Cyberpunky

As requested by V2rocket, here is my project thread about fitting a multimedia system to my 952.

When I got this car, a lot of my car audio mates wanted me to build another sound quality(SQ) competition system, as my last one was considered one of the best on my little Island. I decided I didn't want to go down that path again, as doing a proper SQ system nearly always involves a lot of modification to the car, and I don't think that, for a car in the condition mine is in, that would be the right choice. Although these cars are around in the US in relatively large numbers(and cheap), here good ones are thin on the ground and expensive(again relatively), and therefore hacking one up for a system didn't seem like a smart move. I have already gone as far as anyone can in SQ competition here, can go (national champion in pro-class) so am not interested in going down that path again.

My last system was pure SQ and so was all about sounding good, and lacked many of the convenience features common to many systems these days, even factory systems. This time around I decided to fit a system that still sounds good but with my focus on functionality. I wanted CD/Radio/iPhone/Nav/DVD etc.

I decided to fit an Alpine IDA-W900E double din head unit, not realising that the double dins I had seen fitted to 944s online, were units that had a notch at the back that meant relatively easy fitting. The Alpine doesn't have this notch, so was a little more involved. I am not one to give up because things are hard, so I persisted and eventually got the unit in



While doing some other stuff(fixing no start) I found the car already had an amp mounted in the passenger seat foot well. It's an amp I would never fit(cheapo chinese unit) and really doesn't bring much to the party as it's pretty gutless. I also noticed the Alpine V12 amp I had in my old run around car(now sold), would fit nicely, so I then started thinking that if I can fit a stealth amp, maybe a sub would be good idea, as the 4x6 speakers have no bottom end. I had also decided not to go to extreme on a system due to there not being any spare room in the car. I didn't want the boot(trunk) filled with amps and subs etc, and was interested in hacking up the door and door trims to fit larger speakers. I decided a small box and a 10 inch in the rear quarter panel area was way to go...

That started with some card board


then some MDF and bog(bondo)


add some fibreglass and a lot of sanding


a bit of carbon fibre


I am still in process of polishing the box and making it shiny. I will use an MTX Thunder 6000 10" sub at first but may change it, as I have found a nice little Carbon Fibre sub that would look fantastic and should also sound good too but that is a way off for now.

I then was able to get the start up screen customised on the Alpine head unit, so changed it from displaying Alpine logo to this


For the front speakers, I looked into what 4x6 speakers were out there, and after lots of research decided on a pair of Sound Stream SST4.6. These are only ones I could find that have silk dome tweeters. Everything else had polyester tweeters and I really can't handle them, as they are very harsh IMO.

Only issue with these speakers is they don't fit. The magnets are too big and the tweeter sticks out too far, so mounting them behind factory grills isn't possible. I will build some spacers, which will also get the carbon fibre treatment too.

I have just picked up a Sony VAIO P series laptop. A VGN-P15G. This is a small pocketable netbook. The unit I picked up is fitted with a solid state drive(SSD) that is ideal for in car use. As an SSD is a flash memory device so there is no Hard drive with moving parts to worry about, and so the bumps of car travel won't be an issue.

I will fit this into the glove box and am in process of sourcing a 12v power supply. The VAIO will be hooked up to the Alpine screen via a video input. The VAIO will be controlled by a Bluetooth mini keyboard. I will also add a 3G mobile broadband USB modem for mobile access to the net.

I have just started 3 weeks holiday today so will be trying to get this project close to finished or finished in this time. Stay tuned

peace
Cyberpunky

slinger569

Awesome project. I will be following your progress for sure... Thanks for sharing...

Cyberpunky

I added a carbon fibre trim around gear shift in centre console today.





sorry about pics, as they are from iPhone

This is basically a test unit, as it was my first overlay on plastic. I learnt a few things so am going to make another one that is perfect. I will leave fader control covered this time, and Alarm light mount, and will mount the alarm led in a nice chrome bezel, directly through carbon fibre

peace
Cyberpunky

adwolfe12

If you haven't already looked at software to run on your PC I would defiantly check out Centrafuse 3.whatever number they are on.

It isn't free but is well worth it the price, but since you are keeping your radio you might not need all of functions but this is what I used in my setup.

Not I just need to get me an SSD because the rough ride destroyed a 3.5" HD.

Cyberpunky

I have seen a few guys running centrafuse, and have heard it's good. I am not sure what I will end up running, as really PC is just for net access and this thing boots up in about 30 seconds anyway running win 7.

SSD is definitely the go in carputers, and they are getting cheaper all the time

peace

Cyberpunky

I got new front speakers mounted. I went with Soundstream SST46 speakers as they are only ones I could find with a proper silk dome tweeter. Most 4 x 6 speakers use cheap polyester tweeters that sound really harsh, especially at higher volumes. They induce what's known as listener fatigue. This is often a subconscious effect where you end up turning system down on a long drive, basically because your ears are telling your brain they have had enough.

Silk dome tweeters are usually a lot smoother and easier on the ear. These speakers also have a very high power handling, which is always good when you will be feeding them a lot of power(which I will be).

