#1
Yay! This is great news today.
Are you not entertained?!?!
#2
After roughly two years of driving around with half of the stock speakers not working, I decided it was time to get started on fixing that. I did bunches of research and then the craziness began. I ordered an Alpine INA-W910, an Alpine PDX-F4, an Alpine PDX-M6,a Stinger dual amp wiring kit, a set of Focal 165 KRs, two sets of Focal 165CA1s, a Sirius XM tuner, and the PAC switch to retain my steering wheel controls, and a new trim plate. I bought bulk RCA cable and bulk speaker wire from a local home Hi-Fi place called Music For Pleasure. Those guys rock, I'll explain that in a bit.
The first task at had was to figure out how to sand and paint plastic. I was amazed at how easy that was. Now the Metra dash kit nearly matches the factory plastic. Once that was done, I met with a friend and started the process of adding sound deadener.
There's more sound deadener in a few places, I just didn't get pictures of it.
Now that the sound deadening was complete, it was time to get started on the "fun" stuff. The stock head unit was incredibly easy to remove. That totally surprised me. Then came the task of measuring and making my own RCA cables. That was an interesting process. After I got that task complete, I installed the rear deck speakers and ran speaker wires to the amp. Then the freaking rain came, and I realized that I left my amp wiring kit 45 minutes away. Oh yeah, during all of this craziness I'm house/dog sitting for my friend, so his driveway was littered with interior car parts...LOL
Got the head unit installed, the XM and GPS wired up, and decided it was time to test the rear speakers just to make sure they work. Sure as my name is what it is, only one speaker worked no matter what I did. So I'm exhausted and frustrated and decide to call it a night. Of course I didn't sleep well because I was wondering what the heck could be wrong.
The next morning I wake up way too early and start messing around trying to figure out what's going on with the speakers and amp. It turns out of the four RCA cables I made, only one was working. The lesson here was, never try to make my own RCA cables again...LOL So, now that I know what's wrong, running to Wallyworld was on the list of things to do for the day. I decided to start modifying the stock speaker baffles so that the new component speakers will fit. I don't know know if I hate cutting plastic more than I hate cutting metal yet. Once the baffles were modified, I got the speakers installed.
Thankfully the tweeters fit just fine in the factory location.
I'm excited because I can get the door panels on the car. This is also a great stopping point to go pick up a set of RCA cables to test the speakers.
So I figured out a place to mount the crossovers so that they are out of the way and I go to measure out the last speaker wire that will run from the right kick panel, along the floor, to the back seat and across the back of the car to the amp. Yeah, I don't have enough speaker wire. So I rigged what I had and made due. Now's the moment of truth. All of the speakers work and are sounding pretty decent. So I had to stop for the day because my son's graduation ceremony was later that evening.
On my way home I stopped by Music for Pleasure looking for more speaker wire, but the guy couldn't find what I was looking for and I had to leave. He took my name and number and said they'd give me a call when they got it in. This morning I headed out to finish the rear of the car. Just as I'm about to get on the highway Rob calls and says they've got my speaker wire cut and ready to go. Sweet! I get there and I explained my mishap with the RCAs and asked for 6 cables to be made. Now, I'm ready to pay for the speaker wire and they send me on my merry way. Yeap, I got the extra speaker wire I needed at no additional cost. Those guys freaking rock!
Now it's time to get down and dirty. I got the rear speaker mounts modified, painted them, and installed the rear speakers. The only thing left was to make some adjustments to the amp and holy buckets Batman! I am amazed at how great the audio sounds in the car now.
#3
The bluetooth mic istalled:
The head unit fills factory location just fine:
RCAs that work:
Stock rear speaker pods modded and painted:
Test fitting the rear speakers:
Of course I left my camera at home the day I went to install the interior, but I'll get pictures of how the amps are mounted, how the rear speakers are mounted, and of the rear interior installed when I build and install the sub box. I'm ordering my sub in a couple of weeks, and will begin the task of learning to build a sub box. I sure hope that's easier than what I've just gone through. My hat goes off to guys that do this day in and day out.
#4
Well I've got a little bit of work ahead of me. Thanks to a friend, I picked up a JBL W10GTi MkII today. So this week I'll sound deaden the trunk, pull the interior and run the RCAs and speaker wire to this bad boy. I'm looking forward to hearing it. I may end up building a fiberglass box for this sub just so that I can have more room in the trunk, but we'll see.
#5
What a day! It started easy enough. I pulled the carpeting out of the trunk and got busy sound deadening it. Then I realized that I didn't have any 8 gauge power or ground wire, and I managed to leave the remote knob for the PDX-M6 at a friend's house. I couldn't get it because he was out golfing. No biggie, I'll just hit a local car audio place and I'll be good, right? The first shop made me so mad it wasn't even funny. I told the salesman that I needed a foot of 8 gauge power wire and a foot of 8 gauge ground wire. I also told him that I misplaced the remote knob, and I'd like to purchase one of those as well. His first comment was, "Well the only wire we sell in bulk is 0 gauge." I just looked at him like he was a fool. I told him that I didn't need 0 gauge, that I needed 8 gauge. His reply was, "The only way I can sell you 8 gauge wire is to sell you an 8 gauge amp kit and that's $50." I said, "Why would I buy an amp kit, if I only need a total of two feet of wire?" He stuck to his $50 amp kit. So I said, forget the wire. What about the remote knob? "We have 6 of them in stock, and they are $50." I said, " I can get one from Amazon for less than half that price." That's when he went on about the remote not having a lifetime warranty. I stopped him and said, it's a freaking remote volume knob, not an amp." At that point I just walked out of the store rather pissed. My next stop was the car audio shop a few miles away. Guess what, they GAVE me the wire I needed. They didn't stock the remote knob, and as it turns out, I didn't need it anyway. Thank goodness.
Here's what the trunk looks like with the deadner in it:
This is the gas tank, this is also why I can't run IB in this car:
The goal here is to keep the spoiler from rattling.
So far, so freaking good! Without a doubt this is the best sounding system I have ever owned in a vehicle.
Tomorrow I'll get some pictures of the carpeting reinstalled in the trunk and show you guys how the sub sits for now. I do apologize for not getting photos of how the amps are mounted again. I was sorta pressed for time. I had a car club meeting that I had to get to...LOL One day I'll get a photo or two of the amps mounted, I promise.
#6
I get to repeat part of the process. Someone broke into my car Thursday night/ Friday morning and left this mess behind:
So far the damages are at $2500 and will probably climb because there were a few things left off of the estimate, but the insurance company has assured me that they will cover all but my deductible.
#7
I found another head unit! I also purchased a PXA-H701 as part of the deal. So all that's left for me to do now is order up another Metra dash kit from Crutchfield and a XM tuner because I think they stole that as well. I'll also pick up another brake bypass switch off of eBay so the kids can watch DVDs while we're out and about. I'm pretty excited about the sound processor. I'm thinking I should find some tuning software now. Oh boy let the games begin.
#8
Very nice! Great job on the dash kit.
#9
Thanks. I get to do it again...LOLOriginally Posted by SublimeZ
Oh I called an cancelled the XM service. Not paying for the prick that stole my radio to have more tunes.
#10
Awesome job...
...the first time
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