Help Needed on Complete Audio Setup Install

[TheDigicore]

Hi,

I recently got an MR2 and was seriously disappointed with the stock sound system, so I embarked on a journey to gather and get all the bits neccessary to get a nice setup going. Now I have just that. Having done my research on here and acquiring:

UD Sub Box
JL 6.5 Inch 6W3v3-4 Subwoofer
Focal Access 165 A1 SG's
Speaker Adapters for the MR2 I sourced from Germany
A Baluplunkt 400 Watts Amp
Rattlemat Sound Deadening Tape
Alpine Single Din Headunit (from old car)
Surround for the Headunit
wires etc.

Now the only problem is I have absolutely no clue on what to do or where to start on putting this all in. So that is what leads me to writing this post. I was wondering if there is any kind person out there that would be able to help me out with this. I would pay cash, not sure how much time it would take to do all this and how much it would cost but I am gagging to get it in.

So any help on this would be much appreciated!  s:) s:)

Cheers

[Anonymous]

I would help but im a little far away from you, unless you fancy a trip round the 25 to me.

[AndyM]

Hi,

Unfortunately I can't give you any specific 2 advice (I'm still in the hunt for my first one but will be doing the audio when I do) but I have had a bit of experience squeezing in an SQ install into my old 93 Mini Cooper. I did that with zero previous experience and had to feel my way through it with the help of some forums and learnt a few bits that might be useful for you?

A couple of things I'd suggest...

- Plan everything out in advance and get your wiring plan drawn up. It might even be worth doing a dry setup out of the car to make sure everything is correct and you know what is going where. A lot easier to troubleshoot issues too.

- Have a good root around the car and work out the easy channels/holes for your wiring. It's much easier to utilise something already existing than getting the drill out. When I did my Mini I completely stripped the inside down (no seats, no carpet, lower dash mostly dismantled) to allow me full access to everything and allow me to easily put carpets back in to cover cable runs completely. It took my car out of action for 3 days though so obviously this may be an issue.

- If you do have to cut holes, file them down and get some grommets that fit the hole you're drilling. Sharp edges will damage your cabling and loose fittings are an easy way for moisture to enter places you don't want.

- Mark up your cables, especially if you've got multiple going through a single bulkhead hole or something. I simply used different colour insulation tape on each end and partially down each length and then noted it down on the wiring plan.

- Check the power your getting is good enough. I had some issues with my amp cutting out and fading and after a lot of investigation it turned out my alternator was delivering fluctuating power. I replaced it and the problem went away.

- Make sure you use decent cables. Many people scrimp on these and it ends up bottlenecking the sound quality of their other gear. Also, cut the cables long for the install. It's much easier to trim down the excess than trying to re-route something because you cut it 20cm short.

- Measure twice, cut once. Especially on substantial bits of the car (or door cards if necessary - apologies, I'm not familiar with the stock setup of the 2 for the driver housing/mounting so don't know if this is required).

- Sound deaden everything. Something like an air vent will still buzz at that crucial point in your favourite song which you'll have to sort out but it's an easier task if most of the car is tight. Also, warm up the strips to make them stick/seal better.

- Spend a lot of time tweaking and setting up once it's all in. I got a friend of mine who was a bit of an expert in SQ to play about with it for the best part of a day and he managed to get it sounding even better than I thought it would.

- Take your time and have fun. When I did my Mini I made mistakes, got angry, cut my knuckles/hands in general to pieces and swore a lot but it was still one of the best 3 days I spent on that car.


I hope some of that helps. Apologies it's not more task/2 specific. If you can get someone who knows the car to help out it'll make it a lot more hassle free I would think, especially with the UD sub (I'm still not entirely sure from looking on here how they work).

For a bit of a time reference, my Mini install took me (and an eager friend) 3 days, however that included stripping the car out, sound deadening everything, putting in a false floor in the boot, building the sub enclosure from scratch, cutting the doors to fit the bigger drivers, running the cabling and then putting everything back in and hooking it up. Just to note however, I'd done lots of prep work such as wiring plans, research/reading, sub enclosure volume maths/designing/sketching in advance so we could just wake up, have a brew and crack on. I would hope when I get my 2 I'll be able to do my install over a weekend once it's all planned.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Andy