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sandt38

SSA Tech Team
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Everything posted by sandt38

  1. sandt38

    Removing Fat Mat Extreme off the car?

    Asphalt is a petroleum based product, so alcohol based removers won't work as well as petroleum based removers. If it were on the outside of the vehicle I would suggest mineral spirits or kerosene. Perhaps you could still use them if you leave the car outside with the doors open for a good while.
  2. sandt38

    what to buy first?!?

    I would go with the Sundown in a heartbeat. These are just great amps. Jacob is a top notch guy who put his heart into amplifiers long before he even opened his company... the guy was obsessed with amps, and his product proves it. Everything is top notch, no corners cut, and they are newer technologies. I only wish he sold tube amps Forget the static voltage of the battery. What matters on the battery is the loaded voltage. As long as it passes a battery load test (take it to your local Autozone, Pep-Boys, NAPA, etc and have it done for free) it is fine. But really, the main issue is going to be the running loaded voltage. Typical voltage at idle will be ~13.8V. Based on the vehicle info in your other thread, your alternator is a 130 amp alt. IMO it will be perfectly fine with the system you are planning. Based on the amps you have chosen, and the alternator in the vehicle, and any other variables that one can assume or glean from the post, I would suggest the big 3 in 4ga is the first step, a 1/0 run to the back for the amp, and go with it. I suggest the 4Ga for the big 3 based on the info and chart I provided in the other thread. Also, the vehicle will have a minimum of 8 Ga ground cables overall to both the chassis and engine, either directly, or indirectly (such as the ground strap from the motor to chassis coupled with the direct ground from the battery to the chassis equaling a minimum of 8Ga). There is nothing wrong with going 1/0 across these runs, but it is unnecessary, as even just the 4Ga without the addition of the factory 8Ga or better runs is double, almost triple the required cable for the current in question. While it is true that the resistance across the cable is double, almost triple when going from 4Ga to 1/0Ga, the resistance difference is so nominal that it is illogical to consider it. What is the difference you ask? .0005 ohms across 2 meters, or about 7 feet. IMO it makes more sense to save the cash and spend it elsewhere in the system for things that matter to you, albeit better amps, more showy stuff, better speakers, whatever. Considering that 4Ga itself is beyond the system capacity, it isn't like you gain much by going larger. Either of those 2 amps should be fine on a stock electrical system with an alt that puts out 130 amps. FWIW, I use KnuKonceptz cable. It is cheap, and high quality IMO. I use this kit. Because it comes with a run of 1/0 ground for the big 3 grounding, I use 1/0 for the grounds. However their single amp kit may be a better fit for you. But, if you may consider doing a front stage as well (and i cannot stress how important this is) you may want to look into the double amp kit for possible future upgrades.
  3. sandt38

    1hz difference noticable?

    1 Hz? No difference whatsoever to the human ear.
  4. sandt38

    Building my first IB subwoofer setup

    Good deal. Mine will be in the attic as well. By the location on the wall I was expecting it to vent into a closet, or something similar.
  5. I would be amazed if the 2006 4 runner doesn't have a 100 amp or better alternator. Likely more like 120-130 amps. Today's cars with all their accessories, electronics, and computer controls really require, and of course are outfitted with fairly high capacity alternators. (30 year ASE master certified technician here too, this isn't just talking out of my @$$) In fact, I quickly searched for the alt on google and found it is a 130 amp alt. 2006 toyota 4 runner alternator - Google Product Search
  6. sandt38

    Poly Fill? Anyone ever used thiss?

    I use fill in all my sealed cabinets. Several years ago I did some side by side comparisons, all subjective listening, nothing objective or measured about this. I noticed improvement in depth in and FR on maybe 75% of the woofers, and my testing was done on about a dozen woofers. Of note, these woofers were all in .7 Q cabinet designs, they weren't in smaller cabinets then "ideal". IMO, there was enough improvement in the sound of those it did affect, so that I use them in all my cabinets. The general rule of thumb is 1 lb per ft^3. It is also generally accepted that, as KU40 stated, you can expect to notice a 10% gain in perceived enclosure volume.
  7. sandt38

