Civic wall build. Shocker + JBL

[dev199505]

Looks sick, can't wait to see some numbers

Sent from my Z812 using Tapatalk

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Looks sick, can't wait to see some numbers
Sent from my Z812 using Tapatalk

Numbers are a way off yet, there's still much to do.

First of all, we screwed up big time on the small amp. Turns out it's NOT a full range 2 channel but a 2 channel sub amp. Luckily I had a small older Zed 4 channel to get it going, and my bro will use the smaller amp in one of his other cars next year. If anybody knows offhand the model number of the large full range 2 channel JBL/CROWN please LMK!

So what needs doing:

Tuning is way too high. I added a couple pieces of 2X4 to the back of the baffle by the port to lower tuning but it's still too high so more shrinking of the port is needed to test tunings.

Also I think the box is too small for 4 subs. We have enough wood left to build another baffle in the spring so we will test three subs along the bottom and a large slot port top and center. I have high expectations, and it also brings impedance down closer to 4 ohm. As it sits we haven't done any aggressive testing yet and the big amp is only fused at 600A.

Next, the shop who was doing some other work to get this car on the road did the alternator swap and did not upgrade the alternator cables. In their defense I really don't think they had any clue what we were going to do. Once he shows it to them they will understand and upgrade that. After that we'll hook up a voltage meter and see how the batteries hold up..... possibly adding more bats or a bigger alternator.

PL adhesive is very slow to dry when it's 35 degree days so all our seems are soft. I've got some epoxy resin and fiberglass mat that I want to reinforce the seems in the shell with as well. Sides between the box and wall need to be filled and finished off also.

As I said, the doors are a disaster and will need to be totally re-done probably adding more components.

After testing the 3 sub baffle we will permanently install whichever works best and flush and finish everything.

So after I'm done my maple harvest next spring we'll plan a week to really get this thing up to snuff.

 

[MrFoca]

My friend had one of those big crown amps. Remember the first time I seen it in person. Unreal looking

 

[murph 10+ year member]

Maybe the JBL PX300.4

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Maybe the JBL PX300.4

Come to find out the a3000gti is basically half the a6000gti and full range 2 channel. I can't recall ever seeing one for sale so that might be a pipe dream. It does look like there's a few older JBL amps that run similar looking chasis so we'll be keeping our eye out over the winter, if not probably buying from Zed to power the fronts.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Been really busy all year so I haven't got much done. Had a couple days with my brother and we tightened up the inside of the shell with fiberglass and some bondo, added a few inches more depth, and rebuilt the baffle for 3 12s to better suit the space and provide a properly functioning port.

Currently this is nearly finished up with bondo and fiberglass filling in the gaps, the port mouth finished and rounded, and the port itself narrowed a little to lower tuning. Door panels are roughed out but need some finishing touches and carpet as well. Hopefully my brother can free up a couple more days at some point to tighten things up before the end of the summer so we can do a show together.

Sounds very nice and plays without killing the battery bank or overheating coils, which leads me to believe that amp isn't putting out much more than half power 90+% of the time. 4.2 ohm DCR is a really safe place for this amp, it can go for hours like that. Initial meter testing was rather lackluster (barely 150) but this configuration of subs/port will generally meter poorly at the dash. Top ports generally measure quite nicely at the kick. Then again, he is not looking to compete, just have something that looks and sounds nice without **** constantly breaking.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Well, I haven't updated this in ages, but then again I don't really have a lot of work days with my brother (though the Civic has been mostly living in my yard the last few years).

First update LTO battery bank: https://www.caraudio.com/threads/lithium-titanate-lto-battery-bank-build.600099/

Also he wound up getting some new door panels plus some Q-form kicks so one set of JBL components in the kicks, one in the doors. They are really amazing for the money, wish I had bought half a dozen when they were around and threw them up in the attic for later.

A while back we traded out the JBL Crown to the boys up at The Amp Lab and my brother wound up with my old Shocker """4K""". Not quite the eye candy of the Crown but not nearly as terrifying a thought of what happens if it breaks. The Crown is a 200$ ride to Tacoma before you even get into parts and labor and those are the only guys who fix them!

He also updated the head unit with a double din out of his old F250. A more modern Kenwood.

I'm not super stoked about him carpeting the baffle and particularly how rough around the edges it looks now that we finished off the port permanent. Going to need to come up with something to trim that out with and clean up that ragged edge. Carpet robs deebees but we're not really about chasing numbers with this. But in some testing we were getting 151 and high change sealed legal and mid 154s outlaw at the kick.

Really not trying to push my luck with any of this though. These 4 are the last of my d2.8 coils possibly ever and I don't have any more spiders so we have one spare and then we'll need to rebuild the lot if something breaks. Sounds tremendous with music (12" small gap sigs are some of the best sounding loud subs I've ever used) and even with just an ebay HO alternator voltage only drops a couple tenths when beating on it and even after leaving it sit all winter up in Maine it starts right up. LTO batteries have exceeded expectations all around.