My MAZDASPEED3 Stealth Install Diary

[fourthmeal]

I've got a post going on over HERE, which is a diary of my slow-going but still fun stealth install in my new MS3. So, for the Mazda community as much as the DIYMA community, I thought I'd show you what's going on.

As always, feel free to critique, comment, or whatever you like. If you want to do the same to your car, go for it, but I'm quickly finding out that this one isn't the easiest to do. I've done car audio for a while now, but I'm still learning important skills in fiberglassing and fabrication in general.

So, here's pics, and commentary of the buildup. Also, important tips on what not to do, or how I screwed up, or what I've found the hard way. WARNING there are a LOT of them:

First, running wires through the factory Molex connectors:
-This is what the door looks like before digging in:

This is what you find once you pry the Molex out

This is my mistake when I was prying the Molex out. The clips that hold the connector in jammed up, and the connector partially released inside the door. Getting it out was easily one of the most time consuming single acts of install I've ever had to deal with. I hammered the area back gently, and no damage is visible. Still DON'T do this.

These are pics of the connector, and wires. Shows you what you're dealing with.

This is what I did to get a wire through the connector. Your mileage may vary, but I was able to shove with some force a 4 conductor wire conduit through the Molex with this strategically placed drill hole. The wire I used is Liberty outdoor/custom install grade wire, one with a super strong sheath. I advice using the same type of wire, one with a thick, durable sheath. Way too easy to cut insulation like this! The Liberty wire prevents that from happening. 4 Conductor is necessary to run a tweeter and a mid-woofer wire set individually. In these doors you don't want to run a crossover inside the door itself (lots of moisture in the door, lots of water flow), so you need to run them someplace like the trunk. 4 wires gets that done.

Tight fit through the connector thanks to the fact that the blue lock on the Molex was in the way. I used small cutters and sliced a relief cut into the plastic.

Many hours later, and a good deal of cussing, I got the wire into the door.

Finally done (with one side.) The other side went easier!

This is going back where it came from.

Next post is the sub enclosure buildup.

 

[fourthmeal]

pt.2

Next up, to make the sub enclosure! This is ongoing, but here's pics of the work done so far:


This is the area in question. Just measuring what I've got to use.

Don't use foil, use blue tape. I've learned how to do it the hard way. Still, foil does work. This is the foundation layer.

This was the initial plan. The final work is close to it, but not exactly the same. For one, I was unable to extract anywhere near 1.3 cu. ft. of airspace. More like .7 cu. ft.

2nd layer.

Lost the camera (well, lost the memory card) for a while, so there are some build points I've not taken pictures of. Basically, in between this pic and the previous, I added wood in certain places w/ hot glue, and then glassed over that. Also added more layers. The bottom is strong as a rock, and the sides are getting there. Notice I'm using the tire as a mold tool here. That worked!

Here's some ideas of the temporary plan of perhaps installing the sub w/ a slight angle. Using the sub ring you see, I was able to realize it wasn't going to work in this application.

This is the box installed in the car, for test fit and trim. Looks okay!

Test fit of the bottom hide panel, where the amps will reside. I have yet to figure this out, but I wanted to see how much space I have

This is with the enclosure's top cover installed. I originally had this piece much bigger, but fitting it into the car in once piece proved impossible.

This is an idea of what the sub will look like, and how far it will stick out. Notice that the triangle is touching the back of the seats. That was a trick to figure out how to get a big sub in there without touching.

The initial plan called for a 10" sub, the LMT Eclipse SW8000 to be exact. Problem was that with that sub, I needed well over 1.0 cu. ft. This box was measuring (with a geometric breakdown of each nook and cranny summed up together) about .7 cu. ft. So, as a last ditch cure, I cut a huge circle in the box to mount my second favorite sub the DIYMA 12". This sub is killer, inexpensive, and excellent sounding. It also doesn't take much airspace to sound GREAT. BTW, routers are your friend! Buy one, and it all suddenly becomes easier. I chose a router over a table saw, and so far, its been a smart choice.

This was my "One Sad Kangaroo" moment...I spent a great amount of time perfecting this little homemade circle cutter jig. It worked, and it was simple. One false move, the bit in the router jumped, and snapped the jig in half.

