hey guys its been a while since i've last posted on here but i just bought a '91 gmc tracker and would like to know if anyone has any experience working on these vehicles and maybe if anyone has any possibilities of what i coudl do with the stereo. there was already a HU installed but its a super old pioneer so i'm replacing that with my new alpine deck that i just installed in my old truck. there really isn't a whole lot of stock locations for speaker there are 2 4" speakers in the dash that i need to replace and would like to know what to look for when i'm buying some of those. also for when i'm putting subs in i am really curious about which direction i should face my subs, there really isn't a whole lot of room behind the back seat so i was going to have the setup so that the cone was right up against the back seat kind of like they are in the setup with my single cab truck with a bench seat. but when i thought about it i figured i could build an enclosure that would have the subs facing the rear door i just don't know how that would affect my sound, would it really make it muffled or would it have very little impact? i know i'm not giving you a whole lot of info because i am still unsure if i want to transfer over the subs and amp from my truck to the tracker or if i should just buy new gear. the speakers will have to be bought new because all i have for speakers in my "inventory" (i have quite a bit of unused car audio sitting around) but i have a clarion APX400.2 amp that i used to push a pair of DVC orion 10" subs. i also have an alpine MRV T505 amp that i did use to power my kenwood 6x9s. also with the SUV i got a pair of clarion 6x9s that are older and i am unsure of the model but that is just about all of my options for speakers and amps from my existing gear. i would mostly like to know about speakers because i'm just about be using my alpine deck in this truck because it is still new and was only purchased 3 months ago where as my other 2 decks are both over 3 years old. if anyone has done an install on one of these lightweight SUVs or have seen an install done i would love to hear it all before i set a definate course of action.
Thanks in advance
Replies (23)
uochronos on 01/31/2005 15:35:10
glad to see you around mazda.... lets try breaking it down into paragraphs next time though hehe gave me a bit of a head ache reading that:)
any as for the subs i suggest facing up. in tight hatchbacks and SUV's i always suggest.. it gives them more room to breathe... after all the amount of air they move is how loud they get.
Chronos
oldmazda on 01/31/2005 19:53:59
hey thanks for the speedy reply chronos, i'm gonna try punctuating this post a little better. i would really like to face them a little more verically but if you've ever seen a tracker there really isn't a whole lot of room behind that rear seat unless i were to build a box that went up higher than the seat and had the subs right at head level but i'm not sure that its legal to have the rear window covered like that and even if it is i'm not sure that i want the whole world to see that i have those subs sitting right there.
this tracker is basically like a jeep which is to say in comparison to the amount of room that it has behind the seat and the general layout of the interior. also it has the swining rear door like the jeeps do. perhaps it would work i'm just not thinking of it the same as you, its just something that i've never really seen done, and can't really picture it.
if i'm just not thinking of it right sorry about that cronos or else perhaps you didn't realize how small a tracker is but if you can explain what you meant a little better or perhaps think of another method to place the subs it'd be great.
uochronos on 02/1/2005 02:12:01
ahh i See... no i have never seen inside one though hehe.,.. and your rear window can be covered. does a large truck like a uhaul have a rear window or a semi truck? can somone with a camper on there truck see out the rear? usualy not hehe... not to mention my mother inlaws van came with curtains over all the windows includeing the rear window...
hmm i would say facing towards the seat would be best then... although honestly for SPL its better to have them be able to move some air... and by facing up i mean the sub facing right at the roof. or at an angle likes 45 degrees facing forward and at the roof? maybe it would fit that way....
Chronos
oldmazda on 02/2/2005 15:52:11
alrite well i checked er out and i think that i could probably slant the sub a little bit but this will be by far the hardest box i've ever had to build. so here is what i was thinking i have 41" to work with which would be the width of my "trunk" so i was going to build a box that long with about 10"- 11" of width. one side would be about 14" high and the other side would be about 10" so i would have a nice enough slant to fit the sub on i think.
though to build the bottom half of the box i have to slant it slightly so that it fits nicely against my rear seat. sounds like a lot of angle cutting eh. also i have a latch for flipping up the rear seat that i will have to build around. but what i was wondering is if this would work and i also don't know if i should have the subs facing the rear window or the front now so i would like some opinion in anyone has some.
uochronos on 02/2/2005 16:56:53
personaly i would face sub forward however many say the opisit.... i find when pointed at the rear hatch or window you get alot more vibrations....
