door panel speaker pods

[onemoremile]

I borrowed a set of inner panels from Mike (TQMB5). He doesn't need them until he figures out how to put his car back together.

Rather than make a full mold this was done the cheap and easy way. The end result is a set of molded pods with felt backing. They can be taped to the doors in the car to get the fitment, aiming, depth, etc. just perfect. Then they can be incorporated into the door panel or used as a part of a whole door mold.

I used fleece that I found on the garage shelf, a couple cheap paintbrushes, and a $17 can of resin/hardener from Lowes. Also some tape and expanding foam, razor blade, and a couple other little odds and ends.

[arorem]

Nice, any pics?

[onemoremile]

Friday night:

[onemoremile]

Mask with masking tape. Tape down the top edge of the fleece and trim it to fit the area. Mark the edge and corner with a sharpie. Spray fleece and area with hairspray (Aquanet is best). Press into place, work smooth, and then heat with blowdryer or heat gun on lowest setting. This sets the hairspray holding the shape. Then wet out the fleece and let it set for a couple hours.





Lines make aligning the fabric easy.


Taped the edges down. Gives it a soft border after curing.

[onemoremile]

Location of a properly pointed 6.5". Would be sunk into the panel at least an inch.


Clarion Pro Audio 6.5" with the loop on it and an early 90's SoundStream SS5.1 mid.


Something like this but not mounted backwards.

[onemoremile]

After mocking up the 8" speakers in the rear of the front doors it became apparent that they would make reaching the manual recline knob a pain. The front of the rear doors is a much better place. Although I'm tentatively planning on Polk Momo 8" DVC subs I didn't have any extra 8" drivers laying around. Not without pulling apart a Klispsch Reference speaker anyway. This is a 10" MB Quart sub and is the backup for the one in my wife's Outback. It would fit with about 1 ft3 of space. An 8" would sound better and be easier to deal with though. Firing into the footwell would sound nice, give you a nice tactile sensation, and wouldn't hurt the kidneys like subs in the back of the front doors might.

[onemoremile]

I always love cracking to old stuff out of the bucket. Don't know why but it makes me happy. Easiest cleanup ever.

[onemoremile]

The finished front piece ready for some foamin! See my nice soft edges?











This little daredevil nearly broke his nose a few days ago. He's effin batshit crazy this one.

[onemoremile]

Fast forward to this morning. Kids are out and we're headed to Grattan Raceway for a little fun on one of the most amazing tracks in the country. This little gem is a ribbon of asphalt laid like a piece of spaghetti over a piece of quite farmland to strangely hilly to do anything else with. This place is roller coaster heaven.

The weapon of choice.
-cockpit _air fuel meter, gps speed display (134 today), old skool Smiths gauges.


-thrust _running around the 550 mark right now which is still way too much for this undulating track.




Put me in the game coach.

[onemoremile]

Mikey (TQMB5) getting the preflight rundown. "This is a nonsmoking flight. Once underway there will be no crying, puking, peeing, or bitchery of any sort. Escape now or hold on."



Feeling cocky until it roars to life. Uh oh. Eyes don't lie tough guy.

[djwimbo]

Looks good. I was just thinking about gettin the panels from the guy at work today.

I still think the sub in the front door would be B/A. Like you said though, the kidneys could live w/o that ... I'm hard enough on my kidneys/liver without that.

How about a 6-6.5 woofer in the rear of the front doors, 4-5.25 in the front and the tweeter up from there.
You could still run the 8" in the rear door. Might be a bit of overkill but you would seriously be surrounded by sound.

[onemoremile]

Done with the session. Backing up to the squirrel trap.


Done. Hooked for life.

[onemoremile]

Looks good. I was just thinking about gettin the panels from the guy at work today.

I still think the sub in the front door would be B/A. Like you said though, the kidneys could live w/o that ... I'm hard enough on my kidneys/liver without that.

How about a 6-6.5 woofer in the rear of the front doors, 4-5.25 in the front and the tweeter up from there.
You could still run the 8" in the rear door. Might be a bit of overkill but you would seriously be surrounded by sound.

You could put an 8" coax in the front lower door if you wanted to. 6.5" is an easy and unobtrusive fit, 5.25" can be countersunk and will look completely stock to anyone that doesn't already know what the stock panel looks like.

