New Tech12Volts complete system install....

Just pulled the trigger on the complete system plus tweeter sail panels for the front doors from @james@tech12volts (2 10 inch subs instead of the single 12). Ordered a couple of boxes of Kilmat (72sq. ft.) from Amazon. I'm guessing that the order from James should probably show up about the middle of next week.

I'll be keeping my non JBL factory head unit.

At the moment my plan is to Kilmat the doors and back wall. I've done a few stereo installs over the years, but I've never done sound deadening before...not sure exactly what I'm getting into here.

Definitely looking forward to getting this upgrade done!!

Would appreciate any advice or pointers/lessons learned.....

Has anyone ever tried to put the bass control knob in this spot?

 

Had a package waiting on me when I got home from work last night......so I got started on the Kilmat today. Back wall is done. I decided to remove the panel that covers the back wall and do it separately in case I ever need to remove it to have something serviced in there. I wiped everything down with carpro eraser before I started applying the Kilmat. The back wall took 19 sheets of Kilmat, and I was careful to keep waste to a minimum.....

I didn't really keep track, and took a long lunch break to run some errands with my wife, but I'd say this part took me about 4 hours form start to finish. And I really took my time with it.

I watched several YouTube videos (Taco Tunes has some good ones) on applying sound deadening matting. The size of the Kilmat sheets seems to make them really easy to work with.

 

Following. I also ordered a setup from James today. Opted for the dual 10” subs instead of the 12’s. Is yours the full Hertz package as well?

 

Yes. I ordered the sail panels as well. My SR5 currently has "non-tweetered" sail panels......

 

When you start to do the doors, it would be a good idea to wear some gloves as the sheet metal in the doors is quite sharp. I matted the sheet metal just underneath the door panels AS WELL AS the inside of the external skin/panel of all four doors. Some might say that is overkill, but it really helped eliminate road noise AND help to increase bass on the mids. Plus, as an added bonus, the doors close with a much more satisfying weight (if that makes sense).

On the bass remote knob, most people on this forum (that I have seen) place the knob on the center console, just underneath the center console lid as it is within easy reach whilst driving.

 

Right, I'm just not crazy about that spot for a couple of reasons.....First, it seems like the console organizer would be in the way on the interior side, and second, for whatever reason I just don't like the idea of cutting into my console right there. In my mind, if I use a switch blank, I can always put things back to "normal" if I decide to remove it down the road.....and the switch blank by the brake controller seems to be pretty well within reach while driving.

 

Got the email today that my stuff should be delivered Friday.

Spent some time doing more Kilmat. Got the driver's side doors done. I went ahead and did the inside skins to the extent possible. It wasn't too bad, just tedious work. I took my time, and I guess it probably took 3-4 hours per door from start to finish. I was very meticulous though in that I cut out every screw/bolt head in the door along with all the wire tie-offs, and tried really hard to make sure I had every opening as sealed up as possible.

 

Got the other 2 doors covered with Kilmat today. All set up for the arrival of my goodies from tech12volts tomorrow. I've still got about 8 sheets of the Kilmat left, I may do some of the floor under the front seats whenever I have them pulled out.

 

that spot for the bass knob is fine. just drill a hole in the blank panel and reuse it for the knob. knob can go anywhere.

 

A couple of boxes of goodies showed up yesterday. It came kinda late in the day, so I didn't really get started on it, and I had family obligations all day today. Hopefully I will have all day Wednesday to work on it after I get home from my next work trip......



Unpacked the subwoofer box and vacuumed all the sawdust off of it........


And I went ahead and got the door speaker adapters painted.......


So far I'll say that James has been awesome to work with. Came across a couple of small issues when I was unpacking everything, and sent him an email....had a response from him within just a few minutes clearing everything up and helping me get the info/fix that I needed.

 

Great work. Subscribed and I will be doing this shortly as well. Thanks for documenting.

 

A word on the Kilmat....

After I got the doors and rear wall done, I could definitely tell a difference in the stock sound system. The bass is just a little punchier, and the doors just have a better feel to them. But just tooling around town, I couldn’t tell that the Kilmat made a huge difference concerning road noise.....

Well, today I finally got out onto the interstate for about a 90 minute drive and let me tell ya...the cab is sooo much quieter at highway speeds than before. I could really tell a difference. Glad I took the time to do it.

 

Finally finished this up a few days ago....just now getting the time to post about it. This system sounds fantastic. I'm so happy with it. Im the envy of all the teenagers in the neighborhood now..... Even my wife said it sounds great! Definitely a worthwhile upgrade!!

I sat at my kitchen table to get as many of the wiring connections done as I could....




Getting the wires run for the amp install was definitely the most time consuming part of the process. I wouldn't necessarily say it was "hard," just tedious and time consuming.






I forgot to snap a couple of pics of the sub box. I'll get some the next time I have the truck in the garage......

 

How did you mount the fuse block to the fuse cover? I used Velcro for now but was hesitant about putting some small screws in there.

I got this system as well but got the single 12 and I am very happy with it.

 

nice op!

i also went with (industrial) velcro which is holding. for sound deadening, i went with JRT's endorsement of sound shield on doors and back panel. triple layer; really good stuff. so happy also with the results. of course i broke some of the plastic clips because they were 12yrs old and never popped out before.

 

I just used the small silver screws that came with the wiring kit. I think I’m gonna go back and put a dab of silicone on them from the underside just to be sure no water can get through. I considered some double sided tape, but the way that the base of the fuse block is made doesn’t lend itself to a good surface for tape and I was worried that with the temps in the engine compartment that it would lose effectiveness over time.

