Blizzard

Hello,

Some months ago I decided to upgrade the audio of my carputer (See Project 4Puter).

Untill that moment I was amplifying the computer audio with an integrated amplifier that my touchscreen had, but I decided to sell that crappy chinese touchscreen and buy another better one, with less reflection and more contrast (And no amplifier).

This is why I choose to improve my audio system.

I got a good 4 channel 100W RMS amp cheap from a friend (He used to work in an audio shop) so I was trying to decide if install 4 2-way component systems or 2 component systems and a subwoofer. I was a bit worried about the sound in the rear seats if I install a subwoofer and no speakers in the rear, this is why I choose to install a 3 separate way component system.

I choose to go with Hertz. I think this brand isn't very popular in the States, here it is, is a top quality brand, not very known.

Crossovers (Huge), tweeters, 4'' midwoofers and 6'' woofers



And for the sub, as I didn't want to loose cargo space I choose a 8'' JBL GTO with sealed enclosure. I prefer the sealed enclosure sound, more round. I listen to heavy metal, black metal and so, not electronic music...





I began with the sub enclosure. Take some measurements, calculated liters and began cutting wood. I used DM wood, don't know how is it named in English, its a compressed wood dust which loves speakers hehehe

Here you can see the cardboard model and a step to get in the cargo area





Began to cut wood





It's important to have the enclosure air tight so I used glue in the unions, screws and wood putty in the corners



Screw hole detail so the head don't protudes



It begins to take shape



A way to figure the exact size of the cut. It's difficult because it's not a level cut



Ready to go



Let's go glueing and screwing



What a mess, was cold out there hehehe



Putty





Subwoofer location



Nice fitting





Only two sides to go



Ready and being puttyed (Will be carpeted later)





Speaker wire connector



Speaker wire install





25mm2 section cable





Amp ground



My friend suggested me to put the fuse in a suspended braket, so I did it



Tubing the power wire (Notice I run the wire by the driver's side and took the positive from the passenger battery, 3.0TD 4Runners had stock dual batteries)







Clean engine bay



Fuse bracket



Cable running in the cab



Connecting the amp



Nice and gold terminals



Amp location



Began cutting the door panel



Seems to be OK





Let's change the color





Was my first time with this













Let's redo the door panel











Not the same color but it's nicer in the reality









Hope you like it. I don't have pics of the filters installed...

Ah! And the tweeters go in the stock location in the trunk, very good for titanium tweeters that use to be a bit louder than silk ones.

David

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Nice pictures David, looks like a big job.
It is fun doing a lot of that stuff yourself.

I did quite a bit of the work in my 4Runner on my stereo.

Looking forward to seeing the sub when it is carpeted.

Blizzard

Glad you like it hehe

I try to do all I can myselft, I think the only thinks I've not done to my truck is building the bumper and install the lockers...

I've still to go to buy some carpet, I know a big shop but I haven't had time to go... And it sounds so nice... Hehehehe

David

gregbreakseverything

Wow, that is some class A work. Looks awsome!!!

TNRabbit

Did you say 3.0 Turbo Diesel?!!? I WANT ONE!

FANTASTIC install. Thanks for sharing!
:big2:

881stGenRunner

the "DM wood" looks like particle board or something similar to me.

edikp

David, great job..!

What motherboard do you use for your carputer? I use VIA M10k & am in the process of moving stuff from my old car to the 4Runner. I ended up taking the stereo deck & eq combo out and replaced it with the LCD monitor. Where have you located your LCD?

Btw, the pictures showed a cover for the cargo area. Did the vehicle come with the cover or you put it in?

ebelen1

Awesome. I also have Hertz components in my 3rd gen w/ a Hertz 12" sub. The sub came in a Hertz box pre-made and it's real easy to take in/out of the truck if I need the space. I just strap it down w/ some bungy cords and I'm good.

I was a little leery about the brand but a buddy of mine starting importing these recently and said he likes them better than some really expensive stuff here in the states. I have to say that I like them a lot. I've had MB Quart and Boston Pros in the past and these are very comparable, if not better.

gregbreakseverything

I was considering buying some Hertz to accompany my MB Quarts, but a salesman suckered me into buying some Focals instead. Ive never heard Hertz speakers, and Im hoping Im not going to be kicking myself sometime soon.

ebelen1

I'm not an audiophile but I heard both in the same type of car and couldn't notice a difference in quality, only a difference in price. My buddy (where I bought these) swapped out his Focals for the top-of-the-line Hertz speakers and they sound really good.

BTW, I have the middle range speakers, not the top shelf...

Blizzard

The DM wood is some kind of high density wood, they take the wood dust and compress with glue at some tones pressure. It's a very nice wood to do speaker stuff.

My 4Puter is based on a VIA EPIA M10000 mobo also, with an M1-ATX power supply.

The M1-ATX is very nice, survives engine cranks, has a remote output for the amp so the speakers don't POP! and also you can connect the key 12V so it starts and turns off your carputer automatically.

I love my Hertz speakers, when I tested the tweeters over the crossovers before installing them I thought they were a bit loud, but then I put them in the trunk and voilà, I have now them in +2dB and the sound is nice...

Now listening metal bands that use keyboards is a delice, and also listening to bands with strong bass drums like Metallica is amazing.

As for the cargo area cover, it was stock, all the Spanish 4Runners I've seen have them, but you don't want to know how much is it...

A friend of mine bought a V6 and the previous owner don't give him the cover. He asked in the stealer and get a quote of 400€ (507$ aprox.)!!!

Then we went to some yards and found one with a bend in the middle. We paid 60€ (77$) because of the bend, if not they would have wanted 120€...

David

4x4spaz

iTrader: (2)

Probably goes without saying but... sounds comparable to MDF here in the US. It's many layers of highly compressed wood dust and glue.

Churnd

Wow... awesome install and write-up! Great pics!

A few comments...

Are the speaker and/or amp input wires running next to the power wire? If so, that could potentially cause noise in the system. A good practice is to run the speaker wires on the opposite side of the vehicle. Yeah, it's more work, but worth it for a clean signal.



I'm jealous.

Blizzard

Well, the friend that helped me in the install is very tricky with this things... He said me the critical wires to isolate from power wires are the previous ones, the ones that give the signal to the amp. As my head unit is a computer and I have it in the trunk the power and previous lines are separated and I get no noises.

I got a little noise because of the computer having the ground in different place than the amp, but now I have two ground loop isolators and it's perfect, no noises at all and a veeeeeeery nice sound in the speakers hehehe.

David

PS: 4x4paz, yes! MDF is the name of the wood. We name it DM, don't know what's the meaning.

photoleif

great writeup! thanks for sharing. i'm looking forward to more pictures.

fireteacher

awesome job! sweet work on the doors!

wjwerdna

nice work on all of it!!! hope to see pics of the finished inside and finished box : )

rocket

iTrader: (1)

Wow! Awesome work!! I especially like how you redid the doors.
Sometime later I might have to steal some of your ideas.