100 + hits today

Little bit of geeky fact but it looks like I got over 100 hits today 80 of which where new visitors to the blog!

Power Supply Update

Well all has been pretty quiet on the Project front. Planned holidays to Canada and New York have all my funds tied up until January when the hunt for a Pajero can begin.

As I'm sure you are aware, any big power car audio system needs its power supply and its one area I have been thinking a lot about recently. (mostly due to the amount of money I have had to budget for batteries! )

I have managed to pick up a pair of NSB75 batteries (one from eBay and one thanks to Aaron 'aaron_s' Sandy from Talkaudio ) to run from the stock alt and power the front end and car electrics. I have also been investigating how to get 2 alts into the Pajero engine bay and it looks like that's going to be possible by replacing the stock air box with a cone filter (on the left in this picture) which frees up enough space to allow Adam 'dumdum' Daniels to work his magic and mount a pair of 210a alts on a custom bracket



I have recently changed company cars so no longer have any bass fix which is going to become a real motivator for the project as anyone who has had to go bass cold turkey will confirm so if anyone wants an SPL Dynamics SPL460 in a custom ported box let me know! selling that will get me the deposit on my alts!

I have not had many comments or suggestions on the blog so feel free to post your thoughts, comments or questions

The Competition Formats

Had a few people ask me why I'm doing this and how the competitions work so I thought I would do a post about the 4 main formats I will be competing in.

• dB Drag - Measures out and out volume at systems peak frequency
  
• Bassrace - Measures music playing ability and system controllability
  
• Propper Droppers - Measures volume at low frequencies
• Ground Pounders - Measures music playing ability at volume

dB Drag Racing

dB Drag is run in the UK by Darren 'Loudboy' Millard as part of the worldwide db Drag Racing competition format and is designed to measure how loud a car is at a single frequency. Some people design and build cars just to excel in this competition (these cars cannot play music but just play one tone as loud as possible) the format is split into a number of categories that are designed to group similar systems in the same group - check out the dB Drag Rules for more information on these classes. I am unsure which category I will be competing in as this is determined by the install configuration. Project Big Black will not be built to fit into a specific db drag category but will compete in which ever category it fits into. My Personal best was 157db at the UK Finals 2008


Bassrace

Bassrace allows people to go head to head with other competitors with a system of similar volume. They termlab sensor measures the average volume of the system as it plays music for 30 seconds and displays this in realtime for the competitor to see. The idea is to get as close to the maximum score for your bracket as possible without 'busting out' e.g. I will be competing in the 149.9 class so over the 30 seconds I will need to hit 149.9 and make sure i do not go over this score. below you can see a video filmed at the World db Drag finals in Bar Le Duc of me competing against Geoff 'Firestarter' Kerss - My Personal best was 149.9 and 4th place in Europe - My target for this year is to return to the World Finals and bring back a World Title to the UK





Propper Droppers

Run by Marcus 'MegaHeavyBass' Barnes from www.streetbassers.co.uk the Propper Droppers format tests a system at 20hz, 25hz, 33hz and 40hz and then averages the scores to produce a final score. This format was introduced to allow systems that has a low tuned peak to compete against each other (db drag favours systems with a higher tuning)

My personal best was

Total Average (((Propper Droppers))) Score = 152.6dB

Peak= 155.6dB @ 33hz &40Hz
40hz= 155.6dB
33hz= 155.6dB
25hz= 150.8dB
20hz= 145.7dB


Ground Pounders

Ground Pounders is a brand new format from the same guys that run Propper Droppers and is designed to measure how loud your system is 'Showing off' 3 reading are taken

1st: Doors and windows open etc
2nd: Doors and windows sealed
3rd: The sensor is placed at the foot of your door with the door and windows open

Ground Pounders is all about showing off how loud your system is - I have only competed in one event using my last company car system and got a very disappointing score

Total Average= 137.2dB
Sealed= 138.8dB
Open = 141.1dB
From outside = 131.9dB

A brief history of booming

Starting this blog had me thinking about all of the other systems I have had so I figured it might be interesting to list them - so here is that list - If anyone remembers anything I left out or spots something wrong drop me a line and I will fix it - Looking back through this I realise just how lucky I am to have a wife like Lou!


Renault 5 GTL
Sony Modular system – Tape HU with hideaway Tuner and Amp
My first ever system purchased 2nd hand from CEL in Leicester with £80 I won from a National Lottery Scratch card! Got stolen from the car along with a lot of gig equipment whilst I was drinking in a pub after a band practice

1976 Triumph Herald
Dragster 10” Sub and a Kenwood 200w amp
Installed by a company when I was in Sheffield at university this car became known as the Ska Wagon (during my time at university listened to a lot of American ska punk bands) 6x9 speakers in custom trimmed rear quarter panels and a 10” sealed dragster sub

Focus

JBL GT4 and a JBL GTO 4000
My first ‘proper’ car - Purchased the JBL bass pack from CAS – 12” JBL GT4 GTO amp and 6x9s – Originally the sub was installed in a sealed box, but I eventually got round to building my first box for it and using flashing tape to deaden the box

Infinity 12” and JBL GTO 4000
Found in cash converters for £35 this sub replaced my GT4 in the above set up.

