# 2006 Honda Civic EX - Here we go again!!!



## scooter99

Ok as I stated in the last thread I was building on, it was just time for a clean slate. Here's a link to the old thread (http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-build-logs/63640-2006-civic-ex-final-re-install.html) if you want to look at it. I'll probably reference some of it as I go along but mainly I'll be taking before and after pictures as I go anyway. 

As you'll see from the first page to the last things have evolved on the build and equipment has changed alot. I'm kind of known for that I guess. :laugh:

So the reason for this new build is the following: 

Simply I have a serious condition, I always refer to it as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and I may not be saying exactly what it is that I've got. I've never been medically diagnosed but I have isues. I'm not crazy, I just like what I like and it drives me nuts when I don't have it the way I like it. You'll hear me refer to that, and 9 times out of 10 when I say "I'm not sure I like that, I'll probably change it down the line" it normally really means "I don't like it and I will change it, it's just a matter of when." Except the 1 time out of 10. 

So in this build I'm happy with a lot of things. 

*First* thing being the way the a pillars are going. I never finished them and I never really got to tune them in to see if they need to change direction or not. They're sounding really good from what I can hear so i'm going to take them to someone to listen to it and see if they need to change direction. If not they're going to stay the way they are and I'm going to finally finish them. 

*Second*, I'm not very happy with the trunks final install. It came out pretty clean, but I feel like i rushed it cause of the time it took for the install and there are a lot of things that I'm not happy with and just don't look good for me. The coverings don't look super clean like I want, the holes drilled aren't clean, the leds have issues, and there are other things that I'm not hapy with that are going to be changing. Again I'll point those out as I go through the build. Actually I'll probably point out the flaws first to show everyone the changes I'm going to make. That'll be up comming. 

*Third* issue is the air circulation in the trunk. There is none. This is one of those things that I missed, and is why I think I was just rushing too much to get done. I need air circulation because the amps are having issues already. It's not even hot yet here in Sacramento and I'm having issues. So I've soved that in a couple of ways. I'll go through that when I post up before pics of the last build. 

*Fourth* issue is the doors. I'm not so impressed with the doors and the way the midbass sounds. I've got a couple ideas and I'm finding out some answers from the manufacturers and as soon as I get those, I'll be going in head first to make changes. 

*Fifth *issue, headrest monitors. The headrest monitors are working great and look great, if you're and adult and sit tall. However, my 3 and 5 year old daughters who sit in a car seat, cannot see very well cause they're angled. They're angled cause in the civic's, the headrests are sloped towards the front of the car a bit. So with that angle and the monitors sitting flush in there, they're pointing up towards the ceiling, not much, but enough to make it look as though you're looking at a projection screen tv from the side. Everything is dark. The option right now is to lean the seat back. But that doesn't make for safe driving. So I have ideas about changes on that. 

*Sixth* issue is the center console or "switch board" as I like to call it. This houses my Remote DRC for the Bit One, the ipod dock (which broke the first day) and the switches for leds in the cabin, and the trunk, as well as the monitors for on/off. I'm going to be doing a custom dash job and I'll elaborate more on that later. 

*Seventh* issue is the battery in the engine compartment. Doesn't look great and I missed a couple wires when I ordered the distrobuition blocks, and battery terminals, originally so I now have a new additional distrobution block to solve the issue. However, there is still a stability issue, and it needs to be cleaned up etc. 

*Eighth* issue is power in general. I've decided the power in my car is good but not sufficiant for my needs. I'm sure I'll get lots of disagreements on this and that's fine but I've made up my mind on what I'm going to do to fix these issues. 

*Ninth* issues are this. I originally was going to go with two single din units in the dash. A head unit and a dvd player. I decided against that. But with those units, I was also goign to run sun visor monitors, and a slough of other things, ipod adaptor, sirius unit, and more. Well with that not happening, I now have a ton of extra wires and abandon wires as well as terminal blocks with terminals that are no longer needed. Fuse blocks with fuses no longer needed. So I need to change that up and remove some of the wiring on those and fix that issue, which is not a huge issue but is still in my mind and i want to do it. 

*Tenth* issue is I never got around to installing the digial optical converter box, or the sterring wheel adaptor for the head unit. There is also another relay I'm going to have to put in, for that as well as the eld issue. Honda people know all about this, the rest will figure it out at some point. Along with that I've got some other things up front that I want to do, for example add a push button start, and some other stuff. So some wiring needs to change up front. I'm also thinking of moving some wiring from the front to another place as well as the rest of the wiring that I have going on now. I'll get to that mroe later as I go along. 

The last thing I can think of off the top of my head, and it's overflowing right now so I'm sure I'm missing some stuff, is that I need to install my new alarm. I'll go into that more in a minute. The issue with this is, I have a factory alarm which is integrated with the Omega system and I simply don't trust it. That's why I'm changing it. 

So those are the issues that I can think of now. Lets move on a bit. 

*Here's whats currently in the car now.* 

Kinetik HC1800
Audison Conection BBC 11P DGT - Positive Battery Terminal (Digital)
Audison Conection SBC 41N - Negative Battery Terminal
Audison Conection BFD 21 - Fused Distribution Block
Pioneer AVH-P4200DVD - Head Unit
Pioneer GEX-P20HD - Digital Radio Tuner
Pioneer AVD-W7900 - Head Rest Monitors (2)
Hertz High Energy HT25 - Tweeters
Hertz High Energy HL70 - Mid Ranges
Hertz Mille ML165 - Mid Bass
Hertz Dieci DCX100 - Rear Fill
Acoustic Elegance IB15 - Subs (2)
Audison LRx 6.9 - 6 channel amp for tweeters, mid ranges, and rear fill
Audison LRx 4.1k - 4 channel amp for mid bass and subs
Audison Bit One - Processor
Audison Conection SFD-41C - Complete distrobution block
Tsunami Power cables (1/0, 4, 8 ga), Speaker cables (12 ga)
Gepco 61801EZ - RCA cables
Canare Star Quad - RCA cables
Belden Coax Cable - Video Cables
Neutrik NYS373-9 - RCA connectors

*So here's the new list. * This is the list I've decided on and I'm working towards getting right now. Some are the same things that are listed above, the new is in bold. 

Kinetik HC1800
Audison Conection BBC 11P DGT - Positive Battery Terminal (Digital)
Audison Conection SBC 41N - Negative Battery Terminal
Audison Conection BFD 21 - Fused Distribution Block *(2)*
*Mechman 220 Amp Alternator - High Output Alternator*
Pioneer AVH-P4200DVD - Head Unit
*Pioneer CXC3584 - Optical Cable Connection Box
Axxess ASWC - Steering Wheel Interface*
Pioneer GEX-P20HD - Digital Radio Tuner
Pioneer AVD-W7900 - Head Rest Monitors (2)
Hertz High Energy HT25 - Tweeters
Hertz High Energy HL70 - Mid Ranges
Hertz Mille ML165 - Mid Bass
*Hertz High Energy HSK165 - Rear Fill*
*Hertz High Energy HX300D - Subs (2)*
Audison LRx 4.1K - 4 channel amp for tweeters and mid range
*Audison LRx 2.9 - 2 channel amp for mid bass
Audison LRx 2.4 - 2 channel amp for rear fill
Audison LRx 1.1k - Mono channel amp for subs*
Audison Bit One - Processor
Audison Conection SFD-41C - Complete distrobution block *(2)*
*Auidson Conection BFH-11DGT - In line fuse holder with digital display (2)
Kinetik HC1400 - Power Cell (2)
KnuKonceptz - Power cables (1/0, 4, 8 ga)*
Tsunami - Speaker Cable (12ga.)
Gepco 61801EZ - RCA cables
Canare Star Quad - RCA cables
*Audison Conection BCP-100 - RCA Connectors *
Belden Coax Cable - Video Cables
Neutrik NYS373-9 - RCA connectors
*Zenesis ZN-502 - Remote Start Alarm
DEI 530T - Windows up down module (2)
DEI 529T - Sunroof open close moduel*

There are only a couple things that might change with this. If I can get my hands on a pair of Mille ML3000 subs that'll change. As well somewhere down the line I may switch the power and speaker cables to Audison Conection. I doubt that will happen but I'm going to do some numbers when this is done and I'll make my decision then. 

So that's it for now. I've got some questions and some other stuff to follow at some point. Welcom to the begening of the end, maybe!! HA!!


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## n_olympios

I'm here. You know what though? I think I can safely state on behalf of most of us: less talk, more pics man.


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## scooter99

I hear ya, and Ill get some up. Just making sure that everyone knows my issues and what I'm doing a new thread and new build for. I'll get pictures going soon, I swear!


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## jorona1

Cool! I have been watching from the first. Can't wait to see how this goes. I have the same car and trying to get some more ideas.


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## scooter99

Well stay tuned cause the ideas are of plenty in my head.


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## scooter99

I think i just found what's going to fix my headrest problem and take it to a whole new dimension of crazy!! Check it out! 

PQ12 Linear Actuators

Waiting for an email back so I can get cost and the exact one that I'm going to need! 

Here's a video of it in action.
YouTube - Firgelli Technologies CIB demousing a mini Linear actuator

This video shows it with a different application. I can also use a switch to operate them. I'm very excited about this! A whole new level!!!

The thought behind this is to make a bracket between the head rest bars inside th headrest. I'll make a separate frame for the monitor, a 5 sided box basically, and the actuator will attatch to the top of the monitor in the back. When activated, it will push the top of the monitor out, lowering the angle and making it easier to see for the kids. When decended, it will go back to flush with the headrest. That's the thought anyway!


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## kyheng

http://www.hertzaudiovideo.com/Doc/pdf_hx300d.pdf
This is your sub
Audison - Music Expression
This is your amp
Considering the above factors, I will just get 1 sub instead of 2.... Have to know that a class AB amp only have efficiencies of 50-70% max.


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## IBcivic

scooter, you can get the volume needed to make a ported box, by using the same space you gave to your i-b set-up. a wide, flat enclosure. you can theoretically get up to 56 liters out of that same space 38'' x 15'' x 6''deep. now if you add a few inches in depth..lets say 7.5'' deep...you will have the volume required for 2 ported hx300's ..as per hertz's recommendations


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## scooter99

I thought about that and i think I'd like to do that, but I can't really afford the two 15's. I'm getting a hell of a deal on a pair of 12's and that's one of the reasons I'm going that way. 

Kyheng - I thought about that recently, and I'm actually contemplating going wiht a second 1.1k, so I have one for each sub. Crazy I know! But money is the issue right now! I have a more important list of things to get right now. I"ll worry about that later.


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## kyheng

^I can tell you that, give the sub a "perfect" ported enclosure, 1 is more than enough to makes you vommit back your yesterday's dinner when you crank the volume to the max. 

If you don't believe me, get 1 and try it out first. As your amp won't have enough power for 2 of them, as the sub is dual 4ohm, 1 sub is 2 or 8ohm and 2 subs will be 1ohm(which you will wire it). You will get your amp goes to protect mode....

But if your vehicle is a MPV, 2 sub may be good.


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## scooter99

Thank you I'll take all that into consideration.


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## fish

Scooter,
I didn't see any reasons why you're swapping out the IB15's for a pair of 12's. Was there not enough output, or is it a case of OCD?


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## IBcivic

fish said:


> Scooter,
> I didn't see any reasons why you're swapping out the IB15's for a pair of 12's. Was there not enough output, or is it a case of OCD?


C: All of the above


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## scooter99

Yea I think really all the above, although I think the output on the 15's were great, I had issues with the 4.1K shutting off. But I think that was more of a circulation or lack there of issue. The other issue for me was mor the ocd in that they weren't hertz subs. I've said it before and I'll say it for those who don't already know, I'm a little crazy that way. So thanks Martin, yes "C all the above"!


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## kyheng

^Nope, is more on you drivingthe amp to its limits.... just if Audison makes class D monoblock, it will be great. For me, class D will be the only amp I will use on sub's applications.


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## IBcivic

5.1k has a class d sub amp...that's why it's my sexy black baby....


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## ErinH

fish said:


> Scooter,
> I didn't see any reasons why you're swapping out the IB15's for a pair of 12's. Was there not enough output, or is it a case of OCD?


x2.

As much as I want you to sell your IB15's so I can buy them for my house, I honestly have no idea why you would want to. You have some of the best subs out there. Period. 
I see no improvement to be made by going with hertz 12's. 

You haven't really had time to listen and tune your car, yet, with all the changes. Why the desire to sell them? You couldn't possibly have had time to use them and work on them, could you? I've been following your build threads and don't recall ever seeing that you've had a fully finished product. 
I'm all for DIY and toying, but I really think you're going to regret selling those. I literally said "wtf" when I saw you were selling them.

But, like I said, I'll be happy to buy them off you. 

*don't take this as negativity... just a friendly, "dude, seriously... what are you doing?" criticism.


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## scooter99

I'm just crazy!


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## kyheng

And I'm crazy enough also...... 6.9 will be gone in 3 months time.....


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## scooter99

Ok I've been thinking about this all weekend long and I want to make everyone clear on something. I'm crazy, I know I'm crazy and that's it on that. That's all really there is on this build. I'm crazy and my craziness has gotten the best of me and that's why I'm changing some things. I've got my ideas, I'm going to put them into action and that's that. 

I could use some help at times with making my ideas come to reality, but what I don't want is for people to give me the obvious which is comments as to that I'm crazy or an idiot and what are you doing when you haven't even listened to your car for very long. I'm not singling anyone out by the way, I'm just saying cause I've gotten a few already and I know there's more coming as soon as some others on here read this. 

Look I'm a DIYer and I love to install. I've also become victim to my own mental perfectionism. I want things to match and be perfect and show like in finish product. The ideas I have in my head are going to show that, and i want to share that with people and share my passion for this with everyone. But I don't want to be pushed away by people calling me crazy! 

My ultimate goal is that people will enjoy this build and have some constructive criticism for me and maybe help me with ideas and ultimately have a car that I could proudly take to a show. I know I'll never beat anyone like Bing or some of the other guys out there, I'm sure I won't anyway, but it'd be nice to show my car and have something that I can take pride in. 

That's why I'm doing this over. I just simply want to be happy with the product and I'm not. I dont think anyone in here would feel any different. There are so many builds and rebuilds and re rebuilds in here that I think we're all in the same boat. 

I hope I didn't offend or piss anyone off, it's just been weighing on me all weekend and I wanted to be sure we were all on the same page and that I could proceed without feeling like I was going to hear constant negativeness about what I'm doing. 

That's all I've got. Gonna try to post up some current pictures tonight so we can all see where I'm at with the car now, and what's going to change etc. I'll post up with the pics my ideas and how they're going to change. 

Thanks!


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## IBcivic

joo wan krazy muddr fkr!!!!!!!!!!


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## IBcivic

we're all crayzeeeeeee, in one way or another,bro....


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## ErinH

cliffs?


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## kyheng

Indeed most of us are crazy from certain views.... We change gears too often.... We change, we listen and if not happy, we change again...


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## scooter99

Ok a little update not so audio related. I ordered my coilovers and camber arms yesterday. Also tonight, I learned how to sew. Why would I wanna do that you ask. Well a couple of reasons. First is that I was put in charge of some flags and making an easier way to put them on posts for our river rafting trip. Too long a story so I wont' go to far into it. But i had to sew on some nylon ends to put some eyelits on so that I could clip them to the posts. That's first and that's how I learned tonight. 

Second and most importantly, I plan to redo my interior sometime in the near future. Going with suede seats and most likely the head liner as well. I might even make something for the dash, some kind of dash cover, but that might be going a bit far. Anyway, that's why I did it. 

I also took some pics tonight but probably won't get them up till tomorrow. They're loading up right now. I'll post those and go over what's going to change as much as I can. 

Good night for now!


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## scooter99

Ok well here we go. I've got pictures locked and loaded to show the begining and what it looks like currently. Let's get started.

*ENGINE COMPARTMENT*

First up is the battery and under the hood. This idea is going to stay the same for the most part. I would like to see about fiberglassing a compartment for the battery and put a new metal plate in under it for stability. I'm probably also going to get one of those battery boxes, but not sure on that one yet. 

I have to add in one more dual fused distro block to match the one you see in the center there. The one right there houses the fuses for the "Big 3" and the 1/0 ga that goes to the trunk for power to the system. The second block is going in to house the two 4 ga cables that I've replaced for the stock fuse block as well as the starter. I did not take these into account when I purchased the original set up. These will not get fuses, they will get small runs of 4 ga to go into the fuse compartments. This will keep the db's uniform and looking the same. 










Next order of business is the Big 3. I'm going to redo this because I know I can make it look cleaner! It's very untiedy to me. I need to clean up the heat shrink and solder the connections better. I'm also going to try to track down the end of the starter cable and change the whole thing. The cable I changed before was only cut from the battery and the new soldered to that. I don't like it. 

Also in the engine compartamente' I'm going to change out the peuney alternator and replace it with a 220 amp Mechman HO Alternator. Should do wonders for the power department! 

Here is the 1/0 Ga running along the front to the battery from the alternator. And the alternator.




























I forgot to note that I changed the stock wire from the alternator to the fuse box to 4 ga as well. 

*FRONT CABIN AREA*

Here is the head unit area etc. This is the Pioneer AVH-P4200DVD head unit. This is staying for sure. I love this unit! It's awesome! If needed the navigation and built in bluetooth would be the only reason to change and if that were to happen I'd go to the Pioneer AVIC-Z110BT. Anyway, alot of this is going to change cosmetically but not alot in equipment. 

Cosmetically, I'm useing an old dash kit to cut the bottom portion out of it so I can basically re create the heater/cooler controls area. This will then get some modifications to house the Bit One DRC, switches, and possibly a push button start for the car. 

Equipment, I'm adding an optical conversion box, and the steering wheel controls. Aside of that everything else is pretty much staying the same. 










Here you see the USB connection for the Bit One that resides in the trunk, on the bottom. I did this so that I wouldn't have to run a long usb cable to the front everytime I wanted to adjust something via the laptop. So I installed this and I only have a short cable to plug in vs. a long 16' cable. I utilized the oem auxilary connector and simply cut it out and replaced the inners with the adaptor. 

Also pictured is the stock 12v plug in connection. You also see a lot of holes here. The ones under the head unit in the little cubby there will be hidden by the new dash drc piece. The ones on the left hand side in the gray are going to be dealt with in some way. I have not decided on that one yet. But those will be addressed and cleaned up. 










Here pictured are the Hertz HT28's and the HL70's (tweeters and mid ranges) in the Apillars. These are pretty much the locations I've chosen and they will stay here for the most part. I'm going to go ahead and move the tweeters up to the apillars, right now they're on the stock tweeter grill locations. The mid ranges will lose the ABS enclosure it's sitting in and all of this will be fiberglassed to make one enclosure. Then covered in either grill cloth or suede, I haven't decided that one yet. Then the tweeter, which has a built in grill, and the mid range grill will be used to cover them.










Here is the center console next to the driver side where the drivers leg would be. I took this cause I wanted to show you where I was thinking of making an ipod holder to go here but I'm not sure it's goign to work as I thought it would. I forgot that there was that groove in the middle of the console, I had originally thought it was flat. I'll work on that. 










So for now I'm back to my original place for the ipod which is the center console cubby door. I'll plan to cut it out and make a holder to sit in there nicely and then when I re upholster it, I'll make a flap that simply velcros down so that my arm doesn't always rest directly on the ipod as well as when I'm not in the car, it will be hidden for the most part. 










This is a picture of the front door. I only did one cause both are the same and the same applies to both. 

As you can see there's a 1 1/4" hole in there under the handle. That was from the origial build where I housed the tweeters from the Rockford Fosgate comps I used to have. This needs to be coverd up badly. Right now I've simply put in some grill cloth from behind with some spray glue so you don't see the silver of the deadener behind it. 

Not pictured, inside the handle there to open the door, is a small blue led. This was inserted for ambient lighting. I have them in all doors and they will stay there. 

Last comes the biggest project. Where the speaker grill is for the mid bass, needs to come out to open up the area. When I do this, I'm going to simply open it up and build a pod to go from just behind the door card to the door. What this will do is bring the Hertz MLK165's (Mid Bass) forward and not have them hidden or muffled by any of the door card. Over the top of them I'll cover them with the original speaker grills that came with the 165's. 

Once that's done I'll cover the entire door in suede to match the seats which will be re upholstered in suede later on in the future. The bottom half will be covered in suede only, which is the lighter gray. The upper part of the gray area, above the armrest, will be covered in a contrasting color, suede also.


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## scooter99

*REAR OF THE CABIN*

First up is the driver seat. Under here is the rats next of cables and the Pioneer HD radio tuner. This all needs to be cleaned up and will for sure be cleaned up. There is a plan here and I'll go into that in a bit when I can round it all up into one post. It's a mess but it will be addressed.










Passenger seat is not as bad but there are somethings that need to be addressed here as well. This is the power distribution area for the car, well a third of it anyway. Ther are three distribution areas. Trunk - which feeds all the trunk stuff, leds, remote wires, groudns, etc. Under Seat - which feeds everything in the cabin except the dash stuff, so all under seat leds, rear door leds, and all ignition wires and 12v wires for the components liek the hd raido, screens, etc. Center console area - which takes care of all the duties in the dash and front doors. 

The issue with the under seat area is this. If you will recall i had other components that I was going to use in here. I had the dvd player, as well as the head rest screens, ipod adaptor, visor monitors, and a sirius satilite radio unit I was going to use. Since I changed directions, all those things are no longer going to be used. Now with those things abandoned, theres now a ton of wires and cables etc that are running and not needed. So I'm going to be eliminating a lot of it. Again I'll go more into depth when I get to that point.










Next up we have the Pionner AVH-W7900 Head rest Monitors. These are 7" screens. Both sides have the same issues and I'm still working on a solution for them. The issues are these. Number one the monitors are a touch too big for the headrests. They just don't look very proportioned correctly. So that needs to be addressed. Number two and more importantly, the whole reason for the monitors are so that my girls can watch dvd's. Well with the angle in which they sit flush in the headrests, they are angled too high. They actually look like a projection tv when you sit on the side of it. You only see a very dark screen. This is no good. 

So I have a sort of sloution for this. I'm planning to take the monitors out, and fiberglass the back half of the headrest. Not permanently, but just as a mold that goes over top of it. Then I'll have the monitor attached to that. The bottom of the mold will hinge on the headrest and then by actuator, if I can find one small enough, the tops will come out changing the angle of the screen to whereever I need it to the extent of the actuator. Then when they are off they'll be back at the original position. I have a lead on a small 2 inch actuator, but I'm waiting to hear back from the company. 

To fix the size issue, before I do the fiberglass back, I'll use some upholstery foam I got from my local shop and expand the ends by an inch on each side. Then re upholster the headrest. Once that's done the mold will be made and then the rest finished off the same way. 



















In the rear doors, again I only took one pic since the same applies to both sides, I'll be building a small fiberglass pod to go into the rear door pockets. These are pretty large pockets and will provide quite a bit of space for the Hertz HSK165 components. I'm also thinking I might go with the HSK130 components as well, these are the 5 1/4" versions. Anyway these will be moved here for the rear fill for the movies etc. I'm moving these from the rear deck so that I can provide an air ducting system in the rear. I'll get more into that in a minute. 

The smal blue leds are in these handles as well. 










Here is the current rear set up. As you can see the Subs (2 AE IB15's) are running in an infinate baffle set up. Also not seen are the two Hertz Dieci's DCX100 4 1/2" coax being used for the rear fill at the moment. As you just read these are getting moved and changed. 

Under the outter lip are blue leds that shine on the whole area for show. 

The plan here is to remove the subs and the IB wall as well as the rear fill. The pods that were made for the rear fill drivers, will remain in their places. I'll use those to attach a 4" fan on both sides in a pulling, from cabin to trunk, direction. I'll be cutting out a small hole on the bottom of those pods to install ducting. This ducting will later go down to the amp rack to keep all the amps cool. This will be on both sides of the rear deck, just like there are two speaker holes on the rear deck. What this will do, in theory, is bring cool air in from the air conditioned cabin on warmer days, to help cool the amplifiers. 

This is where I'm going to decide what I'm going to do with the power distribution areas. Behind this wall in the trunk is the trunk power distribution area. I'm thinking of moving all of it from their prospective areas, to under the rear seat if it will all fit. There are some pretty deep, I dont' want to call them cubbies, but they're like cubbies on both sides to make this happen. This way they are easily accessable. Right now I'm finding that while the different areas were a decent idea, if I ever have an issue I'll never be able to get to them. With them under the rear seat, i can just simply pop the rear seat up and viola, there they are. Plans are in the works for this. 

Also in the rear seat is a center consloe or ski pass thru. It's not really a pass thru though. My thought with this isn't quite clear yet, however, i do have one. It intails the sub box, with a plexi back and leds, with a pass through. The other thought, which I'm not sure on yet cause I've done no research, is to have the ports of the sub box come thru the rear of the box instead of the front, and face the pass thru. Then I could cover the pass thru with grill cloth and they'll never be seen. I'll dress it up a bit of course so it can be removed and it can be seen. 

Like I said, still in the works.


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## scooter99

Now on to the magic!

Ok so take a look at this picture..........










Imagine in the middle of it the bit one. It's too big to sit flat on the trunk, but my thought is to build a box for it, or a platform that sits on the angle. Over top of it will be a fiberglassed cover with a plexi glass edge to shine the white leds around it. 

Now imagine on either side of it an angled logo. One side that says Hertz, and the other that says audison. Both on plexi plates with a sueded background. They'll both be backlit by white leds. 

The cover will be finished with gray carpet to match the trunk. Then over bit one and logos will be a cover so they can be hidden. Then removed for show. 

Here is the current trunk set up. I'll just go along the pictures. 










Bit One Compartment.



















Current amp rack housing the Audison LRx 4.1k and LRx 6.9.


















Audison SFD-41C Distribution Block Compartment.









Subs









I have not decided yon the layout of the new trunk. The subs (2 Hertz HX300D) will obviously go back against the back seat in a performance ported box per the specs of Hertz. However I still need to figure out how to layout all the amplifiers. Audison LRx 2.4, LRx 2.9, LRx 4.1k, LRx 1.1k (2). That will come later as I get closer to that point.

Here is the next part, the trunk power!! In the trunk I'll be putting in two Kinetik HC1400 power cells. In the front I have a Kinetik HC1800 as the main. Then I'm adding the 220 Amp HO Alternator. I'm hoping that all this will be enough power. I'll have the capability of running up to 4400 watts with all the amps. But I know I won't be running that much. 

