Lanson's 2010 Flex SEL (Sony system) audio build - Archive

[Lanson]

Hi folks,

Back in 2010 I purchased my first Flex and tore into its audio system.  Here I would like to archive that install for you all, in case anybody is working on the same system or wants to pick up some ideas along the way.

The system was built slowly in stages, but in the end here's the final equipment used:

JBL MS8 processor
Vibe UK 4ch amp
Vibe UK mono sub amp
Bravox Carbon Fiber 5x7 components
Bravox Carbon Fiber 5x7 coaxials
Exile Audio shallow mount 10" subwoofers (2)

To start, this is the Flex door.  Like most Fords it houses a 6x8 woofer, as does the rear door. 


Door panel off, we have a batting material that looks like 3M's acoustic fiber stuff.  The panel is pretty sturdy and comes off without much of a battle.


This is the door inside.  Overall, the main goal here is to seal up the large openings because that will affect the speaker's performance.


The speaker itself is sitting on top of a very large plastic spacer/baffle type thing


The speaker is actually a *decent* unit believe it or not.  Rubber surround, poly cone, decent magnet, etc. 


For those wanting to replace this plastic baffle with something more substantial, it stands at a little under 3" just FYI...


With a little over 3" of clearance including the window guide rail...


And right around 5" of total depth to the glass behind.  A very large number if anybody wants to install big bad 8's or something like that.


continued..

[Lanson]

This is the center channel, which is a 3.5" full-range type unit, not coaxial.  The opening is only the same as the speaker so while putting a larger speaker in is technically possible, the benefits would be limited unless the cover panel also is modified in some way as well.

[Lanson]

This is the tweeter A-pillar


Just peel the weatherstripping back, pop the panel off, and you'll get this.  This must keep the A-pillar from becoming a projectile when the side airbags inflate.  You won't necessarily need to remove this to upgrade the tweeter inside, but it can come off with some careful work with a pick tool if need be.


This is the inner



This is our tweeter (Sony option, remember.)

[Lanson]

The first thing I did after my investigations was deaden the doors as well as I could.  This product is RAAMMAT, from www.raamaudio.com.  Overall, great stuff.  I would also recommend www.sounddeadenershowdown.com for excellent products as well.






I went a little overkill but I really wanted a dead door





Let's talk about the door wiring.  On other Fords and Mazdas I've built before, I had to drill through the door molex to get suitable wiring to go in.  In the case of the Flex, it simply is unnecessary.  Check it out:




Basically if you want to run wire through the door, just pull this and run your wire.  Super duper easy.

[Lanson]

This is the trunk area.


Layering up



A layer of Ensolite was added


Now deadening like that really isn't necessary.  I did it so I could make a mold in the spare tire well for my subs.  This is the beginning of the process.  Note that sometimes taking pictures of this isn't possible, because it is so messy and cameras are so expensive. 




A few more layers in.


Getting it out of the trunk was a moment of difficulty, but it eventually came out.



While I had the fiberglass out and the car stinky from it, why not do the doors too, right?





First trim to test fit


Second trim and some deadening added.  Its held in place on the door with butyl rope.  A very secure fit.

[Lanson]

I investigated the rear speaker area, the D-pillars.  I found they are wired in a shared dual-mono config, with 8 ohm speakers per side parallel wired to a 4 ohm load.  It is a 6.1 system basically.





This is the backup beeper thing on the passenger side by the rear door.  I put deadener and foam behind it because it makes a lot of rattling noises back there.




This part sliced me open.  That plastic is razor-sharp on those little ribs there

[Lanson]

This is the factory Sony sub and amp assembly


Factory wiring



Starting to tear it apart





More wiring



I'm now going to show you a mistake.  DO NOT DO THIS if you ever want to return the Flex back to stock.  This part I'm cutting up costs somewhere between $500 and $1000 depending on availability. 





Putting it all back together now that its deadened



Now we get to deal with wiring.  This was a major point of the build, one that I really want to get some details out to those who are going for this.  I pulled the factory connector and spliced in my processor wiring, along with some 16 gauge speaker wire.  All connections are soldered and heatshrinked for durability on this INPUT side.





This is the OUTPUT side, which was done in a similar way but with solder and electrical tape, because it is temporary, while I figure out what channels to amplify with extra power.


All going back together

[Lanson]

This is the processor rack I made to work in the place of the subwoofer spot.  That metal bracket you see there was the bracket off the stock subwoofer actually





Ground wire made


12V turn-on taken from Sony processor/amp's wiring, which is supposed to go to the stock Sony sub amp.  It is a switched 12V, one of the only ones on the car.


Factory ground spot was enhanced by taking it down to bare metal, and reused


The routing was carefully chosen because the seat belt takes the same space and must not rub.


Finishing up the routing to the MS8



Done for now


I reiterate to the followers of this thread... DO NOT DO THIS if you don't want to permanently deface the Flex.  I was never able to make a decent cover for this, and there is no factory part that I considered affordable enough for me to fix this with when I sold my Flex for another one.  Now that I've done my 2013 differently (which I will cover in another thread later), I recommend installing under the driver or passenger seats, which are roomy and easy to work with.

