Wideband is a possibility. I am just getting everything going for now so I can find what is the limiting factor.
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I suppose that's true. I'm yet to finish my setup in an e46 with active 2-way, but already feel like it could really do with the midrange up higher. People have done widebands in sail panels on these cars with claimingly great results and I've modeled a few widebands and they seem like they should work with as little as 0.1l of volume. Granted, they will not play very low, but still should be an improvement in staging? A 2" midrange/wideband is probably as much as you could fit in the a-pillar without it looking ridiculous, with the tweeter in the sail panel as a simple 3-way it should open up for more possibilities, at least my thinking is.
Both sides are playing now. Here is the passenger side work from last weekend.
Getting started
https://i.imgur.com/u3M9IQm.jpg
Deadening the outer skin
https://i.imgur.com/cgZtaIY.jpg
Hole cut out and the mounting plate set
https://i.imgur.com/WSISEnr.jpg
Also deadened over some of the larger holes in the door
https://i.imgur.com/dVgEMTB.jpg
I have plenty of tuning to do. I'm not familiar with the UI on the Pioneer so I have actually had to RTFM.
Looking forward to Jason's meet in 2 weeks.
Minus the tune the build is nearly complete.
The future will have some better tweeter mounts but this is what folks will see at the NCSQ meet next weekend.
Cleaned up the wiring some
https://i.imgur.com/tkFmOky.jpg
Test fitting some panels
https://i.imgur.com/jNvedwp.jpg
The beauty panels on
https://i.imgur.com/HWiS0BJ.jpg
They are mounted with some magnets and some velcro.
https://i.imgur.com/9Frc9Ot.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/wcH4662.jpg
Dang, dude...that's looking good
Kendal, you've done a great job on this car, and it sounds wonderful. I can't wait to see you guys again in the fall
...if that water-bottle-sized bruise heals up by then...
The center stack doors looked worn after years of use.
This is where I started
https://i.imgur.com/Mb0e2ch.jpg
This is a close up of the ash tray door
https://i.imgur.com/Hya0RKh.jpg
This is the sunglasses compartment. I started by sanding off all of the old soft touch material. Its really rubbery and 80 grit balls it up so you have to keep cleaning out the paper or folding it to a new place
https://i.imgur.com/dXmUypj.jpg
Here is all of the material sanded off
https://i.imgur.com/lJn5tNC.jpg
Sprayed it with Plasti-Dip to get the look back.
https://i.imgur.com/qm6QV4X.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/41jBKf7.jpg
This is the finished product and I know the lighting is terrible but I think you get the idea.
https://i.imgur.com/TjdM0JR.jpg
On to the next project.
much better :thumbup:
Today is 1 year since I bought the car. I think I've done pretty good but still have plenty left to do. Thanks for following along.
Got her cleaned up today. All nice and shiny.
https://i.imgur.com/fLdcUmh.jpg
The Meguir's Hybrid Ceramic Spray Wax that SublimeZ recommended does a great job also. Thanks for the tip.
https://i.imgur.com/5YVstOw.jpg
I bought a new shift knob and a steering wheel wrap kit.
https://i.imgur.com/e5SBvkH.jpg
Here it is set up and ready to stitch
https://i.imgur.com/aYLodye.jpg
getting there. This is what the stitch pattern looks like. I need to work on the bottom. Its hard to stitch on the back of the steering wheel.
https://i.imgur.com/hQeSI2P.jpg
Very nice!
I considered wrapping my steering wheel in the past also.
How tough was it? Also, where did you buy the wrap kit from? (Wheelskins?)
I got the tint done 3 weeks ago. 20% on the rear window and 35% all the way around. I need to get some of the interior back together (some broken, some removed to make tint easier) and get a tune on this thing for the meet.
https://i.imgur.com/D25dR2k.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/TlKNaeQ.jpg
Sooooooo hawt. Or not. Now. Because tint.
Really incredible transformation Kendal, totally impressed!
