Not your run of the mill system......
 

So I posted a few years back when I built a system for my new Monte. I called it an SPL build but got harassed by a few forum members because I used a sealed box.

Some of you might remember me.

Anyway, I was running two Orion HCCA 12.2's in a box built to spec. I wanted a sealed box. I wanted the flat response. I wasn't going for a burp box or something with narrow tuning.

I TL'd at 144dB.

Long story shortened, I left the forum and my system got stolen not long after.

So this year I did it again. I had to decide though if I wanted to go pure SPL and do a ported box with 12's again, or if I wanted a repeat of before, or what.

I settled on 2 15" HCCAs this time, ported box simply not possible in the trunk, so it's sealed.
Better electrical this time, and a bit more power.

I haven't gotten it TL'd yet, but it's definitely got more than the 12" subs did.
And again, I know I could have gone with different configurations.
Comment away...


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Nice system. Welcome back

Super nice!! Hcca's are amazing, good choice! I bet that sounds bad @$$!!

Damn thats one crazy setup :thumbsup:

It looks tight as hell. Not a lot of groceries, I'd imagine.

Thank you all.

It sure slams, not sure where I'm at though. If I get it Termed soon I'll post results.

And Miller I've already been in the habit of loading my back & passenger seats instead of the trunk, but yeah, I had a little room before, now I have ZERO.


And what you can't see in the pictures, is my rear end dropped about 3.5" lower. So I'm adding some lift springs and new struts this next week.

About to go get it registered for the new year. Wish me luck!

Man, that looks sweet! I was gonna ask how much it will drop the rear end of you car, but that is so cool. I would like for my car to kick like that one does.

looks like a nice system. gotta say that it looks really heavy though

320a alternator and lift springs/spacer going in sometime between now and next week. I'll post some pictures of it before and after.

It's not mentioned what all is done, so I guess I'll put it here.

The front battery was replaced with an XS 3400, and there are two XS 3000's in the spare tire cavity. My old system used typical cell batteries, so this is a big upgrade.

0 gauge wire around the car. The spot welds and framework make the body of the car good for grounds up to about 4ga so I ran zero gauge as a common ground, as well as for the power cable from front to rear and to the subwoofer amps.

The box is a braced 3/4" MDF box with double layer baffle. Not sure how much the final weight was, but I'm guessing near 200lbs unloaded.

All the floors, doors, trunklid, and hood are double layered with SecondSkin, and the trunk lid and structures in the decklid are filled with latex foam as well.

There's a 4 channel Orion amp pushing my 6x9s and my door speakers.

Tied together with a Pioneer AVH 4400 with mobile TV tuner

The alternator came from Mechman alternators and is their S series rated for 320 amps.

The lift springs came from wbodystore.com and the spacers that will go underneath them came from my local O'Reilly autoparts.

All in all its a TON of weight. I came here to try and find the best way to accommodate it and best I can do is to go off of the guys trying to fit bigger than 20" wheels.

So I'll post as I go.

Also if anyone wants to see some pics more related to the install I can get them up too.

Thanks for looking

Well, doing the Cargo springs from wbodystore and putting in some spacers too. Will post pics when done.

Those speakers and that box definately looks heavy!

Lets just hope when you lite'm up....

You still have a car left holding it! lol

Looks like plenty of vibes gonna be shakn it down forsure!


And I highly doubt anyone from here(on this forum) stole your last system!

I would hope you have a fancy alarm system that lets you know someones messn with your stuff!
even if you cant see it!....Thats what I would definately have!

So I put the cargo springs in tonight.

Damn forgot to take 'Before' pics though. The rear end of the car was sitting so low you couldn't see the treads on tires before. Now, they treads are just visible through the gap between tire and fender.

So the 1" lift springs made a difference of about .5" in the long run.

Not enough.

So now instead of the rubber spacers they sell at Autozone, I'm gonna order some Polyurethane spacers that are made for YJ Jeeps and try those. Since they go under the spring (or on top which is what I'll be doing) they'll add the full 1" of lift I need.

Anyway, it's late and my pictures from tonight aren't all that impressive so I'll upload them tomorrow.


Oh and the stolen equipment, I'm sure it was someone local. I wasn't exactly careful before, I bumped loud and ran music videos on the 8" screen. Since then I've upgraded my horns (I run 4 now) and disabled the trunk release button. If all I would have done before is pull that switch I woulda been fine.

^^^ We live & hopefully we learn from our mistakes, never to repeat them...

Look 4ward 2 seeing your new pic's...I'm surprised your system doesn't blow all your windows out or your ear drums...:eek:
EnJoy Your Tunes 4-Sure...

p.s. Does your insurance company cover your system ? If not, you should check with them to see what it would cost for coverage ?
(can you hear me) ~> :rotfl:
Peace/Out

My monte carlo is walled off.. I had 6 12s now im in the rebuild stage(never ends) i had custom springs made from coil spring specialties i did factory ride hight plus 1000 pounds.. And damn.. I have a perfect setup now...i was rubbing all the time with 20s now i have room for 24s. Im gonna be on 22s soon but im waiting to finish my rebuild before i change wheels just incase.. But honestly thats the way to go instead of putting spacers and what not in there.. Cost me 500$ after everhthing was said and done.. Thats with new sensa trac struts..