Always keep the number of speakers to the absolute minimum. Sounds much better and is so much easier to do. One great speaker will sound better than two half price speakers in the same size enclosure.

[djwimbo]

Have you done a test fit w/ the speaker ring in the front lower? I know there's not a ton of room there, but I don't want it sticking out too far either.

I thought you were busy this weekend? I'm out to Grattan tomorrow, Martin/US131 last night, and of course Monday it's nothing but relaxing.

Off topic, but I actually weighed my car yesterday at the track. 3/4 tank of fuel, my fat ass, and random b/s in the glove compartment, weighed in at 3383lbs. No spare and almost no rebar in the front bumper helps a bit. I changed plugs from the BKR7E to the BKR6E and ran 14 gal of 93 oct + 1.5 gal of E85. I picked up .3s at the drag strip, so I'm down to a 14.63. I'm sure the MBC paired w/ the N75 helped too.

[onemoremile]

315/30-18 Hoosier As up front! This car is pure evil.


335/30-18 Hooser A out back. FWIW, R is road course and sticky, A is autocross and suuuuuper sticky gumball grip. If an Azenis is an 8, RA-1 is a 10, these are about a 14.




timing gear.


The yellow Z06 next to him was retarded fast. Was running 9-15 seconds a lap quicker than the Cobra. Caught air in several sections of the track. He is a very competitive time trial driver. Says this billet CCW wheel is half the weight of the stock forged aluminum Z06 wheels and they are 2 seconds a lap quicker with the same tires.



$6k in wheels, $2k in tires, two more sets in the grass, another set on the car.....

[onemoremile]

Back from the track.

Ring and grill for 6.5" Clarion mid. Lost of foam to cut down.






The insides of these things are still soft fleece. The black spots are where the resin fully saturated the material.

[onemoremile]

This catches us up to real time.

Now I'm going to pull a rear panel and do the same thing. Later on I'll show you some tricks for forming the inner sections of the box. Simple, cheap, and effective.

[JumboBlack1.8]

Can't wait to see it when its done.....This was gonna be my next mod, before I ended up gettin hurt. Good luck man. I hope it turns out well

[djwimbo]

The CCW's on the red Vette are the two tone version of the wheels we had on Mike's(my roommate) Vette. Unfortunately he had skinnies up front b/c he got them off a drag racer.

Those Billet wheels look B/A. They're half the weight of stock Z06 wheels? The stock ones are light.

I wish Mike's Vette was still around b/c I wanted to see that thing opened up at a track. Oh well, He's doing an LS1 swap into the Miata this winter.

[onemoremile]

The intended subs are either the Polk Momo 8" DVC or the newer Polk MM8 marine drivers. Depending on how an old connection comes through for me these could be kicked to the curb for a set of Klipsch Reference drivers.

Polk MOMO driver.


Polk MOMO front component set.



These will probably go up front. They would go in just like this as coax drivers. This makes sense from both a volume and time alignment point of view. From the driver's seat the right speaker is twice as far away as the left one. The right one is then aimed at the driver's head while the left one is aimed at the passenger's head. For the driver the off axis response of the left speaker will make it seem half as loud as if it was pointed right at you. Since it is closer but quieter and the right is farther but louder they both seem to be playing the same volume. Same goes for all the passengers without touching the balance control. Aiming stock speakers this way will often sound better than great aftermarket speakers still aimed above your shins like the stock speakers. The stock placement aims them at the base of the windshield.





Pol MM Ultra Marine sub with grill. This whole thing would be countersunk and smoothed to look like the best stock system ever.






Polk MM info:
White Paper info:

Designed To Perform Introducing the new Mobile Monitor (MM) Series high performance loudspeaker systems, the next generation in mobile loudspeaker design. The MM Series features 18 new models, including 3 Ultra Marine designs, to fit virtually any application on land and water. The MM Series is composed of 6 full range systems, 3 component packages and 9 subwoofers. As a result of 3 years of Polk research and development, the new MM systems have been designed to offer unparalleled sound quality with exceptional fit to meet virtually any application. Borrowing technology from our flagship SR Series, the MM Series offers exceptional value for the price. Through the use of high-tech carbon composite baskets, powerful Neodymium motor structures using oversized voice coils, and state-of-the-art woven glass composite cones, we offer high-end audio performance normally found only in the most expensive loudspeaker systems. In addition, these space age materials offer weight savings that can mean higher performance for your car or boat.