So each power cell will be housed on the side corners of the trunk on each side. Above those will go an inline fuse holder (Audison Connection BFD-11DGT) with a digital meter and above that will be the distribution block (Audison Connection SFD-41C). Covering those will be a fiberglassed trim panel that matches the existing trim, then coverd with the gray carpet. Again on the outter edges of these components will be a plexi outline backlit with white leds. Then a matching cover to hide it all and uncover for showing. 

Here are the sides. 

Driver










Passenger










So there it is. That's the current layout and the plan for the future. I'm of course still collecting gear and sellign gear and all kinds of stuff in between. But this build will be starting very soon. 

I will update with more as I can. A note on this build. Some things in my life have changed and some requirements are no longer the same. I no longer need as much turnk space as I used to need. Not that I don't need any, but I'm not as pressed for it as I used to be. The other part that gives me some leway is becaus my wife now takes both my kids to school and picks them up everyday so I no longer have a child in my car daily. So I'll be able to do more work amungst other things. I think that's about it. Any questions or comments are welcome. 

I think i've pretty much decided on my build plan as of now. The only thing i'm a little scepticle about is the subs and how to do the box, meaning the ports etc. I want to make sure that I do my research before finalizing that portion of it. i'm hoping to have the subs here in about 3 to 4 weeks.


----------



## kyheng

^Yeah, the enclosure's main issue is not the volume alone, but the port also. Suggest to get the volume right first then only figure out the port lenght. Rockford Fosgate's website got a good wizard for you to get the enclosure dimension "right".
Another thing I can see is, you may have problem when you take out the 6.9 and put in your other LRXs... Lack of space I can see... Maybe change the alternator first and add the batteries later(if you still see problems on power supply) would be good. More batteries does not means good sometimes because you won't be drawing maximum power from all your amps anyway.


----------



## MTopper

DMB fan? and nice looking install so far.


----------



## alm001

I like the mid location, and aiming (looks like single seat, good!)

But could I suggest moving the tweeters to directly above the mid?

Have you tested out the current locations?


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## scooter99

yes big time DMB fan! Thanks!

I am currently running the positions they're in. I'm going to move the tweeters on teh apillar for sure, just wasn't thinking that high. In order to point them at the driver seat, the driver tweeter is gonna stick out quite a bit and that's pretty close to eye level. But maybe I'll try it and see what happens with it.


----------



## scooter99

Started doing some box research on the ports and stuff. Here's the thread I just posted about ports. Don't know, maybe it'll be helpfull to others around here as well.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diy-mobile-audio-sq-forum/84079-sub-box-port-questions.html


----------



## scooter99

Here's my latest update. I made a little diagram showing my install thoughts. Hopefully it's not too confusing!


----------



## miniSQ

+1 for dave....i have been to 4 shows already this year and am currently trying to line up tickets for Bethel Woods.

oh,,,and nice install BTW


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## IBcivic

dats aylotta awdeeson blue,mang!


nice layout!!!


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## pickup1

hey dude,how are you liking the 4200?


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## scooter99

Thanks Martin! I know they're beautiful aren't they!!

Man I love it!! The only thing I would move to at this point is the Z110, or whatever that one is that's so popular! But I don't need bluetooth or navi. So it's kind of a waste of money for me. I'm good with this and I'm in love with it everyday all over again!!


----------



## pickup1

how did you like it without the bit one?did you try it that way?


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## mobeious

wassup with everyone doin rearfill?


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## scooter99

pickup1 said:


> how did you like it without the bit one?did you try it that way?


I've not tried it that way. Everything has ran through the bit one since I switched to audison. 



mobeious said:


> wassup with everyone doin rearfill?


Well I can't speak for everyone else, but with me I have rear fill cause I have a dvd player and kids.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I've got a small update. 

All the audison connection stuff should be shipping today, or first thing in the morning. Once all that is here, I'll start breaking down the old build and starting the new build. 

The LRx 6.9 is pretty close to sold, and once that's done I'll be getting the subs. The seller is being unbelievably patient with me, which is not gone without notice, and I'm trying to get this thing sold quickly so he can get his money and I can get my subs. 

I bought some foam board form Office Depot the other day so I could start making mock ups of my amps, bit one, and batteries for the build. I'm also working on a second LRx 1.1. 

I've also stumbled upon a website with a civic build that i really love and I might just copy the build on the subs for sure, but I'm still doing research on it and the sounds etc. Here it is: “Pioneer Build-Off” 2008 Honda Element

So more to come. I did put a few fans in my current amp rack, or at least I'm working on that now, so that while it's 100 degrees here in cali, I'll at least be able to save my current amps from overheating. Ill get some pics up of that soon. 

More to come!


----------



## jorona1

Hi Scooter this is a sweet layout. If I remember right you still have your spare tire right? The amp rack is built over it?


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## scooter99

Yes for now. I'm rebuilding, but I'll still have availability to the spare tire with this one as well. Thanks!


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## capnxtreme

Dude, it seems like a crime to tear up that trunk. Why not work on your front stage before you redo a perfectly nice trunk setup?


----------



## Salad Fingers

scooter99 said:


> Ok so I've got a small update.
> 
> All the audison connection stuff should be shipping today, or first thing in the morning.


No need to speak with so much vagueness, I'd honestly appreciate the plug!!! I'll drop it off in the morning, UPS guy didn't stop by :mean:.



scooter99 said:


> batteries for the build.


Am I supposed to be getting a price for you on those?



scooter99 said:


> I'm also working on a second LRx 1.1.


Sorry I didn't text you back, I ended up having to go to the back and help the SLOW installer finish this car up, and ended having to stay a couple hours late. Anyways, I know he wants $400 plus actual shipping. He even told me that he would rather keep it than eat the shipping. I guess if you want it, I'll get it from him, but he and my sister broke up so I haven't talked to him in a while. Holla!!!!!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so we had the 24 hour loss on the site here, but I copied the thread on paper, cause I couldn't do it on my computer somehow. So I'll try to recreate it some how. 



capnxtreme said:


> Dude, it seems like a crime to tear up that trunk. Why not work on your front stage before you redo a perfectly nice trunk setup?


That's all in the plans. It all has to do with me being picky about matching gear, and I know it's a waste but that's fine. Thanks for the kind words about the trunk. I assure you and everyone else, the ideas I have now, are going to simply blow this current build away! No comparison. 

Bottom line is that I love to do this and when I 've got all the matching gear, I'll just have installs to worry about.



Salad Fingers said:


> No need to speak with so much vagueness, I'd honestly appreciate the plug!!! I'll drop it off in the morning, UPS guy didn't stop by :mean:.


Well I appreciate the drop in! Mr. Fingers, has been kind enough to assist me with all my audison connection gear and has been nothing but a joy to work with thus far. I'm please 100%. Thank you sir!




Salad Fingers said:


> Am I supposed to be getting a price for you on those?


I don't think so. I'm going to just stick with the Kinetiks I think. I don't want to have to sell off the one I have now to buy three new ones. I'll just pick up the 2 HC1400's and call it a day. When I get some more money of course.



Salad Fingers said:


> Sorry I didn't text you back, I ended up having to go to the back and help the SLOW installer finish this car up, and ended having to stay a couple hours late. Anyways, I know he wants $400 plus actual shipping. He even told me that he would rather keep it than eat the shipping. I guess if you want it, I'll get it from him, but he and my sister broke up so I haven't talked to him in a while. Holla!!!!!


It's not a problem. Yes I do want it. The problem is that I have to get money together for it. So if it's 400.00 plus shippin, then what about 435.00? Let me know. I'm going to work on the money. If he can hold on to it without selling, I'll garuntee the sale. LMK!

*Ok moving on from there I'll bold the names speaking and then the text will be in normal lettering.*

------------------------------

*6/30/10 kyheng -* Another 11 days you will have the money.........

------------------------------

*6/30/10 amitaF -* scooter, beware of satan fingers....he'll tempt you with audison goodness and slowly bleed your soul. (Travis)

------------------------------

*7/1/10 - scooter99 -* I think I've done enough of that myself!!!! I'm so addicted to this crap!!! It's taking over my souuuuuuulllllll!!!!

------------------------------

*7/2/10 - Ok we're up to date! *


----------



## kyheng

^Now is another 8 days......


----------



## scooter99

Thanks.


----------



## djjonnyb

Ahh, new thread eh?

How's the heat issue holding up in these past few days getting over the 100 degree's mark?


----------



## scooter99

What's up johnny boy! Well it's funny you mention that. I have some pics. So considering the plans about to take place, I decided that I had to do something about the heat issues that I was dealing with now. So what I did was this. I took the current cover and pulled it out. I striped it down to the wood, or just removed the carpet, and prepped it to install some fans. I was at Fry's the other day, well last week now I guess, and I got a deal on these fans. It was a set of 4 with blue leds on them. I thought hmmmm, why the hell not for 20.00. It matches the leds I have and simply why not. I thought i was a decent deal. They're 4 inch fans btw. So here are the pics of that temporary fix. With all the install on this, I did loose half the leds on one fan. NOt a bad trade off though, and I'll tell you why after the pics!

So here it is naked









Fan positioning, 2 pushing air in to the compartment, 2 fans pulling air out. You can see what's what with the stickers vs. no stickers on the fans.









Temporary placement.









Recarpeted and glued the fans in.









Wiring them up









Installed.









Nighttime shot!









So the result! Yesterday, sunday, I left from sacramento to livermore. It's about an hour and a half drive for those that aren't from around here. Well it was quite warm yesterday. My gauge on the dash board said it was 96 degrees. Warm. I drove all the way there, music up loud bass bumpin, and just cruising along. Today same thing but it was about 93 today I think. I had no problems what so ever. No turn offs, although after I got to my sister in laws I felt the amps just to check and they were pretty warm but I gotta think that with the circulating air, it definitley helped! So for now we're good and it'll get me buy until the new build starts! 

So there's the latest update.


----------



## kyheng

BTW, is the 6.9 out from your car?


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## scooter99

Nope I was actually going to work on that tonight and tomorrow. My daughter is sick and I'll have to be home tomorrow so I'll have all day tomorrow to work on getting the old rack out and put a new temporary one in. I guess I'll have to re do the fan config again. So I'll have it out tomorrow for sure. Then the 4.1k will move over, the 2.9 will come in, and the 1.1k as well. Hmm I guess I have to get the 2.4 in there too some how. I'll deal with it tomorrow. Hopefully my audison connection gear will be here today or tomorrow.

Going to take the 15's out as well. Build a box for the RF twelves for now. Busy day tomorrow.


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## djjonnyb

Nice you got something going scooter, we've been pretty cool considering so far this Summer. I'd just hate to see those sweet amps go through a serious melt down.

Hey, you gonna make it to the big meet this weekend? It'll be a great time to see some Bay Area 8th Gen's! Check it out in the 8th NorCal threads.


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## Salad Fingers

scooter99 said:


> Hopefully my audison connection gear will be here today or tomorrow.


*IT'S STILL NOT THERE !?!?!?!?!?!?!*:mean:


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## scooter99

djjonnyb said:


> Nice you got something going scooter, we've been pretty cool considering so far this Summer. I'd just hate to see those sweet amps go through a serious melt down.


*Yea I was worried abou that as well. But I think I got it under control now. Course now I have to tear it apart so I can get the 6.9 out and the other amps in. Oh well, I'll make it all work. Probably going to just start the install now. Might as well instead of trying to continue temporary stuff. No better time than the present!!*



djjonnyb said:


> Hey, you gonna make it to the big meet this weekend? It'll be a great time to see some Bay Area 8th Gen's! Check it out in the 8th NorCal threads.


*I doubt it man. I'd love to get to some meets but my summer is crazy full, especially now. Saturday I'm watching my girls cause my wife has a dentist appointment in the morning and because we've been so on the go we have house work to catch up on. My birthday is next wednesday, so my brother is taking me golfing sunday for my birthday. So this weekend is out. Next weekend is full, then the following weekend I'm going out of town to the gilroy garlic festival friday and saturday, then I drive from there to the airport sunday cause I leave for salmon idaho on sunday for a 10 day long rafting trip. Never ending!!*



Salad Fingers said:


> *IT'S STILL NOT THERE !?!?!?!?!?!?!*:mean:


*Nope not yet, but I'm not really that surprised by it cause of the holiday. Days not over yet either!*


----------



## khanhfat

scooter... your built has too much gear to fit in  cant wait to see final results!


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## scooter99

Awwwwwwwweeee there's never too much gear! It'll all fit! Somehow!

Ok I have a technical question for someone out there who desires to answer. I'm going to be running two of the Audison 1.1K's (mono channel amps). One amp is going to run one sub. 2 subs 2 amps. So my question is with the signal passage on the amps. So I'm seeing this as two ways. 

Also to clarify I'm using the Audison Bit One processor. I'm already using channels 1 - 7 so 8 is dedicated for the subs. Also I'm making my own cables.

First option: Run a plug out of the 8th channel on the bit one and split it into 4 different lines out of that plug. Two lines go to the left 1.1k and two go to the right 1.1k. Lot of lines out of one plug, not sure that's do able. 

Second option: The 1.1k has 3 sets of input/outputs L & R

*This is straight out of the book
1- PRE OUT: Left and Right preamplified outputs. This output signal is filtered through the PRE OUT controls section.

2- INPUT: Left and Right preamplified inputs.

3- PRE OUT - BYPASS: Left and Right preamplified outputs. Non-filtered output of the input signals.*

So if I'm reading this correctly, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong, I can take the output from the 8th channel of the Bit One, create a split (two lines out of the single plug on the bit one) and connect them to the Input L & R on one of the 1.1k's. Then take a pair of cables and run them from the PRE OUT - BYPASS L & R to the second 1.1k's INPUT L & R. 

Now the thing that I'm concerned with, and again maybe someone can help me out here and I'm not seeing it the way it should be, is that if I'm taking essentially one channel, and splitting it 4 ways so to speak, aren't going to loose a bunch of signal power by the time it hits channels 3 and 4? Does that make since? One channel is splitting into two ways for the first amp. Then those two are going on to two more. Will that effect the signal power by the time it hits the second amp?

Should I be using a line driver for this or is it necessary?

Anyone have any comments on this?


----------



## scooter99

Ok so here we go. I took some time today since I'm home with my sick not so sick daughter, and made some mock ups of my amps and other components. Got everything laid out how I think it looks good and I think this is gonna be good! I'm very excited about how it laid out. Now hopefully I can duplicate it with the real install! Pics.

Well we've seen what the current install looks like but here's the beginning anyway.






















































Amps removed









Amp rack removed









Here is the current family, saying goodbye to one of it's members.









Here is the family without the other member, but waiting for it's newest member sometime in the future, another 1.1k.


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## scooter99

So next what I did was I bought some foam board from my local office depot. Then i started tracing the amps to cut them out. 









Here are the tops and bottoms of the mock ups. 









I got the sides cut and we're ready to glue them all together. I just use a hot glue gun to glue them together. 









As you've all seen throughout my other installs, here's my little helper.









All the mock ups glued together.









On to the new layout! Now it was already tight on room, so I had to get creative. The processor I had already planned to move, but the amps got a bit tricky and I got creative with those. I might actually move one but I'll get to that. 

Overall view









Here's a frontal view, and I did this for a reason. 









As you can see right in front of you is the LRx 2.4. This is for the rear fill. Obviously these subs are coming out at some point. Just not at this very moment. However, I think I've got enough room with the 12's going in, 2 x 15" = 30" minus 2 x 12" = 24" = - 6". So I've got another 6 inches of room for the middle of the sub box for this amp to go in. But if you look at it, I have a total of 41 inches between the two wheel wells. 41" minus 24 (2x12") = 17" - 8" (approx) = 9" of room to spare! 

The thing I was saying I might change is that I might actually put this on the back of the box behind the rear seats. Then when it gets folded down you can see them. The issue I have with that is that it's away from everything else and I'm simply not sure I like that thought. I want it all together. 

I'll be building a cover for the subs and if this stays here I'll incorporate that into the cover as well. 

Here is the passenger side view. Here you can see the mock up for the Kinetik HC1400 power cell. 









This looks like it takes up too much room, and really it does take up a lot of room but also keep in mind that it's going to drop another 4 inches minimum to fit in behind that trim panel. I am going to have to move the SFD-41C distro blocks though cause there isn't enough room for those as well as the inline fuse holder on top of the cell. So the fuse holder will go up there, and the SFD-41C distro will go next to the powercell. I didn't make a mock up of those but you'll see eventually what I'm talking about. 

Driver side, same thing.









Here is what I'm so freaking excited about. This is the view of the trunk lid. This is the piece I'm extremely excited about getting to and getting done. 









Obviously you see the Bit One Processor in the center. Next to it will go, as you can see, the Audison and Hertz logo's which will be on plexi panels. and then backlit with leds. 

There will be a fiberglass panel that will cover and surround all three pieces. 

So there it is. The basic layout without all the details of the upcomming install. All the components will be back lit somehow with leds. I have it in my head, I just have to make it work. 

The goal is to also make sure that this can all be as stealthy as possible, meaning all components will have removeable covers that go over top of them so when the car is not being shown, then it will be as if nothing is in there. 

Now I have to go temporarily install some amps so I can have sound in my car. 

Comments welcome!


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> Awwwwwwwweeee there's never too much gear! It'll all fit! Somehow!
> 
> Ok I have a technical question for someone out there who desires to answer. I'm going to be running two of the Audison 1.1K's (mono channel amps). One amp is going to run one sub. 2 subs 2 amps. So my question is with the signal passage on the amps. So I'm seeing this as two ways.
> 
> Also to clarify I'm using the Audison Bit One processor. I'm already using channels 1 - 7 so 8 is dedicated for the subs. Also I'm making my own cables.
> 
> First option: Run a plug out of the 8th channel on the bit one and split it into 4 different lines out of that plug. Two lines go to the left 1.1k and two go to the right 1.1k. Lot of lines out of one plug, not sure that's do able.
> 
> Second option: The 1.1k has 3 sets of input/outputs L & R
> 
> *This is straight out of the book
> 1- PRE OUT: Left and Right preamplified outputs. This output signal is filtered through the PRE OUT controls section.
> 
> 2- INPUT: Left and Right preamplified inputs.
> 
> 3- PRE OUT - BYPASS: Left and Right preamplified outputs. Non-filtered output of the input signals.*
> 
> So if I'm reading this correctly, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong, I can take the output from the 8th channel of the Bit One, create a split (two lines out of the single plug on the bit one) and connect them to the Input L & R on one of the 1.1k's. Then take a pair of cables and run them from the PRE OUT - BYPASS L & R to the second 1.1k's INPUT L & R.
> 
> Now the thing that I'm concerned with, and again maybe someone can help me out here and I'm not seeing it the way it should be, is that if I'm taking essentially one channel, and splitting it 4 ways so to speak, aren't going to loose a bunch of signal power by the time it hits channels 3 and 4? Does that make since? One channel is splitting into two ways for the first amp. Then those two are going on to two more. Will that effect the signal power by the time it hits the second amp?
> 
> Should I be using a line driver for this or is it necessary?
> 
> Anyone have any comments on this?


if your going to run 2 sub amps and want them to respond in the same manner to the bit-one's output....use the pre-amped output andlet the settings on the ''master amp'', drive your ''slave''.


----------



## IBcivic

nice mock-ups... even our resident architect never took it to that level!


----------



## Salad Fingers

Martin, your UPS tracking number is: 1Z6114FR0342041229

I know this is a really strange place to put this, but I had it open and it was just convenient for me. Oh man, you better post pics for everyone to enjoy when you get that little gem!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## IBcivic

hmmm, that may backfire on you....travesti


----------



## Salad Fingers

^^^^^^^^^ I assume you mean that you will exact your revenge... I probably deserve whatever you do.


----------



## kyheng

Is out, is out.......


----------



## scooter99

amitaF said:


> if your going to run 2 sub amps and want them to respond in the same manner to the bit-one's output....use the pre-amped output andlet the settings on the ''master amp'', drive your ''slave''.


So basically by using the amplified pre outs on the master amp, the signal is still processed the same from the bit one and flows through to the second amp. Am I understanding that correctly? As long as they are all on full range correct? 



amitaF said:


> nice mock-ups... even our resident architect never took it to that level!


Can you tell I'm not sparing any detail on this one? I want to do this do it right and get the entire thing done. I want this thing to look emaculate, however the hell you spell that crap.  I figured for about 25.00 in foam board, it was a small price to pay for a good plan of attack. 



Salad Fingers said:


> Martin, your UPS tracking number is: 1Z6114FR0342041229
> 
> I know this is a really strange place to put this, but I had it open and it was just convenient for me. Oh man, you better post pics for everyone to enjoy when you get that little gem!!!!!!!!!!


Travis, that reminds me I got an email from my receptionist today, cause I was home with my sick daughter today, who has pneumonea by the way , and they said I got a package today. So I'm going to assume that it's the goods since the only other thing I've even ordered and am awaiting are my coilovers for my car. And since ****ty ass Corsport responded to my email I sent yesterday asking for status on the back order saying they've not heard anything, I'm guessing by process of elimination it's the goods you sent.

By the way, I almost had a horrific tradgety today. I took the 6.9 out and I put the 1.1k, 2.4, and 2.9 in temporarily. When I got to hooking everything up, I was in a horrible hurry by the way cause I had to get my daughter to the dr. and had everything apart. Well I hooked up the rca's backwards on the bit one, so I put the mid range by accident in what was the subs line outs, ooooooooohhhhhhh ssssssshhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttt, thought I blew em. But I didn't. Problem fixed and heart rate was finally back down. Wow! 

I'll be off again on friday, she has to stay home for the rest of the week. My wife is taking tomorrow off and I'll be home again on friday. So I'll be making a couple of temp. RCA's for the subs and rear fill, and then doing a huge F-ING GARAGE CLEAN UP!! Man it's a mess out there. But with me starting this new build I want it cleaned up and everything findable. 

The next thing I think I'm going to be doing on this thing is to do the side cubbies for the batteries etc. I know I don't have them yet but I think doing them now is going to be good. I think they'll need to get done so I can do the other stuff. Second after that is going to be the sub box, which I have new ideas for along with incorporating that 2.4 into the center, and cooling system. 

Beyond that I'll have to figure out. I think third will be moving the Processor and doing the trunk lid set up. I think that won't be horribly challenging but I think it could be if I'm not careful! We'll see. That's a long way away at the moment!! 

Going to fold clothes, yes I have man chores to do! Goodnight all!!


----------



## kyheng

Well, is won't be much problem if you are not putting full volume to the speakers. I've tried before sending Low signals to my tweeters and I don't know. I know it when I put 75% of my max volume and my tweeter gave me a "plak" sound. 

On the manual's Pg47(I don't know how to read Italian), on the ECI page, use the number 3 pre-out bypass. It should clear your problems.....


----------



## Accordman

i wanted mille subs also but would have to change my amps out again since 1.1k puts out the power needed for 2 ML3000 at 1ohm and the subs only come in single 4ohm


----------



## scooter99

Yea I was going to go with the ML3000's but I got a great deal on the HX's and they're dual voice coil. a 1.1k to each sub will do nicely!! 

So on another note, got some stuff. Travis, thanks! The package i got yesterday at work was the gear. Also, very nice packing job buddy! First class!! Here it is. 

First up are the RCA connectors: BCP100's, come in a 4 pack and I got 6 of em. I wasn't really thinking that well when I bought em and I'm two short but I'll fix that pretty easily. I have two channels from the head unit to the processor - 4 ends. Then from the processor I have 6 single channels to the amps - 12 ends. Then from the processor I have channel 7 split to two channels - 3 ends. Then from the processor again I have channel 8 split to two channels - 3 ends. Then from the first sub amp I'll have 2 channels going to the second sub amp, or slave - 4 ends. That's a total of 26 ends. I have 24. So what I'll do is take two of the left over Neutrik ends and use those behind the head unit where they won't be seen. That will give me 2 more and all the visual connectors will be the same! Viola!! Here they are. 



















So my first impression after taking them out of the package is ok. They are nice and heavy, I guess as heavy as you can get for an RCA end. They feel good and look solid. Of course I have yet to make cables out of them but they look like they'll do the job nicely. The thing about them that does have me concerned is that they don't have any kind of stress relief for the cable. The Neutriks have the spring tails on them etc, as well as the fold down clamps. These only have the clamps but no kind of spring connector. The hole for the cable to go through is rather large so I think that's going to allow me to use heatshrink to finish them off, since I'm using Gepco wire which is really thin. So maybe that on top of the clamps will provide some extra stress releiving ability. 

I'll review them completely when I have a chance to make the cables. 










Next up are these bad boys. These are the SRT 1/0 Ring Terminals. These will be used for the 1/0 Ga between the batteries etc. These are very heavy duty and they'll do the job nicely I think! 



















Next up are the BFH-11 DGT In line fuse holders. These beauties will go in before each battery. They're going to provide fused security as well as a voltage reading at each battery. Overkill? Maybe but it'll make the car uniform as well. 










And finally I saved the best for last. You've already seen his brother, currently running the system now. Ladies and Gentlemen let me introduce the one and only brother to the work horse......................Mr. SFD-41C #2!!!!!!!!










Anyone who's in audio should know this bad boy and what he does. I think in all honesty the only thing Audison could do better with these things are put a digital gauge on them. Man that would make these things out of this world!! 

So there you have it. The family of install pieces. I also, in case you don't remember from the first install, have as I said the first SFD-41C like this one, I also have a few other things. I'll list out the old and now new Audison Connection gear that is going in the car. 

OLD:
SFD-41C - Distro Block
BFD-21 - Dual Fused Distro Block (2)
BBC-11P DGT - Positive Digital Guage Battery Terminal 
SBC-41N - Negative Battery Terminal

NEW:
SFD-41C - Distro Block #2
BFH-11DGT - Digital Guage In Line Fuse Holder (2)
SRT-1/0 - 1 Ga Ring Terminals (12) Not sure exactly why I ordered 12 but ok.
BCP-100 - RCA Ends (24)

On the list still is cable at some point in my life. Not sure when that'll ever happen but it's on the list. 

So here's what I've got so far and what I'm waiting for. 

