# 2003 Nissan 350z - "Yea they're 12s but I Keep Them Clean Though"



## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

*The Objective:* A versatile sound system which has the ability to play a broad range of music at a wide volume range while maintaining the upmost clarity and the cleanest installation possible.

*The Shop:* 
Custom Alarm Radio & Sunroof Corp
(203) 637-5584
1380 East Putnam Ave 
Greenwich, CT 06830

*The Vehicle:* 2003 Nissan 350z. This vehicle is undergoing a complete rebuild from the ground up with this being the first phase of the rebuild. I refuse to cut corners with this project and I want to use only top of the line products.

*The Equipment:* 
Headunit: McIntosh MX406
Miscellanious Monitoring Equipment  : McIntosh MPM4000
Front Speakers: Morel Elate 6 3-Way Component Set
Rear Speakers: None
Amplifiers: (2) McIntosh MCC404Ms & (1) McIntosh MCC301M
Subwoofers: (2) Seas Lotus SW300s (The Newest Versions)
Extras: Too many to list...

*Equipment Photos:*






















































































































*Installation Photos:*












































































































































































*Completed Photos:

On Page #3*

I will be picking the car up tomorrow, I will edit this with more pictures and a more complete write up when I am done. Many props to C.A.R.S. for providing insane service and make me feel like every dollar was worth it.  

-Kwame


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## lucas569 (Apr 17, 2007)

nice!


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## hoamic11 (May 7, 2007)

Wow, i'm in awwwww of amazement. That's looks outstanding.


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## alphakenny1 (Dec 21, 2005)

very impressive work man! 

if i'm gonna be critical of anything, i will say i hate speaker door installs . but very impressive work again.


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

Thanks for the compliments.



alphakenny1 said:


> very impressive work man!
> 
> if i'm gonna be critical of anything, i will say i hate speaker door installs . but very impressive work again.


Normally I would agree with what your saying but my installer, (Thanks Dave), basically used the door as an enclosure for the 6". He built a fiberglass tunnel going from the back of the speaker to the door skin, bracing the speaker in order to improve the sound quality. The 4"s were also custom built and the entire door panels were re-upholstered in the stock vinyl with a blue stitch on the end.

Here are what the stock door panels look like:


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## low (Jun 2, 2005)

haha, damn thats pretty nice.


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## jay (Sep 12, 2005)

alphakenny1 said:


> very impressive work man!
> 
> if i'm gonna be critical of anything, i will say i hate speaker door installs . but very impressive work again.


agreed. the install isn't bad at all, but it's a shame to see you go the door route when the 350z has so much space in the kicks.


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## 6spdcoupe (Jan 12, 2006)

Nice work indeed, wonder why I dont know this shop. Im thinking I may have to call them and offer some products.


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## selftc (Jan 22, 2007)

verah verah nice ! ! !


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## strong*I*bumpin (Oct 3, 2005)

Awesome!


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## poochieone (Aug 25, 2005)

SICKNESS!
nuff said


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

im gonna guess $4000 in labour / shop costs.

plus equipment.$$$$

i cant imagine more or better sound in that little car, i hope your gonna do something quiet with the exhaust.


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## Genxx (Mar 18, 2007)

I like it. Nice clean install. I like the doors the fab work looks great. It is just the right of amount of show and go. I love the classy installs with out the bling that seems to be so popular now days.

Your installer gets a big thumbs up from me.


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

lukeboa said:


> im gonna guess $4000 in labour / shop costs.
> 
> plus equipment.$$$$
> 
> i cant imagine more or better sound in that little car, i hope your gonna do something quiet with the exhaust.


Man I sure wish I spent $4000 in labour and shop costs. The price was way more than that but I had alot more work done than just what you see in the pictures. I had the headliner, visors, shift boot, and parking brake lever re-upholstered (sp?) in alcantara. I installed a K40 radar and laser diffuser. I re-wired the aftermarket alarm which had been installed by another shop and I had all of the electrical wiring redone in the car.