This is the latest I've got. I installed a ring under the main top, letting me install the sub a bit deeper in the box, for a cleaner look.

Thats all so far on the box. Its slow going, like I said, mainly because of work and lack of funds, but still I'm having fun.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

awesome job man. i've gotta learn fiberglassing soon. looks great. i can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[dave45090]

Wow looks good! Keep up the good work no matter how long it takes.

 

[fourthmeal]

Thanks!

 

[dave45090]

Bump for updates if any. I'm going to have to move on to fiberglassing for my project as my false floor initial plans took a dive. I hope to fiberglass the enclosure on Saturday. I've already gotten approval from the wife ((whip)) to spend yet another Saturday in the garage. Again.....good luck w/ the project.

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

yay. can't wait to see it.

 

[rjs_protege5]

Mad props to you bro!! Not many people would want to take on such a long and tedious project.. Very good!! Very very very good work!! Don't stop, the end of the journey is nearing you with every thing you do..

Peace,
RJ

 

[fourthmeal]

thanks for all the compliments! Since you asked, here are some updated pics. I have run completely out of budget money (since I had to steal from said budget to pay some bills!), but I still have lots of sandpaper, so I'll be sanding and perfecting here as I go.

A word of advice: this project hasn't gone the "easy way". The "easy way" is to toss the spare tire, and use the tire tub to make a sub box. In many, many ways I wish I'd gone this route. So far, this plan of mine has become more and more difficult, and has caused lots of compromises. I don't regret the path I've taken, but in essence, if you are following my path, it ain't exactly paved!

Any how, here are updated shots. Not TOO much has gone on since last time, but hey, you asked.

Top of box and tub being glassed together. I did this the hard way. The easy way would be to cut it correctly the first time, create a ring to bond one to the other, and ...oh well I did it wrong, but the ends justifies the means. PLUS, no one who hasn't read this thread will be the wiser.

This is the combined box re-installed in the car. Fits pretty Damn Good. Notice the hole near the back of the box, that happened when some fiberglass bubbled up and left a hole, visible after I sanded down. I bought some Bondo Jelly and Kitty Hair to fix this.

This panel will hold the hinges, crossovers, etc. It is integral to the system, and will bolt down to the car using the factory seat bracket bolts. AH HA! I finally found a way to bolt it all down! Brilliant! I must have been drinking Guinness.

This is kinda the plan...so far.

This is some more progress on that new part. I'm not sure what to call it. Its just going together kinda as it happens. I wish I could tell you what it will look like!

Ahh..but you know what? It doesn't matter, because here's what will be visible when the trunk is opened. Notice that the sub box and all that stuff underneath is invisible once the factory covers are installed.

You'll notice that the actual height of the trunk has lifted a bit, but still looks stock enough.


This is from the rear seat view, notice that the exposed wood barely peeks under the factory covers. I'll be covering all the stuff underneath soon anyway, but its nice to know that it doesn't look too tall from the trunk opening's POV either.

The only thing that isn't visible in all this (but something you've gotta remember) is that I'm going to be using a sub in the inverted position. That means that despite all my efforts to look stealthy, I will have a shiny sub poking out of my trunk. This is why I think a spare-tire removal job would be better. Of course, once the new JL Audio or TC Sounds slim subwoofers become available, I'll use one of those, and buy or make a new carpet cover. Then it'll be stealth. Until then, I plan on using some sort of screen or fake box, so no actual sub will be visible. Anyway, I'll get to that eventually.

Well, thats it for now, I'll post up as it happens!

 

[mazdadude]

Looking Good!

I like your attention to the details.

I have done what your are doing, and it is no doubt an engineer as you go process sometimes.
(The Poly-Resin odor does not help this thinking process)(crazy)

I have gone without the spare for several installs, and it never bit me. However I also had some bad luck in some other cars, and just happened to have the spare in the trunk, so you never know.(yupnope)

We all appreciate the updates, and your photos, it adds some extra work on your end, however it is a big help and encouragement to others who might not otherwise imagine doing it themselves.

Keep Zooming!

