CoastieRon's Progression of Idiocy journal & BS

Audio 21

Well, I kind of got tired of the front stage with the PPI woofers and the Kicker Subi drop ins. I miss having the tweeters on the sail panels, and I wanted a speaker that filled the whole hole (LMFAO). So after much agonizing, researching, arguing, poll making, etc. I decided to just say fuck it, and bought a set of Morel Tempo Ultra 692s. Crutchfield had a sale on them this week for $299, and everyone else has them for above $400.

My plan is simple. I'm going to disconnect the fronts from my amp (the wires going from the amp BACK to the OEM wiring harness), then run new wires from the amp to the crossovers, then from the crossovers to the speakers. I'm hoping to install the tweeters into the sail panels, and have already purchased and received a set of those. Maybe I can get the crossover mounted inside the door panel so I can just run one wire into the door grommet (pain in the ass on my last truck).

Here's to hoping. Anyway, I'm going to probably be selling the Kicker drop ins in a few weeks.....

 

Audio 22

I just went through this whole thread and numbered all the posts having to do with the audio in my truck. Here is post 22, and there will be more audio posts after this I'm sure.

The Morel Tempo Ultra 692s came in today, so I swapped out my PPI drivers for the Morel drivers. They are not on the proper crossovers yet, so I'm going to be listening low volume until I can figure out where the tweeters are going.

Drivers



Comparison



PPI in door:



Morel in door:



You can see in this picture that I put some noico deadener on the surface that the speaker attaches to the adapter.

Crutchfield's "what fits" guide says these will not fit. They do, and just fine. There is 1 thing I do not like about the Morel drivers so far. I do not like the connection posts at all, and will probably end up soldering wires with bullet connectors. Right now they are hooked up the same way as the PPIs were (using the OEM wiring for the speakers to the amp). When I get a weekend free I'll install the crossovers and run new wires to the doors. Of course a lot of that will depend on figuring out how to make the sail panels without getting pissed off and breaking shit.

This morning I tested the speakers at what I considered the old middle volume (23) and found the drivers to be a high step up from the PPIs, even when not crossed over properly. I was listening to Umphry Magee's "Death by Stereo" album, and the morels kick amazing. When this gets fully set up with the crossovers, these things are going to be monsters.....

Tweeters:



The tweeters come with 3 mounting options, but no swivel mount. I'm going to have to look into finding a swivel mount for them.

A quick note about the PPIs: These are great drivers, but they were unmatched by the Kicker drop ins, and needed to be on their proper crossovers, getting at LEAST 200RMS. They were severely underpowered. I have the crossovers and the tweeters from the 3 way kit, and the crossovers will work in just a 2 way configuration, but I'll be honest, I don't like the AMT style of tweeters without the small mid range drivers, and I can't find a set to match.

Anyway, when I took them out of the door, I found some mild corrosion on the wires:



Another reason for me to solder the wires to the speakers, then heat shrink to protect the connections......

 

Audio 23

Clean up! I grabbed some stuff on Amazon to clean up my system and to prep for doing the tweeter / component crossovers.

Put new teminals at the end of everything



Ran wires for the crossovers





Not done yet tonight, more to follow...




Left the rear seats out so when everything else comes in, I can finish up "quicker". But for some reason, my back up camera is not coming on. The only thing I did to effect (affect?) That was disconnect my neg terminal to my battery when I was doing everything?

 

Back up camera woes

When I cleaned up the wires last night, I took the seats out (tops and bottoms), took the storage compartment out, took the driver side rear seat cubby out (the passenger side has been out since I put the sub back there), and then removed the panels for the C pillar (is that what it is called? The panel after the rear doors). I disconnected the ground to the battery and went to work.

When I completed cleaning up all the wires (new terminal ends, new shrink tubing, new routing), I put the C Pillar panels back on, which were a pain in the ass, and I know clips fell, so I need to fix that, then I put the cubby back on, re-installed the under-seat storage. I re-connected the ground to the battery, checked to make sure the audio was working properly, shut it down, and called it a night. I left the seats out because I will be running the wires for the speakers to be on the proper crossovers this week.

After dinner, I went to Home Depot to get some velcro, and the reverse camera did not engage. I have the Beat Sonic camera on demand, and the button lit up like normal, but nothing on the screen. It just stayed on the audio screen. Even pressing the button for the camera did nothing.

My question is: is the camera wire in one of those C Pillars? I'm wondering if I might have broken/unplugged a wire by mistake while fucking with those pillar panels. Does anyone know the routing of the reverse camera wire so I can track this nonsense down?