2x RE 12s and a US Amps 150 and 1000x
Around this time I had joined Talkaudio – my brother was in the states at the time so arranged for him to bring me back a pair of the RE 12” subs. I also got talking to AdamR6 (now DUB) on Talkaudio who was selling the old school US Amps 150 - This began a trend of purchasing equipment from Talkaudio that still runs to this day – I later purchased a US Amps 1000x from Adam and ran the RE subs from that

REHC15 and a US Amps 1000x
The HC15 purchased from a guy in Oxford from Talkaudio (I can’t remember his name) This was my first BIG sub

Powerbass Extreme 15 and a US Amps Merlin M2D2
The Amp was my first of many purchases from VD After selling to the HC to Kinetics from Talkaudio (met up with him in a car park with his granddad) I got the Powerbass sub from Tristan Q – met up at Northampton services to do the deal – Interesting story – did the deal with Tristan on the weekend – Monday morning I get to my new job in London and the facilities manager recognised me from the services – he was there on his way back from a trip and thought it was strange seeing people messing about with subwoofers in a car park – little did I know this was the first of MANY meets in car parks up and down the country either buying, selling or just messing around with cars.

XXX v3 12 and a US Amps Merlin M2D2 – 138db
I can’t remember who I got this from but at the time it was the mythical sub of choice so I had to try one

3 x Powerbass Extreme 10s and a US Amps Merlin M2D2 – 142db
Swapped the xxxv3 for 3 powerbass ex 10” subs and a box made by VD

Puggie Special Hybrid and a US Amps Merlin M2D2 – Never tested
This sub was a created by Puggie from Talkaudio – DD soft parts with a TC Sounds Motor – had it for a few weeks but never got it tested as it died before I could run it at the UK finals 2006


2 x DD 3512s and a US Amps Merlin M2D2 – 144db
These babies where purchased about 20mins after the above sub died – Previously owned by Geoff ‘Firestarter’ Kerss he actually drove back to Norfolk on the night of the finals to pick these up with Ken ‘The Troublestarter’ York behind the wheel top guys They went on to do 144db

DD9515 and a Powerbass 3000d – 146db
This is the system I used for the 2007 db drag season – my first season of full competition in Street C

15” RE Audio XXXv4 and A Powerbass 3000d – Never Tested
Purchased due to its reputation I didn't have the room for this so it went soon after

DD9915 and 2 x Powerbass 3000d – 149db
This is how I ended the 2007 Season – a DD9915 and 6k managed a 149db – this was the sub I used against Craig ‘cdescort’ Dillow through the 2007 season We also took this install to Lyon for the 2007 dB Drag World Finals where I placed 3rd in Europe in 139.9 Bassrace

Golf
2 x DD9918s and 2 x Powerbass 3000d – 150db
Purchased from Jag Singh and build by VD this was the first of my big installs – only managed 148 on its first outing – then at EXPO in Coventry in Feb 2008 – thanks to Jerry and Gayram from Team Fusion I managed to hit the target for the install of 150db. I was so happy but the golf had a dodgy wiring loom that was not economical to fix so I moved on. The DD9918s where purchased from SPLouis as was the 2nd powerbass amp

Clio
2 x DD9918s and 2 x Powerbass 3000d - 153
Built by Gula for a pair of XXX18s then used by Lozzy with the APXX18s I dropped my DD9918s and Powerbass amps right into this and did around 153db

2 x Atomic APXX 18s and 2 x Powerbass 3000d
Due to their age the DDs needed reconing so Chris@Axis lent me a pair of Atomic APXXs for a while – the same ones that Lozzy used to have

Kia
6 x SPL Dynamics SPL 300 and 3 x Powerbass 3000d – 157db
On the way back from T16 in 2008 the Clio spat its head gasket so I had to look for another project – Pazz was selling his Kia Pride – built for SPL with 6 x JBL GT4 subs I purchased this from him in a car park in Farnham and drove it back and promptly stripped it to take 6 SPL Dynamics SPL300D2 subs.
Running from 2 Powerbass 3000ds at first – its first outing at Ice Direct didn’t go to well – only managing 148 I think. But with ALOT of help from Ken York we whipped out the subs – rewired them to the correct impedance and managed 154db! Then at the UK Finals in 2008 I managed 157db – this car also saw me do some pretty cool proper droppers scores I took this car to the Euro Finals in Bar Le Duc France and managed 4th in Europe


This car was also part for the TA Bassquake World Record in which 22 of the loudest cars in the UK got together to perform the "Largest Seismic Earthquake Caused By Car Stereos". The event was organized by Fast Car Magazine and www.talkaudio.co.uk (all UK) at the Santa Pod Raceway, Northampton, UK, on 22 October 2008 Check out the Video - I'm in the background somewhere


BMW Company Car
At the beginning of 2009 I decided to sell up as I wasn’t able to do what I wanted with the Kia but that didn’t last long as I managed to have almost as many sub installs in my Company cars as in my own! I drive a lot of miles and the lack of bass was really getting to me – So I asked my boss if I could install an MP3 adaptor to my company car – he said I could do what I liked as long as I didn’t cause any damage and so it began