This is going to be next to impossible for you guys to see but I tried to capture this as best as i could.
When I got the car there were 3 spots where a rock or road debris had deflected off of the windshield and had taken a big chunk out of the windshield but not broken it.
I thought I could smooth/sand out the worst of these spots like you'd sand down wood or something. Not exactly how it works with glass. I used steel wool and while it did sorta smooth out the divot it also left a hazy cloud around the spot where I had scratched the crap out of the glass.
Enter Cerium Oxide. Its the real polishig compound for glass.
It looks like this when you mix it with water.
https://i.imgur.com/MWM8D28.jpg
This picture is trying to capture the scratches I put in the windshield
https://i.imgur.com/IcAPcSr.jpg
This is after the first few go rounds with the polishing compound
https://i.imgur.com/bHE8irW.jpg
Finally here is the final product after about 3 polishing applications
https://i.imgur.com/tffQuJF.jpg
I guess you'll just have to trust me that it looks better. I'm happy with it.
Nice work. Too bad all my windows had weld spatter in them because I was lazy, or I'd try this.
Jay
If you’re going to use steel wool on glass make sure it’s #00 or finer. We use #00 at work (I’m a detailer at an Audi dealership) for our windows and I’ve had zero issues with scratching glass. Also works great for polishing chrome.
I don’t remember what I used but definitely more coarse than #00.
Thanks for the tip.
A car with 286,000+ miles has some wear and tear. One thing that these coupe are known for is the seat bolster threads breaking. You can see it here.
https://i.imgur.com/A7x0Tsc.jpg
My first try at stitching it up was just a "loop stitch" I don't know what its called but just going back and forth with the needle and thread and it didn't work.
I couldn't pull the stitch tight and make it stay.
https://i.imgur.com/x0QsZWl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/L3TEoET.jpg
I also did this during that try and it made me want to give up.
https://i.imgur.com/GaAAw5U.jpg
Then I found this helpful guy on youtube who showed me how to do the double needle blind stitch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUt-I8abAYM
https://i.imgur.com/OKOvVUH.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/m4Mkp4Z.jpg
Finished product
https://i.imgur.com/RY2bNJU.jpg
I only had the blue thread and what little bit was left visible I touched up with a black magic marker so you can't tell.
A quick little Saturday project. I finally ordered the replacement headlight lenses.
https://i.imgur.com/6gPfivV.jpg
One down, one to go
https://i.imgur.com/xelg0uJ.jpg
Finished
https://i.imgur.com/pYzvDXR.jpg
It's time to upgrade your Car Bro. Either buy the new one or go to body shop for transformation.
More leather "repair". I didn't take any before pictures but the bolsters were torn on both sides. There was a worn down place showing white backing nearest the door, the center of the back was torn in multiple places showing white and all the leather was alligatored up pretty good.
I will say it looks better in person than in the pictures. May still buy the $349 seat covers in the future but for now I have less than $60 in materials and I learned quite a bit about this process.
https://i.imgur.com/KUQc7lw.png?1
https://i.imgur.com/J1rH337.png?1
https://i.imgur.com/wfGo2Ib.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/TOEXJBh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/33vO5ug.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/uH9QY1O.jpg
Finished product
https://i.imgur.com/wspy4Tl.jpg
Awesome work. The transformation looks amazing!
Why not show some suspension replacement work on a car audio website right? Sure.
The shocks, struts, and springs are all worn out on this car. Maybe original, maybe worn out for the second time, I'm not sure. I got lots to replace and I'll do it a little at a time.
I had to remove my box and amps to get to the shock tower bolts inside the trunk.
https://i.imgur.com/Fc6OcJB.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/6nNIRAu.jpg
This is how nasty the bump stops looked. I found a piece of that orange foam on the ground months ago and never could figure out what it was until I took this picture.
https://i.imgur.com/EKfOzyw.jpg
One of the springs was broken as well. So that's nice.
https://i.imgur.com/og8pVtl.jpg
New stuff in
https://i.imgur.com/O3eVhv5.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/d0Y8MhF.jpg
Still need to put the trunk back together before I take it out for a drive. I'm gonna do the front in the next few months cause the struts are just as ratty as these look.
