Complete SubThump install from a Novice
 

I just finished up the Sub install last night using ********s Kit. This Thread is intended to point out a few things that I ran across that may help folks out and recommendations that may be overlooked while taking on a project like this. First off I consider myself a Novice when talking Audio components and have a limited electrical background. So with those limitations I RESEARCHED even more so when I considered taking on something like this because of my weakness in these areas. On a scale of 1-10 in difficulty I would rate this project a 7. In doing my research for a stereo upgrade I ran across Steve's web sight found here at Camaro5;) I was attracted to this system because of the complete package concept and professional look of the component boxes and amp rack which are very nice looking:cool: I emailed Steve with my ?? and he walked me through the different kit options and decided on the 12" Kicker CVR dual 2ohm Sub and the DSC280 Amp. After purchasing the wiring and the left Rear trunk sub box along with Amp rack I set out to find an affordable sound deadener for the trunk. I Didn't want to lose any quality nor have an annoying vibe from this install. This being the wife's car I knew I only got one shot at getting this right so I wanted to do it right. I found the matting on ebay at a reasonable price considering some other costs for other products.
RECOMMENDATION: If you plan on doing the sound deadener. Most Kits I found only offered 20 sq ft packages at a cost comparable to the 50 sq ft I got... Note: I used every inch of 50 sq ft of the deadener I ordered. If you get less you may be disappointed. Here is what I got for the same cost as shown in the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/50-ft...Q5fAccessories
I first laid out all items to take stock of what I had and gathered the tools I thought I might need

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/020.jpghttp://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/021.jpg

Don't you just luv her hips??:D This view is what I'll see for the next 5 hrs installing the sound deadener.
NOTE: Ensure you wear loose fitting cloths that will not scratch the rear area as you bend over into the trunk area. No scratches please!! I underestimated the amount of time that would take me to install the deadener. Also If you aren't sure if you have any hamstring issues you will find out by days end:(

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/023.jpg

Remove trunk floor carpet and tire well cover-plate and compressor molded form.

The removal of the trunk's side molded carpeting

Unscrew cargo netting's anchors by unscrewing (6 in all) and remove rear plastic trim

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/024.jpghttp://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/026.jpg

I also referred to these Pics when reinstalling the battery components as it gets confusing when your trying to remember how everything goes back together.
NOTE: I had my doors open and the rear seat down for access. Remember if you disconnect and remove the battery as I did. Your doors will not shut properly!! do not force them shut!! When they are powered up, the windows are in the open position and stay that way until power is reapplied.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/025.jpg
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/028.jpg

Remove the wire harness connectors from their threaded studs. They should be able to be pulled off using only your fingers.

Remove the positive and negative ground cables from the battery along with the Battery cap vent tube. Remove the ground cable assembly and set aside. this is what you should end up with after the removal of the battery mounting blocks at the base of the Battery along with the top battery mount plate.

NOTE: keep all your bolts with each item you remove for better reassembly

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/030.jpg

Now I removed the side wall molded carpeting..

NOTE: there are 3 fasteners per side. The push button fasteners (2 ea per side) one is located on the upper rear portion of the molded carpet, and the other is found under the plastic trim piece that is along the front cabin entrance once the rear seat is folded down. I simply left these buttons in place and worked the carpet over the button head. (I'll remove them with a forked needle nose pliers when I went to reinstall them. The Bottom Buttons
(1 ea side)are SCREWED onto the threaded studs so simply unscrew and remove.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/027.jpg

Bottom buttons

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/031.jpg

Forward button located under plastic trim at trunk's pass through

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/034.jpg

Notice I slipped the carpet molding off the button head without removing them. Like I said I'll remove them later for re installation

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/035.jpg

Once removed the molded carpet sides were set aside and will get to cutting the left side later to accommodate the left Sub box install.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/037.jpg

Now after the removal of all items from the trunk area, This is what I received from the vendor on ebay (see link above if interested) It has a plastic sheet backing you peel away and place.

NOTE: This material can be cut with scissors and a sharp knife I got out of the kitchen for trim (single edge razor blade will produce cleaner lines)

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/038.jpg

materials I thought I'd need for installing Matting:

NOTE: The sound matting comes with a wooded roller which really helped (not shown)

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/040.jpg

I Started working from the forward pass through and worked to wards the rear of the trunk area. I did the trunk deck first and then the sides and the the top side of the Fender hip areas. Finally the actual wheel tub area.

NOTE: I found that if you limit your size of pieces they are much easier to work with. The longer the piece the harder to maneuver into place. Try and leave the backing on while placing it into position. just get the backing started and peel it away as you continue to lay the piece down. after its down go back with the supplied roller at press in the underlying shape of the form. TAKE YOUR TIME!! I made myself slow down when I felt like I was pulling a hammy or my aching back started to yell at me!!

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/041.jpg
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/042.jpg
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/044.jpg
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/043.jpg
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/045.jpg

Finished sound matting view from inside of cabin

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/046.jpg

5 + hours later and haven't even started the actual Sub Kit install...Getting Late

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/047.jpg

NOTE: I'm 5 hrs into the matting process so make sure you give yourself enough time for this.

Now for the Sub install: This left side carpet molding will be what is required to be cut if you buy the sub box designed for the 12" sub. It was very easy with The instructions found on line @ ********s web sight.

