Joined
·
1,058 Posts
I've done a lot of builds on this car, I know. I have a baby on the way in a few months, and I've decided to make a completely flat floor without any sub box or other obstruction in the trunk, so full functionality of the trunk is retained for strollers, etc.
The equipment I'm using this time around was chosen for ultimate sound quality and relatively small size to fit in a false-floor environment. For those of you who have seen my previous builds, you know I have swapped from a stuffed trunk , to a full false floor, to a semi-stuffed trunk, and now we're coming full circle. This time around, I hope this to be the last one before I sell the vehicle. Despite being a 2008, the truck has been problematic and it is SLOW. At times, too slow for the highways of Las Vegas suburbs. The leaking trans fluid and generally crappy transmission is always a plus as well.
Anyway, in the spirit of going with what I know (audio), here's what I've done so far -
This is the trunk, covered in RAAMmat and it is showing some damage over time from the heat of Vegas, and the troubles of using an asphalt-based deadener. This gooey black stuff also causes my wires, my clothes, my hands, everything! Even got on my shoes at one point, and on my carpet and stone floor. Lesson learned, use butyl products only like the stuff at Sounddeadenershowdown.com, Secondskin, etc. It costs more, but things like this won't happen.
![]()
This is my ground point, which has been treated to a full grinding of all painted surfaces top and bottom. The big center ground terminal is under the seat bracket, the others are on top. I'm leaving this alone, because it works perfectly. If you do this, take the time to take it down to bare metal anywhere conductivity is important.
![]()
I took this chance to get in there and install a layer of 1/8" closed-cell foam. This solves my sticky-goo problem and also helps a bit with sound absorption and squeaks of the planned false-floor:
![]()
So these next shots show the gear going in the back, and at this point I have NO idea where I'm going to fit it all in. The circles represent the two subs I'm waiting for (a pair of Stereo Integrity BM 12"), but those circles are 10" in diameter so I have to think bigger than that.
![]()
I decided to angle everything to get a little extra space the sub box will need:
![]()
Something like this:
![]()
Oh dang, I realized that I haven't uploaded all the shots to shutterfly (my pic site) yet. I'll try to get those up for you tonight after work. There is a complete fiberglass tub done for the subs, and 1/2 the wiring nightmare is done.
Try to wrap your heads around this one, this is the most complex wiring system I've ever had to do:
Turn-on (switched 12V / Remote) circuit path:
The Pioneer F900BT navigation head unit sends a turn-on signal to a 12v relay, which then switches on a 6-tab ATC fuse block. On the block I have all three of my amp's turn on circuits wired in, my Rockford Fosgate 3sixty.2 processor turn-on, and my Phoenix Gold 2ch line driver turn-on, and finally my LED lighting circuit is wired in to the last spot. That way, when the head unit commands a turn-on of the equipment, it flips all amps on, the processor and line driver on, and lights up the LED's.
Power circuit path:
I have a 1/0 gauge cable run to the trunk, into my Scosche EFX 4-spot fused and metered distribution block. Fuse 1 runs the small 2ch Rock USA amp via 8 gauge, Fuse 2 runs the large 4ch Rock USA amp via 8 gauge, Fuse 3 runs the TREO RSX sub amp via 4 gauge, and Fuse 4 runs via 8 gauge to a separate distribution block. This block outputs two 14 gauge runs to the front of the car, one for the line driver, one for the processor.
Ground circuit path:
The HU is double-grounded for protection, since this head unit can get damaged by poor grounding in its wiring harness at times. In the E/M/T vehicles of this year, behind the HU dash area there is a robust steel structure with a grounding bolt already available. I scuffed that bolt and mounting surface down a bit, then installed the HU's wiring harness ground to it. Then I added another 14 gauge wire from the HU's own chassis to the same ground point for safety. This same ground point also is used for the line driver in the front dash to the right of the steering column, and the processor under the passenger seat, both with 14 gauge. For the amps, you've already seen the grounding block used in the back, which through another distribution block I will also ground my relay, lights, etc.
Signal circuit path:
I'm using 2ch RCA out from the HU to the line driver, which runs 2ch RCA out to the processor, which then sends out 5 channels of audio via RCA's to the amps. Channels 1&2 are tweeter signal, which runs to the small 2ch Rock USA, and channels 3&4 run to the larger 4ch. I have a set of splitters for this one, because that amp is bridged to produce more 2ch power for my mids. Channel 5 is a single RCA run to the sub amp, with a y splitter to the amp itself.
Speaker circuit path:
The HU powers the rear speakers with its own power. The 2ch Rock USA amp is strictly for the tweeters, maximum continuous power is about 70W x 2. The 4ch Rock USA amp is bridged, going from 65 x 4 to about 150 x 2 (conservative), which powers my midrange/midbass woofers. The TREO sub amp will power my subs, which will run a 1ohm load at about 1000W continuous. It is a little less power than I had before, but I doubt I'll ever notice because my last system was never actually pushed to its limits.
I'm using Techflex, heatshrink, barrier strips, and spade terminals all around for a clean presentation and safe install. I'll get more pics out to you very soon, including the critical ones everybody seems to ask about... which is how to build a subwoofer false floor! Hint: You need about a gallon of fiberglass resin, a bunch of mat fiberglass, a few paintbrushes, some cups, a mask, goggles, a lot of plastic sheeting, tape, foil, and a bunch of gloves. Stay tuned.
