New Audio Endeavor on 4th Gen.

[swisstype]

Ok... Here is what I am doing. I am going to stick with the Big-A$$ Alpine and put it on the back of the back seat on the driver side - the 40 in the 60-40. I have wired it behind the seat and up into the ceiling and weather stripping, so as not to have power and rca and speaker lines in proximity. I already have this done. I figure I can leave enough play in the power and patches to still be able to move the seat back and forth.
Now I have Wet Okole Seat Covers, front and reat. I am dgoing to mount the amp OVER the seat cover but reinforce the connections holding it to the back of the seat board, so all you will see is AMP. Now, I had an idea, since I too use the storage capacity of this vehicle. I am building a small cover out of plastic and cover it with black neoprene, like the backs of my seats. I will then Velcro it over the amp, and will be able to remove it when I want. The cover idea is still tentative, but the best I dea I have now.
I have finished installing and wiring the HU and it looks pretty sweet. Next step is getting all the door panels off, speaker wire and dynamat. I will get that done tomorrow. From there, It will be the weekend before I have this finished. So far, Amp power and patched to HU done, HU installed and working, and some trim is off, some needs to be removed. I have some pictures now, but a partial would suck. Once I am fairly satisfied with my progress, I will upload some pics and show you all what I have done. Everybody has been super awesome on thsi forum helping me. I hope to be one of the T4R sages in the future and help some other lost souls!

 

[atomic punk]

Aw, come on... post in-process pics as you work!!!!

Sounds like you have a good plan. The amp cover/box is a good idea, and I wouldn't worry about the amp overheating either, it should be fine. But in the unlikely event that it goes into thermal overload with the cover on, you can make air vents and/or install small computer fans/blowers to move air.

 

[tarheeltp17]

If you are worried about overheating you should invest in a JL audio A-Series amplifier. Unlike most amps that cut off when they get to hot, the JL rolls back power until it can essentially produce full power again. The rollback is not a huge ammount... just enough to cool down and our ears are too dumb to notice the difference.

They are also coming out with HD amplifiers... full range class D... meaning highly efficient packing tons of power. The A-series will also be replaced by the G-series... basically same technology with new model numbers but pack a little more power.

 

[swisstype]

OK... Here are a couple in process:
1 st, I am placing my amp on the driver side rear seat back. I took everything off and you can see the power cable and the patches.

 

[swisstype]

I then ran the amp power cable OVERHEAD and then down the a Pillar into the grommet thatgoes through the firewall and then to my fusing for to the battery.

 

[swisstype]

I ran pacth cables for amp to hu in these trays under the trim

 

[swisstype]

OK... last one.
Here is the dash all pulled out. I learned a couple things:
1)My spotlight is super hot and Wet Okoles can burn, fortunately, the jsut seemed to smoke, no marks!
2) All the extra BS they sent me fo rthe mounting kit was crap. I took the mounting brackets off the stock HU, screwed them to the new HU, then cut the trim plate that goes on the face of the HU to match teh opening and voila, it was freakin awesome. I didn't need any of that other BS they sent. The wiring harness was the shiznit though.

 

[tarheeltp17]

Just so you know, subwoofers don't play frequencies that are generally associated with engine noise. Point being, you don't have to separate the RCAs from the power wire when installing a subwoofer. The only time I really ever do that is if I'm also putting an amp on the mids and highs and doing it all at once.

 

[atomic punk]

True dat, but I think he's only installing his 4 channel amp right now, so he needs to keep them separated (offpspring).

 

[swisstype]

[in best ed mcmahon voice] YOU ARE CORRECT! I am installing the 4 channel now, and if and when I decide to add a sub, I will remember that. I have installed a couple systems in my time, 2 for sure on my own, and I try to eliminate potential problems upfront, as opposed to trying to figure them out. Plus, everybody on here has been great help and personalities as well.

 

[atomic punk]

enuff of the mushy stuff...... stop typing and get back to work... I expect final-form pics before the end of the week.

 

[swisstype]

I put my dynamat in and am letting it sit tonight. Am spending some time with the wife. I think the weekend should be about the time to finish. I have been taking pics!

 

[swisstype]

OK.... Dynamat in around the speaker holes. I figured this would provide a nice surface for the adapters, both front and back. I will take what I have left over and strategically place it where it goes best. It is weird riding around in a vehicle with no panels in the front. You hear everything.
This picture is the wire fed through the grommet for teh driver side rear speakers. I could not get it through the actual tubing already there, so I cut holes in bothe grommets and fed the wire through. Once it is all together, I will shronkfit tubing around it and make it look factory.

 

[swisstype]

Netx pic is rear door with dynamat as well as teh speaker wire coming through. I am not leaving it there. I am just done for the day.

 

[swisstype]

Next pic. I made washers out of dynamat for contact with teh speakers and teh adapters. I am using Tacotunes 6x9 to 6.5 adapters on the front. Nice! I put dynamat on teh rear of teh speaker adapter as well, where teh contact point is the speaker to teh adapter to teh tacotune. Here:

 

[swisstype]

Here is what it will look like.

 

[swisstype]

Not the best pit here, but you can see the HU install. It looks like there is a gap on teh far side but that is a shadow. comments?

 

[mprsev]

Lookin good. Is there a speaker adaptor for the tweeters? How are you going to mount the tweeters for the rear?

 

[swisstype]

No tweeter adapters. I am making one for the front two to mount in place of the old. also, I am going to use a hole saw and flush mount the ones for the rear door speakers near the door handles. This isn't too bad to install overall. Mostly I have to break it up into pices to do this because of my shcedule, and I also don't want to rush this and make it be as clean as possible.

 

[swisstype]

OK... The speaker adapters that both Crutchfield sent as well as he adapters that came with teh Polk SPeakers were too much for teh front, so I directly mounted them to the tacotunes adapters. You will see this in the picture, sorta, and note that I made my tweeter adapters out of THICK MDF. Wasn't too bad, but mounting the flush mount cups in that was tough.