• Sign Up! To view all forums and unlock additional cool features

    Welcome to the #1 Fiesta ST Forum and Fiesta ST community dedicated to Fiesta ST owners and enthusiasts. Register for an account, it's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the Fiesta ST Forum today!


Competition Stereo install update

OP
antarctica24

antarctica24

Active member
Messages
669
Likes
344
Location
O'Fallon, MO, USA
Thread Starter #21
Looking good. I like the idea of securing it using the existing spare tire bolt except I'd be weary of driving without a spare.
Im not saying a spare isn't nice, but with the 206 40/17 puncturing this tire and having a problem to where you cant get somewhere is rare. I have had nails and such, but have always made it to the tire place. Or you keep your spare at home. I also have AAA. :)

In order to have excellent car stereo you have to take advantage of the space. If you (not you personally), want to just have some bass in the car there are obviously much easier ways to get there. JL audio makes a sub in a box with amp, for $599.00 and it will sit right under the rear cover. its pretty compact, and will give you bass. Not what I would call correct bass but bass. Doing it right requires a lot of work. More work than most are willing to undertake.
 


OP
antarctica24

antarctica24

Active member
Messages
669
Likes
344
Location
O'Fallon, MO, USA
Thread Starter #23
The subbox is progressing to my liking. While I do not appreciate the humor in Ford making it difficult to fit the box in the trunk easy, I have made it work the way I wanted to.
As you can see from the pictures, the box is made of layers, of 3/4 MDF. The top section follows a contour to fit all the way towards the front to allow the back seats to function as designed, and to the far left and right in between the two metal bumps just outside of the wheel well. The amps will be installed vertically in the upper right hand corner standing up through the top baffle as you will see shortly.

The bottom of the enclosure had to be designed in a fashion to allow me to utilize the airspace in the wheel well and give enough clearance to allow the box to be moved in and out of the vehicle. Although taking it out fully assembled is a two person job. The entire enclosure without subs weighs about 45 lbs. I expect to have to change the rear springs to accommodate the extra weight in the rear, but I am ok with that. I suspect that 25lb of spring weight will suffice.

The middle of the enclosure has two half circle cutouts to accommodate the vents for the subs.

So now that I have the shape and pieces cut out, I can start assembling the box. This means I have to screw and glue each layer to each other. That will take a couple of days as I want each layer to dry before doing the next layer. After it is all assembled, I will clean it up with a sander and I will put a layer of fiberglass resin over the entire enclosure inside and out, to protect it from water, and seal the enclosure for air tightness. The enclosure will also have a hole cut in the bottom to attach to the spare tire point in the bottom of the wheel well to secure the enclosure in place. The enclosure will then be filled with wool fibers to help control the air movement in the box.

Some might ask, why would I go to so much trouble when I could have just fiberglassed an enclosure the shape of the trunk. That is true, I could have done that, but the fiberglass enclosure is not as thick, as the wood enclosure. All of the walls are 1", making the enclosure 1" thick. The amount of effort to make a fiberglass enclosure 1" thick would have been more of an effort than what I have done here.

Once the amps are cut out, and other pieces mounted where they need to be, a cover panel made from 1/4 mdf will be made to finish the fit in the trunk area covering from side to side. Then that will be finished by a thick piece of plexi secured to the top to make it difficult for someone to steal.

IMG_20170416_124212301.jpg
IMG_20170416_124153538.jpg
IMG_20170416_124148040.jpg
IMG_20170416_123758916.jpg
IMG_20170416_123748401.jpg
IMG_20170416_123632377.jpg
IMG_20170416_123621416.jpg
IMG_20170416_123607792.jpg
IMG_20170416_123532313.jpg
IMG_20170415_125440715.jpg
zpic2.jpg
zpic1.jpg
 


OP
antarctica24

antarctica24

Active member
Messages
669
Likes
344
Location
O'Fallon, MO, USA
Thread Starter #24
Equipment I will be using.

Here is some of the equipment being used in the install

The Tweeter
The Seas T35C-002

This is a 1.5" Silk Dome capable of playing down to 1500hz, with a resonance frequency at 620 hertz. It has a power handling capability of 100 Watts nominal 250 peak. Each one of these will receive 100 watts of power. The lower frequency allows me to play more of the vocal range from the tweeter helping to stabilize the sound stage.

IMG_20170419_075656588.jpg
IMG_20170419_075648223.jpg
IMG_20170419_075607070.jpg

The midrange duties are handled by 4 Morel Hybrid 4" drivers mounted in spherical enclosures. These enclosures were printed on a 3D printer. I have waited a long time for this. The sphere is the best shape for building a speaker enclosure. These enclosures will be taken to a body shop for finishing. They will be prepped, sanded, and finished in the same automotive paint the car is painted. Then the insides of these enclosures will be covered in modeling clay to deaden the enclosure for good measure and finally filled with wool fiber.