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

[email protected] said:


> Man I sure wish I spent $4000 in labour and shop costs. The price was way more than that but I had alot more work done than just what you see in the pictures. I had the headliner, visors, shift boot, and parking brake lever re-upholstered (sp?) in alcantara. I installed a K40 radar and laser diffuser. I re-wired the aftermarket alarm which had been installed by another shop and I had all of the electrical wiring redone in the car.


ouch!

dont crash


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

Genxx said:


> I like it. Nice clean install. I like the doors the fab work looks great. It is just the right of amount of show and go. I love the classy installs with out the bling that seems to be so popular now days.
> 
> Your installer gets a big thumbs up from me.


That is our moto over here at Z1-Performance. This install is very similar to the one in our other shop car. Yes we are Seas supporters...

Equipment used was pretty basic - Denwood DDX7015 (in the car for 2.5 years previously), McIntosh MC431 amp, Focul Utopia 6.5's up front (left my rear speakers stock and only am using them when I have a DVD on for fill), and a SEAS Lotus 10 inch sub. I also used Tsunami wires (4 gauge and RCA's, and a Tsunami 5 farad cap, as well as dual circuit breakers, and Dynamat Extreme throughout. The sub box is all MDF (no glass), and is ported.


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## sleepybrown (Jun 23, 2007)

That is a *CRAZY* equipment list!!!! That is also some very nice install work.


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## Se7en (Mar 28, 2007)

Sweet system!!  

I'm assuming that you're "happy" (understatement) with the sound...


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

Se7en said:


> Sweet system!!
> 
> I'm assuming that you're "happy" (understatement) with the sound...


Yeah, I would say it sounds a little better than stock.


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## tr0y_audi0 (Feb 13, 2007)

Thats A Sick Setup, Love The Install..
The doors look great!
So Smooth.. I wish I had picks of the 350 we had in the shop it also had morel's.. 
it had lesser amps & subs So I know yours must sound like The Tunnel of Lights..
Peace Troy


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## Velozity (Jul 6, 2007)

Kwame,do you have any pics that show the process for the covers to the amp racks? Were the factory panels cut and then wrapped in vinyl?


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

Velozity said:


> Kwame,do you have any pics that show the process for the covers to the amp racks? Were the factory panels cut and then wrapped in vinyl?


No I don't, but I will try and get some. Yes the panels were cut and then re-wrapped in vinyl.


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## jakesford (Jun 27, 2007)

Badass... This makes me miss my Z so bad, I'm sure it sound nice and compared to the stock POS Bose that comes in the Z its gotta be night and day.


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

*Ok so I figured I owe it to everyone following this thread to show completed pics and list all the work that was done during this install. Let me start off by saying this was the best car audio experience I have ever encountered. Everything far exceeded my expectations and I am as happy as can be. So let's start out with what C.A.R.S. installed in my car for me....

1. Mcintosh MX406 Headunit
2. Mcintosh MPM4000 Meter Module
3. Morel Elate 3-Way Component Set (1" Tweeter, 4" Mid, 6" Woofer
4. (2) Mcintosh MCC404M 4 Channel Amplifiers
5. (1) Mcintosh MCC301M Mono Amplifier
6. Mcintosh Subwoofer Output Control Knob
7. Alumapro 5 Farad Capacitor
8. (2) Seas Lotus SW300 12" Subwoofers
9. K40 2000 Front and Rear Radar Detector
10. Alcantara Headliner
11. Alcantara Visors
12. Alcantara Shift Boot with Blue Stitching
13. Alcantara Parking Brake Lever with Blue Stitching
14. Vinyl Door Panels with Blue Stitching
15. JDM Nissan Footwell Light Installed
16. JDM Nissan Underseat Lights Installed
17. (2) European Rear Foglight Switchs Installed and Wired (One for rear European Foglight second for Front Xenon Fog Lights for my Zerosun Body Kit)
18. Recaro Speed Seats Installed (Black with blue stitching and a blue logo)
19. Bride Seat Bases Installed
20. Kirk Racing 4-Point Roll Bar with X-Brace Powdercoated Black and then installed. (The paint that comes on the Kirk Racing Bar was horrible so I had it powdercoated to increase its durability. The interior panels were also trimmed neatly around the roll bar.)
20. 2004 OEM Nissan 350z Center Console Side panels with Knee Pads installed. (My car is an '03 and did not come with the knee pads. I had them cover the knee pads with vinyl and add a blue stitch to them to match everything.)
21. Optima Yellow Top Deep Cycle Battery Installed
22. Every wire connecting to the battery and alternator was upgraded to 0/1
also known as 0 guage
23. 240 amp High-Output alternator purchased but not installed. I will install this when we do the motor swap.
24. Clifford Alarm Rewired
25. Personal Neo Eagle Steering Wheel (I Installed it while it was at their shop)
26. Works Bell Quick Release and Short Hub (I Installed it while it was at their shop)
27. Personal Leather Ball Shift Knob
28. Alpine SBS-0715 Center Channel Speaker with amplifier installed to Voice Output of Nissan Factory Navigation System.
29. Custom Trunk Mat was created to fit around custom subwoofer setup
30. Ipod Wire Installed
31. Craftsquare Mirrors (I figured I might as well install them while the door panels were off)

