A Suburban A Warhorse and a pair of Double Dees

[Mtopper 23]

its a processor. it allows you to tune your system a lot more than with just the radio and amps. it allows for time delay, crossover points, and expandability such as a center channel. a 3 way active setup, or your basic 2 way passive front, 2 way passive rear and sub.

[Brett_the_Vandal 2]

B-E-A-UTIFUL build!!

I'm in love with that amp!

Sad to see that I'm the last post. lol.

Been tuned in for quite a while. Stoked to see the pay off vid man!!!!

[onebadmonte 235]

its a processor. it allows you to tune your system a lot more than with just the radio and amps. it allows for time delay, crossover points, and expandability such as a center channel. a 3 way active setup, or your basic 2 way passive front, 2 way passive rear and sub.

Thanks Mtopper. Like you said, it a fancy processor. It's got 8 configurable outputs. You setup the outputs and set the crossover points and slopes. Then you run the audio calibration wearing some groovy headphone style microphone for each seat you want setup. Afterwards, it works it's magic and bam, silky smooth sounds. The whole process takes less than 10 minutes. You do have the ability to fine tune the sound by adjusting tone levels and a 31 band eq is available for the extra fine tune. The icing on the cake is the JBL Logic7, which utilizes the fronts, rears, and a center channel to give a SQ oriented front stage. Another plus is if your not running a center channel you can center the front stage in front of which ever seat you calibrated for with the click of a button. You no longer have to be in the drivers seat to be in the sweet spot. Which is real nice for demos, because passengers will be in the car going, "Yeah, it sound good." Then I click the button shifting the front stage to center in front of the passenger and say, "This is what it sounds like over here." Then they are like MS8 = Win. Although any processing is good.

B-E-A-UTIFUL build!!

I'm in love with that amp!

Sad to see that I'm the last post. lol.

Been tuned in for quite a while. Stoked to see the pay off vid man!!!!

Thanks I'm old and slow, but do not fret, more updates on the way.

[onebadmonte 235]

Updates!

For all you Harbor Freight haters check this out. The front seats in this Suburban are bolted down with these coarse spline head bolts and nuts. Think twice about taking a standard hex sockets to these. The logic behind such a design is that a greater amount of torque can be applied to this design than to a similar sized hex. Therefore a hex socket is just going to round these nuts and bolts. Enter Harbor Freight. They were the only ones who carried a socket that would work on these. Check it.

I got the passive crossovers wired up and in place.

Here is how the whole thing is coming out.

The amp rack is going to be mounted above the crossovers on the seat rails. Here is a pic of the amp rack coming together.

To get the process started I put a rivnut in an existing hole on the seat rail.

I got the first mounting hole in the amp rack done. The rest of the mounting holes are just 1/8" pilot holes for now. I'll use the pilot holes as guides to transfer the mounting location on to the seat rails one at a time. To make sure I get each hole transferred accurately I have bolted the amp rack down with the first mounting bolt.

On a side note, to have the amp rack properly level I glued a couple of strips of wood to one side of the amp rack.

Here is the second mounting location transferred from the amp rack to the seat rail. (Silver dot, left end of rail)

The hole is drilled and the rivnut is in place. The amp rack will now go back in and bolted down. The process will be repeated for the next mounting location.

The amp rack is in place. Here is the amp in it's general location.

More on the way.

[onebadmonte 235]

Follow up!

With the amp located I traced out it's profile onto the amp rack. I'm using a pair of squares to get my lines nice and straight.

Here is the profile and location of the cutouts for the wiring.

Cutout complete, time for some upholstery.

Amp rack in place and nicely upholstered if I don't say so myself.

Amp in place.

Side shot with the seat down. Plenty of clearance for proper ventilation.

Power side and speakers wired up.

[sefugi 166]

Very Nice Work!!! Well thought out.

[LDW3RD 0]

Nice work. I totally admiring your attention to detail.

Good job.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

very cool!!

I know my dad has a 02 suburban and that is the first thing I though about of where to place amps! is under those seats lol! there is a ton of room there!!

the only down side is my dad will not let me touch his suburban so all i can do is watch your build which is very nicely coming along if i may say so myself!

keep up the good work you are doing nicely so far!

[outhopu 70]

The logic behind such a design is job security. Regular nuts work just fine but by inventing a new fastener there is now yet another tool we all need to buy in order to work on our cars.

I took the liberty to edit your post a little to reflect the real reasons for such a bastard fastener. lol.

Everything is coming together reall nice. Going to be a very tidy install when your done.

Edited April 16, 2011 by outhopu

[ssh 924]

The logic behind such a design is job security. Regular nuts work just fine but by inventing a new fastener there is now yet another tool we all need to buy in order to work on our cars.

I took the liberty to edit your post a little to reflect the real reasons for such a bastard fastener. lol.

Everything is coming together reall nice. Going to be a very tidy install when your done.

So true

[onebadmonte 235]

Very Nice Work!!! Well thought out.

I don't know about well thought out, but this project is keeping me on my toes.

Nice work. I totally admiring your attention to detail.

Good job.