Chronos
oldmazda on 02/3/2005 01:59:00
hummmm well the way i decided to build my enclosure facing forward is much easier so i think i will try doing that and hope that it works out good. alrite i'm sure that you guys get this question all of the time and you probably have a link or something that i didn't see but where can i find carpet that will cover the box and not look like garbage. it seems like everything is ridiulously overpriced at the local install shop so i was just going to see if i could use carpet from one of those warehouse place or if it has to be special?
uochronos on 02/3/2005 03:33:24
personaly i sand my box and then primer it and then paint it its cheaper then carpet and easier..
however if you like carpet www.partexpress.com sells some and so do a couple other places i have gone to online... do a google search for it.
Chronos
oldmazda on 02/3/2005 23:39:21
alrite well i started and finished building my box today well sorta it didn't quite go as i planned so i am going to have to add a ring so that my sub sits a little higher off of the box so it would kinda act like a spacer. i think i've seen that done before but its usually carpet over top so i never know if they used something special or if they just cut out a ring of MDF, but would MDF work?
also i was thinking about just painting the box but that would mean using body filler to cover up all of the little holes from the nails and making sure everything looked perfect and my painting skills aren't all that good. i was thinking that carpet would kind of cover the majority of imperfections that occured when i was building my box. but i still really don't know where i would find the kind of carpet i would need, i am not really a big fan of ordering off of the internet so does anyone know if the stuff from one of the carpet warehouses would work or does it have to have certain characteristics so taht it will properly cover the box without having noticable seams?
uochronos on 02/4/2005 00:21:45
speaker cabinet carpet is usualy a bit special. many audio places in my home town carry it... some small mom and pop car audio shop may sell you some. most places i have seen it was at like places that sell components for building your own home speakers...
why dont you want to buy online? www.partsexpress.com is going to be as cheap or cheaper then any place in your area and comes to your door... i have ordered many thing from them from online and catalog got everything i ordered quickly.
Chronos
gearhead on 02/4/2005 00:48:37
You could try an auto upholstery shop. The might even have carpet that matches the factory carpet.
oldmazda on 02/6/2005 02:29:33
i checked the local install shop and they said that they can sell me some for $15 canadian per yard and the guy said i would need about 2 yards to cover my box. i am going to check out an upholstery shop as soon as i can to see if i can find a better deal.
now that i know that i can and will get carpet here comes the question of how to install it. do i have to buy special glue to make it stick properly or can i just use contact cement or hot glue or something of that nature. one other thing that i am really unsure of is how the pros hide the seams in carpet so well is there some sort of special trick that makes it easy to hide seams or how do you properly do it?
uochronos on 02/6/2005 03:55:46
you can prolly offer them 20$ for 2 yards and they would take it if its from a ma and pop shop.
Chronos
oldmazda on 02/6/2005 16:25:07
ya i was just gonna do that on monday but even 30 bucks isn't that bad but thats not a big issue right now. what i really wanted to know is what kind of technique do you use to hide the seems and make it look good? also i don't know what kind of glue i would use can i just use hot glue or epoxy or contact cement?
uochronos on 02/6/2005 17:34:02
dont use hot glue or eqoxy its is going to stick up under the carpet then... I have used 3M heavy duty spray adhisive it works good.. also contact cement would likly work. 3M spray is just handy...
hiding seems is the hard part and honestly i'm horrible at it hehe... if you look at alot of boxes from car audio shops though they use a trim piece on the 2 smalles sides and tuck the edge under that and then then that is glued on it covers the other edges... this sounds funny but i would suggest going to a place that has alot of boxes on display and looking at how they6 where carpeted.
Chronos
Good luck
oldmazda on 02/7/2005 18:54:14
does anybody have any more tid bits of information that would keep me from screwing up my carpet job?
oldmazda on 02/8/2005 16:05:13
alrite well i went to a car audio shop to check out they're boxes and how they have everything done, i think it would be pretty much impossible to hid the seams completely but i think i know what i'm doing just about now.
there is one problem that i do have that is really troubling me now though, i put rings around the hole in the box so that the sub is elevated above the box a little bit more and mostly just for looks but i think this could pose a real problem for carpeting the box. if i were going to do what i was told to do by the installer there and just basically wrap it up so that there is only the one seam on the bottom of the box i am not sure how the carpet will go around the spacer rings like should i try to just stretch the carpet over top of them so that the rest of that panel would look good then once it is all wrapped up come back in and try to work the carpet around them? or would i be better off cutting the holes in the capet so that the carpet would just go around the hole and cover the box that way then come back and try to fill in the gaps that would likely be left between where the carpet ends and the spacer is because i think that would just be realy tricky to make look good?
