Subwoofer Installation

[79cutlas]

HA! I figured I would start another thread, why not.

so now that I got the wheels, I needs a little mroe bass. Even though I'm really happy with the H/K thats in the car. I ordered a Kicker SoloBaric 10" and a MB Quart Premium 1200w amp.

Here's the deal. Stay AWAY from dealerscostcaraudio.com. Its been a week since I placed my order and I still dont even have a tracking number, I got an email finally saying that the MB quart amp was out of stock, but they didnt want to ship the sub without the amp. Thats a phone call or email I should have gotten the day after I placed my order, not the WEEK after. But thats a different story.

Well, the box is done...

Used Stone texture from Lowes for the amp rack and sub face.

After carpet (excuse the glue, it came off when it dried but I just grabbed the box without thinking lol)

Top cover, I think I'm gonna do something else, but I still have it as an option.





I got a sheet of plexi yesterday, I think I'm gonna try to make a plexi cover for the top with a cutout grill for the sub to pass though like a normal box and not a bandpass.

[Spart]

Looks nice! Is that going to sit on top of the rear seats folded, or are you going to finagle it into the trunk area somehow?

I like the H/K in Blue Meanie quite a bit, a lot like the Bose system that was in the RX-8 but not quite as loud. Then again, the RX-8 had 9" subs in both front doors.

[79cutlas]

pictures might make it look bigger than it is....(haha, yeah, there's LOTS of jokes in that phrase)

but the box is 10" tall, with the face and amp rack being 7 1/4" tall. its 12 1/4" deep and 30" wide. It will fit in the "boot" area with the seats up and not even be as tall as the rear cargo light. The mounting depth on the sub is 6"1/4" inches and the airspace is .95 cu ft3.

Its nowhere near the size of the last box I built for my Sonoma, 2 15"s in a ported box that....
thing weighed over 200lbs with the subs in it. I had to take both seats out and the center console (after I got rid of that hideous tan interior) to get the box in the truck.




I still kick myself for selling that truck....Its for sale again, I just dont think I want it back after a 17 year old has been driving it for a year...
http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n92/ ... I_0582.flv

And a little video of what was in the front grill. I've always liked doing odd things to cars...I loved my police strobes, but my source has dried up on on them. You can really tell the difference between a quality strobe light and the crap they sell in the parts store (headlight strobes vs the blue and reds)

[kenshin138]

Good looking mini-truck.

[79cutlas]

Good looking mini-truck.

Thanks...I REALLY might try to buy it back, but I'd get a huge fit from my wife.

[LiLReD1]

Get some high grit sand paper for the plexiglass behind her MINI logo's so the MINI logo's can *glow*.

[79cutlas]

Get some high grit sand paper for the plexiglass behind her MINI logo's so the MINI logo's can *glow*.

Now there's an idea! I like it. I might not actually use that top though. Im going to make another one tomarrow that will be ALL plexiglass. I'm going to try to cut a square above the subwoofer (whenever the MFer gets here along with my amp). But I was thinking of getting a Cooper S sticker made, cut use it was a template to paint the bottom side of the plexi so the red comes through the clear part that says "Cooper S", but I might try your idea and just scuff the bottom of it then peel the sticker so the whole thing glows...

[79cutlas]

I must vent a little bit...

I ordered my subwoofer and amp from "Dealerscostcaraudio.com" on Mar. 7th.

They STILL havnt shipped my order. I've got several pages of emails between me and the "sales manager".

1st, they didnt have my MB Quart amp in stock...a week AFTER I ordered it.
2nd. They said they would replace it with another amp they had in stock with the same dimensions, a Soundstream Picasso, 1000D. It was $40 more than I paid, but they said not to worry about it.
3rd, then sometime around the 17th of the month I ask again where my stuff is, they dont have either amp. He said it will ship on Tuesday Mar 23'd.
4th, Yesterday I wrote an email asking for tracking numbers, it STILL hasnt got there, its not shipped, more problems with the amps....I've asked and asked for a refund. He said the subwoofer "processed out"..whatever that means so I sent him a reply..