Here are the pictures...

McIntosh MX406 headunit and MPM4000 meter modules installed...










K40 Front and Rear Radar Detector and Laser Diffuser LEDs. Right LED is front front radar, left LED is for rear and when they both light up it means they are diffusing laser. The control knob for the detector/diffuser is on the side of the steering column.




























Custom door panels. Morel 3-ways molded into the stock panel with built in pods. The entire door way dynamatted and a figerglass enclosure that goes from the back of the 6" to the door skin was installed. The entire door was then re-wrapped in vinyl with a blue stitch. The door has a lot more weight to it.



















Personal Shift Knob, alcantara Shift boot with blue stitching and alcantara parking brake lever with blue stitching.




























Custom Knee Pads.










Ipod Wire in Center Console Pocket.










Both foglight switches, subwoofer output remote knob and switch for underseat lights.










Recaro Seats, Kirk Roll Bar and Craftsquare Mirrors.





































Footwell Lights and Underseat Lights (Underseat light bulbs have not been installed yet since I have to fix a broken nut on the floor pan)




























Alcantara Headliner and Visors. All the plastic pieces and pop rivets were painted black.





































The McIntosh MCC404Ms were placed in the compartments behind the seats. A piece of acrylic was added to show off the amps. In these enclosures the sides are silver ultrasuede and the top has a mirror on it. The rest of the compartment is left untouched to allow for ventalation. One MCC404M per door.





































More Interior Pictures...





































Interior Panels Trimmed for Kirk Roll Bar X-Brace.



















Hatch area with two 12" Seas Lotus SW300 Subwoofers and Custom Trunk Mat. The trunk Mat also has a blue stitch around the border. Under the trunk mat lies the McIntosh MCC301M which sends 300 watts to each subwoofer.




























Lastly here is the Optima Yellow Top Battery and the upgraded wires that have been installed.














































The sound is insane and I am happy with everything as I have stated numerous times. Let me know what you think.*


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## dvflyer (May 11, 2007)

Not bad.......  Thanks again for the inspiration and notes along the way.


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

dvflyer said:


> Not bad.......  Thanks again for the inspiration and notes along the way.


Thanks. Anytime.

I just called your cell and left you a message. I am going to e-mail you right now.


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## Foglght (Aug 2, 2007)

You said motor swap....?


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

Foglght said:


> You said motor swap....?


Yes Sir 

Its a stroked version of the stock motor with lots of head work, high compression and big big cams.


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## cpio311 (Aug 22, 2007)

where the twin turbos at?


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

That's honestly one of the best installs I've ever seen. Such a clean setup.

I'd never get rid of that car.


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

bikinpunk said:


> That's honestly one of the best installs I've ever seen. Such a clean setup.
> 
> I'd never get rid of that car.


Thanks. 

I have no plans to. I think it will look right at home next to a GTR


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

cpio311 said:


> where the twin turbos at?


They are in every other modified 350z you see. 

Audi said it best back in 2003 and that is the approach I am taking with this entire build..."Never Follow"


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## CaliforniaBoy5 (Apr 4, 2007)

i must say i love


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## CBRworm (Sep 1, 2006)

You guys all really make me realize how pathetic my install is. 

I need to post pictures so you can help me figure out some things, but I am embarrassed to show them here. . .


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## 6spdcoupe (Jan 12, 2006)

CBRworm said:


> You guys all really make me realize how pathetic my install is.
> 
> I need to post pictures so you can help me figure out some things, but I am embarrassed to show them here. . .


