Audio install guide

ICB · Post by **ICB** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:16 pm

Following on from my posts on this thread:

Do you have these speakers?

and Griffin's request for further info when available...

We picked up our Bongo on Saturday, at long last. Generally very happy with it, but that's another story.

Anyway, on the audio front my findings so far are much as suspected, i.e.:

- The front speakers are 150mm diameter circular (6") which is an uncommon size but some component and coaxial speakers are available which will fit directly into the standard mounting pods, albeit with new holes being screwed into the plastic (just use self-tappers). Mounting depth is severely limited (under 2 inches) without cutting away plastics from the rear of the door panel and messing about with extra MDF in the mounts, maybe even cutting away some metal from the door itself. I’m expecting this to be the biggest pain in the whole deal.

- The rear speakers are 150mm x 200mm (6"x8") which is an unusual size but often used by Ford and Mazda so again there are some speakers available e.g. the Pioneer TS-H683s I bought off ebay. Mounting depth is not an issue but speakers with very large diameter magnets may cause an issue.

- All the factory speakers are nasty paper cone jobs rated at 25W DIN. Highly chuckable IMO. The factory 6x8s weigh 400g each, the Pioneers 1030g. Likewise the factory wiring is horrible thin stuff and should be replaced with something meatier (I'm only bothering on the front though as I'm lazy).

So far I have removed both rear panels (we have a split third row which makes it fairly easy) lined the body panels immediately behind the speakers with some B&Q sealing tape (cheap vibration damper). The fixing clips from the trim panels do indeed ping off all over the place and need careful herding. The trim panels themselves come with foam padding to stop them rattling around too much and there is a bit of sound proofing on the wheel arches and lower part of the body panels; bit of a token effort though.

I also did a bit of basic "winterizing" by lining all accessible panelling with left over Thermawrap that was used to make some silver screens, which should also help reduce vibration.

The screws mounting the rear speakers to their metal frames were quite corroded in. I suggest you give them a good dose of WD40 and leave them for an hour or two before going near them with a screwdriver else you run the risk of messing the heads up and having to drill them out.

My plans changed when I realised the fronts were 6" circular and the rears 6"x8"; I've dropped the Pioneers in the rear and ordered a pair of Infinity 6010i components from ebay for less than half RRP (I think someone else on BF went for the same). These are good speakers but apparently a little bright in the high end for some tastes but this will probably suit the Bongo quite well as it's quite a noisy vehicle when cruising. I'm not going to bother fitting the Kenwoods as they're too big for the area in the roof where the roof vents are.

I'm very pleased with the Panasonic CQ-C5303N head unit. It has a host of good features and a remote for under £90 inc. P&P. Some of the features I didn't know about but was pleased to find:

- 4x20W RMS (drives the Pioneers fairly well considering)
- 2 pairs of pre outs, front and rear
- aux in (just get a 1.5mm mini jack to phono lead and plug it in here to connect an -external MP3 player)
- lots of SQ options (+/-12dB at loads of frequency points, 5 savable presets, several default ones, basically a nice EQ)
- selectable colour display red/green
- multi-level tiltable panel (fairly useless in a Bongo but fun!)

I’ll add some pictures later.

For other audio related info see these threads:
Speakers..........help,please
Rear speakers.....
Door speakers
Just fitted a great inexpensive CD/tuner head unit
Connecting stereo to leisure battery with switch accessible from rear
standard ISO wiring diagram (external link)
More on ISO wiring (external link)

and the members' audio fact sheet (which can of course be updated with any of the info in this thread if Ian thinks it's useful). The best car audio forum is talkaudio

Cheers,

Paul (ICB)

bigdaddycain · Post by **bigdaddycain** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:25 pm

Thanks for the tips Paul, i really must get round to replacing the rear speakers one day, i fitted some 6 1/2" sony explods into the front doors a few years back, which seem to be holding up well,but i never did get round to upgrading the rears.

As a further tip, i have used quite successfully in the past a very cheap alternative to dynamat... A bitumen based "flashing" used in roofing,it can be purchased in sheets from B&Q etc, but for a fraction of the cost of proper dynamat, it has a self adhesive backing,little to no odour,and can be contoured nicely to awkward shapes after playing the hair dryer over it for a few minutes.

