TheTodd’s 2008 Malibu (re)build thread

[TheTodd]

Got a little work done today. Couldn’t get too into it since the temps didn’t get above 45 until noon-ish and it’s date night so I needed something I could get done in minimal time. Yet one more thing that should’ve been done from the get-go but I got lazy and all was good so I never bothered.

I’ll call it the big 2. I didn’t see a need to upgrade the battery to the engine as it was already substantial from the factory… it looks like 4ga so I left that one out. This was also my first time working with the braided loom so THAT was a learning experience.

Battery to chassis


Battery to the alternator


It kind of boogered up the loom a bit but I managed to squeeze it into the OEM boot


And she’s all buttoned back up


I’ll be redoing the mount for the circuit breaker next and make an attempt to run the new power cable. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 70s so hopefully the rain will hold off long enough I can get more done. As previously stated the power wire is gonna be a PAIN as the firewall is actually 2 different layers. From the passenger compartment there’s a 13/16” hole, then about a 1 to 1-1/2” gap then another hole but the second hole is slightly offset from the other. I’m planning on attaching my 3’ zip tie to the end of the current power wire, pulling it through but not all the way, then taping it to my new wire and pulling it back through. And, of course, everything ALWAYS goes according to plan.

I now have a design in mind for the new amp rack so if the rain holds off I’ll get some new pieces cut. Until next time…

[TheTodd]

It doesn’t really seem like much but I managed to get the new power wire run (I already mentioned how much of a PITA it is) so that took me most of the day. I also redid the mount for the circuit breaker. Because of the way it was mounted before, the in/out were basically on the wrong sides which meant a bit of a cluster as the wire was doubled back on itself on both sides. While I like the fact that it sort of disappeared the way it was I like the more direct wire routing more and if the car ever needs serviced it’s a little more obvious to anyone that it should be disconnected.

I’m a little angry, though, that once I removed the old power wire I noticed it was in fact OFC. So it didn’t REALLY need replaced. Meh… too late now. I’m definitely NOT doing THAT again.

New mount/wiring



I also got the mounting plates cut for the amps. They’re just a smidge smaller than the amps themselves as I’m planning to make floating mounts back-lit with LEDs. As long as temps stay up I should get more done next weekend.

[TheTodd]

New DSP arrived today. If temperatures can get even into the mid-50s at some point I could start getting some more work done.

[TheTodd]

Well, temps got into the 50s this but it rained all weekend so I got very little done… again. I did manage to mount the remote for the TWK today in a small storage pocket to the left of the steering wheel.



Not sure why they’re posting sideways. I even rotated them and tried again and they still come up sideways. Anywho… you get the idea.

[TheTodd]

I should be getting all the new gear installed Monday. I’m meeting up with an old friend who’s a decent at fab work and utilizing his garage & skills.

It also looks like my LF midbass is leaving this world so I’ll see if I can throw something in there to get me by until after the NC meet. I’m planning to listen to as many different speakers as possible but I guess I need to decide whether to replace just the door woofers or get a whole new front stage. I have a few in mind if I get all new but I’m definitely not rushing into anything and am very open minded to new ideas.

[TheTodd]

Woofer is definitely toast. This is the first time I’ve ever blown up a speaker. I pulled it out and discovered it had some rust on the terminal.



So I cleaned er all up and it seemed to work just fine. Then on the way to and from work today… nothing. So I disassembled yet again. I figured I’d solder the wires onto the tabs the tinsel leads are soldered to. I tested it again before adding solder and… nothing still. Push on the cone a bit and it plays, release cone… nothing. So it appears I have a dead spot on the coil.

So I broke out a pair of Dayton Classics I’ve had laying around.



And we’re back up and running until I decide on my new speakers.

If anyone is actually following this and has ANY input as far as possible replacements, these are the sets I’m currently looking further into:

(In order of retail price high to low)
- Focal Flax 3-way - At $1000 this would be a BIG stretch to the budget but doable if worth it
- Stereo Integrity TM65/M3/M25 - $880 I’d rather do these than Flax unless Flax are worth the extra $$
- AudioFrog GS 60/25/10 - $870 and on the top of my budget (just wish I could afford the GB)
- Alpine Type X 2-way set with added 3” mid - $850
- Morel Virtus 603 - $800 I really like the looks of this set
- Focal Performance 3-way set - $550 I’ve heard these are similar to the PolyGlass which I’ve had & liked

If anyone has an option that I haven’t mentioned please fill me in. I’m open to try just about anything, but I’m fairly firm in wanting a 3-way. It’s also tough because I have just under 2.75” for woofer depth in my door so I’m somewhat limited for midbasses. If I replace just the woofers the SI & Audiofrog are the top of my list.

Enough rambling… hopefully my next post will be of my new amp/DSP install.

[BenevolentDictator]

I would do the SI combo personally. I am running the m3s and they are very very good. Heard excellent things about the tms and the tweets

[chithead]

I'm hearing REALLY good things about those Alpine Type-X - considering a possible upgrade for myself to those in the future.

[TheTodd]

So I’m not thrilled with the way they’re mounted but I wanted to at least document that progress is being made…



The day ran too long and I needed it to be operational for the 1hr drive home so there’s a LOT of temporary in this one photo. More work is scheduled for this weekend. The Twk is just propped up & stuck to the sub magnet so it doesn’t flop around but that will lay flat when done. The wires will need a good tidy-up but that’ll wait for a likely different amp mount. I used heavy duty wall-mount speaker brackets for the amps mostly because of their adjustability. This way I could mount everything and then tilt/swivel to get the look just right… however they definitely weren’t meant for the constant vibration of a car and you can see in the picture they tend to droop down on the right no matter how many times I’ve tightened them.

I ran into another issue, which is why the day ran too long, and that is the amp configuration and sound. The sound of the Alpine/JL combo is fantastic! However, no matter what we did we could not get a solid center like I had with the Soundstream/Dayton. It is VERY left biased. I’m using the 5ch to run the sub + midbasses bridged because it allowed me to run/bridge into 2 channels using the selector switch and not Y cables. Problem… because Ch1 also feeds Ch3, and 2-4, the two midbasses are tied together internally. So I’m trying to delay Ch1 only (1/2 of L woofer signal) and it’s also delaying Ch3 (1/2 of R woofer signal) without delaying 2&4, the OTHER half of each speaker. I believe this is what’s dragging the image to the left, because I can’t truly delay the L woofer. The amp also gets REALLY hot REALLY quickly so new RCA cables are on the way with Y cables.

In addition to changing the mounts we’re going to do a small re-wire. Since they’re essentially the same power output (not counting the sub channel) the 5ch will now run 2 channels to R mid/tweet, one channel bridged to R door woofer and also sub. The 4ch will now do the same 2ch to L mid/tweet & one bridged to door woofer. This should give me true L/R separation.

Here’s hoping this weekend is a productive one. Updates to follow.

[TheTodd]

Oh yeah… also… these Dayton woofers are no joke for a $25 speaker. I may not have good staging/imaging yet but tonally… this car sounds REALLY good. My opinion, but, it IS my car so my opinion counts.