"taking Oval To Blue Horizon" Lenny's Build Thread 2010-2015

[Lenny]

Oh Clivey ...

Firstly you don't even live with him & I know ud secretly love to punch him

Secondly hormones make you do things you otherwise might hold back

Thirdly I'm pretty sure that occasion was around the same time he dragged a 8month preggers lady around ikea just so he could get the meatballs there & when I tried to look at the furniture he says "ahh not sure if ikea stuff would be up to fire safety standards" & it's nearly a 2hour drive to it

I don't remember it being a piece of furniture it was some design of electrical lamp that had potential for fire we were on the browse for a triple sleeper bunk bed, (double bottom, single on top) which we continued to purchase elsewhere online Victoria, food is cheap in ikea so thought I'd treat you on the way home aswell as an ice-cream then ya go bad mouthing me on the forum jeezz

He sounds like a right nightmare ;)

Give him a dig from me :p

(Sorry Lenny :d )

thanks for that clive lol i thought we was friends,

Remind me...which one of you is pregnant? ROFL

big bird

[VickiW]

Extactly Sean ... Lenny is one of them blokes that puts on pregnancy weight with his missus ... & for the record Lenny I didn't even get anything to eat I had few chips off the kids plate & I never get an ice cream neither cus its on the way out of the shop & I'm the one driving cus you get confused on big roundabouts on motorways .... So quit now or do ye want me to go out to shed for shovel

[Lenny]

Back on topic now and planning is almost complete now on the sound install only two matters left to address,

First one is:

"what's the best connection can be made between amplifier's and audio cables"

Some say bare cable stripped then clamped tight in amp,

Others say soldered tip bare cable to prevent oxidation of the copper strands,

Then there's those whom use banana plugs,

In previous years i always just twisted the copper ends and clamped em tight,

But this time i thought id see whats out there.

The first two options are self explanatory but what are banana plugs?

I too asked this question and here's my findings,

Available in various sizes they are designed to fit to ends of audio cables creating a secure high conducting tip that can be clamped or secured by socket.

The size required for car audio cables is 3.5mm

Available in screw clamp

Crimp type connection

Or

Solder with heat shrink sleeves

Personally: whats the point in having the screw type if the amp is already screw type

Needless to say I'm going for the crimp type,

Here's some information on Banana plugs found on a car audio forum.

The debate is quite funny some guy had ants attracted to his audio equipment must have used real bananas check it out

Forum discussion:

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-speakers/1446634-bare-wire-vs-banana-plugs.html#/forumsite/3207/topics/1446634

Here's a link to eBay listing selling a pack of 8 crimp type banana plugs,

Ideal for connecting audio cables to the amp,

Aswell as audio cables to the binding posts on sub enclosure:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230865635096?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

The next and final matter is:

"can i do anything to assist the power supply"

One thing I've learned is; if installing 4AWG cable to an amp, ensure the car battery earth cable from battery to the body is also 4AWG or bigger,

This helps the battery,

Others say:

Upgrade the altanator positive cables feeding the battery to 4AWG and insert inline fuse,

Not sure about doing that one now myself,

Some run a dedicated positive feed from battery to the head unit,

This would help bass response if using the head units internal amp,

However if like me your using amps to drive the Speakers then there's no need to run a dedicated fused line to the head unit as its only keeping the screen working or spinning a CD,

If your installing a 500watt Mono amp or upwards then your going for some serious base,

Installing something like this would require a capacitor to assist pulse demand.

Capacitors are like a bucket of water,

Imagine a tap is filling a cup,

The flow from the tap is quite slow but consistent,

You suddenly need more water so you grab the bucket that's already full to help get up by until the tap fills the cup,

A capacitor fits inline to the power cable feeding from the battery,

It stores a reservoir of power available more instantly to the amplifier for when the music demands a heavy thump of bass.

Capacitors are measured in fared,

A "0.5 farad" is sufficient for a 500watt amp,

"1.5 fared" capacitor is good enough up to 1500watts etc.

There's no problem with fitting a 0.5 farad capacitor to say a 1500watt amplifier, the capacitor just wont be as effective at cushioning demand.

Since I'm fitting a 250watt Mono amp and a 400watt 4 Channel Stereo Amp i wont really need a capacitor although if could source a decent 0.5 farad id fit it in to the mono amp have it wrapped in vinyl to look like a Monster Energy can B)

Another form of capacitor is called a Voltage stabiliser,

The most famous one of these is from Japanese Manufacturer PIVOT®

Firstly yes you can see pivot voltage stabiliser kits on eBay but trust me guys there cheap replicas that wont assist your system at all in fact it will most definitely drain your battery even when your parked up for the night i mistakenly bought fake two years ago and binned it:

The only place to purchase a pivot voltage stabiliser kit is directly from the pivotracing website see here:

http://www.pivotracing.com/product/VS-M

This unit is a series of capacitors which cushion the power demand for everything in the car,

Resulting in a consistent regulated flow of power throughout the car,

So when fitted we can expect to see no dimming of headlights when the rear window heater button is activated.

