Four years later, Tobey realized that he couldn't stay away from the judging lanes. In 1996, he decided to build another system in the "Z" and the final outcome is what you see here. This time around, he built the vehicle strictly to compete. The main guideline behind the installation was to preserve the original interior aesthetics of the vehicle; the installation had to be an extension of the foundation already created by Nissan. This meant that build quality and craftsmanship were not just a high priority -- they were absolutely essential.
Phat Face For the head unit, Tobey chose a Denon DCT 1000R, largely because of its superior sound quality. This unit is regarded as one of the best ever manufactured. Fortunately for Tobey, he was able to get his hands on one because they are no longer sold in the United States. The unit was completely disassembled in order to flush mount it onto a one-inch piece of acrylic. CNC machining was required to duplicate the face and the rest of the panel. The chassis was machined onto the back of the acrylic face installation integrity. The face was finished with some paint and silk-screening to give it a factory appearance.
Under the factory armrest is a Precision Power PEQ114 trimmed in billet aluminum and custom fuse holder. The fuses monitor all the low voltage components in the vehicle. Each fuse has a corresponding LED that is green when the fuse is active and red when it is blown. A custom acrylic cover completes the fuse area. With the armrest down, everything is hidden.
A Precision Power DEQ230 is used to fine-tune the system. Everything pertaining to the installation of this component is unique. The equalizer is mounted on one-inch billet aluminum for weight reduction and structural integrity. It resides just behind the front seats. Several custom pieces were made, such as milled aluminum brackets, limit switches, sequencer, slide rails, and motorization. It is raised and lowered remotely via an Alpine 8081 security system. Wiring was extremely important; careful attention was made to ensure that the wires from the EQ would not bind or chafe. The crossovers from the Precision Power Ax606.2 amplifiers send the proper frequencies to the vehicle.
Lots of Molds For a system such as this, kickpanel enclosures would be fabricated for the front speakers as a matter of course. When building the enclosures, Tobey's guidelines were to have them be as stealth as possible; they should appear to be factory and sound incredibly accurate. Using part of the original kickpanel for construction, reverse molds were built from clay and wood. Other materials, such as MDF and Kevlar fabric, were used in the molding process for strength. The vehicle's factory hardware was used to hold the kickpanels in place. The baffles were finished in a two-stage base coat: clear coat custom metallic platinum gray PPG paint. The kicks are home to an MB Quart 4" midrange and tweeter. Security screws were used to tighten the speakers in place.
Sealed enclosures were constructed in the door to hold the midbass speakers. Medite and Kevlar were used to create the mold and then the same paint procedure was used here as in the kick panels. The finished enclosure holds Dynaudio MW160 7" midbass drivers. Factory color-matched vinyl was used to finish the rest of the panel and make it look stock. The power window switches were removed from the doors and installed into the center console for better ergonomics and to remove all wiring from the doors.
The subwoofers were installed directly behind the rear seats and placed over the axles. This was done for several reasons. "Car audio is a series of compromises, but I did not want to compromise the location of the subwoofers," states Tobey. The strongest section of the car is the area between the strut towers and this supports the enclosure properly. In addition to that, the handling of the vehicle does not change all that much. Two a/d/s 12rs subwoofers now reside between the strut towers and each has an internal volume of 1.25 cubic feet. In order to create the Kevlar Medite mold of the enclosure, a donor 300ZX Turbo was used. Rubber and nylon mounting were utilized to reduce any resonance from the enclosure. Only true frequencies (stable down to 12Hz) are heard. An aluminum grille was constructed and wrapped in factory Recaro fabric to blend perfectly with the interior. Nestled into the enclosure above the subwoofers is a Denon DCT470 CD changer.
Precision Powered Hours of planning were spent on designing the amplifier rack. Tobey wanted to create a rack that was light and easy to remove, that would allow cooling with the use of fans, and, lastly, would have the ability to highlight the amplifiers. Circular Pin Connectors (CPC) were used exclusively to wire the amplifiers. This setup allows for easy removal of the rack: all it takes is a simple twist to disconnect the wires. Holes were milled to accommodate two 4-gauge wires. The amplifier rack was constructed out of aluminum, Medite, and fiberglass. Custom-made aluminum stanchions hold the amplifiers and threaded inserts were pressed into the stanchions so that repetitive installation and removal of the amplifiers would be easy. The amplifiers were mounted in a step-like fashion to aid in heat dissipation. Even the fiberglass tub made for the amp rack helps channel the air out. Natural cooling was called on because Tobey did not want to use cooling fans, as he did not want to take any chances with them adding noise to the system. A custom-made acrylic shroud was constructed to protect the amplifiers and allow a mat to sit on top of it in order to completely hide the amplifiers. Attention to detail was not overlooked as a Precision Power logo was etched into the acrylic. Finally, vinyl was added to the cargo area and factory-matched to the outer edges. On either side of the floor sit capacitor banks, highlighted with fiberglass covers. The right side even retains the spare tire, which was an important criterion in building the cargo area.
A trio of Precision Power amplifiers runs the system. Two Ax606.2's feed the midrange, tweeter, and subwoofers. One amplifier is for the left and the other is for the right. The third amplifier, an A404, feeds the Dynaudios in the door. All three are mounted in the cargo area of the "Z."
More Gadgets To make operating the system a little easier, remote CD functions were incorporated into the center console. Beneath the radio in the ashtray are amplifier temperature and voltage gauges. Both gauges were disassembled due to their large housings and were modified to fit horizontally. A switching network was concocted to power the gauges when the ashtray slides open, and power them off when slid back in. An SPI boost gauge takes the place of the lighter and the lights were changed to match all of the factory dash lights. More gauges (temperature and voltage) reside under the hood. Each one is mounted on top of a shock tower.
Providing a constant charge to the electrical system is an upgraded Lestek 145-amp alternator. Special brackets were fabricated in order to fit the larger alternator. An Optima yellow-top battery is located in the stock position with an aluminum battery brace.
New Life Although construction on the installation began in 1996, it was not finished until 2001. Many had a helping hand in getting this competition car back on its feet after its semi-retirement.
Tobey would like to extend his greatest appreciation to the following people: Audio Advisors (Frederick Gerolimatos) for the countless hours tuning the vehicle; Marshall Fields (construction of molds); Ron Thomas (paintwork); Chris Laws (vinyl and fabric work); MB Quart; a/d/s; and Precision Power. Most importantly, Tobey credits his wife for her patience and understanding during the undertaking of a project of this magnitude.
The car is not driven anymore. It is strictly a competition vehicle that makes its way to and from events on a trailer. Tobey's own patience and understanding led him to a championship at this year's Spring Break Nationals, a win at the Georgia Motor Fest (Perry, Ga.), and runner-up honors at the 2001 IASCA Finals. Future plans are to just enjoy competing and all the fun that comes with it.