Complete Install with deadening, a lot of pics

Wrxified · 07-22-2008, 09:29 PM

Man am I glad to be done. I've had my STI for a year now. I had all of my equipment from my RSX Type-S literally gathering dust and aging in the basement. I was so exhausted after doing my RSX install a couple years ago that I couldn't get excited about starting the install. I guess what kills me most is all the work I do to deaden all of the interior panels. I know a lot of people tend to criticize others for adding the weight to an STI with deadening but for me it wasn't an option if I was going to put the nice equipment in the car. For one, the car is ridiculously loud to begin with, with next to no sound deadening and insulation from the factory. After spending the added effort once on a vehicle when doing a high end audio install it's really difficult to not do it again. I probably added 75-100 lbs of material. I did all of the inner and outer panels of the 4 doors and sides/back of trunk, and the entire floor. I didn't do the roof. The car is incredibly quiet now driving down the expressway at 75mph and the doors shut with a massive thud and authoritative sound.

Here's what I installed so far.

Eclipse AVN 5500 with rear backup camera and Sirius tuner
Front Speakers - JL Audio ZR650-CSi 2-Way Components (with Spacer the doors needed no cutting. I will say the spacer is 1" high and my window clears the magnet by about 1/4". It's about as big a speaker as you can fit in the front doors without major modifications.)
Rear Speakers - Infinity Kappa 52.9I's (Required about 1/8th inch of trimming to fit in the rear. I didn't use spacers but double matted the opening. My original plan was to drop in my JL Audio XR650-CXi's. They were simply too big and I didn't want to trash the door. Just wasn't worth it. I really only set my system to where you can barely tell there are rears anyways so the 6.5" JL's in the rear were overkill.)
Amps - JL Audio 300/4 & 500/1
Sub - JL Audio w6v2 ProWedge Subwoofer
Audio Integrations Fiberglass Amp Rack
Deadening and Insulating Materials - Elemental Designs v1SE² Dampening Material and TekLite v4 Insulation. (I know there a quite a few haters on this board. All I can say is I've used EDesign Audio's material 3 times now. I've never had any issues plus they always treat me right and it's very cost effective.)

I won't go into major details because there are about million deadening thread out there and a myriad of various install ones as well. If you have questions let me know and I'd be happy to answer them. I'm attaching the pictures for your enjoyment.

First thoughts. I am very impressed with the sound. I was able to successfully kill nearly all of the vibration and rattles in the trunk and rear panel area. Actually the only areas I missed that were vibrating were the rear view mirror and gas door. Both were easy to isolate and fix. If you guys ever get a chance to hear the JL Audio ZR Components and ProWedge Sub matched to these or similar amps you'd be amazed. In a nearly fully deadened car it's almost enough to bring tears to your eyes followed by a small trickle of blood from your ears.

Total process took about 10 days working off and on. I started the Thursday before last and finished on Sunday. Luckily I have a fun second car (1979 Datsun 280ZX) and the weather has been beautiful so I just left the STI in the garage and worked when I had the energy. I probably spent about 20-25 hours. 80% of that time was spent deadening the vehicle.

Overall I'm very pleased. Hope you like the pics.

Wrxified · 07-22-2008, 09:30 PM

Wrxified · 07-22-2008, 09:30 PM

couchflambeau · 07-23-2008, 06:43 AM

Very nice! One of these days I'll have to post pics of my ongoing build...

Keep an eye on the E-dead... heard some bad things on DIYMA and some other audio forums about the adhesive breaking down. Especially in high heat areas like along the tranny tunnel.

I take it the knob is the sub volume control? Doesn't the eclipse have a sub out?

Wrxified · 07-23-2008, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by couchflambeau

Very nice! One of these days I'll have to post pics of my ongoing build...

Keep an eye on the E-dead... heard some bad things on DIYMA and some other audio forums about the adhesive breaking down. Especially in high heat areas like along the tranny tunnel.

I take it the knob is the sub volume control? Doesn't the eclipse have a sub out?

Yes, the knob controls the output on the sub. The Eclipse does have a separate set ouf pre-amp outputs for the sub and in the settings you can set the sub volume from 1-4. I never use it though because the changes you hear from one to the other are negligible. Plus the remote knob is easier to get to.

couchflambeau · 07-23-2008, 03:11 PM

I'm half tempted to do the same... Use a PAC volume pot for my sub adjustment. My deck has more variation for sub adjustment, but it's buried behind menus and a simple knob like that would be great.

***solovus*** · 07-23-2008, 03:19 PM

You said you installed 75-100 lbs of material...was that just deadening? (I'm assuming it is) How much do you think you added to the vehicle total? I guess you need a new turbo to compensate

***Shahrum*** · 07-23-2008, 03:38 PM

Awesome work -- although I would've installed the satellite antenna inside the vehicle (front dashboard) so as to keep the roof/exterior clean. It works just as well inside the car as outside -- I have experienced this with other installs.

