16psibrick

iTrader: (10)

well, i am back on famaliar ground, got another 350z SQ install done this past week. its really a vast dfference working on a car i am intimately famaliar wtih versus one thats relatively new. normally a full on SQ install takes me a good 1.5 weeks or more, this one, i got done in 4.5 days no corners cut.

this is acutally the first 2008 model year Z i have done, the last year of the 350z.

the goals:

1. making the install sound good, respectably and competive with in the rookie and amateur classes of IASCA Sound Quality Competitions
2. fully stealth and durable hatch area
3. limited budget on install, no real show factor, focused fully into SQ.

lets get started:

the signal source starts with an alpine 9886 headunit. i also installed the alpine HD radio module and retained the steering wheel controls. here you see the HU, with its ipod and usb cable in the pocket below:



the amp uses zapco DC amps, so the tuning cables can be routed from the storage compartment behind the passenger seat, for inseat tuning:



the front stage consists of a set of Seas lotus reference 6.5" two way set. Using my past experinces with the Z, i did a few things differently to try and optimize the overall SQ, small differences but to me, noticable.

the midbass is install into custom molded kick panels, trimmed in black suede, they disappear into the interior. infact, i couldnt get the lighting to be bright enough to make them stand out more thats not wrinkles on the suede btw hehe just brush marks.

what i did tihs time, was to try and push the mids further back, compared to some of my other 350z installs, it is further back by about an inch. this to me, allows for a better depths in the stage.









from the pics, the kicks may seem like they really really protrude out a lot, ubt in reality, they dont come off the stock panels that much, as that panel has a curved out shape in itself.

here are hte build up pics of the kicks to show what i mean:

first the stock kick panel is reinforced with fiberglass, vent hole cut and sound proofed:



then the ring baffles are aimed and attached, they have a slight back and upwards angle to them:



then fleece pulled, resin applied, and chop strand/resin was poured into the inside of the walls to reinforce them. because they are going to be sueded, they only needed minor sanding to get rid of hte major imperfections:



next the walls are lined with modeling clay:



and then another layer of sound proofing:



here they are, with suede wrapped, and the seas lotus ref midbass installed:



here you see how little, the kick panel acutally proturdes from the stock shape: about 2"





here are the termination of hte midbass:



and screw used on the speaker (pan head)





moving on to the tweets. i also did the A pillars a bit differently, and pushed them as far back towards the windshield as i can, this again helps with depths and also, seems to reduce any thing related with reflections a bit.









quick build up pics of the pillars:

rings attached, mold cloth resined, and then duraglass/resin mixture poured into the inside to strengthen:



sanded smooth and blended into the stock pillar:



and then wrapped in matching vinyl, and tweeters installed and wired:



termination of the tweeters:



two quick pics to show all the wires running aft is bundled and ziptied every 6 inches:






moving onto the hatch area, as mentioned, the empahsis was purely on a clean, stealthy and durable set up, with no show factor.

here is the normal view, everyhting completely hidden out of sight, stock floor height is retained with the stock floor mats fitting on top:



remove the floor mats and here is the new, fake floor.with four cutouts in it:



remove the cover panels, and you see this. three Zapco DC amps surrounds a pair of exile audio XT10 10" subwoofers.

upfront, a DC 360.4 is bridged sending 180 watts RMS to the midbasses, on the lefthand side, a DC200.2 powers the tweets wtih 50 watts a piece, and on the right hand side, a DC500.1 sends 500 watts to the xt10s. the two XT10s sits in a 1.0 cubfeet sealed, two tiered enclosure. the fake floor is done in black trunk carpet for druablity.











finally, a bunch of install/wiring pics for you guys.

first is the overall wiring on the amps, neatly bundled and secured. here you see the bottom portion of the two tiered subbox, about .75 cubfeet of air space. a .25 cubfeet portion is attached later to the opening to form the 1 cub feet enclosure. this way, the subbox can also double as supports for the amps.







close up view of the amp wiring:







quit views of the flat head screws used to secure the amps:







and finally, the top part of the subbox is attached, covered in black suede, and the subs installed. onlything missing here is the fake floor top.



no chance to fully tune yet, but juts loaded a tune file from an older 350z, making a few changes here and there, and it already sounds quite good. midbass is very natural and snappy, with good, smooth overall tonality. with just a little bit of eqing, the subs blend great. the depths is better than the previous Zs, and the center, right now, is not bad, but it can be improved on with tuning, width is okay also, but i think wtih a little bit of tuning, it can get better. it generally is wider on the passenger side than the driver.

overall, should be good for the upcoming iasca comps in cali

dkmesa350z

iTrader: (41)

Very nice as always.

Kwame

iTrader: (78)

What, all that work and no rear speakers?

Very, nice work Bing! Happy to see you posting up another install it's been awhile.

16psibrick

iTrader: (10)

havent done a 350z install for a while hehe

just go to my site for the newest, the latest install will always be in gallery 4 as of now

b

B5I8

iTrader: (1)

Long time no see buddy. The front stage looks so familiar, I swear I've seen that before . I gotta stop by one day and show you the new ride once it's completed. BTW do you know anybody that sells and installs alarms? I want another remote start alarm for my new car and don't know who to trust.

Bryce

16psibrick

iTrader: (10)

hey bryce, just give me a call, i will hook you up.

b

B5I8

iTrader: (1)

I'll give you a call on Tueday or Wednesday, after the 3 day weekend. Thanks.

ETZ

iTrader: (8)

you don't get better imaging by angling the mid more towards the driver/passenger?

16psibrick

iTrader: (10)

not really. on or off axis, it varies from car to car, and spekaer to speaker, but in generally, tonality wise, you sometimes gain a little bit with on axis, but imaging and staging wise, you often gain depths and sometimes width, with off axis mounting.

however, in the Z, i have found that most people, would rather not sacrifice a huge amount of leg room needed in order for the kicks to be meaningfuly on axis. this is why the past 50 or so pairsof 350z kicks i hvae build is relatively like this

b