    upgrading my frontstage

    Mike over there at Vertex is a good dude. I have bought a bunch of stuff from him, and sent many, many people his way. Tell him I sent you, maybe he will give you a bit of a break. At $200 the CLs are a hell of a bargain: CDT Audio CL-61i 6.5" Component Set - Vertex Audio They have very strong midbass for the price. The midbass is smooth and silky, not fatiguing and overly aggressive. Midrange is pretty laid back, not the best, but really solid for the price. The tweeters are silk dome, laid back, not domineering. With 100 watts, I would cross these at 100Hz. If you talk to him, you may be able to get into an upgrade for about the same price. I saw eggycrates mention the Image Dynamics ctx65. This is a great set as well. Very similar overall to the CLs. It is a great set that I recommend frequently. If you don't mind buying used, Pioneer Premier TS-C720PRS 6.5" Component Speakers - eBay (item 230492829531 end time Jul-07-10 09:28:37 PDT) you just cannot beat the TSC720s for that price... not the TSDs, the TSCs... they are discontinued but frikken incredible. Well worth $4-450 and I would jump on this deal quick. Also of note, although not as nice IMO in this pricerange are the Alpine typeX refs (the pros are much nicer, but they will run $350) Phatboi also said it right when he suggested that you don't need speakers in the rear. Like him I suggest a better component set up front, rather then limiting your front stage by getting rears as well. As far as the adapters, they will work but they are flimsy. I recommend that you get some 1/2 or 3/4 MDF, and a jigsaw, and make your own. This helps to decouple the drivers from the door, improving sound and reducing vibration. Location of the tweet is terribly important. While it is common to throw the tweet in the a-pilar IMO in most cases this is a bad place. They sit around a bunch of hard surfaces such as plastic dashes, plastic a-pillars, windshield and side view windows, which causes refraction which in turn makes the tweets brighter... harsh. Also creating multiple pointsources isn't really the best for a realistic image.... think about it, a guitar plays from ~100-~5500Hz. If you have a speaker in your door, and 1 in your a-pillar crossed at 3500Hz, some of his notes will come from the floor, and the rest come from eye level. Vocalists, particularly female vocalists, will do the same. We can localize sound in the midrange and the upper range, so it is best to keep the drivers close. I keep mine hung low, and I point the teeters just a shade in front of me, and point them to my right ear... clickable image link
  8. sandt38

    Need Some Clarification on BIG 3

    The chassis is a better conductor, period. It has a surface area that becomes almost infinite in the circuit reducing resistance across it's path. You always want very short runs. By completing the circuit from the rear battery to the chassis in the back, and having the ground from the chassis to the engine ground, you effectively have that circuit completed with a "larger cable" anyways. You want to reduce the resistance in ground circuits, as high resistance in ground circuits are what cause terminals to melt. Remember, contrary to popular belief, electricity travels from negative to positive. In my GN I have a 1/0 run to the rear battery, and I cleaned the frame under the car and put a stud in the frame (just a bolt with a nut holding it in, threads out... using star washers and some silicone grease to prevent corrosion), and grounded my battery right there. I also grounded all my amps at that point to eliminate ground loop issues... hence the stud and not just a bolt holding it in Also, I would directly run a ground from the battery to the alt as well... I should clarify, to any point on the engine really, as the alt finds it's case ground through the engine. I just prefer to ground to the alt bolt as it is usually pretty darned accessible. clickable links Of note, what you did is not wrong. It completes the desired circuit with an upgraded ground. But it could be done just a little better.
  9. sandt38

    SSA Tattoo | Update: Video P2!

    Meh. If people give you shit for your choices on what you do with your body, to hell with them.
  10. sandt38

    SSA Tattoo | Update: Video P2!

    Not bagging, Mark, just stating my opinion and explaining why. I didn't read through the whole thread, so i didn't realize you had done it yet.
  11. I'd say at least 125, but I am an SQ guy who rarely ever pounds. But in my GN with a 1500 watt class AB and another 2X100 for comps i only have a 120 amp alt... well, it also has an AGM in the trunk... All things considered a 175-200 should be good for a DD ground pounder. Also, do the big 3. I know people recommend 1/0 but 4ga is enough for the short runs associated with the big 3. If you look at this chart you will see you can safely run 4Ga wire at 200 amps for runs up to 20 feet (although I would ideally like more for that distance). But look at the figures that matter... 200 amps can safely carry across 6 ga for 10 feet and 8 ga for 7 feet. Honestly, you shouldn't have a run longer then 7 feet, as ideally you want to complete the run with the shortest possible run to reduce the resistance in the circuit... But to be safe, double up on the minimum. Awaits the basting for not recommending 1/0 . But seriously, it's true.
  12. sandt38

    SSA Tattoo | Update: Video P2!

