2025 Maverick Build Log

[squirlz]

I piked up a pair of Morel Hybrid 6.5" drivers and a pair of Morel MT230 tweeters.

The VWB25.4 is not available separately from Morel as of yet. I decided to stick with the SB Acoustics SB10PGC21-4.

Working on the mounts for the tweeters. I didn't love the factory press fit holders. Designed and printed some baffles and locking rings. The baffles will be molded into the A pillar and the tweeter will fit in from the back.

Baffles and rings.

Front.

Rear.

Also made a mockup of the dash baffle.

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[squirlz]

Today was RCA day. The amp rack is in, pictures coming, and measured for RCAs, cut to length, then installed ends.
Pile of wire and ends.

The process is to solder the ends, then heat shrink under the strain relief, heat shrink over the strain relief, then the end cap goes on.

Left set, signal for tweeter, mid, and midbass. Midbass signal is split at the amp since it will be bridged.

Right set, same as left.

Sub set.

I did forget to run the cables for the PSC controller and the LR1 control knob for the PS8 Pro.

 

[Doublestack00]

Nice work man!

I'd love to ride in the just to experience how quite it must be on the road. I bet it's as quiet inside as a luxury German sedan.

 

[squirlz]

Nice work man!

I'd love to ride in the just to experience how quite it must be on the road. I bet it's as quiet inside as a luxury German sedan.

Thanks. It is pretty quiet. I will take measurements once the back seat is in, which should be this week.

 

[squirlz]

Amp rack is in and wired. It felt like 10 pounds of wire in a 5 pound bag, but I was happy with the result.

I used the factory jack mount for my grounding point. I ran a ground to the factory battery ground to one of the studs.

Also installed the subwoofer enclosure.

Finally the back seat could go back in, looks like nothing happened.

 

[squirlz]

The sub enclosure was a process. The top was trimmed to a rough height, then built the baffle. I attached it first with resin and filler mix.

More layers of fiberglass around the top, followed by more filler. Then a coat of resin and filler on the inside to add more strength. Had to do a test fit.

Drilled holes for mounting hardware and added threaded inserts.

Double washer and some foam tape to keep it sealed and secure.

Added terminals on the end.

 

[Aaron F]

The sub enclosure was a process. The top was trimmed to a rough height, then built the baffle. I attached it first with resin and filler mix.

More layers of fiberglass around the top, followed by more filler. Then a coat of resin and filler on the inside to add more strength. Had to do a test fit.

Drilled holes for mounting hardware and added threaded inserts.

Double washer and some foam tape to keep it sealed and secure.

Added terminals on the end.

I think this is the very first enclosure I've seen to utilize that bit of extra space under the trim panel at the edge of the seat. I wish someone would make a form and sell an enclosure like this with different front baffle options for single/dual subs.

 

[squirlz]

The problem is that to be sold to most users, it would have to fit with all of the factory panels in or replace the ones not used. I would think with modern 3d scanners and large format printers, a solution could be made fairly easily. But, I think the time to engineer this for mass production would far out weight the units sold.

Not sure what a shop would charge for this, but I have quite a bit of time in it. There are things I would do differently, but this is a one off from a DIYer who does not do this everyday.

 

[squirlz]

It has been a while, been busy but didn't take time to post.

Dash speakers were next on the list. Had to make room first.
Stock tweeter mount.

Not the prettiest of holes, it is a tight space to work in, but it does the job.

Baffle test fit.

Speaker test fit. I did have to heat the vent below the speaker and push it in just a 1/4" or so.

Soldered leads to the mids.

Printed the inserts for the tabs.

Speaker mounted in baffle.

Baffle mounted. I used one factory screw on the right that secures the 2 dash pieces together, and one that uses and insert were a factory clip was.

Overall I am happy with how the turned out. I do need to add some bracing under the flat section to prevent it from curling up when screwed in.

 

[squirlz]

I was not sure on the aiming of the tweeters so I temporarily mounted them. They are pointed towards the center of the windshield, mostly off axis.

Subs installed, I forgot to put in the threaded inserts, so I will need to do that at some point.

The subs are very close to the bottom of the seat, it is mostly just the loose fabric. I will need to fabricate some sort of grill to create some room.

 

[squirlz]

Moment of truth, how does it measure? All measurements are 1/3 smoothing.
Left tweeter raw.

Right tweeter raw.

Left mid raw.

Right mid raw.

Left midbass raw.

Right midbass raw.

Sub raw.

Overall I was pretty happy. I was really happy with the mids. Subs not so much, very peaky, but what can you ask for in such a small enclosure.

 

[squirlz]

I picked crossover points at 80 / 300 / 2500. These measurements are after crossover and eq, with the target curve.
Left tweeter.

Right tweeter.

Left mid.

Right mid.

Left midbass.

Right midbass.

Sub.

Not perfect, and not sure what happened with the left midbass, need to revisit that one, and a bit more work on the subs.

Overall I am happy, no time alignment yet, I haven't had a lot of time to spend on tuning. I also just want to listen to if for a bit before I go further. I might try raising the mid to tweeter cross over to 3K and see how that goes. There is a dip right after, so maybe 2800-3K and see if either makes a difference in the overall sound.

I also want to re-aim the tweeters and see how the response and sound changes.

 

[squirlz]

I wanted to the the PSC installed to have control over the PS8-Pro. This was the test print out of PLA, just to make sure dimensions were good. I do not love how it looks but it works for now. There are lower hanging fruit that need to be buttoned up before I worry about this.

I didn't want to cut this panel and I thought being completely recessed would be hard to see. I used the cigarette lighter to mount it.

Before.

3D printed mount.

Test fit. Instead of trying to CAD the curve, I just printed it square and trimmed to fit. Now that I know how it is going to sit I will try to model it.

Mounted, the wire forced the mount to push away from the start/stop button so some adjustments are needed for that.

Back side.

Installed.

 

[Zaluss]

Very nice. Curious on the road noise impact all your sound deadening made if you had a chance to drive it on the road yet!.

 

[squirlz]

I did not add anything that will block sound. I perceive it to be quieter but I did not have any back to back comparison, so not sure. I do have a few plans to try and reduce tire noise, which is the cause for most of the noise. The one thing I notice the most is how dead the interior is, meaning it may have the same road noise, but the sound is absorbed more for lack of a better term.

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