2006 MazdaSpeed 6 Audio Test Lab - Page 2

durwood · 11-19-2006, 09:08 PM

Ok just like everything I do it starts as an experiment and I don't put as much time into it as I would if I knew it would be the end result. That is what happened with my tweeter mounts.

I ditched the stock tweeter mounts and built my own to house my Vifa tweets. For construction I used
-1/4" MDF
-PVC pipe
-Bondo
-Paint
-Hot Glue

I cut a template of the orginal tweeter pod out of MDF that would be used to go flat against the door panel. Then I took my PVC pipe and cut it to an aproximate angle to house the tweeter mount. Then I hot glued the PVC pipe to the MDF I had cut in the proper angle desired. I used bondo to mold the PVC to the MDF. I did a ton of sanding (or grinding) until the angle was perfect. In a rush before going to a show I realized I wanted it to look a little bit better so I quickly painted it with textured paint. Again this is another project that is about 75% done.

durwood · 11-20-2006, 08:11 AM

Here is the screen mount and the processor mount. The Alpine controller for the PXA-H701 is less than an inch thick so it fit perfectly where my ash tray used to be. It was a super tight fit but it worked. It's attached to the stock shift panel using metal backstraps and the extra space was filled in with a sheet of ABS plastic cut to size.

durwood · 11-20-2006, 08:18 AM

I could not mount the amps along the side of my trunk this time around because the Speed ver of the 6 has extra bracing and support for the suspension. So instead, the cross bracing became a perfect candidate for the amplifier mounting location. I removed the panel hiding the cross bracing, mounted an MDF borad covered in carpet to the bracing. The amps are mounted to board and my soundcard and fuses are mounted behind it. I can access it by folding the seats down.

durwood · 11-20-2006, 08:30 AM

My sub box is made completely of MDF, no fiberglass. Every board was custom cut and each side is not parallel to the opposite side except for the top and bottom. This helps reduce standing waves inside the box. The inside of the box is also coated with rubberized undercoating to reduce resonaces as well. The alpine processor is located right next to the sub box. I had a cover piece from my previous Mazda but again it doesn't fit due to the trunk configuration.

durwood · 11-20-2006, 08:32 AM

Trunk in its final stages. I just need to make a new cover pannel for the sub/processor. It's not flashy but it does the job and looks clean. I throw alot crpa in the trunk from time to time because its a daily driver. Paint and vinyl in the trunk just won't work for me. I can also get my spare tire out without having to call AAA.

scott_fx · 11-20-2006, 12:06 PM

i like the look of that, but isn't the board cut a bit too short on the right side?

durwood · 11-20-2006, 01:05 PM

Ya I know it looks that way and I purposely cut it shorter. I should have mentioned that. When I get my side cover piece finished it will hide the right side opening. Plus the right side is where all my signal cables run going to the amps. When the side cover piece is on, my plan is to use speaker grill press in clips or strong magnets to attach the amplifier cover piece. Then I can quickly access fuses and wires rather quickly instead of having to remove both covers. For competitions, I need to be able to access fuses within 30 seconds as stated in the rules. at least for SLAP that is how it was.

RedGTiVR6 · 11-20-2006, 01:17 PM

30 seconds for USACi and IASCA too!

durwood · 11-20-2006, 01:22 PM

Ok good. I was hoping it wasn't less. I should take a look through their rules again but IASCA is insanely long.

BTW: How was USACI finals?

RedGTiVR6 · 11-20-2006, 03:40 PM

USACi went really well.

First in our class, 5th in a class more advanced, and runner up for best of show.

Very happy overall!

now to prepare for next year, going to be quite the jump up for us.

durwood · 11-22-2006, 11:00 AM

My current project is my keyspan remote control. It has replaced my XKEYS keypad. I use the keyspan because it it programable for almost any software program/keystrokes. I wanted to mount it somewhere that is easily accessible and does not take up a lot of space.

I didn't want to mess with my current cupholder because the finish makes the piece rather expensive. So I purchased an extra cupholder with trim piece from a Mazda6club member from an 04 mazda6. The finish does not match but I don't care about that at the moment. I will have to match it later anyway.

I dismantled the receiver so I had just the bare circuit board with no housing. That made it roughly as tall as the remote itself.

Next I wired the 5V from the USB directly to the remotes battery terminals. The remote will be fixed in place and I don't want to have to change the batteries all the time. Although the remote takes 2x3V lithiums, 5V from the USB was plenty of voltage to power it.

For the cup holder, I removed the plastic cover to cupholder to reduce thickness. When it opens you will see why. There was only two screws and a few clips holding it on.

Next I hot-glued the remote and receiver in place. When I tried to open the cupholder it hit the side of the trim. I knew this would happen. Next, I used a scoring razor blade to shave off the needed space on the trim panel. When I was finished you could see it opens.

I still have to do some fiberglass work to make it look factory. I will post that whole process up later. For now here are my pics.

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turbocad6 · 11-22-2006, 11:33 AM

woh, old school ads & old school soundstream... I like

those ads were sweet little amps.... I had a few installs with them back in the day, as well as those soundstreams.... nice...

durwood · 11-22-2006, 12:59 PM

Thanks. The looks and comments I get at comps are funny...cool carputer...whoa olskool amps. Whats the deal? New meets old...thats the deal.

The A/D/s is going on 17 years old now I think and I am the second owner..no mods or repairs. Nothing but a rock solid amp. No built in crossovers, no fancy lights, no chrome, just high quality amp.

The soundstream I repaired a while back. Typical power supply diode failure. Someone was probably pushing it a little too hard or didn't have solid power going to it...but then again a 50x2 amp with 24 output transistors is awesome.

canibusfan · 12-03-2006, 12:09 PM

damn this turned out to look really good.........

tolisn · 12-05-2006, 12:41 AM

Is the screen motorized?. How did you mount it?

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