What does it take to compete in SQ?
05-31-2004, 01:23 PM
#11
I'm a firm believer that you can do fairly well in competition at least at the local and regional level using mid-level gear and a basic, but very well thought-out install. And if you don't know what is required on how to install a good sounding system or what good sound is or how to tune a car then ask around and find somebody who does. And I would place the most emphasis on the speakers when buying gear.
05-31-2004, 06:46 PM
#12
Yankee
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 3,599
^By ensuring the speakers are not the weak link you keep yourself out of the unenviable position of being part way through a competition year and outgrowing your speakers. This is assuming your doing things on a weekly basis to upgrade the sound of your system.
Question: how many SQ competitors are you seeing at a typical event? This is a serious question, besides this thread has stayed on topic way to long, it is time to make the Mods work!
Question: how many SQ competitors are you seeing at a typical event? This is a serious question, besides this thread has stayed on topic way to long, it is time to make the Mods work!
05-31-2004, 07:32 PM
#13
^ Less and less every year.
People love SPL for some reason, I don't find it's as fun as it was a few years ago though....SPL vehichles are so sealed up you don't get to hear anything outside the vehicle except maybe the panels rattling.
SQ was dying out for a while, there's still a lot of diehard SQ guys out there and the numbers seem to be growing back agin slowly but all in all there's not a whole bunch of SQ people left
Mostly I think it's because people don't have the patience or the money for SQ. You can build yourself an SPL system, using used equipment off a for sale section on just about any forum, for $2K or less and be very competitive with the right sub-box. A perfect example is what I've been seeing here and on ECA...Yuli is selling that big Visonik amp that's making 1500+WRMS and only asking 350 for it....I'm positive there's another one elsewhere that someone is selling for around the same price....then on ECA I found a pair of the original DD Beast's (9918) some guy wants 500u.s. for the pair, if I had the money I'd buy them in an instant too....anyway, so you buy a $180 pioneer deck from FS, grab some big thick wire a new battery or 2 and a fuse block...a set of RCA's and perhaps a line driver if you really feel the need. Tear out your back seats for the weekend, build a kickass box for under $150 and your off to the races. I would say with 1500+WRMS to each Beast and the right box you could probably do high 150's possibly low 160's depending on how well you deaden your car and how well you designed the sub box.
Whereas in SQ you'd be lucky to build a competitive system for $2K or less even in a rookie class. If you did manage to create a really nice system worthy of whoopin *** in the SQ portion of the event, you had better be aweful creative with install or you will not score very well even with a perfect sound score....it would be hard to do much fiberglass in a budget system because of the cost, so you'll have to resort to just fiberglass kick panels or mount your speakers in the doors....and your trunk/hatch would pretty much have to be seamless and be very very well thought out....I definatly not saying it can't be done, but it would be a challenge and a half.....and a crap load of fun.
People love SPL for some reason, I don't find it's as fun as it was a few years ago though....SPL vehichles are so sealed up you don't get to hear anything outside the vehicle except maybe the panels rattling.
SQ was dying out for a while, there's still a lot of diehard SQ guys out there and the numbers seem to be growing back agin slowly but all in all there's not a whole bunch of SQ people left
Mostly I think it's because people don't have the patience or the money for SQ. You can build yourself an SPL system, using used equipment off a for sale section on just about any forum, for $2K or less and be very competitive with the right sub-box. A perfect example is what I've been seeing here and on ECA...Yuli is selling that big Visonik amp that's making 1500+WRMS and only asking 350 for it....I'm positive there's another one elsewhere that someone is selling for around the same price....then on ECA I found a pair of the original DD Beast's (9918) some guy wants 500u.s. for the pair, if I had the money I'd buy them in an instant too....anyway, so you buy a $180 pioneer deck from FS, grab some big thick wire a new battery or 2 and a fuse block...a set of RCA's and perhaps a line driver if you really feel the need. Tear out your back seats for the weekend, build a kickass box for under $150 and your off to the races. I would say with 1500+WRMS to each Beast and the right box you could probably do high 150's possibly low 160's depending on how well you deaden your car and how well you designed the sub box.
