2012 Chevy Silverado (Full Phoenix Gold Install)

[ttocs]

a line driver has nothing to do with getting more power out of your amps. It is to reduce the signal to noise ratio if its done right.

[Kirghiz]

My thought process wasn't so much about getting more power from the amp as what increasing the signal voltage would do considering my sub amp's gain is at 0 already, and the levels are adjusted against the signal voltage. Based on what you're saying though I don't think it's going to help much anyway.

[Kirghiz]

Just got back from getting my oil changed, and the guy that did the oil change checked me out. I swear to God he sounded just like Gomer Pyle when he talked. He said.....

"I ain't never seen a truck with twin altanaters afur. What they fur?"

"I dunno man, just the way it came when I bought it", I said.

Gomer.jpg (9.95 KiB) Viewed 29492 times

[Drock]

Lol. That's funny

[Kirghiz]

I have been placed under strict orders by my wife to "not get any more damn speakers". But, I had to go back to Sound Decision for them to finish up the cosmetics on the sub box/amp rack, and she knew this. Plus, Chris gave me a hell of a deal on a Roll-N-Lock bed cover, and I was going to have them put in the Bass Cube I bought a few weeks ago, so I had a few more projects for them to do, and she was fine with that since they didn't involve "any more damn speakers". Over the last month the subs have loosened up a bit and gotten louder, and of course I was adding a bass cube, so I figured I needed to buff the front stage a bit. I needed "some more damn speakers". I made some money on the side here and there, and what she don't know won't hurt her.

I had Chris order me a third set of Elite.65's for the kick panels.

Friday I got up at the crack of dawn and went down there to give them as much time as I could to do the kicks without her finding out (remember it's a good three hour drive down there). I get down there, and they wheel the Roll-N-Lock into the bay, open the box, and come to find out it was for a Tundra. The manufacturer had the box marked wrong. Derp. Benny immediately calls Chris to tell him, and then Benny hands me the phone. Chris apologized and said he would be at the shop in a few minutes, I could leave my truck there, and he'd let me use his vehicle over the weekend. They'd get the right Roll-N-Lock in on Monday, install it, and meet me half way between where I live and Johnson City, at whatever time worked for me on Monday. Dude didn't even have time to think about it, that was apparently his first idea for a solution. These guys are top notch.

Turned out they were having a local SPL competition there on Saturday, and since my truck was going to be there I got them to stick it in and see what it would do. It measured 133.8, but Benny chickened out and didn't want to break anything. Can't say as I blame him. But, it measured 133.8 with him only taking the volume up to 22 or 23 on my HU. 22 or 23 is where I lower it to to change tracks, and then dial it back up to 27 or 28. Based on that I figure it'd be low 140's at my listening level, but who knows. With the way a lot of competitions are run these days I'd either be in a 3000 watt power class, or a 40" power class going up against ported 18's, so any way you look at it, it won't win an SPL competition. Either way I don't worry too much about it because it's just a number. I'm more interested in sound quality than being loud anyway. More people in the general population appreciate SQ than sheer SPL.

In case you haven't heard the Elite.65's......For their price, you WILL NOT find a better set of new components. Two sets of Elite.65's in a front stage is orgasmic, and honestly they are pitch perfect right up the volume knob. Even up into levels that are comparable to live stadium concerts. They get loud and do it very well. The only way they could do any better imo is if they were a three way with a 3" soft dome midrange (hint hint Morgan).

I was giving a guy a ride today, and he knew I had a system, but before he got in, he assumed I took the back seat out. I was like "I have a back seat, look", and opened the back doors. Since they hid the wires this weekend, you can barely tell it's there by opening the doors if you aren't looking for it. I raised the seat and turned the lights on and he was like "holy shit!". lol

[spragmatic]

Questions on how much deadening you did. Did you just do the rear of the cab like you said in your first post? Why not the doors, firewall and such if you didn't do those? Is it really worth all the work? I've got a 06 GMC Sierra Crew Cab Diesel. Gonna do my system soon and want it very quiet inside. Engine is hopped up quite a bit and gets noisy at times. Especially when a Dodge or Ford wants some! Had too. No offense boys! Anyway. Went through Second Skin and ordered enough(I think) to do all of the interior. I know it definitely deadens the road noise, but does it truly help the audio experience? Especially in the doors if you add deadening and then foam to the inside? They say it does. I just have never heard it myself. I've been looking at many installs here and on DIYMA and it looks like a crap shoot. Might just be what your trying to accomplish I guess? Just curious as to what you think as you are running the Elite.65cs's (gonna use in front and rear doors) and have a similar truck. Thanks!!

[ttocs]

sound damping doesn't add to the sound so much as take noise away. As you said in a car with a noisy exhaust it can't be done enough and I speak from exp driving a 94 mustang that has heads/cam and side exhaust and next week electronic cut outs as well for when a dodge/chevy/Harley wants to play. I went with second skin damplifier pro everywhere I could put it and the on top of that use the luxery liner pro. Next week when they do the cut-outs they are also installing some sub frame commectors and then finishing the bottom of the car off with lizard skin sound/heat damplifier as an undercoating to protect from rust/heat/sound. Do as much as you can afford and you will wonder if you should have done more.

