08 Ford Edge. First build log.

[wannabang 13]

Howdy, y'all. I purchased a 2008 Ford Edge last month and had equipment picked out for it before I even bought it. I've done a few builds in the past including a few enclosures for friends and I'll be heading off to college this fall and this will definitely be an ongoing build log, but I hope to have the sub in by the start of school. I've recently been picture happy... Anyway, onwards!

The plans:

Audio:

Head Unit: Pioneer AVH-P2400BT

Speakers are staying stock... for now.

Amp: Cadence ZRS-7500D @ 2 ohms

Sub: SSA Icon 15

Electrical: I'll be needing a second battery or new alternator. I'm thinking an XS D3400 as a secondary. For now, TBD.

Other:

Lighting: Turn signal, interior, and reverse LEDs. Contemplating HIDs...

Interior: Already have WeatherTech Floor Liners.

Windows: I'll be tinting all the windows minus the windshield. I'm pretty set on 50% over the factory privacy tint. Fronts could be 35, 20, or 15. TBD.

I'll start with pictures of the car:

Before purchase.

WeatherTech's, before install. ** I know, the bottom one is backwards...**

In car.

Guess what came in today! Free, two-day delivery!

I am so pumped. If the weather gets nice, I'm off work Saturday, so I'll get to installing this and a buddy's speakers (and hopefully his HU), too.

Tune in, get comfy, and give advice!

[edouble101 314]

Nice looking ride!

You are going to hate your stock mids and highs once you get some bump in the trunk

[wannabang 13]

Nice looking ride!

You are going to hate your stock mids and highs once you get some bump in the trunk

Gracias, sir! I have no doubt about that, but the funds and time don't allow for any additional plans, other than maybe swapping out that stock subwoofer for a midbass driver.

...does it make me obsessed to have not driven it in the rain, yet? Nor do I drive it to my McDonald's job. Can't have it smelling like fries and grease!

[jcarter1885 995]

Nice looking ride!

You are going to hate your stock mids and highs once you get some bump in the trunk

Gracias, sir! I have no doubt about that, but the funds and time don't allow for any additional plans, other than maybe swapping out that stock subwoofer for a midbass driver.

...does it make me obsessed to have not driven it in the rain, yet? Nor do I drive it to my McDonald's job. Can't have it smelling like fries and grease!

That depends if you walk in the rain or to work everyday.

[wannabang 13]

Nice looking ride!

You are going to hate your stock mids and highs once you get some bump in the trunk

Gracias, sir! I have no doubt about that, but the funds and time don't allow for any additional plans, other than maybe swapping out that stock subwoofer for a midbass driver.

...does it make me obsessed to have not driven it in the rain, yet? Nor do I drive it to my McDonald's job. Can't have it smelling like fries and grease!

That depends if you walk in the rain or to work everyday.

hahaha no, I have the Nissan Maxima I was given when I turned 16. I think you can see the system in it in the thread I made when I first joined the site. I bought this one for school since I have a younger brother that will need a car. I drive that when the weather's bad and to work.

[wannabang 13]

KnuKonceptz Karma SS RCAs came in!!!! Gaining pieces slowly. Remote wire's from ebay.... hope it's here soon.

Lookin' real nice. I'll probably throw up a few picture's of my friend's budget install when we do it tomorrow:

His plans:

Subwoofer: Unknown subs in QLogic box $50. They're pretty rough. I couldn't even get them out of the box with the stripped screws and grille, so I'm not even sure if they're wired. Maybe you'll get two box builds in this thread...

Front speakers: Kenwood KFC-C6894PS

HU: JVC KD-X50BT

Amp: Crunch P1-2000.1

Wires: KnuKonceptz 4 gauge amp kit.

Mi padre is wondering when I'll be building the box. Whenever I decide to drop the cash on 2 batts, wire, and the Icon. LOL

...I get my wisdom teeth removed on the 13th, maybe I should finish before then...

[wannabang 13]

I spent awhile trying to understand some online directions. Gah, and eventually I just went for it. Four hours of connecting wires and trouble shooting and here's what I get:

..yeah the photos are garbage...

and this floor is covered in garbage...

Any suggestions on where to place the hands-free mic? Oh, and that's my buddy. He supplied the extra pair of hands I needed.

We didn't get any pics of the wires... too stressed to even think about pictures, and he was too pumped to take pics of his speakers, but they were a definite improvement over his stockers.

