Finally finishing the sound system today! Subs/AMP Installed

[saj3n]

The car is at the stereo shop, gracing their garage with the beautiful E34. :) I finally decided to dust off the subs i've had in my basement (new) for a month, and get them installed. They are 2 Alpine SWR-1242D's and are going to be powered by a Hifonics Brutus BXI1206D Mono Block Class D 1200 watt amp. I figured I might as well go the whole 9 and get a custom box made. This box will match, as close as possible, the interior lining of the trunk. I'm know that I will rarely play this thing at full volume, or anywhere near there, while in the car. I just dropped it off, so with the custom box, and sub/amp wiring, it should be done by 3pm (right around the time I need to go to work). But hopefully I'll get it a bit sooner and snap some pics for you guys. :) Wish there was a way to capture the bass, and shake your screens with it. :-P

[angrypancake]

ooohhhh I wanna see pictures of this

[saj3n]

I hope they mount the amp where I told them to, I really don't want it mounted on the box... But we'll see. I opted to have them mount the same place the factory amp was mounted (i removed some time back). It would be nice and out of sight, until I measure and cut a rectangle out to let the illuminated "HiFonics" blue led light/logo shine through. :) But if they mount on the box.... I'll just take it off and move it :)

[ILoveMPower]

The factory amp is behind the driver-side taillight, whats behind the rear seat in your trunk is the car phone reciever, if I'm not mistaken.

[saj3n]

Yes, I was going to mount in the trunk, behind the drivers side tail light. :) I had that removed a while back when trying to figure out what the problem was with my speakers. Ended up bypassing that amp, and wiring all 6 speakers (+4 tweeters) to the head unit. Works just perfect! :-D

[Incantation]

i hope they port it through the ski hole and make sure the ports are at least flush with the hole itself.. even a 1-2 inch recess will leave a lot of the bass captured in the trunk.

i mean.. with those subs and that amp you will still have the juice but .. it just amazes me how much that trunk muffles sound. i removed all my sound-deadening lining behind the seats and the back dash.. and it made no difference.

alternately i have heard that porting in the direction of the rear of the car somehow makes the bass louder. that's how i have it in my 850 but i'm running two completely different setups (more juice in 850) so it's not a fair comparison

anyway.. hope it works out well for u

[GoldenOne]

how much is a custom box gunna run you???

[Thayne]

ooohhhh I wanna see pictures of this

Same here.

[saj3n]

Not too much, $240, $90 more than the pre-fab box I was going to pick up.

[saj3n]

I was working on trying to pop that metal plate for the ski hole out, but worked on it for a while and couldn't get it out. Any ideas on what to try? In my 89 525i, the ski hole was free, and made SOOO MUCH difference when the arm rest was down, opposed to closed. But I tried for about an hour, and couldn't really get it to budge loose at all.

[saj3n]

Just went by there, I think they are carpeting the box right now, didn't see about the amp... I like that they are takin some time for the box though. :)

[632 Regal]

I used a screwdriver and hammer to pop the metal tabs, quite sharp when done so be careful.

I was working on trying to pop that metal plate for the ski hole out, but worked on it for a while and couldn't get it out. Any ideas on what to try? In my 89 525i, the ski hole was free, and made SOOO MUCH difference when the arm rest was down, opposed to closed. But I tried for about an hour, and couldn't really get it to budge loose at all.

[saj3n]

I had that idea... sorta... Hammer = Hand, I'll try that tonight, or first thing in the morning.

[angrypancake]

I had that idea... sorta... Hammer = Hand, I'll try that tonight, or first thing in the morning.


5lb handheld sledge. give it some nice whacks and it'll be gone.

[Thayne]

Quick noob question, what does removing the metal plate for skis do?

[angrypancake]

it allows more bass to enter the cabin from a subwoofer setup

[Thayne]

it allows more bass to enter the cabin from a subwoofer setup

Nice! I might have to do this as well. :D

[saj3n]

I need NO MORE BASS IN CABIN!!!! I may just leave it as is! OMG! I will be DEAF in NO TIME!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, so I lowered the subs, they are getting a -4 output from the headunit to the amp, (max is +/- 8). I turned my stereo to volume 10 (max is 30).... It was a good thing I had my seatbelt on! I was nearly pushed into the streeing wheel (not really but yea...) This setup is CRAZY!!!! These subs hit SOOO HARD!!!! Almost TOO hard! But get this, NO DISTORTION AT ALL!!!! I turned it up to 18....max I could stand while in the car, and these things were pounding! I started to hear quite a bit of rattling at first, and was a lil dissapointed.... :( .... Until I looked in my rearview and see my two umbrellas resting behind the rear passenger seats jumping all over the place! Moved them to the floor, rattle GONE! Surprisingly, with all the bass, at volume 10, there is no significant rattling outside of the car either! My 89 would die at volume 3, would rattle itself to death!!!

The custom box isn't sooo bad... :( Expected it to look a bit nicer... but hey.. it sounds great! I'll maybe do a little more to it later on... (maybe I should've went with black carpeting for the box to make it stand out a bit... but if I do decide to do this later on... I'm sure I can lay some carpet on a box. :-P

Here are a few pics. (car is a bit dusty from all of the saw dust from the box cutting).

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/saj3n/Subs/DSC06343.jpg
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b203/saj3n/Subs/DSC06342.jpg

One thing I noticed is how BIG my spare tire seems to be... I might have to let out a bit of air. It elevates about 1.5-2inches higher than the trunk bed.

[Digita1 Ecstasy]

Wow, those are big, looks like it barely fits in the trunk. Do the 12's drown out the sound from the tweeters and the other mid range speakers in the cabin? Or are they upgraded as well. Box looks nice.

[saj3n]

Actually with this deck, Pioneer something (cant remember off hand) has an outstanding equalizer! it's great!!!Does not drown out, can adjust sub volume/frequency from the deck itself. SO in essence, I can lower sub volume, raise speaker volume and sould will be equal. This is the best setup I've put together/heard in a long time!

[Thayne]

Looks good I might put my 12" sub back in my car.