56K - THERE'S A LOT OF PICS SO UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR PC TO BE STUCK FOREVER PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO SEE THIS POST
First of all this is a whole HOW TO for a full sound installation in a WRX. I was looking for a CLEAN SOUND with nothing huge, I wasn't lookign to spend a lot and I really wanted to keep a DECENT trunk space. This HOW-TO will include amp rack creation, wiring and just about everything you'd need to know about installation of everything INCLUDING Dynamat.
Electronic List:
* Alpine Amp - MRP-M500
Link
Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. - MRP-M500
* Alpine Amp - 2/3/4 Way - MRP-F30
Link
Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. - MRP-F300
* Alpine 12" Subwoofer - SWR-1242D
Link
Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. - SWR-1242D
* Pioneer - Avic D3
Link
Pioneer USA - In-Dash Navigation
* Rockford Fosgate - 1 Farad Capacitor -
Link
http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/produ...n_US&p_status=
* 6-1/2" Type R Alpine Component Set
Link
Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. - SPR-17C
* 12" Subwoofer Enclosure "Perfect Fit" for WRX
Made by Audio Integrations
Link
02-04 Subaru WRX/STI Sedan 12 Inch Perfect Fit Enclosure
* Lots of cables!
Pics
--------------------------------------------------
The avic D3 install was done months ago, it's really pretty straight through. Make sure you get the harness and your job is a lot easier, to ensure a full connection I actually soldered all the wires to the harness that I bought and everything worked out fine.
AMP RACK:
I originally had intended two boards, kinda like making a "L" shape. However, after cutting down the first board I realized that it's much better to use the METAL BACKBOARD to hold the rack. In addition, I now have access to the spare tire since it was not going to be bolted to the trunk metal blocking the access. I used plywood and the final board was made out of 3/4" MDF. I tried to mount it in a very strong spot. You can see how I bolted it right onto the metal board and it's definitely going no where!
PICS
AMP INSTALLATION DESIGN:
I was picky with how I wanted everything to look. I really liked a symmetric look since there was two amps and I could put the capacitor in the middle of them. Check out the pics for the slow built up of the rack itself. Please note that the rack was actually WRAPPED with "stock" looking carpet. This material I actually bought it from Audio Integrations when I got the enclosure, it was 10 dollars for a yard and now you can see that the trunk will look "stocK" carpeted and I wouldn't have to deal with different colors, etc etc
PICS
INITIAL DRAFT OF THE FINAL OUTCOME
WIRING:
I only used high quality wiring. I had 4 Gauge wires from the battery to the capacitor and at the same time I had 8 Gauge for the amps. If your IQ is positive you can see how I actually ran the wiring, I used a distribution block with 60 AMP fuses to power both amps from a single cable that came out of the capacitor. I grounded the system to bolts in the backseat, it was hard to do but so far the sound is clean with no interruptions and/or distortion. In addition, I made sure to leave enough wiring in everyangle of the installation just in case I ever need to pull something further. All cables should have an extra 6-7 Inches from both ends. All Connections were Soldered and wrapped to ensure a full connection, I hate ****TY JOBS!
PICS
SUB ENCLOSURE AND SUBWOOFER:
The audio integration box was really good. It allowed me to maintain the "stock" look I was looking for and it also fit without any problems. The only problem I ran to was when I couldnt' find the hole in the trunk. It turns out that there wasn't a "BLACK" sticker but it was rather covered with some foam protectant from Subaru's Manufactury, needless to say I was glad I had to do no modifications whatsoever to it so it could fit my trunk. As far as the subwoofer, it's dual coned so it did come with the banana split connectors. Overall the TYPE R is excellent on the sound and the weight for such subwoofer. I took pics of everything, look for the final details in the end pics.
PICS
I CAN'T FIND THE ****ING HOLE PIC!!!!!!
Ah....... now that's where it was....
Speaker Setup / Mounting:
I think this was the biggest pain and I'll explain how I did it.
A) Tweeters: The tweeters that come with the set are amazing, but neither of the mounts that came with the set worked for the doors. I decided to use the "stock" mounts but dump the "stock" tweeters. From Subaru, the tweeters are actually screwed in the back, I couldn't do that with the new ones so I used Industrial Loctite. Please check the pics for more details.
TWEETER CONFIGURATION:
B) Speakers: This was the biggest pain no doubt. First, I bought the "mounting kit" from IAPerformance.
LINK
Subaru speaker adapter plates 6.5 Front Universal Adapter Ring Set-
Subaru 99-06 IA Performance
However, these mounts actually broke 10 minutes after I put the actual speakers on them. Now, their customer service was amazing and offered a free replacements but I just simply didn't trust it. I went old school and bought some MDF to cut. Please check the pics for more details, note that with the 3/4" MDF and the speaker itself, everything clears without a single issue. Oh man I was so relieved =D
After 10 minutes.....
I used the other adaptors as the design for the new MDF cut
C) Crossover Networks: These crossovers were simply mounted into the door covers. They were glued by loctite, check the pics for the separate bottles and how the combinations bonds tightly. I'd highly recommend my choice of location as it does not hit ANYTHING once you assemble the door together again. The sound itself is really good and I'm very pleased.
PICS
DYNAMAT
The material itself is so good. I can't stress how much of a difference Dynamat made when it came to the bass kick. I'd highly highly highly RECOMMEND to at least dynamat the trunk and where the spare tire is. I did the trunk and the front door the best I could, it's actually hard to the the doors so I'd recommend taking your time. Use scissors to cut the material, but in the trunk, there's minimal cuts as you can put a layer down and press down.
PICS
FINAL PICS OF ALL SETUP -
(PLEASE NOTE HOW I ACTUALLY SPRAY PAINTED THE MOUNTS TO HELP WITH THE CORROTION, IT'S HIGHLY RECOMMENDED YOU DON'T LEAVE THE BARE WOOD BY ITSELF WITHOUT ANY
PROTECTION)
And finally....
My hands are still hurting.... but hey, it looks amazing!
Thanks for the input guys! =D