mazda mp5 install

[Bfowler]

preface:

this was the first install in a LONG time where i got to actually have the vehicle for the duration of the install (instead of the owner needing it drivable at the end of the day) so i got to really go to town on it.

this is the girlfriends car, and she didnt really care what i did so long as it didnt scream STEAL ME. and there was still room for the dog. also it had to be louder then her dads suburban which has a xs12 and xs2300 (courtesy of me also)

also, i thought it worth mentioning the extremely LOW cost of this install. $530 COUNTING sounddeadening and dash kit/wire harness

gear:

-kenwood x590 (repaired by doc!) (bought for $40 from a friend and the repaired by doc for about $30)

-rsd6cs (bought of amazon for $50 shipped)
-rsdc102 (bought for 70 shipped on amazon)
-xs2200 (ebay, almost bnib for 40 shipped)
-xs2500 (from pnyryd! the free +shipping one! fixed for $30), $50 total cost
-monster 4awg cable, $25 from the radioshack liquidation!
-jl rca cables, dblocks from the JL closeout section (75 shipped)
-speaker wire $5 from PG where house sale
-edead....$80 shipped
-foam baffles, dashkit and harness $50


some stock photos:

[Bfowler]

prep. so yeah, i got to keep this car for a week, so i took the whole thing apart:

[Bfowler]

and added some rattle/resonance deadener. its worth noting that most of it is edead40 which pretty much sucks. you have to cut a ton of recess cuts in it as its own weight+adhesion will NOT hold it down in curves. this lead to some rather ugly sections. the edead80 seems to work just fine though. ya live and learn i guess. however now that i'm done, i'm pretty happy with the overall results. the road noise in that car is noticeably less, the doors feel amazingly solid. in the rear doors i went for a triple attack with the 40mil. a deadened the body metal, a layer over the holes in the inner door, and strips on the door panel to reduce vibrations too. in the front i donated some dynamatX for the body metal. a layer over of 40mil the holes in the inner door, and the cascade audio spray for the inside of the door panels.

[Bfowler]

and ran some cables

[Bfowler]

rather then the crummy metra kit, i went with the mazda mp3 (which came with a DIN kenwood deck) factory pocket.

i also painted it, the factory bezel, and the kenwood trim ring flat black as well as the plastic center console/cup holder. since a few of those were silver from mazda, and scratched over its life time.

[Bfowler]

in the back i threw in some pg octane-r 6's....they are rear fill...so dont really care that they have one of the worst tweets i have heard. plus i got them for free when i took them out of another install.

in the front i cut a 6x8 to 6" adapter from 1/4 ABS and bolted it into the factory bolts with a foam baffle to protect from the elements. i attached the rsd 6 mid.

i also sprayed the back of the door panels

[Bfowler]

for the tweets, i used the factory location sail panel, and dropped in the rsd tweet. i am a firm believer that there is no problem that tons of hot glue can't fix.

also, since the rsds are a little bright for me when they are up in the sail panels. i covered them in t shirt material when i put them in. this also made them invisible when installed

[Bfowler]

for the LPL, there were no dead pannels so i used a little trick i picked up from errin. put it on the steering column. its very incognito, and easy to reach. the pg one had silver on it. i painted it black too

[Francious70]

Looks good. I wish I had the time and space to do a good install.

[Bfowler]

pics of the rack and sub build to come!

[brenzbmr@sb]

hey if u need some parts for this car i have.

my protoge is totaled, i have a cold air intake from injen, some custom tweeter pods for apiller and sail piller.

lemme know i have extra bezels around deck too.

headrest are cut for alpine screens..

LOL

nice job b

[ttocs]

I use to think hot glue could fix almost anything but then I started installing in phoenix and you could not find a bigger NO- no in the install world out there.

So they introduced me to CA and I have been glueing myself to random shit since.......

[Rold Gold]

Hey Bri,
Are those drywall screws holding in the front mid driver.......?

Looks good brutha!!!!!!!!!! Can't wait to hear it at dabor.

[Bfowler]

they are a fine thread...but yeah. nothing else seemed to thread into the clips i used quite right.

as for hot glue...thats a good point. i guess in Oregon i never had to think twice about it!

[waynehead]

good work sir. Do those foam baffles work pretty well? I have always just used the whole door as a baffle. I am assuming these still let the speaker breathe alittle?

[ttocs]

the foam baffles are really just to keep the speaker dry I thought?

[waynehead]

Yeah thats what they are for, im just wondering how well the speaker performs with the baffle around it. Like how much it affects the response. Im not very good at being specific lol

[Bfowler]

good work sir. Do those foam baffles work pretty well? I have always just used the whole door as a baffle. I am assuming these still let the speaker breathe alittle?

yeah, they are just to protect it from the elements since the inside of the door looked like it hadnt really been so far. they arent air tight becasue i had to poke a hole on the bottom for the speaker wire. also they are pretty thin, so i'm sure the mid could flex them if it came down to it, which almost makes them like passive radiator. they sound amazing right now. doesnt seem to inhibit the midbass, thats for sure.

[waynehead]

sweet thats all I needed to know. im about to install a set in my girlfriends car and considered some foam baffles.

[Bfowler]

made some good progress this weekend. behold, the amp rack. i had to make sure she could still get to the spare tire when i was done. pics can tell the rest....but motherfuck...i have alternator whine...let the troubleshooting begin. (note, the ground block is just hanging out becasue the surface i'm mounting it to doesn't exist yet.

also, some pics of the grounding point. i took out the factory cargo hooks, so the remaining bolts just were begging to be utilized

[dontlookatme]

r u really going to use the plastic baffles?

[Bfowler]

for the front speakers? i left them in as a guide for the holes. there is a 1/4 abs plate i made in front of them that are what the rsd's are mounted too.

is that what you are asking?

[Juice0723]

should of bought the deadening from http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi

Better then pretty much anything out there and at a very good price. 80 mil thick stuff. Way better then edead, dynamat, etc. For the price you can't go wrong.

[Bfowler]

i didnt remember that site till after. although...the edead 80 worked just fine.
it would would be better if the foil was a bit thicker

it was $2 a square foot shipped, while the Sounddeadener showdown is about $5 a square foot... (not saying its not better too...but i got the edead for a sweet price)

[Juice0723]

yeah it's $2.25 for a 6x10" piece from showdown. I just bought some the other day. Should be good.