Lanson's 2013 Flex - Extreme SQ audio (re)build
- Thread starter Lanson
- Start date
dalum said:
Technically, the pillars house the tether that the side airbags work with. In an accident that would trigger them, I would expect the pillars to pop out of their mounting but hold firm with a thick plastic tether (I can show pics of this if you like.) Now for my customization, I left all of that completely stock, so it will work. The bottom section is designed to remain attached to the car but the top will have some room to allow the side airbag to deploy properly with anchoring.
I can show exactly how to remove these if you need.
dalum said:
OK I got your back.
First, you'll want to pull back the weatherstripping by the pillar. This will expose some space where you can get your fingertips or a tool to put some pressure.
The clips holding the pillar on are simple metal spring-clips, same as the whole car uses. A yanking motion directly sideways relative to the pillar (yank toward the center console) will pull it off. Yanking motions vs. slow pulling seems to pull the clips off intact better. The pillar looks like this after you pull it.
The plastic tether needs to be removed, and to do this I would advise either a tiny flat-head screwdriver, or a pick-tool. There's plastic clips on the top and bottom of this tether attachment, and these clips retain the tether. They must be relieved inward toward the center of the plastic clip holding the tether, and it will release.
Next simply disconnect the tweeter connector and you'll carefully remove the pillar by shifting the bottom out of the way of the dash slots holding it like this pic shows (look down low in the pic)
It is very simple, in fact other than the pesky tether there's pretty much nothing to it but a bit of "fiddling", to get it in or out.
Alrighty, minor update for you. I know this will seem like precious little work, but you'd be shocked at how many times I had to make a template to find one that actually worked. And as I type this, I'm not 100% sure this one will work either. Bottom line, an 8" midbass in this car's door is AMBITIOUS, and may not be possible in the most conventional sense. I may be forced to step down to a 7" driver. The problem is that there is insufficient clearance in a few different critical spots. One is the metal of the door (shocker), another is how the sliders for the glass are positioned behind where the speaker is to go, and the worst one is how the plastic door skin's shape is made. In fact, there's a good to excellent chance the door skin itself will need to be worked on rather aggressively for this all to work. Let's see if the pics can convey this. Since I was working with wood/sawdust, I used my camera phone and not my Nikon, so these won't be great shots (sorry):
This is the door skin, as it stands now. To the outside edge, what should be a hole is covered entirely in deadener. Underneath that though is actually thin-gauge sheet steel. So that part of the door is completely sealed. The center section, where the plastic door skin intrudes in, is less sealed (and this will need to be fixed.)
My solution for now to that issue mentioned above, was to put deadener with foam into the intrusion, and apply pressure to seal it.
Now in that picture above, you may notice there's this ridge to the left of the speaker opening. That ridge is approximately 1.5" deep relative to the door skin's mounting edge (where it meets the door metal itself.) The "problem" is that there's insufficient clearance on the other side of that ridge, where the speaker is supposed to go. When I place my 8" Dayton RS225 in this area, it simply does not fit. This means that this ridge may need to be ground off. The problem of course is that the door has this ridge because the other side of the door has a big valley, due to this shape! Its a damn mess for customization purposes and I'll have to overcome it somehow.
This is the adapter I made for the meantime. Next up I've got to create another layer (so 1.5" total is my goal) and I hope that this will clear the door in both the skin, and the metal underneath. If it doesn't work, I'm hoping I can at least use this as a template for a successful one. And if this RS225 doesn't fit, I'll have to step down to the 7" version, the Dayton RS180-4 model.
This is the door skin, as it stands now. To the outside edge, what should be a hole is covered entirely in deadener. Underneath that though is actually thin-gauge sheet steel. So that part of the door is completely sealed. The center section, where the plastic door skin intrudes in, is less sealed (and this will need to be fixed.)
My solution for now to that issue mentioned above, was to put deadener with foam into the intrusion, and apply pressure to seal it.
