New car audio build.

seabeerob213

Had my "new" car for a little while now, and most of my parts have come in, so I've made some progress I stalling everything. Doing all new components front and rear, because I'm selling this car before I leave, and 4 working speakers is a better selling point than a good sounding 2 channel, and volume is a bit of the goal too, as 2 10s on 1950 rms is a lot of sub for 2 6.5s on 125 rms. Running alpine type gs in the doors, alpine type rs in a ported box, and an alpine ilx w650 for my head unit. Running nvx 16 awg silver tinned ofc speaker wires to the doors, to an NVX jad800.4 4 channel amp, and 8awg silver tinned ofc to the subs, from an NVX vad2700.1. the box isn't the greatest, the subs were bought with a box, and amp for about 2 bills on fb marketplace a coupe years ago. I rewired the box, 2ohm dvc subs, wired with the same 8awg, to a 2 ohm final impedance. Terminal cup sucked, but the hole is already there, so I put some bondo in to add some mass and stiffness, and cut out the spring terminals and replaced the with some copper cardas binding posts. Some wood glue and a couple deck screws fixed the rattley board in the port, and a bit of accoustic mat helps. Big 3 upgraded with 1 ought knu konceptz ofc for the power, and NVX silver tinned 1 ought for grounds. Should have enough of both to run to the trunk, so whichever one fits better will probably be what I run. Got the front speaks installed and big 3 done, with the head unit installed.

seabeerob213

seabeerob213

Amps are not wired yet, they're sitting behind my couch. I can't tell y'all how it sounds yet, sorry.

Clipdat

Nice work! Very neat and tidy wiring on the door. What kind of vehicle is it?

seabeerob213

Clipdat wrote: »

Nice work! Very neat and tidy wiring on the door. What kind of vehicle is it?

Thanks man, it's a 2005 mk2 ford focus 5 door hatch. It's euro specs, and they got the second gen well before the US.

Clipdat

Cool man, looking forward to some pics of the HU and sub box.

seabeerob213

Clipdat wrote: »

Cool man, looking forward to some pics of the HU and sub box.

The box will probably disappoint, I know almost nothing about it other than what ive done. But I'll do my best to get some pics. In my last car, I had it sounding fairly decent for not having any calibration tools.

joecoulson

Great thread! Looking forward to progression.

seabeerob213

Me too, mechanic taking his sweet ****$ time with the car, so it's been weeks since I touched it.

seabeerob213

Sorry for the mess, it's cleaned up now,

seabeerob213

She's in and done for now, gonna add rears soon.

Clipdat

Wow, massive box! That thing is gonna slam.

joecoulson

Yeah no doubt in that small hatch. 130db+ I’m sure.

seabeerob213

joecoulson wrote: »

Yeah no doubt in that small hatch. 130db+ I’m sure.

Not enough to blow the hair on my head around, but enough that my arm hair and the hair on the back of my neck will stand up.

Also have a gately audio flat pack box for a 15 coming, and if it fits, I'll have a 15 inch DDaudio redline 800 series in there. Although my trunk is till half way useable now, if I put that in there I lose the trunk entirely.

seabeerob213

Clipdat wrote: »

Wow, massive box! That thing is gonna slam.

Like WWE Monday night raw

seabeerob213

Clipdat wrote: »

Cool man, looking forward to some pics of the HU and sub box.

Here's the 10s in their box outside the car. Here's the 15 inch box sans sub. It's in the car now, sub bolted in with deck screws. Gonna paint the box with bedliner and mount the sub with threaded inserts. Got some more tuning and listening to do, but already, there's more bass, less punch, and a bit deeper sounding and feeling in the low end. I did dynamat the inside of the front baffle, and the wall directly behind the driver. Speaker gasket used. All I terminal wiring is silver tinned 8awg wire, and speaker cable is the same.

joecoulson

Coming along nicely

seabeerob213

Who needs trunk space

seabeerob213

Now I need more battery or more alternator, interior lights dim when cranked.

joecoulson

Yeah. Get a Yellow top Optima and maybe a 1 Farad cap

seabeerob213

I've got the biggest yellow top I could find, and full 1/0 big 3.

joecoulson

Lol! Yeah new alt then.

spongebobsquarepants

Does it just dim your lights at idle? You could maybe change the alternator pulley diameter to get more juice at lower rpm...

seabeerob213

spongebobsquarepants wrote: »

Does it just dim your lights at idle? You could maybe change the alternator pulley diameter to get more juice at lower rpm...

May try that, haven't checked with the engine revved up, and only notice it with cabin lights currently.

joecoulson

Good idea

CH46E

Those Type R subs are awesome! One of my faves. Looking good man.

seabeerob213

The type r are in a closet now with the DD in the car 🤣. Love the type r, they're staying with me and probably replacing my polk 12 in my car back home.

fish357

Nice work, looks good. You may have a Hitachi 80 amp alternator in there, maybe a 70.
I’d definitely be looking for something bigger, at least 110/120 amp. HOWEVER, before you move up in amperage, make sure your cars ECU won’t try to do some weird voltage regulating. I’m not really familiar with the euro stuff, I think I read somewhere the euro versions may have voltage regulators built into the alternator. That could be a thing to check for also.
Call a Ford dealership and give them your VIN, they should be able to steer you in the right direction.
Car audio is fun, your work is pretty solid looking.
Question- Out of curiosity, did you mat the inside of the exterior door skins?

seabeerob213

fish357 wrote: »

Nice work, looks good. You may have a Hitachi 80 amp alternator in there, maybe a 70.
I’d definitely be looking for something bigger, at least 110/120 amp. HOWEVER, before you move up in amperage, make sure your cars ECU won’t try to do some weird voltage regulating. I’m not really familiar with the euro stuff, I think I read somewhere the euro versions may have voltage regulators built into the alternator. That could be a thing to check for also.
Call a Ford dealership and give them your VIN, they should be able to steer you in the right direction.
Car audio is fun, your work is pretty solid looking.
Question- Out of curiosity, did you mat the inside of the exterior door skins?

Thanks, I just stuck random small scraps in as far as I could reach, when I get me panel clips I may stick more inside since I'll have the panels off. I have an NVX 10 farad Cap I'm gonna try, won't solve the issues, but if I can get a good power buffer to keep it from dipping too bad, I should be ok. I do t crank it up full bass and full volume often or for long, and I have no issues at my normal listening levels. After having it loud for a while, it does seem muddied, like the power has gone away a bit. Were full quarantine here so going out to find an alt will have to wait a while.

seabeerob213

Also, the type gs do sound a bit, um, sterile? Not all that warm, but not harsh, not bright, but can be a little screechy at times. They do distort a little at higher volumes, so I do have more tuning to do. I also need to listen over USB to get it fine tuned, I often just use the Bluetooth and I know it's the weakest point in my setup, but class d amplification on mids and highs isn't doing me much favors. Maybe if it were higher end, but it's a pretty entry level amp.

joecoulson

Also, break in might be a factor here.