Post em up, nothing to be embarrassed about.


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## Mr X (Aug 27, 2007)

I can't wait to see the rest of the car completed


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

Mr X said:


> I can't wait to see the rest of the car completed


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## drocpsu (May 3, 2005)

wow, incredible install. Too bad this car wasn't at last month's NE meet! I would've loved to see this in person.


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

drocpsu said:


> wow, incredible install. Too bad this car wasn't at last month's NE meet! I would've loved to see this in person.


It will be complete by the end of this year. So I will attend next year's meets.


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## GlasSman (Nov 14, 2006)

Gorgeous install.


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

Just to post an update. 

I just recently picked this up and I plan on installing it sometime soon.


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## bafukie (Nov 23, 2007)

my gosh.... almost full mcintosh setup... btw i like the 406 and mpm4000


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## tr0y_audi0 (Feb 13, 2007)

Still Clean...
Still Looks good


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## tommyd (Nov 7, 2007)

That looks amazing. Probably one of my favorite installs.


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

Thanks for the props. We did a similar install on our other 350z shop car. I will post it up shortly.


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

Here are some more pictures I found while things were still being put together. I thought I posted these here previously but I'm not sure what happened to them.


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## dmwarner (Aug 19, 2007)

Amazing work!


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## Whiterabbit (May 26, 2006)

love it. you did a great job working around the oversized faceplate. Not easy to work with! I also found the easiest workaround was to "cut off" the Mac logo above the CD slot to get the most natural look. No other way looks as nice. And you found a way to incorporate 2x worth of oversizedness with that MPM.

But the real star of that install is the rear seat integration with those amps. looks damn near OEM. what more can a user ask for.

I was in nyc last week. I wish I had time to ask to meet up for a listen. can we arrange a rain check? I'm sure I'll be back out there sometime.


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

^^For sure, thanks for kind words. My installer Dave is amazing.

I've just posted up the install in our other 350z.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?p=362095


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## NeverEnuffBass (Oct 25, 2007)

Looking good. I work over at Performance Outifitters with Dave and them. I used to work at CARS but before your car came in. I rememebr seeing it over there while he was doing it.


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## [email protected] (Jun 21, 2007)

NeverEnuffBass said:


> Looking good. I work over at Performance Outifitters with Dave and them. I used to work at CARS but before your car came in. I rememebr seeing it over there while he was doing it.


Hehe, so you got to see my car at the beginning stages of its build-up.  I was by the shop the other day to pick up the other Z but I probably never got a chance to meet you because I am ALWAYS late, you can ask Mike. 

Tell Dave and the guys I said hello and hopefully we run into each other nice time I come to visit. 

I've got to bring my car back up there soon for some more custom stuff.


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## rush1 (Nov 18, 2007)

Hi [email protected],

Excellent install mate,  

I am using Morel Supremo 6 in 3 way setup powered by Genesis DMX's and Genesis DM. Thinking of upgrading up to Mcintosh. Could you tell me how the Morel matches with the McIntosh?

Cheers,


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

Nice car... great install. I like the overall understated & purposeful finish! Congrats to you and your installer.
Care to describe how it sounds to you?


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## lostdaytomorrow (Jan 26, 2007)

Holy ****, that is an insane amount of money in audio. I hope you have a nice security setup and really good insurance.


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## NeverEnuffBass (Oct 25, 2007)

[email protected] said:


> Hehe, so you got to see my car at the beginning stages of its build-up.  I was by the shop the other day to pick up the other Z but I probably never got a chance to meet you because I am ALWAYS late, you can ask Mike.
> 
> Tell Dave and the guys I said hello and hopefully we run into each other nice time I come to visit.
> 
> I've got to bring my car back up there soon for some more custom stuff.


Awsome. What did you have in mind? I do a lot of the fabrication work there.


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## Dmack (Mar 6, 2008)

Wow, a “Next Friday” reference—I thought only like 12 or so people saw that other than me. 

Nice install man.


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## syd-monster (Jan 7, 2008)

Dmack said:


> Wow, a “Next Friday” reference—I thought only like 12 or so people saw that other than me.


I saw it & noted it, but didn't think it was worth a mention... although Im sure cube says their 10's... haha . Theres a line in a verse by I think Erick Sermon too...


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