Thanks Boxman420,
Was actually hoping one of SPL die hards would chime in.

I found another thread where some guy mentioned putting some ridiculous amount of low powered 12's in his trunk and found some custom springs for about the same price.
So I am leaning towards this in the near future.

Problem is we all know what available cash means. So, without going "ghetto" if I may say, I'm doing quality made spacers until I can do a true custom spring upgrade.
I already passed on the rubber inserts they sell at the auto stores, and I won't use the knuckle type that just widen a coil.

I've got a front to back Pacesetter exhaust and the mufflers and tips are getting beat no matter how careful i am. So I've gotta do something, unless I'm ill informed (I could be) I don't have any other good options out there without getting crazy.

I might go a year (if that), on the spacers before I get custom springs made.

The good thing is, I don't race, I don't corner like hell anymore, so generally speaking, the bad things that go wrong with spacers shouldn't happen to me. It's the 4x4 guys twisting things up that pop em out.

I must say though, I'm pretty disappointed in the springs from W-Body store. They are better than stock, they did make a difference, but they don't list any type of load rating or any ratings vs stock springs. These springs alone would have been perfect for my build when I ran 12's - the sealed box for the 12's is A LOT smaller than for the 15s, and the drivers themselves are about 11lbs less for 12's.

Anyway, we're doing non-typical things with our vehicles, we're gonna see non-typical difficulties.

So I do have a question or two for you though...
The back shelf that's made of pressboard, with the cutouts for 6x9's.
**** I hate dealing with these, in any vehicle. Mine now is pretty much the only thing left inside that I can't seem to lock down and rid of vibrations. I'm bout to cut the thing out (last time I removed it I had to pull the seats and remove an assload of trim pieces) and screw some carpeted MDF in place. Before I do this I thought you may have a suggestion or two to deal with it.

Secondly, how is your charging system? I'm still yet to install my Mechman 320a. I have been considering a second. I ran 2 and then 3 stock 170a in my old Beretta, and if I knew then what I did now I would have went with a single high output. The add'l drag seemed to affect things. Just curious if the same things might happen with the HO alts or if it would even be recommended. My logic is having more at idle.

Thanks for reading

Here is the side by side of the WBody Store springs vs my Stock springs.

You can see they are pretty much the same height (I believe my stock springs have sagged a tad) the cargo springs just have more coil to them.

Also a shot of the spring installed.

Before I put the spacers in I'll take a side pic of the fender so you can see my clearance. I wish I would have remembered to the first time. Although like I said earlier it was definitely not a dramatic difference.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psdb993007.jpg

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hmm why spl/ have you considered SQL? i have something that will interest you, ultra rare sub, sealed box that can produce what i estimate in at least in the 138's with 1k watts which is loud enough for any daily driver that isn't competing in SPL.

let me know if your interested ;) it'll fit right into your car as i built it for mine ;)

That's insane!!!! Nice setup!

This isn't an aluminum, non-conventional diameter sub, would it be?
Sold mine on CL. May be interested in it again.

Thank you!!!

Some more updates.
Been extremely busy with my shop and I'm getting married in a week AND having a baby in a month.

Finally got my alternator installed. It's a Mechman 320a and it's a stock fit.
Took a few comparison photos:
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psc93643e8.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps33369d60.jpg
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Working great! Voltage has stabilized completely. The stock alt was nowhere near enough output.

Also, I got my custom lift spacers. They fit the springs perfectly. I will crown the bottoms of them to fit the spring cups a little better. Not sure when I'll get them put in.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psdaf266cf.jpg
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I'll keep updating as they come. My next audio upgrade is to switch out my door speakers for my RE Audio XXX components, followed by the same components in 6x9 size going in the rear deck. I need to find a way to rebuild the hat rack to a solid carpeted MDF piece instead of the floppy pressboard that's back there now.

Also, not audio related, but I had some exhaust work finished up too. I had put a ZZP downpipe no cat/no o2 bung on last summer with the O2 emulator but had a stock exhaust from the cat flange back. I recently updated the catback system to the Pacesetter kit, but with the low clearance issues I've had and the winter weather, the 5 or so exhaust clamps were straining and I started getting exhaust leaks. Finally the flange gasket blew out. So the other day and $90 later I had Midas weld all the joints I had clamps on, except for my exhaust tips. Sooooo much better. I got a steal of a deal on the exhaust system itself, the main labor i did myself, so $90 for welding actually made me smile.

Sounds beast whether it's the engine or the system!! :) :)

where did u get the spacers?

What I ended up using are Daystar for a 1990-94 Toyota 4 Runner. They fit perfectly.

