altoncustomtech

No videos, but I do have a few pictures of several of the different engines we have on the pipeline. http://s889.photobucket.com/user/altoncustomtech/library/Engines%20at%20my%20Work%20location

Very close, it's for a Clark TLA-8 Integral engine/compressor for natural gas compression on the natural gas transmission pipeline that I work for. They're rated for 2700hp, have a 17" bore and 19" of stroke which puts them right around 35,000 cu. in. of displacement. They're also a 2 stroke engine and run on the natural gas from the pipeline. An integral engine like these is referred to as such due to the fact the compressor connecting rods are integrated with the power piston connecting rods. They share journals on the same crank shaft.

Here, use one of these turbos. lol....

Also, where the port "T's" off on each side should be half the total width of the port. So if you have a 4" wide port each of the T's needs to be 2" wide. Also, FWIW every time I did one of these in years past the tuning always came out higher than calculated. I found some information where a person said to add that half width (2" as exampled above) to the port length to get the proper tuning. The couple I've done since then and the few I've designed for others seem to come out much closer to tuning using that little tidbit of information. I've yet to find any SOLID information as to calculating for these kinds of ports (everything you look up reads like you're supposed to use the calculated port length in this case) so I have no solid foundation on which to base this except for what little experience I've had doing it like this. Maybe others with more experience can and will chime in.

Well, about the only good option I seem to have is to fiberglass a baffle into each door panel with the tweeter at the top, midrange in the middle and the woofer at the bottom. If I do go this route I'll be building it so the bottom of the baffle is solidly mounted and sealed to the door. If luck is on my side (which it rarely is) I should even be able to angle everything for getting the drivers on axis. My only hitch at this point is whether or not to even do this much work to it now. We'll likely be getting another vehicle for the family in the next couple of years (the van has 194,xxx miles on it) so doing all this work would likely be short lived in it's usefulness. I might just do a baffle, flat with the door panel to make it much easier and quicker to do since I fully intend on dropping this set into whatever we get to replace the van. Ugh... decisions, decisions.... lol So, anyone other than Brad have experience with the set? Pictures of the install?

Well, a midst everything else that's going on around here, subwoofer enclosure, engine replacement, four wheeler repairs (minor), and WORK, the components in my wife's van have all but completely given up the ghost. I do have to say they hung in there for WAY longer than she, I or anyone else would have ever dreamed but everything wears out eventually. They've gotten to the point where they will cut out at high volumes for a short period of time then come back on and it's any combination of the drivers that do it. Just the one tweeter, or maybe both tweeters, or maybe both mids and the tweeters keep going, or sometimes it's a tweeter and a mid on one side or the other. The point is that they're about shot, lol. So, for any one of you who are married, were married, or at least in a long term committed relationship you know what I'm talking about when she walks up to you with that sweet look on her face and in a very sweet voice asks about how long it would take to do something for her, wanting the answer first. Then she plays with her hair, and does all the cutest things possible while explaining that she would like to have that thing put at the top of the priority list. All of us who've been there can see it coming a mile away and most of us know exactly what that answer is, lol. That's where I found myself today. First she started talking about all the trouble with the Hifonics components, then she started asking about the new ones, and now I've agreed to figure out how to get them put in as soon as possible with the least amount of down time (cuz she's gotta have her music when driving) possible. Yay..... LOL So here I am, online looking for installation ideas and techniques, trying to figure out the best way to install these without taking forever. Not an easy task with any set of components or speakers, but with this set, this woman, and this vehicle it's even more challenging. Here's a quick pick of the set when I had it out earlier taking some measurements and trying to get a good grasp on how the hell to go through with the install.

OK... shoot....

I believe you definitely made the right move. We've been slamming on our pair of Q twelves for about three years. Still tight and amazing sounding.

There, fixed that problem, lol.

Yep, me either. I read that Honda pulled that name back outta their bag of tricks just for this machine because of what it represented. It's a shame they're not going to use the same name after 2013. As for the enclosure comment, Thanks! Thank you, and so do I. I gotta get this thing back on the road. Whoa! You'll be right by the house! Only there for the day? Thank you!

Aside from a few little touch ups, etc. the enclosure is DONE!!! Now, all I gotta do is mount the sub and PR's, get them PR's tuned and it's good to go and wait for the engine to get put in, lol.

SSA Shirt Ideas ??

Awesome!! Thanks Mark, that's no problem. Not much use anyway at this point until I get the motor in the truck, lol.

He might have, but it's not showing I have any past orders so to the best of my knowledge (and poor memory) to have used it on. Maybe you guys have a better record?

That is strange, I will have to check your account. I don't think it transferred when the store was rebuilt or whatever happened right after I order the XCON.