Now in that picture above, you may notice there's this ridge to the left of the speaker opening. That ridge is approximately 1.5" deep relative to the door skin's mounting edge (where it meets the door metal itself.) The "problem" is that there's insufficient clearance on the other side of that ridge, where the speaker is supposed to go. When I place my 8" Dayton RS225 in this area, it simply does not fit. This means that this ridge may need to be ground off. The problem of course is that the door has this ridge because the other side of the door has a big valley, due to this shape! Its a damn mess for customization purposes and I'll have to overcome it somehow.
This is the adapter I made for the meantime. Next up I've got to create another layer (so 1.5" total is my goal) and I hope that this will clear the door in both the skin, and the metal underneath. If it doesn't work, I'm hoping I can at least use this as a template for a successful one. And if this RS225 doesn't fit, I'll have to step down to the 7" version, the Dayton RS180-4 model.
Please rename this build from Extreme to Insane 
I don't think I have ever seen 8" drvers in a car door. Makes me wonder just what is possible in the Edge. Hmmmmmm ...
http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/Ford-Edge-Door-Panel-Removal-Speaker-Replacement-Guide/index.html
I don't think I have ever seen 8" drvers in a car door. Makes me wonder just what is possible in the Edge. Hmmmmmm ...http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/Ford-Edge-Door-Panel-Removal-Speaker-Replacement-Guide/index.html
SHOdded said:Please rename this build from Extreme to Insane
http://www.paulstravelpictures.com/Ford-Edge-Door-Panel-Removal-Speaker-Replacement-Guide/index.html
Wow that's a complicated door. You'd have to cut the plastic panel (which is HUGE) and then reform a different shape, but anything is doable. I can see where I'd have to cut that panel and then fab in a large baffle. Depth is everything, so if you have enough depth behind that plastic panel...you could absolutely do it. Unlike mine where I simply unbolted my 5x7 adapter and made this wooden one...you'd have to permanently mod this part on the Edge. But... DOABLE!
Got some crappy pics to show you, but I think you'll get the idea of what I'm dealing with.
I'd like to share at this point that for MOST audio enthusiasts, going with an 8" midbass will NOT be your cup of tea with the Flex, depending on the driver. More on this later.
This is where I started, which is with the wiring. I don't know what you're supposed to call this, so I'm going to call it a wire harness clippy thing. It goes between the wires of the door and other sneaky parts of each side of the car. Our car has really interesting sheetmetal shapes in the front corners by the wheel arches, btw. Anyway, with some tugging and lifting, this lifts out of its little hole and keep the wires protected. Sorry I look like Casper the Ghost, I've got no idea why my camera phone takes such bad pics.
I used my unibit and drilled right through this, to route my speaker wire through toward the door.
Now, I must tell you, per doing Stephan's Flex and his doors with similar wire I expected to not be able to get through the door accordion boot. When we did his, we spent forever trying to snake the big wire through but it just didn't happen, no matter what we tried. BUT... I decided to try anyway and it seemed like my Flex had a lot more slack in the wiring, because I was able to pull the accordion boot out and straighten it from it's upside down U shape to a short straight run, and the wire went right through with minimal bitching. Anyway, your mileage may vary let's just say that.
This is in the door itself
So here it is, test fitting!
Those little photos don't share with you that the speaker is actually hitting the plastic window guides that go with the window up and down, while the magnet is actually shoved up and pressing against the window rail. However, as far as test-fits go, it actually does fit in the door and clear the metal. To get this, I had to cut a 3/4" ring and I have my 3/4" baffle adapter, so we're talking 1 1/2" total spacing.
The door panel fits right over it!
So I knew I had a possible working solution here, and I set to make it work permanently without striking the actual plastic window guides and rails. I trimmed my baffle and routed the inside with a bevel bit, to get a little extra wiggle room for the woofer to clear the window rail. BTW you can see the window rail in these pics, it is the white plastic on the black rail.
Here is a shot of my spacers. Now in this you may notice an extra 1/4" spacer. Turns out, that's what it takes to make this work. So total spacing from the window parts is 1 3/4". This clears the plastic guides by 1/8", and the rail by about the same. It is so, so close but it does work.
