ICE install - planning

[stuart.cookson]

EDIT: For anyone coming across this thread now, I've finished the boot build (took me a while!) and here's a quick pic of the finished outcome. Please feel free to read on to find out how I got to this stage after certain factors caused me to change the design from the initial concept...

After owning my Fabia for 6 months, the standard head unit has to go!

I recently spend a few days as a passenger in my old car (now my wife's daily run-about) and I realised how much I miss my old system!! In that car I had a Sony CD head unit, Alpine midlle-of-the-road components up front, a Phoenix Gold 2 channel amp and a 12" Rockford Fosgate Punch sub. The sub and amp were second-hand from a friend that I know looked after them. They just sound great!!

So, to the system for the Fabia:

I don't want to spend tons. I'm happy to stick with what I know as far as head units are concerned, since that Sony in the Polo is a great budget unit. All I wanted to have for definite was one Pre-Out, and an Aux-In to connect an iPod or equivalent. I've gone for the Sony CDX-GT310. It's on its way now - under

[Xavier]

Looks good

My biggest concern is the size of the sub box. By looking at Schern's write-up, the hinges are fairly close to the side of the car to give decent access to the spare wheel. I'm just concerned that distance is too short for the depth of a sub box once turned on its side.

[Armegatron]

Looks good, quite fancy doing mine now! Post some pics when its all done

[stuart.cookson]

Looks good

My biggest concern is the size of the sub box. By looking at Schern's write-up, the hinges are fairly close to the side of the car to give decent access to the spare wheel. I'm just concerned that distance is too short for the depth of a sub box once turned on its side.

I think you might be right. The floor may not hinge up while the sub box is still in place. I've designed the sub box based on the sub's required air volume (I can't find a decent pre-built box for an 8" sub) and the base will be around 180mm wide. So it will be mere coincidence if it fits in that small space. But the idea is that it will simply unplug (via a Neutrik connector) and lift straight out in order to get to the spare wheel. If it will stay in place rather than having to lift it out, that'll be a bonus, but not a necessity.

Stu

[Xavier]

I think you might be right. The floor may not hinge up while the sub box is still in place. I've designed the sub box based on the sub's required air volume (I can't find a decent pre-built box for an 8" sub) and the base will be around 180mm wide. So it will be mere coincidence if it fits in that small space. But the idea is that it will simply unplug (via a Neutrik connector) and lift straight out in order to get to the spare wheel. If it will stay in place rather than having to lift it out, that'll be a bonus, but not a necessity.

Stu

If you're designing your own box, you could always half the depth and double the width to get your required volume. The boot is relatively deep (from front to back), so I guess a side-mounted sub box could be wide enough to give you your volume You can also have it so that the angle of the box is such the bottom edge is narrower than the top (the sub would be pointing slightly down instead of up) - i.e. turning it "upside down". Providing you secure it so it doesn't topple over, that may work too

Looks good, quite fancy doing mine now! Post some pics when its all done

Mike, get your finger out and do it Since I've reworked mine, I'm enjoying the sound soooooo much. Need to sort out a rattle / buzz from the front passenger door panel, but it's just awesome. Gets my foot tapping :eek:

[stuart.cookson]

If you're designing your own box, you could always half the depth and double the width to get your required volume. The boot is relatively deep (from front to back), so I guess a side-mounted sub box could be wide enough to give you your volume.

That's pretty much what I've done, but of course I'm also restricted by the depth of the sub. (see sub spec here: http://manuals.harman.com/JBL/CAR/Boxes%20and%20Parameters/GTO%20804D.pdf)

Because it's only an 8", it doesn't need a very big box (0.3 cu ft / 8500 litres) which is good. But it does need a mounting depth of 110mm. So I've used that as the defining peramater and adjusted the other dimensions to suit. I can't make it any shallower. I could make it a bit wider if I reduced the height, but that wouldn't change the depth, and I think proportionately it looks better having some height rather than being very wide.