Wrxified · 07-23-2008, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by solovus

You said you installed 75-100 lbs of material...was that just deadening? (I'm assuming it is) How much do you think you added to the vehicle total? I guess you need a new turbo to compensate

Yah this was just the deadening material itself. My guess is I added another 150 with the actual system. I like your idea on the turbo. I have the Cobb Stage 2 today but I could use some more power.

couchflambeau · 07-23-2008, 05:43 PM

I have the same problem.... five cases of dynamat adds a bit of tonnage...

awdrev · 07-28-2008, 02:28 PM

Here's a pic of my setup.

I didn't take the seats and all out but I did manage to take the back seat and run everything independently.....
I had a quick Question though, it's regarding your tweeters... how did you mount them??
I actually had to take the old ones off and loctite glued the new tweeters, so far it's holding great since it's metal-to-metal....
Here's a pic of how it worked out for me....

I have Alpine Type R's and my actual write up is in different places... but here's the link anyhow....

WRX Full Audio Install HOW-TO + Pictorial (56K Don't even try it!) - ClubWRX Forum - Subaru Impreza WRX and STi Community and Forums

Nice stuff though.... looks good bro =D

Wrxified · 07-30-2008, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by awdrev

I had a quick Question though, it's regarding your tweeters... how did you mount them??
I actually had to take the old ones off and loctite glued the new tweeters, so far it's holding great since it's metal-to-metal....

I actually used some of my wife's craft hot glue. It's a pretty soft compound and fairly easy to remove from metal with a razor blade.

couchflambeau · 07-30-2008, 06:26 PM

2-min epoxy would be my choice....

***halfelite*** · 07-30-2008, 07:39 PM

Were is the backup cam located?

Wrxified · 07-30-2008, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by halfelite

Were is the backup cam located?

I did it next to the license plate on the right side.

07-22-2008, 09:29 PM	#1
Wrxified Junior STI Driver Car: Silver 05 WRX STi Fav Mod: Sound system & deadening project Location: Grand Rapids MI Posts: 61 Join Date: Feb 2007 Trader Rating: (1)	Complete Install with deadening, a lot of pics Man am I glad to be done. I've had my STI for a year now. I had all of my equipment from my RSX Type-S literally gathering dust and aging in the basement. I was so exhausted after doing my RSX install a couple years ago that I couldn't get excited about starting the install. I guess what kills me most is all the work I do to deaden all of the interior panels. I know a lot of people tend to criticize others for adding the weight to an STI with deadening but for me it wasn't an option if I was going to put the nice equipment in the car. For one, the car is ridiculously loud to begin with, with next to no sound deadening and insulation from the factory. After spending the added effort once on a vehicle when doing a high end audio install it's really difficult to not do it again. I probably added 75-100 lbs of material. I did all of the inner and outer panels of the 4 doors and sides/back of trunk, and the entire floor. I didn't do the roof. The car is incredibly quiet now driving down the expressway at 75mph and the doors shut with a massive thud and authoritative sound. Here's what I installed so far. Eclipse AVN 5500 with rear backup camera and Sirius tuner Front Speakers - JL Audio ZR650-CSi 2-Way Components (with Spacer the doors needed no cutting. I will say the spacer is 1" high and my window clears the magnet by about 1/4". It's about as big a speaker as you can fit in the front doors without major modifications.) Rear Speakers - Infinity Kappa 52.9I's (Required about 1/8th inch of trimming to fit in the rear. I didn't use spacers but double matted the opening. My original plan was to drop in my JL Audio XR650-CXi's. They were simply too big and I didn't want to trash the door. Just wasn't worth it. I really only set my system to where you can barely tell there are rears anyways so the 6.5" JL's in the rear were overkill.) Amps - JL Audio 300/4 & 500/1 Sub - JL Audio w6v2 ProWedge Subwoofer Audio Integrations Fiberglass Amp Rack Deadening and Insulating Materials - Elemental Designs v1SE² Dampening Material and TekLite v4 Insulation. (I know there a quite a few haters on this board. All I can say is I've used EDesign Audio's material 3 times now. I've never had any issues plus they always treat me right and it's very cost effective.) I won't go into major details because there are about million deadening thread out there and a myriad of various install ones as well. If you have questions let me know and I'd be happy to answer them. I'm attaching the pictures for your enjoyment. First thoughts. I am very impressed with the sound. I was able to successfully kill nearly all of the vibration and rattles in the trunk and rear panel area. Actually the only areas I missed that were vibrating were the rear view mirror and gas door. Both were easy to isolate and fix. If you guys ever get a chance to hear the JL Audio ZR Components and ProWedge Sub matched to these or similar amps you'd be amazed. In a nearly fully deadened car it's almost enough to bring tears to your eyes followed by a small trickle of blood from your ears. Total process took about 10 days working off and on. I started the Thursday before last and finished on Sunday. Luckily I have a fun second car (1979 Datsun 280ZX) and the weather has been beautiful so I just left the STI in the garage and worked when I had the energy. I probably spent about 20-25 hours. 80% of that time was spent deadening the vehicle. Overall I'm very pleased. Hope you like the pics. This ad is not endorsed by this member. Please register or login to hide this ad. Last edited by Wrxified : 07-23-2008 at 03:20 PM.