Feeling quite excited that this big speaker may actually fit in the door, I went ahead and added all the deadener I felt I could to the outside. The inside of the door is already completely covered with GT Mat Quadro, and it is doing a good job so I just added a few sheets of RAAMmat to the outside here. I had to build a little cove or indent with deadener, so the door panel will fit properly.
I used a rubberized coating I purchased at Sam's Club, in a bulk of a few cans. It is made by Rubbermaid I think, and it comes out like paint and dries like rubber. This will make the parts I made truly weatherproof so I won't have rotten wood in my doors after a few car washes.
I installed the spacers and the woofer as one, because the mounting screws for this adapter baffle are covered by the spacer. That's why I countersunk the adapter's screws.
Once the speaker was wired up and installed, I went crazy with the deadener again.
Not shown but done is the other side, the plastic door panel. I added a whole sheet of deadener to the plastic panels, re-affixed the stock acoustic filling, and then covered parts that I could with Ensolite.
Its in there!
Not pictured is a ring of Ensolite I made around the speaker, to create a gasket as much as I can around the speaker to the door panel. I chose not to cut up the plastic door panel for now, which goes against my original idea of cutting out the plastic and making a grille of speaker cloth. I'm going to see how the acoustics are with the door completely stock. I've done calculations and because I'm using a pass frequency of about 400 hz to the pillars and these speakers aren't playing higher than that, I think that the limitations caused by the smaller ~5x7 oval opening in the plastic panel will be a lot less troublesome than running a speaker that is supposed to cross much higher. My calculations show that the frequencies that this speaker will be playing (let's say 65hz - 400hz) shouldn't really be affected too heavily by that plastic in front of the speaker. But if I get any weird acoustic behavior, I'll be the first to cut up this panel and go with my original plan, be assured. Thing is...the speaker fits and still looks stock, so I have to see how it does. Why destroy the door panel if you don't have to?
Oh, and not pictured but definitely an important part of the issue here is the fact that the plastic door panel's little vertical ridge I pointed out before is plainly contacting the mounting flange of the speaker. With the total mounting height of 1 3/4" of wood + the speaker flange itself, it puts some pressure against the speaker's mounting flange. This is of no negative consequence, but what happens is that when the door panel is installed, there's a tiny bit of force required to get the screws in and the door secure. This is not visible but is worth mentioning for people following along and plotting their design, possibly. Bottom line, not many 8" speaker will fit in this door, and this one barely fits. In fact, I was completely prepared to order a set of RS180-4's but the 1/4" spacer I made saved the day.
For my and my Dayton RS225 woofers, well the problem is that this supposed 8" driver is actually 8 3/4" in diameter on the mounting flange, is fairly deep, and mounts in a 7 1/4" hole. All of this means that she don't want to fit in the darn door, at all. I kept striking the stuff you don't want to hit with the magnet, with the spokes of the speaker's frame, the speaker itself contacting the plastic door panel's dimensions, etc. Finally, with the plastic door panel itself pressed up against the speaker, this is the maximum suitable depth, without a doubt. Other 8" speakers may fit better, if the mounting flange is smaller than 8 3/4". A speaker with an 8 1/2" flange could then be a little deeper, because the mounting flange would not strike the plastic door panel's vertical ridge. It would instead nestle inside the plastic door panel and would be a better fit. A truncated frame on a speaker might work better. I was about to break out my grinder on this frame if the door panel refused to screw closed!
The driver's side will have to come tomorrow. I did do a sample test with just the right side playing and holy moly does it sound amazing. The bass is incredible. This may be a completely crazy build but acoustically I think it will be a huge success.
edited to add... here's a class example of a better fitting midbass.
http://www.jlaudio.com/car-audio-evolution-zr-mid-bass-driver
You can buy it here for about $130. Be sure to hunt down a coupon (usually 6% off)..
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_20556_JL_Audio_ZR800-CW.aspx
See that's ~ 8.25" wide, so you could build a slightly deeper baffle (let's say 2") and just mount it more conventionally, with spacers and your baffle adapter (a copy of the factory plastic part, to match.) I was all set to order these but the Daytons are a bit cheaper, and I wanted to try and stick with the same brand all around to see how it all would sound as one. If I were doing it again, I'd immediately buy these, and the install would probably have gone just a little bit more smooth. I think these and the Daytons have the potential to both sound amazing, in a properly prepared door. The edge may go to the JL for its extra xmax and slightly higher Qts for door use. If the Daytons fail me in any way whatsover, this is exactly the speaker I'm replacing them with.