Thanks. Let me ask you this. Is it really reggae all the time, or do you sneak some Taylor Swift in every once and a while?

very cool!!

I know my dad has a 02 suburban and that is the first thing I though about of where to place amps! is under those seats lol! there is a ton of room there!!

the only down side is my dad will not let me touch his suburban so all i can do is watch your build which is very nicely coming along if i may say so myself!

keep up the good work you are doing nicely so far!

The amp rack location seems to be the location of choice regarding Suburbans and Tahoes. I don't think my dad approves of this project. I'll probably get an ear full once he gets wind of what I'm doing.

The logic behind such a design is job security. Regular nuts work just fine but by inventing a new fastener there is now yet another tool we all need to buy in order to work on our cars.

I took the liberty to edit your post a little to reflect the real reasons for such a bastard fastener. lol.

Everything is coming together reall nice. Going to be a very tidy install when your done.

So true

Bwahahahahaha! I love it. x2!

[j-roadtatts 1,129]

Everything look's clean jellybean. You definetly don't disappoint with your builds. You obviously are impressed with the MS-8, I would love to use one in a future build. Keep up the killer work.

[onebadmonte 235]

Everything look's clean jellybean. You definetly don't disappoint with your builds. You obviously are impressed with the MS-8, I would love to use one in a future build. Keep up the killer work.

Thanks, uhhmm, butterscotch. :\ The MS-8 is nice. I definitely have more confidence in the MS-8 in than in the pots they use on amps for crossover settings. I'm not sure how it's going to react in a SPL heavy setup, but I don't think it'll be too hard to manipulate it.

[onebadmonte 235]

Another small update and a lesson in project management.

Today I dabble in something I've never dabbled in before, making custom length RCA cables.

This is what I'm starting off with. Some Neutrik NYS 373 RCA ends, and a 25ft XLR microphone patch cable from 5150 Music Supply.

Here is the wire stripped and ready for soldering. I cut off the copper conductor since RCA's require only two conductors. The spring and strain relief are in place, the cap is outside of the pic, but in line.

This is what comes with in the Neutrik package. Good quality stuff, I like it. The wire size will determine which spring relief to use.

I had always been iffy about making my own RCAs because of the soldering skill required. I always felt I needed a third hand to help feed the solder. A co-worker told me just to tin the hell out of the plug. Then apply heat through the wire while holding it in place. Sho' nuff, it worked. Here is the RCA, tinned to hell. o_o Also it helps to tin the soldering iron a bit.

Here is the wire soldered on to the RCA end.

The RCAs in place, front stage rockin' and a rollin'.

For those wondering, the blue area is where I am going to cut through to eventually route the RCAs.

Now to that project management mumbo jumbo. Well, the Easter holiday is upon us for those you believe. For us, we use this holiday, amongst the other major holidays, to travel back west so the little ones can get reacquainted with the family. What better way to enjoy the nothingness of I-10 westbound from San Antonio to Hell Paso than in a Suburban. So I have put my project on a weekend hiatus, rocking only the front stage till we get back from the Easter Holiday. Project delays, one of life's thorn in the side. o_o Enjoy the holidays.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

nice update! I will be enjoying the holiday also!

[chris the man 49]

this is pucking awesome

[onebadmonte 235]

nice update! I will be enjoying the holiday also!

Thanks. After your little fender bender I bet you'll be relaxing for sure.

[onebadmonte 235]

this is pucking awesome

Haha! Tanks!

[LDW3RD 0]

Looking good man.

Enjoy your holiday be safe.

(and NO Taylor Swift, not that theirs anything wrong with that) lol

may God continue to bless you and your family.

[onebadmonte 235]

Looking good man.

Enjoy your holiday be safe.

(and NO Taylor Swift, not that theirs anything wrong with that) lol

may God continue to bless you and your family.

Lol! So it is reggae all the time.

Thank you for the kind words.

[j-roadtatts 1,129]

The RCA's look sweet!! I will definetly have to build some, after seeing everybody else making their own. Keep up the killer work!

[sefugi 166]

Nice work on the RCA's!!! Enjoy your weekend!

[Kanaworm$ 292]

Very nice progress! Keep up the great work.

[BanginGMC 23]

Bad ass build bro! Can't wait for some videos of this thing in action!

[onebadmonte 235]

The RCA's look sweet!! I will definetly have to build some, after seeing everybody else making their own. Keep up the killer work!

Thanks. It's kind of funny to say, but making those RCAs gave me a real sense of accomplishment. o_o Weird, because out of all things involving this project I was actually nervous tackling making these. I though I would screw it up and it would come out either looking like a$$ or just not working. Anyways, even taking the pics of the RCAs added to the feeling of accomplishment. Not only did I have to work on my picture taking skills, but also my photo editing skills. I think those close ups came out nice. As a matter of fact I was so proud I dragged the wife out in a moment of "look what I did." She was like meh. Typical, but a good thing because, if it looked like a$$, she's not one to hold back.

Nice work on the RCA's!!! Enjoy your weekend!

Thanks. Taking five days off in a row, I am enjoying every bit of it.