TheTodd’s 2008 Malibu (re)build thread

T

TheTodd

Noob
So, technically, I have everything installed already but I’m planning a rather large tear down & rebuild. The current equipment list is as follows:

Source: Kenwood Excelon DDX-395
DSP: PPI DCX-730 (being replaced)
Amps: Soundstream TN4.900D x2 These are the nice version, before they cheaped out & redesigned them.
Front stage: PPI 3-way components (The ones with the AMT tweeters)
Sub: PPI Phantom 15D2 IB

As mentioned earlier, everything is already in but just about everything is getting redone. I’m pleased with the a-pillars I made but there are little things that bother me & I’m going to try to put them a little more on-axis. The DSP was limited as far as outputs (6) so the DSP handled the front stage and the source handled the sub xover & time delay which I believe hindered my ability to get the sub up front no matter how hard I tried. So that’s getting replaced with a Dayton 408 which will let me control everything from one unit.

The trunk is where I really wanted to make the major changes. I was never really pleased with the cosmetics of the whole thing. The cutout diameter listed in the sub manual turned out to be off so the hole was too big and I had to hodgepodge the baffle together. Honestly, it worked and sounded good but it looked... meh. To me anyway. I never did clean up the wiring under the rack because I knew a redo was in the plans. Then I had an RCA cable for my mids take a dump so it was time to start over.

There are some parts of the original install that I didn’t take pics of, like the front woofers & head unit, so as I go along I’ll snap some and post them up. So now I guess it’s time for pics...

The car:
View attachment 7644
Some sound deadening:
View attachment 7645View attachment 7646View attachment 7647
The entire floor was done in Killmat as well as the rear deck, which I didn’t get pics of. And honestly the rear cover is a PITA to get off so I may never get a pic of it.

Front pillars:
View attachment 7648View attachment 7649

Amp rack:
View attachment 7650
Here you can see the temporary cheapy red/white RCAs I had to use to actually have mids for my daily commute.

Trunk side:
View attachment 7651
I’ll try to get a better pic when it’s all done.

So that was where I started this morning. New updates to follow.
 
So this morning the rebuild commenced. I remounted the circuit breaker under the hood using some ABS and a stud/nut on the shock tower that wasnt being used. It looks like it may have been an option for a ground cable...?

View attachment 7652

I wanted to tuck the amps away as much as possible so I went for the space behind/under the rear seat, underneath where the amps previously were.
View attachment 7653View attachment 7654

Nothing is mounted yet as I was just trying to get an idea on placement and spacing. You can also see the sub baffle in the second pic.

And here’s the trunk side:
View attachment 7655

You can also see the XTC “baffles” on the OEM speakers to seal them off from the sub waves. I was going to pull the speakers but after finding out how difficult it was to get the cover off I didn’t want to have to do it again to replace the speakers if I ever sold the car. They actually work really well. No more cones vibrating front the sub so... worth it.

That’s all the further I got today. It doesn’t seem like much but it also takes a bit to pull all that crap out too. It also starts to get dark earlier now so that didn’t help any. So I guess my 30min each way commute will be a little quieter this week with no tunes. Until next time...
 
Progress... the amp rack is complete, and amps & processor are mounted and it’s all ready to go in.

View attachment 7732

The sub baffle is also done and ready to be mounted.

View attachment 7733View attachment 7735View attachment 7734

For some reason the pictures always make the carpet a few shades off but in person it’s darn near identical. So this weekend will entail mounting the sub, wiring everything up, setting the crossovers and rough time delay. The finish line is in sight. Thanksgiving weekend I’ll tear into the a-pillars. Since I’m off Friday that gives me about 3.5 days to get them done.
 
The baffle is now in. The sub is in. The amp rack is in. Wires are run (except sub) but nothing is connected yet. I have to take a bit of a break to watch my Nittany Lions try to pull off the upset against a very impressive OSU team. Work will commence after the game. We Are...!!View attachment 7795View attachment 7796
 
Queef said:
Lovin the IB ! How're you likin the AMT tweeters and mids firing across @ each other ?
Click to expand...

I absolutely love the AMT tweets. They sound real good firing across but I’ve noticed a slight drop off in the very high end aimed across. I’ve been able to compensate a bit with some EQ, but my plan is to move them more towards a cross-firing setup to get more of the “sparkle” back.
 