 

Tools used for making the wiring look boss:

ZeopoCase Mini Hot Air Gun, Portable Mini Heat Gun for DIY Embossing Shrink Wrapping Drying Paint, 300W Multi Function Electrical Heat Tool

Handheld heat gun: don't be fooled by the looks, this thing is perfect for shrink tubing

$6 Eventronic 600PCS Heat Shrink Tubing 2:1, Electrical Wire Cable Wrap Assortment Electric Insulation Heat Shrink Tube Kit with Box(5 colors/12 Sizes), Black, Red, Blue, Yellow, Green

Shrink Tubing Assortment Pack an absolute must

$23 Ferrule Crimping Tool, VLIKE Wire Crimper Pliers with 1200 Terminal Ferrules Tinned Copper Ferrule Connector Sleeves for Stripper Wiring Projects

Terminal Connector and Crimper set where the hell has this thing been all my life!?

and for the power wires (I had to order this separate)

$15 uxcell Wire Crimp Connector Cord End Terminal Insulated Ferrule 4AWG 60Pcs

Terminal Crimp Connectors (4 AWG)

For the speaker connections, I will be soldering these onto the speakers:

LHI 10 Pairs XT-60 XT60 Male Female Bullet Connectors Plugs for RC Lipo Battery …

Male/Female Bullet Connectors

I don't like the terminal ends on the woofer drivers, so I am going to solder a "pigtail" with the bullet connectors.

All of this stuff I found on Car Audio Fabrication youtube channel and website here:

Car Audio Fabrication: Lessons

 

So last night, I had to get in the bed of the truck. When I shut the tail gate and backed out of my truck, the camera was working. Something is loose at the tailgate causing it to not work randomly. I'll have to get in there and check it out.

On another note, I prepped my wiring for the speakers getting hooked up to the crossovers. I'm so ready to get this finished out and finally hear the Morel tweeters under power. The wait is the hardest part at this point. Everything should be in tomorrow. It be cooler if shit came in today though.....

 

Audio 24:

Last night, the connectors and the adapters for the tweeters came in, and when I got home from work, I got to work soldering the connections for the tweeters.



I then started on the passenger side, removing all the trim panels, Oh shit handle, a-pillar, etc, and ran the wire down. When that was done, I removed the door panel, took the woofer driver out and ran the woofer wire to the door. This was MUCH easier to do than my Tundra was. The wire boot comes out easily. There are two wire harnesses to unplug, and you can push the boot out from the cab of the truck, then run the wire through a pre-existing hole in the boot, and into the door. Run all the wires back through the hole in the cab, plug in the harnesses and away you go. I didn't take pictures of that though. Next time I have the kick panels off, I'll try to remember to do that.

All in all, running all the wires and installing the tweeters took around 3 hours of taking my time, taking water breaks (it was hot AF in my garage), and finding misplaced tools.



With the crimp on connections I used, as well as proper labeling, hooking up the crossovers was a breeze



When I was all wrapped up and before putting the door panels back on, I took the truck to the parking lot down the street and did a function check on the speakers, making sure each channel was functioning properly (left was actually left, etc). All was good, so I went back to the garage and buttoned things up.

This morning I did sound checks with a few different styles of music to make sure I had my sound settings good to go. I actually turned up the mid-range by 1 tic, and played with the treble until I ended up 1 tic higher than I was at. I started at a volume level of 25, and moved up by increments of 5 until 40 (almost ear splitting for me). The speakers really really open up right around 32 on up.

The music I selected this morning:

The Beatles: Abbey Road, Mean Mr. Mustard-Polythene Pam-She Came in Through the Bathroom Window-Golden Slumbers-Carry That Weight-End

Leo (metal covers of pop songs): Take Me To Church-Born This Way

Snoop Dogg: Gin and Juice-Shiznit

Megadeth: Blackmail The Universe, Blackmail The Universe-Kick The Chair

Mercyful Fate: Evil-Curse of the Pharaohs (because King Fucking Diamond)

Umphrey's McGee: Death By Stereo, Miami Virtue-Domino Theory

The woofers have been breaking in for the last couple of weeks (days?) and are flexing really nice with rich full bass. I have the high pass for the fronts set at 90 so I'm not overwhelming the woofer drivers in the door, but it sounds great right there. The tweeters are plugged into the +2dB attenuation slots, and sound pretty good there so far. I'm not sure if tweeters need the same sort of responsible breaking in period, so I'm going to take it easy on them. But they are clear with great sound reproduction. I did not reset the gains at all, as I tuned the amp with an oscilloscope to match the input of the head unit.





One thing I do need to adjust on the amp is the rear high pass setting. Right now it is set at 110 (ish, more like 108 or something, see picture). The kickers in the rear doors sound almost tinny and flat compared to the fronts, and I need to get just a little more bass to them.

I'm very happy about the sound in the truck right now. Some minor tweeking of the amp aside (I might go a smidge lower on the front woofers on the high pass), I am rolling in the right direction.

Tonight I have an appointment at the dealership for the truck's 15K mileage service, and hopefully the TSP flash. When I get home, I'll revisit the settings on the amp, then put the rear seats back in.

I'm sure I have forgotten something.......

