If you're a purist, have a heart condition, or think the C6 is a rare supercar, you may want to hit the back button
Long read ahead and a few pics.
So, over the years I have met some audio peeps and it had changed the direction of my system.
Originally I had ...
Kenwood 9902s, JL 900/5HD, JL C5-653 with mb and mid in 10" hole and tweet in upper location, kenwood coax rears off the deck, JL 10w3 in Madvettes cubby box. The sound was just OK. That single 10 does a great job for what it is. The C5s didn't impress me. The did get smoother when I switched to the Mosconi amps though.
I swapped the JL 900 for 2 Mosconi AS200.4s. and decided to upgrade. Soooooo...
I went to Dynaudio 362 Esotec set. This was a 8" in lower location, mid dome in upper, tweet in pillar all running passive, rears now off a 25x2 alpine amp, with a Mosconi 4to6 DSP with controller in ashtray (now zapco in its place), still running a single 10. At this point the sub is getting 640w, 3-ways up front getting 640 per side. This was a nice upgrade in smoothness and detail.
At this point I started reading and getting back into the car audio scene...the bug got me. I talked to a shop about 2 hrs away the has done sq winning builds and decided to get their opinion.I wasn't looking to compete, but I know there was much more to explore. I should add that I've consumed a bit of Jack Daniels single barrel tonight lol.
The shops advice was to go full active with what I have, get a tune, and go from there. I have learned the difference between a tune and SQ tune. There is a HUGE difference. My drivers tweet aim wasn't great, but he said hes seen worse sound ok and we'll address that later if needed. Very cool and honest of him. We added a Zapco DSP-Z8 IV since I needed more channels. Btw....this dsp is a phenomenal bang for the buck. I found out that the Dyne dome mids don't like to play below 700hz and we were looking to cross around 300. We swapped the dyne mid with a 3" Hybrid Audio L3SE and played them down to 300hz. At this point....there is 200w going to each midbass, mid, and tweeter and 640 to sub. Moving the 3" mids closer to the door panel would help imaging and x-over points since they are set back aprox 2" in the door panel. I can fix that
I was to Audiofrog GB25s and GB10s. I modded the doors and moved the GB25 all the way out while retaining stock mounting if ever needed. I build new pillars with gb10 tweets on axis, sealed off the rubber membrane in the door, added ensolite (closed cell foam) to the door panel to decouple it from the door itself. This setup was close to awesome. The reflections off the drivers windows would make some frequencies a little sharp to my ear. I sure I got some from the pass tweet as well. I'll mention that it was tuned after each change by the same guy. He also took 2nd at 'world' finals in his class.
So now I'm at the next set of changes. I wanted a sub(s) to dig deeper but weight and appearance has to be considered. Also, I wanted to re-aim tweets. After hearing multiple Infinite and trunk baffles...I decided to go there IB has been addressed and I'm starting new pillars next. So...when you go IB...you need strong midbass up front. The Dynes are good but I heard a buddies Oncore 6x9s running as midbass today...OMG!!! He shut off his 2 Oncore 15s and played the 6x9s down to 45hz...truly impressive. If he was cranking it (hes an SQL kind of guy) he would cross at 60. Needless to say...I may try them out. You could literally run w/o subs. I also added Cascade VB3 sound barrier.

My 2 Acoustic Elegance IB12AU subs were due to be built this past week. They should easily play to 20hz with authority. I still have to trim out the baffle after the subs come in. I will enter some sq comps just to see what judges think and to hang out with the guys and enjoy the day.
One of the things I learned....you know that volume you hear at 50 or 60 hz....ya...you should have that same volume/impact at 20hz. I wish I never found this out

first c5s

dei floor and tunnel shield



rack build

more power! 170a Mechman

2nd pillar build for gb10s

finished rack. Done by Audiodriven in Oak Forest,IL

Modded GB25. Hybrid L3SE wouldn't fit or else I would have kept it.

sealed door. no...that's not wood.

vb3 being laid

quick drawing. hmmm...wheres this going...

finished floor with vb3. Wait...wtf did i do?!?!


