Subwoofer and amp install and Sound deadening.

[mickydoos]

So here goes. My own thread. It is still a work in progress so, with luck, the install will be completed on Sunday (27th March).

First off, the sound deadening I did back in October.

Here I used a total of six sheets of Silent Coat 4mm.

My gawd getting the door cards of is a pain!









Apologies for the small pictures, photobucket seems to drastically size down pcitures nowadays.

Anyway, here's what I started on Sunday...





Below you can see the wooden mounts where I'll be placing my amp.




Thats the lot so far. I did also place so noise barrier over the wheel arches but I need (and forgot to buy) some aluminium tape to seal it off. I've still got some more damping mat so I'm either gonna do the rear door or the boot lid, I havent decided yet

[merikiito]

Interesting thread, looks good so far.

[Ian-Highlander]

Good start, I still have all the sound deadening on my list to do lol

[alzsxi]

Looking good so far!

[mickydoos]

And finished it this sunday...

Very pleased with the result and the noise

Thanks to my dad for giving me a hand, whose hand coincidently appears in a pic or two.

Still need to do some fine tuning, adjusting of filters and the like.

I finished off the sound proofing by lining the Second Skin luxury liner with aluminium tape.



So first job to do was plumb the power wire from the battery to the boot...



Through the scuttle and firewall and into the glove box...





and then down the side...





Under the rear seats.



Note I used some spare garden hose to reinforce the cable where it'll sit against the metal. Not that I expected it to rub but you can never be too careful...

You'll also notice that in the middle there's a second fuse holder.

Please be warned. 17ft of power cable is NOT ENOUGH to wire an amplifier! Maybe in a Saxo but certainly not a Vectra! I found this out the hard way and had to nip down the road to my local audio shop and pick up another 7ft of wire...

anyhoo, into the back...



Now the RCA and remote wire. I've no idea why I didnt take a picture or two of my headunit but seeing as its not new it doesnt matter

Headunit out and remote wire fed through the dash and under the steering wheel.



Along the drivers side...



and into the boot. And here the amp and sub is ready for a test...



Amp in the mounted position...



I've also run the speaker wire down and round the wheel arch and gaffa taped down.

One final shot of the wiring before I stick the panel back.




Putting the side panels back on was a right pig of a job. Mainly because of the extra lining on the boot floor and arch was making it difficult. But, a bit of shifting it about (and thumping it) got it back in place.



Boot all back together...



The sub is bungied down at the mo, one across the top and one round the back. I may swap these out for ratchet straps at some point.

Annnnnd a picture of my sub from the drivers seat...



You may ask why I mounted the sub forward facing rather than rear facing.

Well...

1- I think the sub itself is safer from damage from other things poking about in the boot.

2- There was no noticeable difference soundwise either way.

3- Strangely it seems to fit better facing forward despite the rear of the box sloping the same way as the seat...

4- The speaker wire was only JUST about long enough to get across to the left. I figured that rather than stretching the cable it was just easier that way.

First impressions.

I was pretty blown away and I hadnt even touched the settings apart from turning the gain down initially. I tried several types of music, me personally I'm into rock and metal and gave that a blast.

Instantly heard the difference with the kick drums though sounded a notch muddy. Tweaking the subsonic filter up to about 40hz sorted that. Also bringing the LPF to around 120hz with a 5db ish boost at 80hz.

Next I tried some dubstep and drum and bass...

My. God. I think I was heard several counties over... It dropped incredibly low.

Absolutely LOVE it.

And the Luxury liner pro and sound deadening...

Initially I was underwhelmed by the LLP when I fitted it last weekend but now I've completed it it sounds muuuuch quieter. I'm not sure if it was putting the side panel on the right back on (I left it off for the week) or whether it was all the aluminium taping and sealing.

Motorway noise was reduced. Driving at 70 sounded a lot more like I was driving at 40-50ish.

And I didnt even isolate the spare wheel well nor the part of the boot by the seats (Where I've put my sub).

Overall.

Chuffed

[paul_sri150]

i have my sub in the same position

[mickydoos]

Okay, after having it for a few weeks now I'll take back what I said. It sounds MUCH better rear facing. So, swapped it round and had to take several notches off the gain

[bangty 1]

can i ask why added this stuff for???

[Marc Hutton]

Looking good Bud.

[mickydoos]

can i ask why added this stuff for???

Sorry, wah?