Stereo upgrade

[Guest]

Check it out, I bit the bullet and got the XS-10FA and SYN 4. The SYN 4 will run my Fusion towers and the 10. I am going to mount the 10 in the stock wall location under the steering wheel and try the free air application. As I understand it, it should be more than enough for me. I mentioned earlier this year in another thread that my stereo got stolen, so I already installed a new Clarion cdm4. Works great with the existing remotes, a big concern of mine. I am going to run the cabin 5 1/4's with a small amp I got from my brother. I hope to install it on Sunday and I will take some pics.

Any tips on cutting the hole in the wall? Just feel for the perforations for the factory 10, cut the carpet there and remove, and then the hole to the template that came with the 10? What have you guys used to cut the hole? Any other advice would be appreciated.

[Guest]

ok, I just found the cutting instructions from chpthril last time i asked a similar question.

...You just have to feel around the carpet with your fingers till you find the slots under the carpet. They are about 3/8" wide x 3" long. Once you find a slot, take a razor knife and start going slot to slot cutting out the carpet in a circle. Then take a jig-saw and cut the wall out connecting the slots...

Any other nuggets of wisdom? Luckily my buddy is a stereo guy so he is doing most the work. I mainly fetch him beers and hold the flashlight...

[TRD]

I just did mine a couple wks ago, same sub. I have a small laminate router and made a jig for just the size hole I wanted. I was told to make the sub fit tight. Cut the carpet and made about 5 passes w/ the router dropping the cutter each time until I was through. Worked great. I will post some pictures when everything is all hooked up.

Chpthrl is a very good source of info for this stuff.

[Guest]

I felt around last night on the footwell side and could not feel any perforations. Are they on the other side, the storage side of the compartment maybe, did not check? I guess it really does not matter, I just need to pick a spot, use the template and cut.

Under the assumption I do not have the perforations, I guess i would just drill through with a really big bit at the edge of the template and then cut from there around the template.

TRD - you used a router like this? Seems like that would work well, just need to find one.

[dogbert]

I felt around last night on the footwell side and could not feel any perforations. Are they on the other side, the storage side of the compartment maybe, did not check? I guess it really does not matter, I just need to pick a spot, use the template and cut.

Under the assumption I do not have the perforations, I guess i would just drill through with a really big bit at the edge of the template and then cut from there around the template.

TRD - you used a router like this? Seems like that would work well, just need to find one.

That's what I used also. It also worked on the fiberglass in my boat when I had to enlarge my speaker cutouts for my Wetsounds speakers.

A jig saw would work as well.

[Guest]

I have a reciprocating saw, that should work if a jigsaw will work, right? I am looking to borrow a hand held router from a buddy as that seems like it would make the cleanest cut and allow for the tightest fit of the sub. I was a bit surprised how thick that footwell wall is, I looked at where the 5 1/4 clarion speaker is mounted down there and it is over an inch thick.

I am nervous, cutting my boat scares me...

[rushin]

I felt around last night on the footwell side and could not feel any perforations

Yes, they are on the storage side.

[TRD]

Yes Austin, that router will work great.

I use a 1/4" ball nose endmill. I'm sure a reg. 2 or 4 flute end mill would work fine. I would do a depth of about 1/4" at a time. I will take some pics of my router and jig. Very simple. Getting the distance from dowel to bit takes a couple of tries but that is it. I use a 1/4" Ø drill to drill the hole in the bulkhead and left the drill bottom for my dowel to spin on. Just remember, you will only get one shot this way so make sure your jig is right. If your drill is not tight you can use a roll pin for a dowel pin also.

I didn't put my sub in the traditional locations. I moved mine up (about 3 or 4") and towards the outside of the hull because under the drivers area is the dryest place on my boat and this is where I keep my extra dry clothes. I also got some much needed storage inside my battery area by doing this. I put a shelf in for some of my tools and extras that I carry when we go out. I will post some photos this wkend if possible. I am adding 3 amps and a sub this year. I hope to install next wkend.

[Guest]

Cool, thanks for info! I am thinking about just buying a small handheld laminate router, I could use it around the house anyways. I will probably just do like TRD did and mount based on where it best fits versus trying to use the exact stock location.

[dogbert]

I have a reciprocating saw, that should work if a jigsaw will work, right? I am looking to borrow a hand held router from a buddy as that seems like it would make the cleanest cut and allow for the tightest fit of the sub. I was a bit surprised how thick that footwell wall is, I looked at where the 5 1/4 clarion speaker is mounted down there and it is over an inch thick.

I am nervous, cutting my boat scares me...

A reciprocating saw isn't going to give you the flexibility you need. Either use the router or the jig saw.

[dogbert]

Cool, thanks for info! I am thinking about just buying a small handheld laminate router, I could use it around the house anyways. I will probably just do like TRD did and mount based on where it best fits versus trying to use the exact stock location.

If you do, you can get a device that you can drill into the center of what you're cutting out that will give you a perfect circle. It's trickier than you think to hold that router steady. I'd highly recommend it and, had the holes not already been cut out, that's what I would have used to cut out my speaker holes. I used a jig saw for my sub, but if I had the router, I would have gone that route instead...no pun intended.

[Guest]

I think I understand conceptually what you guys are talking about with a jig, I will ask at Home Depot when I go in about this. Makes sense, that way I get a perfect circle.

[TRD]

this years upgrade

Austin,
The 1st pic is my sub. It is a very snug fit.

2nd & 3rd pics of my storage area w/ 3 amps. We hope to wire up this wkend if it doesn't rain. pics w/ and w/out the shelf. I am very limited on storage on my boat. I keep my tools and extra's in this area.

4th is items that I am adding this year. I already had the tower speakers from the 1st NC Tigeowners Reunion. I justed cleaned them up and haven't put them back on yet.

The 5th pic is my router and jig. Very simple, I put the jig under the base because of the carpet thickness and it has a single 1/4" dowel hole to spin around. It took a couple of try to get the diameter I wanted.


I will write up a post on the sound of the sub and the pxa-h100 later on. I will have to get Chptrl out on my boat because he is the sound guru. He knows more about the technical end then I do. I am really interested in know if it will help.

[Guest]

Looks good TRD. Glad you guys suggested the jig setup, that was the ticket. I ended up buying a rotozip and what they called a circle cut that allowed me to cut a perfect circle for the sub. Was not too difficult at all, a few passes with the jig and one without so the bit could go deep enough and the hole was cut. Got the amps installed and hooked up too, just ran out of time to tune them. Will do that this week. Here are a few pics, will take more and some of the amp later this week.

Thanks for all the help, you guys saved me a ton of time and pain with the jig suggestion.

[TeamAllen]

Looks Great, good job!