The greatest car modification--Car Audio?
So what is the very first thing you would improve on your new vehicle? (New, of course, meaning a broad range of things to a group like us Car Lust folk.) For me, it is the sound system. There are many varied ways in which you can modify and personalize your ride these days. While the sound system may not be my personal favorite mod if money isn’t a concern, the reality is, for me at least, that money is always a concern.
Every vehicle I have had since my very first 1979 Toyota Corolla has received a stereo upgrade shortly after I have acquired the vehicle. In the early days it was a cassette player so I could plug my Discman in to listen to tunes. Then, shortly thereafter, I installed some new speakers. But these weren’t just any speakers, these were home speakers, still in the box. I was broke and looking for more volume, and honestly, I didn’t know any better I had no clue about impedance and ohms and wire gauge, I just wanted more bump. Of course having speaker boxes sitting in your back seat is inconvenient for carrying passengers; since the speakers weren’t affixed to anything, stopping fast became an adventure in dodge-speaker, the cousin to dodge-ball.
My Frankensteining of vehicles with audio components didn’t stop there.
A few cars later came my beloved 75 Chevy Impala. This started out with a new cassette player, but this time it had RCA outs. I was looking forward to the day where I would be able to afford a sub-woofer and amplifier to make the thing go boom, but in the meantime I worked my way through the car replacing all the speakers and wiring. First, I put an improved speaker in the center of the dash. Then, wanting better stereo sound in front, I added some 5¼ component speakers up front. Then new 6x9’s in the rear deck. Eventually I added a subwoofer & amplifier in the trunk.
Now, you might think I’d stop there, but that wasn’t enough. Here I had one of the largest land barges on the road, with a trunk that could comfortably sleep three. Always being one to experiment, I decided that the whole trunk would be my sound chamber for my sub-woofer. I proceeded to seal any air leaks in the trunk, sprayed everything with sound deadening, and then cut a hole in the rear deck and dropped in a 12-inch sub. Remarkably, it sounded pretty good. It wasn’t until after this project that I bothered to learn about sound dynamics and many other things important to making a stereo sound good. But I was happy; you could hear me rollin’ two blocks away.
The vehicle I have put the most time, money and love into, though, is my 1988 Chevy S-10. I have an extended cab that over the years has held little other than stereo equipment. My truck has seen a half-dozen stereos, ranging from cassette to drop-down CD players (I’ve yet to move up the DVD players). I have run various configurations of multiple subs and amps. I have replaced each and every part many times over--high quality dash speakers, rear pillar speakers wiring, etc. I even removed a jump seat and added sound deadening in the hole that created and built a custom sub enclosure that would extend into this new-found space. You name it, I’ve tried it, to the point where today the dash is falling apart from being taken apart so many times.
But no matter what, when I get a new ride, it gets tunes. And for me, that makes this the single most important upgrade. The truck can run rough and need a tune-up, but the sound will come first. It might need tires, but I need my tunes. The window is cracked? With just a bit more bass we can get it to run all the way across. What's that you say? I can't hear you, but I'm turning it up anyhow!
--Big Chris
jjd241 on November 07, 2009 at 07:06 AM
Here is a restomod audio system to lust after...just watch those bumps!
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9687999-1.html
Bob Rahm on November 07, 2009 at 07:38 AM
Heated seats and cruise control rank higher than audio for me.
TurboDave on November 07, 2009 at 08:25 AM
I, too, started audio modifications with a Toyota Corolla - a '72. BUT, that was 8-track baby!! The 5 1/4" door speakers would pulse the whole car. I'm not clear that audio is the greatest modification or feature, though I have to admit when I think of selling my current ride the 12-speaker audio system does arise as one of its best features (factory system, no mods). I would like to have MP3 input, though.
Mark S. on November 07, 2009 at 09:18 AM
The only modifications I made to my latest new car, a 2009 Yaris, was those red and green felt circles that go on the battery terminals to prevent corrosion and some rubber floor mats.
I would have liked to put on some seat covers of some sort, but I am concerned that would keep the air bags inside the seat from working correctly.
On my 1986 pick-up that I bought new in '86 has never had a stereo installed in it.
Anthony Cagle on November 07, 2009 at 09:59 AM
"Here I had one of the largest land barges on the road, with a trunk that could comfortably sleep three."
Heh. There's a photo somewhere of three fully grown college men (one of which was me) all lying down comfortably in the trunk of an old Bonneville putting in stereo speakers.
Audio is one of those restomods I don't think really detracts from an original. That was one thing meant by the manufacturer to be modified or changed. I've never been much for putting huge and expensive systems in my cars, mostly because I don't drive them enough to warrant the expense.
