New Audio Build... 318is AA Havoc 12...

[Schnitzer318is]

Been working on my new build in my 91 318is. You might have seen the budget build I did on my daily beater e30. This one will have much better fidelity and volume capabilities. Here is a list of the equipment going in:

HU: Clarion DXZ785USB
Front Stage: Rockford Fosgate Fanatic P 6.5" components
Rear Fill: Eclipse 3 way coaxials (sorry forgot the model number)
Interior Amp: Performance Teknique ICBM-774 4ch amp
Sub: Ascendant Audio Havoc 12 Dual 1ohm
Sub Amp: Performance Teknique ICBM-Digital mono amp

I went with the Havoc on the advice of a member on another forum who had one and could give me an incredible deal on it... must say I am very impressed with it's clarity and excursion.

Here is what the Havoc is replacing... an Alpine Type R 12. Took me a year to toast this sub with the Performance Teknique. I never really liked the sub/setup I had built for it so I abused it pretty hard. Gave me an excuse to buy the Havoc.







And here's the enclosure... 1.02 ft^3 before displacement with a 50% polyfil. I was trying to keep the enclosure small to save weight. Oh and I already moved the sub so it's right side up.





The 4 channel..
.


Remember this setup is supposed to be compact... so the amprack is built on the back of the box...



Here you can see the distro blocks, relay to power the LEDs and turn on the amps and fans, and all the wonderful wire loom...







On the bottom of the rack you can see the terminal strip for my speakers and accessory wires...



That's all I have so far... questions and comments welcome.

[TheOtherStyle]

i've been looking through all the old audio posts, and it just saddens me that my beloved panther chassis fords have a totally utulitarian trunk design which is most awesome for hauling lots of crap....but really sucks to build audio into and keep a useful trunk.

nice build though.

[Schnitzer318is]

Thanks! LOL hate to say it, but audio always goes into my decision when purchasing a car :)

UPDATE:

Got the setup in the car yesterday and finished fiberglassing the ports through the back seat. I liked the way it sounded without the back seat in the car so I had to come up with a solution for getting sound into the cabin through the rear seat...



Not the prettiest fiberglass work... but came out well for the first time doing it. Plus I used carpet so the finish didn't have to be perfect.









The box is screwed to the firewall on the inside of the cabin so there is no chance of movement.... I hate boxes just rolling around freely. So far I am very happy with the setup. It hits much better and harder than the Type R although not as low. But that's the way I like to listen to music so this fits in much better than the ported setup. I can post pics of the other setup if anyone is interested. It was 1.4ft^3 tuned to 36hz ported into the car through the rear deck.

More updates to come later.

[Dozyproductions]

Nice to know that some on here knows what Ascendant Audio is. I had their poly mids and two arsenals. Great company and nice build!

[TheOtherStyle]

lookin good man.

if i based the purchase of a car on how easy i can get a box into it...i'd be screwin myself on some otherwise hellacious cars.... i'll post some pics of a couple installs i've done in a new thread once i finish this crown vic i'm building......i need to learn to fibreglass....

[Schnitzer318is]

UPDATE: Finished the middle passthrough. It came out pretty well... I could have sanded the sides a little straighter but it will get the job done for now. The important thing is that it lets all the bass into the cabin and lets me keep my back seat, which the wife was adamant about.





Here is the head unit all installed. I have to say it is one ugly piece of design. If this was in any modern car I wouldn't let it fly, but for some reason it fits in with the 18 year old vehicle's interior. The illumination does match the amber interior of the BMW as well, which was a big factor in buying it. Of course it also has plenty of features that I was looking for like hands-free bluetooth phone operation, 6v preoouts, and plenty of Xover settings and time alignment stuff.





I also managed to get my components installed and the bluetooth setup. Everything works great I just forgot to get pics of them. I'll take pics and update tomorrow/the day after. Hopefully going to finish the beauty board tomorrow so I can post finished system pics.

[elariobordoni]

very nice, any pictures of the front panel 6.5" installation

[Schnitzer318is]

Well, been busy with customer and family vehicles so I haven't had as much time to work on this as I would like. But yesterday made a big step forward. I got the sub sealed off from the trunk's airspace. I know that I've read this is the "correct" way to do it, but holy crap does it make a huge difference. I gained at least 4db on alot of frequencies and on some others I gained as much as 9db!!! Now this is on a POS radioshack meter, but even still, that's a helluva difference. The SQ now is also much improved since it seems like there is a much flatter curve across the frequencies. I was blown away. Still no completed pics because I am changing the trunk floor out to a hinged unit to make it easier to access my spare and battery cables that I keep under there. Let me know what you guys think. Pics and videos are below. The vids aren't extreme like some of the ported boxes I've seen on here, but that wasn't my goal. I just wanted mid 120's and very good clarity. I am really happy with the results now.







"SQ" video...
Video 1

excursion video... I can push it harder, but this was already high 120's... more than enough for me :)
VIDEO 2

PS... Luke try not to cringe too hard by my expanding foam seal job... I would rather have used closed cell foam or something but I hadn't built the box with that in mind... so I had to go with something that would work ;)

[jp_slick]

Nice build
I've had Performance Teknique and love them, i just mssed up a 1200 watt one, i guess it couldnt handle the L5's

[Schnitzer318is]

What ohm load were u running it at? I've had a pair of L7's on this thing all day long with no probs before... @2ohm?

[jp_slick]

I forgot i have to check, it was my fault for blasting techno, but its cool

[TexasTerp]

good looking build! I'm getting ready to put in a complete Alpine Type R system in mine, definitely gonna do something similar with the box setup.

[Schnitzer318is]

Finally finished the trunk setup. I went with simple and old school looking. This was mostly to keep the weight down and have full access to the spare/jacks/jumper cables that I keep in the trunk. It came out to just under 85lbs, which is a little heavier than I wanted, but I am still very happy with the results. Hell the sub weighs 40lbs alone. I think the old school look really compliments the e30 though.

[Mless5]

Looks great! I'd remove the logos if I were you.

[Dozyproductions]

Looks really nice man. Thats what builds strive for.