DIY: Custom speaker pods and tweeter mounts for my new components

[Black Magic]

Hey guys,

I've been working on making tweeter and speaker pods for my SR components over the weekend. I finished everything Monday morning, but I didn't want to post anything until I listened to them for a while first.

This is my first attempt at making something like this, so the outcome wasn't the greatest but considering the circumstances, I'm still pleased with the way it turned out.

First I had to take out the a-pillars








Then I had to make a mold of them for the tweeter pods:









I started making the mold using fiberglass. I just followed the instructions by mixing the hardener and resin and then I applied 3 layers of fiberglass matting:









While waiting for the fiberglass to cure, I went to admire my SR components:



*drool*


I waited until the next morning. I took the mold off the a-pillars and cut them to my desired size. As you can tell from the pictures, I used a lot of resin.







Then I mixed body filler and fiberglass resin/hardener to apply over the now cured fiberglass







I did the same to both a-pillars:





While I was waiting for the mixture to dry, I started the speaker pods. I bought an extra pair of speaker grills for my Civic in case I ever wanted to go back to stock. I started by making sure they fit and cutting a small adapter for the drivers.













Next, I began gluing the adapter to the speaker grill which I cut out to fit the drivers. I had to test the location of the speakers in different places until I found the right position. After I found the right position, I used tape and glue to hold it in place. Then I used some small wooden supports and glued everything to place.









Then I used a stretchy cloth to cover the speaker pods. I didn't cover the middle since I was going to be cutting it out anyways (for the driver):







Next, I applied the resin/hardener mix to the cloth. I applied 2 or 3 layers and waited for it to harden:







While it was drying I moved back to the a-pillars and essentially did the same thing for the tweeters. It took some playing around and a lot of tape for me to find what I thought was the most ideal place for the tweeter. After I found that location, I used plastic can lids for tweeter mounts:









Once I finalized the location of the tweeter, I glued the plastic lids to the a-pillars:







Next, I used the same cloth to cover the pods:









Now it was time to apply the hardener/resin mix just like I did for the speaker pods:







As you can tell from the pictures, I didn't stretch the material enough, so it began sagging a little when I applied the resin. I waited for it to dry and then I used bodyfiller to even everything down (as you can tell I used too much hardener):




After I sanded it, it became a little more even:




Now both the speaker pods and a-pillars are at the same step of the process :)


It was now time to apply a coat of bodyfiller and resin/hardener for both the speaker pods and tweeter mounts. You might have also noticed that I cut the a-pillars a little shorter:











When that cured, I put sealant around the inside of the speaker pods to make them as airtight as possible:







Now the fun part! ... sanding. This probably took the longest. I began by using a dremel to cut/sand the ends of the speaker pods so they fit in the stock location. Then I began with 40 grit sand paper and sanded everything down to 600 grit. I applied some filler as needed and kept sanding.



















After all the sanding was done, I started applying multiple coasts of scratch filler and primer. I applied thin coats but put many layers until it was very smooth:







It was now Saturday night. I went out, but as soon as I returned, (it was about 1AM) I started applying coats of paint.







The next morning, I applied a few more layers of paint and 2 thin coats of clear coat (after the paint dried):

[Black Magic]

As soon as it dries, its time install everything! I started by taking out my momo components, door panels, and coaxial speakers:











I used two plastic cottage cheese bins to make a small enclosure for the drivers in the door. I only put a little bit of dynamat around them and put some polyfill in there. As soon as I get some more, I will do the entire doors:











Now it was the moment of truth! ... fitting the speaker pods and drivers! You can clearly see the size of the driver enclosure in the first picture, I also added some additional polyfill:





It fits!







I did the same to both doors and then I moved on to the tweeters. Since I didn't finish the tweeter pods properly, I will have to do that some other time (probably when I re-do my trunk). I'm thinking of covering it with suede or leather.



Perfect fit!






I fit the other side as well, and put the door panels, stock kick panels and everything back. As much as I liked my Q-logic kicks, its nice having a little more leg room and my dead pedal back :)

As you can probably tell, I didn't do such a great job with the speaker pods and tweeter mounts/a-pillars... But given the fact that its my first time, I'm still pretty pleased with the outcome.


Before:





Finished product!




The four channel amp in the middle is powering the front components:




Old momo's taking a rest before I give them to my brother:





Okay, now my opinion on the SR components, In case you can't tell, I have the SR6500's. I was so excited to turn on my stereo and listen to these babies... I kid you not, my heart was beating so fast and I just kept praying that I didn't mess anything up. I've had these components since around October and I've only installed them now, so needless to say I was very happy, and some might even say emotional at the same time :)

As soon as I started listening to some music, I was sooo amazed... especially by the tweeters. These tweeter are unbelievable. I honestly couldn't believe it. I don't know if it was more because of the tweeters or their new location, but they sounded amazing. They were very detailed, smooth and crisp unlike the momo tweeters which I found to be just a tad bit too bright. A lot of my favorite songs are by Metallica and I just couldn't stop listening. I must have sat there for at least 30 min on my driveway just listening to music. The drivers - even though they aren't broken in - sound very smooth as well. They blend in very nicely with my SR subs and the have a decent amount of punch too them. I expect it to be a little better once they are fully broken in, but I'm pleased with the way they perform now. At first, I didn't really know what to expect, but man, Polk really pulled through on this one. I love my old momo's a lot but these are just in a completely different class. I especially love love love this tweeter soooooo much.