IMG_20170419_075315681.jpg
IMG_20170419_075307607.jpg

There are 2 subs, Morel Ultimo SC10 10"

IMG_20170419_075341933.jpg
IMG_20170416_105958599.jpg

Amplifiers are handled by 2 Alpine PDX-V9's

IMG_20170419_075548037.jpg
IMG_20170419_075537264.jpg

All processing duties are handled by a Mosconi Aerospace 12 channel processor, this has level control, full crossover control per channel, 31 band EQ per channel, and time alignment if necessary plus a full 8 volts of signal out.

IMG_20170419_075437633.jpg
IMG_20170419_075418595.jpg

Voltage regulation is handled by a Flux Cap from Harrison Labs, this will take power from the battery and feed the 15 Farad Cap maintaining 14.4 volts of power to the amps at all times.

IMG_20170419_075753662.jpg
IMG_20170419_075745395.jpg
IMG_20170419_075736824.jpg

And the 15 Farad Capacitor
IMG_20170419_075817951.jpg

What is not pictures here is the midbass driver. I am still trying to figure out the best way to make this happen. I want something between a 7 and 8" midbass driver, but I am trying to decide on the best choice for the application. Once the subwoofer enclosure is finished I will start working on the doors, and will make the decision at that time.
 


Last edited:

WeTheNorth

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,158
Likes
220
Location
WestCoast
#25
Real high quality stuff, it looks like, it's going to sound amazifn


Sent from my CIA monitored device
 


OP
antarctica24

antarctica24

Active member
Messages
669
Likes
344
Location
O'Fallon, MO, USA
Thread Starter #26
Covers plates now fitted. OMG WHAT A PAIN IN THE BUTT to create these. Now they have to be secured for position, cut for audio components, then vinyl wrapped. The 1/2 polycarbonate sheet has been ordered. They are working on cutting out the holes for the subs.


IMG_20170513_151323880.jpg IMG_20170513_151329405.jpg
 


Messages
206
Likes
39
Location
Indianapolis
#27
Looks like it will be nice when finished. Lots of effort and will show well if that is what you ultimately do.

Quick question, why did you go with the head unit and amps you did? They are not audiophile quality; not that many exist today. Not being critical just curious...
 


OP
antarctica24

antarctica24

Active member
Messages
669
Likes
344
Location
O'Fallon, MO, USA
Thread Starter #28
Looks like it will be nice when finished. Lots of effort and will show well if that is what you ultimately do.

Quick question, why did you go with the head unit and amps you did? They are not audiophile quality; not that many exist today. Not being critical just curious...
I think that's a really good question.
First what makes an amp audiophile quality?
Frequency response, total harmonic distortion, dampening factor, signal to noise ratio. So these amps have a freq res of 3 hertz to 100,000, they have a total harmonic distortion of .005 on the mains and .006 on the sub, the dampening factor is greater than 500 on the mains and greater than 1000 on the subs, and signal to noise on the mains is 112db and on the subs 119db. While specs are not everything find me an amp that puts out 100 x 4 and 500 x 1 in that size and cost and you will have my attention.

While specs are not everything 112db sinal to noise is very very very quiet. Oh wait very quiet. That means you will be listening more to the music than system noise from the amp.

Now power. Class d is very efficient. That's how I can run 1800 watts through this system and do it on the factory alternator with the help of a cap.

You could not run class a/b amps in the same power config nor class a and you can search but will be very hard pressed to find another amp that specs as well as these do.

Jlaudio doesn't, focal doesn't, that junk over at hybrid audio doesn't, arc audio signature series doesn't, mosconi doesn't, not even the audison Quattro amp specs beat the Alpine. Dollar for dollar it's the best amp you can get and even if I was driving a semi I would still use this amp. It is cleaner than anything else out there and that is what makes an amp audiophile grade. šŸ˜€
 


OP
antarctica24

antarctica24

Active member
Messages
669
Likes
344
Location
O'Fallon, MO, USA
Thread Starter #30
Ok, so the reason is cost, size, and manufacturer provided specifications, right?

Again, I was just curious.
And power requirements from the amp on the electrical system. While I'm willing to admit they are just specs, Alpine has a history of correctly and accurately rating third amps.
 


Messages
29
Likes
3
Location
Santa Barbara
#32
I have seen the double din kits, but I am not sure they would fit or not, there was a bar that had to be cut out for this to work. I guess the only way to tell would be get one and install it.

The Door unlock and lock and hazard buttons work. The others will not do anything after I remove the screen.
I'm thinking of trying to make the same Metra dash kit work for my Fiesta ST with MyFord touch as well. I wouldn't be going as far as you with the processor and amps, at least for the time being, but I'm interested in getting an aftermarket single DIN head unit working.