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

dude, you did an awesome job. i plan on making some kind of setup in the back for myself as well. you did an excellent job. i look forward to the finished product.

 

[Rainman]

Great work and thanks for the tips. I love DIY stuff.

R

 

[ALIEN3T]

love the outcome so far cant wait to see it done!

Question since you have an ms3
is there audio input and outputs on the stock radio, or are u swaping radios. i kinda like the stock headunit right now, cause i like using the steerign functions and stuff. no need for me to swap.
but im thinking of puttign a box int he trunk, just wonderign how ou are wiring into the system?

thanks

 

[fourthmeal]

Thanks once again to all!

Ahh, about the head unit.

Yes, I am keeping the factory one. I will be modifying the factory internals so it plays flat, and hooks up to RCA's. Do a search (some people found it for me, I'll look for the link), and you'll find out how to do it. The other approach is to use the factory, but also use a JL CleanSweep or some similar product, one that restores frequency response of the factory's messed up output. But, yes, no head unit change for me. I love my steering controls, my integrated looks, and the STEALTH aspect. I will, however, be running time alignment and crossover controls just after the signal line of the head unit.

 

[1sty]

Less talky, more worky

nice stuff so far.

 

[D323]

very nice work d00d.... nice install.

 

[fourthmeal]

Major update: Redone system plan nearing completion! LOOOONG post...

I must have forgotten to post it here, as I do frequent DIYMA a bit more often for audio related goodness, so I do have a lot to talk about here, for those interested in whats going on. First off, I completely scrapped the initial plan. I had to! The box was fine, as was the amp rack plan, but what got me all upset was the fact that I'd have a sub inverted and sticking up through the trunk cover. Thats because the box is too shallow to hold just about any high-end sub. This meant that I was forced to start all over.

This time I decided to scrap the idea of leaving the spare tire in the car in the factory location. Turns out that I may not need to worry about it. One thing I forgot about initially is that the MS3 has tire pressure sensors. This will keep my butt off the side of the road around town, because the sensors will alarm me in time to let me limp to a gas station to air the tire up, and seek a repair. Out of town, I will have to bring the spare with me, most suitably by shoving it in the trunk on top of the cover. This I can live with if it means the system is stealthily hidden in most situations.

Given that the spare could come out now, I now had a great deal more space to accommodate a more airspace-needy subwoofer, something like the sub I initially planned on, the Eclipse SW8000. This high excursion Linear Motor sub (made by TC Sounds) requires 1.5-1.8 cu. ft. to achieve a flat, clean output in a sealed box. My previous design had only .6 cu. ft. or so within it, which would only allow for a single DIYMA12", a unique sub that requires little space and still sounds great. The thing about the DIYMA is that it doesn't play down very low efficiently, as evidenced by its frequency response curve generated on WinISD. Therefore, the SW8000 has an advantage over many subs given its very low reaching response, despite being a 'lowly' 10", as long as you give it airspace.

So, here are pics of that particular buildup:

These are shots of the glasswork of the spare tire tub.

This is a mockup of the plan.

I ended up ordering a steal of a deal, a Mark Antony amp from Overstock.com It is an old-school amp that was still new in the box, just forgotten. It puts out 100W x 4 into 4ohms, and 250W x 2 into a mono 4ohm load. It was cheap as all hell, so I snagged it.

Here's a few shots of it.

It's guts!

So, with this amp delivered, and the rest of my goodies on their way, I started to complete the project:

Sprayed some sound deadener on the exposed spare tire well. I did this instead of deadening mat due to the tight fitting fiberglass shell. I wanted it to fit in there again!

This shows the 3/4" MDF board that I glued to the fiberglass box to make an enclosure. The hole cut out is for the sub's mounting board to be installed over it.

The Mark Antony amp and black vinyl beauty board almost disappeared from the camera's flash! They absorbed a lot of light. You can barely make them out. The sub ring is a mockup of the final location.

This is a mockup of the final plan, sorta.

I'm going for a modular design, which I think I've accomplished. I figure that eventually I'll switch amps, so by keeping it modular I can do that without scrapping the whole design again.

So, thats all for now. Sorry for not keeping a timely log,...But hopefully someone here can try something like this (or better) for themselves!