Mustang System 2.0

[mikes2017gt]

And it's not just "only ten bands per input." It's ten assignable bands within that input/driver's frequency range, depending on how you have them crossed over.

Sponsored

 

[mikes2017gt]

@StangTime It does. Here's a shot of the "Setup" screen where you can see I linked an EQ pair to each output. I have the EQ pairs linked together at this point. So any adjustments affect L/R equally. If I get to the point where I need to independently EQ the L/R channels, I can do so. I'm dealing in "baby steps" at this point.

 

[StangTime]

@StangTime It does. Here's a shot of the "Setup" screen where you can see I linked an EQ pair to each output. I have the EQ pairs linked together at this point. So any adjustments affect L/R equally. If I get to the point where I need to independently EQ the L/R channels, I can do so. I'm dealing in "baby steps" at this point.

That's what I thought
From what I have measured, there are very severe differences between left and right freq. response. When you are ready for full EQ tuning, you have a very capable DSP.

 

[mikes2017gt]

Thanks, @StangTime I'm taking things step by step. This is my first time having a DSP in a car. My EQing skills go back to the days of the AudioControl EQX. Who's a dinosaur? *raises hand sheepishly*

I had this bad boy in probably 4 different systems over the years. I sold it years ago when "I got out of car stereo."

 

[StangTime]

Thanks, @StangTime I'm taking things step by step. This is my first time having a DSP in a car. My EQing skills go back to the days of the AudioControl EQX. Who's a dinosaur? *raises hand sheepishly*

I had this bad boy in probably 4 different systems over the years. I sold it years ago when "I got out of car stereo."

That brings back memories. I installed a few of those in other peoples cars. The EQ I had in my car was an Alpine 3904 and that thing was lacking in flexibility even for that time period. At least the EQX gave you separate L/R bands. Not the Alpine.

 

[mikes2017gt]

Technology has come so far, it's amazing. Think of the processing power and abilities of something like the TWK-88 or AudioControl DM-608...all that in a tiny little box. Too cool.

 

[Cathul]

Only that the TwK-88 is so much more advanced than the Audiocontrol DSPs.

 

[mikes2017gt]

If that's the case, then I'm doubly glad I bought the JL product.

 

[Cathul]

The input matrix, parametric eq are just two things that are a lot better than what the Audiocontrol DSPs have to offer.

 

[mikes2017gt]

I lost about 90 minutes of car work time today b/c some parts for our range hood came. Had to fix that and it's done.

Made good progress today. Would've liked to continue, but I was shot. It's the damn heat. 93F in there just saps the strength right out of you.

Removed all the seats. *huge newsflash* There is so much more room to work inside without the seats in the way. You just have to be really careful not to step on wiring harnesses and plugs.

I decided to put the fuse holder here. It wouldn't fit anywhere else and I wanted it underneath the battery cover. I bought a smaller fuse holder but found out it wasn't waterproof (no o-rings where the cover snaps on) like this one has. A long time ago when I didn't know any better, I had water get into a non-waterproof fuse holder. It wasn't pretty.

It is mounted with nutserts/threaded inserts/threaded rivets. (Everyone seems to have a different name for them.) I drilled a couple of holes in that brace.

Added in the nutserts. and done. These are 8-32 size, BTW. The fuse holder is screwed to these with 3/4" 8-32 machine screws with a washer and lockwasher for good measure. It's not going anywhere.

In case you're wondering (of course you are) there's about 1/2" of clearance b/t the fuse holder and the battery box. This is a full-size, waterproof, ANL fuse holder. I was worried it would be too big to use, but there's plenty of room, and the fuse holder is out of sight under the battery cover.

True, serviceability is impacted by putting it here. But for one, pulling the battery and battery box takes 3 minutes. And two, in 25+ years of having systems in cars I think I've had the main fuse blow maybe twice. Everything will be hidden under the battery cover which exactly how I wanted it. Stealthy. Also, with the fuse holder and power wire run this way, the engine can be worked on without worry of the wire or fuse holder getting damaged.