I'm wondering about the wiring though. You said you were able to get it working with the factory speakers (although you've gone past that now).
Was removing the MyTouch screen necessary for that or are you just doing that to replace it with a tablet?
I noted that you mentioned a steering wheel control adapter from PAC, was that all you needed or did you have to use some axxess integrate or similar products?
 


OP
antarctica24

antarctica24

Active member
Messages
669
Likes
344
Location
O'Fallon, MO, USA
Thread Starter #33
I'm thinking of trying to make the same Metra dash kit work for my Fiesta ST with MyFord touch as well. I wouldn't be going as far as you with the processor and amps, at least for the time being, but I'm interested in getting an aftermarket single DIN head unit working.

I'm wondering about the wiring though. You said you were able to get it working with the factory speakers (although you've gone past that now).
Was removing the MyTouch screen necessary for that or are you just doing that to replace it with a tablet?
I noted that you mentioned a steering wheel control adapter from PAC, was that all you needed or did you have to use some axxess integrate or similar products?
The sync screen didn't offer me anything g I needed. I want a touch screen to access j river media center. I was going to use a tablet but have changed that up. I purchases a micro atx motherboard and will be using the Asus essance stx 2 sound card. Signal to noise is 124db and thd is .0003. I'm building a custom polycarbonate setup to house the computer. Then just getting a 10" or 12" display.

As for the steering wheel controls you lose the center button to access the phone for dialing. But I can press the button on the head unit to do the same.

The phone button on the steering wheel now scrolls through the different sources on the radio which I like better.

The kit offered by metra while not pretty does not fit our cars completely. The screen has to go and you replace the shroud with a standard fiesta shroud. You have to cut a couple of brackets to make an din radio work but I can say that a double din would work if you wanted to make a custom plate, and a flip out will definitely work. This is also a one way trip. Once you go down this path of replacing the radio. It is permanent.

I have had the car torn apart trying to get the sound deadening thing worked out. I thought I was done and then I noticed a rattle coming from the rear bumper so I had to take that off to hunt that down. I thinking seriously about having it covered underneath in line-x to make sure no noises come from anywhere buy the sound system.

Rammaudio has got a great set of instructions on the best way to go about it. We just differ on the materials to use. But he's got great stuff. I'll post pictures of that shortly.
 


Messages
125
Likes
26
Location
Seattle
#34
Damn dude. Your system is going to be a beast. I am subscribed. It's interesting that you touched on class AB amps in your reply to Chicago Slick. The landscape has changed in 20 years. *Old man voice* Back in my day we used to run Class A amps (Soundstream Class A, Orion HC, PPI Art, etc.) and we liked it! They sounded great at 4 ohms and would bridge down to .5 for the subs to keep you in a lower power class. When class D's came out they were efficient but didn't sound so great. Now we've got class D's that are approaching audiophile grade at a fraction of the price. What wondrous times we live in.
 


OP
antarctica24

antarctica24

Active member
Messages
669
Likes
344
Location
O'Fallon, MO, USA
Thread Starter #35
Damn dude. Your system is going to be a beast. I am subscribed. It's interesting that you touched on class AB amps in your reply to Chicago Slick. The landscape has changed in 20 years. *Old man voice* Back in my day we used to run Class A amps (Soundstream Class A, Orion HC, PPI Art, etc.) and we liked it! They sounded great at 4 ohms and would bridge down to .5 for the subs to keep you in a lower power class. When class D's came out they were efficient but didn't sound so great. Now we've got class D's that are approaching audiophile grade at a fraction of the price. What wondrous times we live in.
I've been busy and have done a lot I'm the last couple of weeks and will be updating with pictures in the next or so. I'm between computers. Those amps you mentioned were absolutely stupid awesome back in the day. The Orion hcca stuff briding down to 1/4 Ohm and you could cook on those amps they were so hot. And the soundstream stuff especially the class a we're unbelievable.

Thanks for compliments. Ill have some pictures soon.
 


OP
antarctica24

antarctica24

Active member
Messages
669
Likes
344
Location
O'Fallon, MO, USA
Thread Starter #36
Sound Deadening update

So its been awhile, but I have updates.

So what Ive been working on is sound deadening. Now, I want to throw a salute to Ramm Audio, while I didn't use his material I highly recommend it. I had some old sponsers in my pocket, so I got a deep discount on the boom mat. But If I had to buy at full price, I would recommend RAMM AUDIO sound deadener.

So what I did basically was gut the car everywhere except the head liners. I do not believe that deadener is needed there. 90% of all your noise is coming from the bottom and sides. So first I put the deadener on all the metal surfaces front and back. Then for the front of the car I used 1/2" cloth based deadener on top of the sticky stuff under the carpet all the way back to the back seat area. Then I put the carpet back down.