Sounds good to me,

Ill eventually purchase one at some point in the future and report,

However ill be completing a few other things before reinforcing the battery output.

[Hassen]

Great read through the recent posts. Finally the sub enclosure has reached you and good to see it fits perfect. I love mine and I reckon yours will look even tidier with what you are planning to do with your install.

Quick q: how could you install 1 capacitor for the 2 amplifiers if you have 2 dedicated red power lines supplying the 2 amplifiers. I have a 1.5Farad capacitor at home that I got before and never bothered to install it with the new amps. Would it make a significant difference to the install? Amps are: mono block 150W rms @4ohms and 4 channel 600W rms @4ohms for reference

[Lenny]

Great read through the recent posts. Finally the sub enclosure has reached you and good to see it fits perfect. I love mine and I reckon yours will look even tidier with what you are planning to do with your install.

Quick q: how could you install 1 capacitor for the 2 amplifiers if you have 2 dedicated red power lines supplying the 2 amplifiers. I have a 1.5Farad capacitor at home that I got before and never bothered to install it with the new amps. Would it make a significant difference to the install? Amps are: mono block 150W rms @4ohms and 4 channel 600W rms @4ohms for reference

Thanks mate,

Now two of us in Ireland with the custom sub enclosure,

The enclosure was an expensive purchase to get hold of in the end additional 75euro expences but thankfully its here now,

How much was shipping on yours?

Regarding your capacitor,

Id fit it to the amplifier thats drawing most current,

In your case the 4channel Rockford fosgate 4 channel.

In order to power both amps from the one 1.5 farad cap,

You would need to run a single 0AWG fused power feed from the battery to the capacitor,

Upgrade the battery to earth 12" long cable to 0AWG aswell,

Then fused 4AWG feeds from both outputs on the Capicitor to each amplifier,

Generally subs create most draw on power,

But they say anything under 500watts doesn't really need a capacitor atall,

So id fit it to filter the line feeding your 4channel amp as its over 500watts,

In effect it will leave more power in the cars battery for the subs amplifier to feed from,

No harm fitting a 1.5 farad its capable of up to 1500watts before the battery suffers heavy draw,

If running 1000watts from it, just means the battery will never suffer heavy draw when at full belt thats all,

You could always purchase an additional Stinger 1 farad Nitrous bottle style capacitor look sweet lol

http://www.woofersetc.com/p-3782-scsk1-stinger-nitrous-1-farad-capacitor-digital-volt-meter-w-distribution-block.aspx

[Hassen]

What you mentioned about the capacitor attached to the amp drawing the most power makes sense. Now I need to go find where I put the capacitor :P

Don't think I will bother getting the whole thing rewired to 0AWG as it's a lot of work for a system that is already working well at present.

Regarding shipping and Parcel Motel, I am just glad you got it sorted and got the item. One to strike off the memories and learn from the experience in my opinion.

Radio World, and I honestly thing they must have miscalculated this, charged me £12 to ship the custom enclosure and 2 bulk packs of Silent Coat, which made the whole thing a very heavy parcel, about the same size as the cardboard box you got! At the time, I had emailed them and they said it was the same price to deliver to N.Ireland or Ireland. So, I got it delivered to my door and it was a steal :)

[Lenny]

What you mentioned about the capacitor attached to the amp drawing the most power makes sense. Now I need to go find where I put the capacitor :P

Don't think I will bother getting the whole thing rewired to 0AWG as it's a lot of work for a system that is already working well at present.

Regarding shipping and Parcel Motel, I am just glad you got it sorted and got the item. One to strike off the memories and learn from the experience in my opinion.

A 1.5 farad should be easy enough found mate, i sure wouldn't like to hit my foot off it when going to the toilet at middle of the night thats for sure

I once had a vibe 1.5 farad, i bought it but never used it, ended up making a loss selling it too, cost a fortune on shipping post office thought it was a pipe bomb

I've not opened my 4AWG packs yet and i wouldn't bother changing to 0AWG neither mate,

I reckon two cables feeding independently is still better particularly when one is bass only,

The pulses in the lines would be completely different,

Regarding shipping and Parcel Motel, I am just glad you got it sorted and got the item. One to strike off the memories and learn from the experience in my opinion.