The equipment I'm using this time around was chosen for ultimate sound quality and relatively small size to fit in a false-floor environment. For those of you who have seen my previous builds, you know I have swapped from a stuffed trunk , to a full false floor, to a semi-stuffed trunk, and now we're coming full circle. This time around, I hope this to be the last one before I sell the vehicle. Despite being a 2008, the truck has been problematic and it is SLOW. At times, too slow for the highways of Las Vegas suburbs. The leaking trans fluid and generally crappy transmission is always a plus as well.
Anyway, in the spirit of going with what I know (audio), here's what I've done so far -
This is the trunk, covered in RAAMmat and it is showing some damage over time from the heat of Vegas, and the troubles of using an asphalt-based deadener. This gooey black stuff also causes my wires, my clothes, my hands, everything! Even got on my shoes at one point, and on my carpet and stone floor. Lesson learned, use butyl products only like the stuff at Sounddeadenershowdown.com, Secondskin, etc. It costs more, but things like this won't happen.
This is my ground point, which has been treated to a full grinding of all painted surfaces top and bottom. The big center ground terminal is under the seat bracket, the others are on top. I'm leaving this alone, because it works perfectly. If you do this, take the time to take it down to bare metal anywhere conductivity is important.
I took this chance to get in there and install a layer of 1/8" closed-cell foam. This solves my sticky-goo problem and also helps a bit with sound absorption and squeaks of the planned false-floor:
So these next shots show the gear going in the back, and at this point I have NO idea where I'm going to fit it all in. The circles represent the two subs I'm waiting for (a pair of Stereo Integrity BM 12"), but those circles are 10" in diameter so I have to think bigger than that.
I decided to angle everything to get a little extra space the sub box will need:
Something like this:
Oh dang, I realized that I haven't uploaded all the shots to shutterfly (my pic site) yet. I'll try to get those up for you tonight after work. There is a complete fiberglass tub done for the subs, and 1/2 the wiring nightmare is done.
Try to wrap your heads around this one, this is the most complex wiring system I've ever had to do:
Turn-on (switched 12V / Remote) circuit path:
The Pioneer F900BT navigation head unit sends a turn-on signal to a 12v relay, which then switches on a 6-tab ATC fuse block. On the block I have all three of my amp's turn on circuits wired in, my Rockford Fosgate 3sixty.2 processor turn-on, and my Phoenix Gold 2ch line driver turn-on, and finally my LED lighting circuit is wired in to the last spot. That way, when the head unit commands a turn-on of the equipment, it flips all amps on, the processor and line driver on, and lights up the LED's.
Power circuit path:
I have a 1/0 gauge cable run to the trunk, into my Scosche EFX 4-spot fused and metered distribution block. Fuse 1 runs the small 2ch Rock USA amp via 8 gauge, Fuse 2 runs the large 4ch Rock USA amp via 8 gauge, Fuse 3 runs the TREO RSX sub amp via 4 gauge, and Fuse 4 runs via 8 gauge to a separate distribution block. This block outputs two 14 gauge runs to the front of the car, one for the line driver, one for the processor.
Ground circuit path:
The HU is double-grounded for protection, since this head unit can get damaged by poor grounding in its wiring harness at times. In the E/M/T vehicles of this year, behind the HU dash area there is a robust steel structure with a grounding bolt already available. I scuffed that bolt and mounting surface down a bit, then installed the HU's wiring harness ground to it. Then I added another 14 gauge wire from the HU's own chassis to the same ground point for safety. This same ground point also is used for the line driver in the front dash to the right of the steering column, and the processor under the passenger seat, both with 14 gauge. For the amps, you've already seen the grounding block used in the back, which through another distribution block I will also ground my relay, lights, etc.
Signal circuit path:
I'm using 2ch RCA out from the HU to the line driver, which runs 2ch RCA out to the processor, which then sends out 5 channels of audio via RCA's to the amps. Channels 1&2 are tweeter signal, which runs to the small 2ch Rock USA, and channels 3&4 run to the larger 4ch. I have a set of splitters for this one, because that amp is bridged to produce more 2ch power for my mids. Channel 5 is a single RCA run to the sub amp, with a y splitter to the amp itself.
Speaker circuit path:
The HU powers the rear speakers with its own power. The 2ch Rock USA amp is strictly for the tweeters, maximum continuous power is about 70W x 2. The 4ch Rock USA amp is bridged, going from 65 x 4 to about 150 x 2 (conservative), which powers my midrange/midbass woofers. The TREO sub amp will power my subs, which will run a 1ohm load at about 1000W continuous. It is a little less power than I had before, but I doubt I'll ever notice because my last system was never actually pushed to its limits.
I'm using Techflex, heatshrink, barrier strips, and spade terminals all around for a clean presentation and safe install. I'll get more pics out to you very soon, including the critical ones everybody seems to ask about... which is how to build a subwoofer false floor! Hint: You need about a gallon of fiberglass resin, a bunch of mat fiberglass, a few paintbrushes, some cups, a mask, goggles, a lot of plastic sheeting, tape, foil, and a bunch of gloves. Stay tuned.
