New sound system- Any ideas?

[sam]

Just wondering what you guys have done to improve the sound quality in your Zeds. I currently have an old radio and the normal speaker setup with some dodgy speakers in my 260. I have seen the speaker panels on Motorsport Auto and was considering constructing something along those lines myself, has anyone done this or any other kind of speaker box setup? Or would just replacing the radio and speakers be enough to get quite a good sound setup? I am not looking for anything spectacular just enough for reasonable sound quality. Any help or advise would be much appreciated.

[JP240z]

well,

i may have gone to extremes, but with a car as loud as a zed, you need a custom setup to get half decent sound.

I would recomend just making a box for the back, putting in 6X9's and putting 6" splits in the front. These wil need a head unit, which is about $50-600 depending on your budget.

Thats a pretty cheap way to have half decent sound.

all up could be done for about $300.

if your someone thats not looking for fully loud sound, dont even bother with amps or subwoofers.

if you need any ideas, have a look at some of my pics.

http://www.viczcar.com/v-web/gallery/thumbnails-45-page-4.html

[dave_hl]

Sam, I am in the process at the moment of installing some half decent sound into my car. as JP240z said, if you are after a basic system you can just go for a headunit and either a pair of speakers, or a set of 4 speakers.

 

I am installing the headunit into the glovebox for both security reasons but i also want to keep the stock cassette deck there coz it looks sexy. I am then mounting a 4 channel alpine amp into where the spare wheel normaly is, again for security and so i cant see it.

I will then be mounting some 5.25" speakers in custom fiberglassed pods above the rear suspension bits and some 6" JL splits possibly in the rear little panel facing forward. But im hesitant to do that as i will probalby have to cut holes in it. I mgiht try and find somewhere up front.

 

I wont go on about it, but I will probably do a little write up once im done as i know there was at least 1 other person insterested in a headunit-in-glovebox-install.

 

Back to what would be best for a simple setup.

Putting a headunit in the glovebox isn't that tricky so i could recommend that. Putting speakers into where the stock ones are, in my 280 it was a lot of stuffing round getting bits off to acess the rear ones next to the passenger seats (does the 260 have them there) and they're only 4" mounts anyway.

 

i'm rambling aqain - i'll leave it at that.

[zedevan]

i think the idea of speakers in custom box things above the rear susspension is a good idea, i currently have speakers gaffa taped there, lol, and it works alright, just doesn't look the best! (i was planning on making a pod for them to sit in so it looked nicer, but was going to wait till rear strut brace etc, and gaffa tape holds well except for in direct sunlight!)

 

y dont you mount the amp under the seats dave so you can keep a spare wheel? they are very easy to remove, the seats that is...i always thought they must be held down well lol

 

for front speakers in my 260 i was thinking about putting like 2" tweaters where the vent holes are on the outside edges of the dash, as i've never felt air come through there, and if it ever does, i'd be happy for it to just waft around the edges of the dash, windows down all the way i reakon has anyone tried to remove the air vents before with the dash still in? i'm wondering if it would be easier just to get an extrusion thats got the right diameter to fit in there and just be held in with something sticky and sit it infront, although i'd like it to be recessed like the current vents are, and get a cool fan cover that fits over it, or even just mount them behind the current vents. as i can't see a more ideal spot to mount speakers up the front in s30's? on the center console wouldn't sound right to me, and even angled door pods look like they'd be blasting my legs!

 

nice looking system you have there JP240z, i was eventually going to do such a system lol, how do you find the door pods? do they make ur door trim vibrate alot?

[JP240z]

to be honest evan,

im extremely amazed at the level of vibration from the system,

unlike most fully sick muzzas, ive got no boot-rattle whatsoever.

the fiberglass pods in the doors are mounted straight onto the door trims,

these splits really pump hard but dont give any sort of rattle on the doors,

the only problem is picking the shaking of the car in between the shaking from the bass, and the shaking from the cam from hell at idle.

but yeah, very hapy with how the system turned out.

and almost completely reversable for when i want the car to be original.

i too thought about making braces for fiberglass pods to sit off the strut towers, but decided it was too hard and would just look worse than the other options, not to mention extremely obvious.

and those circular vents on the outer edges of the dash just pull straight out, wouldnt be a bad idea to chuck some midget speakers in there.

[dave_hl]

Evan, i'm not sure it will fit under the front seats... theres something else under both of them, i have no idea what they are thats down there, but it has model number rw-145r on it. couldn't find anything on the net... anyone know what these boxes and electrical thingies are? + wheels weigh too much. and then i'd need to carry a jack and all that to actually make it worth while carrying the wheel.

[PZG302]

I reckon my system is one of the better around for a S30....... :lol:

 

Below is a pick, nothing better than the sound of an L series at full noise.

[zedevan]

what does the unlabeled switch do? lol

 

good point dave re carrying the jack to make it worth while, i need to remember to put mine back in the car....

[dave_hl]

There must be 500grams of weight in that dash matt - think how much faster you could go without it.

Might be a stupid question, but i've never understood what the netting on the windows of race cars is for. Best theory i can come up with is so your helmet doesn't smash the window when you go round a corner. thats it... right guys?

[Rod F]

I thought the netting was so you could have a window down for ventilation and not have your arm severed when it flies out during a roll-over?

[PZG302]

To answer your questions...

 

:arrow: 1. The unlabelled switch is for the blinkers, now we have to have nets it's near impossible to use hand signals. :lol:

 

:arrow: 2. The dash mat gets the dash through scutineering. It's that badly cracked that the weight of the mat is more than compenasated for by the air gaps in the dash top :shock:

 

:arrow: 3. Window nets are there to stop body parts flying around and out of the car during a big one. The most compelling case I ever saw for window nets was a crash Tony Longhurst had in the now defunct Wellington Touring car race in the old group A days in the little M3. He had a pretty bad hit up against a concrete wall and in the impact his head came out of the window and he tried to take it off on the wall, very bad pictures to see. They are specified to wistand a certain force and must cover a certain area of the window. It's really scary when you see how far harnesses will stretch in an impact. Even if you drive with the window closed you still need a window net.