[Kirghiz]

On mine I had them do the back wall, floor, and all the doors. Really the only thing that wasn't done was the ceiling, and the way the ceiling is in this truck, it really doesn't need it.

Adding sound deadening won't increase the sound, but what it will do is reduce how much sound you lose, so it's sort of the same thing. Just depends if you are a half full or half empty kind of guy. When metal vehicle panels flex and resonate, the sound escapes, but when you stop it from resonating it more or less traps it inside, making it a few db louder. It'll also reduce road noise from getting into the cabin, so it makes for a quieter listening environment, which increases the sound quality.

I recommend deadening everything you can, and putting my money where my mouth is, I basically did in mine. Doing the firewall would have been more work than it was worth, and the ceiling has enough foam packing and such in it that it really wasn't needed.

[spragmatic]

You both said what I've been thinking. Go big! I did order the shop pack of Damplifier Pro with 80 sqft, some Overkill and some Heat Wave Pro. Hope this gets me through most of the interior. I do know to remove the headliner in the crew cabs you have to remove either the windshield or rear window. My windshield is cracked so I might have them remove it and then do the roof? Not sure if I should go that far. Knowing myself I'll just git'r done anyway. (Ttocs)-- Might use some type of external liquid dampner as well. Keep me posted on how well it performed for you if you would.

[ttocs]

I did the roof on mine and thought it helped myself. There is a lot of wind noise from the top imo esp on a truck. Yes sometimes the windshield needs to come out but not sure on that truck. I also did The heat wave on my consold/tranny hump as I had been having issues with temp/heat and it helped a lot.

[spragmatic]

Yeah I think I'll do the roof just to say I did. Sort of getting excited now.

[zztunnell]

Yeah I think I'll do the roof just to say I did. Sort of getting excited now.

You could just undo the headliner and let it down. Leaving it in the truck and work around it. Even if you couldnt get 100% coverage it would still be better than 0%.

[ttocs]

sticking sound deadener above the headliner and then rolling it out to stick isn't going to be as much of a solution as you might think.

[Kirghiz]

That stuff isn't exactly easy to get applied right. I mean it's easy, but you have to evenly apply it and so forth, so it isn't something you can just throw up there. I wouldn't attempt it with extra things in the way, like a headliner hanging down.

[ttocs]

I could not imagine trying to work around the headliner myself. Maybe the first 12" but even then it will be a pia.

[spragmatic]

Yeah, I will pull the whole headliner out of the truck for sure. Definitally gonna be easier to work with it out on the floor. I'm going to install digital amp and volt meters in a custom pod that fits in the cubby hole where my map lights are so it will be a good time for wiring them with headliner gone. I'm gonna take pics of the whole process. Always wanted to go the distance on a build. Hopefully I can get most of it done this summer. I'll keep all posted.....

[ttocs]

FYI - sound damping cut into strips like tape works great to secure cables up on ceilings and such.

[zztunnell]

I could not imagine trying to work around the headliner myself. Maybe the first 12" but even then it will be a pia.

It wouldnt be easy but itd be a hell of a lot cheaper than removing the windshield,just saying.

[Kirghiz]

Got the new voltage regulator installed today, fixed my voltage issue right up. Also had a Stinger SPP2250 battery, Stinger says it's the biggest car audio battery there is, put in for good measure.......And they said it wouldn't fit.......lol

[AVICJR]

Love this install! Good job!

[zztunnell]

Got the new voltage regulator installed today, fixed my voltage issue right up. Also had a Stinger SPP2250 battery, Stinger says it's the biggest car audio battery there is, put in for good measure.......And they said it wouldn't fit.......lol

Battery.jpg

I swear i seen this pic on facebook yesterday. Said something about biggest battery that fit in silverado or something,lol.

Looks great!

[Kirghiz]

Got the new voltage regulator installed today, fixed my voltage issue right up. Also had a Stinger SPP2250 battery, Stinger says it's the biggest car audio battery there is, put in for good measure.......And they said it wouldn't fit.......lol

Battery.jpg

I swear i seen this pic on facebook yesterday. Said something about biggest battery that fit in silverado or something,lol.

Looks great!

LOL that was it. Benny posted it right before I left the shop. Chris said to me, "See, this is how much I trust you. I didn't bother to check the measurements. I just ordered it when you said it'd fit".

A quarter inch in any direction, width, length, or height, and it would not have fit. It was much closer than I thought it was going to be. LOL

[Drock]

Nice. Love your install.

[ttocs]

Did you get to heave that thing up into position? I know my kinetic 1800 was a pia to get up and into the trunk.

[Irongoats]

Love this project/install. My wife would kill me just knowing the potential cost haha.