All this talk about it and I'm itching to get on with it!! My head unit should arrive today - that'll be the first step then I'll get the bits together for the boot build. Some friends of mine are saying 'just get an all-in-one sub/amp unit' and such-like, because I'm doing it on a bit of a budget anyway, but I'm really looking forward to attacking a sheet of MDF with saws!!

Stu

[Xavier]

[storm monkey]

Have you thought about a moulded enclosure. I used bodywork fibreglass stuff to take a form of the area behind the rear wheel arch, in the boot of my toy car. Once set. I stiffened it, laid it on its side and filled with the required volume of water, to find my front plate location, then fitted an MDF front. It doesn't cover the boot floor at all, and the spare is accessable. Might not wotk with a furby, and I'm not familiar with the amount of space you have to play with, but might be worth considering!

Linky

Phil

[stuart.cookson]

Have you thought about a moulded enclosure. I used bodywork fibreglass stuff to take a form of the area behind the rear wheel arch, in the boot of my toy car. Once set. I stiffened it, laid it on its side and filled with the required volume of water, to find my front plate location, then fitted an MDF front. It doesn't cover the boot floor at all, and the spare is accessable. Might not wotk with a furby, and I'm not familiar with the amount of space you have to play with, but might be worth considering!

Linky

Phil

I did look at a thread where someone had done it in an Octavia, but a) I don't think there's enough room in the Fabia, and I don't think I would be confident enough to pull it off! I'm happy chopping and attaching bits of wood / MDF, but I think fibreglass would be a step to far at the moment. Plus it looks messy!!

Stu

[Armegatron]

Mike, get your finger out and do it Since I've reworked mine, I'm enjoying the sound soooooo much. Need to sort out a rattle / buzz from the front passenger door panel, but it's just awesome. Gets my foot tapping :eek:

I think Ill crack on with it next week to take my mind off stressing over exams. My sister is selling me a brand new amp, sub and wiring kit. But a mate has offered to sell me his powercap for

[stuart.cookson]

Head unit arrived today!! I popped in to my local dealer on the way home from work to see if they had any facia adapters, but they'd just sold the last one! Typical! Never mind, i'll just put it in without properly attaching the cage until Friday when they get more stock.

I'm also watching an amp on eBay that's exactly the same as the one in my (wife's) Polo, so I know it's a good 'un. Hopefully i'll get that at a decent price and then we're well on the way from plan to reality!

Stu

[Guest]

schern should of patented his design :P

if i was doing mine again its a design i would consider as my floor is a bit of a bitch to get out as its mm perfect.

im looking forward to see how this comes out

[stuart.cookson]

I must say: applause to Sony!! I don't know if every head unit manufacturer does this, but Sony have put an insulated bullet connector on both the permanent and ignition power feeds on the head unit's loom. What a great idea! I don't have to go prizing the spades out of the ISO block! I just put red into yellow and yellow into red to solve VAG's issue of them being the wrong way round! Job done with no mistakenly stripped wires!

I swapped my OEM head unit to the Sony one on my way to work today. (I know, a bit naughty, but I need something to occupy me when I'm at a standstill in traffic!) It's still not in properly as I can't get the Skoda facia adapter til tomorrow, but at least it's wired in and working. Instantly made a huge difference to the sound quality of the OEM speakers. I made the mistake in my Polo of changing the speakers before changing the head unit - I don't think I really needed to!

Roll on the boot build!

Stu

[Armegatron]

I must say: applause to Sony!! I don't know if every head unit manufacturer does this, but Sony have put an insulated bullet connector on both the permanent and ignition power feeds on the head unit's loom. What a great idea! I don't have to go prizing the spades out of the ISO block! I just put red into yellow and yellow into red to solve VAG's issue of them being the wrong way round! Job done with no mistakenly stripped wires!

