For many, the car audio itch attacks during the last year of high school. Allowance money and earnings from odd jobs after school get pooled together for a first car stereo. With their upgraded rides, the young people feel like they have it all. They obviously haven't met John Wheatley.
Just out of high school, 19-year-old Wheatley had spent endless amounts of time working odd jobs to save up for the ultimate car audio system. At the end of summer 2004, with some savings and the help of his mom, he purchased his platform, a new Lexus IS300, black on black of course! To complete his dream he needed a sound system that suited his needs: games, loud music and some style. Wheatley visited many local shops and found nice product but not someone to do the type of installation he wanted. As Wheatley put it, one shop proposed a "big box with some mirrors and a lot of wood"-not quite what he had in mind.
THE PLAN
Wheatley finally met former installer Ed Ng and his friend Marie Flagiello. "Ed and I have worked on a few projects before," stated Flagiello. "We decided to take this on since it was going to be fun." Together they came up with a design that could induce John into handing over the keys. "Space for storage and utilizing space was the objective," says Ng. Therefore, the simple installation they planned didn't call for extensive work in the trunk. "Marie and I spoke to John a lot about what he wanted in the car besides just the equipment. Since he plays video games and likes to download music, we went with the Xbox game console and the Eclipse AVX head unit. Our first order of business was how to make the system work well using the least amount of space."
CONSERVING SPACE
"Looking at the rear trunk, we both wanted to keep the people interested in the installation," states Ng, "so we looked at all of the possible viewing angles and placed the equipment accordingly." That equipment, except for video pieces, turned out to be JL Audio. It seemed to be Wheatley's weapon of choice from the power wire on up. The large JL 1000/1 and the 450/4 amplifiers, the former for the sub and the latter for the components have the same footprint. Just putting them in plain sight would have been too easy, so Ng and Flagiello decided to hide them a little and at the same time utilize all the dead space possible, mainly on the sides. The two 12W6 subwoofers provided another obstacle. Since they are so big and heavy, Ng and Flagiello needed to make a solid yet shapely enclosure to highlight the system. They constructed the box with 3/4" MDF and fiberglass, with a port between the woofers leading into the cabin. For accents, the pair incorporated 1/4" acrylic and perforated aluminum into the enclosure as well as two 1/4" pieces of acrylic surrounding the subs.
GAME MODULE
The nice, subtle appearance of the system runs deeper than looks. The various built pieces look almost modular in a sense and that's because they practically are. Most of them pull out without having to unscrew anything. One such component is the compartment built under the deck lid in the trunk for the Xbox and all its parts. The entire unit was taken apart and most of the internal wires had to be extended. In addition, Ng and Flagiello added a cooling fan, which vents up through the rear deck, so the Xbox can function correctly without overheating. The unit also has wireless remote controls instead of the standard wired game controllers. To operate the unit, the pair installed handy power and reset buttons at the front center console. "The reset button and power button are very important for booting up a modified Xbox," states Wheatley.
STAGE WORK
With JL Audio taking care of the low frequencies, Wheatley suitably chose JL Audio XR650CSI's for the front stage and XR525CXI's for the rear fill. To install the speakers in the factory locations, Ng and Flagiello made templates and used baffles to maintain the integrity of the car. "Shooting holes and forcing speakers to fit is just not the way to install," Flagiello decrees.
PARANOIA OR EXTRA SAFE?
Wheatley wanted something special in regards to security features. In addition to the Clifford alarm and remote start system, a special compartment pops open at the push of a remote. "John wanted us to make something to store his books, videos and personal valuables," Ng reveals. "Originally we made a motorized door for accessing the spare tire, but after talking to John we made a nice safety box for him," adds Flagiello. Upon looking at the trunk, no access to a spare tire or anything is visible. Wheatley couldn't ask for a more secure location to stow his valuables, in the Lexus at least.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
Everywhere you look in this install, there is something to see, such as the Xbox under the rear deck. Smooth finishes and nice shape where it counts make the fiberglass work stand out. Although it does have some flash, such as neon, nothing overwhelms the viewer. Thoughtful placement of equipment and attention to detail are most evident when you check out the trunk, with its plentitude of cargo space. In all, Ng and Flagiello can be proud of a job well done.