07-22-2008, 09:30 PM	#2
Wrxified Junior STI Driver Car: Silver 05 WRX STi Fav Mod: Sound system & deadening project Location: Grand Rapids MI Posts: 61 Join Date: Feb 2007 Trader Rating: (1)	Re: Complete Install with deadening, a lot of pics

07-22-2008, 09:30 PM	#3
Wrxified Junior STI Driver Car: Silver 05 WRX STi Fav Mod: Sound system & deadening project Location: Grand Rapids MI Posts: 61 Join Date: Feb 2007 Trader Rating: (1)	Re: Complete Install with deadening, a lot of pics

07-23-2008, 06:43 AM	#4
couchflambeau Junior STI Driver Car: 04' STi (JBP) Fav Mod: Cobb Stage 2 Location: ND Posts: 174 Join Date: Oct 2007 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Complete Install with deadening, a lot of pics Very nice! One of these days I'll have to post pics of my ongoing build... Keep an eye on the E-dead... heard some bad things on DIYMA and some other audio forums about the adhesive breaking down. Especially in high heat areas like along the tranny tunnel. I take it the knob is the sub volume control? Doesn't the eclipse have a sub out? Last edited by couchflambeau : 07-23-2008 at 08:02 AM.

07-23-2008, 03:11 PM	#6
couchflambeau Junior STI Driver Car: 04' STi (JBP) Fav Mod: Cobb Stage 2 Location: ND Posts: 174 Join Date: Oct 2007 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Complete Install with deadening, a lot of pics I'm half tempted to do the same... Use a PAC volume pot for my sub adjustment. My deck has more variation for sub adjustment, but it's buried behind menus and a simple knob like that would be great.

07-23-2008, 03:19 PM	#7
*solovus* Lurker Car: STIzzle Fav Mod: Tint Location: Toledo, OH Posts: 1,532 Join Date: Mar 2008 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Complete Install with deadening, a lot of pics You said you installed 75-100 lbs of material...was that just deadening? (I'm assuming it is) How much do you think you added to the vehicle total? I guess you need a new turbo to compensate

07-23-2008, 03:38 PM	#8
*Shahrum* Platinum Member Car: OBP 07 WRX STi Fav Mod: Speeeeed! Location: Northern VA Posts: 50 Join Date: Apr 2007 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Complete Install with deadening, a lot of pics Awesome work -- although I would've installed the satellite antenna inside the vehicle (front dashboard) so as to keep the roof/exterior clean. It works just as well inside the car as outside -- I have experienced this with other installs.

07-23-2008, 05:43 PM	#10
couchflambeau Junior STI Driver Car: 04' STi (JBP) Fav Mod: Cobb Stage 2 Location: ND Posts: 174 Join Date: Oct 2007 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Complete Install with deadening, a lot of pics I have the same problem.... five cases of dynamat adds a bit of tonnage...

07-28-2008, 02:28 PM	#11
awdrev STI Driver Car: cars, pball and all Location: NJ before, University of Posts: 261 Join Date: Sep 2004 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Complete Install with deadening, a lot of pics Here's a pic of my setup. I didn't take the seats and all out but I did manage to take the back seat and run everything independently..... I had a quick Question though, it's regarding your tweeters... how did you mount them?? I actually had to take the old ones off and loctite glued the new tweeters, so far it's holding great since it's metal-to-metal.... Here's a pic of how it worked out for me.... I have Alpine Type R's and my actual write up is in different places... but here's the link anyhow.... WRX Full Audio Install HOW-TO + Pictorial (56K Don't even try it!) - ClubWRX Forum - Subaru Impreza WRX and STi Community and Forums Nice stuff though.... looks good bro =D

07-30-2008, 06:26 PM	#13
couchflambeau Junior STI Driver Car: 04' STi (JBP) Fav Mod: Cobb Stage 2 Location: ND Posts: 174 Join Date: Oct 2007 Trader Rating: (0)	Re: Complete Install with deadening, a lot of pics 2-min epoxy would be my choice....

07-30-2008, 07:39 PM	#14
*halfelite* Platinum Member Car: 06 Subaru WRX STi Location: Riverside, CA Posts: 995 Join Date: May 2006 Trader Rating: (2)	Re: Complete Install with deadening, a lot of pics Were is the backup cam located?