I'd like to share at this point that for MOST audio enthusiasts, going with an 8" midbass will NOT be your cup of tea with the Flex, depending on the driver. More on this later.
This is where I started, which is with the wiring. I don't know what you're supposed to call this, so I'm going to call it a wire harness clippy thing. It goes between the wires of the door and other sneaky parts of each side of the car. Our car has really interesting sheetmetal shapes in the front corners by the wheel arches, btw. Anyway, with some tugging and lifting, this lifts out of its little hole and keep the wires protected. Sorry I look like Casper the Ghost, I've got no idea why my camera phone takes such bad pics.
I used my unibit and drilled right through this, to route my speaker wire through toward the door.
Now, I must tell you, per doing Stephan's Flex and his doors with similar wire I expected to not be able to get through the door accordion boot. When we did his, we spent forever trying to snake the big wire through but it just didn't happen, no matter what we tried. BUT... I decided to try anyway and it seemed like my Flex had a lot more slack in the wiring, because I was able to pull the accordion boot out and straighten it from it's upside down U shape to a short straight run, and the wire went right through with minimal bitching. Anyway, your mileage may vary let's just say that.
This is in the door itself
So here it is, test fitting!
Those little photos don't share with you that the speaker is actually hitting the plastic window guides that go with the window up and down, while the magnet is actually shoved up and pressing against the window rail. However, as far as test-fits go, it actually does fit in the door and clear the metal. To get this, I had to cut a 3/4" ring and I have my 3/4" baffle adapter, so we're talking 1 1/2" total spacing.
The door panel fits right over it!
So I knew I had a possible working solution here, and I set to make it work permanently without striking the actual plastic window guides and rails. I trimmed my baffle and routed the inside with a bevel bit, to get a little extra wiggle room for the woofer to clear the window rail. BTW you can see the window rail in these pics, it is the white plastic on the black rail.
Here is a shot of my spacers. Now in this you may notice an extra 1/4" spacer. Turns out, that's what it takes to make this work. So total spacing from the window parts is 1 3/4". This clears the plastic guides by 1/8", and the rail by about the same. It is so, so close but it does work.
Feeling quite excited that this big speaker may actually fit in the door, I went ahead and added all the deadener I felt I could to the outside. The inside of the door is already completely covered with GT Mat Quadro, and it is doing a good job so I just added a few sheets of RAAMmat to the outside here. I had to build a little cove or indent with deadener, so the door panel will fit properly.
I used a rubberized coating I purchased at Sam's Club, in a bulk of a few cans. It is made by Rubbermaid I think, and it comes out like paint and dries like rubber. This will make the parts I made truly weatherproof so I won't have rotten wood in my doors after a few car washes.
I installed the spacers and the woofer as one, because the mounting screws for this adapter baffle are covered by the spacer. That's why I countersunk the adapter's screws.
Once the speaker was wired up and installed, I went crazy with the deadener again.
Not shown but done is the other side, the plastic door panel. I added a whole sheet of deadener to the plastic panels, re-affixed the stock acoustic filling, and then covered parts that I could with Ensolite.
Its in there!
Not pictured is a ring of Ensolite I made around the speaker, to create a gasket as much as I can around the speaker to the door panel. I chose not to cut up the plastic door panel for now, which goes against my original idea of cutting out the plastic and making a grille of speaker cloth. I'm going to see how the acoustics are with the door completely stock. I've done calculations and because I'm using a pass frequency of about 400 hz to the pillars and these speakers aren't playing higher than that, I think that the limitations caused by the smaller ~5x7 oval opening in the plastic panel will be a lot less troublesome than running a speaker that is supposed to cross much higher. My calculations show that the frequencies that this speaker will be playing (let's say 65hz - 400hz) shouldn't really be affected too heavily by that plastic in front of the speaker. But if I get any weird acoustic behavior, I'll be the first to cut up this panel and go with my original plan, be assured. Thing is...the speaker fits and still looks stock, so I have to see how it does. Why destroy the door panel if you don't have to?
