Custom VW system ideas please

[paintguy]

Looking great!

Especially loving your work on the front bumper

[joerg]

My friend used to have a T4:
http://www.heinz-berneck.com/frames/team_heinz.htm

[kg1961]

My friend used to have a T4:
http://www.heinz-berneck.com/frames/team_heinz.htm

took me a bit but did you know there is a green car in one of the pics near the bottom of the page lol

[zeropoint0.5]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OLD-SCHOOL-PO ... 35bf5b4a8f

isn't this something for you if you wanna go all ti amps.......

[Pillow]

Phresh as Phuck!!! Great job!

[PhuckinGood]

Thanks for the comments guys, really nice to hear some people like it, obviously I havnt done much inside yet but that will come.

Thanks for links on your friends T4, roof install is very nice, outside is a bit marmite though!

I was hoping to find some nice PG gear (franks, ms1000 etc as never had any of the nice kit and always dreamt of even if its not in perfect condition) but all out of my price range so far or I get beaten to them I would treasure one beyong belief.

I am not a fan of the Ti amps so will have a ZX600ti up for grabs soon in the UK if anyone is after a workhorse, shes no beauty but not bad. I am using a ZX350v2 on some components up front and a ZX450 on a pair of Ti subs at the moment, not the best sounds. The front comps are sat in pods that are bolted direct to the door metal and breathing into the front doors - wasnt sure if this is the right way to mount them - thought maybe they would sound better in a sealed pod!? anyone know. Could be that I am using Focal Anniversary comps that seem not a s good as my previous Rainbow comps (I had to sell them to fund the van)

Been covering some interior panels today ... roof



Temporary home for amps ..



Pods so far ...

[jbob0124]

Who you gonna call...

Your "temporary" set up is a lot cleaner then some installs I've seen. Nice work so far.

[PhuckinGood]

Who you gonna call...

Your "temporary" set up is a lot cleaner then some installs I've seen. Nice work so far.

Shhhhhh..... can you smell something

I know my childhood duvet cover would come in handy sometime, I ran out of covering material so up she went.

Dont believe you for a second on the install though mate

[PhuckinGood]

okay, really need some thoughts on what I need to find and whats the best method to hook everything up to get a working system. Unlike a car this is going in a camervan so I will need audio in the rear too. I have a double battery tray being made to fit under the bonnet so will have two batteries and a split charge system, the stock alternator is 90a. Not sure if this will be enough yet. I have a zero guage power run installed.

So far I have aquired ...

1 x PG Elite .65cs components (150wrms) to replace Focal 165v30 comps in front doors.
2 x PG Titanium 12s 3.01 Ohms (500wrms)
1 x PG ZX350v2 (2x129w or 1x386w)
1 x PG ZX450 (4x125w or 2x342w)

So I need rear speakers (doubt I can afford elites again) of some sort and need to add to or change amplifiers, the question is what should I be looking for and whats best used where!? Had an eye out over here in the UK for white ZX amps to match as they will be on show but they are few and far between. I have thought about bits from an asthetics points of view like maybe a white basscube (not sure what they have to add as have full sub control from headunit and not into spl) / white active crossover (although the .65cs literature warns against this I have no idea how it would fit in) / maybe make a fuse block or power cap bank out of a small white ZX amp!? all of this is due to finding stuff to use and far from the point of this thread.

Any and all input gratefully received.

[PhuckinGood]

Also spotted a VB100 circuit breaker, although says for 4awg, are these any good for under the bonnet, and do they do one for 0awg?

[AVICJR]

Also spotted a VB100 circuit breaker, although says for 4awg, are these any good for under the bonnet, and do they do one for 0awg?

By under the bonnet does that mean under the hood? Yes, you can place inside engine bay/under hood (BUT find someplace that will be moisture free). Also, you can use 0awg on the VB100.

[PhuckinGood]

Also spotted a VB100 circuit breaker, although says for 4awg, are these any good for under the bonnet, and do they do one for 0awg?