uochronos on 02/8/2005 16:38:20
when i haev carpeted box i stretch the carpet over the hole then once its all glued down and dried i cut the carpet over the hole. into like a 4 triangles then tuck them onto the inside of the box titghtly and staple them down... dont know if that made much since if not let me know
Chronos
Bigeazy4387 on 02/8/2005 16:47:54
if you dont care what the bottom of your box looks like i just wrapped the box to where all the seams were on the bottom
oldmazda on 02/8/2005 17:21:31
no no i knew to do that its how to stretch the carpet over the riser rings that i put on that come up above the box. ummm i'm not sure how else to desribe them they're like a washer made out of 3/4" MDF that goes in between the box and the sub so that the sub sits off of the box a little more. so when i will try to put carpet on it will kind of tee pee over the washers and it won't be flat on the rest of the side that i am putting carpet on. i might be able to stretch the carpet over the rings so that its flat on the rest of the side but i'm not really sure because its something i've never done. i'm not sure if that really made sense so if you still don't really understand just ask me and i'll try to think of explaining it another way.
uochronos on 02/8/2005 17:39:07
i have never used a ring on a carpets box but i would assume then same thing though just strtch it over and glue it down...
Chronos
oldmazda on 02/10/2005 01:28:12
and you don't think that the carpet will ripple around the rings because the rings are elevated above the rest of the side. that is my major concern in doing this job and its something that i would really like to try to have some ideas with me going into it so that i don't screw it up horribly and have to go back and spend even more cash and time on this box actually i don't even mind spending the time on it and gaining experience its just that supplies don't come cheap around here.
alrite so chronos when you say stretch it over and glue it down to you mean to the side as a whole then just come back and push the carpet into the corner where the ring is attactched to the box? would i have to make any cuts when i'm wraping it around that curve like that?
gearhead on 02/10/2005 02:19:50
Get an embroidery hoop that is large enough in diameter to fit around the outside of your rings plus the thickness of your carpet. Do a test fit. Just lay the carpet over the ring, push the embroidery hoop over the carpet and the ring until it bottoms on the box, and tighten it up. Check for excessive wrinkling. If everything looks good, remove the hoop, glue the carpet to the box making sure you have enough glue in the ring area to insure complete adhesion, and reinstall the hoop. Note: I've never done this, I'm just throwing out a suggestion that "should" work.
oldmazda on 02/10/2005 17:53:04
alrite well i will try that i think i will just take my time and do everything very carefully with much consideration when i do get around to actually carpeting it. i have been checking out other posts though and a new question has come to me and i figured rather than making a new post i would just ask it on here. well as i said earlier i just finished building my new sub box and i built it kinda to factory specs but mostly to fit my vehicle. i couldn't make the box just square so its angled but i calculated my internal volume to be within .05 cu ft of what they said for me to build it to, and i put in a 10" long port that is 3" wide though with the slanted box setup that i have the ports are slanted so that they are flush with the face of the box and they go to about an inch from the bottom of the box. my question is when it tells me the tuning frequency i am not sure what they are telling me to do, what does the tuning frequency mean and did i mess it up by putting my ports close to the bottom like i did? or is this an amp setting thing? also it told me an intelli Q setting and i don't really know what that is either so if anyone could tell me it'd be great.
Thanks in advance
Replies (23)
uochronos on 01/31/2005 15:35:10
glad to see you around mazda.... lets try breaking it down into paragraphs next time though hehe gave me a bit of a head ache reading that:)
any as for the subs i suggest facing up. in tight hatchbacks and SUV's i always suggest.. it gives them more room to breathe... after all the amount of air they move is how loud they get.
Chronos
oldmazda on 01/31/2005 19:53:59
hey thanks for the speedy reply chronos, i'm gonna try punctuating this post a little better. i would really like to face them a little more verically but if you've ever seen a tracker there really isn't a whole lot of room behind that rear seat unless i were to build a box that went up higher than the seat and had the subs right at head level but i'm not sure that its legal to have the rear window covered like that and even if it is i'm not sure that i want the whole world to see that i have those subs sitting right there.
this tracker is basically like a jeep which is to say in comparison to the amount of room that it has behind the seat and the general layout of the interior. also it has the swining rear door like the jeeps do. perhaps it would work i'm just not thinking of it the same as you, its just something that i've never really seen done, and can't really picture it.
if i'm just not thinking of it right sorry about that cronos or else perhaps you didn't realize how small a tracker is but if you can explain what you meant a little better or perhaps think of another method to place the subs it'd be great.
uochronos on 02/1/2005 02:12:01
ahh i See... no i have never seen inside one though hehe.,.. and your rear window can be covered. does a large truck like a uhaul have a rear window or a semi truck? can somone with a camper on there truck see out the rear? usualy not hehe... not to mention my mother inlaws van came with curtains over all the windows includeing the rear window...
hmm i would say facing towards the seat would be best then... although honestly for SPL its better to have them be able to move some air... and by facing up i mean the sub facing right at the roof. or at an angle likes 45 degrees facing forward and at the roof? maybe it would fit that way....