Whereas in SQ you'd be lucky to build a competitive system for $2K or less even in a rookie class. If you did manage to create a really nice system worthy of whoopin *** in the SQ portion of the event, you had better be aweful creative with install or you will not score very well even with a perfect sound score....it would be hard to do much fiberglass in a budget system because of the cost, so you'll have to resort to just fiberglass kick panels or mount your speakers in the doors....and your trunk/hatch would pretty much have to be seamless and be very very well thought out....I definatly not saying it can't be done, but it would be a challenge and a half.....and a crap load of fun.
05-31-2004, 08:49 PM
#14
50 Watt CAFz'r
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 189
Brandon I tend to disagree that you wouldnt be too competitive with a smaller valued system in SQ. Now I only disagree in the rookie division as once you get past your first year you are going to compete against alot tougher compitition. But lets break it down like this:
Rookie
- SQ Judging 150 points
- Installtion 65 points
- RTA 30 points
- SPL 35 points
Now the SQ portion is about 53% of the overall judging and if you were to score well there (which is possible with good placement). Now your installation DOES NOT have to be all the fancy glassing work. As long as it meets the rules of saftey and integrity. Meaning that systems are clean, well mounted and properly wired you should score quite well here. In fact most members that read the rule book should be able to score well in installation because the rule book lays it all out to what has to be done in order to recieve maximum points. And with presentation for rookies only being 5 points of the 65 you should be able to get at least a 2-3 here for just knowing whats in your system. RTA is a tad bit tougher without an EQ but can be done with good xover points and amp gains as well as placement of front stage. SPL you should at least get 125-130db with a single 10-12 with any amp so you would get 25-30 points and the most you could get is 35 no matter how high you hit.
Not trying to say your wrong as I agree with you that most people have become bass heads and forgot that music is for listening not for burping. Also that SQ has slowly gone down in numbers because of strict compitition in the street and lower ultimate classes but rookie is still a place where the average person can have fun for a year to have a nice sounding system and then if they have a harder time the following year they can always change their sub(s) and amps to get them in SPL and then they will at least have an appreciation for SQ and most likely have a good SQL type of system
BTW SQ ALL THE WAY!! [img]smile.gif[/img]
[ May 31, 2004, 09:50 PM: Message edited by: MDXMan ]
Rookie
- SQ Judging 150 points
- Installtion 65 points
- RTA 30 points
- SPL 35 points
Now the SQ portion is about 53% of the overall judging and if you were to score well there (which is possible with good placement). Now your installation DOES NOT have to be all the fancy glassing work. As long as it meets the rules of saftey and integrity. Meaning that systems are clean, well mounted and properly wired you should score quite well here. In fact most members that read the rule book should be able to score well in installation because the rule book lays it all out to what has to be done in order to recieve maximum points. And with presentation for rookies only being 5 points of the 65 you should be able to get at least a 2-3 here for just knowing whats in your system. RTA is a tad bit tougher without an EQ but can be done with good xover points and amp gains as well as placement of front stage. SPL you should at least get 125-130db with a single 10-12 with any amp so you would get 25-30 points and the most you could get is 35 no matter how high you hit.
Not trying to say your wrong as I agree with you that most people have become bass heads and forgot that music is for listening not for burping. Also that SQ has slowly gone down in numbers because of strict compitition in the street and lower ultimate classes but rookie is still a place where the average person can have fun for a year to have a nice sounding system and then if they have a harder time the following year they can always change their sub(s) and amps to get them in SPL and then they will at least have an appreciation for SQ and most likely have a good SQL type of system
BTW SQ ALL THE WAY!! [img]smile.gif[/img]
[ May 31, 2004, 09:50 PM: Message edited by: MDXMan ]
05-31-2004, 09:43 PM
#16
Guest
Posts: n/a
rules suck, who cares about the install, withing reason out of the possible 280 ponts 269 should be for sq the rest should be for install, safety in particular, ie fuses and so on, no bonus points for jack ****, bonus points for install should not be the determining factor in the winner in an sq competion, imo
05-31-2004, 10:29 PM
#17
Originally posted by JohnVroom:
Question: how many SQ competitors are you seeing at a typical event? This is a serious question, besides this thread has stayed on topic way to long, it is time to make the Mods work!
Question: how many SQ competitors are you seeing at a typical event? This is a serious question, besides this thread has stayed on topic way to long, it is time to make the Mods work!