 

Thanks. It’s the same thing I was thinking but I just hate drilling holes in any part of the truck.

 

Nice install. I recently finished an acoustic treatment on my 02 that took about 40 hours. Also put in new wiring to the front speakers, 5 channel amp, and waiting on a custom sub box. I will do a full write up once it is all done.

I find it strange that many "sound installers" (not knocking JRT as all the installers around here consider a sound treatment to be just damping as well) are still providing advice that is very much out of date. Not to throw you into a rabbit hole but the sound deadening material you applied is just the first of three layers for a full treatment. Its purpose is to change the resonant frequency of the metal. It really doesnt do much for blocking outside noise. It often seems that way as the noise frequency is changed and slightly attenuated. To go the full nine, you need a noise blocker and that is accomplished by adding mass (my truck is now 100 pounds heavier). Mass loaded vinyl is the standard approach here. The other layer is a closed cell foam sandwiched under the mlv to decouple it from the frame. This is the go to starting point when thinking about these matters:

https://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/

(The article there are still very much standard practice.)

BUT, above all your ears are what matter and I dont think most people here would be interested in 40 hours to do the install. Pros get paid a few thousand for the full treatment. I am on another forum: diymobileaudio.com which is the forum for mobile audio. You can learn a lot there.

Another simple free suggestion for a better soundstage is to turn down the rear speakers a lot. Manmy competition set up dont even have rear speakers. (Think about a stereo setup at home.)

Anyway, just some thoughts. But above all tell us how it sounds when you are done!

*edit: nice job on the doors!

 

A few more thoughts before I drift off:

1. A lot of wiring harnesses reuse the stock ground. I (and many others) get a ground loop buzz from this which is easy to fix by running your own ground. Ideally (usually) run the HU and amp to the same ground spot: likely close to the amp as it draws a lot of current. If you turn on your HU with zero volume there should be nothing out of the speakers. It you get a buzz it could be a variety of things. I now am chasing down an alternator buzz: the frequency changes with engine rpms. Oh the joys of tuning!

2. What is the black box with the RCAs running to it? Is is a RCA to speaker level converter or a dsp or?

 

Fortunately, my system seems pretty well grounded. I have no buzz or engine noise through the system. I ended up grounding it to a spot under the seat where there was a bolt in the floor. I sanded it down to bare metal....

The black box is the line out converter to get the signal from the speaker wires at the amp to the RCA inputs for the subs.

Overall I am extremely pleased with this system. I'm still playing with it to get it fine tuned to my liking. Right now the bass tends to almost overwhelm the rest of the sounds.....don't get me wrong, it sounds really good, just trying to get it "exactly right" if that even exists..... I'll do some reading and tweaking. I may have to give James a call.......

 

I think you already completed your install but that’s exactly where I put my bass knob. Easy to reach, difficult to notice.

I did the same system with the JL amp and subs. Absolutely love it. The bass can be excessive for certain types of music. The knob is helpful for that. I’m swapping out the head unit for the Pioneer 8600NEX before heading out on a road trip on the 24th. I’m hoping I’ll be able to fine tune the sound a little better with the upgraded head unit.

 

I fixed my alternator whine today. Turns out it was the one pair of RCA cables that came with the install kit.

I needed three pairs of RCAs (front, rear, and sub) and so I bought two more "cheaper" pairs locally. I moved the install kit RCAs to the rear speakers and the whine followed. So: run new wires or...Well I happened to have one of the in line RCA noise filters. I plugged it in and bam, noise gone. I wouldnt use this solution up front but my rear speakers are very attenuated. So good to go. It is quite a relief after all the acoustic work to be able to get ride of electrical noise on top of that.

Last piece is to put in the sub and I sure hope something new doesnt develop...

 

Man that's good news.. My cousin is currently dealing with the noise and to make things worse he gets some crazy feedback through the speakers when ever pressing on the breaks or uses the Left turn signal.

 

Weird.

 

I agree... Not sure if its the OEM unit or the adapter piece that connects to the speakers and makes an "RCA" connection that plugs into the amp. I used the "" because its not even RCA's its some plastic clip. I personally never seen anything like that before.

 

How many sheets did you order from James? I ordered the 4 sheets, will that be enough to also do the back panel?
Thanks

 

yeah 4. i'd start with doors because if needed you can piece together the back panel a little easier.

 

question for anyone that might know. I have 4 of each of the harnesses. Do I just wire the first one to the Mid-bass speaker and leave the wye unconnected and the 2nd one to the tweeter? Or do I wire the tweeter to the mid-bass harness wye? Specifically talking about the rear doors but am interested in all the doors and how to tackle each.

 

I'm just taking a wild guess here, but it looks to me like you need to use the harness in the first pic if you are wiring in your tweeters. Looks like James has made these new harnesses so that you don't have to do any cutting/splicing of your own like I did. I'd say that the red female connectors go to the speaker and the you would insert and crimp the tweeter wires into the open connector at the base of the wye (the translucent blue one in your first pic). If I remember correctly, you just leave the factory wiring for the factory tweeters in the rear door unplugged (I probably taped them up just to be safe). Its been a while since I did this, so some of the details are a little fuzzy. If you're really having trouble with it, give James a call or email. He is super helpful.

 

I got it done... I ended up just plugging in each of the harnesses and temporarily attaching each speaker and testing it out.... Ended up just wiring each speaker to its own factory plug.