WHAT I HAVE:
Head Unit: Pioneer AVH-P4200DVD - With Optical Cable converter and Axxess Steering Wheel Interface
HD Tuner: Pioneer GEX-P20HD
Head Rest Monitors: Pioneer AVD-W7900 (7")
Front Tweeters: Hertz HT 25 (I've gotten these mixed up a number of time, it is the HT 25 not the 28's.)
Front Mid Range: Hertz HL 70 (3")
Front Mid Bass: Hertz ML 165 (6.5")
Amp #1: Audison LRx 4.1K
Amp #2: Audison LRx 2.9
Amp #3: Audison LRx 2.4
Amp #4: Audison LRx 1.1K
Front Battery: Kinetik HC1800
Audison Connection Gear: Listed Above

WHAT I NEED:
Rear Fill: Hertz HSK165
Subs: Hertz HX300D (2)
Amp #5: Audison LRx 1.1k
Rear Batteries: Kinetik HC1400 (2)
H/O Alternator: Mechaman (Not 100% decided on this yet but I know I need one)
Cables: 1/0 ga, 4 ga, 8 ga, 18ga assorted wire, possibly 14ga speaker cable.
Leds: TOO MANY TO COUNT!!! 
Deadener: Going to need more for the rear deck and the front doors. 

So as you can see there's lots of work to be done to get the gear I need. But until then I'll get started sometime soon on install and use the mock ups I've built and will be building to get me through the install while I wait for the money to get the other stuff. 

One of these days soon I'll hopefully be taking build pictures, and not just product pictures. 

Stay tuned!


----------



## n_olympios

You entered the same pic twice. Fail. :laugh:

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the RCA plugs. I've already bought some Monster Cable Turbines, but it's good to know that these are indeed ok. 

Just a small remark though, if you don't mind: Viola is a musical instrument, voila is the french word for "behold".


----------



## Salad Fingers

Yay!!!! They finally made it!!! 

I just can't wait to see the pics that Martin will soon be posting:biggrinflip:... If he is too embarrassed and/or prideful, I've got my own copies:devil:


----------



## sn95chico

Top notch system 

i thought my system was huge 

i really like what you are doing and wish i could here it 

Im in chico witch is right down the street from you 

When your done let me come by and hear it 

i always in sac i own alpha auto detailing in Chico


----------



## IBcivic

Salad Fingers said:


> Yay!!!! They finally made it!!!
> 
> I just can't wait to see the pics that Martin will soon be posting:biggrinflip:... If he is too embarrassed and/or prideful, I've got my own copies:devil:


i guess we'll see in 20 hrs or so..


----------



## scooter99

Thought I'd post up a couple of ideas I had for my sub box, courtesy of MS Paint! love that program!! These are of ported boxes, which I've still not decided that I'm going that way yet. But it's a design I had in my head and I wanted to get it out there and get some feed back if I could. Otherwise it's here and I can refer back to it later.

First Idea:

The thought here was to basically have a center display and it be functional at the same time. As you can see the subs are on the outside of the box face, then in the center I'll have the two ports on the sides, shaded in black. In the center of that I'll have an led backlit plexi logo display much like what's going on the trunk lid. 










Second Idea: 

Similar to the first one, but no display. This is most likely the route I'm going but here's the way it is. Same thing as the first idea with the ports. The subs move out a little further, as much as they can actually, then the ports move out away from center. Then a counter sink is built to house the LRx 2.4 which will be back lit with leds. That will sit inside the two ports. 










Third Idea:

This one really is much like the first one, with the same design and set up. What changes is that because there's no room for the amp on the floor without everything looking bunched up, the LRx 2.4 would go on the back side of the box, again countersunk, so it can be visible through the ski pass thru on the back seat. There is no picture for this one, since it's the same as the first idea. 

Now everything will be finished with a cover on it so that no wires show or anything like that. The stealthiness of it will provide a cover for the amplifier as well as matching grill cloth for the ports. Hard to explain but it's very clear in my head. Great place for it huh! 

BY THE WAY, I don't have a clue how I would curve the ports like that. It's just an idea cause I thought maybe I could make it the same or a close radius of the subs and see if it would look good. I don't know if that's what way it's going to go or not. 

I'm going to be working on a couple more mock ups today for the distro blocks, fuse holder, and I think that's it. I'll get more pics up later.


----------



## scooter99

Here are some more mock up pictures.

I got all the audison connection gear in yesterday so I figured it was a good time to get the side mock ups done. 

Here's the pieces cut out and ready to glue together. BTW my daughter took some of these pictures, mainly the one's of me! 









Here are the pieces right before gluing.









Glueing









Now comes the fun part. That ugly guy there in the picture, that's me! HI! I'm trimming up the mock ups so that they're at least somewhat even. 









No I'm not sleeping, it's bright outside and I'm too lazy to go get my sunglasses! Although I wish I was sleeping!









Finishing









Now the layout. This is somewhat the idea of where things are going to go. Again the batteries are going to set back more, this is just with the trims in place and they're kind of a pain in the ass to get out and put back just for this. So here it is.

Driver side









Passenger side









When the batteries are tucked back in the cubby, the SFD-41C will be showcased better then they look now. These things are gorgeous, I wanna make sure they're shown that way!! 

Ok so there you have it, that's pretty much all the layout that I've got for now. There may be some other stuff down the line but for now that's the way it is. Now if I can just find some time to get started!!! LOL


----------



## trevordj

I always wonder what the masterminds behind these builds look like. In your case, I don't think I would be well served to ever make you angry should I ever end up in Sacramento . 

Build looks great by the by!


----------



## ttocs388

I see you are making your own rca's what kind of wire are you using and where are you getting it? I am about to make my own...


----------



## scooter99

I'm using the Gepco 6181Ez cable, or at least I think that's the cable number. It's really thin, and really flexible as well as easy to strip and work with. You have your RCA ends yet? I have a bunch of brand new Neutriks sitting here, but I ended up going with the audison connections. If you need em I'll give you a good price for em.


----------



## IBcivic

whata brand whore^^^ lol

j/k


----------



## IBcivic

trevordj said:


> I always wonder what the masterminds behind these builds look like. In your case, I don't think I would be well served to ever make you angry should I ever end up in Sacramento .
> 
> Build looks great by the by!


I look like my avatar


----------



## CentralFC

This is incredible dude. Great stuff.


----------



## kyheng

What's the offer of your neutriks.... Since I'm in deep trouble, I don't mind get the wound depper..... After all, I only "die" once......


----------



## ttocs388

scooter99 said:


> I'm using the Gepco 6181Ez cable, or at least I think that's the cable number. It's really thin, and really flexible as well as easy to strip and work with. You have your RCA ends yet? I have a bunch of brand new Neutriks sitting here, but I ended up going with the audison connections. If you need em I'll give you a good price for em.


that is the first time I have ever done a google search and found 0 results, I am guessing that isn't the wire.

If you can shoot me some pics of your ends I would be interested as well.


----------



## scooter99

Sorry left out a number on the wire apparently.

gepco 61801ez - Google Product Search

I'll try to get my rca ends up here in a bit. Busy saturday! 

Martin, GUILTY AS CHARGED!!  Did you get your package yet?

It's these with no color band, or it might be black. 
Neutrik RCA Plug with Gold Contacts - White


----------



## Salad Fingers

scooter99 said:


> Martin, GUILTY AS CHARGED!!  Did you get your package yet?


****ing piece of ****s at UPS defiled my package and sent a plain brown box!!! I'm so angry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a little taste of what he was supposed to have handed to him by the Holiday Inn staff. I'll post more after work...


----------



## scooter99

Those [email protected]!!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I got my 1.1k hooked up tonight to the ae subs! WOW!! I've only got it about half way up and it's rattling everything in my garage. Nice freakin amp!! I cannot wait for the second one and see what the Hertz subs do with em! Man I'm excited!!! I just gotta figure out how to get some more money rollin in!!


----------



## IBcivic

travis...it's called KARMA i have lotsa of the good kind


----------



## IBcivic

i see ur givin those subs a lil workout. are ur lights dimming, much?


----------



## kyheng

Scott : No worry, in the next 20hours, you will have some money roll in.......


----------



## scooter99

No but I've not ran it at night yet. So I'm sure ill have some light dimming issues. No big. I'll deal with that soon enough. 

Kheng I got the payemnt. Just gotta wait for my paycheck to roll in at the end of the week and the subs will be paid for baby!! Bring on the thump!!


----------



## IBcivic

from what you are saying,the 1.1k seems to be underated....sounds like a beast of an amp


----------



## scooter99

I would agree with that statement. Yes it seems to be a beast of an amp. We'll see what it does with the other subs in a different set up. I've not got most of the money for the subs. Gotta wait for this check this week and I should have them paid for. Then I will work on the rest of it. 

I should hopefully be done with equipment by the end of August or September. Not saying that the build will wait that long but the OT checks are all that I can depend on now, since the dvd player isn't selling, so one every two weeks should yeild me about 1000.00 a month. Given what I still need that should be a couple months worth of gear. H/O Alt, 2 batteries, second 1.1k, rear fill comps, gotta add some deadener in there for the ceiling and beef up the rear deck, and then the cables. Shoot maybe I'll get crazy and wait one more month and add another grand for some audison connection cables and just be done with it. Gonna have to see what the future holds for OT. Work just took a huge change in direction, lost an employee so my job just got harder.

GOD I"M CRAZY!!! Oh well it's what I like!!

Hey civic guys! Can anyone give me any insight on how to take the rear veiw mirror off, from the windshield. When it gets bassy, the metal pieces are rattleing together. I want to take it off and put a piece of deadener in there. It's horribly loud, the rattle, when it does that but I can't seem to find anywhere to disconnect it at. I could use some help with this please. Thanks!


----------



## scooter99

Another update, or a differnt one. 

I've decided on my layout and the trunk config. It's a bit differnt from what I put up before. I'm going to, after some research and talking to some folks, try running the subs facing the back seats in a sealed enclosure to start. I'm going to work on a vented one, and I'm working with a memeber here to get that to happen design wise, but for now because it's what I know and it's what the others who I've talked to have done, I'm going sealed. I'm going to, of course, test it first with a temporary box to make sure it's going to work. The back seat's center ski pass thru is going to get cut out and a panel put over it with grill cloth. On the box, unless I go to vented, I'll be putting a logo panel with the Hertz logo in it, backlit with leds. When the grill is removed from the seat pass thru, you'll see the logo. The grill cloth will allow sound to pass throu when the seats are up. I'm also going to do a cover panel on the subs, not to actually cover the subs, but countersink them, and behind that I'l be incorporating more leds with a ring of plexi around the subs. What can I say I like my lights! 

If this goes the way I'm talking about, I'll move the two 1.1k's on the back of that box. This will remove them from the floor and create more space. They'll sit at a 45 degree angle pointing to top center. They'll get the same plexi and led treatment that everything else does! Then fans I'm putting in from the cabin, read back and you'll understand what i'm talking about, will then only have to go to these amps. The other amps don't get hot enough to worry about it and the new rack isn't going to be as enclosed as this one is. There'll be a ton more airflow. Shorter run on the air duct for the fans, which means cooler air on the amps. 

The floor will now house the 4.1k, 2.9, and 2.4 amps, the two SDF-41C's, and the BFH-11DGT's. That will put the kinetik batteries the only things in the side cubbies. But this will also alow me to shrink the amp rack a bit to lift easier for access to the spare. The distro and fuse holder will go in the cut outs on the side in front of the batteries. 

I'll be making another layout with my mockups and I'll post all of those pics so they'll make more sense. I'm just writing it out to get it off my mind and have something to refer back to.

BTW, the trunk lid stays the same! No changes there!


----------



## scooter99

Small update today! 

Got the HX300D's paid for. They'll be shipping in the next couple days! 

Also scored and bought a second Audison LRx 1.1k blue sub amp! 

Some decisions have been made and some power equipment has changed. Instead of the Kinetik Batteries, I'm going with Stinger Power 2 batteries. I'm also going with stinger wires and cables, and sticking with the Audison Connection terminals and distros. It's just too damn expensive to get the Audison Connection stuff. Unless they're gonna sponsor me and pick up the tab, Laughing my ass off right now, then that just aint gonna happen. So those are the minor changes. Otherwise the rest stays the same. 

Waiting for a price list from a source on the rest of my gear so I know how much I have to live at work for the next couple months. I also promised my wife a second honeymoon in the next couple years so I'm gonna have to produce that when this is all done! But it'll be worth it in the long run for sure! 

Of course now I have to change my battery mock-ups, but that's ok! Not that big a deal. I also probably have to change the layout a bit as well. I'll make it all happen, not a problem! 

More to come!


----------



## scooter99

Ok folks, i know it's been a few days since my last update but here we go. Got some goodies in today! Check it out!

Up first is a long slinder box. 









Lets open her up, oh good peanuts, my favorite!









Oh another box. It's kind of like that game you play on people at christmas, just keep opening boxes and it's this little gift inside!! HA!









Now this little gift will surely pack a punch! Oh so nice!! Welcome to the family little guy!!









Now lets see what we have over here! It's a rather large box. And it's rather heavy too. There's some red writting on the side that says HX300's. Hmmmmmm wonder what that means!!! 









Hmmm bubblewrapped very very nicely inside more peanuts. 









Ooooooooooohhhhhh so sexy! These are a beautiful addition to the family. 









Side shots! Don't mind my finger, oops!









And the rear shot! Sooo sexy!! It's like sub woofer porn!! LOL!









So there you have it. A nice addition to my family. That makes 2 - Auidson LRx 1.1k's, a pair of Hertz High Energy HX300D subs, an LRx 4.1k, Hertz High energy HT25's, HL70's, an LRx 2.9, a set of Mille ML165's, an LRx 2.4, and soon coming a set of High Energy HSK165's. My equipment list is almost complete. 

I have a list of power equipment, wires, cables, ho alternator, batteries, and all kinds of stuff for the install that I have to work on getting money for. This is my next step. Gotta have the power to make all this pretty gear work! I'm very excited. Two steps closer to getting started! 

That's all for now. I'll post more when I get it. Thanks! I'm off for vacation for about 10 days. But I'll be reachable for the next 2 and a half. After that I'm in seclusion! Bye ya'll!!!


----------



## Brian_smith06

thats nuts. Im so jealous


----------



## Salad Fingers

Holla about those HSK's, you know ya boy will take care of you , I wish you had asked me again about the 12's, could have maybe done something for you and had BNIB... but oh well too late now.... so you want a 100 ft roll of Stinger twisted 10 ga speaker wire?


----------



## scooter99

Na, I think it's goigng to be too big of wire. I've got 12 in already. If anything I'm gonna go down in ga. Thanks though.


----------



## IBcivic

sha-weeeeeeeeeeet


----------



## scooter99

Thank you, thank you! I hope to get back on the install planning when I get back from vacation. I've got some ideas to put into play and I'm gonna start building some temporary boxes to see if they're going to work or not. IF they do then I'll be ready to get this thing going. Only one piece of equipment left to get for the sound portion, that's the rear fill Hertz HSK 165's, and then i'll be on to gathering power equipment.


----------



## scooter99

Ok I've got a question for everyone out there, hoping to help me solve a minor detailed issue. I'm doing the terminal block wiring as I've done before but this one is going to be much more detailed. I want, however, when I do it, to have some sort of detailed diagram that fits either above or below the wireing. The details reall just need to show the wires and what they are. So if it can be clear, meaning no color, and then have white or black writing on it, and go over it then the wires will be noted and easy for trouble shooting etc. 

My original thought is to use a sheet of, maybe 1/8", plexi and put lettering on it. But where would I go to do lettering that small and without labels being put on it. Meaning, the label maker I have is a 1/2" strip. I don't want that. I want just letters so that I can have them close together and as well, maybe back lite it like everything else. 

I could use some thoughts on this please. Thanks!


----------



## Salad Fingers

scooter99 said:


> Ok I've got a question for everyone out there, hoping to help me solve a minor detailed issue. I'm doing the terminal block wiring as I've done before but this one is going to be much more detailed. I want, however, when I do it, to have some sort of detailed diagram that fits either above or below the wireing. The details reall just need to show the wires and what they are. So if it can be clear, meaning no color, and then have white or black writing on it, and go over it then the wires will be noted and easy for trouble shooting etc.
> 
> My original thought is to use a sheet of, maybe 1/8", plexi and put lettering on it. But where would I go to do lettering that small and without labels being put on it. Meaning, the label maker I have is a 1/2" strip. I don't want that. I want just letters so that I can have them close together and as well, maybe back lite it like everything else.
> 
> I could use some thoughts on this please. Thanks!


Dude, have it laser etched in the acrylic. I'll get a pic and show you what I'm talking about.


----------



## Salad Fingers

I can't find the pic I really want to show you, but here is what you can do with a little creativity and a lot of time...


----------



## Mako312

Is it just me or is the sub on the right slanted up?


----------



## IBcivic

Mako312 said:


> Is it just me or is the sub on the right slanted up?


he probably took the picture, using his crackberry, from up close.


----------



## scooter99

Hey yall. Back from vacation! What sub are you talking about? The new one's? If so then yes I took it with my crackberry before I left town. They're fine as are the one's in the car now. 

Travis, that's sick ass work!!!  Did you do that or did someone else do it for you? That's something I would love to do vs. the stickers. WOW!!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I think the AE IB15's are about sold. If that is the case then the car is going to be getting stripped very very soon, like maybe this weekend. I've got a plan, albeit a quick one not very thought out, as to how to keep music in the ride until the trunk is ready to be worked on. 

I'll have to strip the trunk completely in order to get the subs out. Not a problem it needs to be done anyway to get going on the build. So with everything out, so goes the sound. But my thought is that I can put the passive crossovers in and run a line to them via the head unit. I'll use the Millie mid bass and the High Energy tweets and not use the mid range until it's useable. Or I can run the mid bass and tweeters off the passive and then the mid range off the rears. The head unit does have a crossover on it, and I can use it until the trunk and processor and amps are back in. I'll remove the rear fill cause I don't need it, and for now the kids can hear just fine from the front. The monitors will still be active so they have their movies. 

Any one have any input for this? 

In the mean time I can strip out the trunk, of amps, processor, subs, wires, everything basically and start building with no rush to get done cause I'll be going crazy without sound. I'll have sound. While I'm in the dash behind the head unit I'll install the axxess steering wheel interface, as well as the optical converter, cause it needs to be done, then all the stuff behind the dash will be finished, or at least in there. Maybe I won't do the optical converter just yet. No need cause of no processor, and I'm going to be removing the optical cable anyway for the rebuild. Oh well!!

I'm getting excited, this is about to kick off very very soon! I have a crap load of OT coming up that will hopefuly get me enough money to get the rest of the pieces by the end of this month or middle of next. With any luck the build will start by the end of this month and then when the rest of the equipment comes in, I'll be ahead of the game. Woohoo!!! 

I sure could use someone to buy my DVD player though from my classifieds thread! I need more money as you can imagine! Pick it up someone, I'll listen to any offers!! Check it out! http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/classifieds/82531-audison-lrx-pioneer-alpine-etc.html

Ok I have to head off to bed! I'll update more as I can. 

OOOOOhhh I forgot! I don't know if I mentioned this before or not. But during my last build I was using my new camera. I had just bought it like 2 or 3 weeks before on the way to Discovery Kingdom with my girls! Sony Cybershot something or other. Nice camera, better than the older one, cleaner shots better stuff. 

SO one of those nights at like 2 am or something like that I took my last pictures of the trunk, and set it down. Well me being tired not realizing it I sat my fat ass down on that chair, and crack! The lanyard was folded under the camera and the plastic piece of the lanyard that folds it so the string stays in place was right on the lcd screen. LCD screen gone! Cracked to ****! 

So I was going to scrap it and then I got the idea that maybe I could fix it. So I looked on fleebay and got a new oem lcd screen for my camera and ordered it today for 24.00. The company here in town that was going to fix it for me was quoting me 130.00 and so did a couple others in town. I only paid like 160.00 for it. I couldn't find my reciept or I'd have sent it back to sony and got it fixed for free, or cost of shipping or something like that. 

So anyway, screen's on it's way and I'm gonna try my tinkering skills with that as soon as it gets here. If it doesn't work I'm only out the cost of the screen cause the rest of it is pretty much garbage without a screen anyway. I'm very happy and anxious to get that and see if I can fix it! Just thought I'd share that with everyone. Don't know why other than it's a better camera then the older one I have, and I'm hoping to have it for the build when it underway. Otherwise it's a new camera for me!! 

Ok I'm gone!! Night!!


----------



## scooter99

BY THE WAY <~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2,000TH POST!!!!!!! Woohoo for me! OK that's enough! Goodnight!


----------



## Salad Fingers

scooter99 said:


> Travis, that's sick ass work!!!  Did you do that or did someone else do it for you? That's something I would love to do vs. the stickers. WOW!!


I was wondering when some respect for that **** was going to get shown!! I have a buddy who sells the machines that did the etching, and a very close friend that did the work to make it look just like that. What you're talking about with the fuses is easy, but it was a lot of work to get all that depth and shading.

Dude, did you get your shirt?!?!?! I figured you'd **** yourself when you got it, guess I failed with my surprise .


----------



## IBcivic

Salad Fingers said:


> I was wondering when some respect for that **** was going to get shown!! I have a buddy who sells the machines that did the etching, and a very close friend that did the work to make it look just like that. What you're talking about with the fuses is easy, but it was a lot of work to get all that depth and shading.
> 
> Dude, did you get your shirt?!?!?! I figured you'd **** yourself when you got it, guess I failed with my surprise .


i'm jealous 
all you sent me was a box with wieners on it and u p s ended up keeping it. :laugh::laugh:


----------



## scooter99

Salad Fingers said:


> I was wondering when some respect for that **** was going to get shown!! I have a buddy who sells the machines that did the etching, and a very close friend that did the work to make it look just like that. What you're talking about with the fuses is easy, but it was a lot of work to get all that depth and shading.
> 
> Dude, did you get your shirt?!?!?! I figured you'd **** yourself when you got it, guess I failed with my surprise .


Man I'm such an *******!! I got it and was psyched to get that and the decal, but I've been so freaking busy and last night when I was updating my emails and stuff I had completely forgot about it! I love it and was extatic when I got it! Thanks! Sorry if I ruined the surprise, but it was a big surprise for me, I love it. Can you get, and if so how much, an Audison one?

Also would your guy be able to make me a couple of those acrylic signs? Probably not very big, about the size of the audison and hertz decals that come with their equipment. Let me know if he will and if so how much and I'll get you some money. I'll have to decide also if I want any others too!


----------



## Salad Fingers

amitaF said:


> i'm jealous
> all you sent me was a box with wieners on it and u p s ended up keeping it. :laugh::laugh:


Hey, you got what I had at the time!! About a week later the shirts came in on the same order that had the stuff for Scott on it. It was a bunch of XL's and two 2XL's, and since I had seen that Scott is somewhat of a defensive lineman, I figured instead of the 2XL's just sitting in the office that I'd send one to him. 

Now, if you do what you told me you were going to do on Friday... I'll make something happen for you . 2XL ok, or you need an XL?

**** UPS for ruining my wien box!!!!!!


----------



## IBcivic

Salad Fingers said:


> Hey, you got what I had at the time!! About a week later the shirts came in on the same order that had the stuff for Scott on it. It was a bunch of XL's and two 2XL's, and since I had seen that Scott is somewhat of a defensive lineman, I figured instead of the 2XL's just sitting in the office that I'd send one to him.
> 
> Now, if you do what you told me you were going to do on Friday... I'll make something happen for you . 2XL ok, or you need an XL?
> 
> **** UPS for ruining my wien box!!!!!!


wasnt bitchin,dude...all in good fun
fyi>2xl is my size ,also.


----------



## Salad Fingers

scooter99 said:


> Man I'm such an *******!! I got it and was psyched to get that and the decal, but I've been so freaking busy and last night when I was updating my emails and stuff I had completely forgot about it! I love it and was extatic when I got it! Thanks! Sorry if I ruined the surprise, but it was a big surprise for me, I love it. Can you get, and if so how much, an Audison one?
> 
> Also would your guy be able to make me a couple of those acrylic signs? Probably not very big, about the size of the audison and hertz decals that come with their equipment. Let me know if he will and if so how much and I'll get you some money. I'll have to decide also if I want any others too!


Hahahhaa, yea I was like "****, I guess he didn't like it as much as I thought he was going to". Glad to hear that you do!!!!

Yea, like I said I know the guy that does the laser etching and it's no big deal. But, the way that grim reaper came out was a lot of work beyond just the laser. If I remember correctly, after the etching he painted it all black and then took to hours of sanding. I'll have him explain it to you if you want, but if you aren't wanting a design that intricate... it's going to take a lot of work. I'll shoot my buddy at Extreme Laser Concepts a text and see what he says about doing that for you. Give me some approximate sizes of the pieces of acrylic you'll be using and exactly what you want on them... and what about the fuses?


----------



## Salad Fingers

amitaF said:


> wasnt bitchin,dude...all in good fun
> fyi>2xl is my size ,also.


Oh I know you were just razzing me!!!!! 

Shirt size, duly noted... and will be sent with said near future purchase!!!


----------



## scooter99

Um I think on the sizes about 10 inches by 3 inches acrylic, with the audison logo on one and the hertz on the other. Basic simple. They'll be backlit in white so if you need any other info then that i'll be happy to get it for you when I get home.

Help me with the fuses. i went back but I'm not seeing anything about fuses, and it's been hell since returning from vacation. What was I talking about?


----------



## scooter99

Hey quick question for you guys. No it's not a silly question but seriously. I'm going to be running 12 channels of amplifiers. 
Tweets (2), Mid Ranges (2) LRx 4.1k = 4 channels
mid bass amp (2) LRx 2.9 = 2 channels
Rear Fill - Components ran passive (2) LRx 2.4 = 2 channels
Subs (2) - One amp each Lrx 1.1k x2 = 4 channels
Total = 12 channels

Would it be worth it to pick up a second bit one? My thought was to take and run the tweets, mid range, mid bass, and rear fill off one bit one which would equal 8 channels. Then run the subs off the second bit one which would equal 4 channels? What are your thought, and please don't say get rid of the rear fill, I need it it's not an option. 

My other issue is if I were to do that and run two bit one's, would it make a difference to run the first one with the mids and highs on the optical line, and then the subs on an analog line? I guess I'd probably need to stay with the analog on both huh? 

Anyway, just some thoughts in my head, thought i would get some input from you guys! Thanks!