These are the speakers being replaced. JBL with polyester tweeters



The factory water guards. The new wires for speakers will need to be fed into these.


I put the crossovers supplied with these speakers into a zip lock bad. I then cable tied the bag closed. I did this as they will be in door which is a wet area.


I fed the cables into water proof guard. I also had to bend speaker terminals to get it all to fit. This needs to be done gently so as not to break terminals


I made up 6mm MDF trim rings to help with depth issue. These speakers have too big a magnet to fit normally. The MDF also provides a better mount than a car doors steel. The metal will resonate in sympathy with speaker, but the MDF prevents this giving you better sound and more bottom end response(bass). These trim rings always need to be painted when used in a doow as water will make MDF swell. These can be seen as well. It's really important to seal edge of MDF. This tends to soak up paint and so requires several applications of paint to form a seal


A quick test fit/listen.


The temporary finished results. I am not in love with these grilles but as it's easy to kick tweeters when getting in and out of car, I have put them on for protection. I plan to make up some nicer custom mounts but wanted to get these in to improve sound. The silver screws will be replaced by black ones today hopefully



This set up sounds ten times better than what was fitted. I am about to go pick up an Alpine IMPRINT processor for the HU and do more work on sub box. I want to get amp and sub mounted in next week and finish the system

peace

Cyberpunky

I put a better amp in today and the Alpine PXA-H100 imprint processor. The PO amp install had a few surprises. The main one being that what I thought was a fuse holder turned out to be a distribution block covered in tape, so I have been driving around with an un-fused power cable !!! Ghetto install indicator number 1


fixed...now it's safe


Ghetto install indicator number 2. Dodgy amp install. Cable everywhere. It's just not that hard to trim a lead to right length or mount amp the right way up. Heat sinks on amps are designed to work with amp orientated properly(using simple convection). Mounting upside down can cause heat soak in the bits that need to be kept cool.


Alpine V12 fitted a little neater than previous amp, and a little safer too. It also has a lot more grunt


Fitting the impulse processor involved just hooking up power and ground and attaching an Ai-Net cable to HU. Switches on bottom of IDA-w900 have to swapped to EQ setting, and there is also a switch on proc. too. This can be set for F/R/S or 3 way depending on how you are setting system up. I left that on F/R/S as that's how my system is configured. I also needed to hook up the Rear RCA output(of proc) to the rear RCA on HU, to feed signal back in, so I can use HU's internal amps to drive rear speakers. These units should really only be fitted by qualified installers (I am BTW)
peace

V2Rocket

for the record, you can get some pretty spiffy speaker grilles on ebay. i got a set of 4 4x6 plain black speaker grilles intended for an RV or something for like $20USD...

here they are
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/4-BLA...item4cf686f12e

doabarrelroll

What kind of things do you want this PC to do?

Just multimedia or do you want to play RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDGE RACER while you are driving?

But yea, SSD is probably a good idea but not absolutely necessary unless you've got 500 lbs. springs in the front.

What would be cool is that you could take the old pencil eraser mouse thingy out of the old IBM thinkpads and put it where that LED light is on your shifter console so you can effectively use the mouse for the PC in the car.

Cyberpunky

LMAO @ the one pedal *MAC* option

Thanks V2 for the link. I really like the look of them. I might grab a set till I can work out something tricky to custom make

Doabarrelroll: love that idea although not sure how you would make it work but am now going to see what I can suss out for that option. I had found a little mini keyboard with onboard track pad that looks like a good option, but now you got me thinking lol It wont be for using while driving as playing ridge racer while driving can only end badly lol

peace

schip43

Nice install!

schip43

So the issue is the distribution block was floating and wrapped in tape? So the block has current in it? I used one to move my battery to the trunk, in my Tercel. Mounted it to the frame and installed the shield it came with under the hood. Did not realize it was live though.
Oh that makes perfect sense! Guess I need a new plan for my next amp install, I was gonna mount it upside down! Thanks for the tip!


PS How do you keep the sub from moving around?

Cyberpunky

Yes that, and that it shouldn't have been a distro in first place, but a fuse holder. Having an unfused live wire, running through your car, is about as dangerous as anything you could do with your electrical system, for obvious reasons.

The fact it wasnt secured, means that movement could cause ware and a dead short(instant fire), made it even more dangerous.

The sub box is a pressure fit design, meaning it was designed to fit tightly between edges, but due to weight(still very light in sub box terms), but this wasnt enough, so has the bottom of box covered in the hook part of velcro tape, fitted to it. On a heavier(normal) box, I would have it bolted down using brackets or bolts through bottom of box.
peace
Cyberpunky

Darwantae951

Definitely not my style, but I can admire good work!

Tupac FTW!

Cyberpunky

Pac was first DVD I put in, and All eyes on me was the first music the finished system played. Love the sub bass snarl on the start of Only God can Judge me. Tupac FTW indeed or as Pac would have put it FTMFW!

peace
Cyberpunky