"I'm not sure what "processed out" means, unless it means it took so damn long to ship Kicker doesnt make them anymore" and demanded a refund again.

I'm seriously thinking of calling Visa in the morning and telling them what happened. Even if they did ship the sub at this point, I'll just deny it when it gets here. They're not worth my trouble to deal with.

Soo, should I call and tell Visa there's a "theft" on my card since I paid for things almost a month ago that were said to "ship within 24 hours"?

[Minidave]

No. it's not a theft, it's a disputed contract. Tell your credit card company (in writing, not just by phone) the invoice is in dispute, that way they won't pay the stereo guys, and if they have already, they'll charge it back till the dispute is resolved.

Then don't pay the bill when it comes.

If you get the stuff, don't accept delivery, just send it back. Send another email to the company indicating that you're cancelling the order due to non-performance and that any items sent will be returned at their expense, and copy the credit card company.

Then go find a real company to deal with instead of some fly by night internet company. The cheapest price is not always the best deal, is it?

[79cutlas]

No. it's not a theft, it's a disputed contract. Tell your credit card company (in writing, not just by phone) the invoice is in dispute, that way they won't pay the stereo guys, and if they have already, they'll charge it back till the dispute is resolved.

Then don't pay the bill when it comes.

If you get the stuff, don't accept delivery, just send it back. Send another email to the company indicating that you're cancelling the order due to non-performance and that any items sent will be returned at their expense, and copy the credit card company.

Then go find a real company to deal with instead of some fly by night internet company. The cheapest price is not always the best deal, is it?

Well, they finally cancelled my order and started a refund. The problem was I think they just didnt have what they said they did in stock, they've been around quite a while was recommended by people who have ordered before and were happy...I just had enough. I'll have a refund next week and can order from someone else.

[Minidave]

Good deal, glad you got it sorted out then without having to get your CC company involved...

[79cutlas]

Good deal, glad you got it sorted out then without having to get your CC company involved...

Lets hope, they said they initiated a refund and its on Visa to complete and get it back to me. So in a week or so as long as my debit card is happy, I'll be happy.

I decided to go with Onlinecarstereo.com since I've ordered from them before and was happy with them then. I got the same equipment for the same price, so all should be well. I did downsize the amp to a Soundstream picasso 750W since the Kicker L5 is only a 900W max, 450w RMS sub. I figured even turned down the 1000w might be too much.

Now I'm just waiting to install it!

[79cutlas]

well put my subs in today, only have the bass controller left to hide so excuse that one wire you can see.

The Yard store is awesome. Got the Carpet, lexan, and wiring connectors there.
FINALLY got my subs and amps delivered...after a month of dealing with DealerCrapCarAudio.com







This was the origonal top cover I made, but I think I like my 2nd idea better

fits perfectly, even had room to leave the stock jack and tool kit. Hits hard with no rattles so far.

[79cutlas]

Is it that bad guys??? Not one comment huh..

[Minidave]

Well, what would you like us to comment on, since we can't hear it?

Sounds great to me!

I must be too old, since I don't understand how you guys can stand to be in a car with the bass thumping so loud and all the outer panels of the car rattling in time. It would kill my ears.....

Mind you, I don't mind the thump from a big V-8......

[kenshin138]

Looks good for the most part. I'm kind of past my big speaker box days I guess, the loss of any usable rear space is just annoying to me now. That said, it seems a might loud/much for such a small interior I'd think. I had a 600x1 MTX amp pushing a 12" Xtant sub in my Matrix when I had it. Kept the sub at around half gain as anything more was just too overpowering for the car since it was a hatch.

I would love to put a nice solid 8" in our Honda Fit, but would want a stealth box or something that let me still use the hatch. My MINI is a convertible so I can't really lose any of my tiny trunk space. The HK I have is enough for me, but I wish it was louder with the top down.

Are you going to do any sound deadening on the car at all? With the way MINI's seem to rattle stock I can only imagine how bad it will be with a huge sub booming.

[79cutlas]

it doesnt rattle at all. Its not terribly loud either. I've got the gains turned down to where it add bass in the low end without drowning out the entire HK system.