[Sencheezy 689]

^{Nice progress so far! Might I suggest doing 20% all around. Its a good balance between legal and noticably not legal. I have seen ppl install the mic up in the drivers A-pilar, right at the top, try that Also, I spy a walmart's installer Kit there on the floor. I'm referring to the wire splitters. BEST splitters I have used. i've been through about 4 of them two. All of the others are laying in the garage, in dissapointment compared to the Schoche Wire Splitters lol.}

[wannabang 13]

Thank ya, and you spy right! I love the splitters, although, the screw that holds the two pieces together comes loose really easy. My original plan was twenty, but the shop I'm going to has 50, 35, 15, and 5, and I definitely want the back to be a tad darker and have some UV protection, hence the 50 on top. If I did 20, I'd have to hit up another shop. The price difference of the shops is $225:$185 and both use the same tint and have the same warranty. Grrrr. Maybe two layers of 50? or 35 and 50? Are there any downsides to doing two layers?

[Sencheezy 689]

Thank ya, and you spy right! I love the splitters, although, the screw that holds the two pieces together comes loose really easy. My original plan was twenty, but the shop I'm going to has 50, 35, 15, and 5, and I definitely want the back to be a tad darker and have some UV protection, hence the 50 on top. If I did 20, I'd have to hit up another shop. The price difference of the shops is $225:$185 and both use the same tint and have the same warranty. Grrrr. Maybe two layers of 50? or 35 and 50? Are there any downsides to doing two layers?

I work at a custom car shop that does tint as the main selling point. That shop can order you 20% damn it lmao. Seriously. I wouldn't recommend doing two layers. If you drive a lot in the dark, in a dick county or w/e, then I wouldn't recommend 15%. I knew the legal is 35% here. That is a pretty big price difference though.. Do some more shoping around, and, if you have to shell out more money, just know your getting your money's worth. Window tinting, especially with warrenty should be a permenant job. So its a one time fee. If you want to look at it that way.l

[wannabang 13]

I may try to tackle the mic location tomorrow after work, or tonight after a workout. One layer it is, but I feel like 35%'s too light and 15%'s too dark. Then again, 50% on top of the 20% factory tint is 10%, right? hmmmm... I also gotta remember that the Edge will just be sitting on a campus most of the time, so I need some kind of way to keep that HU invisible. Also, cops around there seem to not like tint too much... (Legal here is anything on back, 50% on front, and not even a brow on the windshield... although idk anyone that's been pulled over for it. We have a medical exemption.. LoL)

As far as the install goes, before I order the sub, I wanna get the battery/alternator thing squared away. I can get a custom 250 amp alt for ~$500, or get two batteries for a little less. I'm thinking about using the Yellow Top from the other car as the starting battery and a XS D3400 as the secondary. I'll just get something basic for the other car since its system isn't too demanding. That will save me about $150. Good call or no?

Edited July 29, 2012 by wannabang

[StreetLegal 119]

Looking good for a start !

^{Nice progress so far! Might I suggest doing 20% all around. Its a good balance between legal and noticably not legal. I have seen ppl install the mic up in the drivers A-pilar, right at the top, try that Also, I spy a walmart's installer Kit there on the floor. I'm referring to the wire splitters. BEST splitters I have used. i've been through about 4 of them two. All of the others are laying in the garage, in dissapointment compared to the Schoche Wire Splitters lol.}

Bought a pair for 5 bucks at Walmart .. lol and like them, they are universal too

[wannabang 13]

Tonight I got the mic to be stealth.

Rundown:

So I noticed that the A-pillar would be a tad challenging, or just time consuming, to get behind: The pillar is under that panel of the dash....

which is... under this panel...

and that panel is under the door sill panel... so I came up with a new plan that I completed in 15 minutes.

The wire is zip-tied to the wad of yellow wires off to the left.

Then I found this little nifty panel hiding the fuse box.

And that's where I decided to stash all the extra wire.

And there it sits. Just attached with the double-sided tape that came with it. Seems pretty decent to me.

[wannabang 13]

Looking good for a start !

Thanks! Now, I'll break as I wait to get my new tags. My temp tags expired today and I'm waiting to get them until I'm up that direction Tuesday since it's 45 minutes. Also, I'll try to square away the battery and sub and get those ordered ASAP!

[wannabang 13]

Just ordered my Icon 15 D1, 25 feet of Knu KCA 1/0, and some ring terminals. While the sub's being built, I want to get the tint done and start planning/building the box. LEDs and HIDs are also in the back of my mind.

