A lesson learned—keep it light and nimble!
- Thread starter Irun
- Start date
OP
I'd like to just run the factory half doors, but don't want to chance damage. They are very hard to find now and selling for ridiculous prices. My second option was to armor them, but at around $450 shipped, these were no longer an option. A third option would be to make a pair. With material costs and time, this isn't a good alternative either.
https://genright.com/products/jeep-tj-lj-aluminum-half-door-armor.html
Funny you mention this today. I just got back from Stafford from M&M salvage picking up a set of factory half doors in white. I need to do a little tlc on the paint but overall not bad with newer uppers for $495 for the pair.
You sir, are not my favorite person right now.
OP
They are just Smittybilt uppers if that helps.
You need to ce to VA/NC for your half doors! They have quite a few listed on car-part.com in NC.
Thanks! Nice score yourself with the ucf doors!These days that's a steal. Nice score!
Looking forward to your review of these. I know you don’t plan to use them for daily driving but especially interested in your thoughts for daily use even if just based on shorter trip to trailhead.
I still need to paint match my half doors and either buy new panels (might as well buy another set doors) or paint match interior as well. Might look at these and sell the half doors.
OP
Digging into the subwoofer installation. There's some irony in a product made in China, branded with a WWII icon.
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OP
Since I have a Tuffy console, the conceal carry drawer had to be sacrificed, so the subwoofer can go under the driver's seat. The driver's seat is a fixed, non-fold and tumble, so there's plenty of space. Sound is way more important than lockable storage I'm not using!
OP
OP
This weekend I finished up the installation of a Sound Ordnance B-PTD powered subwoofer. Figuring out where to install it was the most troublesome part of the job. Since the rear seat gets removed for wheeling, that wasn't an option. Nor did I want to try and mount it creatively up under the dash. In my case, the driver's seat is a fixed base (non-tumble), so that was my best option. Unfortunately, this meant I was going to have to sacrifice the under-seat drawer that already occupied the space. The parts used were the following, keeping the cost to just a little over $200:
[URL]https://www.crutchfield.com/S-DDubJ8EHtsw/p_777B8PTD/Sound-Ordnance-B-8PTD.html[/URL]
[URL]https://www.crutchfield.com/p_007CK10/Crutchfield-CK10.html?omnews=11545295[/URL]
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_007CP...RCA-Patch-Cables-12-foot.html?omnews=11545295
With the seat out, the next task was to make an anchor bracket that could be used to secure the unit. For this, I opted to use a piece of 16 gauge punched flat bar. The idea was to create a bracket that would use the seat bolts to tighten and lock the housing in place. Taking a few measurements, I used the vice to make my bends, then cut the flat bar, after my last bend.
After the bracket was made, I rounded off the corners of the bar. This was done so that I could slide a 26" tube over the bracket, creating a nice rubber cushion against the housing. Getting the tube over the bar was no small feat. I used a heat gun to help soften and make it more pliable. A slightly bigger tube would have been better, but it's what I had.
With the bracket finished, I did a test fit and was ready to do the final installation. This turned out to be a real PIA, because the bracket blocked access to the front right seat bolt. After some trial and error, here's what I figured out:
- with the sub-woofer out, install the front right bolt first (tightening it all the way)
- using a small block of wood on the left seat base bracket, or something similar, prop up the seat about 2"
- slide the sub-woofer in from the rear, then remove the prop and lower the seat and bracket (Note: You must raise up the left seat bracket in order to slide the sub-woofer housing through the manufactured anchor bracket)
- fight with the other 3 bolts until you get them installed
Next came the wiring. Here, I used the Crutchfield 10 gauge wiring kit. It was money well spent and had everything needed, except the RCA patch cable. The wiring was basically this:
- power wire came straight from the battery (Make sure to use a heavy gauge wire (I used the 10 gauge in the kit) and a fuse block (also in the kit)
- ground went to the left rear seat bolt
- blue remote wire went to the blue amplifier wire on the Insane Audio receiver (This is the power feed to trigger the sub-woofer amplifier, i.e. when the receiver is turned on, power is supplied to the amplifier)
- RCA cable went to the sub-woofer out (green) on the Insane Audio (Note: If you've never done a sub-woofer install, you only need either the right or left channel for the sub-woofer, I used the right)
- sub-woofer remote level (for remotely increasing or decreasing bass) went to a place on the console where I could reach it
Overall impressions:
The B-8PTD puts out an impressive amount of bass compared to the stock sub-woofer. Having it mounted under the driver seat does direct bass to your backside though. It's not horrible, you just know you're sitting on it, if you're the type that cranks up the bass. Having the addition of the "Remote Level" bass tuning at your fingertips is a big plus!