Radio World, and I honestly thing they must have miscalculated this, charged me £12 to ship the custom enclosure and 2 bulk packs of Silent Coat, which made the whole thing a very heavy parcel, about the same size as the cardboard box you got! At the time, I had emailed them and they said it was the same price to deliver to N.Ireland or Ireland. So, I got it delivered to my door and it was a steal :)

[Lenny]

[VickiW]

New parcel motel advert

If your

a) an under the thumb kinda fella afraid to be caught by your missus use us

b) a cheapskate that likes writing emails to companies & eBay to chase your package rather than go direct & pay for postage use us

c) to ugly to get an other half to wait in for package use us

d) to afraid to ask your boss can you get package to work use us

parcel Motel ..... Your Bessie middle man mate

[Lenny]

Update:

Put the Custom enclosure back i to the boot compartment to obtain the exact measurement i was waiting for:

The exact distance between enclosure and the rear of the seat:

Turns out to be 35mm space between the enclosure and rear of seat,

My current MDF sheet with cavity is 18mm

So I'm gonna purchase some more 9mm thick MDF to expand the cavity out to 18mm

Now since the gap between the wheel arch and the back of the seat remains 15mm

Ill keep these 9mm slips unchanged as they span inside the area gripping quite well:

The width of the main panel remains the same at 1045mm

Only differences in short are:

I've gotta make up three more slips

1 x identical top slip

2 x half width side slips

Thus creating a 18mm deep cavity between the back of the seats and the MDF panel resulting in the overall depth of the panel being 27mm which allows plenty of space for a layer of acoustic carpet and still well clear of the 35mm space limit :)

Height of the vibe FastPlug connector is 20mm so if i can get my hands on some 11mm MDF ill take that instead of the 9mm to space it out more comfortably,

Missing my very first job now :(

Was working in a joinery,

They had a big industrial sander could type in the depth you wanted a sheet of wood to be,

Then keep feeding it through the sander until it told you it was spot on the set requirements,

Having access to it now would save me having to make do with either 9 or 10mm MDF when id really like some 11mm

Ow well I'm sure the world has bigger issues

Obtaining today's measuremenits was exactly why i was eager to receive the custom sub enclosure good progress.

EDIT: this post has been edited to correct measurements :)

[JC600]

Think you need to check your tape measure. ;) 110mm mdf would weigh a ton!

Loving your install so far Lenny, keep up the good work. :D

[Lenny]

Think you need to check your tape measure. ;) 110mm mdf would weigh a ton!

Loving your install so far Lenny, keep up the good work. :D

Thanks very much Jamie its starting to get enjoyable now as there's enough items to begin to work with,

theory is beginning to turn in to practice

just realised there thanks lol

i secretly operate in centimetres when I'm alone..

However all trades men speak in millimetres so i used google convert to help me speak the lingo to you guys:)

In a bid to sound cool

I got it wrong though ok ok anything below 1 on the CM line IS ALREADY millimetres got it

I was assuming they were centimetres and converting them to millimetres

Good job I'm building it myself and not over the phone.

its spot on when I'm looking at it

When purchasing the sheet we went to first DIY store i said:

" Hi,

I'm looking for a sheet of MDF,

Need it as close in size to:

42 Inch long

15 Cm thick

406.4 MM wide

If you have it? "

There was a whistle of wind and awkward silence it was clearly visible i had melted his brain as he looked down all over the floor,

However his response was a winner

"we only sell it in sheets depth 3mm-1"inch in size 6ft x 12ft nothing smaller"

So realised "not a hope that's gonna fit inside the focus"

We retreated to the car and moved on to another DIY store,

On route to the second store; Vicki advised me to:

"write down all the measurements in the same effin category you thick"

To which i respond "fair point well made Victoria"

And i began converting to centimetres,

Got there and the layout was different more help yourself atmosphere,

either they don't have a store man

OR

The previous place we went phoned ahead to warn of my existence

"he's headed your way"

Anyways,

Acquired a sheet 9cm thick was closest i could get to 15cm an i didn't want to go over 15cm

Was a tight fit in the focus but got it home,

Label says 9mm

But i say its 9cm

And google says its 90mm

Just realised there yeah lol ill edit accordingly thanks mate lol

[georgen]

i secretly operate in centimetres when I'm alone..
However all trades men speak in millimetres so i used google convert to help me speak the lingo to you guys:)
In a bid to sound cool
I got it wrong though ok ok anything below 1 on the CM line IS ALREADY millimetres got it
I was assuming they were centimetres and converting them to millimetres
Good job I'm building it myself and not over the phone.