A much cheaper (yet, as effective) alternative to "pukka" sound deadening

Peg leg Pete · Post by **Peg leg Pete** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:39 pm

Good tips chaps

ICB · Post by **ICB** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:21 pm

bigdaddycain wrote: As a further tip, i have used quite successfully in the past a very cheap alternative to dynamat... A bitumen based "flashing" used in roofing,it can be purchased in sheets from B&Q etc, but for a fraction of the cost of proper dynamat, it has a self adhesive backing,little to no odour,and can be contoured nicely to awkward shapes after playing the hair dryer over it for a few minutes.

A much cheaper (yet, as effective) alternative to "pukka" sound deadening

That sounds much better that the silicon based sealant tape I was using, nice one

Griffin · Post by **Griffin** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:48 pm

Thanks ICB, I've been waiting for your post with additional info. I've looked at the head unit you have suggested and that with ipod kit is under £120 so I am seriously tempted. Bit disappointed by your findings with the speakers, looks like a tricky(ish) job to replace, I'll add it to my list of things to tinker with.

Thanks for the update, let us know how you get on.

ICB · Post by **ICB** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:48 pm

Finally got the pics together for an update

Here's the near side factory 150mm x 200mm rear speaker with the trim panel removed (easy job), offside is mounted in exactly the same sort of bracket, there's a third hex bolt below the speaker, I think they're 11mm iirc, and there are no nuts to catch

The front speakers eventually shoe-horn in with some MDF fabrication and plastic hacking as described by scubakeefy in the Speakers...help,please thread.

Here's a pic of the Infinity 6010CS woofer mounted to the door and tweeter mounted to the dash, you can just see the MDF mount and the plastic hacked away from the door card (not in the full oval though as you're blocked by the door storage pocket which is why 150x200s would be a bad idea here)...

As You've Been Bongod said 6.5" speakers fit but it's tight...

The tweeters are easy to mount where I put them, you just mark the spot, make a hole with an awl or small crosshead screwdriver and then drill it out to allow room for the cable to pass through. It's worth connecting all the speaker wire that will run to the crossover up to the tweeter first so it can all be poked through to make it easier to find and pull from the other side. The only tricky bit is screwing down the mounting pod for which you'll need a very short screwdriver or one that works on a ratchet at a 90deg angle. Of course you could always mount the tweeters in the door card but I reckoned that would be more fiddly.

The standard factory black plastic mounting pods need a rim of plastic about 3mm deep cut away all around them which isn't hard to do with a hacksaw, especially once it gets hot, as they can just been unscrewed and taken out. They can then be filed nice and flat using a rasp, there's already a foam strip to the rear of them where they meet the door metal and you can add some between the MDF and pod and/or MDF and speaker as required. You can use the pod as a template for cutting a ring of MDF very easily and the speaker to mark the screw holes on the MDF then drill through the MDF into plastic with a nice thin drill bit (without the speakers in the vicinity!). I also put a couple of screws through from the back of the pod into the MDF because I'm a bit anal like that

Here's the inside of the driver's door card with the grill and plastic still in place, the plastic has to be pretty well hacked away as can be seen in above picture and the grill has to have the grid of diamond shaped plastic chopped away.

I mounted my crossovers in the footwell behind the central binnacle where they just wedged in nicely without the need for any screwing in place.

The amp is in the ususal place above the glovebox on the large metal crash bar, as can just be seen in this picture of the HU (gold-coloured metal on left, resting on a board covered in grey foam rubber to stop it sliping and rattling, held in place by some large zip ties).

Finally here's a picture of the factory front speaker alongside the Pioneer 150x200s I put in the rear...

The factory speakers weigh 400g each, the Pioneers are 1030g.

At the same time I took a feed from the leisure battery to the mini-fusebox under the bonnet and ran both HU power feeds and amp power feed from it. There's a 25a fuse under the bonnet, a 20a fuse before the amp, a 20a fuse in the amp, a 10a fuse before the HU and a 15a fuse in the HU (it won't blow the 10a as it's only running one set of speakers). There's also a 1a fuse between the HU and amp on the remote lead (should really be a 0.5a fuse but didn't have one).

The end result sounds very good in front or rear, bass is better than expected without a sub. The 200W Maystar amp (£15 s/hand) drives the Inifinities very well as they're pretty sensitive (93dB iirc)

The Inifinity tweeters are very bright and I'd advise wiring them to the -3dB connection on the crossover and then turning the treble down slightly at the HU if mounting them high if you go for the same speakers (can be had for £35+ postage on ebay, RRP £130).

Phew, hope this is of some use.

