Month: October 2022
Speakers Overview:
The car speakers you use will have the absolute say in how your system will sound. There are many different types of speakers available. A single speaker can be used to reproduce the full range of sounds but it is not ideal. If the speaker is too great it will have problems reproducing high frequencies which require rapid movement of the speaker. If it is too diminutive it will have problems reproducing low frequencies which require large amounts of air to be moved. Because a single speaker cannot reproduce all sounds accurately multiple speakers are used each of which imitates sound in the frequency range it was designed for. A speaker called a tweeter reproduces high frequencies generally above 2 kHz.
Tweeters are small and lightweight so they can respond fast. Very little power is required for powering tweeters because they are very efficient. Woofers are the exact opposite because they usually require considerable amounts of power to really move air. Woofers are meant to produce sound at frequencies below 250 Hz and often just below 100 Hz (in the case of subwoofers). Because a woofer must move considerable amounts of air they are usually large with typical sizes of 10″, 12″, 15″ and even 18″! On the other hand tweeters are usually very small ranging in size from 1/2″ to 2″ in size. Typically, tweeters larger than 1″ in size cannot respond fast enough to sound good and are too directional. In between are midrange speakers which handle the frequencies between the woofers and tweeters. Further separation can be done but is usually unrequired and just complicates the crossover which must separate the full audio signal into multiple parts for each speaker.
Things to look for:
Power Handling: Just as with amplifiers, RMS or continuous power is pivotal here. Some manufacturers will assert very high power handling figures but they are usually for very short peaks only. Granted music is not continuous but the continuous power handling gives you a much better impression of how much power a speaker can really handle. For tweeters and midranges, power handling is not as critical since it does not take much power for them to play loudly. For woofers though a rough match should be made between the woofer and the amp driving it.
Sensitivity: This is a very important specification for a speaker. It gives you an idea of how loud a speaker will play given a certain input power. If a speaker is insensitive then it will require greater power to play at the same volume level than a speaker that is more sensitive. Figures between 85 dB and 95 dB at 1 watt RMS at 1 meter are regular. If you use anything outside of this range you may have trouble matching the output levels of the speakers relative to each other. .
Physical Size: You must pay attention to the size of the speakers you choose. Tweeters are very small but need to mounted where they fire nearly directly at you or they may not be heard correctly. Some tweeters have better off axis response than others. If you will not be on axis with the tweeter when you audition tweeters in a store listen to how their sound variates as you move around them to see if they will work in your car. Midranges should fit in the door or dash spaces provided or you will have to do some cutting or fabrication. In general the greater the woofer the larger the enclosure required to hold it. Some woofers are better optimized for modest enclosures than others (Kicker Solobaric, JL Audio W6 for example). Make sure you have enough room in your trunk or hatchback for the woofer. Kickpanels for midranges and tweeters or coaxials typically offer better imaging than locations in the door however the soundstage is sometimes lower than when you have the tweeters mounted high in the doors or on the A pillars.
How Do Speakers Work?
Moving Speaker Speakers are air pistons that move back (on the negative cycle of the signal) and forth (on the positive cycle), creating varied degrees of air pressure at different frequencies. The amplifier (either separate or built-in your radio), produces electrical impulses that change from positive and negative voltages (AC). This current reaches the voice coil inside the speaker, forming an electro-magnet that will either be repelled, or attracted by the fixed magnet at the bottom of the speaker. The voice coil is attached to the cone, moving it back and forth, creating sound. The surround (rubbery circle that joins top of the cone and metal basket) and the spider (usually yellow corrugated circle joining bottom of cone to magnet) make the cone return to its original position.
Speaker Sensitivity, measured in dB, is how loud a speaker plays (usually 1 Watt, 1 meter). A higher Sensitivity rating means that the speaker will play louder using the same power as a speaker with a lower rating.
The back and front parts of the speaker should be separated from each other. When the front of the cone is pushing air, the bottom is pulling air, creating a cancelling effect. Ideally each speaker should be in an enclosure. If you are mounting a speaker in a big hole, make certain you build a panel to isolate the front and back of the speaker (baffle).
Imaging, Staging and Directivity
Imaging – is being able to pick certain sounds from different places. The singer would usually be located towards the middle of the car, guitars, trumpets, and other instruments towards the sides of the car. If you scatter speakers all around the car your imaging would be very bad, since you would be producing the same sound at different places. If you have a system with flawless imaging, the sound should seem to come from different instruments and voices, not speakers.
Staging – is the ability of a system to “fool you” into feeling that everything (including bass) is in front of you. The sound should be identical to a stage in a concert, where the singer would be in the front center, and the rest of the instruments and background vocalists would be located to the left and right (but always on the front).