----------



## Salad Fingers

scooter99 said:


> Ok I've got a question for everyone out there, hoping to help me solve a minor detailed issue. I'm doing the terminal block wiring as I've done before but this one is going to be much more detailed. I want, however, when I do it, to have some sort of detailed diagram that fits either above or below the wireing. The details reall just need to show the wires and what they are. So if it can be clear, meaning no color, and then have white or black writing on it, and go over it then the wires will be noted and easy for trouble shooting etc.
> 
> My original thought is to use a sheet of, maybe 1/8", plexi and put lettering on it. But where would I go to do lettering that small and without labels being put on it. Meaning, the label maker I have is a 1/2" strip. I don't want that. I want just letters so that I can have them close together and as well, maybe back lite it like everything else.
> 
> I could use some thoughts on this please. Thanks!


This is what I was referring to, but then I started talking about the vehicle that my old boss did that had something similar but for the fuses... so my bad, it's just that I was associating what you were talking about with what I had said after wards.


----------



## Salad Fingers

scooter99 said:


> Tweets (2), Mid Ranges (2) LRx 4.1k = 4 channels
> mid bass amp (2) LRx 2.9 = 2 channels
> Rear Fill - Components ran passive (2) LRx 2.4 = 2 channels
> Subs (2) - One amp each Lrx 1.1k x2 = 4 channels
> Total = 12 channels


Tweets (2), Mid Ranges (2) LRx 4.1k = 4 channels
mid bass amp (2) LRx 2.9 = 2 channels
Rear Fill - Components ran passive (2) LRx 2.4 = 2 channels
*Subs (2) - One amp each Lrx 1.1k x2 = 2 channels
Total = 10 channels*


----------



## scooter99

OOOOOOooooooooohhhhhhhh, I remember now! You know as of now i've not even thought about that. I'm more focused on other things so I kind of forgot about that. But I'll think more about that soon. What I may do is do an acrylic cover over the top of the blocks and then either use a labeler or have a print shop do the letters on them or something. I've got a couple ideas but it's not something I'm in dyer need of at this point. I've put it on the back burner for now.


----------



## scooter99

Ok well 10 or 12 it's still more than the 8 the bit one has. But I can split the 7 and 8 channels and run it that way i guess. Then slave the second 1.1k off the first. I know Martin said this already. I was just thinking of different ways to do it.


----------



## scooter99

Hey guys I got a couple questions. Actually it's one question, but I want to confirm it. 

When I get ready to run my wires, I'm probably going to run my main run of wires, power, ground, ignition, and more, down the center. I also am going to have to run my rca's and the optical cable, but I'm not sure I've got enough line for the optical cable to run it down the side like I have it. 

Question:

Am I going to face noise issues with these lines, also going to have an ipbus cable and an antenna cable running, running down the center together? By together I don't mean attatching them together but more side by side. 

I understand it's not a good idea with the big power cables, but is there enough in these little wires to create a noise issue? 

What does everyone think?


----------



## IBcivic

you should have zero problems.
i had rca bundled with power cable with no hint of noise.


----------



## ttocs388

I have a vinyl cutter. If you want decals hit me up on a pm and we can work it out.


----------



## scooter99

Ok, I'll let you know if I need them. Right now Travis is talking to his acrylic guy to see if he can make me some of those etched acrylic panels. That would be so sick!! But I'll keep you in mind. 

Kind of stalling today. It's a little warm at the moment. I was going to go out and start dismantling the trunk cause I need to ship those 15's out monday. I have to take everything out, to remove the wall to remove the subs. So I figured now was as good a time as any to dismantle the trunk and get ready for the build start. 

I'll either get some stuff done today or tomorrow. I'll update soon as I can.


----------



## IBcivic

where are those coil-over pics?


----------



## Salad Fingers

amitaF said:


> where are those coil-over pics?


Here's one...


----------



## IBcivic

bwahahaha

you'd make a fortune at dairy queen


----------



## scooter99

That's awesome!!! 

I'll get those and the other pics up probably tomorrow.


----------



## scooter99

Ok I know the pics are still not up. Been a busy week. I'll work on that tonight. 


Update: Slight change of plans in the timing area. I'm not going to be using this ot check to get any equipment, which sets things back a few weeks, but instead I'm going to pay off my credit card. Things have been a little tight, without the ot that is, and I've been living on cash only and I really don't want to take the chance that I'm gonna not have money for gas or something, like this week, so I need to get my cc paid off so I have that back if I need it. So the next check I'll be back on buying equipment and stuff for the build. 

The car is stripped right now, at least the trunk is. I do have some new ideas for the subs I'm going to try, but I've got to do some research on it first. 

I think I've decided that the first thing I'm going to do before I start any building is to get that alarm in. I'm going to just take care of that first and get it out of the way. That way I don't have to worry anymore about when I start putting more equipment in my car. 

So that's the latest. I'll try hard to get those pics up tonight. I'm off thursday and friday, no school for my girls, so I'll probably work on the coilovers then. I want to make sure those are in before the system that way I can adjust on the height as I need to when weight goes in. I'll make sure to measure the distance on the tire to wheel well that way when weight goes in the trunk, I'll know how much to adjust.


----------



## scooter99

Well I tried to upload pictures this morning at work, but for whatever reason my computer is not picking up the card. So it's gonna have to wait till tongiht. 

Last night I got the passive crossovers in for the front midbass and tweeters so I can have music while the rest of this stuff gets done. Along with that I managed to loose a fuse screw in the engine bay  FAWK, but I stole another one from another unit, so we're all good. I'll have to hit depot or somewhere else and get a replacement before I install that part. 

The other frustrating thing, I'm really getting pissed about this, thing that I tried to do last night was install the Axxess Steering Wheel Control Interface. I had the PAC SWI's and never could program them, and eventaully gave up on them. Then I heard about this Axxess one and how it's basically full proof and idiot proof. Well I must be an F-ing Idiot because it's not F-ing Idiot Proof. Ok here's the situation, got all the wires hooked up per the instructions. IT WILL NOT PICK UP THE CAR!!!!!  It goes through it's flashes etc, and it picks up the head unit cause it turns it down when it's programming, but it will not pick up the car for whatever reason. It's really starting to piss me off. So I unplugged it and said F IT!! 

But today it's irritating me and I want it to work cause I want my steering wheel controls back! I don't know if anyone has any suggestions but if you do I'd sure appreciate it! 

So today I've got music and it's all good. I'm working on getting my plans together for the plan of attack. I need some drawings and designs and schematics for wiring and stuff like that. Once I get all that stuff done, I'll be getting started! 

Here's a sub enclosure idea I have, admittedly I stole it from another site, but I really like it and it could help me acheve what I want. 



















I'll be doing a test run on this in the up and coming weeks.


----------



## ErinH

have you made 1000% sure the wires for the SWI controls are plugged in all the way into the harness? This caused me severe headaches.


----------



## scooter99

By that do you mean the wire harness that connects to the Axxess SWI module itself, or the wires to the oem harness?


----------



## ttocs388

scooter99 said:


> Ok, I'll let you know if I need them. Right now Travis is talking to his acrylic guy to see if he can make me some of those etched acrylic panels. That would be so sick!! But I'll keep you in mind.
> 
> Kind of stalling today. It's a little warm at the moment. I was going to go out and start dismantling the trunk cause I need to ship those 15's out monday. I have to take everything out, to remove the wall to remove the subs. So I figured now was as good a time as any to dismantle the trunk and get ready for the build start.
> 
> I'll either get some stuff done today or tomorrow. I'll update soon as I can.


You can make etched designs with the decals very easy.


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## scooter99

Ok, I'm all ears!!

In the meantime I was able to get pics up. 

Here are the coilovers, and the rear camber arms. 

Buddy Club N+ Coilovers 




































Buddy Club Rear Camber Arms (These things are beefy!!)


















Here's the teardown of the trunk. It's pretty self explanitory.


----------



## scooter99

ALL my babies in one place! Oh so beautiful!!































































And it's all out and ready to rebuild, well mostly. I still have to take out the back wall and behind the seat. No big deal. But the rest is out. I got the crossovers in so I can have music, they're running off the head unit. Not great sound but it's sound none the less.


----------



## scooter99

I posted the sub enclosure diagram earlier but here's a revised version of it. 









Also I made use of the space I have to put components etc. Here's that diagram. 









I have to make the diagram for the trunk and some other things. So the planning is coming together nicely so far. Lots of ideas still to get out on paper, and diagrams for wiring to make. But it is coming together. 

That's all for now.


----------



## scooter99

Ok more diagrams. I've changed up the sub enclosure diagram a bit. I'm fighting for room so I'm trying to do the best I can with the room I have to work with. Here we go.

Sub Enclosure Diagram Revision #3









Sub Amp Rack Diagram A









Sub Amp Rack Diagram B









Trunk Lid Processor Diagram









That's it for now, gotta go do some work around the house and get the garage cleaned up so I can hopefully get the car worked on today or tomorrow. Coilovers going on if so!!


----------



## scooter99

Ok more diagrams are done! Im sure I'll get some interesting feedback on this one but that's what this site's all about right. Here we go. Martin, PAY ATTENTION cause I've already talked to you about one of these. Consider this the idea! 

First, The rear deck fan diagram









The Front Power System Diagram









The Rear Power System Diagram









Martin this is you, The Rear Battery Bracket Diagram









There's more to come at some point, but I think I need to do some measuring before I diagram anything else. That's all for now.


----------



## IBcivic

just give me the dimensions with detailed sketches and i'll make that battery holder for ya.


----------



## IBcivic

made in canada...just like the car


----------



## scooter99

You got it!


----------



## scooter99

Ok guys I need some help. I need some opinions on how you all think this would look. 

This is the original idea about the trunk lid.









I've been doing some looking and playing around with the design of the trunk, and it's going to be a tight squeeze on the amps. Especially since I'm going away from the IB set up. So, here's my idea change. 


















Now in looking at this myself, it looks unbalanced but I think it would ultimately be ok in the long run. Should I straighten the units so they're at least straight across on the trunk lid, or is angled, similar to what they are in these pics, a better look. 

I could use some thoughts and opinions here guys and gals. Let me know what you think. 

I'm also going to beef up the trunk lid opening by using a pair of gas shocks. That should help with the weight that would go on the trunk lid with these units. Also I could just throw this amp under the front seat, one of them, and there's clearence for that I've checked, but since everything else is being shown off I don't want to just hide this somewhere. 

Ok let me know everyone's thoughts. Thanks!


----------



## kyheng

I will just mount the BitOne on the trunk lid.


----------



## scooter99

Well that was the original plan but now it's appearing tighter in the trunk than expected so I'm going to have to do something else with the LRx 2.4 (rear fill amp). But at the same time like I said, I don't want this beautiful piece of art hidden under a seat like some throw rug. That's why I was thinking of putting it up there. 

Then the plan would be, the two LRx 1.1k's on the back of the sub box (mounted so that the vibration isn't so bad - I have ideas), then the LRx 4.1k and the LRx 2.9 mounted on the floor of the trunk. 

I think my biggest issue with putting the LRx 2.4 up on the trunk lid is how to run the two 4 ga (power and ground) wires up there. I guess I could do it on one side, up the trunk arm, and then all signals go up and down the other side. I that case I'd switch them and put the LRx 2.4 on the driver side and then bit one on the passenger side. Or I'll just switch the sides that the signal cables come up, they're getting rebuilt and new ones anyway.


----------



## MaXaZoR

You don't think you'll have issue running all the signal cables down through the trunk lid?


----------



## kyheng

No worry on the cables, the 18" ground is a guide only. My Pioneer 6 channel mini amp's ground way longer than 18" and I have no problem with high resistance. My sub amp's ground cable also 5 feet long. Because you are not going to run your 2.4 on full load. So the power consumption are not that high.
But what you need to consider is the weight of your amp, the rack must be rigid enough to support your amp.

BTW, the 6.9 still laying in my store room and crying...... Waiting to be installed.


----------



## scooter99

MaXaZoR said:


> You don't think you'll have issue running all the signal cables down through the trunk lid?


I don't think so cause of a couple of reasons. 

A) The power cables can run one on top of the other and up one arm, I'll reconstruct the trim piece to go over it to cover. 

B) All my signal cables are going to be Gepco EZ cable which are about an 1/8" or less thick. The only one's not the Gepco, is the optical cable which is pretty thin as well. 

So I think that combined with the new trims I'll make, shouldn't be an issue. My main issue is the balance of the looks of it. I'm also making a new cover for the whole thing. To trim it out.


----------



## scooter99

kyheng said:


> No worry on the cables, the 18" ground is a guide only. My Pioneer 6 channel mini amp's ground way longer than 18" and I have no problem with high resistance. My sub amp's ground cable also 5 feet long. Because you are not going to run your 2.4 on full load. So the power consumption are not that high.
> But what you need to consider is the weight of your amp, the rack must be rigid enough to support your amp.
> 
> BTW, the 6.9 still laying in my store room and crying...... Waiting to be installed.


Yea and I'm not worried about the ground for that exact reason. It's only for rear fill and will not be on all the time anyway. 

My plan on the rack is to use a piece of 5/8 MDF and use angle brackets to screw it to the trunk lid, since it's not going to sit flat but at an angle. On the board, I'll use threaded inserts, the one's that go in from behind the surface. That way when I mount the two units, there won't be a worry about the inserts coming out, or screws stripping out of the wood. 

As far as the weight on the trunk, as I said before, I'm going to add on a pair of gas shocks to the arms. That will help with the weight. What I'd love to do is incorporate an actuator to open it automatically, but I think I might be getting a little crazy with that idea. Doesn't mean I won't look into it though! 

If I could weld I'd consider a metal rack, but I'm not a welder. Might be a good time to learn though. Hmmmmm!


----------



## scooter99

Well then, just like that i figured out I could do the actuator. Will cost me about 200.00 the way I'm looking at. I have to research a little more on the automatic part of it though. I'd like to be able to have it operate off the alarm key fob, and maybe have a button in the back for it to close. I'll research some more.


----------



## kyheng

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-build-logs/30321-one-badassed-bmw-330-a.html
This might a good thread for you to learn on using metals.....


----------



## scooter99

Oh man! I've been following that one! He's a genius of metal! Wow!


----------



## kyheng

After talking with you on installing amp on the trunk lid, I may do the same also...... But see how it goes. 
Guess, as a start, you may use flat metal piece as your amp rack, I think it will be easier to make. then later only sart to make angle rack.
To open your trunk lid automaticly, some after market alarm do have such features. Just that if you want a slow opening motion, you need to add gear to control the opening speed. But some shock absobers do have a slow moving motion if I'm not mistaken.


----------



## scooter99

Yea I was thinking of using those originally. I will probably go with those anyway, but I was thinking of having something more. Always something more. My step-dad has a Lexus LS460, and it has the automatic lift and then you push a button on the trunk lid and it closes itself too. I had that on my wifes expedition too! Loved it! Just a novelty!


----------



## kyheng

If everytime more and more, you will end up cannot put everything in......


----------



## scooter99

Meh, I'll just buy a bigger car!! LOL!


----------



## IBcivic

kyheng said:


> If everytime more and more, you will end up cannot put everything in......


i frequently have that problem...:laugh::laugh::laugh:


----------



## scooter99

Ok so the latest update is, there really is no update. I'm starting my overtime project tonight, to get more money, and in the mean time will be starting my alarm system here very soon. Contemplating a couple days off here in the next week or so, just to do the alarm system. I have big plans on hiding the system and making it clean. Problem is that with doing this it's too bad, cause I don't want to give away where I'm putting it and risk someone getting to it. 

I do have an idea however, for an enclosure of some sore to secure it so even if it is found or uncovered, it would still have to be accessed through the enclosure. I'll get back on that one. 

I'm closer on the trunk lid idea. I think it's going to work well, with the gas shocks of course to hold the weight, but I'm still deciding on straight or angled on the lid itself. I'm leaning towards angled, cause two of the other four amps will be angled (sub amps) however the two on the floor will most likely be straight depending on the depth I have. And aside of that I think the angled will just look better. 

I've decided that this will be my first project, the trunk lid. I want to get that done first cause I think truly that will be the best looking piece to the whole puzzle. I want that perfect and eye catching! 

So that's it for now.


----------



## scooter99

Ok, I've officially got next Tuesday and Wednesday off. Alarm is going in those two days!


----------



## supachin

dude that car is super easy! let me know if you need the wire diagram for your car. i'll email to you


----------



## scooter99

Hey thanks for all the help supachin! 

On another note, I've now scored the Audison Connection Fuse Holders, which wraps up the distribution or Audison Connection Gear that I needed. 

Also I scored my rear fill today! Hertz HSK 165's. 

Now all that's left is my H/O alternator, batteries, power relay, and the 4 page list of cables, wires, connectors, and terminal blocks. I started my overtime project last night. So I'm estimating that I'll be ready to really start building this project by the end of September. All my equipment is done, I've got it all with exception of the shipping HSK's. It's gonna get going fast here soon!

Thanks everyone for being so patient with the build. Hopefully I'll start making some progress and start getting pictures up next week. I'm planning Tuesday and Wednesday next week to do my alarm. If I get it done soon enough, I might start the trunk lid as well! Stay tuned!


----------



## kyheng

Don't forget me if you got extra power cables after you complete your install....


----------



## scooter99

Not gonna have much when I'm done and the old stuff is going to my truck, which will be my next project. 

On another note, I'm home with my youngest daughter who is sick today, sort of. So I'm planning to put my coilovers and camber arms on this afternoon. Soon as we get home from the dr.


----------



## scooter99

Alright, coilovers are on!! I know it's not audio related but whatever. I'll get pics up sometime today. So far I like em. Got a couple issues to work out, I think the rear shocks aren't tight enough cause I'm getting a rattle or a clunk on some bumps but it doesn't feel like I'm bottoming out, and the other is how to soften the ride just a bit. It's pretty bouncy the way it's sitting now. Not bad, but it could be softened a touch. But these are things I still have to figure out how to do, and I don't speak or read Japanese, so I can't get it from the book! Anyway, like I said, I'll get pics up in a while. 

Also working on the alarm and placement and getting ready to install that! Next week is going to be a big week!! Gonna get a couple things knocked out and get started on a few other things! Not gonna get to do a ton until I get the money together for the power gear, but I can do some things with mock ups. 

Till later!!


----------



## scooter99

I finally got my coilovers on! Buddy Club N+! So far my impressions are these. They weren't too terribly difficult to put on. I've done a couple of changes on my suspension already, as some of you know, by going to lowering springs (tein S-Techs) and then from there to the si suspension, while I waited for these bad boys. So I've torn it apart and put it back together a couple times. Really if you just take your time and pay attention is the key to it all. 

So the ride. First off I love the way it looks. I just like how low it is and really in all honesty I would've liked it lower but there was an issue that some people may find out or already know. So I put it pretty low to begin with and when i got them installed I noticed that the bottom of the front damper was hitting the axle boot. I was a little nervous about that but decided to try it out. After a short ride around the block, I came back and looked at it and it just didn't feel very comforting with it sitting like that, so I raised it up about 3/8". That was a little much, and I could stand to go back down a touch if I need to, but right now I'll let it sit there and see what happens after some time. 

Second thing, I'm very pleased with how easily these things can be adjusted. Well let me take that back, I've never had any so I don't have anything to compare them to, and since I don't read Japanese I couldn't read the manual, so I don't know if these can be adjusted on the car or not. But from what I did off the car was pretty easy. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how to do it. So that was good. 

So right now I'm riding like this. I've got the front dampers at 200mm (7 7/8"), the bottoms adjusted at 100mm (roughly 3 7/8"), then up 3/8 after the fix so now it's about 3 1/2" and the settings are at 3. The rears are sitting approximately like this. Shocks are at about 190mm (roughly 7 3/8") and the perches are sitting about 30MM (roughly 1 1/8") and the settings are at 5. 

I left the rears higher for now, and I might still adjust it down, not sure yet, but I did it cause of the equipment that I know is going to be going back there. I know I'm adding significant weight so I decided to play for that now instead of having to do it later. I'll have to play around with it more as I get more in it. 

Now my impressions of how it feels. I like it alot. I can feel the control in it, and it's very satisfying. I feel connected to the road now, and call me crazy but I can feel more energy and power in the drive. I feel like I'm getting more jump on the start in first and even chirped in second gear this morning. I know, I know, it's a 4cyl and a sedan don't get carried away, but it happened I was there. The only think i'm not so sure about right now is how bouncy it is. It does bounce quite a bit but not harsh if that makes sense. I would like to soften it up a touch, but again I'm trying to find out how to do this without instructions. I'm going to play with the settings a bit to see what happens with those. 

My other concern is that I installed the shocks wrong or not tight enough or something. I'm getting a rattle or clunk when I go over bumps or even backing out of the driveway. I'm not bottoming out cause I know what that feels like from the springs, and this is different. So I could use some suggestions. When I tightened the shocks down in the back, I did run out of threads. So it could've gone more but I was up against the washers and the tube that came with it. Not sure if that makes sense or not but I have to try a couple things. Maybe I could use some other washers to stack on it, I don't know. Any suggestions or help is greatly appreciated.

Overall I give these things a huge thumbs up. 

I also put on the Buddy Club Rear Camber Arms. These things are absolute BEASTS! Heavy and strong feeling for sure. They're just tanks! Easily adjustable, and I've got my alignment pretty good right now. Not rubbing much at all. Same with the fronts, which are lower so I expected more rub from there. I've got the Ingalls Front Camber Bolts in there, one set, and adjusted to pretty close to the fender. 

I only had two times last night when I rubbed. I took the family out for a test run ,for weight in the car, so my wife and my two kids, who are really the only people or the most people that are in my car at one time. The first rub came on a turn, where I was just cranking the wheel all the way and just turning in circles. When I sped up a little bit to go faster in the turn was when it started to rub. But who's going to do that everyday right?!? The second was on a pretty hard bump on one of the main streets on the way home I take every day. But that was taking it straight on, and again it's not something I do everyday. I usually just go around it, but I wanted to see what it would do if I took it on. 

So I'm very happy right now with these. And I assume that when I get them more dialed in, I'll be even happier with them. Next on the list is going to be a sway bar and some end links I think. Once the audio is done of course, unless I get a couple hundo in there somewhere to put into it. 

Now...............Onto the pics! 

Before Pics 
Front Passenger


















Rear Passenger


















Rear Driver









Front Driver









Full Views



























Sight Down the Side


----------



## scooter99

Install pics

The Old Suspension









The OEM Rear Camber Arm









Old and New Side By Side


















New Rear Camber Arm Installed









New Suspension Installed









Closer Look Inside









New Front Suspension









After Pics
Front Driver 









Rear Driver


----------



## scooter99

Rear Passenger 









Front Passenger









Full Views


















Before and After Shots
















































So there it is. Now it's time for some new shoes!!!!


----------



## scooter99

Wellllll F(bomb). Things got screwed up for today and tomorrow. I got my days off pulled cause work is crazy. So no alarm install now. Not sure when that's going to happen. So I guess I'll just have to figure out what I"m going to do next.


----------



## IBcivic

omg!!!, HOW DID I MISS THIS?!!!!!

IMPRESSIVE JOB, MATE! :thumbsup:


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> Wellllll F(bomb). Things got screwed up for today and tomorrow. I got my days off pulled cause work is crazy. So no alarm install now. Not sure when that's going to happen. So I guess I'll just have to figure out what I"m going to do next.


Look at it, from a different perspective....it equates to MOW MONEY
Remember our ''group buy'',that is commin up


----------



## IBcivic

if your car bounces...you may have to crank up your rebound dampening adjustment[slows down the extension of the shock] too much rebound dampening and your shocks won't return fast enough for consecutive bumps...in other words>it will remain compressed longer.


----------



## scooter99

Hey brotha, thanks! Didn't I send you a link to this site, or do you just mean how did you miss the coilovers?

That's a good point on the shocks. I actually moved the settings a bit and it made a big difference. 

The other thing, about the alternator, I might have to go a different direction. It's going to cost me more money but I need the higher amperage alternator. It's from DC Power, 270 amp. I might have to go with that. The guy who's helping me with the power suggested I get as close to 300 amps as I can. That's 45 more then the one's we were looking at. The problem is that it's significantly more expensive too. So there's that as well.


----------



## IBcivic

do you have a trailer hitch?....
it comes with a ''no dim'' guarantee











j/k
oke:


----------



## scooter99

SSSAAAAAWWWWEEEEEEEETTTTT!! I gotta get me one of those!!! You get a price!!

You know actually I guess it's not that big a deal is it? An extra 45 amps? It's gonna cost me another 250.00 for the other one. What's the worst that will happen? I burn it up? But how long would that take?


----------



## IBcivic

i highly doubt that you will notice a difference. dont forget, that the alternator works continuously, replenishing the battery..in your case, batteries and music is dynamic...so the draw is not constant. your ears will bleed, before you can deplete the batteries, while driving around. keep in mind, during the periods where you turn down the volume, the current draw will be substantially less


----------



## scooter99

Yea that's another well put point friend. OK we'll go back with the original plan. I can put the 250.00 to better use.

I'm hoping to be ready for that by the 15th. But we'll have to wait and see where I'm at with the credit card payment etc.


----------



## kyheng

Well, unless you run all your amp's at their lowest impedance load, else I doubt that you will be using >200A(50A is for your standard equipments) of current draw to your sound system. Or you have an oven in your car, then it might be different.


----------



## Audiolife

If the alt can't keep up you can find out by where your batteries are resting.If they are AGM batteries fully chrged they will rest at 12.8-13 volts. If they sag into the 12.5- to low 12.7's more than likely the alt is not keeping up. If it takes a while to get down that far (week or more) get a charger for your type of batteries.


----------



## scooter99

All great points. Thanks!


----------



## scooter99

Ok equipment update! Rear fill Hertz HSK165's have arrived! So all I have left for equipment is to get the Pioneer Bluetooth Unit. I decided to do this so that I have the hands free thing, as well as I can use it to listen to my pandora on my phone! 

So next week, hopefully the ot check comes in and I'll get started buying my power stuff. I'm also going to be starting the alarm at some point. I've got to build some stuff and pre wire some stuff and I need to get wire also. So that's it for now.


----------



## IBcivic

:lurk:


----------



## kyheng

And you still got something not bought........


----------



## scooter99

Ummm, help me out here, I don't know what you mean!


----------



## kyheng

Your power stuff I mean.....


----------



## djjonnyb

Wassup scooter, ...long time.