Oh, and not pictured but definitely an important part of the issue here is the fact that the plastic door panel's little vertical ridge I pointed out before is plainly contacting the mounting flange of the speaker. With the total mounting height of 1 3/4" of wood + the speaker flange itself, it puts some pressure against the speaker's mounting flange. This is of no negative consequence, but what happens is that when the door panel is installed, there's a tiny bit of force required to get the screws in and the door secure. This is not visible but is worth mentioning for people following along and plotting their design, possibly. Bottom line, not many 8" speaker will fit in this door, and this one barely fits. In fact, I was completely prepared to order a set of RS180-4's but the 1/4" spacer I made saved the day.
For my and my Dayton RS225 woofers, well the problem is that this supposed 8" driver is actually 8 3/4" in diameter on the mounting flange, is fairly deep, and mounts in a 7 1/4" hole. All of this means that she don't want to fit in the darn door, at all. I kept striking the stuff you don't want to hit with the magnet, with the spokes of the speaker's frame, the speaker itself contacting the plastic door panel's dimensions, etc. Finally, with the plastic door panel itself pressed up against the speaker, this is the maximum suitable depth, without a doubt. Other 8" speakers may fit better, if the mounting flange is smaller than 8 3/4". A speaker with an 8 1/2" flange could then be a little deeper, because the mounting flange would not strike the plastic door panel's vertical ridge. It would instead nestle inside the plastic door panel and would be a better fit. A truncated frame on a speaker might work better. I was about to break out my grinder on this frame if the door panel refused to screw closed!
The driver's side will have to come tomorrow. I did do a sample test with just the right side playing and holy moly does it sound amazing. The bass is incredible. This may be a completely crazy build but acoustically I think it will be a huge success.
edited to add... here's a class example of a better fitting midbass.
http://www.jlaudio.com/car-audio-evolution-zr-mid-bass-driver
You can buy it here for about $130. Be sure to hunt down a coupon (usually 6% off)..
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_20556_JL_Audio_ZR800-CW.aspx
See that's ~ 8.25" wide, so you could build a slightly deeper baffle (let's say 2") and just mount it more conventionally, with spacers and your baffle adapter (a copy of the factory plastic part, to match.) I was all set to order these but the Daytons are a bit cheaper, and I wanted to try and stick with the same brand all around to see how it all would sound as one. If I were doing it again, I'd immediately buy these, and the install would probably have gone just a little bit more smooth. I think these and the Daytons have the potential to both sound amazing, in a properly prepared door. The edge may go to the JL for its extra xmax and slightly higher Qts for door use. If the Daytons fail me in any way whatsover, this is exactly the speaker I'm replacing them with.
SHOdded said:Need to get some affordable flat panel electrostatics in there!. Your measurements are so precise to be able to get 'em in so snug ...
If I told you it was luck, you wouldn't believe me. But that's exactly what this is.
The other side just got done, I'm tuning now. Insane.
Here's another day's work
The left side wiring completed through the door (Casper strikes again!)
This time around I took more pics of how I treated the door panel. This is stock
In-progress
Test fit of the driver's side
Heavily deadened
So that's all the pictures I took, the door panel went back on without a fuss and it all bolted together back to stock-look.
As far as the physical equipment installation goes, this system's front stage is DONE! I still need to re-re-redo the pillars and perfect them, but the rest of the system is complete. I was going to make a center grille but for now I like the look of the exposed speaker. I've already got the grille cut and ready for cloth when I feel like it.
Now that these speakers are installed, amp channels have been reassigned, and all has settled, I have a new calibration. Here it is:
Pillars are high-passed 4th order at 370hz
Door 8's are band-passed 4th order, 70hz - 370hz
Center is high-passed 4th order at 90hz
Rear doors high-passed 4th order 120hz
Sub is low-passed 4th order 70hz, and infrasonic filter 20hz 1st order
This is now ready for auditions for anybody who's semi-local. It sounds insane FYI.