I swapped my OEM head unit to the Sony one on my way to work today. (I know, a bit naughty, but I need something to occupy me when I'm at a standstill in traffic!) It's still not in properly as I can't get the Skoda facia adapter til tomorrow, but at least it's wired in and working. Instantly made a huge difference to the sound quality of the OEM speakers. I made the mistake in my Polo of changing the speakers before changing the head unit - I don't think I really needed to!

Roll on the boot build!

Stu

Kenwoods are the same

[stuart.cookson]

I did mean to stick these photos on before now, but you know how time and other things get in the way! Anyway, here's a photo of my head unit fitted, and of the amp I got on eBay. I deliberately hunted down one of these particular amps despite its age simply because that's what I've been very impressed with in my Polo - I'm keen to stick with something familiar.

I'm going to get the rest of the stuff for the boot build in a couple of weeks and try to find a free Saturday to start fitting it.

Head Unit:

Phoenix Gold QX2100 Amp:

[stuart.cookson]

Right! It's time to raise this thread from death! I never got round to doing the boot build - various other stuff got in the way.

But now it will! We're selling my wife's car (anyone want a 2000(W) Polo please pm me...) so i'm getting my Rockford Fosgate 12" sub back!! An 8" JBL would never have lived up to my expectations, would it?! Other than the sub and box, my design remains the same.

I've taken all the wiring out of the Polo now so I can start putting it into the Fabia next weekend and take it from there.

Watch this space...

[stuart.cookson]

I'm just re-thinking the fan setup. The larger box would cover one if not both of my input gaps through which I was going to draw air. I'm just wondering if I need any gaps at all. If I have a fan in the false floor drawing air out from under it, do I really need an input gap? Does anyone know if it will cause a problem if there's a slight vacuum under the false floor?

Hope someone can help.

Stu

[Tom_vRS]

Liking the look of the design...

Air will find its way in I'm sure.

and Tom_vRS/ICE install - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting for more pics if you need any inspiraton or anything

[KR MAN]

Post up plenty of pics please Stu, I've got everything for my install (4 channel amp, components, sub and box and wiring) bar some MDF spacers for my speakers. I've never done an install before and I'll need all the help I can get :confused:

[stuart.cookson]

Thanks for your interest, KR MAN; I'll get pics up as soon as I start. Just in the final preparation stage at the moment.

I'm thinking about fans: do I really need to put a relay together, or can I just run them off the head unit switch? I don't remember enough Physics from school to know what figures are the important ones! Below is the spec of a standard 12V fan from Maplin - will I be able to run 2 of these (or equivalent) fans straight from the head unit switch, as in the wiring diagram at the bottom?

Specifications:

Type:80mm

Operating voltage:102V to 138V

Rated voltage:12V

Current:180mA

Noise level:31dBA

Max airflow:900 litres/min

Continuous life:60000 hrs 25C

Operating temperature:-10C to +70C

Insulation resistance:10MΩ 500Vdc

DC dielectric strength:5mA 500Vac

Weight:140g

Overall size:80 x 80 x 255mm

Fixing centres:715 x 715 x 45mm dia

Proposed Wiring Diagram (comments welcome...)

Stu

[Phil-E]

Looks good to me...

Good choice on HU too... i got one of those from amazon with the iPod adapter module for

[faboka vrs]

whats that neutrik all about?

[stuart.cookson]

whats that neutrik all about?

Neutrik - Audio - Speakon

[faboka vrs]

I see. Good idea. Much better idea than the normal sub box connections. I find over time the end of the cable get all messy.

Off Topic. Do you know of any sort of quick release connector I can use on a 4AWG power cable?

[stuart.cookson]

Off Topic. Do you know of any sort of quick release connector I can use on a 4AWG power cable?

Not sure as I haven't done that myself. I don't think the Neutrik ones I've seen would be big enough to take that cable thickness. Perhaps they do others as well, but I'm not sure. A quick Google of '4AWG Quick Release' didn't come up with much either, I'm afraid. Why do you need one? Are you thinking of easily removing your amp?

Stu