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So i was trying to find some good information about how to properly install components. I was reading through build logs (including Shizzzon's 25 page one) and every time it came to their set-ups, it seemed as if they gave only 1/2 the information. I have a Boston Acoustic Pro 60se set i would like to use as my front stage. I also have damplifier pro from Second Skin. My question is rather elementary and i apologize for that... but what's the best way to put them in? I would like to avoid the speaker pod approach. I've heard so many different things. Should i make a 3/4" MDF ring and mount the speakers to those? I just honestly have no clue here. And tweeters should be mounted in A pillar, right? surface mount or flush mount? or should they be right there with the woofer? Does crossover location matter?

any help is greatly appreciated. they will be powered by a Alpine 3522s until i can afford a SAX125.2.

thanks alot! :woot:

oh!!!!! also something that came to my mind...

i was EXTREMELY surprised when i came to the "how to" section and found that there wasn't a pinned page of "how to build a subwoofer box". I think that information would be extremely helpful and wouldn't take one of the masters here too long to create. I would do so myself, but seeing that i've only built one box... i don't think i would give the best information. Just a simple guide of how thick of wood to use, how to do bracing, when bracing is necessary, t-nuts, polyfill, silicone sealant, maybe even resin. I know i would have greatly appreciate it when i built my box which i made a FEW mistakes on. ha.

Edited by Frostedflakejake

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Make speaker rings out of MDF. Mount your mid in those. The tweeter is going to be subjective and you should experiment with many different mounting locations using Velcro to see where you like them.

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okay thats what i thought about the rings.. how many? should i use as many as i can without having the speaker bulge out of the kick panel?

and thats what i thought about the tweets, is there any special place they should be pointed? to center of vehicle? center of front seats? left one to driver and right one towards passenger?

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Make speaker rings out of MDF. Mount your mid in those. The tweeter is going to be subjective and you should experiment with many different mounting locations using Velcro to see where you like them.

If mounting them in the door than I suggest you use the plastic that kitchen cutting boards are made of, using mdf in the doors may be bad if moisture gets in there causing mdf to weaken and expand. I use plastic on my mdf rings, hope this helps.

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oh Jay-cee that is a very very important aspect..

so where else could i mount them if not there??

and i would like to use MDF cause i have some extra laying around.. ha can i just.. wrap it plastic?? or does that not work? something tells me it doesn't. ha

but the cutting board material is a great idea! thanks!

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If you want, there is this stuff called plast-dip which you can use to coat the rings. You can buy it at pretty much any hardware store, in the paint section.

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i'll be heading to the hardware today =]

sounds like a great idea. thanks!!

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oh Jay-cee that is a very very important aspect..

so where else could i mount them if not there??

and i would like to use MDF cause i have some extra laying around.. ha can i just.. wrap it plastic?? or does that not work? something tells me it doesn't. ha

but the cutting board material is a great idea! thanks!

I forgot what you can use to waterproof mdf but it is floating on this forum somewhere if you want to use mdf (just make sure you treat it before putting it in your doors).

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yeah i'm going to go with resin, i found some in the garage.

so anyone, how many rings should i use? just one? or as many as i can fit?

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can anyone give me a time estimate for this install? the power, rem, rca's, and ground wires for the amp are already run. i need to put in the speakers, crossovers, and run the speaker cables. I want to get it done later tonight but i can't drive my car with no door panel if i don't finish. how long did it take you guys to do it?

also, any response on the crossover location question?

and i have to install sound deadening on the doors as well!

Edited by Frostedflakejake

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Crossover locations are usually determined after you install them, usually if you pick some now it will change once installed.

Nobody can give you a time limit, since it can vary on a number of things: experience, ease or difficulty of what you are doing, if all the tools are there in front of you, how easy or hard it is to navigate through your car. I would say no more than 1-2 hours at the most but it depends if your run into problems and what not.

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how do i attach the MDF rings to my car???

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You can check my build log after this weekend as I'm going to re-vamp mine if you want some ideas and can wait that long. I'll be using angled rings made of two pieces of mdf glued together, dipped in fiberglass resin, and screwed to the door using drywall screws with non-hardening clay under and around the baffles. I'm also using angled baffles to see if I can get the system to image better, if not, I'll go back to a flat baffle.

I'll be sure to try to get pics of inside the door where I put sound deadener. This was all done before I found out the "proper" way to do the job, so there is a lot of overkill and wasted material I'm sure. At least the result ended up the same, I just found out too late that there's a better way. There's lots of good info here as the above posts show. Good luck with the job and be sure to let us know what worked for you.

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Deft sanding sealer will seal mdf.

As for how thick, more important is how big. The more mass and more surface area it covers the better.

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so M5, are you suggesting a baffle instead of rings? I'm confused to as how else i would cover more surface area.

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The number of ways you can integrate components into your car or truck is pretty much only bound by your imagination. Sure, there are basic guidelines and positions which will give best effect, most of which can be found around the forums/build logs. If you are simply using an MDF ring to space the speaker out from the door, there are numerous ways to attach it.

If the section of your door is plastic, once you cut the hole out and properly prep the surface the ring can be bonded directly onto the door, secured with hardware like screws, or fiberglassed in. As far as blending the ring into the rest of your door (assuming you don't want an eyesore) you could prep and apply some body filler around the ring, and then either cover the affected area with some sort of material (carpet, vinyl, crocodile ;)) or you could simply paint it.

For example, I have very little clearance behind my doors (anything but shallow mount speakers will come in contact with the window glass) and I didn't have any room for the kick pods that are popular in trucks, so I came up with a creative solution. Yours doesn't have to be anything this drastic just throwing it out there as an example.

My stock speaker was behind the carpeting on the door (5 1/4" dia) and the tweet was mounted in a strange spot, mid-door (just behind the upper lip of the pod you see). So I integrated a pod into the A-pillars and aimed the 6 1/2"s for optimum staging... it's not perfect, I don't claim to be perfect at anything but I don't think they came out too bad

DCP_0059-1.jpg

DCP_0060-1.jpg

DCP_0061-1.jpg

And if you need any help fiberglassing just shoot me a PM or check around the forums... I did fiberglass work on aircraft for 3 years :)

Edited by CadillacMatt

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Baffle, bunch of rings, anything solid and massive. In my truck I had no space for a baffle so a ring was all I used, but I added mass and isolation with modelling clay. Plenty of methods of doing this, but it will depend on the space you have.

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