The left side wiring completed through the door (Casper strikes again!)
This time around I took more pics of how I treated the door panel. This is stock
In-progress
Test fit of the driver's side
Heavily deadened
So that's all the pictures I took, the door panel went back on without a fuss and it all bolted together back to stock-look.
As far as the physical equipment installation goes, this system's front stage is DONE! I still need to re-re-redo the pillars and perfect them, but the rest of the system is complete. I was going to make a center grille but for now I like the look of the exposed speaker. I've already got the grille cut and ready for cloth when I feel like it.
Now that these speakers are installed, amp channels have been reassigned, and all has settled, I have a new calibration. Here it is:
Pillars are high-passed 4th order at 370hz
Door 8's are band-passed 4th order, 70hz - 370hz
Center is high-passed 4th order at 90hz
Rear doors high-passed 4th order 120hz
Sub is low-passed 4th order 70hz, and infrasonic filter 20hz 1st order
This is now ready for auditions for anybody who's semi-local. It sounds insane FYI.
Lanson said:Here's another day's work
The left side wiring completed through the door (Casper strikes again!)
This time around I took more pics of how I treated the door panel. This is stock
In-progress
Test fit of the driver's side
Heavily deadened
So that's all the pictures I took, the door panel went back on without a fuss and it all bolted together back to stock-look.
As far as the physical equipment installation goes, this system's front stage is DONE! I still need to re-re-redo the pillars and perfect them, but the rest of the system is complete. I was going to make a center grille but for now I like the look of the exposed speaker. I've already got the grille cut and ready for cloth when I feel like it.
Now that these speakers are installed, amp channels have been reassigned, and all has settled, I have a new calibration. Here it is:
Pillars are high-passed 4th order at 370hz
Door 8's are band-passed 4th order, 70hz - 370hz
Center is high-passed 4th order at 90hz
Rear doors high-passed 4th order 120hz
Sub is low-passed 4th order 70hz, and infrasonic filter 20hz 1st order
This is now ready for auditions for anybody who's semi-local. It sounds insane FYI.
How sharp is the cutoff in your passes?...(?dB/octave)
4th order is another way of saying 24dB/oct. crossover.
I'm utilizing these steep slopes to minimize driver interactions. This is what makes the MS-8 work the best I believe. I'm following more of Andy W's advice on that.
This is not the case on the passive crossovers, those are 2nd order (12dB/oct.) Bessell alignment (~5200hz)
Hey guys and gals, let's do an update!
So this time around, I pulled out the good camera, hopefully this will help present what's happening in these doors better than the phone camera.
Over the last few days, I've taken my time and worked on each door. I took the JBL Power 8662 6x8 coaxials that I had in the front doors before I started this (re)build), and I installed those to the rear doors with some strategic, mild deadening. I used about 2 sheets of RAAMmat per door in the rear.
The front doors were really shaking up with the bass these RS225-4 drivers can put out. This was annoying and it was screwing up the presentation. So the front doors and door panels were heavily reinforced with extra sheets as well, and I tediously went through the door's small bits that rub or vibrate together to quiet them down. I added deadener to small parts to prevent them from shaking and making noise, and added Ensolite closed-cell foam to parts to hold them tight together and reduce squeaking. I went through about 3 sheets more per door in the front.
I started with the rear doors. Now these won't be playing super-low frequencies like the front doors do, in fact the crossover point is higher than you would typically think (120Hz) and this is so the front stage absolutely anchors as dominant...and the MS-8 processor makes the rear speakers work out of phase with the front because they only play the out of phase material in the original source. If they were crossed lower, the out of phase data would destructively interfere with the in-phase data from the front speakers, and cancel out some of the output. Crossing higher than 100hz is highly recommended for a surround processed-system like the MS-8 creates.
I began by temporarily peeling back the rear door's vapor barrier
And I installed the deadener where the door seemed to resonate the most, after being given the "rapp" test. These are pics of both rear doors at work.