Soooo, I finally got my system started by piecing things together. I got Polk DB651 already in for rear fill and running off the OEM Premium amp. I just picked up an old Diamond Audio D5 600.4 to power those Polk's and set of near future Polk DB6501. Also picked up from the same friend an old Diamond Audio D5 600.1 to power a Diamond Audio M5102.8, ...and I'm thinking about picking up his other M5102.8, ...but I think one will be just fine for now. Still debating what enclosure to put the sub in, ...either a small sealed or a bandpass. Most likely sealed in a fiberglass enclosure to be mounted in the trunk rear passenger corner. So I just need to pick up the needed wires, those matching Polk seperate's for the fronts, and decide on the box design. Not gonna be near as good as your system, but it's a start.


----------



## scooter99

Great man, I can't wait to see it!


----------



## djjonnyb

Good morning to you Scott, ...how's things been? Looks like you've been getting lots of overtime, ...which is a good thing. Just don't overwork yourself. All the money in the world isn't worth extra stress on your family.

So I just finished ordering things from SonicElectronic's, ...and dang it, this is why I was afraid to get back into the audio game. I'm trying so hard to keep things stealthy, but since I already have a good GPS security system, I'm thinking everyday about just getting a nice DD GPS/DVD H.U.. These Diamond Audio amps may be too big to use both (trying to keep the weight down (for now)), so I may just end up just using the four channel to power the single sub (which I'm sticking with as two will be too heavy) and the future seperate's. Going with a small sealed box for now as this sub only requires .5 cubic feet. Bandpass will add too much weight and limit the sub frequency output. The DB651 coax seems to run just fine off the OEM amp, ...maybe just put some bass blockers if they get annoying from the low wattage. I also could just lose the spare tire and rack those babies in there like you, ...but for now, the short term goal is just get some real boom-boom and better highs (I prefer the sound of silk tweeter's).

Anyway, speaking of security system, lemme know if you need any pointers on a stealthy install. For example, I've got a good location for the siren that's unseen but just as loud (if not louder) as one mounted in the engine bay like any old installer usually does.


----------



## scooter99

yea lots of overtime but i do it all at home so my family time comes first. Then when my kids go to bed, I'm at it. 

As far as the alarm, I'm in, let me know where you're talking about. 

On another note, if someone can chime in here, I need some help on power issues. My plan is running two batteries. If I go with one 1/0 ga power line to the back instead of two, will that be suffice? Second is, when running the batteries and the distribution blocks, does it matter if I run through one battery, into the distribution blocks (they each have a 1/0 passthru on the positive side) and then to the second battery? Common sense would say that it'll all be connected and it shouldn't matter but maybe my common sense is missing something. 

To recap here is how I was thinking of running it. 

*From front battery through the high power relay;
to the back into the trunk, battery number one;
from battery number one to distribution block number one;
from distribution block number one, to distribution block number two;
from distribution block number two, to battery number two.*

If anyone needs a diagram let me know and I'll make one up. I think ultimately I'll be running two 1/0 ga lines, but I want to know what my options are. Thanks to anyone that can help. 

I've been going over some new design ideas as well. I'm going to be looking into some stuff to see if I can make it work or not. Gotta get some construction paper and my mock ups out and get some stuff finalized! 

My OT got held at the moment cause of business financial issues, cause the state of California doesn't know how to run things here, so I'm going to now start building and when the money comes in I'll get the stuff I need. It's going to slow some of it down, but not all. 

If I get some pictures of the new design ideas, I'll post em up. I know there's not been much to post, but I'm hoping to change that soon. Thanks all for hanging in there with me.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I think I've finalized my designs. Now I just need some time to implement them. I'm very very excited to get this underway. If this works out like it looks in my head then this is gonna look saaaawwwwweeeeeeeeetttt!! I can't wait to get started!


----------



## kyheng

^^^Then stop updating forum and get the work started......... More photos...... That's what I want.


----------



## scooter99

Well if it were that easy I'd be working on it now. But a full time job and two kids at home, time is limited on when I can work on it. But thanks anyway for being patient with me.


----------



## trevordj

I can't wait to see it!


----------



## kyheng

Yeah, I know that, is not an easy task when you have more concerns to look at. But it will be priceless once everything done.
I know your pain.... I'm still working and no time to install your amp. Even my new sub's enclosure is ready and waiting for install.


----------



## scooter99

Ok I picked up the wire for my alarm today at lunch! I'll be working on that here soon. Gonna try and get the spots set up and then wires ready to go and such. I'll start working on that this weekend.


----------



## IBcivic

silently lurking


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I know it's not much right now but I did a little testing the other day with some packing peanuts and a garbage bag. So these subs need a minimum of 0.80 cu ft. And I've come up with about 1.12 cu ft that they might need. Those numbers include the driver displacement. 

So I took a box and filled it with packing peanuts and came up with about 1.24 cu ft of peanuts. Obviously I can't put a square peg in a round hole, so thats where the garbage bag comes into play. Now I can't take full credit of this trick, thanks Martin, but it is a good one. 

So using the bag of nuts, I found out that I have more than enough room to put these bad boys in the rear cubbies of the trunk. This clears a ton of room in the center for other things. So my designs have changed and things are looking up now. 

Here are the couple of pics. 


















As you can see the bag isn't completely straight in the cubbie, so there is more room to spare as well. That's all for now. 

I told you it wasn't much!


----------



## estione

Quietley watching and enjoying this


----------



## MaXaZoR

I've done a ton of boxes for the Sedan and coupe, you should have no problems getting a 1 ft^3 or more from the side panels.


----------



## scooter99

Thank you sir! Yea I've seen your beautiful boxes. That's what made me realize I could do a sizable box in there. I used to have the shallow mount 10's in there but went away from the application, but now I'm back! I'm very excited to get started with it!


----------



## stangman67

That car looks great slammed on those wheels!


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## scooter99

Thank you very much. I think it'd look way better on these thought:



By the way, I did some adjustments on the coilovers, and man what a difference. Noises went away, and the ride is 100 times better. Getting the front problem damper fixed soon too. Right now it's at a 2" drop all the way around. When I get the damper fixed, I'm going to drop it another 1/2 to 3/4". Here's what it looks like today. I took this with my crackberry so it's not a great one. 










Onto the audio portion. I'm kicking around, no pun intended, the idea of the mid range in the kicks. I ran across this today and really kind of fell in love with the idea. Here's the link. 

How to Make Two-Layer Kickpanels - Guides - Car Audio and Electronics

Now what I'm really liking about this, is the mid bass look in the doors is what I had in my head of going after. And I believe, I've sent the guy a message to confirm, that the tweeters are located in the A-pillars where the silver panel is. 

The other thing is that this is an Acura, so the space is similar to what I have in the civic so I can see that the space wouldn't be much of an issue. These are replacing the existing trim kick panels anyway. Needless to say I really like the idea. the real difference between this and mine is that with the metal grills this install has it really makes it pop, mine would be with the hertz grills. But I think it will still look great! 

Anyone feels like weighing in, go for it.


----------



## jorgegarcia

scooter99 said:


> Thank you very much. I think *it'd look way better on these* thought:


Agreed.


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## scooter99

Does anyone do photoshop? If so can you put those wheels on my car and see what it would look like? Thanks!


----------



## derickveliz

scooter99 said:


> Does anyone do photoshop? If so can you put those wheels on my car and see what it would look like? Thanks!


Let see if this works... I'm learning this stuff!











Derick Veliz








Aerial View - Home


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## scooter99

Thanks, I think they look hawwwt!! I like em a lot!


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## IBcivic

they'd look way hotter on a coupe, though...

i just bought a large suitcase


----------



## derickveliz

scooter99 said:


> Thanks, I think they look hawwwt!! I like em a lot!


You are welcome, I like them too!

Derick








Aerial View - Home


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## scooter99

Ok so here's the latest update! I've just ordered a bunch of wires and components to get this build under way. I will be able to make my harnesses, and component board etc very very soon. Should have the equipment in a week. Woohooo, we're finally gonna get underway! 

The hardest part is going to be mixing my time between this and overtime at home. The overtime is priority cause without it, I have no build. 

That's all for now.


----------



## derickveliz

scooter99 said:


> Ok so here's the latest update! Woohooo, we're finally gonna get underway!
> The hardest part is going to be mixing my time between this and overtime at home. The overtime is priority cause without it, I have no build.


I hear you, I'm in the same kind of boat!

looking forward to see your progress!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so here's another update. I checked with the company that I'm going to get my alternator from, and they're taking 50.00 off to buy it by the end of the week. I'm waiting for my OT check to clear, or just be deposited, and I'll be getting that as well this week. WOOHOOOOOOOO!!!


----------



## kyheng

I want photos, I want photos.....


----------



## scooter99

Patience my son!!


----------



## djjonnyb

Hey scooter, have you ever done the rear deck rattle fix? I had the 10" Type-R in a sealed box and it was okay sounding but at least no rattles. I changed to a 12" Type-R in a ported box and now it rattles the shizniz out of everything back there (it's a little beast!), ...especially that rear deck. If you have done that fix, wanna help me do that fix? I'm herra scared to take that D-piller panel off to get to the rear shelf. Looks like you gotta get a rubber mallet and hit that part where it says 'AIRBAG', ...and I don't wanna blow out that thing. Unless you know another way to fix that rattle which I'm sure you experienced rattles due to your two subs.


Edit: Btw, just saw those pics of those wheels, ...1000X better! Dooooo it! It looks so much fresher.


----------



## scooter99

djjonnyb said:


> Hey scooter, have you ever done the rear deck rattle fix? I had the 10" Type-R in a sealed box and it was okay sounding but at least no rattles. I changed to a 12" Type-R in a ported box and now it rattles the shizniz out of everything back there (it's a little beast!), ...especially that rear deck. If you have done that fix, wanna help me do that fix? I'm herra scared to take that D-piller panel off to get to the rear shelf. Looks like you gotta get a rubber mallet and hit that part where it says 'AIRBAG', ...and I don't wanna blow out that thing. Unless you know another way to fix that rattle which I'm sure you experienced rattles due to your two subs.
> 
> 
> Edit: Btw, just saw those pics of those wheels, ...1000X better! Dooooo it! It looks so much fresher.


You don't have to hit it. If you can pull back the trim piece a bit, you can get a pair of side cutters, wire cutters, dikes, whatever in there and just cut that pin. You'll need a spare for both sides. I have a few if you need some let me know I'll give you a couple. But if you do hit it, you can just break it with your hand, you just need to find the pin before you go banging on it. 

As far as the fix, if you can get your hands on some dampener or even just some foam of some sort you can just put it under the rear deck for starters. Where it's rattling is between the rear deck trim and the rear window. The way I fixed that was I went to Home depot, got some 1" foam weather striping and just lined the outter edge of the trim where it would touch the window. That solved it no problem. 

As far as the wheels, thanks I liked them too. Problem now is that they're gone. So I've moved to these and I know I can get these at any time. Same or similar type but a little cheaper and they're black! I llike them alot! These look hyper black but they come in matte black as well adn that's what I'd be getting. It has a chrome inside to it, which I think makes it pop! Very Hot IMHO!!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so small update. I ordered my alternator tonight! Woohoo! Also ordered my new window mount dual amplified antenna. This "should" solve my am issues. I'm going to order my bluetooth module tonight as well. Things are going to start rolling in and I'm going to try and get some work started as well. I did start cutting some boards for the alarm system. Not sure if I'm going to show that or not for "security reasons". But I did start it and my plan seems as though it's going to work for it. Ok that's it for tonight.


----------



## djjonnyb

scooter99 said:


> You don't have to hit it. If you can pull back the trim piece a bit, you can get a pair of side cutters, wire cutters, dikes, whatever in there and just cut that pin. You'll need a spare for both sides. I have a few if you need some let me know I'll give you a couple. But if you do hit it, you can just break it with your hand, you just need to find the pin before you go banging on it.
> 
> As far as the fix, if you can get your hands on some dampener or even just some foam of some sort you can just put it under the rear deck for starters. Where it's rattling is between the rear deck trim and the rear window. The way I fixed that was I went to Home depot, got some 1" foam weather striping and just lined the outter edge of the trim where it would touch the window. That solved it no problem.
> 
> As far as the wheels, thanks I liked them too. Problem now is that they're gone. So I've moved to these and I know I can get these at any time. Same or similar type but a little cheaper and they're black! I llike them alot! These look hyper black but they come in matte black as well adn that's what I'd be getting. It has a chrome inside to it, which I think makes it pop! Very Hot IMHO!!


Cool, I'll have to swing by Home Depot sometime and pick up that foam. I'm still chicken to open that panel up, ...but I'm sure once I do it, it'll be okay. Like the first time I popped open my dash, ...I shat bricks doing so. Now I do it all the time. I'll text you soon as I get that foam then and maybe you could swing by and show me where to take a whack at it.

After listening to everything outside, it seems I'll also have to pad down where the spoiler meets the trunk too. I was talking to Tony from 8th and he said that could put stress cracks on the spoiler. You think that foam stuff will soak too much if used out in the elements, especially with the Winter season upon us? Or you think it'll dry pretty quickly? Or is there anything waterproof to stick on there that'll do the job?

I like those wheels too. It's one I've been considering as well.


----------



## scooter99

djjonnyb said:


> Cool, I'll have to swing by Home Depot sometime and pick up that foam. I'm still chicken to open that panel up, ...but I'm sure once I do it, it'll be okay. Like the first time I popped open my dash, ...I shat bricks doing so. Now I do it all the time. I'll text you soon as I get that foam then and maybe you could swing by and show me where to take a whack at it.


Yea it's really just intimidating. Not a problem to do. Get the foam and hit me up. We'll find some time to get together and take care of it. I've taken mine off about a dozen times. Remember I had put some little 4" coaxials in there before. It's really not a problem. 





djjonnyb said:


> After listening to everything outside, it seems I'll also have to pad down where the spoiler meets the trunk too. I was talking to Tony from 8th and he said that could put stress cracks on the spoiler. You think that foam stuff will soak too much if used out in the elements, especially with the Winter season upon us? Or you think it'll dry pretty quickly? Or is there anything waterproof to stick on there that'll do the job?


I wouldn't think so, it is afterall, weather stripping. I would maybe use that weather stripping to start, and if you don't think that's working out well then move on to something else. But it's pretty spongy so when you put it on you're going to compress it pretty well, so I wouldn't think it's going to leave any room in there to soak up anything. Certainly worth a try, sense your going to buy some anyway. It's only a couple bucks a roll. 



djjonnyb said:


> I like those wheels too. It's one I've been considering as well.


 I'm actually going to be calling on them today at some point, depending on how work goes, so I'll let you know what I find out. Maybe we can get a deal if we buy two sets at the same time!


----------



## scooter99

On to another question. AmitaF: I already asked you this but you can chime in as well if you want. This is in regards to the Bit One. Once the Bit One is tuned in etc, is it necessary to turn the volume up and down with the bit one DRC or can it be done by the head unit. I'm installing, hopefully successfully at some point, the Steering Wheel Control Interface and I'd like the ability to turn it up and down by that and not have to turn the knob and just basically use the DRC for the different settings on the system. 

The main reason I'm doing this is because I've come up with a new spot to put the DRC and I don't really know that I want to do it if that's the only way I can turn the system up and down. 

I'm anxious to hear from you all about this. Thanks!


----------



## ErinH

you can use headunit volume for analog, but digital volume is DRC only.
dual volume control and switching sources on two units is the sole reason why I don't run digital in my car.


----------



## scooter99

Yea I'm certainly leaning that way now. I'm not competing much, if any, so it's not a matter of being the best sounding out there really, although it would be nice, but I'm not sure I want to deal with the dual controls. I'll have to think about this a bit before i do it. Thanks for your input Erin! How are things going by the way? Better for you? Are you proud parents yet?


----------



## ErinH

I personally don't see much of a benefit with digital other than noise resistance. In my car, with the new build (), it's not an issue, though, so I'm good there.

no baby yet. getting close though!


----------



## scooter99

Yea I've been thinking about giving that thought up myself. Just sell the cable and converter. Be done with it and just be happy with analog. 

Well let us know when he/she joins us on this earth. Big congrats to you and your lovely wife! Getting nervous yet?


----------



## ErinH

not nervous, but excited for sure!


analog is easier. go with whatever works for you, though.


----------



## scooter99

Well I think it goes without saying that analog will for sure be easier. I'll probably stick to that route. Thanks for your input and help as always. 

Johnny - Just got a price on the wheels. But mine is with my tires I have now since they're pretty new still. Hit me up and I'll give you the cost. No discount for both though, sorry!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so a minor but major update! Alternator, wires, accessories, bluetooth module, and antenna are on their way to me. 

The design has taken a drastic change for the better and I'm so very excited about this. I'm going to be doing some drawings if I can muster up the ability, and then I'm going to post em up. 

I've figured out my layout and it's going to be so very sweet. I've figured out how to get less amps on the floor and a couple others elsewhere. 

I've decided for now I'm going to do away with the second two batteries in the rear. I'm going to stick with a bigger battery up front, the ho alternator and see what happens with that. What I need to decide now, is do I want to run two 1/0 ga cables from front to back, one to each distribution block or do I want to run one, and pass it through from one block to the other. Obviously the last would be cheaper but I have that to decide. 

So there it is. I'm looking at a couple weekends coming up that I might be able to get some building started and get some pictures up. I know you guys are waiting for that and probably tired of reading this instead of looking at stuff, but I think we all know that a great design takes time. That's what i think I'm onto, a great design, and although I keep changing it, it's going to be so well worth it in the end. Let's just say this is going to get crazy custom!! 

I'll update soon! I wish I knew how to do some, what is it called, clad design? Is that where you design something on the computer and it's in 3-D? That's what i want to do. But I don't know how to. So I'll have to settle for a drawing by hand! 

Thanks for your patience with me everyone!


----------



## MTopper

scooter99 said:


> Ok so a minor but major update! Alternator, wires, accessories, bluetooth module, and antenna are on their way to me.
> 
> The design has taken a drastic change for the better and I'm so very excited about this. I'm going to be doing some drawings if I can muster up the ability, and then I'm going to post em up.
> 
> I've figured out my layout and it's going to be so very sweet. I've figured out how to get less amps on the floor and a couple others elsewhere.
> 
> I've decided for now I'm going to do away with the second two batteries in the rear. I'm going to stick with a bigger battery up front, the ho alternator and see what happens with that. What I need to decide now, is do I want to run two 1/0 ga cables from front to back, one to each distribution block or do I want to run one, and pass it through from one block to the other. Obviously the last would be cheaper but I have that to decide.
> 
> So there it is. I'm looking at a couple weekends coming up that I might be able to get some building started and get some pictures up. I know you guys are waiting for that and probably tired of reading this instead of looking at stuff, but I think we all know that a great design takes time. That's what i think I'm onto, a great design, and although I keep changing it, it's going to be so well worth it in the end. Let's just say this is going to get crazy custom!!
> 
> I'll update soon! I wish I knew how to do some, what is it called, *clad* design? Is that where you design something on the computer and it's in 3-D? That's what i want to do. But I don't know how to. So I'll have to settle for a drawing by hand!
> 
> Thanks for your patience with me everyone!


Do you mean CAD? computer aided design? there is also google sketchup which is free.

can't wait to see your plans.


----------



## scooter99

Yes I meant CAD, thank you. I downloaded Google Sketchup and it looks a little complicated. I'm working OT tonight so I'll have to wait and download it at home and look at how to operate it. I'll see if I can find an old picture and MS PAINT over it to tide you guys over. 

Here's the other thing I've been fighting. I want to try and get away from putting batteries in the trunk. I've been trying to figure out how fit a large sized battery in the front. The battery that i want is a 5000 watt max battery (Stinger SPP2250). The dimensions on that are a staggering 8.09”H x 11.18”W x10.55”D. My second in line is the Stinger SPP2150 at 4300 watts max and the dimensions are 9.40”H x 13.0”W x6.80”D. I think I've figured out a way to get one or the other in there. I'm going to get creative with my intake system. I'll have to put off on this until I can work on the intake. So for now I'm going to put that on the back burner. 

On that note, if I decide that this will work, and I don't have to put batteries in the rear, then I'll go with a single power cable to the rear not a dual. 

I'll be back in a bit!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so here are some quick MS Paint edited pictures. 

First here's the view of the trunk the way it is now. I took these with my Blackberry so forgive the bad pics. 

Two views, first is straight on of the trunk:









Second is the more over the top view for the floor:









Here's the plan:

These Audison amps are rather large with exception of the 2.4 for the rear fill. It's about half the size of the largest 4.1k. But I've devised a way to get them in with the other amps. The LRx. 1.1k's and the LRx 2.9 are the same size. I thought those should be together for the sheer fact that they'll be nice to look at as all the same size. Those will go on the floor. 

Here's the grand plan for the other two. Under the rear deck I was already planning to put in a sort of enclosure to box off the rear deck as well as really hide the ugliness of the underside of it. Well I decided why the hell not build an amp rack that will hold the LRx 4.1k and the LRx 2.4? The amp rack will be about 3" thick total, and the amps will be flush mounted in there. No need for a stealthy cover since they're going to be hidden anyway. Now how to go about this. I want to make this able to drop down to a certain point. To do that I'm going to use a piano hinge on the back side of it, towards the seat, and connect it to the rear deck itself. To drop it down, cause there will be some weight in there, I'll use some gas shocks on the sides to hold the weight as it drops. To secure it, i'm still trying to figure out how to do this but I have some ideas. 

The front of the rack will form to the curves of the top of the trunk. With MS Paint I can't really show this properly but I'm guessing you get what I mean. 

So here are the crappy edited pics of this. 

Rear deck amp rack:









Floor amp rack:









As you can see from these, there will be much more room on the floor and will look a lot less cramped down there. If I ever show it, I can just drop the rear deck rack down and let it hang there. It will probably only drop down about 10 to 12 inches. It won't just hang straight down. I want to be able to allow the back wall to be seen when it's down. 

So there it is, my grand plan. What do you all think?


----------



## scooter99

Oh do I have some new ideas flowing. Ok here's one I came up with this morning. I was trying to figure out how to get all these cables up front with out a mess of cables etc. So I came up with an idea of using some kind of buss bar. Creating one out of metal with some tapped holes for allen bolts to go through. Here's that idea:










So then I got to thinking about the layout, and I wanted to try and finish it somehow. I still have to figure out how to do that but here's the idea. Create a panel that the buss bar will sit on top of and bolt to. 

I'd like the buss bar to be black, however I many not be able to do that, I'm not sure yet cause of the connections. I'm worried about the connection having a problem with only being by the bolt not the terminal sitting on the bar itself. Did that make sense?

So anyway this panel, whatever I decide to make it out of, will also allow the cables to be cleaned up and give a nicer look. I'll use gromits to clean up the drop down where the cables will go down and out to wherever they're going to go. 

I also decided that even though I love the thought of a digital meter up front, it's not terribly necessary and the battery terminals don't really look that appealing if I'm using ring terminals, and a lot of them, everywhere else. So I've decided that I'll do away with the battery terminals and use ring terminals. With the stinger batteries I have the option to use bolts or battery posts. I think with the ring terminals it will look a lot more uniform. 

So here is my MS-Paint Diagram of that. I know it's hard to imagine cause there's no car under it to really envision it, but I think you'll get the idea. 










So I'm very interested to hear what everyone thinks. I'm open, obviously, to hear some suggestions on what to use for the panel. I need something that will stand up to moisture obviously, but also looks nice. I guess I could fiberglass a panel and paint it. Maybe I could fiberglass the bus bar into the panel, that will secure it, and then when I do that I can find some washers that are the size of the ring terminals and tape them and attach them to the holes. Then after fiberglassing, and painting I can pull them off, put the ring terminals on and I'll have a good connection. Hmmmm, see the ideas just keep coming. Wish I had time to implement them all. SIGH!!

Thoughts?


----------



## scooter99

Ok so it's 1:15am pst. I'm up. Why am I up. Well I decided to do some research on the buss bar idea, and when I was researching I found Steve Meades Designs on his Tahoe rebuild. He has a huge, not to anyone's surprise, set up and running 9 batteries in the back with one in front making 10. Craziness. However he's running a few buss bars which is why he came up. So anyway I just watched about 4 hours worth of video on his install, I'm not done yet but too tired to continue on. 

Which brings me to my next issue! I"M SOOOOO FREAKING READY TO GET THIS STARTED AND IT'S DRIVING ME NUTS! Told my wife today that she needs to get ready cause I'm going to go into install mode here soon. She rolled her eyes and gave me that look. We'll be talking about it more this weekend. I've got designs, redesigns and final designs running through my head nightly which is making it a little tough to go to sleep. But I've got a lot of things finalized right now and I'm about ready to start doing this thing. I've got a whole new thought on the front doors btw. I'm even thinking of adding, but I'm not going there yet. I'll save that. 

Goodies! I got some stuff yesterday and today. Got the alternator yesterday, and got my dual amplified antenna today. Why did I pick that up? Well if I haven't already said, I hate that I can't listen to my sports on AM radio and that my FM signal is pretty weak! Well it all has to do with the tint, so I figured it's 20.00 to buy the antenna, and 150.00 for new tint. Thought I'd go the cheaper route! 

That's it for tonight/morning!


----------



## scooter99

Ok small update. I got my bluetooth module today and my push button switches. That's it, told you it was small.


----------



## scooter99

Another equipment update. 

First up: new High Output Alternator from Mechman - 220 amp:









Next up. I went to lunch today, well the gym cause that's the only time I can get to go anymore consistently, and found this in my chair when I got back to work:









Hmmm, open it up and:









250 feet of Stinger 14 ga speaker wire goodness!!









That does it for today! Should have more coming very very soon.


----------



## IBcivic

nice alt! it looks vaguely familiar....:surprised:


----------



## IBcivic

did the send them with the right number of grooves on the pulley?
i do seem to recall that our ''friends'' at power basturds had problems counting up to 5


----------



## scooter99

It's one of the two I have coming, yes. But either way it's here! :laugh::thumbsup:


----------



## scooter99

That's a great question. I'll have to double check on that.


----------



## ErinH

lmk how you like that alt.
I've not had a need, but it's something to keep in mind when someone asks me.


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> It's one of the two I have coming, yes. But either way it's here! :laugh::thumbsup:


don't let steve meades tempt you into running both alts....