[Lanson]

Time to cover how I put 1/0 gauge power wire through the firewall.  Note:  Since the time that I did this install, I've learned there is a much better, much easier place to access.  A fella on fordflex.net posted in his build log exactly the best way to do this, so credit goes to him.  That's "Pushing Spokes" and his build log http://www.fordflex.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=9521&p=108828.  Basically, pull the wipers, pull the cowl, and drill through a false firewall to make it right into the car properly.  My way as shown below in pics is perfectly safe, but not as smart or as easy.  Still, here's the process.

I checked for a spot where I could drill a large hole safely.  This spot right next to the brake booster looked as good as any.


This is the inside, which is under the steering wheel next to the fuse box underneath.  I just cut the factory heavy vinyl deadener to gain access to the metal.


A tiny test hole to make sure I was on track


Success!


Proof I got it


The wiring is tucked and hidden in the factory panels. 


and pokes out under the passenger seat

[Lanson]

Let's get back to the box.  Remember as I said before, taking pics during the fiberglass and building process is tricky, so there's a bit of missing info here as far as pics go.  The process to get to this step here involved cutting that fiberglass shell down to size and then making a top cover board out of 3/4" MDF.  The edges of the board are beveled to allow a sunken effect and let the next steps of box creation to be as strong as possible. 
Here's the bevel I put on the bottom of the top cover

Here we are after the sub holes are cut out and smoothed


This is just a test fit to make sure I got it right




This is a good time to mention something.  See that rear panel with the gas funnel plastic mount there?  I had to shave that thing down to let this even fit.  Not like I could use it again anymore, anyway.  Besides that funnel fits just fine in the pocket by the right rear corner anyway.


So, that was all test-fitting.  This next step involved running a goo of fiberglass and strand putty (Kitty-Hair is the technical term) around in the box to seal the wood to the existing fiberglass tub.

Here's the box tub trimmed and ready to go




And here I have added matching vinyl to decorate the sub mount area.  The color is a perfect match to the plastic panels of the pillars inside the car.


I made a trim board that goes on top, a spacer actually.  This board had to have special cutouts in place to allow that gas funnel plastic mounting tab to work, from the rear panel



I wrapped it in a vinyl that matches the charcoal interior perfectly


Top board shaped and tested



Top board cut out



Top cover made




Top board wrapped in matching carpet



The box finished up in carpet as well


Terminal cup wired up and readied


Finished box


Top cover with a steel screen grille


Top cover with foam on the backside and carpet covering



Other sub made it in.  Now you see us


Now you don't!

[SHOdded]

What an amazing build!  I am going to have to re-read this several times and pirate ideas/components off of it

[Lanson]

What an amazing build!  I am going to have to re-read this several times and pirate ideas/components off of it

Why, thank you!

I would recommend reading the 2013 build that I'll write up here in a bit, it has some "easy way" solutions to add to all this.  For now, I'll finish this build log up momentarily, stand by.

[Lanson]

After a short while running just off the MS8 power (20w x 8 ), I yearned for much more.  So, this documents the amplifier addition to my build.

I had to break into the rear side panel once more, this time I had to run RCA's.




I made a ground cable




and I used a seat bracket bolt with ground-off paint to get my ground.  This is the passenger side seat btw.


The passenger side holds a distribution block and the mono Vibe amp



The driver's side holds the 4ch Vibe amp.  The ground cable passes through the center console as does the power.



To mount the amps I simply put a 1/2" board of MDF under the carpet and screwed into that.  To secure the MDF board to the floor, I used butyl rope which is very good at holding something still. 



The rest of the build actually went unphotographed.  All I did was swap the factory speakers front and rear for Bravox carbon fiber 5x7's when a really good deal on them came through the Parts Express website.  Shortly after that, I got an itch to trade in my Flex and the itch grew and grew until I started shopping around for one again.  A 2013 soon became the goal.  In the end, I did manage to trade and end up with less payment and what I feel is a better car (to me, at least.)  When I traded, I removed all the equipment except for the Bravox speakers, which I would have also removed but I damaged an OEM speaker at some point in storage so there was no going back.  In the end, I never finished the intended cover I was going to make for the processor stuffed back where the factory subwoofer goes.  When I returned everything to stock, I traded it with that cover panel missing.  A little tacky but my trade value didn't take a hit so I feel I did OK.

Also not covered here was the Optima battery install I did before the system really took form.  I figured I would cover that in a separate thread.

When the system was installed and all parts upgraded, I would say it was incredible to hear.  Excellent staging, great presence, very dynamic and very accurate as well.  I am PICKY when it comes to sound quality and I feel this system met those goals.  The installation of the MS8 processor is the single largest improvement I feel this system needs to be truly great.

Soon I'll post up my 2013 build, utilizes the same gear but was installed differently.