Coming up: Seas L18rnx 7" midbasses, door cutting, & Raam Audio products

[bikinpunk 10+ year member]

Starting tomorrow after work. Previously had Rainbow SLC 265 comps before going active 3-way.

I pulled the Rainbows out a couple days ago and gave the Seas a quick test fit....not going to happen unless I cut the door. See pics below for hole shape, and you'll see why I have to cut the door.

Comparison (Seas on Left, Rainbows on right):

These speakers are right above 3" deep and have an xmax under 1/2". I was hoping to get by with just a ring, but since the OEM location is not a perfect circle, I'm going to have to cut the doors so the basket can fit in.

Taking Measurements to see if there's any other mods I need to do (thickness of MDF ring, door cutting, etc):

Door Measured. Here are the results:

*NOTE: Mouting Depth means from where the speaker would be bolted to xxx

Depth to inside skin (outside of car)= 4"

Depth to Glass= 2"

Glass bottom & speaker top differential= ~1"

(note that your speaker likely wouldn't touch this since the outer ring is likely the only part that even gets this high...the basket starts below this and angles down...so, by the 2" that you've reached the glass, you've already dipped below it)

Depth of outside panel= About 2.75" for least deep portion (2nd picture)

From center:

Least deep portion:

I have about 15 square feet of raammat coming today along with 3 yards of ensolite (Rick @ RaamAudio is a God Send) to go on top of the already existing 3 layers of deadening. Hopefully the extra will strengthen up the doors so I can play these babies down to even 63hz if I so choose.

I'll take pics of the process. I have some serious work ahead of me, but I kind of look forward to it.

To be continued...

Click to read more...

 

[bikinpunk 10+ year member]

Just got my extra deadening & ensolite in from Raam Audio.

10 sq ft of deadener

~30 sq ft of ensolite (3.3 yards)

Can of Spray Adhesive

My doors will now have 5 layers of deadener & at least one layer of ensolite...my trunk may get the left over ensolite. Maybe I should do the inside of the door panel with the extra, instead?

:thumb:

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

That's an odd shaped hole. Cut that ***** out and get those things mounted! I'm assuming you're going to cut into the door panel as well?

 

[bikinpunk 10+ year member]

That's an odd shaped hole. Cut that ***** out and get those things mounted! I'm assuming you're going to cut into the door panel as well?

yea...that door hole suuuucks.

I don't plan on cutting the panel. I have 4" depth in the door so there's no need in having to use a very thick trim ring. The speakers are 3" deep. I will for proper install procedure use a ring anyway, but it'll only be 1/2" (with clay on both interfaces: ring/door, ring/speaker). I had the rainbows mounted onto a .75" ring and didn't have any problems. If you look at the picture again you can see that the panel has about 2.5" clearance from the door to the speaker grill. So, with a .5" ring, & assuming max excursion of ~.5" that still leaves a gap of 1" at least, even after clay taking up some thickness.

Since these are going to be playing low frequencies, there's really no reason to worry about aiming them, or cutting the grill out IMO. I'm open to reasons why it would be a good choice. Probably still won't though, cause I don't want to cut the panel right now. Eventually I'll be getting junk yard panels & a-pillars so I can cut into them, but for now everything's staying stock.

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

If they clear that's cool and it makes it easier I guess. Is the window completely down for the measurements as well?

Those look to be some nice drivers. I hope they work out for you in infinite baffle.

 

[bikinpunk 10+ year member]

Is the window completely down for the measurements as well?

Yep, window is all the way down.

 

[bikinpunk 10+ year member]

Just finished up the driver's side and started the passenger's side.

The driver's side is pretty bad. I cut the speaker hole too far down & to the left, and the door panel is a pain to pop back in place...so I'll have to re-do that side. However, I learned from that and made sure to shift the passengers side cut up & to the right. You can see the difference in the pictures below.

Drivers Side:

Test fit.

Passenger's side:

more to come...

 

[bikinpunk 10+ year member]

Passenger's side is done. Learning from the driver's side, I cut the hole up & to the right...door panel went back on without a hitch.

I took them for a spin and could tell a pretty big difference off the bat. I don't know if that has more to do with the extra deadening & ensolite or the speakers...probably a good mix of both. I've heard these speakers need a little while until they "break in", so I'll post up my thoughts after tomorrow.

Gotta go back next weekend and re-do the mount for the driver's side so the panel goes on easier. at: I would've done it right the first time, but I had only tonight to get both sets in. Figured I can deal with the panel being lop-sided for a few days. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

FWIW, I cut a lot of metal off my door tonight.

I'm going to bed.

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

Figured I can deal with the panel being lop-sided for a few days. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Careful, I said this months ago and I'm left with one door panel still not attaching completely! I did the same thing you did only my **** up was on the passenger side. I need to make new baffles but I'm too lazy for that.

 

[bikinpunk 10+ year member]

Careful, I said this months ago and I'm left with one door panel still not attaching completely!

lol...I said the same thing about my pods being finished...I'm a slacker.