----------



## scooter99

Oh right, as if it would fit! I'd have to remove 2 of the 4 cylinders. Then where'd I be!! If i'm gonna do anything big like that it'll be in my truck a very very long time from now! And don't worry, as soon as you're ready I'll ship it out to you. I'm in no hurry, so I'll wait for the second one to get here. You'll have this one I'm sure before that even happens. Matter of fact I'm gonna email him now. 

Erin, I'll let you know. I'll post up pics of voltage and other stuff. Not a problem.


----------



## IBcivic

me... worry? if you found a wallet in the street, i see you as the guy who would hand deliver it to the owner.


----------



## scooter99

Well i appreciate that. I hope I never have to deal with a situation like that but I would hope and I believe that's the way I'd handle it. I believe in karma!


----------



## djjonnyb

Lol at the multi alt's.

Dayum, you've got enough speaker wire to run speakers hooked up to your home stereo and do a run to the convenience store around the corner!!!


----------



## scooter99

djjonnyb said:


> Lol at the multi alt's.
> 
> Dayum, you've got enough speaker wire to run speakers hooked up to your home stereo and do a run to the convenience store around the corner!!!


Well the stockie is coming out and the H/O is going in and I got a deal for buying two at the same time which is why Martin and I were talking about me sending one out. Cause he bought the second one. 

The speaker cable, yea there's a bunch, but remember I've got 6 runs going to the back, the rear fill and crossovers for it, subs, and then I have two other vehicles that are going to get worked on at some point in my life (my wifes accord and my truck). Thinking ahead. Besides that, the guy who I'm getting all me gear from hooked me up with a good price for it. Couldn't pass it up.


----------



## zoom_zoom

damn, that list of car audio awesomeness makes me have a fizzing sensation behind my *cough*


----------



## IBcivic

djjonnyb said:


> Lol at the multi alt's.
> 
> Dayum, you've got enough speaker wire to run speakers hooked up to your home stereo and do a run to the convenience store around the corner!!!


scooter will hook it up to the grid and have the whole of sac's lights dimming


----------



## scooter99

YEA BUDDY, NOW WE"RE TALKING!!! 

Check it out!!!

MUAAAAHAHAHAHAHAA

What do we have here?









60 ft - stinger 8 ga wire (30 pos - 30 neg)
10 - stinger 12 port barrier strips
6 - stinger cooling fans
1 - stinger 500 amp relay/isolator
900 ft - stinger 18 ga wire (various colors)
4ga wire clamps
4ga snap grommits
1/0 ga snap grommits
and a host of other things! 










Woohoo! Next order should be the 1/0 ga and 4 ga cables. Equipment list almost complete!!


----------



## kyheng

..... I wonder when all this installed, how much weight your car will gain......


----------



## djjonnyb

Ahhh, cable for three cars. I was just trippin' on how tiny that pen next to that spool looked. Lol, I was gonna joke around and suggest you open another Sac Area car audio shop.


----------



## scooter99

kyheng said:


> ..... I wonder when all this installed, how much weight your car will gain......


I don't know. Not worried about weight. I have the coilovers on now to compensate for the weight so the ride will adjust fine, and I'm not racing around in it, especially with my princesses in the car. Weight isn't a factor really. 

As far as installed, i'm going to start some stuff here very soon now that I have the wires. I'll start harnesses etc in a few days and I'll post up when I get some stuff done. 

I know all this stuff isn't really fun to look at, equipment and all, but if I just installed it all and didn't say what I'm using then people would ask anyway and I'd have to answer them or post up what it is. So I do it now to bypass all that, even though I know I'll have to do it sometime later too. Pictures at least subside the crowds for a small bit. 

Moving on!



djjonnyb said:


> Ahhh, cable for three cars. I was just trippin' on how tiny that pen next to that spool looked. Lol, I was gonna joke around and suggest you open another Sac Area car audio shop.


You know what Jonny I'd love to open one, if nothing else to just install, but I don't have the money to start one and I don't have enough knowledge to do it either. It'd be fun as hell to work at one though. 

That being said, I know what you mean. It is a lot of wire, but like I said, I got a good deal and had to take it. 

Goodnight folks!


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## bmwproboi05

i wonder how fast your cars going to be after this!! lol. nice instal like always man.


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## scooter99

Thank you! I was thinkin about droppin a big block v8 in her! Maybe fiberglass out the front end so it'll fit. That ought to take care of it! LMAO!! No, it's a daily driver, which usually results in mostly rush hour traffic, so I'm not too concerned about going fast. I mean really, it's a 4 cyl, how fast can it really be anyway. I am going to make some performance changes down the road sometime to maybe boost her up a bit but nothing big. Just a few horse power here and there and it should balance out. 

I'm reconfiguring all the wiring right now, via diagram, so I can get this started. I know everyone is tired of just seeing equipment pictures and just hearing/reading about updates. It'll start happening very very soon.

On another note, I got a nice little bonus for all the ot I've been doing and extra I've been putting into making the office more efficient, so I guess they felt I needed a little motivation to keep it going. So, with that said, I'll be getting the 1/0 ga and 4 ga today, ordering anyway, and then I'll be working on the air system next week to decide on the battery situation. Once that's figured out, I'll get my battery situation figured out and ordered and that should be all the equipment on the list. Then it's onto the install materials, but that will come as needed. 

I was going to take a laid out picture of all the gear I got yesterday, but it was my daughters birthday yesterday and we went to dinner so I didn't get a chance which is fine cause it was nice to spend some quality time with the family. Gotta take that when I can get it. 

Thanks for the complements everyone and to everyone patiently waiting, your wait is almost over! I promise!!


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## IBcivic

the extra weight , equates to less than the weight of most adults....and i don't see myself leaving my family on the curb, 'cause they will slow down my car by 0.01sec from street light to street light


----------



## scooter99

You got it man!


----------



## scooter99

Ok here are some better pictures of the alternator, new pictures of the antenna, bluetooth module, and laid out pictures of the stinger gear I just got. I ordered all my 1/0 ga cable yesterday and by the end of the month will know what my battery situation will be and will be ordering that/those and the 4 ga. I got a great price, I think, on my mid bass so that will be included in the equation somewhere as well. Almost complete with the equipment. Ready to start building. Woohoo!!

Alternator









Antenna


















Goodies - Variety of colors of primary wire, silver and charcoal 8 ga wire, 10-12 terminal barrier strips, 6 - cooling fans, a 500 amp relay, a ton of 8ga and 4ga cable management clips, 4ga grommets and 1ga grommets. Oh and the Pioneer CD-BTB200 Bluetooth Module. 









And again, the 1/0 ga is on it's way. All the power cable is going to be silver, and the ground cable will be charcoal. Why? Um cause I thought it looked a little more subtle and different. Other then that, not sure, I just wanted to go away from the color on those. 

All the primary wire colors will have a purpose, color coding and identifying wires for the install. I could've just got blue instead of translucent blue, but I thought the translucent blue looked sweet! No difference in cost, and you won't see it anyway for the most part but hey, whatever right! Otherwise I could've just got a few and ran with it. But what the hell right! 

Good morning all!!


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## IBcivic

pics, no workie


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## scooter99

Oops. I rearranged my photo bucket account not thinking. Damn it! Well I'll see if I can get them back up.


----------



## scooter99

I'm just going to post up a ton of pics and if anyone has questions just ask. No way I'm going to try and repost them where they were. Here goes.

Current setup to be removed:


----------



## scooter99




----------



## scooter99

Uninstalling:


----------



## scooter99




----------



## scooter99

Here's the mock ups of equipment for the new install, but some of this has changed, specifically the batteries.























































This is changing - the layout:


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## scooter99

This is not:










More mock up pics:













































This is changing:









Testing the area for air space, do I have enough:


----------



## scooter99

Here are some of the parts and equipment going in:

Audison Connection Gear

RCA ends:



























1/0 ga Ring Terminals:


















Digital Inline Fuse Holders (I also have some non digital Inline Fuse Holders as well):









THE MACK DADDY OF ALL DISTRIBUTION BLOCKS (this is one of two that are going in):









Hertz High Energy HX300D 12" subs:


----------



## scooter99

Compared to the AE-IB15's:



















Bit One Processor:









Amps (Audison LRx 2.4, 2.9, 1.1k(x2), 4.1k)









Second 1.1k was late coming to the party:









Dual AM/FM Amplified Antenna:


















Stinger 250' Roll of 14ga Speaker wire:









A ****LOAD of Stinger Accessories:










Goodies - Variety of colors of primary wire, silver and charcoal 8 ga wire, 10-12 terminal barrier strips, 6 - cooling fans, a 500 amp relay, a ton of 8ga and 4ga cable management clips, 4ga grommets and 1ga grommets. Oh and the Pioneer CD-BTB200 Bluetooth Module.


----------



## scooter99

And finally the Mechman 220 amp High Output Alternator:



















Let's see what else can I throw out there. Here are a couple diagrams of how the trunk's gonna go:



















This is a diagram of the basic layout of the rear component rack that will go behind the back seat as well as the power distribution center which will be directly behind that. If you don't recall I'm still undecided on the rear batteries until I figure out the front engine bay. I did pick up the stuff for the air system today, so that decision will be made very soon.










Here's a quick diagram of how the front power wiring system is going to go, using a buss bar:










And finally here's a little sneak peak at the front door and the idea behind it! I'm very excited about this one! Dual Mid Basses!!!!










By the way here's an updated list of equipment etc for this install. 

Stinger Battery/Batteries - Undecided on sizes
Mechman 220 Amp Alternator - High Output Alternator
Pioneer AVH-P4200DVD - Head Unit
Pioneer CXC3584 - Optical Cable Connection Box
Axxess ASWC - Steering Wheel Interface
Pioneer GEX-P20HD - Digital Radio Tuner
Pioneer CD-BTB200 - Bluetooth Module
Pioneer AVD-W7900 - Head Rest Monitors (2)
Hertz High Energy HT25 - Tweeters
Hertz High Energy HL70 - Mid Ranges
Hertz Mille ML165 - Mid Bass (2 pair per door)
Hertz High Energy HSK165 - Rear Fill
Hertz High Energy HX300D - Subs (2)
Audison LRx 4.1K - 4 channel amp for tweeters and mid range
Audison LRx 2.9 - 2 channel amp for mid bass
Audison LRx 2.4 - 2 channel amp for rear fill
Audison LRx 1.1k (2) - Mono channel amp one per sub
Audison Bit One - Processor
Audison Connection SFD-41C - Complete distrobution block (2)
Audison Connection BFD 21 - Fused Distribution Block
Audison Connection BFH-11DGT - In line fuse holder with digital display (2)
Audison Connection BFH-11 - In line fuse holder (4 - but not using all 4)
Stinger - Wires, cables, and accessories 
Gepco 61801EZ - RCA cables
Canare Star Quad - RCA cables
Audison Conection BCP-100 - RCA Connectors 
Belden Coax Cable - Video Cables
Neutrik NYS373-9 - RCA connectors for video cables
Zenesis ZN-502 - Remote Start Alarm
DEI 530T - Windows up down module (2)
DEI 529T - Sunroof open close module

AND A LOT OF LED'S!!!


Ok I think I'm up to date, and I'm organized on photo bucket. Shouldn't be any more issues. Any questions shoot it to me!


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## IBcivic

very sexy....i knew if i'd let you shop for me, you'd find the best


----------



## ErinH

still have the ib15's?

wanna sell 'em? if so, pm me. if not, ignore this post.


----------



## scooter99

amitaF said:


> very sexy....i knew if i'd let you shop for me, you'd find the best


Yes it's very sexy! I can't wait to put one of them in. I'm sure neither can the rest of you! LMAO!!



bikinpunk said:


> still have the ib15's?
> 
> wanna sell 'em? if so, pm me. if not, ignore this post.


Sorry man I don't have em anymore!


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## djjonnyb

How exciting the Winter is gonna be for you. Can't wait to see/hear the results, ...although I know it'll always be a never ending project.


----------



## scooter99

Hey everyone, I know its been a while since I've posted anything on here, so here's a little update. I've been working on my truck build cause I've been driving that for a while and will be for even more of a while. I got some gear for a pretty good price so I jumped on it. Here's the thread if anyone wants to follow along. 

1994 Ford F350 - Nothing Special 

Anyway, when I was at my local shop getting some supplies I got to talking to the guy about my civic and this build. Well after talking to him he wants to see the car and my plans and stuff like that and he's also offered, for a price of course, to teach me how to tune it in. That has me really excited. It would be unbelievably great to learn how to tune a system. So I'm gonna take it in next week and sit down with him and talk abouts some stuff. 

Aside of that the 1/0 ga is on its way. I've still got the 4 ga, second set of mid bass, and the battery situation to get. I am getting things in order to start building so that will come in soon. 

That's all for now!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so let me introduce you to the newest addition to the family.

Stinger 1/0 Ga HPM Wire









Not 1, not 2, but 3 Reels of it. The clear will be the power wire, and the gray will be the ground wire. Aren't they beautiful!! 


















Their younger sisters, HPM 4Ga Wire Reels, will be ordered at the next paycheck. Getting closer. We did take a small step back though. I've been working on my truck, as noted above, and I ended up taking the bluetooth I was going to use for this build, and installing it in the truck for that one. So I'll have to get another one for this but I'll have it by the time I'm ready for that part. 

So right now this is the way things look. By Nov. 15th I should have the 4 ga wire ordered. By Dec 1st I should have the Stinger Batteries ordered. I think, btw, I'm just going to go with the 3 SPP1200's. And then by Dec. 15th I should have the second pair of Hertz Mille Mid Bass ordered. Somewhere in between all that I'l order the new bluetooth module. On Jan 1 I'll order some more sound deadener, and this would be my scheduled start date. I'm going to start the new year off with "the New Build"! 

That's all for now.


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## derickveliz

Wow, your place looks like a *car-audio shop!* 

I'm jealous (o:


.


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## scooter99

Well right now it's tripling as a garage for my wifey's car, a car audio shop, and a file storage unit! Lot's going on at my house right now.


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## scooter99

Ok so here's the latest. I've got a ton of Overtime coming on this next check. Might be ordering my 4ga and the batteries all at once. That will leave the new bluetooth to replace the one I used for my truck, the second pair of mid bass, and some sound deadener to get and everything will be here and ready for install! 

Gotta get this garage organized and get things in order so when I start this install I know where everything is at. That's a task all by itself!


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## kyheng

I'll getting my 2 months bonus this months.... Anything to unload, again? Haha.


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> Ok so here's the latest. I've got a ton of Overtime coming on this next check. Might be ordering my 4ga and the batteries all at once. That will leave the new bluetooth to replace the one I used for my truck, the second pair of mid bass, and some sound deadener to get and everything will be here and ready for install!
> 
> Gotta get this garage organized and get things in order so when I start this install I know where everything is at. That's a task all by itself!


i've gotta do the same....my better half discovered that there is storage space is the garage now i am stuck re-organizing my mess to be able to cram more, w/o consuming precious work space.


----------



## scooter99

kyheng said:


> I'll getting my 2 months bonus this months.... Anything to unload, again? Haha.


No I don't sorry! You still have that SDV-P7? You still going to use it?



amitaF said:


> i've gotta do the same....my better half discovered that there is storage space is the garage now i am stuck re-organizing my mess to be able to cram more, w/o consuming precious work space.


It's a fine line my friend! A very fine line!


----------



## kyheng

Oh yes, I can tell you that, it is better than my P9 HU(both looks the same age)..... Just that the lense maybe need to service it(skip on certain track but need to confirm again). Now waiting for DEX-P9 to fail totally before changing another HU. Still SDV-P7 will be there when the new HU takes over.


----------



## scooter99

Ok well here it is. I got a huge ot check and I've just ordered the rest of my gear. 2 reels of 4 ga wire, pos and neg, 3 Stinger SPP1200 batteries, and the second pair of Hertz Mille 6.5" mid bass. Also need to get online today and get my second bluetooth module to replace the other one I put in the truck, as well as some more deadener. 

I'm in a crunch situation at work with this project I'm working on so that should end by the end of next week. Once that does, I'll get my garage cleaned out a bit and get organized so I can start on some of these projects. 

That's it for now.


----------



## scooter99

So I ran into a bit of good luck today which has lead to a slight equipment change.

I got a call from my supplier and he couldn't get the Mille MLK165's anymore. However he is able to get the ML1600's for only 35.00 more. So I decided to get two pair of those, which means my batteries will have to wait till next check, and now I'll be putting the MLK165's up for sale in the classifieds section. Look out for em. 

Next I have a question. As everyone know's by now I'm going to a dual mid bass application for each front door. I am, however a little afraid to cut on the door itself. So my question is this. 

If I build, lets say for just simplicity sake, an enclosure for both of the mid bass. They'll share the same enclosure. At the end of the enclosure will be the stock opening for the stock 6.5. This will open up to the door, obviously. Will that have any negative effect on the mid bass sound or do I really need to open up the door itself for more air flow?

Secondly, and this is not my ideal or preferred application but I'm not against or opposed to trying it, but what about a kick panel with one mid bass in there, and the second in the door? What effects would this have, pos or neg? 

Lastly, I'm still looking for some good pictures of buss bars. I need to find one that I can model after. I'm going to utilize this application as well for power. Thanks all!

That's all for now.


----------



## kyheng

Well, it depends what you want... I'll always prefer to have single midbass and try my very best to seal all the holes in the door panel. 
Have to check the midbass's technical spec too, to decide what's the best for them...


----------



## lostdaytomorrow

Hey man what your plan for where all of the batteries are going? sorry cant see pics.


----------



## scooter99

I'm going to put them behind the seat in the trunk. They'll have a panel they'll share with the two distribution blocks as well as the digital inline fuses. Then there'll be a cover that will only show the faces of them, so to speak. I'm going to do some finalized drawings, if I can, and try to post them up.


----------



## scooter99

Here is what it's going to look like, basically. The top picture is the front part, behind the seat. So when you fold the seat down, this is what you'll see. The bottom is the picture of the batteries and distroblocks, etc. So when you open the trunk, that's what you'll see behind the seat. They'll back up to one another.


----------



## lostdaytomorrow

Very cool setup man. 

What are your plans to secure the batteries to the trunk floor?


----------



## scooter99

Not sure yet. Thinking about some threaded rod and an aluminum bar but I don't know if that's gonna look good enough or not.


----------



## lostdaytomorrow

scooter99 said:


> Not sure yet. Thinking about some threaded rod and an aluminum bar but I don't know if that's gonna look good enough or not.


Yeah, pretty tough to make something that is functional and still looks good for batteries in a trunk.


----------



## IBcivic

scooter, you could use some 0.5 inch angle and box the battery and use a pair of threaded rods to secure the top and bottom frames together. your buddy could make those for ya in no time


----------



## scooter99

Well I'll tell you what, I'll get my buddy  the specs, angle etc, and some money and he can make em for me when he has time. I just have to get that first panel on to get the angle. I might do that tomorrow. I have a half day off tomorrow, I hope. 

I wish I could have some better luck finding some copper for a buss bar around here! Maybe aluminum will work or something like that.


----------



## scooter99

Here's a new picture diagram of how it will look for the rear power panel. 










I get, BTW, that I don't need two inline fuses for this, but one is digital with a gauge on it, and the other is just added protection. The reason for the digital gauge is to have the readings on both batteries between the batteries and the distro blocks. Overkill yes, but I'd rather overkill than put out a fire. Also the gauge is nice! 

I'll make more tomorrow.


----------



## lostdaytomorrow

Hey man I also have 2 runs of 1/0 awg to the trunk, and did some testing with a few different well prepped ground spots in the trunk using 500 amp load. I got less resistance to the trunk using one positive and one negative rather than two positives. 

This was on a coupe though, and I didn't test any ground spots that were under the trunk. So im not sure where your rear ground is located, but this info might help. And there wasn't that much difference but enough to be noticeable, about half a volt.


----------



## scooter99

I'm grounding straight to the frame under the car. I did this in the current install.

Here are the tentative diagrams on how things are going to be installed.

This is all the components









This is the power layout









The ground layout









Signal layout









Speaker Wire Layout









And by the way, review really quickly. I just got Windows 7 on my computer. Love it! I used MS Paint Obviously to do these diagrams, I HATE THE NEW MS PAINT! Why, because with the line feature, you draw a line, and instead of stopping at a point, then clicking again to start a new point, it has this feature where you can move your line. But you have to move away from your point you've stopped at every time to remove that feature so you can start a new line. I can't figure out how to turn it off. But it takes way longer that before cause of that, and of course finding the ending point to start again. Irritating!!! Anyway, these are the plans as of now. 

Feel free to comment or whatever! Thanks for watching!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I just got off the phone with my supplier, and they made a mistake in my favor. They shipped my whole order!! That's the two reels of 4 ga cable, the two pair of ML1600 mid bass, and the one stinger SPP1200 battery. As well they shipped the other two stinger batteries that they were holding until I paid them off on the 1st. That makes all equipment ordered and shipped. Paid off on the 1st of December. I'm going to get the garage cleaned up and I'll lay it all out and take a picture, cause this is a lot of equipment.


----------



## lostdaytomorrow

Holy crap awesome man!!!

Do you have a pic of your frame ground?


----------



## scooter99

Here's from my last build. I'll use this on this build, and do it again on the other side. This is the driver side.


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## lostdaytomorrow

Oh, I see, nice man. Is that 1/0 or 4 awg?


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## scooter99

1/0 ga to the block and then 4 to the amps. The new install will have two runs of 1/0 ga from the front, one to each battery, then to each block, and then 4 ga to the amps and 8 ga to the barrier strips.


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## IBcivic

very nice and tidy work on the ground, yo!


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## Brian_smith06

holy sh!t i love the new equipment list


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## lostdaytomorrow

Nice man. So two runs of 1/0 awg to the back (both postives from front battery postive), and then four 1/0 awg grounds to frame in the back (two on each side)?

Just wondering why you chose to use a distro. block instead of just running each amp power run straight to one of the rear batteries? I'm guess easier to fuse 'em all using a distro. block but I wasn't sure if there was another reason. 

Great install man. Can't wait to see how you secure those batteries in the trunk.


----------



## scooter99

lostdaytomorrow said:


> Nice man. So two runs of 1/0 awg to the back (both postives from front battery postive), and then four 1/0 awg grounds to frame in the back (two on each side)?
> 
> Just wondering why you chose to use a distro. block instead of just running each amp power run straight to one of the rear batteries? I'm guess easier to fuse 'em all using a distro. block but I wasn't sure if there was another reason.
> 
> Great install man. Can't wait to see how you secure those batteries in the trunk.


No, you got the two 1/0 Ga runs to the back correct, but only two 1/0 ga grounds. One on each side for each battery. I'll basically duplicate what I did in the pictures from the driver side to the passenger. 

As far as the Distro block, I already had one, they're sexy pieces of equipment and yes easier to fuse everything. I think it'll just look that much nicer with the runs of 4 ga coming out of them instead of just terminating into a battery. 

For the battery security I'm sure I'll come up with something nice to secure it all with, thanks to Martin. 

Today I have been doing some diagraming and I bought a couple things. I bought a couple buss bars for the front, 4 x 3/8 16 Stud Terminal - PN 2104 - Blue Sea Systems ,and a different fuse holder for the little components for the rear terminal panel. ST Blade Fuse Block With Cover - 12 Circuit without Negative Bus - PN 5029 - Blue Sea Systems

I've got some real good diagrams going, a lot easier to follow than the last install. I'm separating everything so I don't have this big cluster-F of lines on a paper. I'm pretty happy with it. 

I'm going to go spend some QT with the wife now. Couch looks quite comfy after working my ass of for a couple weeks. Gotta utilize it when I get a chance to. Goodnight everyone!!


----------



## scooter99

Brian_smith06 said:


> holy sh!t i love the new equipment list


Thanks, me too. It's killing me to just have it all sitting here! It's all begging me "put me in, get me playing". I can't wait till the moment it all is.


----------



## illcrx

I like the ground to the "frame" I never thought of using Home Depot grommets thats a good idea!


----------



## scooter99

Thank you. I'm in construction so we use those a lot and I thought what better way to secure it from metal and make it waterproof at the same time!


----------



## scooter99

Look what showed up yesterday! Woohoo! 

Replacement Bluetooth Module









AND THESE BABY's!!


















No your screen isn't blurry, that's two pair!! 






















































Just sold my MLK 165's too. So I'll be getting those out and putting something temporary in for now. I don't really wanna put a pair of these in and not have any crossovers or anything for them. 

So that's all for now. I'm looking at picking up a Pioneer AVIC-Z120BT to replace the 4200 but I'm not sure if I'm going to pull that trigger or not. I'm probably not going to at this point. I've got everything I've been waiting for, well not got it all some of it is still in shipment now, but my equipment list is complete! And I love my 4200, so I'm probably going to just stick with it. 

Ok bring on the smart ass comments! LMAO!! 

That's all for now.


----------



## kyheng

So, 4200 on sell again later on?


----------



## simplicityinsound

damn, thats enough gear to go into like 4 of my builds 

cant wait to see/hear this baby.


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## scooter99

No I decided not to do it. I'm going to hang on to my 4200. The reason I wasn't gonna spend the money anyway was cause I don't need navi, I just don't. Besides that was the bluetooth built in, but I've already got the plan in place for the module and the optical line etc with the 4200. I'm just gonna stick here. I'm happy with this piece, I love it matter of fact, and I'm gonna stay with it. I'll put my money into more deadener and stuff like that when the time comes. 

I've got wire diagrams comming out of my ears right now. But it's sooo much clearer than the last time I did this. I can't even express enough how much clearer and better laid out the install is on these diagrams. Should be way easier to identify what goes to where etc. I'm also finding out, with the new fuse block, that I'm not going to need as many barrier strips as I thought. I'm in the process of figuring that out now. 

What I need to figure out is, how much current I'm drawing with certain things, for example - remote wire to all my components, led's power when I get those figured out. I'm running those all on fuses and that way there isn't any possibility for incidents. I just don't, at this present time, know how to figure out the loads on them so I know where to fuse them at. Anyone have any suggestions I'm open to them. 

That's all for now.


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## scooter99

AHHH DAMN, BING'S in the house! **** now the pressure is on! Bing I'd love to bring her to you when I'm done man! I value your opinion greatly! I know it's an overkill I'm sure but it's done and I'm happy that I'm about to start building. Thanks for stopping by!


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## kyheng

For remote, you will need a relay, at least(and another for LEDs). Something like 10-20A will be enough. 
Or a relay just for LEDs and making full use the Audison amps, Rem In/Out. Like amp1 rem in from HU, rem out to amp2......