Anyways, enough rambling from me for now. This is a long enough post as it is. I hope you guys enjoyed it and find it a little useful... pardon me once again for the sub-par craftsmanship. Feel free to ask me any questions!

[Black Magic]

Since my finishing looked like crap, I re-finished the speaker pods with black leather on Thursday. Hopefully I'll do the same to the a-pillars soon. The black suede I found I didn't like so I got some tan instead... I thought it would have matched better with my interior, but it didn't so I ended up using the black leather. I think it looks much better than before now (if I may say so myself). If anyone has any fiberglass/painting experience, please give me some tips on how to imporove. I want to do similar work in the future.








Oh, and if anyone's got any opinions on how to improve my painting, please please let me know, as I'm going to have to do it in the future when I fit the alpine w-505 into my dash.

Thanks in advance!

vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OztYvOPa7QM

[NYGraFFit1]

wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwww, this is fucking dope!, alot of work went into this, too much work for m to try lol,
but damn! props yo mad props.


id take the pods down, sand them down about 3 times, then prime & paint again to smooth it out.

the only thing i actually dont like is the way the door speakers pop out so much, but if you we able to make it so instead of leather it the same plastic on the door it would be ok.

[lawrenceashley]

Wow thats alot of work. They look good Why did you get rid of the old speakers, they were just fine.

[TomTomTuning]

Props for the work!!!! I like it when ppl do stuff like this..

Its just not my cup of tea..

[Black Magic]

Thanks for your comments, guys

Originally Posted by NYGraFFit1

wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwww, this is fucking dope!, alot of work went into this, too much work for m to try lol,
but damn! props yo mad props.


id take the pods down, sand them down about 3 times, then prime & paint again to smooth it out.

the only thing i actually dont like is the way the door speakers pop out so much, but if you we able to make it so instead of leather it the same plastic on the door it would be ok.

Thanks for your input. Yeah, I've had a number of people tell me the speakers stick out too much. I fooled around with placement for a little while, and I found them to sound best when they were in a position similar to that. Since I'm a big SQ fan, thats what I had to do :)

I've spent so much time sanding those tweeter pods and trying to get them even, especially where the tweeters mount. It looks so damn ugly. I just can't get it done no matter how hard I try, I think I need a few other layers of filler/resin. I need a lot more practice, thats for sure. I'll be covering the tweeter pods in leather as soon as I find the time (hopefully on Monday). Thanks again for the feedback.

Originally Posted by lawrenceashley

Wow thats alot of work. They look good Why did you get rid of the old speakers, they were just fine.

Thanks :) Yeah, the old speakers looked fine, and as much as I loved them, they just don't sound as good as these. I'm a bit of an audiophile so I notice the subtle differences. These new components have more kick to their midbass and the tweeters are soooo smooth and clean. Plus I promised my younger brother that I'd give my old speakers to him.

[lkailburn]

wow a lot of work when into this. good job on trying something new i give you credit for that. but damn your fiberglass and bondo skills suck ass dude hahaha. it's ok, it was your first time. next time aroudn you'll be better at it hopefully lol.

enjoy the speakers and thanks for providing this greatly detailed/pictured writeup

-Luke

[NYGraFFit1]

wet sand that bitch, go up progressively from grit to grit and do it again, lots and lots of man hours are gonna go into sanding if you want it to be smooth since the fiberglass work sucked. just man up, get different grip papers and take a day off from work and start sanding my friend, other than that, again. good job

[Black Magic]

Originally Posted by lkailburn

wow a lot of work when into this. good job on trying something new i give you credit for that. but damn your fiberglass and bondo skills suck ass dude hahaha. it's ok, it was your first time. next time aroudn you'll be better at it hopefully lol.

enjoy the speakers and thanks for providing this greatly detailed/pictured writeup

-Luke

Hey Luke, I recognize you from honda-acura! Anyways, thanks for the feedback. Yeah, you know what they say, "practice makes perfect". Clearly I need a lot of practice, though I often put too much hardener so it'd get all putty-like on me.

Originally Posted by NYGraFFit1

wet sand that bitch, go up progressively from grit to grit and do it again, lots and lots of man hours are gonna go into sanding if you want it to be smooth since the fiberglass work sucked. just man up, get different grip papers and take a day off from work and start sanding my friend, other than that, again. good job

Thanks for the tips man. I'll definitely take that into consideration

[lkailburn]

next time take a look at the fiberglass cloth. experiment with that a little. you'll have to do more layers, but you'll end up with a much smoother and more precise peice.

goodluck!

-Luke

[kaace]

the sanding part is the worst...here's what i did with my tweeters in my civic...

[TomTomTuning]

I just got Power Mirrors and the Tweeter pod things that go on the door. Love em!!!

[Genuine Rolla]

well done...!!!

[postal21]

Good Game 800 dollar component speakers... o_O

Ive got Polks in my car, but just regular coax. im too poor. lol.