    I am aware of that. But still, logos change, companies close down, affiliations change. I was also married once before. How would I look now if I had Donna tattooed on me while I was married to Trish?
  13. sandt38

    SSA Tattoo | Update: Video P2!

    Never get a logo or a name tattooed on yourself IMO. They always evolve or go away, and your skin... well, it is there until you die... and beyond. I used to have a customer who had tattoos of Motley Crew, and Dokken, and other stupid shit like that... he regrets it now. He used to love them, but now, not so much.
  14. sandt38

    Oh YEAH, got my hands on the new Crown Finally!!!!

    I love Crown Special Reserve. What is this, exactly? Is it a flavored whiskey, or is it just a more full bodied, richer whiskey? I am not supposed to drink yet, but I still have a beer or 2 every once in a while... no reason I can't have a nice snifter of Crown with ice.
  15. You need an alt first. Your vehicle computers rely on specific voltages to function properly. The computer relies on this minimum voltages to aid in the function of "high voltage" (or 12 volte) devices such as injectors, as well as low voltages (5 volts) such as sensors that base their base return voltages on a 5 volt reference. If you reduce the base voltage levels to the electrical system certain devices such as injectors will not have the energy to open properly and O2 sensor heaters won't have the power to heat up in time, and the voltages that have to be reduced for reference will be less because the initial voltage is too low. The battery is just a store house to provide the energy required to start the car, to help with quick high demands, to act as a "dampener" to reduce/eliminate voltage and current draining spikes due to the sudden turning on and off of high current devices like fans, AC compressors, etc. After starting the car the vast majority of the energy produced and used in the car is the alternator's job.
  16. sandt38

    upgrading my frontstage

    I love front stages. In my current daily driver I went through 6 comp sets and 4 amps in 2 years before I found the ideal setup. Each vehicle has it's own idiosyncrasies that we have to manipulate, overcome, or simply cannot get around. So what kind of vehicle is this going in? What sound do you like? Do you prefer a bright sound or laid back? Do you like strong or laid back midrange? Clearly you want a strong Midbass... What are you going to do with regards to the install? Deaden the doors? Build baffles out of MDF to decouple them from the door? Where will the drivers be placed, exactly, and where will they be aiming? Do you have any manufacturers you simply do not like, that you want to stay away from? Do you have any preconceived biases, weather as a personal disdain for a company, or maybe inherently from info on a forum? If you have biases, are they based on the company's CS, the dealer's CS (if either one of the 2, who in specific?), or maybe a reviewer's opinion and could you clarify the situation? I ask this because some people can get over preconceived biases if you work around the reason for these biases, you know through a different dealer, or source for the same/similar gear, or alternative positive reviews by well regarded members or reviewers.
  17. sandt38