I have new all in one struts. Can I just slide these in before I put the struts on?

By any chance do u have model number of item or a link

You won't be able to slide them into an assembled strut.

It takes a strut spring compressor and some finesse to get it done.

I had to crown the bottom of the spacers to fit the spring cups. It was very easy.

You can rent the strut spring compressor from any auto shop, just make sure you get one for struts and not coil springs.

Oh ok Thanks for all the info

No problem at all, just curious though, same reason as me or something else? :)

All the extra batteries for stereo in trunk makes it sag some and i wanted to try and lift it back up

I never understood why people use sealed boxes for SPL? Your stock alternator has to be hating you ha. Two years ago i went to a midwest SPL with my 01 MC and snagged 1st place in street one. 12" old ass Adire Brahma ported to 33hz powdered off a kicker kx 1200.1, did a 142.8 on music. Stock electrical with 4 ga wire. Its more of an SQ setup id say but can bang when need be. If i would have had more loot I would have bought a bunch of 0ga and did the big 3 as well as bought a nice big XS battery. Those XS batts are beast mode.

I still have my stereo equipment but will probably try and sell the brahma and look into a Sundown Zv3 or an AA Mayhem. Id also like to try doing a sealed setup with two mediocre type subs, nothing too big. Just to compare the sound difference and find out what I like more. I listen to all type of music and I want a setup thats really musical so im considering 2 10's like sundown SA's or something.

My build goal was simple. Flattest response possible and loudest output possible.
Basically I could get 5 to 10 real dB improvement by going to a ported setup, but I would completely lose the flat response, these subs especially end up with a narrow tune when you port them.
Since I listen to a wide variety of music, and even watch movies and tv in my vehicle, the sealed box was my choice.
I did think about going for pure SPL w/the ported box this time, but I am saving that for later and probably a different vehicle like an HHR or Tahoe.
Also, I did upgrade the alternator to a high amp unit from Mechman, there are pics posted.

The Sundowns are real nice, I have ran the 10s in a hatchback and was happy.

I've got a Term Lab unit coming soon, I'll be testing my car with it and adding some youtube videos when i get it. I'll update here when it happens.

I did get my Term Lab today. I hit 139.7 on music just playing around for 20 minutes.
I'll "try" harder tomorrow if I have enough time.

I understand why you went sealed but im almost positive those Orions are geared more for ported boxes. I also read and talk to dealers that said their SQ is lacking. I think with the right and the proper low tuning you can get fairly good response on all music. Im going to do a sealed 10 or 12" setup as well and compare sound differences. I like a more musical setup as well. My 12" brahma is pretty darn musical ported and the SQ is amazing. But I can imagine it times it misses the higher tones and quick hits. I would try it sraled but the sub is not designed to be sealed so I wouldnt expect much.

The Orions do well in both sealed and ported boxes, I've been working with these subs for about ten years. They will perform louder in a ported box, but they take on a quite narrow tune. If I change my build to a ported set up I will end up running RE Audio XXX drivers instead, they have a flatter response and tend to go lower than the Orions.

Don't put your Brahma in a sealed box.

I see what your saying. I just figured those orions were basically designed to be ported and more for SPL then anything. If i do infact end up purchasing a 7th gen SS i will run my same setup (I wish i would have never sold my SAZ 1500d) although the brahma is getting to be quite old ill probably use it till it quits. Thr damn thing does so well ported at 33hz. I honestly dont know if ever heard better SQ other then my old 2005 15" XXX and that thing was starved for air. The new model XXX is something I wanted to try ever since they came out in 2006. I would love to try out a 12" at some point in time. Either a newer XXX or Sundown Zv3 or even a V2 or a AA Mayhem. RD audio makes some pretty knarly subs as well. Im just not certain if i want to run a 2500w amp to one of those beasts cause to properly power a nice 2500w amp id need big electrical upgrades. And if I stick around 1000-1500w those beastly subs will not be reaching full potential.

Id love to put an XS d3100 in the trunk (even though it might even be overkill for a 2500w amp) but then id need to look into heavy duty rear suspension and everything else like you did. Im sure the stock alternator wouldnt be happy with me either. And good aftermarket alts are damn soendy.

How things change.....

And even more has changed

Nice system. Tons of bass in your monte.

Why?


Wait what did you say?


I can't understand what your saying, cause your now deaf and can't hear yourself talk!

WOW, that has to be the baddest system in a Monte Carlo ever! Your over the top with this build. Amazing how the girls hair just blows from the pressure your generating. Great job, it's wicked as all hell. How do you prevent your windshield from popping out? A special weather strip or something? :eek::cool::wtf::eek::thumbsup:

I lost the windshield in the video shortly after and had to replace it already.
Regular windshields though.
We'll see how long this one lasts ;)

Thanks for the compliments guys, it is definitely the loudest Monte I've seen myself.

If anyone is wondering it does 156db windows up and 157+ windows down.