Audiophile SQ Setup: Corolla Build Log

[devils_smile]

Electrical Upgrade: Big3/4

For anyone wondering what the Big3 Upgrade is, it's basically upgrading the live and ground wires for a better flow of current and more stable voltage. The factory wires used by most manufacturers max out at 8 gauge. The disadvantages of this can be found all over the Internet.

For the Big3, we are going to Upgrade 3 essential wires

1) The +ve wire from the alternator to the +ve battery post. Its best to put a fuse on this wire to protect the wire from any short circuits

2) The -ve ground wire from the battery to the chassis of the car

3) The -ve ground wire from the battery to the main engine block

Technically, this should be it. You'll see a day/night differance when it comes to the results (provided you have a good alternator and a healthy battery and its just the thin flimsy factory wiring that's restricting the flow of current)

So what's the Big4 then?

The Big4 involves grounding the alternator directly to the -ve post of the battery or the main chassis.

Now since I had a bit of wiring left, I also decided to ground the alternator directly to the frame of the car. Just note that 2 points where the ground wiring mounts to the frame/chassis, its best to take away the paint and expose the metal for a solid ground. You can either cover the points with dielectric grease or paint/primer to stop any exposed metal from rusting

These are the alternator to battery +ve (probably an 8 gauge) and engine ground (12 gauge maybe, or a 10 bit not an 8 for sure) wires.

[devils_smile]

Step 1 is to measure the lengths of the cable needed for the Big3/4 Upgrade. I ofcourse had Sherry bhai help me out with this

We decided to make a mounting plate for the 2 inline fuse holders ( 1 for the big3/4, 1 for the amplifier power wire ) rather than letting them sit around loosely ziptied to random places inside the engine bay. Going to use this 3/4 inch thick plexiglass and laser cut it to mount it over the battery.

So this is it. All the wires are cut to length, covered in Alextech braided sleeving with 0 Gauge lugs and heatshrinks.

[devils_smile]

Wire #1: Alternator to Battery +ve

Had the wire run along the factory wire, hidden under the plastic valve cover

Test fit the mounting plate along with the inline fuse holder. You can see the ferrule was sticking out. A connection like this could mean water and dust entering the fuse holder. The issue was later rectified by Sherry bhai by shortening the length of the ferrule itself

Wire #2: Battery-ve to chassis

This is a pretty straightforward wire. The factory grounding point is right beside the battery. I had the spot cleaned, sanded and just installed the new ground wire. I also had to cut a bit of the battery plate so it wouldn't crush the wire. The golden foil sticker on the bracket itself is to protect the plexiglass until we do something creative with it

Wire #3: Battery -ve to Engine

I still need to find a better suited bolt which directly screws into the block itself. Currently the wire is grounded to the engine block at a spot where there is a component attached to the main block. Will tackle this soon

Wire #4: Alternator GND to chassis

There are 2 bolts through which the Alternator can be grounded. I chose the lower bolt which attaches the alternator to the engine block and had it retorqued with some threadlock

The other end of the cable gets attached to the main frame of the car. Had the paint removed, and put threadlock on the bolt. Will cover the surrounding area with some primer and paint

The cable isn't touching any of the other pipes and has a easy bend meaning no unnecessary stress

[pwuser150834374557]

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
I need help/advice on a setup like this in karachi.
Any leads?

[devils_smile]

Get in touch with haroon radio karachi

[pwuser150834374557]

Been there.cant seem to resolve the problem im having

[devils_smile]

Send me a pm with what the issue is in detail. Let's see if we can find a solution for it

[bym007]

Really nice build work there, and you have nicely captured the finer details to show your planning and work that went in this.

Appreciate it. I honestly listen to almost everything. I listen to random albums on Spotify and just like music I would love listening to again. That's how my albums are made. The only urdu songs I do hear are from the old pakistani bands like noori, strings, call etc back when music and lyrics actually were good

2 things I thought I would mention here.

If you are listening to Spotify (even Spotify Premium), you will never be able to get Audiophile level of SQ out of your investment.

Secondly, what does all the sound dampening and foam do with the weight of the car ? Surely, your car is far heavier now, compared to factory stock?

Not thread crapping or anything, as the quality of your work is definitely high up there..