NOTE: For ease of installation It would have been easier if they where packed along with the Sub Box. I had to run back and forth to the laptop to ensure proper procedures weren't overlooked.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/036.jpg

After I cut the left side molded carpet I focused on the right side Amp area first (as the sub box will be last to install due to having to sit on top of the trunk's deck carpeting). I replaced the right side molded carpet after the sound matting was installed and ran the remote wire, RCA jack wire Power Wire, and the speaker-wire under the forward pass-through threshold carpeting. (which I did not remove in this entire install) Its tight but will accept all the wires mentioned.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/049.jpg
http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/050.jpg

Notice in this pic I used the sound matting to tape down the power cable from the battery to the front pass through threshold carpeting. It worked very well to hold it down. The power cable is very supple and will lay flat by itself however I didn't want it to shift out of place.

NOTE: DEAL BREAKER!!
Notice also the AMPS circuit Breaker installed by the battery? It takes a certain sized Alan head wrench to secure the positive battery cable ends... It is not included in the kits hardware and if you don't have one your SOL. That would be a great addition for Steve to consider when building up his kits parts bag. I was lucky and had a torx head I got to fit that I found in the bottom of my tool chest.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/052.jpg

In this pic (sorry for the quality but I was about 9 hrs into the install and was running on empty) ********s instructions where spot on here only wish they would have come in the kit for on site reference. The Amp mount rack minus the cover( haven't decided which design to go with yet. And too tired to deal with it last night.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/053.jpg

Now that the Amp side was complete I could see light at the end on the tunnel:D I moved to the sub Box. This pic was a dry fit as the top Molded carpet button mount tab had to be bent up wards out of the way for box install. ********s describes this but I didn't get the visual until I dry fit the box.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/051.jpg

Last and not least the Sub install. a couple of observations. I took the quick connect speaker wire assembly off the forward part of the box for ease of wiring and discovered that I needed 2 female 16Ga electrical connectors for the Sub's interior wiring connections, which I did not receive in the Kit hardware. I had 2 small stainless steel machine screws with flat heads that threaded into the male prong ends that was on the quick connect assembly. I also used 2 16Ga circular connectors that I terminated on the subs internal pig tail that connected to the interior of the assemblies speaker wire quick connect. I simply put them on and tighten the screws down connecting the quick disconnect speaker wire assembly and the sub speaker.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/d...nstall/054.jpg


Well..., Thats it...In summary I thought that the install went very smoothly and only a very few minor parts issues were encountered. Total time from start to finish was about 11 hrs. I want to thank Steve from ******** he helped me more that you can know. He really does offer a great package for the novice and I feel its worth every $$. Please take note that if you do the sound matting... you will be very sore and you should take your physical condition into account before attempting this, also my fingertips as well are very tender this morning. (all new :respekt: for all you audio installers out there.... you earn every dime you make). I look forward to enjoying my new and improved audio system. Steve I'll be in touch...As I have some tech ?? for you;) I hope this helps and gives some insight for the novice out there considering this Mod.

Nice write-up. If you hadn't installed the sound-deadener, it seems as if it would have been more of a breeze to do the sub box and amp rack install. Installing the sound deadener is where you spent most of your time.

:coolpics::thumbsup:

Thanks Highcompression:cool: Absolutely right. But I felt I had to...Not being my Daily driver:( The Wife is very picky and I knew the install had to be right. I went for a test drive last night and I was extremely impressed with the quality that the sound matting produced. Prior to the test ride I spent about 75 Miles on a very unpopulated toll road breaking in the motor with 6k shift points through 3 gears before unloading the motor and I really was surprised by the sound dampening properties of the matting from road noise. It made the stereo sounds "stay in the vehicle" as opposed to bleeding out the trunk area.

Wow, many thanks for the post. It was very informative.

nice write up, can you come over and help with mine ? LOL

GREAT STUFF!! I ordered my kit today and am going to try without the matting

Thanks guys I really wanted to try and be as informative as I could and provide the average person the ability to do this mod. I really am blown away by the sound improvement using this kit and I hope that folks on the fence will decide to give it a go.

O-10maro

Just name the time & place I'll be there. I think we could get it done in much less time. We just have to do it out of the public's eye...as there are so many folks that come up to check out the new Camaro and well you have to stop and walk them through the whole thing;)

i might take you up on that... what did that kit run you total from ******** ? i'm looking at doing the samething. thanks

Just pm me for any pricing info for complete kits.

Awsome write up and detailed descripion. I was also considering using the sound deadening material and now I for sure will. Thanks for the informationa and the link to the item on ebay as well.

ok, then could you pm me the price for the 12" box, sub, amp & rack kit... thank you.

Steve's the man for being able to help you in determining your specific needs. I'd talk to him directly as he will be able to get you pricing a bit better than ordering without his input.

I really was and still am amazed. its kinda like doing anything that involves prep..I mean the more you put into prep the better the finished outcome. The sound matting was the ticket for me as I had dropped a ratchet on the mat that I had installed and all I heard was "thud" I then picked it up and began doing a few test taps throughout the trunk area and when you tapped on the unmatted area it sounded like a loud tin can...:confused0068: The matted area was a "soft thud" Imagine what sound waves do when they hit untreated areas as opposed to the sound deadener. I was sitting in my garage this evening and listening to the stereo and the perma grin you hear about also comes from a great sounding stereo system that you personally had some input in constructing:cool:

Thanks again for the pics and notes. Mine is in and sounds great. My fingers are a little sore from those damn plastic clips. I'm not sure what tool is used to remove those but I wish I had one.