Two 15" Subwoofers - 4,000 watt Stereo Build

[Go big or Go home]

I completed my stereo build a little over a year ago but never created a thread for it. And since I made a video highlighting the stereo this past weekend for my official build thread, I decided why not post it here as well




My stereo modifications include:
(2) 15” Mmats Pro Audio Dreadnauts subwoofers
(2) 1,500 W-rms Mmats Pro Audio Class D amplifiers
(1) 700 W-rms Mmats Pro Audio full range amplifier
Mmats Pro Audio MP-5 Parametric Equalizer and crossover
Kicker KS Component 6.5 speakers
Kicker 6x9 three-way speakers
(2) Optima batteries
Stinger audio accessories (fuses, isolators, breakers, etc)
Dynamat
Sound insulation

The entire stereo was built by my father and myself. 3,000 watts RMS going to the two 15" Mmats Pro Audio subwoofers. We were told by other shops that 15" subwoofers could not be done in the trunk of a 5th Gen Camaro and of course, we had to prove them wrong. The design for the box is unique. Three sides, the floor, and partial roof of the box are constructed with MDF wood and the trunk lid encloses the box.

To put it simply; when the trunk lid is closed, the trunk becomes the box and the ports direct air into the cabin of the car. Alternatively, if the trunk is open and the doors/windows are closed, the box inverts itself and the interior of the car becomes the box and the ports push air in the opposite direction.

One quality that often goes unnoticed with this stereo build is the easy access to batteries and wiring. The inability to access these crucial areas always surprises me with major builds. So as you'll see in the pictures below, seamlessly maintaining access was a high priority for me.

I cannot begin to describe the amount of sound insulation we put into the car. There are multiple forms of sound insulation in every space, crack, and crevice imaginable. However, it has really done its job, and while the bass can make body panels flex like plastic, the car does not rattle.
Just some knocking as my sunroof bounces up and down haha!

First pieces of Dynamat...


Majority of Dynamat laid...


Backseat coming together… All the fabric is black suede.


MDF floor; the hinge near the the back wall of the trunk allows wider access to batteries and wiring without the need to tear anything apart...


A view behind the side wall; including insulation and electric ram that controls lowering of the rear seat.


The side wall; the removable panel allows the entire MDF side to be sealed without losing access to wiring.


Back seat completed. The electric ram allows the back seat to remain at any position.


The passenger side port can be seen on the far wall of the car. The two amps in the rear seat amplify the two subwoofers.


Trunk completed. The amp mounted to the roof of the trunk amplify the mid/high range speakers.


Top panel and plexiglass are easily removed to access batteries.


Mmats Pro Audio MP-5 Parametric Equalizer located in glove box.





And finally… the video…

[darkrider01]

I love the IB setup. You get to have 15's and a trunk. Very nice build.

[Go big or Go home]

Originally Posted by darkrider01

I love the IB setup. You get to have 15's and a trunk. Very nice build.

Thank you so much! It is actually not an IB setup. But I think 90+% of people have that misconception initially haha. There is a full MDF box in the trunk complete with an angle iron frame for added structure. The box completely seals when the trunk lid is closed (except for the ports) and functions like a typical ported box.

[the barber]

Now this is what I want..!! Although 15s may b out of the question but definitely 2 12s n a band pass enclosure with the port firing into the cabin undecided on location of the port yet
Awesome setup im surprised those pic frames in the vid werent jumpimg off the wall lol

[laditee]

Luv luv luv it....sweeeeet set up....very nice

[GunnyG]

Bass in yo face! That's what I'm talking 'bout. Nice job!

[BiG_TiMe]

wow

[Pdasterly]

Two thumbs up for you

[kc690]

Outstanding job. By the way, I noticed from the video that you trunk lid where it meets the body by the back window vibrates a lot. Mine does too with just 2 10's. It vibrates so bad that you can sometimes hear it through the music. Did you do anything special to that forward trunk lid area or just dynamat the the main part of the lid. The pressure pushed the lip of the lid up where it meets the trunk seal which is difficult to stop. Thanks

[Go big or Go home]

Originally Posted by the barber

Now this is what I want..!! Although 15s may b out of the question but definitely 2 12s n a band pass enclosure with the port firing into the cabin undecided on location of the port yet
Awesome setup im surprised those pic frames in the vid werent jumpimg off the wall lol

Thank you! Two 15s can be a lot for most people haha! But two 12" will still get you plenty of bass! I've always been a fan of ported boxes, you get more of low bass and the subs just pack a bigger punch in a ported box.