Chronos
oldmazda on 02/2/2005 15:52:11
alrite well i checked er out and i think that i could probably slant the sub a little bit but this will be by far the hardest box i've ever had to build. so here is what i was thinking i have 41" to work with which would be the width of my "trunk" so i was going to build a box that long with about 10"- 11" of width. one side would be about 14" high and the other side would be about 10" so i would have a nice enough slant to fit the sub on i think.
though to build the bottom half of the box i have to slant it slightly so that it fits nicely against my rear seat. sounds like a lot of angle cutting eh. also i have a latch for flipping up the rear seat that i will have to build around. but what i was wondering is if this would work and i also don't know if i should have the subs facing the rear window or the front now so i would like some opinion in anyone has some.
uochronos on 02/2/2005 16:56:53
personaly i would face sub forward however many say the opisit.... i find when pointed at the rear hatch or window you get alot more vibrations....
Chronos
oldmazda on 02/3/2005 01:59:00
hummmm well the way i decided to build my enclosure facing forward is much easier so i think i will try doing that and hope that it works out good. alrite i'm sure that you guys get this question all of the time and you probably have a link or something that i didn't see but where can i find carpet that will cover the box and not look like garbage. it seems like everything is ridiulously overpriced at the local install shop so i was just going to see if i could use carpet from one of those warehouse place or if it has to be special?
uochronos on 02/3/2005 03:33:24
personaly i sand my box and then primer it and then paint it its cheaper then carpet and easier..
however if you like carpet www.partexpress.com sells some and so do a couple other places i have gone to online... do a google search for it.
Chronos
oldmazda on 02/3/2005 23:39:21
alrite well i started and finished building my box today well sorta it didn't quite go as i planned so i am going to have to add a ring so that my sub sits a little higher off of the box so it would kinda act like a spacer. i think i've seen that done before but its usually carpet over top so i never know if they used something special or if they just cut out a ring of MDF, but would MDF work?
also i was thinking about just painting the box but that would mean using body filler to cover up all of the little holes from the nails and making sure everything looked perfect and my painting skills aren't all that good. i was thinking that carpet would kind of cover the majority of imperfections that occured when i was building my box. but i still really don't know where i would find the kind of carpet i would need, i am not really a big fan of ordering off of the internet so does anyone know if the stuff from one of the carpet warehouses would work or does it have to have certain characteristics so taht it will properly cover the box without having noticable seams?
uochronos on 02/4/2005 00:21:45
speaker cabinet carpet is usualy a bit special. many audio places in my home town carry it... some small mom and pop car audio shop may sell you some. most places i have seen it was at like places that sell components for building your own home speakers...
why dont you want to buy online? www.partsexpress.com is going to be as cheap or cheaper then any place in your area and comes to your door... i have ordered many thing from them from online and catalog got everything i ordered quickly.
Chronos
gearhead on 02/4/2005 00:48:37
You could try an auto upholstery shop. The might even have carpet that matches the factory carpet.
oldmazda on 02/6/2005 02:29:33
i checked the local install shop and they said that they can sell me some for $15 canadian per yard and the guy said i would need about 2 yards to cover my box. i am going to check out an upholstery shop as soon as i can to see if i can find a better deal.
now that i know that i can and will get carpet here comes the question of how to install it. do i have to buy special glue to make it stick properly or can i just use contact cement or hot glue or something of that nature. one other thing that i am really unsure of is how the pros hide the seams in carpet so well is there some sort of special trick that makes it easy to hide seams or how do you properly do it?
uochronos on 02/6/2005 03:55:46
you can prolly offer them 20$ for 2 yards and they would take it if its from a ma and pop shop.
Chronos
oldmazda on 02/6/2005 16:25:07
ya i was just gonna do that on monday but even 30 bucks isn't that bad but thats not a big issue right now. what i really wanted to know is what kind of technique do you use to hide the seems and make it look good? also i don't know what kind of glue i would use can i just use hot glue or epoxy or contact cement?
uochronos on 02/6/2005 17:34:02
dont use hot glue or eqoxy its is going to stick up under the carpet then... I have used 3M heavy duty spray adhisive it works good.. also contact cement would likly work. 3M spray is just handy...
hiding seems is the hard part and honestly i'm horrible at it hehe... if you look at alot of boxes from car audio shops though they use a trim piece on the 2 smalles sides and tuck the edge under that and then then that is glued on it covers the other edges... this sounds funny but i would suggest going to a place that has alot of boxes on display and looking at how they6 where carpeted.