Good staging and imaging are not so easy to implement. It takes a lot experimenting with speaker location and direction.
Directivity – of sound is related to frequency. At higher frequencies it is simpler to pinpoint where the sound is coming from than lower frequencies. This can be used to our advantage in car stereo. Tweeters are the most important part of getting good staging. They should be aimed towards the middle of the car. A way to “bring” the bass to the front of the car is to fool our ears by overlapping frequencies played by midbases and subs, so that your midbases actually “pull” the bass to the front, since lower bass in not too directional. You should crossover your midbases as low as you can (without getting distortion). Then cut your subs at a bit higher frequency (preferably 60 HZ or less). This will mix the bass coming from the front and rear, making the bass seem to come from the front. Adding a center channel also improves staging, if it is set up correctly.
Types of Speakers
Coaxials – Coaxial speakers (or three-ways) are two (or more) speakers built-in the same frame. They are cheaper than separate woofer and tweeters and also easier to install. There is no need to worry about crossovers, since they are already built-in (you might still need to add a crossover to block bass if you are using high-power amplifiers). A disadvantage of coaxials is the lack of flexibility. For example, if the coaxial is all the way in the kick panel, or door panel aiming at your feet, you will not have good staging or imaging. You should usually consider coaxial speakers for the back and the front of the car, unless you only have one speaker hole and don’t plan to cut any more holes in the car.
Separates – Separates consist of a tweeter and woofer, and [most of the time] come with an external crossover. The woofer is usually mounted in the factory hole in the door or kick panel. The tweeters can be mounted in different places. Typically they are installed towards the top front corner of the door panel, in the dash or the in the blank plastic piece on the top front side of the doors (where the mirror is on the outside). You would have to experiment with angle and location to achieve the best possible imaging and staging.
Horns – Horns are very good at directing sound and have high efficiencies. Horns are typically mounted under the dash. By doing this, difference in distance from left and right speakers are greatly reduced over conventional mounting locations. Since horns play mids and highs, tweeters are not needed. Horns cost more than conventional speakers and require customization. Horns are not for everyone though. It is not easy to properly setup a set of horns.
Midbases – Midbases are usually 5, 6 or 8 inch speakers that are designed to go lower in frequency and are part of a three way system with a mid and tweeter. Midbases are usually mounted in the doors.
Subwoofers – Subwoofers add lower frequencies to the system. They have to be enclosed in a box, with the exception of free air subwoofers, which use the trunk as an enclosure. There are many different types of boxes and implementations discussed in the “subwoofers” section.
Car Speaker Mounting Locations
Front Speakers – The best place to mount speakers in the front, in custom kick panels. If this is impossible, try to point the speakers towards the center of the car, and try to minimize the distance between the right and left speakers to your ears. Custom kick panels are usually built from fiberglass or molded plastic, and are available from some manufacturers .
Rear Speakers – Rear speakers should give a sense of space to the music, but not overpower the front speakers. You should be able to barely hear the rear speakers. Most high end systems don’t have rear speakers. Tweeters are not essential for the rear, a set of coaxials will work well for rear fill.
Center Channels – Center channels consist of a midrange speaker (3 or 4 inch) mounted in the middle of the dash (usually) on the top. Center channels play a mono (Left + Right) signal between 350 – 500 and 3500 Hertz (voice range). The need of the center channel is to raise the sound stage, by causing the sensation of the singers “being” in the front of the car, and not in the door panels. Center channels are hard to implement.
Sizes and Shapes
There are many speaker sizes ranging from 1-inch tweeters to 18-inch (or bigger) subwoofers. A smaller speaker will reproduce higher frequencies better than a bigger one.
Do round speakers sound superior than oval-shaped speakers (i.e. 6×9’s)? The answer is yes for most practical purposes. A round cone is more rigid than an oval-shaped one, so at higher levels, an oval-shaped speaker will distort more. The reason why there are oval-shaped speakers is because of rear deck space considerations by manufacturers. An advantage of a 6×9 speaker over a 6-inch speaker is that it has a bigger area, so it will move higher air volume, producing more bass.
Power Considerations
Most people think that if they use a 50 watt per channel amplifier on their factory speakers, the speakers will be damaged. This may be true if the speakers do not have crossovers blocking off frequencies speakers were not designed to play. What destroys speakers is distortion. A high power amplifier allows the volume in the system to be higher, while the volume control on the radio is down in the range where no distortion is present. It is better to have more power than what you need to get cleaner sound.
Small, efficient, smart and bright colored cars are the trend for 2010 in the automotive market. Automakers are focusing on small cars and as new models surge into the market, bright colors will blossom. Since car manufacturers are focusing on the small car line up, therefore to given them a jazzy and fiery appeal, bright colors are the order of the day. The experts also feel that if bright colors are put in large cars, it will be a little too much for the consumers; hence these colors are best suited for the small cars. When it comes to cars, colors matter a lot because it represents the personality of the person driving that car.
