My new kick builds with PICS

[peter325i]

Here are some pictures of my new kick builds. After 2 months they are finally complete. Aside from a few flaws in the vinyl, I'm quite pleased with how they turned out and the sound improvement is night and day.



Here I made a carbon copy of the factory trim panel using 2 layers of fiberglass matte. The factory trim was covered in mold release wax to allow it to be easily separated from the cured fibergass.


Next, I cut a ring from 3/4" MDF for my 13cm speakers. I used some scrap wood and multipurpose metal strapping to elevate and hold the ring at the proper angle.


Here you can see how I attached the strapping... pretty high tech



I went to the dollar store and picked up 2 laser pointers. These were used to point the speakers in the right direction. I ended up breaking both laser pointers while working on this project so I'm not surprised they only cost a dollar. I aimed the speakers as close as I could to the opposite passenger's ear. This means the paths cross in the center of the vehicle at about chest height.




Here you can see the entire structure once it has been fixed in the proper position. I used hot glue to secure the wood scraps.



Driver's side


Passenger's side


Both kick builds are vented with a 5cm hole and filled with a small amount of wadding. At some point in the future, I plan to install component speakers.

[lenny-d]

how did you get aronud the problem of opening the glove box and bonnet (hood)

nice job though

[peter325i]

The glove box opens fully with very minor modification.

There was a small plastic lip on the bottom right side of the glove box that was hitting the enclosure when the glove box was open. I used a dremel tool to shave the lip down a bit. It's a close fit but it turned out ok.

Also, if you look at the nylon straps that hold the glove box up you'll see that the metal brackets are often bent from years of wear and tear. I was able to make a little more room by bending the brackets back into their original shape.

The hood release is mounted in the same place but I removed the handle and replaced it with a pull knob that attaches to the cable. I will upload pictures of this a bit later.

[tailoutcharlie]

dont think you could use such an extreme angle on a right hand drive unfortunatley.
good work though pal, looks good.

[peter325i]

dont think you could use such an extreme angle on a right hand drive unfortunatley.
good work though pal, looks good.

Yeah I was thinking about that, the accelerator would get in the way.

Can anyone recommend 5.25" components that offer decent bass extension?
The Bostons I have in there become a little distorted below 85hz or so.

[chu346]

Can anyone recommend 5.25" components that offer decent bass extension?
The Bostons I have in there become a little distorted below 85hz or so.

that maybe due to lack of air space and you could do with a 6.5" speaker.

so..... make another set for 6.5" speakers.

you also said you put a port in there, so maybe the tuning is off. have you any idea of the airspace in the enclosure?

If you want it to play low put a couple of 6.5's in the doors, the air space helps alot.

[peter325i]

I thought the same thing, but I have the same speakers in the rear shelf (open to the trunk), and they don't produce anymore bass than the fronts.

The space in the foot well is so limited that it doesn't make sense to put a 6.5" speaker down there, plus 6.5s require even more volume (air space) to function optimally. That's why I stayed with 5.25".

I'm guessing the volume inside each pod is roughly 2.5-3.0 liters.

[chu346]

I'm guessing the volume inside each pod is roughly 2.5-3.0 liters.

try and tune your port with that, good luck!

Just get a small sub aswell, or better still get a big sub

[peter325i]

I'm guessing the volume inside each pod is roughly 2.5-3.0 liters.

try and tune your port with that, good luck!

Just get a small sub aswell, or better still get a big sub

Thanks, do you know of an online tool for calculating port diameters on speakers this small?

[chu346]

search for winisd i use this for all my box calculations

remember that you tune the enclosure with the port and it doesn't matter what speaker you use for the calculations although a speaker with a big chassis will take up more air space and reduce the volume.

