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This is my build thread for my 2004 Mazda 6 w/ Bose system. I decided to make a thread not only because I am bored, but also to show what I have done so that I may be able to possibly get some feedback and/or to give others ideas/help for their installs. Even though there are many threads on this topic, it's always nice to see a different thread 
This is by no means a finished build but I will update progress as I work on it. I threw this together in a couple hours.
A couple months after I first got this car I added aftermarket subs to help out the lack of bass in the Bose system and the joke of a subwoofer. I originally had two 10'' Alpine Type R subs in a sealed prefab box. That was nice.
A couple months after that it became the Bose speakers + the two Alpines in a custom ported box. That was also nice.
Again, after that it became one of the Alpine 10''s in a custom ported box. After I got the hang of designing and building boxes, I finalized a second ported box for one 10'' which had greater SPL in my prefered frequency range than the ported box with two 10''s. I kept that for a couple months....Until now.
Here we go-
My weapon(s) of choice:
Hertz MLK 165
After about an hour of f'ing around I figured out that for some odd reason there is a molex where the door grommet meets the car. After about 30-45 minutes of cussing and force I was able to get those connectors out and then proceeded to drill into the open areas so I could fit 14 gauge wire through the molex.
I then fished it through and got the wire into the cabin... Yay!
Here is the mille midwoofer installed in the stock location. I literally just screwed it to the inner doorpanel. I plan on going back and properly sealing it later when it's not so hot outside.
I then played with the tweeter placement and ended up deciding to mount them to the kickpanels. For now they are on the ground on little pieces of wood I cut out so that I can keep listening to it for awhile to make sure I like the placement (and make it easier for people to steal them).
Driver's side
Passenger
By this time it was already so hot outside that I just threw the amps in the trunk and wired them up asap. These amps are temporary until the real one comes.
So clean...
Here is the latest configuration I have my 10'' Alpine Type R in:
A 2 cubic ft. 4th order bandpass box, tuned to 45Hz. I extended (ghetto-rigged) the port so that it extended into the hole in the rear deck that is left over after you remove the Bose "sub". Porting it directly into the cabin is the way to go. It blends with the midwoofers perfectly.
I then cleaned up the wires in the front and Viola! All done in ~2.5 hours just messing around (doesn't include the sub box building time).
(The crossovers have velcro on the back of them and will be placed on the outer flat surface of the kickpanels for now. They are just laying there cause I was trying to let the adhesive stick before mounting.
I am now just thinking about the final install of the tweeters and once I get my amp in, I will be creating a false floor in the trunk, hiding all of those wires.
And also I will be installing a head unit under the passenger seat, where the stock Bose amp use to be. I was considering finding a female molex to connect to the stock one that goes directly into the Bose amp so that I did not have to tap into the stock wires for the signal but I have decided not to do that anymore. Right now I'm getting the signal from my iPhone LOL.
My system is now slightly better than the stock Bose...just a little
Questions?Comments?
This is by no means a finished build but I will update progress as I work on it. I threw this together in a couple hours.
A couple months after I first got this car I added aftermarket subs to help out the lack of bass in the Bose system and the joke of a subwoofer. I originally had two 10'' Alpine Type R subs in a sealed prefab box. That was nice.
A couple months after that it became the Bose speakers + the two Alpines in a custom ported box. That was also nice.
Again, after that it became one of the Alpine 10''s in a custom ported box. After I got the hang of designing and building boxes, I finalized a second ported box for one 10'' which had greater SPL in my prefered frequency range than the ported box with two 10''s. I kept that for a couple months....Until now.
Here we go-
My weapon(s) of choice:
Hertz MLK 165

After about an hour of f'ing around I figured out that for some odd reason there is a molex where the door grommet meets the car. After about 30-45 minutes of cussing and force I was able to get those connectors out and then proceeded to drill into the open areas so I could fit 14 gauge wire through the molex.

I then fished it through and got the wire into the cabin... Yay!

Here is the mille midwoofer installed in the stock location. I literally just screwed it to the inner doorpanel. I plan on going back and properly sealing it later when it's not so hot outside.

I then played with the tweeter placement and ended up deciding to mount them to the kickpanels. For now they are on the ground on little pieces of wood I cut out so that I can keep listening to it for awhile to make sure I like the placement (and make it easier for people to steal them).
Driver's side

Passenger

By this time it was already so hot outside that I just threw the amps in the trunk and wired them up asap. These amps are temporary until the real one comes.
So clean...

Here is the latest configuration I have my 10'' Alpine Type R in:

A 2 cubic ft. 4th order bandpass box, tuned to 45Hz. I extended (ghetto-rigged) the port so that it extended into the hole in the rear deck that is left over after you remove the Bose "sub". Porting it directly into the cabin is the way to go. It blends with the midwoofers perfectly.
I then cleaned up the wires in the front and Viola! All done in ~2.5 hours just messing around (doesn't include the sub box building time).


(The crossovers have velcro on the back of them and will be placed on the outer flat surface of the kickpanels for now. They are just laying there cause I was trying to let the adhesive stick before mounting.
I am now just thinking about the final install of the tweeters and once I get my amp in, I will be creating a false floor in the trunk, hiding all of those wires.
And also I will be installing a head unit under the passenger seat, where the stock Bose amp use to be. I was considering finding a female molex to connect to the stock one that goes directly into the Bose amp so that I did not have to tap into the stock wires for the signal but I have decided not to do that anymore. Right now I'm getting the signal from my iPhone LOL.
My system is now slightly better than the stock Bose...just a little
Questions?Comments?