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Austin863

2005 Subaru Forester Build Log

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96267E25-F880-498F-9625-D2E82039E75E.thumb.jpeg.41e63af1cf0aee55862068adb6dc2a45.jpegWell, well, well, Look what the cat dragged in. super surreal to be back on the forum after pretty much a friggin decade.

 

it’s nice to see most of y’all are still active here! Here’s the current build in the works for my 2005 forester.

Plan/currently installed:

-6.5 door upgrades (2 evil 6.5 up front paired to some evil tweets|2 coaxial alpine typeS in rear doors. Most likely going to make custom crossovers for the front)

-1 Sundown Sax100.4 

-Sound deadening on the inner door skins removed all plastic lining on door skins aswell.

-old ass pioneer Bluetooth double din head unit from 2012

On the way to me:

-1 SSA Evil 15” woofer d1 probably running on a half ohm to whatever amp I decide on.

-Amp TBD and Currently taking suggestions(3-400 target price range)

-1 ported enclosure tuned to roughly 30-31hz

objective of this build is to be a SQ monster with the capability to be Very LOUD and lots of pressure.

I got this car in a trade and have had to do a few maint repairs to it. But this is exactly the build I was thinking about when looking for this car. So I’m suuuuper stoked and have been brewing this build up for a while now. Feel free to ask questions and leave feedback on whatever!! 
 

Feels good to be back!!

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Nice, can't wait to see the progress!

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Welcome back! Can't wait to see your build progress. I have a 2012 Subaru Forester and did almost the exact same thing (evil tweets in the A-pillar, 6.5 Evils in front and rear doors ran off SSA IC150.4) but have a SSA Icon 12 in the cargo area. That Evil 15" is going to destroy your car, lol.

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On 2/3/2023 at 9:04 PM, firey_kimchi said:

How's the progress coming? 

Hey Buddy! I will be posting an Update here shortly! Thanks for inquiring currently sending Photos to computer! :)

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!!!! INCOMING !!!!

Build Log and Updates!!

 

So, I finally decided on an amp, the sub arrived, my wires were ran, door speakers installed. lets get to it.

 

First off, I began building my box, after hours of trying to find some not so outrageously expensive MDF. Which, to my disdain, I couldn't find. So I just went to lows and got 2 sheets at f****ng $60 a pc.

anyways, I inqured with my Uncle Neal about his old evil box that was KILLER on your face. After getting the schematics, I got to work. Overall about 5.5^cuft and tuned around 30-31 hz we have our ready to test enclosure.

 

Measure twice cut once was used several times before building the box. as per my luck shit usually doesn't work out when its supposed to :lol:

 

The amp I ultimately decided on, was the Ruthless 2300.1. I couldn't find an amp that I was willing to drop a decent chunk on, that I really liked until I found this. Rated at roughly 1700w rms @ 2ohm (d1ohm Evil 15) and 3300w rms @ 0.5 ohm. it was pretty much the sweet spot for power I was really looking for. I picked up some dual 1/0 terminals from amazon. and a pack of 350a ANL fuses (Basically in home solar power fuses). paired with my 2 batteries with about 195ah (if i remember correctly) should be a sufficient amount of power bus to be stable at 0.5 ohm. SO FAR SO GOOD! 

 

REMOVING AND REINSTALLING THIS SUB IS A PITA!!! lmfao, it is SO heavy. its given the rear end of my Forester about 1.5-2" of suspension sag... (0.0) HOLY F.

 

anyways it was gonna be some time before I got all the finishing touches done. but I had the rest of the components installed already so lets put the sub in and get it somewhat dialed. 

 

WOW. Its brutal, and I still haven't broken it all the way in yet... Clip light on the bass knob comes in handy!(I'm known to be a little rough of stuff :P)

 

Soon, I Started working on my door pods. I HATED the butcher job I did on the plastic, but the evil 6.5's and the Subaru Window regulator/supports were not gonna get along. I went with a slightly tapered design and tried to follow the lines of the door as much as possible. Originally wanted to Glue them. But There is a slight slop at the bottom of the door card that wouldn't allow conformity of the wood. So I just grabbed some 3/8 self tappers and self tapped it to the door card. I also couldn't find anywhere practical to put my tweeters and I had already done dmg to the door cards. So f**k it we will put them on the door cards and the perfect pocket on the back to situate the newest Evil Crossovers from SSA!!