[Go big or Go home]

Originally Posted by laditee

Luv luv luv it....sweeeeet set up....very nice

Originally Posted by GunnyG

Bass in yo face! That's what I'm talking 'bout. Nice job!

Originally Posted by BiG_TiMe

wow

Originally Posted by Pdasterly

Two thumbs up for you

Thank you all! I know a lot of Camaro owners are not necessarily fans of extreme amounts of bass so it's always great to hear positive feedback from fellow Camaro owners!

[Go big or Go home]

Originally Posted by kc690

Outstanding job. By the way, I noticed from the video that you trunk lid where it meets the body by the back window vibrates a lot. Mine does too with just 2 10's. It vibrates so bad that you can sometimes hear it through the music. Did you do anything special to that forward trunk lid area or just dynamat the the main part of the lid. The pressure pushed the lip of the lid up where it meets the trunk seal which is difficult to stop. Thanks

Thank you! My trunk lid has A LOT of sound insulation including Dynamat and expanding foam within the lid itself (the insulation and woodwork obviously makes it much heavier as well). I also have a larger stiffer seal and a tighter closing latch. Honestly it amazes me that it still moves but the movement has been greatly reduced. I can't imagine how much movement/vibration there would be without making the changes I did haha!

[chrisv213]

Paige:
I posted this in your journal log a few days ago, but it looks like you have not visited that thread in a while. One other quick question, when you attached the suede fabric to the various surfaces around the car, did you cover any of the plastic interior panels, and if so what method did you use to make sure it stuck permanently? Well, thanks for your time. here's the original post:
I have had my 2013 LT for a couple of months and since it is the first Gen 5 I have ever owned, when it came time to do the system, I was checking out all of the build logs for some visuals to verify if the ideas I had were legit. When I came across your thread, I was floored. It was everything I wanted to do, but better! I have been doing my own audio systems (and systems for a few other people as well) and it seems that every time I get a new car I tell myself that I am not going to do such an elaborate install this time, and of course, as soon as I start that goes out the window. Long story short, I didn't even make it to the start of my build before my plans were toast, thanks to the awesome job you and your dad have done with everything in your car.
If you do not mind, I am going to use some of the inspiration that your build has given me and combine that with my original plans, to complete what is no doubt, going to be one of the biggest projects I have ever attempted by myself. I do have a few questions for you, if that is cool.
1.) As far as the MDF floor, walls, and ceiling in the trunk, did you guys bolt the angle iron frame to the car and then attach the wood to the frame, or did you put each section together outside the car and then slide each one in and connect them? If you did bolt the frame, how did you determine the spots to attach them and did you just drive a lag bolt in or use threaded inserts? (I know that is more than one question. Sorry )
2.)I see you used two Optima batteries. I am using two Kinetiks and keeping the OEM battery for the car functions. I am actually installing my amps in the spare tire well and am going to have the batteries on either side, behind the false wall. My question (finally!) is what did you do as far as the electrical system, to handle such a large set up? Did you install a beefed up alternator? Do you use an isolator or capacitors? Did you run another 0 gauge cable from the alternator or did you splice the factory 0 gauge?
3.) Lastly, for now any way, because I am sure I will have more questions as this build progresses, where did you ground the various components? I know there are quite a few large bolts throughout the interior and I am leaning towards utilizing some of those, but I have had issues in the past where they were not always solidly connected under the surface of the sheet metal, and tracking down a ground fault in a complicated, completed install, is a nightmare.
Thanks again for letting me ramble and pick your brain. I have included a few pics of my black LT and where I am in my install. For now, I am keeping the factory Mylink head unit and using a signal processor with an LOC to integrate my amps. I have already installed my Infinity Kappa component speakers in the doors, sound proofed every inch I could (including the floorpan and the ceiling/top), and have started on the wiring. You have given me a lofty ideal to aspire to, so I had better get back to work!