its spot on when I'm looking at it

When purchasing the sheet we went to first DIY store i said:
" Hi,
I'm looking for a sheet of MDF,
Need it as close in size to:
42 Inch long
15 Cm thick
406.4 MM wide
If you have it? "

PMSL, inches, mm,s and cm,s in same sentence

[JC600]

lol.....I work in mm at work, unless I'm speaking to the older workers then it's inches, does get confusing sometimes. :)

[Lenny]

PMSL, inches, mm,s and cm,s in same sentence

;) easy know i do this type of thing everyday.

lol.....I work in mm at work, unless I'm speaking to the older workers then it's inches, does get confusing sometimes. :)

The old way was the best lol dont feel so bad now, i only mixed up mm with cm not mm with inches which im sure happened once or twice in your work,

I've post a thread here about a new shopping site i found:

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/63226-found-a-good-shop-online-lightinthebox/#entry423116

Bought myself one of these fake stereo face plates looks much like the old 6000CD ford fitted to transits in the ninety's pretty cool the volume works the suction cup less than 3 GBP,

Here's the same item on eBay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351184110807?redirect=mobile

[VickiW]

i secretly operate in centimetres when I'm alone..

However all trades men speak in millimetres so i used google convert to help me speak the lingo to you guys:)

In a bid to sound cool

I got it wrong though ok ok anything below 1 on the CM line IS ALREADY millimetres got it

I was assuming they were centimetres and converting them to millimetres

Good job I'm building it myself and not over the phone.

its spot on when I'm looking at it

When purchasing the sheet we went to first DIY store i said:

" Hi,

I'm looking for a sheet of MDF,

Need it as close in size to:

42 Inch long

15 Cm thick

406.4 MM wide

If you have it? "

PMSL, inches, mm,s and cm,s in same sentence

Pmsl ... You & Lenny must be related ... He did inches cms & mm in one sentence the chap in the yard was slowly backing away rubbing his head...I made him draw a picture of what he needed to bring to next place ...even then he picks up sheet at till & nearly knocks baby out of me ... And what's even worse is Leo's dad is a retired college lecturer who built two house himself lol

[Ianb]

Most Vauxhall drivers tend to mix up inches and mm's...

[VickiW]

Most Vauxhall drivers tend to mix up inches and mm's...

Pmsl

[Lenny]

Update:

The three 4-Way speaker connectors manufactured by Auto leads arrived today from Liquid Ice

See link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/180873552030?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D180873552030%26_rdc%3D1

The link above is to purchase them at 2.99GBP in silver,

I purchased from this link selling at 3.99GBP expecting to receive Gold plated ones

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150947350292?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

but i still got silver so they will have to do, as i cant be bothered sending them back to be replaced with gold ones,

I'm sure there's little difference anyway.

Overall there pretty solid,

Not very difficult to unplug neither not stiff,

As you can see in the image below they have the polarity etched in the top aswell,

There also lighter than i was expecting,

Plan it to have:

one for front Speakers from amp,

One for rear Speakers from amp,

Followed by a female connector containing audio outputs directly from the head units internal 50w amp,

This socket will be available to plug front Speakers in to; at such times the back seat is fold down for additional cargo space and the amplifier is not available for use.

using 2 males and 3 females.

[GingerFlame]

Managed to find Lenny & Hassen Christmas presents! http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=180531072437

[Lenny]

Managed to find Lenny and Hassen Christmas presents! http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=180531072437

Cool mate you put alota work in to finding that with the JL Audion amps in it fair play :)

I wont have any amps or sub this side of Christmas but i like this one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FUNNY-TURBO-WARNING-Decal-Sticker-Car-Truck-Bike-Safety-Funny-Prank-flat-surface-/181340796734?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2a38c0f73e

Or this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/m893-b-Warning-Smell-of-Diesel-makes-me-Horny-Neon-Sign-/171035700850?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Other&hash=item27d285ae72

[GingerFlame]

Hahaha! My fez hasn't got a turbo

Saving for an ST for 2016 when insurance has settled down a little bit

[Lenny]

Hahaha! My fez hasn't got a turbo

Saving for an ST for 2016 when insurance has settled down a little bit

How about this one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GINGER-INSIDE-Orange-Funny-Car-Bumper-Window-JDM-VW-EURO-Vinyl-Decal-Sticker-/400687728428?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5d4ad9872c

I've third child arriving in the next three weeks so my chances of getting an ST are non existent for real lol

[VickiW]

17days ... St could be baby name option? Lol

[GingerFlame]

I've added that to my basket Lenny! Haha