Well... the a-pillars will be on hold for a bit. I got everything wired up & did a quick tune. Basically, I input the same numbers I had in the old processor and everything sounds WAY better. I ended up reducing the high end on the tweeters because they were overwhelming & I also lowered the crossover point between the sub/midbass from 80 to 65 which seemed to bring the bass more up front. Not perfect but a DEFINITE improvement. All I have to do is make the trim panel to cover the amps and add some LEDs for some bling and I’ll be set for the rear. I will now have to do some more deadening to the door panels as I now have a slight buzz every now & then (obviously from the lower xover point on the door woofers). Totally worth it to get more bass up front and they don’t really seem to have any issue handling it even at relatively high volumes. I’ll post up final pics after completion this weekend... hopefully.
 
The trunk portion is now all buttoned up & complete. I’ve been tweaking here and there and can say, without a doubt, this is the best my car has sounded by FAR! I will also say that it’s not easy to do this stuff when it’s not even 40*. But... it’s done... here it is.
 
I’m bringing this back from the dead so I don’t have to go digging through all the pages to find it.

I just picked up another set of a-pillar panels and some new pods are being designed. The intent is to get them more on axis. I also really don’t like big bulbous pods so I’m hoping I can actually recess the drivers a bit too while I’m at it.

This may move a little slowly as my new living situation will hinder my ability to work in addition to cold temps AND baseball practices for 3hrs every Saturday afternoon. We downsized into a townhouse instead of the house we used to have so I have to be a bit more considerate of my new neighbors who are a LOT closer than I’m used to. I’m excited to do some work. Stay tuned.
 
With the grille removed I can now tell for sure why the left side of my stage was a bit scrunched compared to the right being out beyond my mirror.

View attachment 15175

I’m not sure if I never noticed how far back the driver sat from the grille or maybe I didn’t really care & then promptly forgot about it... either way the new ones should greatly improve things. I have the general placement down and marked for cutting but my progress for today has been slowed as I’m currently in the process of being snowed in with a forecasted potential 14-20” of snow. I was going to cut them up today but I think I’ll wait until one of the next few days over my lunch break or next weekend. My garage is small and I don’t really want plastic shavings getting on my Vette... or snow.

View attachment 15176

I’ve now tried 3 different times and these pictures keep posting up sideways. For some reason they’re rotated to the left 90 degrees from the way they are in my phone. It’s kind of a pain to break my laptop out for a quick update but if anyone knows if it’s a phone thing that can be solved by using my laptop let me know and I’ll start using the computer so people don’t have to break their necks for a few photos.

Anyhow... the plan is to have the bottom of the mid (hopefully) flush with the pillar and recess the top as far as possible to get them angled more towards the middle of the car. I am willing to extend the bottom out a bit in order to get the angle right. Then it’s just a matter of trimming out enough material from the pillar for a clear path for the tweeter.
 
The temps have managed to break into the 50s... we even got to mid 60s today so I managed to get some work done. Yesterday was spent making a makeshift workbench since I have no room for a full-size one at my new house. And today was spent cutting up the new mid/tweet baffles. Tomorrow will be cutting up the pillars and determining the angles.

View attachment 15340

Sunday I have to detail a car for a friend and he offered to glass my pillars while I’m doing that... I love trade labor. While I have the ability to do fiberglass work I don’t particularly enjoy it so I jumped at the offer. So... with any luck I should have new pillars (minus covering) by middle of next week.

I also did a thing this past weekend. The order is in & as soon as Crutchfield gets them in stock I’ll have a new head unit to install.
View attachment 15341

Until next time...
 
Well... it’ll take a bit longer to get the pillars done. We decided to schedule a baseball practice for tomorrow so that’ll take the place of the detail/fiberglass day... meh. I did manage to make some progress today though. A little test fit...

View attachment 15354

That gave me an idea of how much more I needed to trim away to fully clear the tweeter. So now I have both set up and I’ll spend some time tomorrow trying to make it not look like a beaver gnawed on my pillars before starting the fiberglassing.

View attachment 15355

Also, while checking on the availability of my new head unit yesterday I noticed an “open box” option that was not available before. After a quick call to Crutchfield & reassurance that the unit was in “like new” condition, I saved $60 and it was shipped out immediately. So it arrived today while I was at baseball practice. I can’t wait to get this bad boy installed!

View attachment 15356
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top