For the back, I am using 1/2 " Yoga matt from Golds Gym, purchased through Walmart online.

For the panels, All panels have sound deadener installed on the panels and then I spray glued the 1/2" cloth deadener to each of the panels. This was all done to the all the panels except the front doors. I also ran 8 pair of speaker wire from the front to the back all through the center console. That is 2 pair for the tweeters, 4 pair for the midrange per side, and 2 pair for the midbass in the doors.

The last weekend in July, I am installing my Mountune turbo, and will be back at the car audio install the first weekend in August so I will have an update every weekend with pictures.

These pictures show the trunk area, and the panels.

Optimized-IMG_20170520_182526530.jpg
Optimized-IMG_20170520_182539578_HDR.jpg
Optimized-IMG_20170617_151203719.jpg
Optimized-IMG_20170617_153514836.jpg
Optimized-IMG_20170617_153519574.jpg
 


Messages
206
Likes
39
Location
Indianapolis
#37
So its been awhile, but I have updates.

So what Ive been working on is sound deadening. Now, I want to throw a salute to Ramm Audio, while I didn't use his material I highly recommend it. I had some old sponsers in my pocket, so I got a deep discount on the boom mat. But If I had to buy at full price, I would recommend RAMM AUDIO sound deadener.

So what I did basically was gut the car everywhere except the head liners. I do not believe that deadener is needed there. 90% of all your noise is coming from the bottom and sides. So first I put the deadener on all the metal surfaces front and back. Then for the front of the car I used 1/2" cloth based deadener on top of the sticky stuff under the carpet all the way back to the back seat area. Then I put the carpet back down.

For the back, I am using 1/2 " Yoga matt from Golds Gym, purchased through Walmart online.

For the panels, All panels have sound deadener installed on the panels and then I spray glued the 1/2" cloth deadener to each of the panels. This was all done to the all the panels except the front doors. I also ran 8 pair of speaker wire from the front to the back all through the center console. That is 2 pair for the tweeters, 4 pair for the midrange per side, and 2 pair for the midbass in the doors.

The last weekend in July, I am installing my Mountune turbo, and will be back at the car audio install the first weekend in August so I will have an update every weekend with pictures.

These pictures show the trunk area, and the panels.

View attachment 15161
View attachment 15162
View attachment 15163
View attachment 15164
View attachment 15165
Very Nice...This is how you do it right!!!
 


OP
antarctica24

antarctica24

Active member
Messages
669
Likes
344
Location
O'Fallon, MO, USA
Thread Starter #38
New Dash Pictures

So......

A little change of plans. Same Speakers, but to make the printed pods work would have ended up being a monumental undertaking including some dash reconstruction.

I know some of you are going to look at this and say WTF was I thinking??? I take my car audio very very seriously. And from a staging and imaging point of view, the door speakers are NEVER going to get it right and while a kick panel speaker does do something better than the door, I am not giving up my kick panel. Now. With that said I am 6.2, I have lost nothing regarding visibility, and that dumb stock screen and so called radio are gone.

These pods are wrapped in red carbon vinyl, and while it does not 100 percent match the car, its close enough. It is just enough to make it stand out, and not be obnoxious, at least in my opinion.

So we have a 4" tweeter, with 1.5" dome, and dual Morel 4" on each side of the dash.

Some might notice the retarded Metra kit still in the car, I am in a transitional move between Spokane and St Louis. So that factory piece in still in Spokane but was shipped out today. So that will be remedied soon.

The head unit was changed to the Pioneer DEX P99RS all Pre-Amp deck which is using the AKM DAC.

I am also selling the Aerospace processor and going back to do what I wanted to do all along and that is using the Behringer DEX2496 and 2 DCX2496's. Which by the way are also using the AJM Dacks.

As for the AMPS, I am having a moment. I have the Alpine PDX-V9 which was my first choice on specs alone. but I have re thought the Alpine amps but not for the reasons you might think. The Alpine amps are limited to only being able to handle 4 volts worth of signing on input. By switching to the Behringer processors, I am needing the capability to feed 8 volts worth of signal. With that said, my first choice will be (2) Zapco Z140.4 SP and (1) Z400.2 SP for the subs. In this configuraition, I get 150 x 8, for the front stage, and 700 X 2 for the subs. Option 2 might be some Sinfoni amps, Those are Italian, but very pricey So I have to figure out if I can afford them.

I am not putting the rear seats back in the car, I am going with a roll cage and the amp rack will be part of the roll cage.

This is all for now, I will have the car back in the shop on Jan 10th to have the 7" dynaudio MW172 midbass drivers installed in the doors, and I will post pictures when that is done.


Dash1.jpg
dash2.jpg
 


Similar threads



Top