I think this might be one area where amateur installation has gotten a bit easier, except for the in-dash units. Speakers use to be kind of a bear to put in, requiring wire stripping and what-not. When I put new speakers in the Spousal Unit's 1996 Civic it was pretty simple to just unplug the old and plug in the new.
That Car Guy on November 07, 2009 at 10:47 AM
Way back in the day, a bud bought a new 1977 Malibu Classic. It was stripped, except for the nice trim. It had absolutely no radio components at all, except the antenna was there.
So we went to work one day. Pulled the dash and installed a center speaker (And clock in the instrument cluster), put two 6x9 speakers under the rear deck, ran and hid all the wires, and put the radio in the dash. In the end, it looked and sounded as good or better than anything that rolled out of Detroit, and the satisfaction we had for a job well done was "priceless."
Since many newer cars have their instrument panel pre-assembled before it's put into the car, these components aren't as easy to get to sometimes. I changed a radio in a girl's B-210, and it was a nightmare! The entire dash should have been removed for access to pull the radio out, but somehow we managed.
Cookie the Dog's Owner on November 07, 2009 at 12:00 PM
The infamous '78 Monza (http://www.carlustblog.com/2008/07/car-disgust--19.html) had only a pathetic AM radio and a single speaker. Given what was on the AM band in Youngstown in 1981, this was intolerable. I saved up from a summer job and put in a state-of-the-art AM/FM/Cassette unit and two 9" speakers on the doors. At least I now had something worth listening to while waiting for the tow truck.
Paul C. Perkins on November 07, 2009 at 01:02 PM
I belonged to a general Lotus List for awhile. It was overpopulated by people with more DOLLARS than SENSE. After about the two-hundredth posting from some Esprit S.4 pilot slavering over his sound sytem - I was moved to observe. . .
"What a pity it is that your Esprit provides such a boring driving experience that you have to have a sound system on board to match whatever is in you etertainment room at home . . "
That wasn't very warmlu recieved - but you know - the truth sometimes hurts. . .
Paul
1972 Lotus Elan Sprint DHC
Slick on November 07, 2009 at 03:17 PM
@Paul. i see where you are coming from, but i also have to add that most cars (Certainly all of mine) spend a large chunk of their time in traffic, where even a formula 1 car would be boring. This makes a nice in-car entertainment setup quite valuable. That said, i AM a p-plater and I DO drive a commodore (in case you wonder the stereotype here in australia is p-plater in a commodore with a big stereo, which I also have). Plus if you have a big fourdoor like me chillin on a hot day with the windows down and playing whatever music you listen to loudly kinda rules.
Brian DR1665 on November 07, 2009 at 05:46 PM
Funny. I was replacing a pair of blown stock speakers in the rear deck of my 92 Galant VR4 this afternoon (they were 18 years old and blown to hell). As I was climbing out of the trunk to look for my box of crimp terminals for the speaker wires, I thought, "This is stupid. They're just speakers." I climbed back in, cut the wires, and twisted the bare conductors around the posts of the dusty Jensens I got when I parted out another car.
I, too, spend a good amount of time in traffic every day. A little more than 2hrs a day, actually, but the music made by the engine, turbo, ans exhaust is always better, imo. As a performance gearhead, few things annoy me more than someone who can prattle on and on about the specific model numbers of his speakers, amp, and deck, but whose performance modifications consist of a cold air intake and a fart cannon.
On a small truck, though. Why not?
Chris Meirose on November 07, 2009 at 06:40 PM
I should add that for 6 years of my early professional career (previous career) I drove 50-60K per year in the center 2/3rds of South Dakota - translation - only country and NPR. I love NPR, but there are limits. And it pre-dated satellite radio. Then, as I worked my way through grad school I spent 60-90 minutes a day in my truck commuting to work/school, 6 days a week. So again, a good stereo was a must. Now I commute a whole 2 minutes to work, so it is less important, but I still gotta have my tunes!
--Big Chris
tigerstrypes on November 08, 2009 at 07:35 PM
Punks around here talk about sound system components as fluent as any regular language. Since it's something I dunno about, I get lost easily. I shudder at the thought of embarking on the task to change a speaker. I can already hear plastic bits and pieces breaking... *shudders*
Mark S., why the hell did you buy a Yaris, the gayest car EVER? If it is because you're poor and need basic transportation I can understand, but I swear that I won't never look at your name the same way again if you chose it for any other reason. Spend some unnecessary money on it and I swear to be pissed (nothing personal, it's just that I HATE Yaris)!
Roy on November 09, 2009 at 06:31 AM
"...you could hear me rollin’ two blocks away."
I understand the need to upgrade the sound system. I like nice tunes as well as anyone. But one of my pet peeves of the road are what I call the "boom cars".
You've heard them. They "boom" out their one note bass, rattling windows for, well, two blocks around. They disturb the peace, and force anyone within that two-block radius to have to put up with whatever choice of random noise the driver prefers.