FEATURES

* Space Age Materials reduce weight of components while offering rock solid reliability, advanced looks and ultra high performance.
* Neodymium Magnets a rare earth metal offering exceptional strength to performance ratio, found only in the most exotic speakers, saves tremendous weight. Don’t let the sound system weigh your vehicle down.
* Carbon Composite Basket based on the spokes of a wheel is lightweight, will not flex during peaks and looks great! Don’t be afraid to show off the back of your woofer.
* Klippel Optimized Components using a state-of-the-art Klippel Distortion Analyzer, Polk engineers were able to optimize the woofer’s motor structure, voice coil alignment and suspension for the best possible performance, even at extreme listening levels.

FULL RANGE SPEAKER FEATURES

* Woven Glass Composite Cones feature tremendous stiffness-to-mass ratio. Lower mass means faster transients and finer detail.
* Large-Diameter Voice Coils (30mm) in drivers increase reliability and power handling capacity.
* Swivel Mount Tweeters (coax models only) allow precise aiming of sound.

Price Point: $120 - $350pr

The amplifier could be a 4-6 channel like Polk PA1100.5, MB Quart NAA655, JL A6450 or A/D/S.
Quart NAA-655


Polk PA1100.5

[onemoremile]

Can't wait to see it when its done.....This was gonna be my next mod, before I ended up gettin hurt. Good luck man. I hope it turns out well

Thanks!

I'm not actually planning on buying any speakers or anything right now. Just wanted to play around and thought I could teach you guys some tricks. This stuff is stupid easy once you've seen it done. There are several different approaches and this is just one. Over the next season or two I'll show how to do cavity molds for 3 bucks each, accurately measure volume in minutes, and how to incorporate everything together.

The only real trick here is that I couldn't molest or modify Mike's door panels in any way. If this was a one off build I would have started by cutting the door, mounting speaker rings, and laying the fleece over everything before wetting out both sides of it. Then it would be glassed in and cleaned up to look like the whole door panel was all one piece.

[onemoremile]

Those Billet wheels look B/A. They're half the weight of stock Z06 wheels? The stock ones are light.

They look even better in black! BTW, some of these Z06 guys are running highly modded versions of the dry sump 427 aluminum block with titanium rods and very expensive heads. Naturally aspirated they can spin past 9,000 rpm and make over 600whp. I met a GM Z06 powertrain engineer a few years ago at Gingerman that had a bottle too. Said on the gas his datalogger put 70-120 at 1.7 seconds. f u c k .








The red Z06 with CCW classics. This car sounded like an offshore racing boat. Between this, the yellow Z06, silver Z06, and Cobra it sounded like a biker gang racing down main street.

[onemoremile]

Have you done a test fit w/ the speaker ring in the front lower? I know there's not a ton of room there, but I don't want it sticking out too far either.

I thought you were busy this weekend? I'm out to Grattan tomorrow, Martin/US131 last night, and of course Monday it's nothing but relaxing.

Off topic, but I actually weighed my car yesterday at the track. 3/4 tank of fuel, my fat ass, and random b/s in the glove compartment, weighed in at 3383lbs. No spare and almost no rebar in the front bumper helps a bit. I changed plugs from the BKR7E to the BKR6E and ran 14 gal of 93 oct + 1.5 gal of E85. I picked up .3s at the drag strip, so I'm down to a 14.63. I'm sure the MBC paired w/ the N75 helped too.

I held the cutout on my front door while in the car. An 8" would be nice and wouldn't be obtrusive. With my left foot on the dead pedal and pressing hard like on track in a long right hander it wouldn't be a problem.

If I could get a set of KEF Uni-Q 8" full range drivers I wouldn't hesitate for a second. These use a phase plug for perfect time alignment of the entire vocal range. Soon clean they are spooky.



Nice job at the track! I'll see if I can get out to Grattan and poach a ride. That course is a bitch to learn well. There are 4 or 5 turns that are right up there with Laguna Seca's corkscrew.

[theskuh]

I am confused.



What is happening with this?? Looks like my brain on drugs.

[bass_lover1]

My guess is he's gonna bore it out and use the foam as an enclosure.