Offloading the bass to the sub-woofer also helps take the load off the other speakers and improves the overall sound quality output noticeably. It's certainly not the same output as a separate amplifier, but for the cost, and effort, it's a great improvement over what I previously had. If you're looking to upgrade the sound system and wanting to add a separate sub-woofer, this is one of the best bang for the buck additions you can make.
[URL]https://www.crutchfield.com/S-DDubJ8EHtsw/p_777B8PTD/Sound-Ordnance-B-8PTD.html[/URL]
[URL]https://www.crutchfield.com/p_007CK10/Crutchfield-CK10.html?omnews=11545295[/URL]
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_007CP...RCA-Patch-Cables-12-foot.html?omnews=11545295
With the seat out, the next task was to make an anchor bracket that could be used to secure the unit. For this, I opted to use a piece of 16 gauge punched flat bar. The idea was to create a bracket that would use the seat bolts to tighten and lock the housing in place. Taking a few measurements, I used the vice to make my bends, then cut the flat bar, after my last bend.
After the bracket was made, I rounded off the corners of the bar. This was done so that I could slide a 26" tube over the bracket, creating a nice rubber cushion against the housing. Getting the tube over the bar was no small feat. I used a heat gun to help soften and make it more pliable. A slightly bigger tube would have been better, but it's what I had.
With the bracket finished, I did a test fit and was ready to do the final installation. This turned out to be a real PIA, because the bracket blocked access to the front right seat bolt. After some trial and error, here's what I figured out:
- with the sub-woofer out, install the front right bolt first (tightening it all the way)
- using a small block of wood on the left seat base bracket, or something similar, prop up the seat about 2"
- slide the sub-woofer in from the rear, then remove the prop and lower the seat and bracket (Note: You must raise up the left seat bracket in order to slide the sub-woofer housing through the manufactured anchor bracket)
- fight with the other 3 bolts until you get them installed
Next came the wiring. Here, I used the Crutchfield 10 gauge wiring kit. It was money well spent and had everything needed, except the RCA patch cable. The wiring was basically this:
- power wire came straight from the battery (Make sure to use a heavy gauge wire (I used the 10 gauge in the kit) and a fuse block (also in the kit)
- ground went to the left rear seat bolt
- blue remote wire went to the blue amplifier wire on the Insane Audio receiver (This is the power feed to trigger the sub-woofer amplifier, i.e. when the receiver is turned on, power is supplied to the amplifier)
- RCA cable went to the sub-woofer out (green) on the Insane Audio (Note: If you've never done a sub-woofer install, you only need either the right or left channel for the sub-woofer, I used the right)
- sub-woofer remote level (for remotely increasing or decreasing bass) went to a place on the console where I could reach it
Overall impressions:
The B-8PTD puts out an impressive amount of bass compared to the stock sub-woofer. Having it mounted under the driver seat does direct bass to your backside though. It's not horrible, you just know you're sitting on it, if you're the type that cranks up the bass. Having the addition of the "Remote Level" bass tuning at your fingertips is a big plus!
Offloading the bass to the sub-woofer also helps take the load off the other speakers and improves the overall sound quality output noticeably. It's certainly not the same output as a separate amplifier, but for the cost, and effort, it's a great improvement over what I previously had. If you're looking to upgrade the sound system and wanting to add a separate sub-woofer, this is one of the best bang for the buck additions you can make.
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I used a 6.75 kicker in my center console (had the factory sub). It works surprisingly well for it's size. It doesn't have the roll or punch of a 10" sub obviously, but for the Jeep, it fills out the low end nicely.
I have a tuffy console and I opted for without the speaker to get more lockable storage.
OP
As you know, space is extremely limited inside the cab. I picked under the seat as the best option for ease of access and for protecting the electronics. Can you find a place to move the compressor and straps to? Given I drive my Jeep regularly, I should have done this a while ago. It's a modification that makes driving and listening to music much, much more enjoyable. In my case, I had to remove my lockable under seat storage. Since I have a Tuffy console, it was an acceptable trade!
Yeah I can probably strap them to the cage or something. We’ll see. This might be a project for sometime this summer. I’ve been working on streamlining what I carry with me on the trails.
UKTJ
TJ Addict
OP
I'm still planning to sell it. However, that's going to take time. In all likelihood, I'm going to have to pull a bunch of parts and lower the price. I just can't bring myself to do that just yet and have a few wheeling trips planned over the summer. My plan is to get some enjoyment out of all the work done!
If you keep holding onto it, you’ll probably eventually get what you want out of it.