By under the bonnet does that mean under the hood? Yes, you can place inside engine bay/under hood (BUT find someplace that will be moisture free). Also, you can use 0awg on the VB100.

Thanks for the tip, thats it I am on the look out for a VB100 or VB140 or VB200, 140 sounds the best option.

Car related USA to English translator

Hood = Bonnet
Trunk = Boot
Fender = Bumper / Wing
Antenna = Aerial
Licence plate = Number Plate
Transmission = Gear Box
Windshield = Windscreen
Phoenix Gold = Phuckin Good

[ttocs]

earth = ground.

[PhuckinGood]

Okay heres a picture of the stash I have to use in the VW campervan, as you can see its a white ZX based idea. So now I need some help on the best way to sort it out into a working system, what else I need, what would be good etc. I am short on rear speakers as wanted to use Elite.65s in the rear but as they only do 6.5'' ones and I will be looking at 4'' or 5 1/4'' to maybe go in roof mounted pods I havnt a clue there.



So heres my thoughts so far ... please chip in with comments ... All the ZX amps have been off to the amp doctor for caps/service tweaks etc .. and new rms ratings.

1. Alpine headunit with front/rear/sub out
2. ZX350 (2x129wrms) to run Elite.65cs in front doors (wanted 3 way or IDhorns but thats what we got)
3. ZX450 (2x342wrms) to run Titanium 12ds
4. ZX250 (2x98wrms) to run unknown rear fill.

Would the system benefit from an AX406 crossover? Although the amps all have HP or LP built in, is the fact they are only working on say a HP signal making them more efficient, ie does the amp filters work on the input or the output? Would look nice, but is that all it would do?

Would I need a line driver or two/three to use the AX406 if its needed?

My headunit has subwoofer control / crossover and volume, so what would a basscube do for me? Again looks good on a show off level but would I really benefit?

Can I use the new smaller voltage displays now available in the new range with my ZX amps? they have two ports in them.

I still need to find a way to fuse at the back and run three earths (not sure is they all need seperate ones or I can use a block like the power) and need to locate some more cables. I have four nice rca runs so thats a start.

I have a 0guage run down the van and have had a double battery tray made ready for a split charge system, been looking for a VB140 or VB200 to go under the bonnet. Any got one? or any other ideas, is 140 or 200 amps correct fusing up front?

I really need to make a start on this now as the weather looks to be improving and summer is coming, the build is a huge rear box to house the subs, amp rack, etc, that is also the campervan seat and converts to a bed! tricky one but I am keeping it simple. But would like to include lighting, any tips or recommendations please as I dont know where to start on this side of things.

Thinking caps on .....

[LowandLoud]

Sweet van. Its definitely on its way. I love that you gathered all matching amps, I am doing the same thing.

Of course you dont NEED a crossover, but it would add adjustability that you might need with front and rear speakers, especially in a big hollow van.
I would say you could def benefit from a line driver. I assume you will be using all of the pre outs on your deck and not daisy chaining them together. This means you will need a multi channel driver like an SLD22,44 (or 2 or 3 PLD1's). One thing to consider is the PG crossovers i have owned have 1 input.
While the BassCube does add a bit of flash, it makes a huge difference in my experience. I will be running 2 in mine. One to each sub amp.
I am not positive if the RMD will work on a ZX, i have never owned one.
Yes, you can run all 3 grounds into a single block, same as power.
As for fusing, you should add up all the values on your amps and be around that amperage. Preferably a little on the high side.

I hope i have been of some help to you.

LL

[PhuckinGood]

Sweet van. Its definitely on its way. I love that you gathered all matching amps, I am doing the same thing.

