Tech

Let's face it, today's factory entertainment systems are a bit better that your daddy's old cassette deck and tuner, but with today's tastes and technology, it's real easy to get caught up in wanting to upgrade to more power in the form of boomin' sounds and extra flash, in this case, adding video to the mix. Well, with the help of a bunch of Pioneer gear and the talented hands of Ramses Sanchez, proprietor of Winning Edge Customs in Buena Park, California, we begin to remove the "guts" of the factory sound system and transform the sexy sedan into something a bit more appealing.

In this first part, we'll cover the building of the subwoofer enclosure which will be home to three 10-inch pounders, replace the stock 6x9 drivers that handle the rear fill and touch upon the fabrication of the custom door pods that'll house the satellites in both the front and rear doors. In the next issue, we'll cover the design of the amp rack, wiring the system head unit and the placement of those sweet video monitors throughout the custom ride.

1. Take a last look at the trunk. The air system will be relocated and the panels will be removed for the new layout of the sound system.		2. The spare and car jack is removed from the trunk before we start redirecting the air system and audio equipment.		3. The Altima interior is just about gutted and the rear package tray is removed so we can place the 6x9 separates for rear fill.
4. Ramses checks to see if the Pioneer speakers are in working order!		5. As you can see, the speakers fit perfectly in the stock locations.		6. Once the proper measurements are calculated, Ramses and Scot start to build the subwoofer enclosure by cutting up MDF board and gluing together the sides, front and back pieces.
7. A staple gun is then used to make sure that the components hold secure while the wood glue dries.		8. Holes are then drilled and the Scosche wiring is threaded into each sub chamber.		9. The front of the box is then measured out as to where the subwoofers will be located along the front plain.
10. The center of each cutout is calculated through a series of measurements and a makeshift compass is created out of cardboard.		11. Silicone is applied to all of the connecting corners and inner edges.		12. Wood glue is then applied to the enclosure and the actual panel that would hold the three 10-inch subs.
13. The staple gun is whipped out and put to use to secure the two units together.		14. Ramses sprays adhesive to both the box and the speaker cloth.		15. The excess cloth is trimmed off before the box is placed in the Altima.
16. The box is secured to the car by using self-tapping screws through the inside of the box, and then each speaker is wired using Scosche wiring.		17. The box is just about complete at this end, but there's a lot more to happen on the other side of the enclosure. Keep an eye out in the next issue of this audio/video build, freaks, it should be a sweet end to this bumpin' system.