Cheers,

Paul

ParkerNorris · Post by **ParkerNorris** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:08 pm

I recognise it as english, but can't understand a word you're saying...

storm · Post by **storm** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:36 pm

ParkerNorris wrote:I recognise it as english, but can't understand a word you're saying...

Me too ! I have a nice Alpine Stereo I want to fit ..I'm sick of classic gold ( the only station we can find ! ) but OH works all the hours god sends
( He forgets he has a wife ! ) so want to fit it and suprise him .....So if anyone near me wants to help I will reward with beer or cash ..whatever suits !

storm · Post by **storm** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 2:16 pm

storm wrote:
ParkerNorris wrote:I recognise it as english, but can't understand a word you're saying...
Me too ! I have a nice Alpine Stereo I want to fit ..I'm sick of classic gold ( the only station we can find ! ) but OH works all the hours god sends
( He forgets he has a wife ! ) so want to fit it and suprise him .....So if anyone near me wants to help I will reward with beer or cash ..whatever suits !

Forgot to say ..I would travel to you if not to far !

Starbangledspanner · Post by **Starbangledspanner** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 5:42 pm

I have the same Infinity speakers and mounted the tweeters using a no nails type product to glue them in roughly the same position as ICB. I got the wires up the gap there so no drilling required. I too have mine on -3db on the crossover.
I also removed the old speaker mounts and made a new mount to take the Infinitys mid/bass speaker so that the door card looks untouched and the speaker grill looks as new. I did however cut out the speaker hole in the door card which meant removing the grill (chisel from back to take off glued rivet things) and the had to silicon it back in place as I took out two of the rivets of the grill mount. When I ever get a day off I'll try and take some snaps, I've got to take one off as I'm also using flashing tape as a cheap sound proofing, done one door so one to go. Bloody knuckles job though.

Geoff

ICB · Post by **ICB** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 8:05 am

Smart move on the mounting Starbangledspanner, esp. if you think you might want to sell the Bongo without the audio install. Our Bongo came with stick on clips and other stuff all over the dash and they've all come off and cleaned up nicely.

I've now siliconed my grills on as well, easiest and cheapest thing to use. Agree about lining the doors, no fun at all for some with two big fat plates like me.

bigdaddycain · Post by **bigdaddycain** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 8:43 am

May i congratulate you I.C.B. on giving me the push to fit the stereo gear that i had earmarked for installing into my car, (not the bongo)but i am endeavoring to get as much fitted before i go on my hols...

That means... replace the head unit, (a budget sony cd player) for a top of the range, sony cd/dvd head unit with motorized screen, its a reference type, with loads of gizmos on it. Kenwood 7x10's in the back,sony component mids in the front doors,with tweeters high up on the pillar, (i may flush fit them if i find the time).

The components and the 7x10's will drive through a sony xplod 4ch amp, (which i'm hoping i can link the other dvd player to

)

Finishing with a 12" sub in the boot, which would be powered through a fusion 2 ch amp, running through a distribution block to seperate the power for each individual amp.

Ill leave head unit powered by the leisure battery,(so there is a low current draw when the engine is off) but i'll take the power for the amps to the starter battery..... Good luck me!

I'll post on how much ive got done before the day's out later.....

ICB · Post by **ICB** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 10:38 am

Sounds like a full on install there BDC, will be very interested to hear how it goes and see some pics, nice one.

bigdaddycain · Post by **bigdaddycain** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 10:48 am

Will do, i just re-read my post and noticed that i didn't make it clear that i had bought the stereo equipment for my car, but have decided to install it in the bongo INSTEAD....

I'd better get of the forum, and get out there if i'm to get owt done eh?

ICB? you haven't still got that flare in the holder have you mate?

I hope you dont carry passengers that smoke

Ill take some pics as i go along....

(i wonder why my previous post appeared twice?

)

ICB · Post by **ICB** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 11:40 am

Best of luck mate, hope the weather's better over your way than it is here, lashing it down.

Definitely a non-smoking Bongo, the Mrs and I quit for New Year in 05 and while we try not to be boring old farts about it the smell rather does us in (I still miss it if I'm honest and am not too impressed with the 3 stone + I've gained since

- perhaps I'll take it up again when I'm 64)

I didn't know it was a flare until our owner's manual came through, quite an amusing novelty item and I'm sure it will come in handy if we ever get lost at sea. (Bongo chitty chitty Bongo)