[wannabang 13]

Completed box design:

The small rectangle cutout is where I will fit the battery and the amp will attach to the back of the box with the wires run under the floor. The two smaller, elongated boxes under the floor (piece with handle) will be the support for the box with one 1 piece going across the whole back. The spare tire will stay as it is and the tools to remove the box (which will be a separate piece from the floor) and jumper cables will be stored in the right under-box. Even though it is not pictured as such, the floor will only be 1, 1/2 inch of plywood, and carpeted, as well as cut into three pieces in front of the box in order to lift up the individual lids.

It's 4.16 cu.ft. with 52 sq.in. of port for a tuning of ~29 hz. The port is a "Z" shape with 45s at all the bends. Kerfing and a window would have been sexy, but I don't feel like I'll have the time to do them if I still need time for school preparation, the girl, and work.... not to mention the times I'll be unable to work after my wisdom teeth are removed.

[Sencheezy 689]

[wannabang 13]

The other day I got another package. Found it leaning against the garage door?

Before this, I had only held four gauge wire, so this was thicker and heavier than I expected. It's 25' of KNU KCA, because I'm trying to be a little frugal.

I ordered HIDs this morning, and I think will just be tinting the front windows to match the back, also a money saving move. I'll be getting the car tinted with the next paycheck and start building the floor hopefully on Thursday. I'll be hiking all day Tuesday and at a company picnic all day Wednesday. Looking forward to finally getting to what everyone wants to see!

[Notorious97200 339]

I love this car. There are only a few in my country, and I don't know what they worth. But I love it !!!

Good idea to tint the front windows to match the rear ones. when you get more money, you will tint the rear to have some more privacy in the car. Step by step !

You won't need a H O alternator for your sysytem. do the big3, add a second battery and you should be good to go.

The box tuning is low : 29 Hz ? Why don't you tune higher ? 29 can make you loose output.

[wannabang 13]

I love this car. There are only a few in my country, and I don't know what they worth. But I love it !!!

Good idea to tint the front windows to match the rear ones. when you get more money, you will tint the rear to have some more privacy in the car. Step by step !

You won't need a H O alternator for your sytem. do the big3, add a second battery and you should be good to go.

The box tuning is low : 29 Hz ? Why don't you tune higher ? 29 can make you loose output.

I got mine with 69K for $19k flat including tax/title/fees. My current box is tuned to 27 and I like it. Occasionally I'll listen to dubstep and those real low, artificial drops I want to be more present than they were previously, so while I was flirting with the length of the port, it ends up being 29.79 hz. I'm not too concerned with a couple decibels, so I didn't care too much, just wanted to get a higher "port area/foot" number and this way it's 12.5 instead of 12.04 (I'm probably flirting with miniscule difference, though). The big three will come in time, and I definitely intend to go darker on the back eventually.

Edited August 6, 2012 by wannabang

[wannabang 13]

Earlier today, this came in the mail:

Biggest fuse housing I've ever seen. I have no clue where I'm going to put it.... LoL

[dbsupra 69]

You put it as close to the battery as you can lol

Box design looks good! I wouldn't be so concerned about port/cube as much as port area itself.

[wannabang 13]

You put it as close to the battery as you can lol

Box design looks good! I wouldn't be so concerned about port/cube as much as port area itself.

LoL. I know. Good advice.

Thanks, and it's got 52 sq.in. of port. I hope to get a hold of someone with a truck so I don't have to cut the board up at Home Depot... God knows they can't cut. If I do, this will definitely be started Thursday!

[wannabang 13]

Got a couple things in the mail, today! My ring terminals came in today, but no picture of those... They're a minor detail.

The main battery came in! XS Power D3400!

I was also super stoked when I opened a package to this:

Retro-Solution 35 watt 5000K HIDs! I'm geeked to get these in the Edge!

Update on tint: The only shops with 20% quoted me at $90 for the front two windows, and one said I couldn't get in until the 31st. Kinda late since I start school before then. Haven't talked to the other place about an appointment, but I will. If nothing works, I may end up going 35%....

[Notorious97200 339]

35 % ? You will not like it. It's really not dark enough.

I would put 35 % on my mother's car to protect her, because she hates dark tinted cars but needs tint (as her Dr said).

With an audio system you may need at least 20 %, and no titanium tint : after 2 or 3 years in the sun it becomes a lot less dark when the "titanium effect" goes away.