When the buyer visits any showroom, the first thing that attracts him is the color of the car and this is one of the main selling points of the car. The car aficionado feel that colors can bring the customers out of their recession-dull mood, therefore colors carry a lot of weight when it comes to make a purchase decision. People are now tried of black and grey and look for more vibrant colors in small cars like Chevrolet, A-Star, Hyundai i10 and many such names. The automotive color spectrum has been monotonous for many decades with only few colors hitting the car market including black, white and grey. Now even the eyes need a breather and for that vibrancy in looks can play a crucial role.
Jazzy and peppy colors are in these days as small cars represent the same. The new entrant in the small car segment, Maruti Suzuki A- Star is available in vibrant and peppy colors like bright red, paradise blue, sunlight copper, healing green, silky silver, desert brown, azure great, midnight black and arctic white. Why get a grey or white car when you can cruise in sunlight copper or electric blue instead? Dull and monotonous colors will not suit the small and zippy cars which are targeted at the youth. Let black, grey and white enhance the elegance, sophistication and exclusivity of the large or big cars. Small and vibrant is what people look for in todays time because of prices touching sky everywhere.
Reds, lime greens, orange, electric blue are in vogue in small car segment and this has increased the demand of thee cars among the youth. The color one chooses foe his small car is dictated by career choice, personality and popularity. For most of the people, car is more than just a utility item; therefore a lot of stress is there on the colors like yellow, green, red, blue, beige and white.
How old is your car? Some cars are just three years old yet look saggy some are ten but still groovy. Big deal right? It really is. Just when you think of selling it, the buyer gets disinterested because of corrosions, really in dilemma. Here are some tips before getting it listed in a cars classifieds or before having it sold in a car auction.
Cars are like humans. Actually they are extension of the owners themselves. Washing cars regularly, at least once a month brings back the exuding sensual image of the car. Bugs, limestone drippings when not removed might cause damage to the car leaving a permanent stain. Difference exist when washing a car and not. When it’s dirty, the moisture accumulates in dirty areas causing corrosion but when the car is clean, all the moisture dries up quickly.
Using a pressure wash once in a while removes the dirt from the parts that are difficult to reach. Holding out the pressure wash jet closely to the painted surface might peel the loose paint. Places like behind moldings, inside wheel arches, under the bumpers should be washed off. This is where the dirt and salt could be accumulated. The dirt in the wind shield must also be wiped and washed. Dirts accumulated in the windshield gets caught by the windshield wipers blades and scratches the windshield when the wipers are operating.
Drying the car is one of the most important process. The wrong method of drying can cause water spots, streaks and even scratches. This ultimately ruins the car. Although not everyone has this luxury of drying, the best method is to park it in a garage or shade. Most people recommend the use of a 100 percent cotton towels to dry up. Others would recommend chamois. However this may lead breakdown and leave residue on cars. Good thing, science is constantly doing innovation, the use of synthetic chamois is great and useful.
Same with how the car wash was done, using the chamois, start at the top and work way down. The flat surface must be first done before working on the sides and bumpers. Dry up under the door handles and under the side mirrors, these areas tend to hold water that will sneak up on you later. Next, grab a clean towel and open up all the doors and wipe down the door jambs, then do the same on the inside of the trunk and hood.
Just like men, grooming follows bathing. Waxing the car regularly helps. The wax protects the paint minimizing harm from chemicals. It also gives protection from fading out. The plus factor from this that it looks shiny. Waxing takes only about 30 minutes to wax a whole car. For high quality waxes this stays up to three to four months. Superb!
While the outside needs cleaning and so with its interior. The car accumulates dirts, dusts and rocks. The only way to get rid of the junks is to suck it up with a vacuum. With a slim nozzle attachment, this can reach even the smallest bit s between the seats and the hardest part to reach. Better to take out the mats. Shaking them up and vacuuming removes the old dirts sticked on it.
Get the dash and board cleaned up, from the top down to the center console. Wipe down the door sills, the rear deck and the plastic parts between the front and rear seats on four-door cars, after you have cleaned these areas, it’s time to apply some vinyl protectant. This maintains the vinyl by replenishing the oils and provides protection from harmful UV rays when parked outside. Lastly, clean the interior windows.
Once both the inside and out is clean, the result would be a shiny, and lustrous car. There is no reason why one should be shy to list it on car classifieds or car listings. If a buyer sees how good looking the car is, the deal is close. It would be difficult then to determine which is which? Is it under used cars or new cars?