Please. Tone it down. Sometimes quiet - or as quiet as the interior of an automobile can get - is what is preferred. Just because you like the latest from Ice T, doesn't mean everyone around you does - especially when it's blasted at you 3 db above the threshold of pain.
John B on November 10, 2009 at 10:26 AM
Roy..
Hear, Hear!!!
The other week a black Surburban pulls up next to me and I hear a series of thuds...I think something's wrong with my car (the engine blew? Flat tire?) so I crack the window and get blasted.
Come on people, is distrubing everyone else's peace that much fun?
I hate to sound like an old guy...but those idiots who like to rattle windows a block away need to grow up and spend their money on something more productive.
Sigivald on November 10, 2009 at 11:54 AM
To add to what Cookie said, Mercedes sedans* until 1977 (in the US) shipped with just a front center speaker as well - and I think the Becker head unit was AM-only. Definitely not "stereo"...
(* At least the non-S-class ones. I don't know about the w116 audio system, just the 114/115.)
You know you're comfortable working on a car when you're willing to cut holes in the rear deck with a jig saw to mount a pair of 6x9 speakers...
Robert on November 11, 2009 at 10:37 AM
I remember in high school, nobody cared about having the "coolest" car--we all wanted to have the loudest stereo with the best bass system. That's why I bought a 12" house subwoofer and hooked it up to my car. It was awesome.
Rob the S6 guy? on November 12, 2009 at 02:34 AM
I too, upgrade the sound system in everything I own. In my charger, it got a sears 8 track and new pioneer 6x9s. In my neon, I had high end headunits, amps, and replaced all the speakers. In my SVX, even better headunits, and even better speakers, with a 4 channel amp. And you know what I've noticed?
YOU DONT REALLY NEED A SUBWOOFER. This is what irritates me about most people who are "into car audio". They get a subwoofer/amp, and a headunit, and they hook it up to their stock system, with stock speakers. It's loud, it rattles, it's annoying, and it sounds like POOP. All the flimsy stock speakers are distorting, and it has no real midrange.
When you replace speakers, usually if they're "high performance" speakers, they are rated for a maximum of say...250 watts, or whatever. That's peak power handling. RMS would be like 75-125 watts or somewhere. Anyway, part of the way they make speakers able to handle more power is by stiffening the suspension, which controls the cone's movement more precisely. This keeps them from moving too far under high volumes. All the stuff done to them to keep them from distorting at higher volumes does another thing: It makes them less efficient, and harder to drive properly, ie, you need more power. Most aftermarket decks put out like 50 watts per channel PEAK, so the RMS wattage is more like 15-20 watts. This is NOT ENOUGH to drive these aftermarket speakers remotely well. By stepping up to a 4channel amp, and allowing something BEEFY to drive the speakers, you improve the sound quality TREMENDOUSLY. I had many people that thought both my Neon, and my SVX had a subwoofer, but my trunk was totally empty, and I had a system that sounded even BETTER than the "boom boom" type systems, for less money, without annoying my neighbors.
Chris Meirose on November 12, 2009 at 09:43 AM
Rob,
I agree with you up to the point of not need a sub. I need a sub. You can drive the best speakers on the market with the best amps on the market, but if you aren't cutting off your bass and separating it to a dedicated speaker (a sub) then you are losing sound range and sound quality (and in the same way you need tweeters!). There is a reason the speakers were created as they are - to play specific ranges of notes. No speaker plays the full range as well as multiple speakers splitting up the work. I've moved away from the as loud as I can get it, but I still need at least a 10" to fill in the bottom end.
Rob the Audi Guy on November 12, 2009 at 01:56 PM
Chris, I would agree with you if we were talking about HiFi. However, we're talking about a car, where there's a ton of road noise, wind noise, engine noise, and funky interior shapes and materials that make a truly HIGH FIDELITY listening experience rather impossible.
At home, yeah, definitely. I have a home built sub, dedicated amp, bass shakers on the couches, crazy center channel, etc. But in a car... you really just need a decent representation of all the frequencies, at around the same amplitude. I don't mean to plug any brand right now, but Alpine is doing something REALLY REALLY exciting. it's called IMPRINT, and the idea is that you hook up your deck, this IMPRINT processor, and then you plug in a laptop and an external 360 degree microphone to the processor. It then fires off a frequency sweep from each speaker individually. It listens, then CORRECTS each frequency response. Do your tweeters get a little loud at 13.2khz, but they're a little quiet at 11.9khz? Then it ramps down the tweeters at 13.2khz, but bumps them up at 11.9khz! It does this for EVERY DRIVER IN THE CAR, which theoretically would provide a completely FLAT frequency response!!!!!!! :D
It's fairly exciting.