Ok I fixed the window problem. I just bought 25 sq ft of fat mat to deaden my car. where would be good places to place them since I don't have much to work with?

 

I just remove seats anymore. it's another 5 min of effort and i can usually get better routing on wires while keeping them away from factory wiring. there seems to be a common path where the floor meets the side, complete with holes to pass through the seat mounting ridges. only tricky part is if you need to remove seat belt bolts to peel the carpet back. you certainly don't need to remove the carpet completely.

also, running wires down the center is another favorite route of mine.

a-pillar mounting is a tried and true method. aiming is where you see differences. on-axis or off-axis. both can work, depending on the tweeter and crossover point.

i made mine by recessing some PVC in the apillar. then i used modeling clay to make the form, then fleece over top.







more recently, i've built tweeter spheres and incorporated them into the sockets, giving me more aiming options.

 

where to put 25 sf of deadening? you have two goals for the doors. #1 is sealing up the holes. #2 is reducing resonance.

i would still get some aluminum or steel sheets and close up the factory door openings using self-piercing sheet metal screws. the panels will be removable for future access but will give you a better sealed airspace.

i would break the deadener into pieces that are 6"x6" and evenly distribute them over the surfaces. also, get some around the speaker opening (but make cut-outs where the screws go).

 

@kha, your mounting for your tweeters are super nice, but I don't think that route will be the best for me do to the lack of tools/resources... and I'm not entirely fond to the idea of drilling holes into my panels and such due to the lack of trust I have in myself :P

and I was looking at your deadening/speaker install thread earlier and decided to use that as a reference for my deadening install. thanks for the idea of sheet metal, but would the extra work make that huge of a difference compared to just deadening the inside of the openings and sealing up the hole with fatmat?

Gahhhh I have so many questions to ask but don't know which one to ask >.< I'll just ask them as I go along the installation which I plan to do on monday.

 

sheet metal is more rigid than fat mat is.

to see how this affects lets take a basis look at how sound works:
sound is pressure. speakers reproduce sounds by vibrating at certain frequencies to produce the different pressures. when the sound waves (the pressure) vibrates a surface we loose some of the pressure in the air. essentially the material is absorbing the sound. often this is reffered to as flex. it is a cool example to some of the sound pressure they can generate with their audio system, but as far as listening to the music goes this is actually a negative aspect in both sq and spl. the less a material absorbs a sound the better the results are. sound baffles for example absorb large amounts of sound pressure. stand next to one a take note of how little you can actually hear.

with this being said realize that every little bit is going to make a difference. the signifgance of the difference is a matter of personal opinion when it comes to how much money the difference is worth. does KHA think it is worth the money and work to do this modification? of course he does or he would not have said to do it. do you feel it is worth it? that is your decision.

as far as mounting the tweeters goes:
what you get out of something is what you put into it. I fully understand your concerns with having the ability to do some of the work. just know that if you simply mount the tweeter holders it is going to look like you simply mounted tweeter holders. What I did before I did any modifications to my car was locate replacement parts and decide if the outcome I wanted was worth the price of a replacement. if you do this worse case scenario you are out that cost and back to the point you started with the exception of you have a better understanding of the work and what you need to do to make it work or if you are capable of making it work. If it is simply the drilling I wouldnt worry to much about that. that is fairly easy as long as you make sure that you have the correct size bit. and if you decide you cant build up the tweeter pod you can always flush mount the tweeter.

 

Thanks neophyte for the info. I would love to add the mod, especially since I'm trying to get the best sound quality from my car. Money really isn't THAT much of an issue..I saved up a lot prior to buying my system and even left some cushion room for miscellaneous stuff. What would I use to cut the sheet metal?

as for the tweeters, would I be able to install the tweeters to the right of my door handle, even though it tapers out? I'm installing Alpine spr-60c tweeters and they have a very simple mounting mechanism, but I think it needs a completely flat surface to work. Would there be any way to fix this?

http://images.gtcarlot.com/pictures/38796059.jpg I want to install my tweeters about a inch and a half to the right of the door handle.

 

you could cut the sheet metal with tin snips or a drimmel. I would use a drimmel. get a cleaner cut.

to make the surface flat you could take some sand paper and sand the area it needs to mount in flat. (the door plastic is fairly thick) or you could build up any gaps with putty and fiberglass over the putty sand and paint.

 

for tweeters, just use the factory dash corner locations. they actually work out pretty well. if you go to in front of the door handle like you want, you'll need a nice hole saw and it will not sit flush, so you will have gaps that will be difficult to finish off.

what to use for the sheet metal depends on how thick it is. tin snips or a dremel works for thinner metal, but a jig saw works better on thicker metal.

 

This is an example of how i've mounted new tweeters behind factory tweeter grills, this was a 2008 Scion xB. process is similar for dash mount. you can use plumbing strap to hold the tweeter in place if needed.




removed the tweeter mounting cup and put a ring of gasketing foam around the tweeter to seal up with the factory mount.






we trimmed down the factory tweeter clips for a smooth surface inside.






to hold them in place - silicone. not silicone on the tweeters, but silicone on the foam. the tweeter's will look like new if we want to remove them. a simple insulated terminal strip is a temporary connector until i order Molex plugs.

 

Okay, guess I'll just go with the factory tweeter location. Should I just lead new speaker wire from the tweeter to my crossovers which I plan to place behind my head unit? or would it be better to just tap into the factory tweeter speaker wires?

and where would be the best place to run a 0/1 power wire through? I can't find a real good place.