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## scooter99

Ok so I started Messing around on Google Sketchup Today. Here's a basic picture of what I'm going to do under the rear deck for the 4.1k and the 2.4. 










I'm liking this program. Gonna see what else I can come up with.


----------



## scooter99

Here's a little more detailed version of it.


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## scooter99

Here's a cover for it. Not sure how to show LED's under it but I'll post it when I figure it out.


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## n_olympios

Sketchup's a nice tool, isn't it?


----------



## scooter99

Yea I'm likin it a lot right now.


----------



## MTopper

I love the sketches. its the best free software i have ever downloaded. i'm currently using it for a school project


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## scooter99

So here's what I came into at work this morning! Woohoo!

Packages









What do we have here? The first of 3 batteries! I did find out that these have some sort of cover on them. I'll have to investigate more when I'm not at work. But I think, if it is what it looks like, I can screw these down to wherever and then the batteries will slide right in there. That'd be nice, although I'm not sure I'm gonna get that lucky. We'll see. 









Lastly this is the reels of 4 ga cable. Charcoal Gray is going to be the ground, and the Clear Silver will be the positive. Same with the 1/0 ga cable I got in previously. I think that when I do the terminations and use the heat shrink, I'm going to use black on the ground, and maybe I'll use gray on the positive. I'm gonna think about that one. Not sure I'm wanting to use red. I think the more subtle the better. 


















On another note, I've cleaned out the boxes from my garage today for my overtime at work. Now I can get to my work bench and will be cleaning and orginizing everything in the next couple days. I'll get everything out and take a picture of this monstrosity of equipment I've got going on. 

I'm also going to be taking the speakers out of the car in the next couple days too (tweeters, and mid range. The Hertz ML165 Mid Bass has been sold and I need to get those shipped out). I'll be installing some alpine coaxials in their place to keep music playing but I'll be starting the rest of the tear out soon. 

I now have all the equipment in my possession and that's all I need to get this thing started. 

I'll get some more sketches up soon, when I get a chance. I'm loving this sketch up program! Awesome! 

That's all for now.


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## scooter99

Ok so upon further review, it does separate. The black is a metal surround, which has screw holes in the bottom of it for mounting, I'm assuming. The red, or the actually battery, is a separate piece from the black. WOOHOO! So what I'm seeing is that if that black surround is secured then that is what will hold the battery. Probably a good idea to maybe put more security on it, but it's a start.


----------



## scooter99

Pictures everyone, pictures! 

Ok so I sold the Hertz 165's and the crossovers so I had to get those out to ship em off. So I also had to replace them cause I'm not rollin around in the quiet for the next few months! AINT GONNA HAPPEN!!! 

OK here we go.




























Here's what's going in temporarily. Pretty big difference huh!




































These beauties are ready to be boxed up and shipped out. 









Also I took out the tweeters and mid range. They'll get boxed up and put away till I'm ready for the A-Pillar build.










So that's it for now.


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## Brian_smith06

scooter99 said:


> Ok so upon further review, it does separate. The black is a metal surround, which has screw holes in the bottom of it for mounting, I'm assuming. The red, or the actually battery, is a separate piece from the black. WOOHOO! So what I'm seeing is that if that black surround is secured then that is what will hold the battery. Probably a good idea to maybe put more security on it, but it's a start.


Thats what I want to do with my dual batteries under my hood. I have a pair of stinger spv35's up there and have a pair of the stinger spv70's for the rear.


----------



## less

Heya bud! 

The new gear looks pretty cool... it tears me up that I live so far away from everyone who's system I'd like to hear. Never heard the Hertz higer end speakers... and driver selection and install make all the difference in the world. I'm sure you'll get it perfect!

I need to take a look at your amps - it seems like you have a ton of power to supply them with! You must have a ramped up alternator. Does it effect your performance at all? I was scared to lose a single hp since the car's already a fair bit heavier. It's sure nice to have a power system that you don't have to think twice about though! Moving to a DH platinum & a Mini Stinger in the trunk, with a single 1/ run, stopped any issues I was having, so I'm sure you will be set with the great gear you've got too. 

ISn't it funny... we've spent 5 years or so building up these cars and now that their systems are terrific, the cars are starting to wear down some lol. Mine has 103k now, but in truth its good for another 100k minimum. 

Posted a new build log with all my final updates, since its possible unemployment will force me to do a sell off. Check it out:  Less Build Log 
Good luck and let me know about those drivers!
Less aka Jim


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## n_olympios

less said:


> it tears me up that I live so far away from everyone who's system I'd like to hear.


Trust me, there's worse.  :laugh:


----------



## scooter99

Well when I get everything in and running I'll do a final review. Right now it's all sitting in boxes ready and waiting to be put in. 

They only thing right now I'm thinking of changing is the front tweets. I'm thinking of going to the HT28's or Space 1 (if I can find em) or the ML280's if I can get them without breaking the bank. 

I'll take a look at your build. Thanks for checking in.


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## scooter99

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!! I introduce to you............Parts Porn:










Power Cable









Power - Batteries and H/O Alternator









The Signal and Signal Power









THE DRIVERS!!! Now the only thing that's changing here, is the HT25 tweeters are going away, and the ML280S tweeters are coming in. WOOHOO! Under the Hertz HSK165 box you'll see a couple of grills. Well these are the older style HSK's and the grills didn't match was was existing. SO I got new one's. Course now it doesn't matter. That was in the beginning planing stages. 









Wiring and wiring accessories









Closer look at the wiring accessories.









The sexy Audison Connection Power Accessories, god they're sexy!! 









Ready to start installing soon baby! WOOOOOOOOO!!!


----------



## n_olympios

You haven't shown us the trailer you'll fit all of these in. Because I doubt they'll fit in the Civic lol.


----------



## devolutionary

Whoa my post disappeared en route. Doh.

Anyway thats a great photo and line up of gear. 

A lot of work and fun ahead of you.


----------



## sinister-kustoms

Good Lord that's some SWEEEET gear!


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## scooter99

Thank you and here's your picture! BWAAhahahahaha!!


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## n_olympios

NOW we're talking!


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## IBcivic

my wife caught a glimpse of your pictures and all that caught her eye was the kitchen-aid mixer....


awesome collection of eletromedia & stinger gear,mate


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## scooter99

Man I love that thing! It's been good to me! For those of you who know me know that I bake a lot during the christmas season but throughout the year as well. That mixer has been a god send! Love it! 

Love the gear too! Can't wait to get this thing going!


----------



## Gas Is Expensive

Beautiful stuff. However, have you auditioned the HU in your car yet? I've found them to be QUITE hissy. Hopefully your results are different, but I wouldn't be surprised if you decided to go looking for a better SQ HU.


----------



## scooter99

I've had it in for a while now and haven't had any issues. But if I were to upgrade or move the only deck I've got in mind right now is the pioneer avic-Z110bt. But I like this one so I'm probably gonna stick with this one.


----------



## less

scooter99 said:


> Simply I have a serious condition, I always refer to it as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and I may not be saying exactly what it is that I've got. I've never been medically diagnosed but I have isues. I'm not crazy, I just like what I like and it drives me nuts when I don't have it the way I like it. You'll hear me refer to that, and 9 times out of 10 when I say "I'm not sure I like that, I'll probably change it down the line" it normally really means "I don't like it and I will change it, it's just a matter of when." Except the 1 time out of 10.


OMG - you're my twin! Seriously, its great to see folks like you, Az and Erin on here, changing gear all the time - even when its perfectly good gear, just because of something little that they didn't like. Sadly, I think I'm on a tighter budget than some of you, but for a while I could go all out and thankfully I was able to get to a pretty good spot in that time!

Love your gear selection - and as I mentioned, I'd love to hear how the Hertz drivers work out. I'd love to have had the cash to finish up my power system using those Audison block... classy, classy, classy! I also like the Pioneer double din video screens... I just had so much trouble with glare on my original Alpine 2din that I wanted something that I could adjust more easily. Now I'm getting yantzy and may end up selling my current monitor for a double din because they just look so nice by comparison.

The more I think about that media player as a solution for you, the more I think media access and conversion knowledge is going to be essential. Thankfully though, you can just copy the files from a DVD into a folder on the hard drive of the media player, and either model will play them perfectly. The X model plays all sorts of file types, but even the S plays AVI and DIVX files that are most common. You can buy software or possibly find freeware to convert your DVDs for you, or you can do what a lot of people do and download using P2P. If you already own the DVD, it doesn't seem like it'd be a legal infringement... but I'm no lawyer lol. You can also use a TV card and auto recording software and you can record entire seasons of great tv and the kids favorites for replay on the road... there are a lot of options. 

Whenever I've had issues with syncing action and voice, its been because my machine was over taxed when I was doing the conversion. Video conversion can be taxing and RAM intensive, although most never computers handle it pretty well. Try redoing one or two overnight, and close all your other programs. Let me know if that helps out some... the ipod videos can actually work great, but the touch size is sooo small.

Less


----------



## Rkrajnov

wow great install looks really clean man


----------



## scooter99

less said:


> OMG - you're my twin! Seriously, its great to see folks like you, Az and Erin on here, changing gear all the time - even when its perfectly good gear, just because of something little that they didn't like. Sadly, I think I'm on a tighter budget than some of you, but for a while I could go all out and thankfully I was able to get to a pretty good spot in that time!


*Well I'm hoping this is truely my last install in this car. I'm hoping to finalize it and if anything changes in the future, it won't be much. I'm on a tighter budget as well, I just have to be more patient about buying. I've gone on a kind of rampage in the last few days. I'm still trying to find the damn Sarotech DVP-260X and can't seem to find one anywhere! It's starting to piss me off to be quite honest with you. I've emailed them about it but I'm sure that wont' turn up anything. I'll have to wait and see. *



less said:


> Love your gear selection - and as I mentioned, I'd love to hear how the Hertz drivers work out. I'd love to have had the cash to finish up my power system using those Audison block... classy, classy, classy! I also like the Pioneer double din video screens... I just had so much trouble with glare on my original Alpine 2din that I wanted something that I could adjust more easily. Now I'm getting yantzy and may end up selling my current monitor for a double din because they just look so nice by comparison.


*I had the Alpine W505, and loved it but thought I wanted to go in a different direction, two single din units (head unit and single din DVD) but just was too much work for the end result. One of the reasons I was going to do that is that I'm admittedly distracted easily as a driver. To have a video up front is just too much and I have them because of my kids. The pioneer unit has one button to touch and the screen goes black out. I LOVE THAT!! No menu to go into no multi button issues, just one button push, push any other button and you're back up and running. Awesome! I love this unit. The only reason I would get a different one is to go up to one with built in bluetooth and navigation. But now I don't need the navi and I have the module so I'm good. I love this unit though. I'm going to at some point put a black vinyl strip on the top of my windshield and that will help with any glare but it's really not bad with this unit.*



less said:


> The more I think about that media player as a solution for you, the more I think media access and conversion knowledge is going to be essential. Thankfully though, you can just copy the files from a DVD into a folder on the hard drive of the media player, and either model will play them perfectly. The X model plays all sorts of file types, but even the S plays AVI and DIVX files that are most common. You can buy software or possibly find freeware to convert your DVDs for you, or you can do what a lot of people do and download using P2P. If you already own the DVD, it doesn't seem like it'd be a legal infringement... but I'm no lawyer lol. You can also use a TV card and auto recording software and you can record entire seasons of great tv and the kids favorites for replay on the road... there are a lot of options.


*Yea I'd love to know and understand more about this for sure. I would love to have one unit to play music and have video on. I like the optical ability, and I love the other features on it. One of the things I inquired about is the fact that I have a video monitor and a touch screen can I plug in the usb and use it via the touchscreen instead of the remote. I'm not sure how I would integrate that in the system. I have a manual by the way, if that makes a difference. I'm sure I could figure out where to put it but it's just one more thing to add into the equation. The more I think about it the more I'd like this over the ipod touch for sure.*



less said:


> Whenever I've had issues with syncing action and voice, its been because my machine was over taxed when I was doing the conversion. Video conversion can be taxing and RAM intensive, although most never computers handle it pretty well. Try redoing one or two overnight, and close all your other programs. Let me know if that helps out some... the ipod videos can actually work great, but the touch size is sooo small.


*So what your saying is that if i do too many at a time, back to back, it will tax it out too much? That might be the problem. I did quite a few in a short amount of time. But I still think the Sarotech will be a better application over the ipod. I JUST HAVE TO FREAKING FIND ONE!!! Does that use any 2.5" hard drive or does it require a special one, or do they come with them installed already? Lots of things to figure out. I have a month to do it!! LMAO!!*


----------



## scooter99

Ok I bought one last piece of equipment last night. I bought a Sarotech abigs DVP-260x with a 500 GB Hard drive! I think this is the last piece of equipment I'm getting. The credit card is officially/semi officially done with audio equipment for this car! Now I just need install time and materials! LMAO!


----------



## scooter99

Look what I got last night! Woohoo!!


----------



## Gas Is Expensive

scooter99 said:


> Look what I got last night! Woohoo!!


Nice. Beautiful speakers. Although, I still can't wrap my head around the case. Seems like a complete waste of the consumer's money. Silly, really.


----------



## scooter99

i hear ya.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I was off work yesterday to get some stuff done at my house, unfortunately not working on my car, but I came to work this morning to this:

Fed Ex Package









Hmmm









YEAH BABY!! THAT WAS SUPER FAST!!









Contents, Sarotech abigs DVP-260x, Car package, and 500 GB Hard Drive.









Size Comparison, 20.00 was all I had on me! 










So are my plans, I've been thinking about this and I have two thoughts about placement for the Sarotech. 

*First plan:* In the front of the center console, where the stick shift is at, the cubby that held my bit one controller and switches previously, is where I'm thinking of putting this. 

I'll do a flush mount application with a trim piece so that it only shows the unit itself, and then I can pull that piece off to un plug it and do whatever with it, update it, play with it, use it somewhere else, whatever. I've been doing some reading on it as well and it seems as though it gets super hot, so my plan is to take one of those fans that I have already and put it on the back side of the panel with a hole in the panel for the fan to blow on. This should give it good air control and keep it from getting too hot. 

The controller, which I didn't do a comparison with, is relativly small. It's actually about the same size length wise as my ipod touch. I'm not too happy with the fact that it's silver, I wish it was black, but I don't think there's anything I can do about that without loosing the lettering on it. Unless I can find a shop to do a little overlay on it with the lettering it'll have to stay this color. 

With it, I’ll do the same thing I was talking about with the ipod. I'll do a flush mount in the arm rest in the center console. I have to double check the length of the IR sensor, but I think that it'll be fine with the distance. Again I'll double check that. Also with the remote I'm going to do a different flush mount application.  I'm going to flush mount it, but I'm going to do a separate cover that goes over top of the whole thing. I'm a bit lazy in the car, so my arm is always on top of the arm rest. I don't want to be hitting buttons with my arm. So I'll cover it and finish it so it just looks like an armrest. 

*Less:* I like how you did your remote but I'm not sure if I want it out there or not. I'll have to decide that after I figure out the length of the IR sensor cord. 

*Second plan:* This is the one I’ve been leaning towards. I’m going to utilize my glove box. I’ll have the center console for the paper work and manual etc, so my glove box now is just a catch all. BTW, why do they call it a glove box? I’ve never had a pair of gloves go in the glove box. Just another one of those things. Like you park in a drive way and drive on a parkway. Anyway, back on track. I’ll do the same thing, flush mount, do a panel to cover the interior of the glove box and the Sarotech will sit in the middle. I'll do the fan under the panel for cooling the unit. Then a trim piece to hide wiring and finish it with something nice. Thinking carbon fiber vinyl actually. 

On the remote, I’ll now utilize the cubby in front of the stick shift. If you will recall back in this thread I think I said something about putting the Ipod Touch and my Crackberry in there so they sit in there flush mounted. I may do that with the remote and the Crackberry now. It’ll be within reach without too much effort and should fit nicely in there. I’ll have to explore that option. 

Open to suggestions on which one seems better. 

*Plan A: Sarotech in the cubby, remote in the arm rest*

or

*Plan B: Sarotech in the glove box, remote in the cubby with the Crackberry*

I know this is getting a bit long winded but I wanted to lay out my plans for those who are paying attention right now, and as well for my reference so I can go back and read this later if I forget, which with the way my life is so busy is almost guaranteed to happen. 

Hook up. I think I've decided to go from the Sarotech to the head unit via analog. And then from the head unit I'm going to go ahead with the digital optical cable. Obviously analog will run as well, cause I need it for set up on the bit one. But I'm doing this for a couple of reasons. First of all I have the optical cable and the converter for the head unit already. Matter of fact the optical cable is in and ran already. Secondly I'll have the steering wheel controls, if I can ever get my issues figured out, so I'll have volume control via that as well. So with those two things considered, I think I'm better off going this direction. 

I do think however, I'm going to remove the head unit before I get started here and bench install the head unit, Sarotech, and Bit One and make sure of everything before I finalize it all. 

The other thing I'm going to do is install an analog signal, rca's from the head unit to the head rest monitors this time. For the future if I want to get my girls some head phones, I can do that and won't have to run a line then. I think it's easier that way. That will all go in the back where the wire panel is behind the seat. That will allow for easy troubleshooting if need be. 

The last thing I need to check on is the power for the Sarotech. I got the car package as you can all see, but the "lighter cord" has a huge box on it that's almost at big as the unit itself. I have to figure out where the hell I'm going to put that thing, and then open it up and see if I can hard wire it instead of using the lighter adapter. I’d rather not have the lighter adapter sticking out all the time. Hard wired would be much cleaner. 

So there it is, for now. If anyone has any suggestions or thoughts or experience, I’m all ears and look forward to hearing from you. 

The last thing I have is that I think I’m going to have to invest in a new HD tuner. The one I have now seems to be crapping out on me! Some stations are just static filled and unclear, even on digital, and other stations will play for a few seconds and literally fade out. One day I had to unplug it and let it sit and plug it back in cause it sounded like a skipping CD. I’m not sure if it’s the cold weather, cause remember my baby sit outside at night cause my wife gets the garage, or if it just is going out. A little frustrating since I’ve not had it that long. But they’re cheap enough to just replace. So I’ll be getting another one of those today. 

That’s it, what do you think!?! And I know, get started already. Jan 1 is just around the corner!!


----------



## less

Hey Scoot,

First thing - analog SQ is quite a bit subpar to the digital if you plan on listening to any music, I'd add a digital connection from the Sarotech to the B1 or to the H/U. 

Next, you might want to do is to get yourself the quietest possible fan you can find from Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!, then when it gets in, connect it to a cig socket and listen to it placed in the spots you are thinking about mounting it. SAdly, even though it says it doesn't need ventilation and to expect it to get hot, I had issues with mine due to heat. Of course, I was living in Texas and had mine mounted in the enclosed cubby under the center arm rest. 

Since then, I've been using my 260X in the house on the little stand that comes with it and it doesn't get too hot (using the S model in the car now and it runs a little cooler), but that is with an average 70 degree environment. Not sure what range your unit will have to deal with, but if it will be over 80 often, you should really consider some sort of cooling system. Forced air works best, but you might also be able to get away with adding some of those heat sinks that they make for ram or hard drives. Of course, another option that might work well would be to mount it in the hole in front of the stick shift, cut some holes in the plastic it would sit against, and mount a fan on the inside of the console so that you'd be less likely to hear it. 

As for the remote, you don't need to mount it for it to work well. It gives you a lot of play in pointing... sometimes even works when pointed backwards. You can drop it in that coin area and it sits perfectly. I just change songs a lot and its handy to have at hands reach. Play with it for a while before you invest much time in a finished set up and you'll see what works best for you!

On the bright side, once you mount it and get used to it, it'll save you a lot of time and make your ride safer too - whether you are just using it for kid videos, or if you go for the full blown - add all your music to it too approach. To me, its well worth the hassle and it sounded indistinguishable or slightly better than my DRZ 9255 (to me, obviously) or I'd have never bought a second one.

Power? I wouldn't worry about it right away until you get your overall config laid out in your head and are comfy with it. Then, just figure out which wire is positive first, then mark it and clip it... then run it straight from your fusebox with an inline fuse. Swap the neg and positive and it blows though - so make sure you mark it well! I think the positive side had a dashed white side on mine, but mine also had a single plug and they threw in the socket tripler as a bonus. You didn't need to use it at all.

Sure hope you like it - but if nothing else, you're at least going to satisfy your curiousity lol!

Good job so far bud!

Less


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## scooter99

Just thought I'd give a little update. Not much to tell really. I've been working on my build project order, getting things set up so I can stay organized on this build. I've started outlining each section, in the project, so I can work on one thing at a time. Even actually sub outlining the thoughts on how things are going in etc. Kind of like a build operators manual if you will. I'm still waiting for a few things to come in but most of it won't come in as far as need goes until later on in the build. So that's really it for now. 

I know with the holidays being here, shipping has slowed to a snails pace so I'm just patiently waiting. Unfortunately the pieces that I'm waiting for are the pieces for the first step in the project. Headlight replacements, fog projectors, and some other little pieces. I'm going to start with the headlights and bumper pulling first cause I have to pull the bumper to do some stuff for step two of the build anyway. So I'll get that stuff done and out of the way and continue on, if those pieces ever come in. 

I'll post up my basic build order when I get it all done. For now it's still in the works. So far I'm about 1/3 the way through and it's about 16 pages long.  

A question that I have for everyone is this, if people are still reading. I'm looking into how to get music, better music, on my mp3's (ipod and now sarotech). I've been listening to a trial of Rhapsidy at work lately, and I have pandora as well, which i get on my phone. That's gonna be integrated into the system too. But I'm seeing that on Rhapsidy I can purchase albums and songs and stuff, but does anyone use this for their downloads. I can't see anywhere what the bit rate is etc on it. I use a "free" download site, don't chastise me please I'm trying to find one to change to to get better quality as well as be legal, and the quality isn't always the best. 

I'm open to some suggestions before I start paying for something like this. Let me know please what you guys think, your experiences, etc. 

Until the next time, I'M OUT!! MERRY CHRISTMAS FOLKS, IF I DON'T DO ANYMORE UPDATES UNTIL AFTER!


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## n_olympios

The best way to secure the quality of your mp3's is to rip them yourself, from your cd's. Easy cd-da extractor (now with integrated Flac support, if you wish to go that way) and you're done. 

Other than that, you've got pm in a second.


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## scooter99

Got it. Thanks for the info.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so here's what's going on today. I've tried to go to pioneer and ask them a question about IR headphones. They've completely changed their website and the contact us URL isn't working. 

Here's my question if anyone has an answer.

The headrest monitors I have are Pioneer AVD-W7900's. They are supposed to be compatible, it says, with the Pioneer SE-IRM290 wireless headphones. I can't find any cause they've been discontinued and they're just not out there. I can however find the previous versions, SE-IRM250's. Are these compatible? Are any wireless IR headphones compatible as long as it has the IR Lens from the monitor. I know the W7900 monitors do have these IR Lenses. I was going to buy some kids headphones, cause they're foldable and that's what they're going to be for is my kids, and I don't wanna spend 60.00 if they're not going to work. So if anyone has any thoughts or insight on this I'd be appreciative. 

So with these headphones, I've got a new idea to incorporate them into my install. I'm going to be removing the center arm rest in the back seat. I'm going to hollow it out and make a lid for it. I'll make a cubby with some foam inside so the headphones sit in the foam protected. Then I'll make a lid for the armrest that will fold up so they can get the headphones out, then it will velcro down so they will stay put. I'll finish it in suede to match the rest of the install, whenever that happens. 

Update: I've been, as I think I've said before, making my project order guide and I'm currently up to page 33. I'm just about done. Should be done and ready to go by the weekend. May not be a ton of progress to show this weekend but I'll be getting started for sure. 

Anyone have any comments or suggestions on the headphone issue, or anything else for that matter, please let me know! Thanks!


----------



## scooter99

OK well there it is. I just finished my outline for the build. 38 pages of craziness! Now I just need to get started! WOOHOO!!


----------



## JayinMI

amitaF said:


> my wife caught a glimpse of your pictures and all that caught her eye was the kitchen-aid mixer....


Can't really blame her. KitchenAid is the ****. 

Jay


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## IBcivic

JayinMI said:


> Can't really blame her. KitchenAid is the ****.
> 
> Jay


guess what santa amazon.com got my wife for x-mas?


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## scooter99

Yes it is!!


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## scooter99

Ok so here's an update, and it's not a very good one. I might be holding on any build at this point. My wife and I are discussing trading in my car and getting a truck. Well I have a truck now, 1994 Ford F350, but it's not very economical, scratch that it's ABSOLUTELY NOT ECONOMICAL IT"S A FREAKING GAS HAWG, when I drive it! So we're discussing taking that and the civic and trading them in on something like a crew cab F150 or something like that that I can drive daily, gets decent gas mileage, and I can haul stuff in if I need to. I'll update when I get a chance, but I just wanted to fill everyone in . 

I of course have already thought about my stuff, and everything will stay the same for the most part. I think I could, if I do get a truck, do away with one of the 1.1k's and I have to figure out if I can use the 12's or have to go to 10's in a center console build. Obviously the alternator won't work on the truck, but the basis of the system will stay the same. 3 way front stage, rear fill, vidoe, same head unit, bit one, lrx amps, etc. Like I said I'm in the process of thinking about it and researching other builds right now. 

I should know what's going on in a couple days. I'll let everyone know when that happens. 

I want to also thank everyone for following me again, and I know there's not been much progress on this but never the less, thank you for following.


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## ErinH

with all the gear you've bought and not used and now possibly a new car I have one question:
are you addicted to shopping?


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## scooter99

Is it that obvious!?! No really its an attempt at saving money. I have the civic, a 1994 Ford F350, and with that a car payment, two insurance payments, and with the ford a helluva gas bill when I drive it. I don't feel so comfortable at times in the civic because of size and those are my main reasons for seeking a vehicle change really. Otherwise I love my civic and wouldn't want to get rid of it but to that, its all about what's best for out family. We'll have to see how it plays out. 

But to answer the question, yes I do have an obsession for shopping. I am a spender!! But I know you can relate to that buddy!


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## kyheng

Everyone is a spender... If not, how the money change hands?


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## scooter99

There's a difference between someone who just spends money and someone who's a spender. The spender can't keep money in their pocket cause of the addiction of spending money. Someone who just spends money, is someone who's maybe not very aware of how they're spending it, doesn't really care about spending it, has enough to spend all the time. Doesn't sound like much of a difference but it's the feeling you get when you spend that makes the difference really.