 

After doing that I ordered the carpet for my box, and also carpeted the false floor. oh yeah, I had to make a false floor in order for the hardware in the trunk to be able to support the box, battery, sub and amps.(Ugh) I also bought some Iconic red paint for the port and back side of the box. I went with Bahr Acrylic paint, High gloss deep base. and Crimson Red Paint code. 

 

Final product is incredibly satisfying! Sounds absolutely amazing in an "SQL" sense and will also get NUTTY and flex the actual hell out of my Subawu....

 

anyways feel free to ask questions, I cant think of anything else to add at the moment! here's a photo dump btw. ENJOY! :neil::neil:

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Very nice!!! Love the red port.

I feel ya on MDF prices. In Japan, sheets are smaller (3' x 6') and cost almost $80/sheet! I'm also looking forward to the release of the Evil crossovers. Where on the door cards are you going to mount the tweeters? I originally planned to mount mine on the door card but ended up getting some pods and put them on the a-pillar.

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3 hours ago, firey_kimchi said:

Very nice!!! Love the red port.

I feel ya on MDF prices. In Japan, sheets are smaller (3' x 6') and cost almost $80/sheet! I'm also looking forward to the release of the Evil crossovers. Where on the door cards are you going to mount the tweeters? I originally planned to mount mine on the door card but ended up getting some pods and put them on the a-pillar.

So on my cards. There is a netting for storage. I cut this out and put the bulk of the pod over where the storage area would have been. So it’s still there just without the net, and wood in its place. On the backside there is where I plan to mount the xovers. Pretty much the perfect spot. Because on the inside of the door cards I haven’t got much room to mount it.

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Dope build bro, that enclosure makes the 15” Evil look small 

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On 2/26/2023 at 11:22 PM, jcarter1885 said:

Dope build bro, that enclosure makes the 15” Evil look small 

Thanks bro! definitely the most meticulous I have ever been when doing a build.

I tried to be as accurate and careful as I possibly could.

I'm not super happy with the box honestly, due to shitty tools and not truly squared cuts on the wood. and my port is a little janky on the edges.

 But none the less it still slams.

I just will have to satisfy my inner perfectionist and rebuild it down the road when I have a table saw and proper squaring equipment that not harbor freight specials lmao... XD

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1 hour ago, Austin863 said:

Thanks bro! definitely the most meticulous I have ever been when doing a build.

I tried to be as accurate and careful as I possibly could.

I'm not super happy with the box honestly, due to shitty tools and not truly squared cuts on the wood. and my port is a little janky on the edges.

 But none the less it still slams.

I just will have to satisfy my inner perfectionist and rebuild it down the road when I have a table saw and proper squaring equipment that not harbor freight specials lmao... XD

The first box I ever built by myself was horribly constructed with uneven port and  bad cuts, but it slammed so I was happy. 

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On 3/2/2023 at 5:55 PM, Austin863 said:

Thanks bro! definitely the most meticulous I have ever been when doing a build.

I tried to be as accurate and careful as I possibly could.

I'm not super happy with the box honestly, due to shitty tools and not truly squared cuts on the wood. and my port is a little janky on the edges.

 But none the less it still slams.

I just will have to satisfy my inner perfectionist and rebuild it down the road when I have a table saw and proper squaring equipment that not harbor freight specials lmao... XD

Will you keep the same specs on the rebuild?

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23 hours ago, Aaron Clinton said:

Will you keep the same specs on the rebuild?

Yes, I’m going to be waiting some time to rebuild the box. I need to get the proper tools to cut sheeting precisely because as of right now. Just about all my cuts aren’t straight. I basically had to screw several trapezoids together and put a lot of tension on the box when doing so. AND almost all of my screws split nearly all the corners. I hate to have wasted the money on the MDF. But hey, I thought I had the right tools and stuff but turns out, I in fact, did not.

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23 hours ago, Aaron Clinton said:

Will you keep the same specs on the rebuild?

I will say this, as of right now I plan to use the same specs. However, Depending on how much room I have, I may do a 4th order. I don’t know yet though.

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I know a guy who has tools.

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