Sounds good! Pimping a 2007 Scooby STi with a R15 000 sound system

Deprecated: Function split() is deprecated in /home/subaru/public_html/wp-content/plugins/google-analytics-for-wordpress/googleanalytics.php on line 481

Deprecated: Function split() is deprecated in /home/subaru/public_html/wp-content/plugins/google-analytics-for-wordpress/googleanalytics.php on line 481

Deprecated: Function split() is deprecated in /home/subaru/public_html/wp-content/plugins/google-analytics-for-wordpress/googleanalytics.php on line 481

Deprecated: Function split() is deprecated in /home/subaru/public_html/wp-content/plugins/google-analytics-for-wordpress/googleanalytics.php on line 481

Deprecated: Function split() is deprecated in /home/subaru/public_html/wp-content/plugins/google-analytics-for-wordpress/googleanalytics.php on line 481

Deprecated: Function split() is deprecated in /home/subaru/public_html/wp-content/plugins/google-analytics-for-wordpress/googleanalytics.php on line 481

Deprecated: Function split() is deprecated in /home/subaru/public_html/wp-content/plugins/google-analytics-for-wordpress/googleanalytics.php on line 481

This is a reader submission to SubaruBlog.co.za. We welcome all Subaru-related content – here’s your chance to show off your Scooby! Simply contact us.

By Malan Strydom

The day I got my 2007 Subaru WRX STI was one of my most memorable to date. Upon the delivery inspection, all I could see was my very own rally based super machine, a car I had dreamt of for ten years. It was perfect, in every way, it was more than I had imagined it to be. My previous car was a Honda Jazz, so my brand new Scooby was the pinnacle of all that is car to me.

As the euphoria of having my new car wore off, I started paying attention to the little details. One thing that left much to be desired was the factory speaker system, this was supposed to be an “upgraded” 6 speaker system… When the car was stationary, it sounded quite good for a factory system, enough mid bass, fine sounds was dealt with adequately be the stock tweeters and the rear stage filled in nicely.

However, when I would start to drive around, the mid bass disappeared, which is understandable to some extent as the road noise and vibrations running through the car would eliminate some of it, but surely not almost all of it? It sounded cheap, and whenever I tried to set the bass higher on the head unit, the speakers would start to distort from over excursion.

I wanted to upgrade the system, but I wanted to do it perfectly the first time around, build a reliable good sounding system with some extra bass and much better sound quality. I planned to do the install myself and started to do some research. I wanted the best quality speakers available, and I knew the head unit would not deliver enough power so an amplifier was next on the list. I wanted bass, but a subwoofer would take up all of my trunk space, make my spare wheel inaccessible, and with sedans, the most of the bass stays in the trunk and surely would rattle my prized rally wing to pieces…

As I planned on doing this to the highest standard, Dynamat was one of the most important components of my planned system, I opted for Dynamat Extreme. “Dynamat is a thin, flexible, easy to cut and mold sheet that actually stops noise causing resonance and vibration, by using visco-elastic qualities that promote vibro-acoustic energy conversion. In short, that means noise becomes silent energy. “ -http://www.dynamat.com/index.html

My car audio list grew longer and longer, by the time I had finished planning the
components needed, my list consisted of the following;

• 6.5” Front split system
• 5.25” Rear coaxial speakers
• 10” Sub woofer
• Amplifier
• Dynamat
• Wiring
• Wood
• Fasteners, glue, carpet etc.

I decided that Rockford Fosgate would best suit my needs.

I also calculated that I would have to prepare myself to part with about R12000.00! And that was only hardware, not considering the time it would take. Next up was all the how to questions: how to strip the doors? How to strip the dash trim panels? How to make the larger diameter, deeper speakers fit? How to install Dynamat? How to do the wiring?

I did the homework and came across these websites explaining everything in detail:

• Stripping the doors
• Stripping the trim
  (The above also includes all the wiring diagrams in detail)
• Speaker spacers
• Installing Dynamat

I decided to strip one side of the door panels, to see what was in store for me, and to do some measurements. This is what I found:

Front Doors

• Stock speaker diameter: 145mm
• Stock speaker depth: 32mm
• Stock power (max): 30W
• Available hole diameter: +/-150mm
• Available hole depth (window down): +/-37mm

Rear Doors

• Stock speaker diameter: 115mm
• Stock speaker depth: 42mm
• Stock power (max): 30W
• Available hole diameter: +/-125mm
• Available hole depth (window down): +/-100mm

I also saw that there was a ski latch that opened up a passage through to the trunk from inside the car, I decided there and then that I would mount a subwoofer right behind the latch hole, this way I could get all the bass to play straight into the car.

I started to buy the parts individually whenever I had some spare cash lying around. It was at this stage that I realized it might be a good idea to go to a reputable car audio fitment centre and get a quote to have the entire install done professionally.

The results were surprising, it wasn’t that much more expensive than I had originally planned, I would get a guarantee on all of the work, and the best of all, these guys are Subaru approved! This means that my warranty and service plan would be left uncompromised, with the exception of all aftermarket parts of course. Auto Sound Engineering (ASE) owned by Subaru guru Jan Steyn, was the fitment centre so highly recommended by all in the know, however due to their popularity, I was on a one-month waiting list to get my car booked in.

The 30 days went by very slowly and on the day I booked my car in, I went over all the requirements of my system. I wanted the car to look stock on the inside, I wanted the absolute minimum bass in the trunk, with the spare wheel fully accessible, and the subwoofer playing through the ski latch. I also wanted a way to switch off the subwoofer completely if I needed to.

Jannie from ASE sorted me out and saw to my needs immediately. The level of their workmanship and quality is second to none. They fitted everything the way I asked, with a bass gain control hidden in the ashtray, ported sub box tuned to spec behind the ski latch housing a 10” Rockford Fosgate Punch subwoofer, Dynamat in all of the doors (inside and outside skins), a set of 6.5” Rockford Fosgate Punch splits in the front doors, a set of 5.25” Rockford Fosgate Punch coaxial in the rear doors, and a trunk display that leaves you breathless!

The finished product cost me around R15 000. I assure you, it sounds just as good as it looks! This was worth every cent and every bit of effort. If you want to upgrade the speaker system in your Impreza/STI and you would like to do it yourself, I hope this guide helped. But if you are willing to spend some money on a decent install, Auto Sound Engineering is the place to go, trust me. Contact them on 012 333 9588 - they are situated in Pretoria, in the Koedoespoort area (Eland street).

UPDATE: Malan has upgraded his sound system and effectively turned it into a 2.5L Turbo-Charged Subaru Home Theatre System by installing a new head unit, iPod interface and a rear view camera!