I do feel though that SQ is starting it's comeback but SPL will still do strongly.
06-01-2004, 08:43 AM
#19
Originally posted by MDXMan:
Brandon I tend to disagree that you wouldnt be too competitive with a smaller valued system in SQ. Now I only disagree in the rookie division as once you get past your first year you are going to compete against alot tougher compitition. But lets break it down like this:
Rookie
- SQ Judging 150 points
- Installtion 65 points
- RTA 30 points
- SPL 35 points
Now the SQ portion is about 53% of the overall judging and if you were to score well there (which is possible with good placement). Now your installation DOES NOT have to be all the fancy glassing work. As long as it meets the rules of saftey and integrity. Meaning that systems are clean, well mounted and properly wired you should score quite well here. In fact most members that read the rule book should be able to score well in installation because the rule book lays it all out to what has to be done in order to recieve maximum points. And with presentation for rookies only being 5 points of the 65 you should be able to get at least a 2-3 here for just knowing whats in your system. RTA is a tad bit tougher without an EQ but can be done with good xover points and amp gains as well as placement of front stage. SPL you should at least get 125-130db with a single 10-12 with any amp so you would get 25-30 points and the most you could get is 35 no matter how high you hit.
Not trying to say your wrong as I agree with you that most people have become bass heads and forgot that music is for listening not for burping. Also that SQ has slowly gone down in numbers because of strict compitition in the street and lower ultimate classes but rookie is still a place where the average person can have fun for a year to have a nice sounding system and then if they have a harder time the following year they can always change their sub(s) and amps to get them in SPL and then they will at least have an appreciation for SQ and most likely have a good SQL type of system
BTW SQ ALL THE WAY!! [img]smile.gif[/img]
Brandon I tend to disagree that you wouldnt be too competitive with a smaller valued system in SQ. Now I only disagree in the rookie division as once you get past your first year you are going to compete against alot tougher compitition. But lets break it down like this:
Rookie
- SQ Judging 150 points
- Installtion 65 points
- RTA 30 points
- SPL 35 points
Now the SQ portion is about 53% of the overall judging and if you were to score well there (which is possible with good placement). Now your installation DOES NOT have to be all the fancy glassing work. As long as it meets the rules of saftey and integrity. Meaning that systems are clean, well mounted and properly wired you should score quite well here. In fact most members that read the rule book should be able to score well in installation because the rule book lays it all out to what has to be done in order to recieve maximum points. And with presentation for rookies only being 5 points of the 65 you should be able to get at least a 2-3 here for just knowing whats in your system. RTA is a tad bit tougher without an EQ but can be done with good xover points and amp gains as well as placement of front stage. SPL you should at least get 125-130db with a single 10-12 with any amp so you would get 25-30 points and the most you could get is 35 no matter how high you hit.
Not trying to say your wrong as I agree with you that most people have become bass heads and forgot that music is for listening not for burping. Also that SQ has slowly gone down in numbers because of strict compitition in the street and lower ultimate classes but rookie is still a place where the average person can have fun for a year to have a nice sounding system and then if they have a harder time the following year they can always change their sub(s) and amps to get them in SPL and then they will at least have an appreciation for SQ and most likely have a good SQL type of system
BTW SQ ALL THE WAY!! [img]smile.gif[/img]
) but he uses minimal fiberglass in the new install....I believe it's only in the kicks and a couple trim pieces now. He still does really well and I believe he's in the ultimate class or expert...whatever they call it now.
06-01-2004, 06:11 PM
#20
Guest
Posts: n/a
Originally posted by Brandon:
Yea, I agree with that....You could do alright in a Rookie class, but you need to remember that when somebody is out for the first time in an SQ comp, chances are that they have researched the rules quite well and have usually gone above and beyond what is expected.
Yea, I agree with that....You could do alright in a Rookie class, but you need to remember that when somebody is out for the first time in an SQ comp, chances are that they have researched the rules quite well and have usually gone above and beyond what is expected.
I think this is the type of mis-information that keeps people from entering for their first time. They hear they will be spanked before they even enter, which 9 times out of 10, isn't true. If your a true rookie, you should use the rookie year as a learning experience, improving your car as the year goes on. Hell that goes for any category, but especially in rookie.