Of course you dont NEED a crossover, but it would add adjustability that you might need with front and rear speakers, especially in a big hollow van.
I would say you could def benefit from a line driver. I assume you will be using all of the pre outs on your deck and not daisy chaining them together. This means you will need a multi channel driver like an SLD22,44 (or 2 or 3 PLD1's). One thing to consider is the PG crossovers i have owned have 1 input.
While the BassCube does add a bit of flash, it makes a huge difference in my experience. I will be running 2 in mine. One to each sub amp.
I am not positive if the RMD will work on a ZX, i have never owned one.
Yes, you can run all 3 grounds into a single block, same as power.
As for fusing, you should add up all the values on your amps and be around that amperage. Preferably a little on the high side.

I hope i have been of some help to you.

LL

Thank for your ten pence worth, certainly helped out on couple of the extra questions, glad you like the van.
Crossover wise I was looking at the AX406 which seems to have three inputs!? Am I wrong there? and yes I will use all three pre-outs. Thats why I wondered if there was any benefit.
I have looked into the line driver and it seems the ZX series have a limit to their input voltage, I wonder if it will do more damage than good?
Looking for a ground block that will suit the ZX looks as we speak, cheers for that tip. Plus saves three earth runs.
Off to look up fusing on the manuals to work that out too, cheers.
Look forward to all advise offered.

[PhuckinGood]

Just looked up the manuals and the interal fusing totals 130 for the three amps, so anyone got a VB140 up for grabs, would be nice stay PG

[PhuckinGood]

Made some headway over winter with my van so thought I would share whats been happening with you guys. The basic plan was a camper interior, seat/bed and kitchen but that could also hold a bit of phoenix gold heres the seat/bed if your my wife or the sub/amp rack if your me..









test fitting the shell to sort out sub placement





knocked up an amp rack









Also started work on a matching kitchen pod, gotta have a place to make a cuppa...

















Right back to the seat/bed ... ahem ... I mean amp rack and sub enclosure, decided on a colour change





This was supposed be to painted white to match the van exterior but then the wife bunged a spanner in the works saying she liked the wood look, so worked out a way to finish and seal and sourced some gold handles and fawn grille cloth





test fit time Oi! feet off grrrr....









then I made up some panels for the side sliding door and a matching one for the tailgate, managed to squeeze in some new old stock QX comps in some matching pods too













made up grilles for the pods to match the sub grille and stating fitted comps







just managed to get the whole system installed and started fine tuning, got my cushions covered so will try and get a couple of pics in place



put some tits on the rims, not sure on these yet and washed it, charged the batteries and took out for first run of the year ... happy days

[dwnrodeo]

Wow, that is some incredible woodworking there! I am a fan of the natural wood look myself and am glad that you chose that route (or the wife ).

[LowandLoud]

Yes sir! You are very talented with the woodworking. It looks incredible.
PS, You know she can put her feet wherever she wants!

LL

[ttocs]

I too like the wood but I have to say that the curved ends I would have done with fiberglass myself as that looks like it was a lot of cutting. of course with glass comes sanding so its just a trade of course.

Yea there is no way in hell that alt will do 2 batteries and 2 amps.... at least not for long...

[PhuckinGood]

Thanks for the comments and glad you like our van, was after the beach / surf / driftwood look and the its turmed out its a warmer tactile finish too, on the plus side its a nice dead surface so I have been able to get some decent sound in there.

Been running the new Elite comps now fo a few months and they are not bad, find they loose control a little at high volume running of the ZX350, not sure which is the culprit in that pairing but that being picky indeed they are very good at their price point indeed. The two subs Titanium subs are being run off each bridged channel of the ZX450, was worried I was underpowering these and didnt want to be gain happy, but again they join in there part really well and feed in nice behind the Elites. Rear fill is of the remaining ZX250 with some QX comps in the tailgate, now they are the biggest surprise sounded outstanding, although they are in a textbook location. I needed better rear fill so I can balance the sound back when spending time in the rear.

Yes the stock alternator is still hanging on, nice new big bosch battery, so time will tell.

And she does put those shoes in some painfull places .. but I am not complaining