 

I just went through the all of your pages. Fantastic thread! Literally every decision/purchase on here is something I would consider/have done/will do myself. I really like that it is not over the top, everything is high quality, the audio install is clean and I'm going to going to refer to some of your decisions down the road. Keep up the great work, looking forward to seeing how the rig progresses. Side note, this also does motivate me to start one. Maybe i'll do that this weekend.

 

Thank you! My wife said last night that I'm spending too much money on a new truck. That was after I said I was thinking about getting a soft topper. She says "why the f would you do that, you hated the one on the Tundra"

And now that I think of it, she was right LMAO.

Anyway, I'm not sure if it's her being mad at the money I am spending or the time I'm spending in my garage. Hell, she hasn't even notice I put a lift in it yet.....

 

I forgot to add this tidbit!

Stealth license plate mount



I need to clean up where the original mount was, so dirty.....

 

People close to me have said the same thing about my current vehicles, past vehicles and I normally respond with.

1. I really enjoy working on my stuff.
2. I want my mods to add "value." Whether that value is enjoyment in my commute, practicality, protection, etc... enjoyment.
3. For the finance people, especially at the beginning. The cost/time of most aftermarket modifications does not change over time. I know I am going to do mod (insert here). I may as well get the longest useful life of said mod.
4. My truck. Neener, neener.

How is that Audision sub vs the JL? I currently have an 8W3v3, and an older Kenwood amp (all from my last daily) and have been trying to lock in what I am going to do next summer when I build out the entire setup.

 

Number 4 applies. My wife and I have separate finances, separate responsibilities, etc. My responsibilities are always covered first, then mods.

I had the JL 10TW-2. It was a decent sub, and I used the crap out of it when it was in my Tundra. For some reason it just didn't sound as good in the Taco. The Audison, sounds good in my Taco. That opinion is completely suggestive. I think the Audison hits a lot quicker/more accurate than the JL did. In the defense of the JL, I had bought it used, and it had a long life.....

 

Yesterday, I had my 15,000 service, and had the TSB-062-18 completed at 14,978 miles. Software update 8966304A6100. I don't know how long this new peppy version of my truck is going to last, but boy does it drive better now. Especially on the highway during my commute. The pedal at take off is way more responsive (sensitive) than it was the day before.

I also got the opportunity to put my back seats in and button everything up. Before doing that, I changed the rear crossover to 90 hz from 110 hz. Sounds a bit more full back there now.

Now to get rid of some things so I can get new speakers for the back.

 

Audio 25

Ordered a set of Morel Tempo Ultra Integra 602s for the back doors. I wanted to have the backs match the fronts in this truck. Other than that, nothing going on right now LOL

 

Now the passenger side has broke. Time to re-evaluate the OEM bed cover....

 

Audio 26

Holy crap this thread is full of audio posts.

The Morel Tempo Ultra 602 Integras came in today, so I did a pit crew change out. I'm getting really friggen good at getting the panels off at this point.

Anyhow, here is a side by side of the Morels and the Kickers. Please note that the Kickers are the 6.75" coaxials, and the Morels are 6.5" coaxials.

Unboxing:



The speakers have soldered in resister style crossovers to protect the speakers from going too high on the woofer or too low on the tweeter.



The terminals in my opinion should be more robust for a $269 pair of coaxials



Side by side comparison


Look at the size of that magnet on the Morels!

And we're installed:



Right at this moment, I am not getting full range of these speakers. I have my high pass set at 110-ish Hertz, and will leave them like that for one month for responsible break in. Then I will probably set the rears to "full", or at the very least down to 60-ish.

 

Quick hit:

1. Speakers still breaking in. Think this weekend I will change some settings on the amp.

2. Ordered one of those HPS intake hoses in red, because why the fuck not, and I had a coupon.

3. I started a Gent Scents subscription a couple of months ago. I've been getting the Bayrum scent, one block a month. I find the scent to be extremely pleasing, but my wife does not. No biggy, I just switch the side the block is on when she is in the truck. I've been taking the old blocks and putting between the rear seats and the C pillar. However, I have found that after the first block I got, the blocks tend to dry out a bit quicker, and don't last as long. So I'm going to look into re-using the blocks with Bayrum oil or something to that effect.

4. My wife is having a hard time getting into the truck, so I have to do something with the grab handle on the passenger side. I'm going to shamelessly copy this member's idea:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-3rd-gen-today.399305/page-5114#post-18778398

Anyway, that's it for now, except I want 4.88 gears......

 

I needed one ricey looking thing under the hood



Mission accomplished. Easy quick install.

I had already installed the "TRD accelerator" a few weeks ago. Let's see what this does to my gas data...

 

Audio 27

Adjusted highpass from 90hz to 70hz front and back. Am also going to revisit gains settings on the rear channels, seems weak back there.



Stickers = horse power. Duh

 

Very interested if you have noticed any difference with the HPS air intake hose. Was wondering if the less restriction did much. Also, was wondering what the big box off the stock one was all about. Cheers.