bing!

thanks matty, your new build looks great!

 

[JayinMI]

Nice work. That RivNut tool is your new favorite, isn't it? lol
Every one of your build threads I read makes me want one too.

Jay

 

[simplicityinsound]

it is indeed, ever since shin john introduced me to it a year and a half ago...

 

[Sine Swept]

I got me a riv nut tool - like I needed another excuse to buy more tools!

I think I will start custom building them, with built in palm sanders, know anyone that might want one?

 

[mrmill]

This is one of my favorite installs by you guys....hats off for getting all of that under the seat. Question, why not a downfire enclosure?

 

[simplicityinsound]

This is one of my favorite installs by you guys....hats off for getting all of that under the seat. Question, why not a downfire enclosure?

we toyed around with that idea, but to me, a proper downward firing would requires about 1.5" or so from the cone to the floor, with it being so tight under there, there was no way we could have done that, maybe .75" or so at the most and that seemed a bit too little.

b

 

[[email protected]]

Mrmill, thanks! there would have been no room. As it was, the parts JUST fit under the seat. Downfiring the subs would have required an additional amount of clearance that we just didn't have..

 

[mrmill]

we toyed around with that idea, but to me, a proper downward firing would requires about 1.5" or so from the cone to the floor, with it being so tight under there, there was no way we could have done that, maybe .75" or so at the most and that seemed a bit too little.

b

I'm gonna have to reevaluate my subbox now...I know I don't have that much under mine. I really wanted something stealth but if I'm leaving quality on the table then I'll be running ssomething else.

 

[[email protected]]

mrmill, try and get the sub(s) in the back...

 

[mrmill]

mrmill, try and get the sub(s) in the back...

Yep....in the corner where some have a factory sub....gonna get 2 10's in there tho...yay lol

 

[georgerocco]

If you have the spare on the back of the rig, you could build a box that would fit two tens and put it in the drivers side rear window area

 

[georgerocco]

Btw, nice build Bing. Gives me some ideas for the next H2!

 

[req]

i wish i could work at your shop haha