Let me preface by saying this.. we have to fix a lot of shoddy work here. Maybe it's because we're relatively new, but I'm done putting any effort into hiding who gets away with getting paid to do work like this. It might come across as harsh, but oh well. That's the risk they took when doing work like this.
Another fix-it job, this time all the way from Chicago! Back in August, we were having a conversation about just fixing some A-Pillars, but it quickly turned into the realization that the whole install needed to be re-done (you will see why). At first, he chose an installer with what looked like an impressive social media to grab his attention; it turned out to be all fluff. EVERYTHING needed to be fixed or flat out replaced. Hopefully, people start becoming more educated and choosing the right shop and installer(s) the first go around, but oh well. This customer drove 12 hours home, much happier than the drive to drop it off. Not only was this a chance for this customer to finally have the car audio experience they dreamed of, but it was also a perfect opportunity to see what our potential new guy was able to do with fixing a sub-par install. Thankfully, everything worked out perfectly.
The system was also a perfect example of hobbyists getting ahead of themselves and other hobbyists getting overly excited about their own goals and convincing others that everyone needs what they want. That is healthy in any hobby. He dropped the car off with some large class AB amplifiers, an external DSP, large external pods on his A-pillars, and a "fancy" sealed box for the subwoofer. He then wanted us to take this, fix it up, and also install some large subwoofers in an infinite baffle configuration. After talking to him on the phone and eventually, in person, it was evident that something was off. He didn't seem very confident in the ideas that he had. It was never flat out said, but it was painfully apparent that he was previously guided down the wrong path for what he truly wanted and what would make him most happy. I offered to take some of his previous equipment as a trade-in to get what, again, was obvious what he wanted/needed. A simple solution that still provided high output and high fidelity yet kept his trunk completely useful. I pitched the idea to him, and his eyes lit up. Say no more. What we settled on was the following..
. Helix V Eight Mk2 DSP Amplifier with Director integrated into the OEM amplifier
. Helix P One Mono Amplifier
. Audiofrog GB12 subwoofer
. Hertz Mille Midbass drivers (re-used)
. Hertz Mille Midrange drivers (re-used)
. Audiofrog GB10 Tweeters
. Hertz Coaxials as rear fill (re-used)
"Nothing like a clean and functional setup. I can do the same for your car. Any questions ask away."
Quoted about this install by the original shop that did this install. Techflex doesn't make your install clean and functional..
Yes, these large 3D printed pods were installed by another shop since they apparently couldn't or didn't want to fabricate something properly. Once you tried to tilt them up and towards you, they fell back down to the pictured position..
Another fail. It seems like we are running into this a lot. Just because the popular kids use it doesn't mean it's a good product. Not only did this stuff have inferior resonance control, but it was also melting off, and it wasn't even warm out, let alone hot. Video below..
Fuse holder not secured. And if you are going to put in the effort to techflex and custom heat shrink a wire, at least try.
While not exactly the ugliest looking, this was probably the worst offender of what we found.. They ran the main power wire through the firewall without a grommet. The wire jacket was starting to get cut and was more than halfway through to the actual wire inside. I hope this last installer has adequate insurance. They will eventually need it.
A bunch of messy wiring and a relay buried in the passenger kick panel. All of the wiring was covered poorly with electrical tape. Some of it was already melted and slipping off exposing some wire beneath it.
A symbol of what was needed, here is the zip ties from the previous trunk setup piled up to get ready for the trash. Along with the zip ties are some very poorly crimped wire ferrules. I personally do not advocate for the use of ferrules. I think they are unnecessary, and most provide another connection that can fail. If you want to use them for whatever reason, for the love of god, stop using your amplifier set screws to crimp them. I've seen this from countless shops now (even some that are "Top-Rated"), and the wires are SO easy to pull out. Cut it out, and do better.
Okay, now that I'm done venting, on to our work. Since we decided to get everything out of the way so he can fully utilize his trunk, we fabricated an amp rack out of PVC to hold the amplifiers, wiring, and distribution block to the rear deck's underside.