Then it was onto what I consider the most nerve-wracking task when installing a system: The dreaded power wire. You check your proposed drilling location no less than 34 times, but yet you're still not absolutely positive...so you check again and decide to go for it.

I drilled a pilot hole just to make sure where the bit would come out, then enlarged the hole enough to get the step-drill bit in there. Wound up with this 1-1/8" hole. I prefer to drill from the inside out; just my preference. But I couldn't fit either the cordless drill or the right-angle cordless drill I own up in that space under the dash. Had to drill from the engine compartment, in.

Grommet installed.

Under the dash.

Fed the 0-gauge through and that's where I stopped.

Tomorrow is removing most of the interior trim panels, including the top part of the console. Getting the power wire run to the back and hopefully getting the DRC-205 remote for the TWK-88 installed and the wire for it run to the back.

Stupid question: Will the car start without the seats installed? I know for sure I'll get a CEL for "airbag failure" but will it start? Once everything is installed, I want to listen to the system with the engine running to ensure I don't have any noise. Would be a real shame to reinstall everything only to have to pull it all out again.

 

[StangTime]

I would guess the car will run no problem without the seats installed. You'll get an Airbag warning.

Fuse location. A lot of water flows through that area as it is the drain for the base of the windshield. I do hope your fuse holder really is waterproof. I decided against putting mine there as may fuse wasn't waterproof at all. Thought about mounting where you did and making a cover for it but ultimately put it in a dry location.

System noise will depend on how good your grounds are and what you are using for signal wires. Did you do a "star" ground to one point and what you have for signal wires. What did you use to connect the signals to the Twk?

 

[mikes2017gt]

I did notice a lot of dirt/dust under the battery box, on the floor of that cavity. I vacuumed it out before I started doing any work in that area, so it's relatively clean in the pics. It being the main drain area would explain all the dirt.

You're absolutely right and thank you for pointing that out! In the 5StarCarAudio video where they did the Mustang, they put it in this area, but they made an "L-shaped" plate and mounted it higher up. Where I have the fuse holder, the water will dump right on it. This isn't going to work.

Where did you mount yours? A pic would be great if you have one.

As for noise/grounding: The stock HU is grounded to wherever it's grounded. All the equipment in the back will be star grounded. I'm planning on using the driver's side factory ground in the trunk, behind the driver's tail light. I've already sanded down to bare metal. For my previous sub-only "system" I was using the spare tire hold down and had good results. I'll be leaving the 0-gauge system ground wire long, so I can move it around if need be.

For signal I'm running these RCAs from the driver's kick to the back.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RXNVBBE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

From another pair of those RCA cables, I snipped off two female ends and soldered them to the Molex. This is what most folks have done.

 

[mikes2017gt]

The other logical place for the fuse holder is directly opposite where it is now, on the inner fender. I checked and that area's metal is pretty thick. It should also be out of the way of water there. I could probably drill through it but might need to use larger nutserts due to the diameter, which would mean drilling out the mounting ears in the fuse holder for the larger screws. Crap.

But again, THANK YOU @StangTime for pointing this out! Would not be good if I left it where it is.

 

[StangTime]

You can leave the fuse holder there, but you should shield it somehow. Maybe a plastic or rubber protector.

Here is how I did my fuse wiring. I ran the 4gauge wire through the firewall and towards the passenger side of the battery up and over in front of the battery to the + terminal. I had to cut the battery cover rubber a little for the new wiring.




Those RCA's look decent. I have triple shielded twisted pair Cat5e wire connecting my DSP in the trunk. I didn't like the cost of using RCA's. Balanced inputs + twisted pair = very good noise rejection.

 

[mikes2017gt]

Thanks for the pics and explanation. No way my fuse holder will fit where you put yours. My fuse holder is "waterproof" in that it's designed to get wet occasionally, but I definitely wouldn't want water pouring on it. I'll have to relook this. Thanks for the help.

Sponsored