This will give me a chance to redo the tune in the car since its apart.
Maybe replace the rotors while you're at it? Nice progress
I remember when I replaced the rears on the Audi, the bump stops were that orange foam as well and just a mess when I replaced them.
Crazy you had a broken spring, any idea how long it was like that? That sort of unknown stuff like that can be scary when you find it, was at a shop getting tires, a wheel bearing and an engine mount replaced on the Cadillac yesterday, discovered that the axle nut was almost completely undone. I stood there looking at it for a second, thought something looked off, discovered it just barely hanging on. Given I have never removed those nuts, it's a bit scary to know the family had been riding around in there with it loose like that for who knows how long. I had replaced the rear brake pads about a year or so ago, but never bothered looking at the axle nut. Planning to jack it up in a day or two and just make sure it has not backed off again.
Looking forward to seeing the BMW sometime next year, pretty cool seeing all the progress you have made with it.
Haha when I got to that picture my mind thought "looks like brakes are up next"
Amazing build log Kendal!
So I've been rolling with the tweeters like this for about 2 years
https://i.imgur.com/OP5l2r2.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/6hW0LYF.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/QRuXgib.jpg
I plan on making some tweeter holders out of this.
https://i.imgur.com/U9f9RLd.jpg
It comes with these little premix packages that are supposed to be the correct ratio
https://i.imgur.com/UMn0mKp.jpg
and some other stuff
https://i.imgur.com/5UdNXX4.jpg
We'll see how it goes tomorrow hopefully.
This will be even more epic!!!
Might as well get started.
Getting the angle right. I just used duct seal to adjust the angle mount tweeter cups until I like the way the were pointing.
https://i.imgur.com/oOV4b5Q.jpg
Then covered with the lightest fabric I had and soaked in resin. This was still too heavy of a fabric to use
https://i.imgur.com/QZ7Ub4H.jpg
Next I wanted to reinforce it with some cloth
https://i.imgur.com/P2q8u3P.jpg
It left a bunch of air bubbles so I just used the grinder and ground it back off
https://i.imgur.com/7xrBHhN.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/t0SYDMl.jpg
I realized if I cut the cloth into small strips it would be easier to work with around the shape
https://i.imgur.com/zF7RuAO.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/SJdRXxl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/avzNZJz.jpg
Next came the bondo to try and smooth everything out
https://i.imgur.com/uYXNN0H.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/uljv5bP.jpg
Sanded down the bondo and next used spot putty to fill in the pin holes. Sand fill repeat
https://i.imgur.com/HFdF4N6.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/IDlOs71.jpg
I thought I was ready for some high build primer.....I was not
More fill sand repeat
https://i.imgur.com/cfqsruy.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/hfsz50A.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/3XD2MIY.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Wb7ON39.jpg
Finally got to the primer phase. There were several back and forth with this step.
Here I am cutting the hole out for the tweeter.
https://i.imgur.com/WkyCGLZ.jpg
They fit!
https://i.imgur.com/XuBhBvH.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/5rZinbn.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8vTkxcS.jpg
Even at this step I needed to do some more filling and sanding so I did.
They are currently texture coated with some Rustoleum texture paint I had lying around. It looks sorta like sand on them and that's pretty close to the plastic texture.
I'll probably knock that down with some 320 and then paint it flat black.
More to come later this week.
When I took the door panel off I found that the surround on the passenger side had been pushed in by the panel.
I have left the panel off while I've been working and the surround has healed.
Here is the normal driver side mid and surround that wasn't injured
https://i.imgur.com/XHlOJUe.jpg
Here is the injured passenger side. Like I said this has healed itself now.
https://i.imgur.com/5anldRK.jpg