cmb13

Well, after months of planning and weeks of work, I'm well underway. I'm going to post this in C6 general and in Audio as I think it will be of interest in both areas.

As I'm now in a holding stage, while I wait for my subs, I thought I'd take this opportunity to show a few pictures of the work done so far. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank a few people, most notably SteveGermany for his excellent advice and excellent organization of the C6 Audio FAQ's, Shopdog for his advice, EVIL C5 for the inspiration for the amp rack, scott fx for misc tips, and others who have contributed to the FAQ's and answered me via threads and pm's.

The stereo will have the following components:

1. Head unit - Bose Nav

2. Signal - PAC AOEM-GM24...this plugs in to the cable that emerges from the back of the head unit and converts the signals to RCA cables. Yes, it does work with the Nav. It provides 4 RCA's - FL, FR, RL and RR. The other thing I considered was using a JL Cleensweep, but I didn't b/c of the cost and the cutting / splicing required.

3. Wiring - I ran a 4 gauge power and a 4 gauge ground from the batter to the rear. I considered using the rear seat bolt for ground, but as the ground has to return to the battery anyway, I thought I'd help it along and ensure that it returned 'unscathed'. I have a 60 amp fuse 6 inches from the battery.

4. Remote turn on - I got the signal from the fuse box; I used the heated seat and used the Mini Add-A-Circuit. I'm not sure if I'll stay with this, as it turns off power when you turn off the car, yet the stereo stays on until the door is opened. I may try to find a remote turn on to match this.

5. Amps:
a - Front will be powered by a JL 300/2. I have the front RCA's going right from the PAC, along the floor in front of the driver's seat, and back along the driver's side sill. The speakers have a crossover on the amp rack, and the wires run back along the same path to the doors. Keep in mind the RCA's and Power/Ground are intentionally on opposite sides of the car to avoid noise.
b - Sub will be powered by a JL 250/1 monoblock, ample for the subs I will be using (see below).

6. Speakers:
a - Front - JL XR 650 CSi's - mounted on 1/4 inch plexiglass (pain to work with, but strong; used a saber saw and a dremmel to cut). See pictures below.
b - Sub - 2 JL 8w3v3's - coming out this month or next, to be installed in a custom fiberglass enclosure that will sit behind the seats (convertible) - this is the last component I'm waiting on and the only part of the installation I will not be doing myself.
c - Rear - Eliminated. As much as I would have liked a rear channel, I felt the benefit of having the subs right behind the seats, and thus not having to travel throught the top mechanism, overwhelmed the benefit of having a rear fill. The subs will be where the rear speakers used to be. This is not built yet, but see the picture of the Miata I found on the web for the general idea.

6. Amp rack - This part I'm particularly proud of. My father and I constructed the amp rack out of 1/2" plywood, constructed a cover and covered it with automobile carpet. The color is not a perfect match, but it looks pretty good in person. The amp rack is bolted through the floor with a couple of 3" stainless carriage bolt to help reduce the potential for theft. I had to lift the car to install the nuts. The amp rack contains the two amps, two crossovers and power / ground distribution blocks.

I haven't had a chance to listen to it much, and I need to play with the crossovers; just taking a break for now. Enjoy the pics:

The PAC AEOM-GM24:


The PAC unit hooked up with RCA's ready to go:


The door panel off the car:


The tweeter is installed on the door panel:


The door with the panel removed:


The plexiglass panel is being fit tested:


The speaker is mounted on the plexiglass:


The door with the speaker installed:

cmb13

The amp rack base:


The amp rack cover:


The amp rack with the cover on:


A Miata with 2 JL 8's behind the seats (pic courtesy of some random guy on the web). This is posted for an example of how the subs will be behind the seat, but in the Vette, they will be next to the waterfall, under the 'coves':

DPG

lookin real good so far, cant wait to see more pics

scott_fx

i was just looking through the pics before i read the breakdown at the top of the thread... i couldnt understand the random miata pic looking good, cant wait to see that sub box, lots of people have been asking about similar set ups bet no one ever went through with it.

cmb13

Thanks - I updated the caption to make it more clear, in case someone else just checks the pics.

DPG

on your PAC interface, there is a remote amp turn on, on that. That blue wire that is hanging there. It should tell you what wire to splice into on the stock wire harness to get the right wire for remote power.

cmb13

Thanks for the info. The reason I didn't use the blue wire on the PAC harness is that a couple of other people tried it (SteveGermany, most notably) and said it didn't work reliably. Maybe I will try it, however, as it would be easy enough to do a temporary run for trial / error purposes.

Steve Germany

This is so sweet!! Very nice job Craig. I'm going to add this to the FAQ!

cmb13

I'm honored!

Just wait until the subs go in.....I can't wait, that's for sure!

DPG

mine works flawlessly in the c5. I havent heard anything about it in a c6. I didnt know they it didnt work all the time in the c6. Hopefully youve tapped the right wire from the fuse and that works out for ya.

Im jealous of your setup right now. Looks very good

Duramax Dave

I wanted to say that the installation looks amazing...definitely gave me ideas for when I begin mine. I just finalized a deal on a 2000 FRC that I'll be picking up soon as the title gets cleared by the owner's bank.

I have a PAC adapter in my truck and I use the blue turn-on wire as suggested above. While it performs well and the amp turns on every time, I have noticed that if I open any door of the truck, the amps will turn on. I tested this by leaving the seat down and the windows down so that I could see the amp turn-on lamp. I would make sure they were off and then open a door and notice the amp turn-on lamp would be glowing. No sound out of the sub...just the amp turned on. This happened with all four doors.

Again...no problems...just a quirk. I say try it out for your setup and see if you like it. Your setup is definitely a sweet one. Thanks for taking the time to post pictures for newbies like me.

fej

Looks very nice bro nice job

Everything looks solid, only question I have is why only a 60 amp fuse at the battery? Everything I have read or known regarding that fuse near the battery is to run 100+ amp there. Not a negative just a question?



Fej

I have 3 gold stars now, I am far cooler than I was merely 24 hours ago!

cmb13

Interesting - probably has to do with the fact that chimes come from the stereo somehow, I'd bet. With the C6 dead battery problems, that might be a problem. Maybe I'll test it when I get the time.

cmb13

I'm using the fuse that came with the amp power kit; I'll double check. It's always nice to get another star!

Radical05

What is the blue wire off the PAC by the RCA for? Also what held in the factory door speaker before, was it just bigger to fit the bolt holes. Looks good. If you take the seats out can the wires be ran under the carper right in the middle vice too many wires under the door sill area. Was not sure if enough room.

Duramax Dave

I bet your exactly right. I had kinda forgotten about the fact that the chimes and such go through the stereo... If you do change the way you have it setup now and like it better, let us know. I'm doing quite a bit of planning for my stereo while I wait to get the car.

cmb13

The blue wire is the remote turn on that comes from the head unit via the PAC unit Others have reported problems when using it; may not shut off the amps properly. I haven't tried it, but as above I might experiment with it.

The wires can be run throught the center console, or under it, and under the carpet to the rear. I wanted to go along the drivers side, however, to keep them as far from the power / ground as possible, thus minimizing the chance of engine noise. There is plenty of room, just requires a little fishing b/c of the emergency door release lever.