Chronos
Good luck
oldmazda on 02/7/2005 18:54:14
does anybody have any more tid bits of information that would keep me from screwing up my carpet job?
oldmazda on 02/8/2005 16:05:13
alrite well i went to a car audio shop to check out they're boxes and how they have everything done, i think it would be pretty much impossible to hid the seams completely but i think i know what i'm doing just about now.
there is one problem that i do have that is really troubling me now though, i put rings around the hole in the box so that the sub is elevated above the box a little bit more and mostly just for looks but i think this could pose a real problem for carpeting the box. if i were going to do what i was told to do by the installer there and just basically wrap it up so that there is only the one seam on the bottom of the box i am not sure how the carpet will go around the spacer rings like should i try to just stretch the carpet over top of them so that the rest of that panel would look good then once it is all wrapped up come back in and try to work the carpet around them? or would i be better off cutting the holes in the capet so that the carpet would just go around the hole and cover the box that way then come back and try to fill in the gaps that would likely be left between where the carpet ends and the spacer is because i think that would just be realy tricky to make look good?
uochronos on 02/8/2005 16:38:20
when i haev carpeted box i stretch the carpet over the hole then once its all glued down and dried i cut the carpet over the hole. into like a 4 triangles then tuck them onto the inside of the box titghtly and staple them down... dont know if that made much since if not let me know
Chronos
Bigeazy4387 on 02/8/2005 16:47:54
if you dont care what the bottom of your box looks like i just wrapped the box to where all the seams were on the bottom
oldmazda on 02/8/2005 17:21:31
no no i knew to do that its how to stretch the carpet over the riser rings that i put on that come up above the box. ummm i'm not sure how else to desribe them they're like a washer made out of 3/4" MDF that goes in between the box and the sub so that the sub sits off of the box a little more. so when i will try to put carpet on it will kind of tee pee over the washers and it won't be flat on the rest of the side that i am putting carpet on. i might be able to stretch the carpet over the rings so that its flat on the rest of the side but i'm not really sure because its something i've never done. i'm not sure if that really made sense so if you still don't really understand just ask me and i'll try to think of explaining it another way.
uochronos on 02/8/2005 17:39:07
i have never used a ring on a carpets box but i would assume then same thing though just strtch it over and glue it down...
Chronos
oldmazda on 02/10/2005 01:28:12
and you don't think that the carpet will ripple around the rings because the rings are elevated above the rest of the side. that is my major concern in doing this job and its something that i would really like to try to have some ideas with me going into it so that i don't screw it up horribly and have to go back and spend even more cash and time on this box actually i don't even mind spending the time on it and gaining experience its just that supplies don't come cheap around here.
alrite so chronos when you say stretch it over and glue it down to you mean to the side as a whole then just come back and push the carpet into the corner where the ring is attactched to the box? would i have to make any cuts when i'm wraping it around that curve like that?
gearhead on 02/10/2005 02:19:50
Get an embroidery hoop that is large enough in diameter to fit around the outside of your rings plus the thickness of your carpet. Do a test fit. Just lay the carpet over the ring, push the embroidery hoop over the carpet and the ring until it bottoms on the box, and tighten it up. Check for excessive wrinkling. If everything looks good, remove the hoop, glue the carpet to the box making sure you have enough glue in the ring area to insure complete adhesion, and reinstall the hoop. Note: I've never done this, I'm just throwing out a suggestion that "should" work.
oldmazda on 02/10/2005 17:53:04
alrite well i will try that i think i will just take my time and do everything very carefully with much consideration when i do get around to actually carpeting it. i have been checking out other posts though and a new question has come to me and i figured rather than making a new post i would just ask it on here. well as i said earlier i just finished building my new sub box and i built it kinda to factory specs but mostly to fit my vehicle. i couldn't make the box just square so its angled but i calculated my internal volume to be within .05 cu ft of what they said for me to build it to, and i put in a 10" long port that is 3" wide though with the slanted box setup that i have the ports are slanted so that they are flush with the face of the box and they go to about an inch from the bottom of the box. my question is when it tells me the tuning frequency i am not sure what they are telling me to do, what does the tuning frequency mean and did i mess it up by putting my ports close to the bottom like i did? or is this an amp setting thing? also it told me an intelli Q setting and i don't really know what that is either so if anyone could tell me it'd be great.
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