    Error when uploading to gallery

    Thanks Mark, no rush dude.
  18. sandt38

    Error when uploading to gallery

    I am not sure where to put this, so i guess general makes the most sense. I ran a bulk upload to my gallery, trying to load maybe 20 or 25 pics or so. It took quite a while, then I had a ton of error codes pop up. About 6 of the images showed up, but nadda for the rest. So i tried to upload 6 more... Same thing. So I went to try to load a single pic, and guess what? Yeppers, same thing. This time though, I copied the error. It seems for every pic i try to load I get the same error, so this is for one, double it for 2, triple for 3, etc... Anyhoo, here it is: Warning: imagecreatefromgif(/home/soundsol/public_html/forum/uploads/gallery_watermark.gif) [function.imagecreatefromgif]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/soundsol/public_html/forum/ips_kernel/classImageGd.php on line 403Warning: imagecreatefromgif(/home/soundsol/public_html/forum/uploads/gallery_watermark.gif) [function.imagecreatefromgif]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/soundsol/public_html/forum/ips_kernel/classImageGd.php on line 403Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/soundsol/public_html/forum/ips_kernel/classImageGd.php:403) in /home/soundsol/public_html/forum/admin/sources/classes/output/formats/html/htmlOutput.php on line 93Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/soundsol/public_html/forum/ips_kernel/classImageGd.php:403) in /home/soundsol/public_html/forum/admin/sources/classes/output/formats/html/htmlOutput.php on line 96Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/soundsol/public_html/forum/ips_kernel/classImageGd.php:403) in /home/soundsol/public_html/forum/admin/sources/classes/output/formats/html/htmlOutput.php on line 104Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/soundsol/public_html/forum/ips_kernel/classImageGd.php:403) in /home/soundsol/public_html/forum/admin/sources/classes/output/formats/html/htmlOutput.php on line 105Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/soundsol/public_html/forum/ips_kernel/classImageGd.php:403) in /home/soundsol/public_html/forum/admin/sources/classes/output/formats/html/htmlOutput.php on line 109 Looks like it is attempting to load a watermark on the image if it is hyperlinked, and the failure lies in the watermark code... I may be wrong on that, but sure makes it look that way. I own a vBull forum and understand it's workings, but IPB is a mystery to me... my thoughts are based on similar vBull hacks i have seen. Looks like the string is lost at the watermark portion of the code and it carries through the rest as each line code error is following sequential order .Thanks!
  19. Irritated... gallery won't load pics.

  20. Irritated... gallery won't load pics.

  21. Irritated... gallery won't load pics.

  22. Pontiac Warden, the Chevy 3.8 liter was scrapped in 84. The motor you are referring to is a Buick 3800... IMO the best version is the; Buick 1986/87 3.8 Liter VIN 7... The Turbocharged, Intercooled V6 from the quickest car mass produced in the 80s. That is my motor. almost 500 HP with 150,000 miles on it. on this build.
  23. sandt38

    Post your Audio Setup!!!

    1986 Buick Grand national Pioneer Premier DEH-P740MP Cadence Q3000(100X2) Adire Koda 6.1 comps Cadence Z7000HC (1500X1 Class AB) Adire Brahma 12 MKII in 2 feet tuned to 24Hz 1996 Buick LeSabre Pioneer Premier FH-P800BT Butler Tube Driver Blue 475 (150X2 bridged) Hertz Mille MLK165 comps Cadence ZRS6000D (700X1) Adire Koda 10 (X2) in 3 feet sealed. What can I say? I am a sucker for XBL2 Oops, sorry. I forgot to add my truck... 1994 Nissan Hardbody X cab Pioneer Premier DEH-P740MP Cadence FXA5100 (300X2 bridged and 425X1 to the sub) CDT PSS-0621i Gold comps with the aluminum dome DRT26 tweet Adire Shiva in 1.5 sealed
  24. sandt38

    Building my first IB subwoofer setup

    What else is in the system? What are you powering these with, and how much space do you have behind that wall? That is almost 400 cubic feet required for minimum IB requirements. Of worthy note, it is best to build in room IB set ups in opposing manifolds to reduce movement and cancellation as well as increasing output, although with 8 18s output shouldn't be a concern. If it were my system, I would go with an opposing manifold on each side. Even with 2X6 construction there will be a lot of movement. By using opposing forces you effectively cancel out movement. I am still working up the nerve to cut into my ceiling to go IB, but I plan on doing it maybe next spring. I am thinking more along the lines of 2 ShivaXs, or maybe 2 Tempests on about 500 apiece though... I can't imagine 8 18" subs. But I will be watching this build, as I am with several others, to see what i can learn from others' mistakes
  25. sandt38

    Post Your Home Audio Setups Here!

    Samsung Series 5 Plasma Pioneer Elite VSX45TX receiver Pioneer Elite BDP23FD Blu-Ray Pioneer Elite DV45A DVD Player Monster Power Conditioner PS3 for gaming Dish Network HD box In the first pic i have my 2 10" Adire Kodas with 2 250 watt plate amps, but I swapped them into my car and put in one of my Brahmas with 500 watts All custom 7.1 speakers.
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