Gonz's '18 JLU Audio Upgrade w/pics

[Gonz]

Great weather out today, got a little more done, including running the wiring and reattaching the soundbar, and running the wire to the SSV sub box. Minor setback, the sub I bought, the JL 10TW3 does not fit the damn sub box, so that's going back and I had to figure out another solution. New sub on the way. Pics below of how I mounted the crossover for the 2-way soundbar speakers, it's very strong doublesided tape holding it to a nice flat surface that I prepped and will work well.

Note of frustration, maybe no big deal: Why do speakers rated at a reasonable power, that have a nice thick 12 or 14 gauge wire coming from the amp, have tiny, sh!#ty 16 or 18 gauge wire already permanently installed on the crossover?

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[jeeplaw]

Seriously, the 10tw3 doesnt fit? Damn. What did you end up going with that should perform the same'ish? How much bigger was the jl for the box?

 

[Gonz]

Seriously, the 10tw3 doesnt fit? Damn. What did you end up going with that should perform the same'ish? How much bigger was the jl for the box?

Here's a pic of the 10TW3, the weird tabs and the two inch tall surround don't fit the hole in the SSV enclosure.

At this point, finding a comparable sub was a pain. I already have my amp and the enclosure. My amp (JL VX700/5i) puts out 300w at 2ohms, only 180w at 4ohms. The Focal sub I wanted is only available at 4ohms, not 2, and runs a max RMS of 300. An option would have been to upgrade to the VX1000/5i, which puts out 400w at 4ohms, which is not too much for that Focal sub. There's just not very many quality subs out there to run around 300w at 2ohms. It's a big price bump to move up to the bigger amp, then a more powerful sub. For now, I have the Focal RSB-250 coming, it's rated at 250w at 2ohms, so 300 will be ok.

 

[ToPar9]

Looking good!! Keep at my man!

 

[Gibbage]

How hard was it to cut out the insert in the sound bar?

 

[ToPar9]

How hard was it to cut out the insert in the sound bar?

From what I hear, a dremel works like a charm.

 

[Gonz]

How hard was it to cut out the insert in the sound bar?

It was surprisingly easy and fast. I used a dremel with the bit pictured a few posts above here, I went very slow and careful, and it took maybe 30 seconds per side. Be sure to mind how deep you're allowing the dremel bit to go, otherwise you may end up cutting through the backside of the pod. I took the entire soundbar down to do this step, some have left it up in place. It's messy, and if you're planning on running new speaker wire you'll need to remove the soundbar anyways.

 

[DavidRam]

Power wire runs along driver side trim, under driver seat, through the bottom of the center console, and out under passenger seat for amp.

Yes, I vacuumed once I had the seat pulled back.

Wire under carpet, see red wire heading under center console.

And out where the amp goes.

Nice work so far, man!

I would highly recommend wrapping the power wire with some Tesa tape, as that insulation is not very abrasion and puncture proof...

 

[DavidRam]

Too bad that 10tw3 didn't fit... That's a damn good sounding sub with great output for it's size. What is your plan B sub?

 

[BIGRIGMCGEE]

What did you end up with for mounting the crossovers for the front pods? I have Kicker QS6.5's and the crossover is HUGE. Taking the dash apart tomorrow but have NO idea where I could possibly fit them...

 

[Gonz]

Too bad that 10tw3 didn't fit... That's a damn good sounding sub with great output for it's size. What is your plan B sub?

I went with a Focal. The available subs to fit in the SSV box are somewhat limited, and I already had my amp picked out. If this doesn't sound awesome, Crutchfield will allow me to return the sub and the amp (VX700/5i), and upgrade to the VX1000/5i which has the same 75x4, but more power to the sub.

 

[Gonz]

Spent 4 hours today taking the dash apart! In that time I was able to complete the driver side speaker pod replacement and wiring, and get the PAC Ampro installed and wires run. Still need to do the passenger side pod removal and replacement, then need to fabricate some adapters for the dash speakers, which are 3.5's but I'm replacing them with 3" Focals.
Crossover mounted to speaker pod. Here's the trick, the speaker pod won't fit with anything attached to it, so I pre-drilled the holes for the crossover, then put the pod back in, then wired the crossover, then got the crossover in and screwed it onto the pod.

I was able to reuse the rubber grommet from the factory wires in the back of the pod:

Here's the speaker pod back in place, with the crossover wired and attached. The passenger side will probably have to mount on the back, since the side would hit the glove box.

Here's the pod in place with the speaker:

The dash mounted tweeter, on top of the cover for the 3".

Finally, here's where I zip tied (with a padded backing) the AmpPro unit. The black wire hanging out the top is the adjuster knob, the gray wire coming out the bottom is the Toslink cable, routed along the side of the center console.

 

[ToPar9]

Looking good. I hope it's smooth sailing for you.
This will help me a ton as I hope to begin my adventure this weekend or the next. I am hoping to limit the 'extra pieces' once I put everything back together.
I have everything ordered and on the way. I haven't pulled the trigger on the speakers and amp as of yet. I am looking for a cost-effective 4-channel amp for highs/mids. With everything going on, I can't sink a grand into an amp. I am hoping to find an amp to go with one of the following setups:
JL 2-way front, with coax bar @ 75w RMS
Focal 3-way front, with comp bar @ 80w
Morel 3-way, with comp bar @ 100w
Sony 3-way and Kicker comp bar @ 120w
It's a challenge to find a decent, high powered 4-channel at a good price.
Ideas?

 

[Gonz]

Worked on the passenger side last night, with some trial (and many errors) finally figured out a placement for the crossover on the speaker pod that doesn't interfere with anything around it.

FYI - for anyone going with Focal speakers, their unique way the back of the speaker is designed interferes with the weird inside shape of the passenger side box, just enough so that the speaker needs to be spaced about 3/16" out from the pod for it to sit right.

 

[Gonz]

A bit more progress, not as many pics. I finished all the wiring, which was a big project itself, trying to get it all organized and neat. I used a ton of Tesa tape and got everything bound together, then made all the connections for the amp. The JL VXi amps have their own plug in speaker connector, so the wires in your car don't actually go directly into the amp, you need to connect/solder/crimp them to the adapter plug, then the plug goes into the amp. The power/ground/remote wires are similar, in that they all get put into a single plug, which then plugs into the amp.

I'm also still working on fabricating an adapter ring for the 3" midrange speakers on the dash. That's really the only big install part left to complete. I'm going to make them out of acrylic/plexiglass, it's what was available local and it's thin and sturdy enough.

Just getting started. The 12x12" piece of material was only $13, I'll have plenty of material to make several attempts at the perfect final product. But again, my garage isn't heated, it's snowing out today (!), so I need to wait for a warmer day to be cutting material like this.

Only real pic I took of the amp under the seat, you can see the "plug" that the power/ground/remote wires go into.

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