I love my job

carpet trimming mock up.

still need a trim panel made

 

I like it!

 

cool

 

You'll love those little GB25's man. Those little fuggers scream for what they are.

 

You are correct. I had it tuned with those and man...there's plenty of output.

 

Still waiting on subs. He Hope's to ship them this week. I can start the trim panel after that. In the meantime....I decided to order DEI muffler shield to knock down temps and a little noise from the mufflers. Rear end is back together fully (not in pic though).
I'll start the pillar rebuild this weekend.
Dont know if I mentioned it but I laid Cascade VB3 from the wall behind the seats all the way back including the back and sidewalls behind wheels.

 

Played with a cpl tweeter options yesterday and I can finally start the pilliars. Tweets aimed about at rear targa latch.
These showed up this morning! Lots to to this weekend.

 

Hell yeah bro. I never thought about cutting a hole in the rear deck floor. I can't imagine how much road noise would get through there though...please report back ASAP when you get that thing on the road.

 

I'd be lying if I said It wasn't a concern lol. Mufflers are wrapped for heat and it should also help noise. It sounds like a race car inside right now and the fumes will kill ya.
I added a filter to keep the subs a little cleaner.
I have to run out for some items, but I will have the subs fired up later today.
I can start to draw up the top trim panel and lexan rings for LEDs now that I have the subs for physical measurement.

 

Fab of pillars is getting closer. Little more sanding to do. I'm having a shop do their texture/paint work to them instead of vinyl. This guy is amazing.
Made progress on trim panel. Just have to get vinyl and magnets to secure it.
The pic of the LEDs is a mock up. There is light escaping through the top of the lexan ring. The uncut LED strip is running out the side and not allowing top to sit flush.



mock up

glassed inside

 

That's a bold move going aperiodic over a heat source. Definitely in on this one to see how it turns out; I like it.

 

I have ideas if mufflers still put off too much heat with the wrap on them.
go to a B&B with mufflers half the size and to retain NPP. That will allow room to fab a heat sheild and still allow subs to breathe.

 

So, I rolled the car out today to clean the garage. It warmed up in driveway for 10 min, drove around the subdivision, and got on it a cpl times down the street. I took some temps....
short exhaust pipe after the muffler was 170 ish degrees F
back side of muffler was 334
outside of muffler with DEI muffler shield...74

 

Overdue updates.
Finding matching vinyl has been a fuster cluck. Waiting on reply from a large supplier. My just strip amp rack this weekend and redo it all.
The pillars are done! Aimed between seats at ceiling. Much better than when I had them on axis since side glass reflections were greatly reduced.
Smoothed out the beauty panel for the subs

 

Painted the grills. Audiofrog GB25 hiding out behind them.
Before and after modifying the inside of door panel. The speaker must breathe! Never a good idea to stack spacers that will cover the basket. I left the stock mounting posts...dunno why lol. The system would prob go with car if i sold it anyway.

 

Nice build, my wife would never let me do something like that in my trunk, she needs room for the kitchen sink

 

Looking into a hooker Blackheart or bb fusion catback. Went on my first cruise after the install. We ‘cruised’ between 85 and 100. Was not particularly happy with the heat off the mufflers. With smaller and angled mufflers I can install a solid heat shield with little mods.

 

You'll love those GB25's. Those things are plain stupid in their capability.

 

A buddy bought 25s for pillars and 10s for sails. We glassed and installed them. Hes not done but just listened to mine and was floored at their output for a dinky 2.5".
Btw...did some tuning/testing between the gb10 and dyne md102 tweeter. You were right...I liked the 'sparkle' of the frogs. My buddy tuning liked the dynes. Personal taste ....and also the reason ppl should demo speakers.

 

Still working on this???