I then cut the connector off the speaker wire, and direct-connected it to the JBL external crossover box which ended up making the short stock wire a non-issue. Yay!
Those were then installed without any issues, and the factory door panel put right back on. EASY!
I then moved on to the front doors. My son "helped"
Here's the final look of the passenger door, which is what I started with
Note the foam by the spring clip holes
Deadener everywhere
And the driver's door
The front doors went back together without a hitch. Final results of this effort are positive, and the insane rattles are gone. I can't stop a few rattles, at high volume though. The darn metal belt trim all around the car makes rattling noises on certain notes when its turned way up. The rear bumper foam vibrates a bit, and the driver and passenger mirror's internal bits do too. At sane volumes none of this happens so I'm OK with this.
So what remains of this project is possibly an amp upgrade (need more channels of power and possibly more total power), and a re-covering of the pillars after I touch up the filler and such underneath. Also I'm contemplating trying a new set of pillars with an even better speaker combo, but that's just on the back-burner. I suppose also I'll need to consider upgrading my subs at some point, as they are now having a bit of difficulty keeping up. It is all a process of continual advancement and experience.
Anybody local is welcome to audition it, pretty much any time. Any constructive critiquing is welcome as well, as that's what it will take to get it to the next level. I'm damn happy with it though, and it serves as my before and after-work decompression chamber very well.
So this time around, I pulled out the good camera, hopefully this will help present what's happening in these doors better than the phone camera.
Over the last few days, I've taken my time and worked on each door. I took the JBL Power 8662 6x8 coaxials that I had in the front doors before I started this (re)build), and I installed those to the rear doors with some strategic, mild deadening. I used about 2 sheets of RAAMmat per door in the rear.
The front doors were really shaking up with the bass these RS225-4 drivers can put out. This was annoying and it was screwing up the presentation. So the front doors and door panels were heavily reinforced with extra sheets as well, and I tediously went through the door's small bits that rub or vibrate together to quiet them down. I added deadener to small parts to prevent them from shaking and making noise, and added Ensolite closed-cell foam to parts to hold them tight together and reduce squeaking. I went through about 3 sheets more per door in the front.
I started with the rear doors. Now these won't be playing super-low frequencies like the front doors do, in fact the crossover point is higher than you would typically think (120Hz) and this is so the front stage absolutely anchors as dominant...and the MS-8 processor makes the rear speakers work out of phase with the front because they only play the out of phase material in the original source. If they were crossed lower, the out of phase data would destructively interfere with the in-phase data from the front speakers, and cancel out some of the output. Crossing higher than 100hz is highly recommended for a surround processed-system like the MS-8 creates.
I began by temporarily peeling back the rear door's vapor barrier
And I installed the deadener where the door seemed to resonate the most, after being given the "rapp" test. These are pics of both rear doors at work.
I then cut the connector off the speaker wire, and direct-connected it to the JBL external crossover box which ended up making the short stock wire a non-issue. Yay!
Those were then installed without any issues, and the factory door panel put right back on. EASY!
I then moved on to the front doors. My son "helped"
Here's the final look of the passenger door, which is what I started with
Note the foam by the spring clip holes
Deadener everywhere
And the driver's door
The front doors went back together without a hitch. Final results of this effort are positive, and the insane rattles are gone. I can't stop a few rattles, at high volume though. The darn metal belt trim all around the car makes rattling noises on certain notes when its turned way up. The rear bumper foam vibrates a bit, and the driver and passenger mirror's internal bits do too. At sane volumes none of this happens so I'm OK with this.
So what remains of this project is possibly an amp upgrade (need more channels of power and possibly more total power), and a re-covering of the pillars after I touch up the filler and such underneath. Also I'm contemplating trying a new set of pillars with an even better speaker combo, but that's just on the back-burner. I suppose also I'll need to consider upgrading my subs at some point, as they are now having a bit of difficulty keeping up. It is all a process of continual advancement and experience.
Anybody local is welcome to audition it, pretty much any time. Any constructive critiquing is welcome as well, as that's what it will take to get it to the next level. I'm damn happy with it though, and it serves as my before and after-work decompression chamber very well.