How all of our amplifiers get wired. No need for techflex or ferrules if you just do it, you know.. right
Once the amplifiers were fully wired, the amp rack was bolted into place to the underside of the rear deck.
Another fix-it job, this time all the way from Chicago! Back in August, we were having a conversation about just fixing some A-Pillars, but it quickly turned into the realization that the whole install needed to be re-done (you will see why). At first, he chose an installer with what looked like an impressive social media to grab his attention; it turned out to be all fluff. EVERYTHING needed to be fixed or flat out replaced. Hopefully, people start becoming more educated and choosing the right shop and installer(s) the first go around, but oh well. This customer drove 12 hours home, much happier than the drive to drop it off. Not only was this a chance for this customer to finally have the car audio experience they dreamed of, but it was also a perfect opportunity to see what our potential new guy was able to do with fixing a sub-par install. Thankfully, everything worked out perfectly.
The system was also a perfect example of hobbyists getting ahead of themselves and other hobbyists getting overly excited about their own goals and convincing others that everyone needs what they want. That is healthy in any hobby. He dropped the car off with some large class AB amplifiers, an external DSP, large external pods on his A-pillars, and a "fancy" sealed box for the subwoofer. He then wanted us to take this, fix it up, and also install some large subwoofers in an infinite baffle configuration. After talking to him on the phone and eventually, in person, it was evident that something was off. He didn't seem very confident in the ideas that he had. It was never flat out said, but it was painfully apparent that he was previously guided down the wrong path for what he truly wanted and what would make him most happy. I offered to take some of his previous equipment as a trade-in to get what, again, was obvious what he wanted/needed. A simple solution that still provided high output and high fidelity yet kept his trunk completely useful. I pitched the idea to him, and his eyes lit up. Say no more. What we settled on was the following..
. Helix V Eight Mk2 DSP Amplifier with Director integrated into the OEM amplifier
. Helix P One Mono Amplifier
. Audiofrog GB12 subwoofer
. Hertz Mille Midbass drivers (re-used)
. Hertz Mille Midrange drivers (re-used)
. Audiofrog GB10 Tweeters
. Hertz Coaxials as rear fill (re-used)
"Nothing like a clean and functional setup. I can do the same for your car. Any questions ask away."
Quoted about this install by the original shop that did this install. Techflex doesn't make your install clean and functional..
Yes, these large 3D printed pods were installed by another shop since they apparently couldn't or didn't want to fabricate something properly. Once you tried to tilt them up and towards you, they fell back down to the pictured position..
Another fail. It seems like we are running into this a lot. Just because the popular kids use it doesn't mean it's a good product. Not only did this stuff have inferior resonance control, but it was also melting off, and it wasn't even warm out, let alone hot. Video below..
Fuse holder not secured. And if you are going to put in the effort to techflex and custom heat shrink a wire, at least try.
While not exactly the ugliest looking, this was probably the worst offender of what we found.. They ran the main power wire through the firewall without a grommet. The wire jacket was starting to get cut and was more than halfway through to the actual wire inside. I hope this last installer has adequate insurance. They will eventually need it.
A bunch of messy wiring and a relay buried in the passenger kick panel. All of the wiring was covered poorly with electrical tape. Some of it was already melted and slipping off exposing some wire beneath it.
A symbol of what was needed, here is the zip ties from the previous trunk setup piled up to get ready for the trash. Along with the zip ties are some very poorly crimped wire ferrules. I personally do not advocate for the use of ferrules. I think they are unnecessary, and most provide another connection that can fail. If you want to use them for whatever reason, for the love of god, stop using your amplifier set screws to crimp them. I've seen this from countless shops now (even some that are "Top-Rated"), and the wires are SO easy to pull out. Cut it out, and do better.
Okay, now that I'm done venting, on to our work. Since we decided to get everything out of the way so he can fully utilize his trunk, we fabricated an amp rack out of PVC to hold the amplifiers, wiring, and distribution block to the rear deck's underside.
How all of our amplifiers get wired. No need for techflex or ferrules if you just do it, you know.. right
Once the amplifiers were fully wired, the amp rack was bolted into place to the underside of the rear deck.
