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Bronze Member Username: ZbruskiPost Number: 38 Registered: Jun-04 | I already purchased Q Form kick panels for my car. They seem very sturdy but after reading a lot about them (many people claim they suck) I am wondering if I made the wrong decision. I am trying to create a top end SQ car on a budget (aren't we all). I am saving for a house (anyone in Southern CA will feel my pain) and frequently take vacations and don't want to sink all my money into my car. Anyway, what is the average cost of a quality set of custom kick panels and how does a typical shop know the proper angle for the speakers (SQ wise) before the components and amp is installed? I was quoted 500 dollars by one local shop and was told it would take around 20 hours of labor from another that charges $85-$100 an hour!!! Seems like a ridiculous amount of money for a few sheets of fiberglass molded to my stock kick panels. For 2000 dollars those panels better be gold plated!! Am I getting ripped off or is 500 dollars about right? I am mechanically inclined and restored a classic 60s muscle car from age 15 to 19. How hard is it to learn fiber glassing? Does anyone have a website that explains it to me? Could someone at least let me know how a mirror copy is made so both L and R kick panels look exactly the same? I feel like I could attempt to do it myself and mess up about 50 times before it costs 500 dollars. Should I just go ahead and use the Q forms? Can anyone recommend a shop that will do me right in Southern CA? Thanks for anyone who answers these questions I know I have been asking several on this forum lately. |
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Silver Member Username: MattlBolingbrook, Illinois USA Post Number: 184 Registered: Jun-04 | Q-Forms really aren't bad for the money and $500 is about right for that kind of glassing. Your best bet (if the Qs fit) is to give the install area a bath in eDead v3 or RoadKill liquid. It'll help reinforce 'em and make more of a seal. -Matt |
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ryan16 Unregistered guest | hey glasswolf, i recently bought a 1995 camaro. it came with a Pioneer DEH-P4100 cd player. i wuz messing with the settings on the way home and the front speakers went out. they arent blown, and the fader and balance are both on 0 (set equal) so i wuz wonderin if u have seen this b4. i think it could be loose wires behind the cd player buti cant get it out. i think it involves special tools. please respond or email me at rtdatv660@wmconnect.com |
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Bronze Member Username: ZbruskiPost Number: 39 Registered: Jun-04 | It would be best to post your own thread on this in the head unit section of this forum. This particular thread is regarding custom kick panels |
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Bah Dan Unregistered guest | Well Iv been doing quite a bit of work making panels for my 1965 chevy impala, I have found that masonite is an ideal material to make all sorts of panels for speaker applications, it is flexible, easy to work with, dense so it sounds good, and is easily covered by pretty much anything, I found that using the same material that is used to cover subwoofer boxes with looks quite nice, at least in classic cars where that was pretty close to "the look of the times" Ah just some information that hopefully helps... Im the sort of person that does everything with JB weld, duct tape, and pipe clamps though... |
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darb Unregistered guest | fiberglassing isnt that hard ive done it by trial and error and have limited fabrication skills. Just serch a little on the internet to find a how to. the products you need are very cheep and like i said its not that hard, the main thing to worry about it masking off the area so it dosnt ruin the interior |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfNorthWest, Michigan USA Post Number: 5537 Registered: Dec-03 | the Qlogic panels are fine if they suit your needs. I'd go with 6.5" separates in front in kick pods. that'd work very well, and Qlogic now makes them in an array of factory matched colors which makes them blend in quite well. that's what you want in my opinion. I much prefer a car where the audio system seamlessly blends with the car for aesthetics, instead of standing out and looking very gaudy. |
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New member Username: ProtrexPost Number: 10 Registered: Sep-04 | GlassWolf - Gaudy is an SAT word. I took them (for the second time) this weekend. I am starting to believe that some of the teenagers on this board spend so much time on their cars that they would never be able to define such an advanced word. J/K -Jamie |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfNorthWest, Michigan USA Post Number: 5573 Registered: Dec-03 | sorry. my other degree was in English. I don't even think about it most of the time.. lol I have to catch myself and be careful with my vocabulary sometimes when I talk to kids about stereo stuff.. or anything else for that matter. I have one friend in college who always asks me what words like aserbic or contentious mean when he hears them from his professors, or reads them in books.. haha |
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Bronze Member Username: ProtrexPost Number: 12 Registered: Sep-04 | Yeah well, I think of myself as a technical person (hoping to major in Information Technology at RIT) but I always do better in Verbal over Math. I just read some of the posts on this forum and laugh at the total disregard for spelling, punctuation, and grammar. While I am not saying that I am perfect in either of these categories, I am just appalled at the fact that people think that they can talk on this forum like they are writing with a sharpie on a bathroom wall and still expect an honest answer. Well, I have brought this thread off topic, sorry. Oh yeah, I do agree with the fact that a audio system should blend with the car, not stand out like a sore thumb. That was my goal in my Camry, make the car look as close to stock as possible, then just open the trunk and see my little friends. :-) -Jamie |