[Go big or Go home]

Originally Posted by chrisv213

Paige:
I have had my 2013 LT for a couple of months and since it is the first Gen 5 I have ever owned, when it came time to do the system, I was checking out all of the build logs for some visuals to verify if the ideas I had were legit. When I came across your thread, I was floored. It was everything I wanted to do, but better! I have been doing my own audio systems (and systems for a few other people as well) and it seems that every time I get a new car I tell myself that I am not going to do such an elaborate install this time, and of course, as soon as I start that goes out the window. Long story short, I didn't even make it to the start of my build before my plans were toast, thanks to the awesome job you and your dad have done with everything in your car.
If you do not mind, I am going to use some of the inspiration that your build has given me and combine that with my original plans, to complete what is no doubt, going to be one of the biggest projects I have ever attempted by myself. I do have a few questions for you, if that is cool.

Thank you so much! Never thought my build would inspire someone, that's awesome! Im sorry it took so long for me to respond, I haven't been on much the past week or so. I'd be happy to answer whatever questions you have I know what you're saying about originally wanting to keep things simple. I think I say that every time and somehow end up doing something more elaborate every time, it never fails haha!

Originally Posted by chrisv213

1.) As far as the MDF floor, walls, and ceiling in the trunk, did you guys bolt the angle iron frame to the car and then attach the wood to the frame, or did you put each section together outside the car and then slide each one in and connect them? If you did bolt the frame, how did you determine the spots to attach them and did you just drive a lag bolt in or use threaded inserts?

The MDF floor, front wall (where the subs mount) and under the rear deck was placed first then the angle iron was mounted to that MDF. I fit the angle iron piece by piece inside the trunk, held it together with tack welds then removed it, welded it fully and installed it. The MDF sidewalls were then mounted to the angle iron and fully sealed.

Originally Posted by chrisv213

2.)I see you used two Optima batteries. I am using two Kinetiks and keeping the OEM battery for the car functions. I am actually installing my amps in the spare tire well and am going to have the batteries on either side, behind the false wall. My question (finally!) is what did you do as far as the electrical system, to handle such a large set up? Did you install a beefed up alternator? Do you use an isolator or capacitors? Did you run another 0 gauge cable from the alternator or did you splice the factory 0 gauge?

A beefed up alternator is the best way to go; however as far as I know, there is not a direct replacement for the V6 (at least there wasn’t when I did my build). I’ve been contemplating doing custom fabrication to make another alternator work but haven’t tackled that yet. So for now, the best thing available is the extra battery. I have one Optima replacing the stock battery and the second running the stereo etc. I do have a second 0 gauge from the alternator to the second battery. And the ignition wire from fuse box is tied to an isolator that connects the two batteries when the car is turned on. There’s really no need for a capacitor with this set up.

Originally Posted by chrisv213

3.) Lastly, for now any way, because I am sure I will have more questions as this build progresses, where did you ground the various components? I know there are quite a few large bolts throughout the interior and I am leaning towards utilizing some of those, but I have had issues in the past where they were not always solidly connected under the surface of the sheet metal, and tracking down a ground fault in a complicated, completed install, is a nightmare.

Yeah tracking down a bad ground really is a nightmare. With this build I wanted to make sure everything was still very accessible because you just never know what you’ll want to access later. That’s why I have all the access panels… etc. but back to your question… close to where the factory battery is grounded, there are threaded holes; I cleaned the area up really good, ran a bolt through and used that for the ground. The battery is grounded close to there also so figured there was no better spot.

As for your question about the suede, I didn't cover any original plastic panels. There is A LOT of suede in the car but everything was originally fabric (like the headliner), custom built pieces (such as the portion of the ports inside the cabin of the car) or wood.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask. I'd love to see pictures as your build processes! Did you start a build thread?