[devils_smile]

AoA Babar. Appreciate the post. So to clarify, the reason why I spent so much time and effort into the deadening is that I'm planning on keeping this car here in Pakistan. And now that the deadening stage is done, it has had a big impact on the cabin noise. Has it added weight? Sure. But I doubt it's more than the weight of a teenager (10 deadening sheets weigh ~12kg / 32 sheets = ~40kg - Ccf sheets hardly weigh anything so let's say 20 ccf sheets ~ 5-6kg). That's about ~45kg of added weight. I'm still averaging 17-18 on the highway at speeds between 90-110 with 2 people and light luggage

Regarding my music streaming options, I usually listen to Spotify premium but the setup isn't yet installed ( havnt had the time to do so ). There are a few options I can go with for flac and dsd files. I had a great opportunity to grab a sp2000t which was being sold for less than half value but I put a hold onto that deal cuz I'm not sure if this setup will stay or get sold off soon. Im gonna subscribe to Tidal hifi to test out their interface since it has a lot of praise on diyma.

Btw, what ways do you go about listening to HD music. The other option I can go with is Pandora one with a lightening cable

[pwuser164818480359]

I'm using Tidal HIFI from last 2 years and highly recommend it, even with bluetooth streaming its quality is very good. Although the library is not huge compared to Apple Music but sound quality makes up for it.

[bym007]

So to clarify, the reason why I spent so much time and effort into the deadening is that I'm planning on keeping this car here in Pakistan. And now that the deadening stage is done, it has had a big impact on the cabin noise.

Walikum Wasalam. Fair enough. Totally understandable.

what ways do you go about listening to HD music.

Yeah, I have given up on that. I mostly listen to podcasts nowadays, so SQ is not really an issue for me personally. Having said that, my mind is accustomsed to the fact that a car can never be ideal sound stage. Some of the people in my circle rip music to FLAC files.

[devils_smile]

True. Too many obstacles and mirroring issues. But that doesn't mean you can't strive to get the best out of the equipment you have. Honestly speaking, this is what I'd say to be a mid tier setup in the world of true sq. But it's a simple setup that made out of some of the best components available on the market in the price bracket. I'm actually moving back permanently to DE so despite the fact that I want to keep the car as a daily in Pk, I am most definitely not keeping the setup for long. Just wanted to listen to it for a while to see how everything comes about. This is a never ending process and I already have my eyes on some other equipment but those will probably go into a car I get back in DE

[devils_smile]

Back on topic. Here's a picture of the generic universal speaker mount almost every shop has for Toyotas. It's the mount on the left. The issue with it is that there's Always a bit of a gap from where air leaks.

The mount on the right is the specific toyota speaker ring. You can see the extended lip on both the outside and inside which prevents any air leaks and results in a factory fit

[pwuser164818480359]

Problem with locally available universal speaker mount is they never sits correctly against the body, use this double sided foam tape on the edges of speaker mount and they will sit perfectly well with no air gaps. I bought this tape from sehgal motors.

[devils_smile]

The toyota speaker hole is actually bigger than the mount itself even though this is the standard 6.t" mount everyone uses. It wasn't about if the mount was sitting flush against the body. The foam tape does help to create a good seal in a situation like you explained but on these corollas, the gap is on the sides because no matter how to mount these universal mounts, the hole itself is too large for the mount to cover it completely

I had to close that gap with some deadening sheets. The correct toyota mount has a wider base mount even though the ring on which the speaker mounts is the same size as the universal one ( both are 6.5" ). The wider base means that gap is covered up and its the exact dimensions of the factory speaker base

[devils_smile]

UPDATE

With a heavy heart, this setup is now up for sale since I'm moving back to DE. Unfortunately I didn't get the time to install the equipment and it's not practically ideal for me to install the setup and have it removed a month later again. The link for the FOR SALE thread will be shared here

[bym007]

I'm moving back to DE

Totally understandable in the face of reality.

[devils_smile]

Reality is Babar bhai, no one's gonna listen to this once I'm not here. Its better I utilise the same money towards my new place and car its a shame but I might go super crazy next time lol

[devils_smile]

@Hassan1991 please close this thread for further discussions. It's been a great journey but time to close this chapter. Onto the next

The for sale thread is linked below

FS: SQ Audio Equipment

With a heavy heart, I am selling my SQ setup. All the equipment was bought from DE/US and hand carried to PK. All the equipment is either new or almost new. Some have boxes (which were brought in via cargo) and some don't (carried in personal baggage). All the equipment is 100% perfect and nothing has been repaired This is high end Equipment so low balling won't be entertained. If you are serious, get in touch with me via WhatsApp on my number listed below. The corresponding build thread can b…

[Hassan1991]