[lenny-d]

filling behind the speaker with cotton wool (not to compact) will make the speakers believe that the space is bigger and seal up the ports give you alot tighter base

[peter325i]

Thanks for your thoughts and ideas folks.
I ran a few tests yesterday to determine how the speakers perform at different bass frequencies.
I played a number of sine wave samples at frequencies ranging from 60hz to 180hz and found the speakers sounded great except in the 100-120hz range where they sounded a bit harsh.

60hz-100hz - sounded very nice and rich.
100hz-120hz - loud and a bit harsh, noticeable coloration.
120hz-180hz - good.

Before running this test I believed the distortion was coming from the mid-bass frequencies 60-100hz, but to my surprise the noticeable distortion is actually coming from the upper-bass frequency. I wonder how I can improve this?

[lenny-d]

sorry mate way over my head now

[aceraf]

Is that in the enclosure or out?

if it's out, then check to see if the enclosure makes any diffence (which i wouldn't think it would at those frequencies), else it's the speakers!

Or just thought, did you have any filters on your head-unit turned on...i.e. the graphic equaliser settings, or the rock/pop etc for those that don't have 3/5/7 band graphic equalisers?

Also, how were you powering the speakers, amp or head-unit? That may affect it aswell!

[peter325i]

I ran the test with the speakers mounted in the enclosures and no filters or equalizers (flat).
Each speaker is getting 75W RMS from a JL 300/4.

I should also note: the areas surrounding the speakers are covered in sound deadener.

[aceraf]

You could do the test with them out of the enclosure to see if they do play better, but sometimes it's just the speakers!

It can be a real battle sometimes getting a balanced sound all the way through the frequencies

[peter325i]

Thanks aceraf. Maybe I'll try taking the speaker out and running the same test.

Also I plan on upgrading these speakers anyway, so it will be interesting to see if the problem persists once the new speakers are installed.

What kind of setup to you have in your car?

[aceraf]

at the moment standard... check out this post:- http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... ic&t=65364

that's my bass sorted....

i'm planning on replacing the fronts, and adding tweeters in the front...

and i really like 6x9's over component speakers....I had 4 6x9's in my old car, and the sound was crystal clear....although i did have a £400 Sony MP3 head-unit, and built that whole system around that head-unit!

I want everything to look stock, and original, so gota work out a way of hiding everything away!

[miniblob]

Liking the look of those builds!!!! Makes me want to go and build some for mine!!!

[kam325itouring]

looks cool, looks a bit like my ones but my angles were not that much cos of the accelerator pedal!! i also added tweeters in my builds too.

[kam325itouring]

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... highlight=

[kam325itouring]

the link to my builds above

[peter325i]

Nice, those do look similar. I see you covered them in charcoal gray vinyl just like I did. How do those Focal's sound? Are they 13cm?

UPDATE:
I ended up pulling all the vinyl off the driver's side pod because I needed to fill in the recess where the hood release is mounted. By doing this, the mounting point will be further out, allowing enough clearance for the factory handle to be used (PICS COMING LATER THIS WEEK!)

Since I have the pod out of the car I'm going to add an extra layer of fiberglass matte to the rear panel. I'm hoping this will stiffen up the enclosure and lower the resonate frequency a bit.

I've also been reading about aperiodic enclosures and the benefit they offer when space/volume is limited. So I may try this out to see if it improves the bass response.

[kam325itouring]

the focals sound amazing the best speakers i bought!!!!!! im running 80w rms through them with a directed amp.

[peter325i]

Here are some views of the driver's side pod with hood release handle mounted:

The existing slot in the knee bolster was cut and extended to give the handle more room when it is pulled up.




Here is a pic of the hood release where it attaches to the pod.

[peter325i]

BTW, I was able to improve the sound of my speakers somewhat by adjusting the crossover/slope on my amp.

My previous setting was:
85hz (24db/octave)

Now I'm using: 115hz (12db/octave)

It seems my speakers are better suited to a higher crossover point and a more gradual (12db/octave) slope.
Set up this way, the mid bass isn't quite as loud but it sounds much cleaner and detailed.