Car servicing is an important aspect of car maintenance that will enable you car to be safe. Whether you own a Mercedes, Audi, BMW or Volkswagen for example, it is good practice to keep to your manufacturer’s servicing schedule. This will result in the car being less likely to breakdown.
A service will often cover the following aspects; engine oil and oil filter change, checks on the levels of coolant/brake fluid/power steering fluid, checks on lighting /signalling/brakes/clutch, reading of onboard auto diagnostics, air filter/spark plug replacements. These checks will generally cover MOT and safety requirements and because of the complexity of today’s cars are best carried out by manufacturer trained mechanics. A further breakdown of service detail will outline the benefits of some of these areas.
Engine oil and filter change lifecycle will vary according to the oil type used. Modern oils have moved from mineral to semi-synthetic to fully synthetic. Synthetic based oils will generally last longer than the old mineral type and offer a greater range of protection to the engine, an example of which is Castrol GTX Magnatec that can protect the engine from the start due to magnetic properties built into the oil. A professional car servicing garage will use the oil recommended by the vehicle manufacturer.
Fluid levels for the brake, steering and coolant systems should be checked and topped up as necessary as part of a service, but these should also be checked by the owner from time to time. Lack of engine coolant may result in substantial engine damage to anything from the head gasket to the big ends (this will require engine replacement!). Lack of brake or power steering fluid will also cause problems with control systems which are obviously paramount for driver safety.
Almost all modern vehicles will have onboard electronics which may include auto diagnostic functionality. A properly equipped service garage will be able to link into these systems and gain information of any intermittent or impending problems that may have occurred since the last service thus giving an extra layer of security and oversight.
Air filter replacements are necessary at anything from 25,000 to 50,000 miles and are also dependent on environmental conditions. A clogged air filter will restrict air flow to the engine thus reducing power and fuel consumption. Spark plugs are amongst the least expensive parts of the engine and probably one of the most critical for engine tuning. Some spark plugs are claimed to have life spans of 100,000 miles, general manufacturer service recommendations will specify replacement every 30,000 to 50,000 miles. Even if longlife spark plugs are fitted they will require removal and regular cleaning to make sure they don’t seize in the engine.
Sometimes unfinished classic car projects can sit in a barn, garage or even worse – outside in the elements – for years and even decades. During this time seals, gaskets, steel parts and rubber all begins to break down and eventually can lead to the completely ruin of your once-complete antique automobile. Save your car by considering one of these five options – assuming of course that finishing the project yourself is no longer an option.
1.) Professional Classic Car Restoration
For some car restoration projects, going professional is the only real option. This is especially true if there is significant work that needs to be done to the frame, body and drive-train components and parts are not readily available. In most cases a professional shop will be able to locate all required parts and assemble and restore the car the way it was meant to be.
One of the biggest obstacles preventing most classic car enthusiasts from going this route is the perceived cost. However, in most cases the more expensive option is to do nothing at all and simply let the car languish and rot. In fact, you may be surprised how affordable professional restoration really is.
2.) Sell Your Classic Car
Lots of individuals and even some shops will buy basketcase projects. This essentially refers to complete classic car projects that are in pieces. Depending on the amount of work involved and the condition of the car and parts, you may be able to get much more than you think for your antique car or truck. You can start by contacting restoration shops to see if they’re interested or know of anyone who is, and then proceed to traditional listings, Craigslist and even eBay if you’re feeling lucky.
3.) Trade it!
If you’ve got the right car you may be able to tempt a collector or enthusiast into a trade. Whether you’re looking for a completed project, a newer car or truck or something else entirely, chances are great that you can find the perfect trade situation by checking and interacting on classic and antique car forums and websites. Traditional newspaper ads often get fast, local results, and visiting a pro restoration shop might turn up some leads as well.
4.) Museums Might Love it
If you’ve got a great old car sleeping away in pieces somewhere on your property and you know you’re never really going to do anything with it, you may want to consider giving it to an auto museum. Often you’ll receive credit on the display and a generous tax break, and just the fact that the museum will restore and forever care for your old car is generally enough to consider this seriously as an option.
5.) Donate to Charity
Donating your basketcase classic car project to charity has a number of potential tax benefits as well as the fact that – depending on the situation – your old car may net a significant cash infusion for charities that often struggle to obtain funds to support their causes. If it’s just got to rot away anyway, you might as well help someone else out by checking around for some charities that may be interested in putting your old car or truck to good use.
If you’ve got a car in pieces somewhere and want to see it live on, call a professional classic car restorer now to find out exactly what can be done with it, and about how much time and money that will cost. However, caution should be used when finding a classic car restorations shop, as you’ll want to make sure they have the equipment and expertise to preserve your car, buy it from you or sell it for you.