With that type when you bolt it to the body it's grounded, but like any other ground you'll have to remove all the paint which can look a little unsightly due to the size. Also the surface needs to be as flat as possible for the best possible contact area. What exactly are you trying to do with your grounds? Those blocks work but they're not typically the best way to do it for any application IMO.

Ordered mine today! Couldn't use my store credit though....

no extra amp.... i checked all the connections today. i literally took everything out, wires and all, speakers, head unit, everything... then put it all back in. same problem. HOWEVER, the one and only thing i noticed was that the minotaur is grounded to the chassis rather than to the battery... is that OK? Typically not a good idea. That's how ground loops happen. Each amp should be grounded to the same point and when that's not possible then the grounds should be made common by connecting them together with a wire. What kind of vehicle is it? Some people were measuring nearly 100 ohms of resistance between any given point on the body/chassis and the ground post of the battery in GM vehicles awhile back. Factory grounds tend to suck no matter the manufacturer and if a piece of equipment is grounded directly to a battery and another to the chassis there's great potential there for potential and that will cause a ground loop.

ALRIGHTY THEN!!! Got the first application of bedliner on the box!! Could be all it needs, the primer really helped, time will tell. If it doesn't need another application of bedliner, then it's done!! Or pretty much so, the only thing left would be to apply it to the bottom (really no biggie), remove the tape covering the mounting locations and remove the protective film from the plexi windows. If it needs another application then that's no biggie either, it wouldn't be much if it did. I can practically see the XCON mounted now! Onto a few pictures. Damn it, I gotta get the engine in the truck so I can listen to the sub!! LOL I gotta figure out how to get the Jimmy hauled to work. All the guys said they'd help me get it changed out so I need to take them up on the offer ASAP. Figured I'd toss this on just for fun. Brand new 2013 Honda MUV700 Big Red. We just got it for work to do stuff around the stations and on the right of way. Took it for a couple hour long break in ride and I gotta say it's one hell of a nice machine!

Must be a difference in the orientation of the cabin and placement of the HU as I don't have any problems seeing mine.

GREAT! There's more power and flexibility for tuning in the thing than any HU I've used before. While it sure could have a few more amenities like seperate EQ for the high, mid, and low outputs, more EQ bands, and other such things it's still a plenty powerful unit. For the price I don't think there's another one on the market that can compete. I've been so glad I got that unit and put it in the truck. I can't wait 'til I get the new engine dropped into the truck so I can drive it again and see how the HU and everything else does fully active, which is my next step.

LOL, there isn't shit around here either. Every speaker I've bought in about the last ten years I've done so without ever hearing them before hand and in most all the cases they were brands that no one else around here had ever heard of. That goes for highs as well as subs. I live in a little town whose population is around 550. The two nearest cities are 11,500 and 18,700. Almost no one around here has any real clue what they're doing when it comes to audio. Anyplace that sells audio equipment only sells the most common brands and even then it's the cheaper ones except for Alpine, Kicker and Rockford. There's good reasons for that, but believe me, no one knows what "good" is when it comes to this hobby, not really. Believe me, I know all about not having brands and equipment locally to choose from. You'd be surprised what can be accomplished when you pay more attention to the installation of the speakers you use than to what brand they are or how much they cost. I mean, there is definitely equipment to stay away from but most models from reputable brands will give satisfactory results for the majority of people and exceed expectations when care is taken as to how they're installed and used.

There's a multitude of sets that fall in your price range. The most important thing to consider is the installation. You could buy the best speakers money can buy but if they're not properly installed and utilized then it was a waste of money. A solid mounting location, sound deadening, and although the hardest to do for most people but no less important is orientation or aiming. A great installation can make even a run of the mill set of speakers sound amazing.

The third coat of paint will be the last. When I looked at it this morning if looked perfect everywhere but a couple of really small places. Far too small to notice without really looking and there's no way they'll be noticeable through the plexi windows after the sub and PR's are mounted. The only thing I did with it today was sand the primer down smooth with 320 grit sand paper and covered the speakon connector, sub, and PR holes with tape to protect the paint when I go to apply the bed liner next week. Here's a few pics of the box getting ready for the bed liner. I don't think the difference in the surface of the primer is picked up by the camera. That's it until next week.

Well, this could be the last update for the paint. Got the third coat on today and it's looking really damn good at this point. I'll have to let it sit and cure overnight but I'll know tomorrow if it needs another coat or not. Hell, may just do a fourth for the fun of it, lol. I've found that in spots it still looks thin that it seems to have more to do with the brush strokes and angle of the light at this point. Like I said, I'll know for sure tomorrow but if it's not done it's awful damn close! The paint is just about too damn dark for a picture this far away in the daylight, but here's a shot of the whole box again anyway just for giggles. That's it for today. If the painting is done all that's left is to lightly sand the primer to smooth it out and start putting on the bed liner!