2 x 8” Lanzar Vibes and Lanzar Vibe 1500 -138db
Subs and Amp purchased from Jamie ‘Devices’ Challis on TA with a fantastic box made by Jon ‘ WonkyJon’ Clements

Audi A3 Sportback Company Car

2 x 8” Lanzar Vibes and Lanzar Vibe 1500 – Never Tested
I changed my company car and moved the dual 8s into the boot bit it wasn’t enough

DD3512 and Lanzar Vibe 1500 – Never Tested – only in a week!
Managed to find a cheap DD3512 and installed that – still not loud enough

DD9515 and Powerbass 3000d – 142db @ 25hz!
At this point I confessed to my long suffering wife that I was seriously missing having any bass and she allowed me to get something a little bigger and a lot louder so a Powerbass 3000d was purchased from Bass wagon as well as a DD9515 from Richard ‘Blade’ Bladon

2 x SPL Dynamics SPL300 and a Powerbass 3000d – 144db
After a short while with the DD I wanted something louder so purchased a pair of my old SPL dynamic SPL300 back from The Jungalist – Jazz 152db made me a custom birch ply box – I managed to kill my powerbass amp so I also purchased a pair of amps from Ben ‘ BT Boomer’ Fortescue

1 x SPL Dynamics SPL460 and 2 x Star-X 1500s – 146db
Just when I thought I would be happy – SPL Dynamics decided to make an 18” version of their SPL range of subs – a quick call to Mike @ Car Audio Direct and I had one on its way. I was a little foolish with my gain settings and killed the sub pretty quick – a full scoping session later and a recone thanks to Mike @ Cad and John ‘Daddy-O’ Aitkin and it was back on the road again and this is my current system

Power Supply

Had a few people comment on power supply for the system so thought I would open up a post about it.

As things stand the stock alt will be powering the car electrics and the front end amps, HU, Epic and any line drivers and the 2nd Alt will be purely powering the sub amp battery bank.

Thanks to the guys from www.pocuk.com I have already discovered how to add a 2nd alt (photos courtesy of redneck)






This alt with have an external reg so that will allow me to run 12-18v depending on batteries.

One thing im currently considering is a number of THESE batteries. Each one is 6v but its made of 3 individual 2v cells which can be joined as required - 3 of them will allow me to run from 12v-18v - only problem is they are 35kgs each and I think I would need 9 of them as a minimum which is over 300kgs - EEK

for 12v batteries I'm currently looking at THESE

When I know the amps I will be getting I will look at a 14v system if they are compatible

The Plan

The plan is to get a long wheel base Mitsubishi Pajero, paint it matt black and stuff it full of subs and amps and then BE LOUD SON! The original plan was for a Honda CRX with a No Wall style yank box but I decided against that when I saw the price of a decent CRX, and also the work needed to support a big system - A Paj has big brakes, and big suspension already so that's a few things I don't need to worry about

I haven't decided on subs and amps just yet - a lot of it is budget dependant but I have the HU sorted (a Kenwood KDC-W7544U I am already using - a cracking iPod HU) I already have an Epicenter and that will definitely be going in as well.

With a big boomer like this the power supply is key - so I'm planning on getting a shed load of batteries (andreac7530 on eBay usually has some good quality batteries cheap) Im also going to need a decent Alt so will be speaking to dumdum from Talkaudio about the installation of a 210a alt and external regulator - Anyone from TA will know of his guru status when it comes to custom alt fitting. The Paj has space above the PAS pump for a 2nd alt so I will probably be leaving the stock alt in place to run the car electrics and maybe the front end amps and then adding the 210a alt just to power the rear battery bank

The final design of the box and install will be made once I have decided on equipment but the build is going to be done by someone with some serious skills when it comes to box building and design, Henry (proffessa from www.streetbassers.co.uk will be taking it on and Im sure the results are going to be amazing.


Sound Deadening and cabling will be installed by me as soon as I get hold of the car (see future posts about the search for a suitable Paj) I will be using Loudboy from talkaudio's deadening matte - it has had rave reviews from alot of big hitters and the price is perfect so its a no brainer really

Finally the paint job - anyone who has seen my previous cars will know how fond I am of the matte black look so I'm going to be doing the same again with this. Black tints and hopefully if the budget will stretch, matt black wheels as well

Comments as always welcome - keep your eyes peeled for another update soon - I'm currently looking to sell my current SUB and AMPS to try and raise some funds to get sound deadening and batteries purchased in advance - drop me a line if you're interested!

First Blog post ever

Well here it is - the opening post of the Project Big Black blog - The aim of this is to let everyone see the progress of the build from right now, in the planning stages, through the purchase of the car and the work to get it ready for next years show season as well as allowing you to follow the progress at events and competitions culminating in the 2010 dB Drag World Finals where I will enter the car in the 149.9 Bassrace category and hopefully bring the World title to the UK - Fingers Crossed

I will updating this be asking questions both here, on www.talkaudio.co.uk and also www.pocuk.co.uk Please leave your comments and suggestions on the blog