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Re: 2014 Avalon Limited Build
Fuse holder mounted and the OEM batt post cover modified awaiting final connection. It should be a short 4-5” distance from the battery to the fuse.
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Sail panels after the first layer of fiberglass. I will admit I will NEVER win any Installer of the Year awards. My skills are slightly above proficient when it comes to fiberglassing. I also forgot to take pics after the second layer.
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Filler is currently drying…
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Having admitted my lack of skills and also knowing I could’ve EASILY paid someone to do it for me, I’m actually VERY happy with how they look currently. I wish I would’ve gotten pics of the test-fitment but I’ll admit I forgot due to the happiness I felt with the look & having done it myself.
Tomorrow the build continues…
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Re: 2014 Avalon Limited Build
I didn’t update yesterday because I tweaked my back working on the car, and I just came home and crashed. It was mostly box building and figuring out other tidbits for today’s work.
Finished hooking up the power wire. Nice & short 3” from battery to fuse
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Got the box built. We built it to be ported at first and then decided to go sealed. It’s a little on the larger side for sealed but the 1.5cf should give me a little more efficiency seeing as I’m only running 500w (half of RMS), and also a little more low end extension although I realize that’ll be minimal
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We covered the face with the same brushed metal vinyl used on the dash kit
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Test fit in the car
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Decided that the best way to mount the amps and not stress the wires in the terminal plugs AND keep the gains & other controls accessible was to put them on the box. Sub mounted & grille was also attached.
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And everything installed in the car
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Remember that ski pass I opened up to allow more bass into the cabin? Figured out a different use for that space
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So as of now it’s in and playing. I only have crossovers & basic TA set but it sounds WONDERFUL!!! The detail in these SI drivers is LEVELS above the PPI drivers I had in the Malibu. While sitting at idle everything blends VERY well but the midbass & sub levels will need to come up a bit but I want to wait until the suspensions break in a bit before I go nuts. But even as they are, that sub digs deep and sounds wonderful. My buddy got the first listen (to be honest he’s more of an SPL guy) and he was amazed with the sub detail and got goosebumps on one of his favorite songs. WIN! The sails are not finished cosmetically but this week’s goal was functional and it does that well.
On Sunday we’ll build the trunk trim panel and possibly add some little accents. So there’s one last update coming then it’s on to tuning.
Re: 2014 Avalon Limited Build
Todd i tried to send you a private message. I couldn't locate you. There must be a way to block this. But anyway i just wanted to let you know that i could help you with tuning. I've become fairly knowledgeable over the past couple years. I would help teach you what i know if you want to come out to Pittsburgh for a day.
Re: 2014 Avalon Limited Build
I appreciate it. Finding the time might be the bigger obstacle at this point. Weekends are scheduled up for me until December. Maybe after the new year if there’s time.
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Re: 2014 Avalon Limited Build
Sails are covered.
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Today should be finishing out the trunk and possibly some tuning. I’m kind of a fish out of water when it comes to tuning but I’ll see what I can do… probably won’t be much.
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Re: 2014 Avalon Limited Build
The trunk is trimmed out although I’m going to redo it. There’s a couple things I’m not quite thrilled with so I’ll hopefully get that done over the next week or 2.
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I got some seat/tuning time in and have a pretty decent base tune. No EQ done yet as I don’t have a mic but after measuring speaker distances and trying a variety of crossover points I’m quite satisfied with my results. I have a good center image, relatively wide stage and tonality sounds wonderful. I mostly have the bass up front but I think I could get it a little more locked-in so I’ll be working on that next.
Re: 2014 Avalon Limited Build
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Re: 2014 Avalon Limited Build
So the trim panel was kind of one of those cases where most people thought it looked fine but once I pointed out the flaws that I saw (and wasn’t happy with), you couldn’t help but see it.
Old:
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In the original I could see that the two sides of the sub cutout were not symmetrical. Even though we measured multiple times before cutting, somehow the right side is 1/2-3/4” closer than the left. You can also see that there’s a gap on the right side of both amps. The guy that was helping me build it also air-nailed the trim panel on and I wanted an easier way to remove & secure the panel in case it ever had to be taken off.
New:
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I’ll try to get some better pics in the sunlight tomorrow but as you can see I decided to change up the cutout while I was at it. I thought I’d give this shape a try first as it’s obviously easier to cut away material than put it back & could easily revert back to the old cutout if needed. Once I had it mocked up I knew this is the look I was after. I tightened up the opening around the amps. I also installed a couple threaded inserts and the panel can now be installed/removed with 2 screws. Unfortunately I forgot to account for the thickness of the carpet so the screws I got were too short. So for right now you can see the 2 screws on either side of the sub until I can get some new, longer black screws tomorrow.
So with this portion done it’s just a matter of tuning.
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Re: 2014 Avalon Limited Build
Re: 2014 Avalon Limited Build