[onemoremile]

Nope. Just getting a feel for what will fit and what it will look like. I could spray and finish the pods then use them to make molds and make dozens of form fitting pods in fiberglass, kevlar, or carbon fiber. Because of the way these are made the aim is dead perfect and the speaker magnet structure sits in the stock hole. Just remove the bose grill and the clearance is there. Tomorrow the door cavity gets dealt with.

The end result is that I'll be able to make a pair of molded pods. One for the outside of the door and the other for inside. Together they create a rigid mount with whatever air volume deemed necessary. Just image a set of high end bookshelf speakers mounted in the doors.

[onemoremile]

That white dot in the middle is the end of the aluminum shaft used to aim it at my head. It is dead on.



From the passenger seat. Lots of trimming left to do.


Nailed the middle of the bose grill. It will get moved over 3/4" soon.

[onemoremile]

Now that the axis is established we get out a big sharp knife and make a flat perpendicular cut. We'll keep bringing this in closer until it fits perfect.






Aim check.


From driver's seat.


From passenger seat.


Trimmed down.



Keep in mind that this is all sitting outside the stock door panel. Tomorrow when I remove the stock speaker grill and cutout that area on my mockup the new speaker will sit at least an inch deeper. Right now the pod protrudes about 3". This will be dropped to less than 2" with smooth graceful curves.

[oneohone]

Your car is dirty... Lol, nice work on the enclosure, can't wait to see the finished product.

[djwimbo]

Some of us use hack saw blades for that, others... cleavers work too I imagine.

I'm going to take a look into that PolkAudio and MBQ amp. They look huge, but if I only needed one, it would be nice.

.... last post before I go break my Grattan Cherry.(I'm excited)

[[email protected]]

Floor pods... SS 5.1 man this brings back memories.

I had a set of those Sounstream components in my first car which I entered into audio competitions. Totalled that car and in the next one installed DynAudio's instead.

So if you are making molds for the pods... can you make a couple of extra sets of final versions? [:P]

[onemoremile]

I'll send you a set of molds. This gives me an easy way to make thin molded pods. You can epoxy them onto your stock panels. I'm headed back out to the garage to form the other side of the enclosure. There is at least a half cube in there maybe 3/4. There is definitely enough room to suit the sub but the stock grill has to go.

[onemoremile]

Taped the door cavity to get an idea of shape and volume. Still have some math to do but it seems perfect for an 8-10" sub. The 8" enclosure could be built into the door itself leaving the door panel stock. It and the enclosure could also be built into the panel but it would shrink the volume by about 1/3.



It is about 3 bread bags big. Enclosure volume should be about .75 ft^3.


Tried to use the expanding foam in a bag trick to make a cavity mold but this foam had been on the shelf for a couple years and didn't do much.


Wondered what a door would look like if sprayed with Plasti-Dip. Uh yeah, good thing that isn't permanent.

[onemoremile]

Shot of the rear door with speaker removed.

[onemoremile]

Did the trim while in there.





And this is why the car is always dirty. It's just more fun than keeping clean.

[djwimbo]

I didn't realize there was that much room in the back door. I guess it wasn't a bad idea to put one back there too.

Oh yea, off topic. Your sway bar bracket dilemma, PM 317ss....., he's doing a part out.

[onemoremile]

Fred sent me some brackets that he made.


I'm going to hold off on further door work until the speakers are in hand. After giving it some serious though it still looks like 5 or 6" coax speakers up front with an 8" in each rear door. Simple is good. Haven't settled completely on the 8" subs though. Could be the Polk Momo. Pioneer Premier shallow, or even some German HKM/Westra drivers.

I've got to get the speakers here to take better measurements and start building. I'll probably have mount rings machined from aluminum but that may change.

[djwimbo]

I was thinking about a coax speaker up front b/c they're very simple and space saving. I've never set up a component set for a car that I own/drive, I'd like to at some point.

I still want those JBL 8" subs for the back doors. I think if I could strip the belt line trim to the aluminum and add some brushed alum rings around the speakers it would look great too.

[JumboBlack1.8]

Any updates on this SICK project???

I'm gonna be doing this as soon as my knee is better......its looks really good man!

[onemoremile]

Dropped the project for a little while. Got more important thing to focus on at the moment. Real life getting in the way again...