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## IBcivic

.....i'm suffering from withdrawl symptoms :freak:


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## scooter99

Ok so it's pretty much a go on the truck. Just have to get some stuff finalized and make sure I can get financed for it. But the main part is out of the way, the wife's approval, and now it's time to hit the ground running. 

Here's what's going to happen if this goes through. 

Gonna see about the 2 12's in a sealed custom center console box, amps behind and or under the rear seat. Alot of other details I'm already researching. 

Not gonna close this out yet, or end this thread, just in case. But I'll update everyone as things happen. Tomorrow I'm off, so I'm going truck shoppin!! WOOHOO!!


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## scooter99

Well I just wanted to post up a picture of what's in the works. Paperwork is running right now. Still a far off deal but you never know what can happen. Still lots of negotiating and wiggle room on both sides.


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## less

Might want to research tires lol. Road noise is bad enough in cars... but trucks are probably even worse. I found the stock Civic tires to be simply unbearable! In the end, I bought some really nice General's (they actually have one really highly rated and economical model) that are quiet as heck, grip well and hold up well too. 

Check out tirerack.com for excellent reviews on any tire you can imagine.


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## JayinMI

So, is this a replacement for the Civic AND the F350?

Jay


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## scooter99

less said:


> Might want to research tires lol. Road noise is bad enough in cars... but trucks are probably even worse. I found the stock Civic tires to be simply unbearable! In the end, I bought some really nice General's (they actually have one really highly rated and economical model) that are quiet as heck, grip well and hold up well too.
> 
> Check out tirerack.com for excellent reviews on any tire you can imagine.


It already has Pro Comp Wheels with Pro Comp tires on it and the tires are brand new all terrain but not aggressive mud tires. Won't be quiet by any means on the road, but won't be roaring like mud tires will. But I'm already aware of this and will be investing in a TON TON TON of deadener and closed cell foam if I can find some. Last time I tried to find some and I couldn't so I gave up and went with the anti fatigue mats from harbor freight. I think those work pretty well but they're pretty damn thick. Like almost 3/8" thick. Plays havoc on putting trim panels back. 



JayinMI said:


> So, is this a replacement for the Civic AND the F350?
> 
> Jay


Yes I'll be trading in the F350 and the civic for this baby! The plan is a bigger vehicle than the civic, and minus the insurance for the F350 which just sits all but about 2 or 3 days of the month, not to mention the FREAKING GAS IT TAKES TO FILL IT UP, and I'm hoping it evens it out. 

What I get is a daily driver that I feel safe in for my family, it's nicer, costs the same monthly as the current car payment, and with the difference in gas and insurance it'll probably save us a couple bucks but not much. It'll be a wash probably. But I'll still be able to haul with this, and if in the future we do get a travel trailer, I'll be able to tow it with this as well. 

So for those wondering here's what will happen if I get this. I'm going to start a new thread of course but for now this will be the plan. 

*Front Stage*
Active
Single Mid Bass (ML 1600) in the lower door.
Mid Range (HL 70) in the upper door at the tweeter location.
Tweeter (ML 280s) in the sail panel on the door. 
Power - Tweets and Mid Range by the LRx 4.1K / Mid Bass by the LRx 2.9

*Rear Fill*
Hertz HSK 165's in the doors passive
Power - LRx 2.4

*Subs*
Hertz HX300D 12's. This is up in the air really. What I'm wanting to do is do a rear seat conversion. I want to take the rear bench seat out and put in buckets. That will open up the the center in the back. I'll remove the middle seat in the bench up front and then do a custom center console from the dash all the way to the back wall. That should give me plenty of space to put the subs in. 

*Processing*
Audison Bit One.1
This will go in the center console. I'll be doing the install on the top of the center console between the rear seats. Acrylic cover and then a trim cover over that for stealthiness. 

The remote I have to figure out still but the truck has a ceiling mount console and I think the sun glasses holder up top would make a perfect spot for the remote. 

*Headunit*
Pioneer AVH-P4200DVD
Pioneer GEX-P20HD Tuner
Pioneer BTB-CD200 Bluetooth Module
Sarotech DVP-260x Media player

The head unit will go in the stock position in the dash. The center console under the dash, will house the hd tuner, bluetooth module under it, and on the top I'll make a slide in spt for the Sarotech to slide in as well as a spot for my phone. Ipod won't be needed anymore with the Sarotech. I'll also be installing two usb ports for the Sarotech and the Bit One settings and updates etc. All switches will be in the center console as well (any neons, bypass switching, and head rest monitor on off switching.)

*Monitors*
Dual Pioneer AVD-W7900 Monitors

This one is a problem for me. I have to decide what I want to do. I'm not 100% sure I'd want to cut into the headrests on this truck. But if I do then they monitors will go there like normal. If noootttt...................

I'm planning to do a dual drop down monitor application. I'll have to find some drop down monitor holders, or make some, that will hold these monitors (that way I don't have to buy new monitors). The ceiling center console already has rails in it for a drop down screen. I'm planning to do a couple of rails off the sides of those, or a panel that I can attach the drop down modules to. I just don't want the monitors in the middle where i can't see out of the rear view mirror. I've had that before and it drives me insane not being able to see out of the rear. 

*Power*
I'm going to sell or trade in the 3 Stinger SPP1200 batteries and get either the Singer SPP2150 or the Stinger SPP2250 battery in the engine bay. I'll be getting a different H/O Alternator since the other one was for the civic. 

Still planning two runs of 1/0 ga from the battery to each distro block. Won't need all the inline fuses since I'm only using one battery. 

The fuse blocks, distro blocks, barrier strips, and relays will reside under the rear seats. Still looking nice but not in sight. 

*Amps*
The amps will be mounted on the back wall behind the seats. Somehow. 

I'm sure there's something I'm missing but you get the idea. THERE'S QUITE A PROJECT IN FRONT OF ME! 

Of course this is all "IF" I get this truck!


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## IBcivic

lemme know if you've got any civic related goodies to liquidate especially manuals


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## scooter99

Manuals? You'll be the first to know my friend.


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## scooter99

Well here's the latest news. Not much to report. However, I might just be keeping the Civic. I'm pretty pissed at the dealership right now. No phone call yet to let me know what's going on, and I drove by the other dealership where the truck is at, and the MFer is gone! So it's either been shipped up to the dealership where I'm working with, or it's been sold! THAT'S WHY I"M PISSED!! 

So I'm going to call them now cause I'm on lunch and if it's been sold I'm just going to pull the plug. My wife and I have been talking and I may just work on paying this one off, as well as hers. Then next year get brand new vehicles for both of us. I'll keep everyone updated. 

If that's the case and I do keep this, then the build will officially start this weekend. I just got two pairs of IR head phones in today for my headrest monitors for the back seat. Didn't take pictures but they're Pioneer SE-IRM250's. You're welcome to look them up. 

Update later!


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## kyheng

What? Changing vehicle? Anyway, if got any stuffs to push, my eyes will be opened.... Especially on the connections cables....


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## scooter99

Might happen. I'll be using most everything here still, but if I do sell anything I'll post up here that I'm putting it up in the classifieds section.


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## simplicityinsound

if you end up selling everything i am going to officially loose hope for team diyma norcal


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## scooter99

Bing, buddy, you have my word! I'm not selling, I'm putting it all in. I just don't know in what yet. It'll either be the civic or a new F150! Either way, most if not all is staying. I may have to loose a set of mid bass, a battery (maybe), and possibly go down to 10's for the truck but it's all staying for the most part. 

Same head unit, same mids, tweets, mid bass, amps, rear fill, processor, and all the other goodies. 

I'm ready to represent NORCAL!!! I just wish I had you in town to help me! I love your builds!! I've got some pretty sweet ideas I think even you would be impressed with if the truck happens! 

Goodnight all!! Thanks for checking in!


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## scooter99

Ok well it looks like I'm back to square one. I'll be trying to pay the civic and my wifes car off. I pulled the plug on the truck. Why you ask.......................WELL LET ME TELL YOU!!!! 

So last week I decided I'd call a buddy of mine and talk to him about getting a new truck. Well not a new one but new to me. I am looking for a Ford F150 super crewcab (4 door). I ended up finding one, in the picture a few posts ago, and it was around 29k. So because of my situation financially I had to go to a special finance guy, which my friend took me too and told me he'd take care of me. Out of his hands into another's, I get it. 

So I spent 2 1/2 hours up at the dealership on Friday with my daughters, going over numbers, trade in numbers (for the civic and the truck to trade in), and applications. Thank god they had a play area or I'd have been screwed. Anyway, after the 2 1/2 hours I finally got up and said I need to get my girls out of here and get them fed and they need naps. So when I left the guy says to me "ok no problem, the banks are closed (it was new years eve day) and we can't get the payoff on your car anyway so we'll run your wifes credit, get the payoff and I'll call you on monday and we'll go from there".

Long story short, monday, and tuesday and a few voicemails from me come and go, and tuesday night I get a call from one of the managers basically saying that they've been swamped and he promises the guy will call me back on wednesday afternoon. So wednesday afternoon comes and goes, and i call them last night and said, basically WHAT THE F#*&!?! Why can't I even get a phone call saying anything, we're working on it whatever. Twice I've been promise a phone call on two separate days and neither of which you've yet to come through on." So I just get a call a bit ago, it's 12:45 now, saying that the numbers are still off and we're not gonna be able to do this truck. 

So I've pulled the plug on the whole thing. My wife and I are pissed and won't ever go to that dealership again, and I don't want a truck less that what I was going for. If I'm going to pay for another 6 years on a vehicle, then I'm going to get the vehicle that I want. Unreasonable, maybe, but that's what I want and that's what I'm not settling less than. 

So now we've decided, my wife and I, to just pay our cars off and then we'll see where we're at. I have 3 years left on mine, and she has 4 on hers. With the over time that I'm working I'm going to devote all that to the cars and get them paid off. When that happens we'll decide if we want another truck or not. She wants an SUV, and I want her to have one. 

So now the plan is to go forward with the build in the civic! I'll post progress as it happens but it will start this weekend!


----------



## jlh2003

Awesome in some ways...

Sucks in others...

Sounds like life....

Oh well at least we get to see the build!


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## IBcivic

hey man ..it just wasnt meant to be....most probably for the better


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## scooter99

You guys are absolutely correct. Now I'll pay it off and see where we go from there. Maybe I'll keep it forever, hand it down to my daughter and after the cars are paid off we'll have better credit and buy a new truck and my wife's SUV. Trade her car in. 

But jlh2003, you are correct. At least this build will now start to take life! 

My plan this weekend is not much audio related, however, it will be some stuff i want to do to get things started. 

Going to retro the headlights, foglights, and add leds under the headlights (for that Audi look everyone seems to be going for.). Also adding the bigger deeper horn instead of the god damned mep mep horn someone thought was a safe idea! The one I'm adding is a plug and play replacement from the accords. Lastly I'm going to, since to do all that I have to remove the bumper, I'll be adding the alarm horn, as well as some other things. 

I'll post up picts as soon as I start progress. Thanks for tuning it, let it begin!!

*EDIT:* I forgot that I emailed Sarotech last week about running analog as well as digital at the same time, but they said it's not possible. There are settings on it I have to select but apparently I cannot have both of those selected at the same time. So I have to now decide how I want that to run. 

i think the other thing I'm going to do this weekend is take the head unit out and set it up with the monitors, sarotech, bit one, etc on the bench and see what's going to work for me and what's not. I'm not 100% sure that I can run that Optical converter box full time out of the rear 3.5 mm jack from the head unit, rear out, for anything but video. I never heard back from Pioneer on that one. So I'm going to have to experiment for myself. If I can do that then I'll run analog to the head unit from the sarotech and then use the converter to run optical out to the bit one. I'll figure it out and let everyone know how I did it. That's it!


----------



## IBcivic

montreal transit corp. bus horns on mine. it does command a bit more respect than the oem moped horn


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## scooter99

Well at this point anything is better than the weak ass civic horn. I've maybe used my horn twice in the 2 years I've owned this thing. I'd love to put an air horn on it from a train! That'd get me some F&@#ING RESPECT!!! ARRUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGAAAAAA, GET OUTTA MY WAY DAMN IT!!!! :rockon:


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## n_olympios

I never liked trucks anyway.


----------



## IBcivic

check out this lude....

YouTube - The Loudest Honda Horn!!


----------



## scooter99

OH MY GOD I HAVE GOT TO GET ONE OF THOSE!!!!!!!


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## jlh2003

alright I know you've got some updates from this weekend!


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## scooter99

Sorry I wish I did, I had a death in the family yesterday and that unfortunately impeded all work that I was planning. I'm sorry everyone!


----------



## jlh2003

No worries bro hope all is well on the home front

I'll try to get some better pictures of my battery and intake you requested over on 8th. Looks like Charleston is suppose to get a descent winter weather storm tonight and tomorrow morning so it may be a few days...


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## scooter99

Thanks. It's a long story but it was a cousin of my wife's and her mom is the trustee cause his only other family member, his sister, died last year. SO my wife is helping her mom with getting things in order which puts me on taking care of the home front, which means mainly taking care of my kids and making sure their ready for school week. 

So needless to say, I couldn't get much done today. But I have things ready, and the lights and stuff are sitting here, headlights are ready for the oven and to get retroed!! 

I still need to decide if I want to do the projector retro on the high/drls too or not, and I'm trying to find the fog light retro diy too. But one thing at a time. Just want to make my final decision on the high/drls and then, since the bumper will be off, I also want to decide on the CAI now. 

I'll make those decisions this week for sure. 

Thanks for the understanding everyone and I'll get stuff done this week, starting tomorrow night, and I'll start posting pics. Thanks!


----------



## scooter99

Alright here's where I'm at for now. I've purchased an Injen CAI in black, and will be purchasing a P2R TBS in black as well. These are going to be done since I'm going to have the bumper off, as well as the intake off. I know it's not audio related but it is. I need to do this to gain the space in the engine bay so I can put my power panel in. 

That's all for now. Thanks!


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## scooter99

HOLY CRAP!!! 16,600 views!! That's a ton! Thanks for peeking everyone!


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## scooter99

Well here's the outline. This is just the index. The final product, at the moment cause I'm sure there'll be changes in here somewhere, is 43 pages. 

Without further adoo I give you "The 2006 Honda Civic Ex Sedan Build Outline!"

Everywhere you see that it says Performance Mod's is where I've put in for the stuff that's not Audio related. This is how I'm going to incorporate those into this build. 

All the expensive things are at the end. These are all things that will cost significant amounts of money, like 600.00 or more. There is not a specific order in which I'm going to do those things, just as money presents itself I guess. 


□ * Front End Conversion* 
□	Headlight Clearing & Add Chrome Amber Bulbs
□	LED installation under headlights
□	Headlight Projector Conversion. (Low and High/DRL) 
□	Horn Replacement
□	Fog Light Install and Projector Conversion
□	Alarm Horn Installation Next to OEM Horn
□	Install Injen CAI
□	Install Throttle Body Spacer

□ *Engine Compartment Battery Side*
□	Build a new battery stand
□	CHECK INTO A BATTERY TIE DOWN IN POLISHED STAINLESS STEEL.
□	Power fuse holder stand
□	Power Top Cover
□	Install the components and battery
□	Wire everything up and prep for runs to the rear

□ * Engine Compartment Alternator Side*
□	Performance MOD’s 
□	Alternator installation

□ * Rear Seat Wire Panel*
□	Rear seat wire and component panel
□	Sides & Top Attachments
□	Wire Panel Finishing
□	Wire Panel Trim Piece

□ *Rear Power Panel*
□	Rear Power Panel
□	Rear Power Panel Trim Piece
□	Rear Power Panel Wiring

□ *Power and Ground Runs*
□	Dual Power Wire Runs
□	Ground Wire Runs
□	Finishing touches
□	Performance MOD’s

□ *Alarm Install*
□	Alarm install 
□	Windows/Sunroof Module Install
□	Run all wires
□	Test and finish or clean up

□	* Head Liner and Center Hub Project*
□	Sound Deadening
□	Run all wires 
□	Fiberglass the audio controller hub housing
□	Recover the head liner using black or graphite colored suede. 
□	Reinstall the head liner.
□	Install the audio controller hub.
□	Recover and Recolor the sun visors and handles to match or contrast with the head liner.

□ *Rear Deck Components*
□	Remove the rear deck tray
□	Build the rear deck component panel
□	Component speaker rings and placement
□	Crossover network framing
□	Fiberglass
□	Trim panels and finishing
□	Connections and attachments

□	* Rear Deck Amp Rack*
□	Rear deck prep
□	Rear Deck Amp Rack Frame
□	Finishing and covering
□	Actuator arm (See also DIY on 8th Civic)
□	Switched LED’s for truck lighting

□ *Trunk Lid Bit One and Logos*
□	Base build
□	Bit One Layout
□	Base build continued
□	Logo Compartment Build
□	Wire hiding
□	Trim Build
□	Finishing and Base Attachment
□	Wiring
□	Final Attachment
□	Trunk Performance MOD’s


□ * Sub Enclosures Build*
□	Sub Mockups
□	Placement
□	The Enclosures
□	Sub Rings
□	Fiber Glassing
□	Finishing

□ *Floor Amp Rack Build*
□	Back Hinge Base Block
□	Rear Trunk Trim Panel
□	Amp Rack Base
□	Amp Rack Cover
□	Amp Rack Installation and Trim Cover
□	Covering and finishing
□	Wiring 
□	Finishing

□ * Mid Bass Door Build*
□	Removal and Preparation
□	Fiberglass Enclosing the Doors
□	Enclosure build
□	Fiberglass Enclosures
□	Speaker Placement and Trim Panel
□	Deadening and Inner Door Panel Prep
□	Outer Door Panel Trim Build
□	Outer Door Panel Finishing
□	Speaker Grill
□	Wiring and finishing

□ * Mid Range and Tweeter Pods*
□	Speaker Ring and Pod Preparation
□	Coverage and Grill
□	Wiring
□	Installation and Finishing

□ *Head Rest Monitor Re Build*
□	Removal and Preparation
□	Frame Build
□	Headrest Filler and Shaping
□	Covering
□	Wiring
□	Interior MOD’s - Recover Seats


□ *IR Headphone Compartment*
□	Removal and Prep
□	Build and Cover
□	Finishing

□ *Head Unit and Surround Build*
□	Removal and Prep
□	Filling and Flush Mounting
□	Wiring
□	Finishing and Installation

□ *Sarotech Installation*
□	The Build
□	Wiring
□	USB Installation
□	Finishing and Installation

□ *Center Cubby Phone and Sarotech Remote Install*
□	Removal and Prepwork
□	Finishing and Installation

□ *Final Performance and other MOD’s*
□	Wheels and Tires
□	Rotors
□	Wilwood Brake Kit
□	SS Brake Lines
□	Carbon Fiber Vinyl
□	Catback Exhaust

So there it is. Comments? 

Also I got my P2R throttle body spacer today as well as a set of clear side marker signal lights today. The Intake also shipped today, got the email earlier.


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> So there it is. Comments?


git er dunn!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## scooter99

Workin on putting this manual together as we speak, diy's, etc. Then I'll start moving on it!


----------



## jlh2003

Can't wait to see the progress!


----------



## scooter99

So every FREAKING TIME, I plan to get started something else comes up. Life i guess. I was going to get started on the fog and headlight projector retro this weekend, but our cook top went out and now we have to replace that. Well we decided to go from electric to gas, so now I have to run a gas line this weekend so we can get our cooktop in. As well an over the range microwave. So my saturday is shot basically. Sunday we have some stuff going on, but I'm going to for sure try to get it started on sunday. Monday we have the day off, so i'm for sure getting something done. 

Sunday I'm going to pull the front driver side damper to get that sent in. when i do that I'm pulling the bumper and starting the project. I don't know how much I'll end up getting done but I'm going to get started for sure. 

I did change a couple things up though. I decided I didn't want the G3's anymore, and got a set of Morimoto Mini H1 Stage III projector kits. I also got a set of Morimoto Stage II HID's for the Fog light retro I'm going to be doing this weekend. 

I got confirmation of the Throttle body shipment, and the Intake should be here tomorrow or monday. So everything should be getting here in the next couple days, but the fog retrofit will keep my busy till the rest of the stuff comes in. 

Sorry again everyone, thanks for being patient. Life just keeps getting in the way!


----------



## scooter99

Well here's a little update with pictures. Not much but it's a little somethin somethin to keep everyone at bay till this weekend.

Came home to these sitting on the porch from the mail man!


----------



## jlh2003

Nice where'd u order those from?


----------



## scooter99

Robearracing.com - He's a good guy, found him on the 8th. Got my TBS through him too. That'll probably be here next week sometime. Should see my intake either today sometime or on monday or tuesday.


----------



## jlh2003

cool deal I've been wanting to order a radiator cap oil cap and drain plus but havent had a chance

i like!


----------



## scooter99

Go to the website, he has a few different ones. Got them quick too. I just got confirmation that my TBS shipped today. SO I'll have it by the 20th, Thursday. 

I also ordered some sidemarkers (clear one's) from him. Those are on backorder, but I'll be putting those in as well.


----------



## scooter99

Ok I don't know what to say folks. I'm gonna lay low for a bit. I'm obviously not gonna get any work done any time soon. A cooktop/microwave has now turned into a kitchen remodel. So now all my time is going to be taken up with that. When I get to actually do some work on the car, I'll post up. Until then, I'm gonna just hang back a while. 

Sorry, I know everyone probably thinks I'm not actually doing anything and that I'm just buying stuff just to buy stuff. That's not the case, but until I can show everyone something, I'll have to ask you all to take my word for it. 

Thanks and hopefully I'll post something with pictures sooner rather than later.


----------



## n_olympios

No need to apologise man, it's your system, your money, your time.  

We're just always hungry for pictures, that's all!


----------



## scooter99

I know you guy are. But that's one of the reasons. I'm not updating. Cause when the alerts go off that there's a new comment everyone looks for pictures and it's just a let down. 

Here's a couple you might like. Not audio related though! 

OEM Oil Cap


Buddy Club Sexiness


Close up


OEM Radiator Cap


More Buddy Club Sexiness


But that's about it! Sorry it's so anti climactic.


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> Ok I don't know what to say folks. I'm gonna lay low for a bit. I'm obviously not gonna get any work done any time soon. A cooktop/microwave has now turned into a kitchen remodel. So now all my time is going to be taken up with that. When I get to actually do some work on the car, I'll post up. Until then, I'm gonna just hang back a while.
> 
> Sorry, I know everyone probably thinks I'm not actually doing anything and that I'm just buying stuff just to buy stuff. That's not the case, but until I can show everyone something, I'll have to ask you all to take my word for it.
> 
> Thanks and hopefully I'll post something with pictures sooner rather than later.


it never ends,does it:laugh:
whatever it takes to keep the missus happy


----------



## scooter99

Happy wife, Happy Life!!


----------



## devolutionary

Dude, don't sweat it. I went through much the same experience.
Took me years to collect/build my current system due to sickness, unexpected financial issues, family issues, etc etc.

**** happens eh.


----------



## jlh2003

Hey bro,

a group 34 yellowtop will fit with the injen intake, I got mine in the car today as well at fatmated my doors and under the carpet and rear seat area, ran out of time to do the trunk and rear deck...

not sure about a general group 34, as the yellow top has rounded edges and sides but it fits with not wiggle room

I'll take a pic in the next few days for you


----------



## scooter99

Thanks for the info. I'd love to see pics. I actually think that the battery I have going in the front, Stinger SPP1200, is even smaller than that. I've not done a comparison, however, this thing is pretty damn small. But it's not the space for the battery that I'm in need of. Its the space for the in line fuse holders, buss bars, H/O relay, etc. There's a lot going in up there. That's what I need space for, to install it in a way that I can show it off. 

BTW, my wheels shipped last night, although it's gonna be a long while before they go on. Got my intake on tuesday, still waiting on my throttle body spacer, and gaskets, as well as the morimoto mini H-1 projector kit. I've been home yesterday working on my kitchen and will stop by the office on the way back from my dr apt today to see if anything came in yesterday or not.


----------



## jlh2003

adding that injen intake will free up a descent amount of real estate on the right side of the engine bay

you should have more than enough room for all that and then some i do believe

I'm excited the group 34 fit up front thats one less battery i have to hide in the trunk.


----------



## scooter99

Not a whole lot to report. Been working on my kitchen remodel. That was kind of an impulse thing my wife and I got thrown into. Went from a new cooktop and over the stove microwave, to a full on kitchen remodel. Got the cabinets mostly done last night. Tonight I'll finish the cabinets and we'll be waiting for the counter top to be fabricated. Lots more to do though. As soon as that's done, I'll be getting on the build. I know I know, I always say that. But I'm for real this time. Talked to my wife, and she's with it. So we're a go as soon as the kitchen gets done.

I guess there are a couple of non audio updates. Got my wheels in, they're sitting in front of me. Not sure how long I can wait to get these on, they're gorgeous!! Also got my Throttle Body Spacer and gaskets in, Projectors in, Side markers in, LED's on the way for the Audi Style DRL's, and I think that's it. I don't remember if I already said I got my Intake in also or not. Here are some pics. 

Intake box:


















Fog HID's - 3700K 


















Projector Shrouds









Projector HID's 5000K


















Morimoto Mini H1 Projectors 









CCFL Angel Eyes FTW!!









Balasts


----------



## scooter99

MY NEW BABIES!! Varrstoen 2.2.2 18"x8" Matte Black FTMFW!!!









This just shows non of the center spokes stick out


















So that's it. Once this kitchen is done, garage is gonna get a cleaning and I'm going to arrange everything and get this build under way!


----------



## jlh2003

Scooter I started mine over here too...lol

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-member-build-logs/96941-my-06-civic-sedan-build.html


----------



## IBcivic

nice stuff...i'm jealous


----------



## scooter99

jlh2003 said:


> Scooter I started mine over here too...lol
> 
> http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-member-build-logs/96941-my-06-civic-sedan-build.html


That's funny, I saw that right after I saw your other one on the 8th. 

Martin - Thanks man, now I just need to get started on installations! IT"S KILLIN ME!!!! I WANNA WORK ON MY CAR NAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!


----------



## scooter99

Ok I've got another idea. I made a different thread in hopes to get some help with this. Here it is: Automatic Trunk Open Help


----------



## scooter99

I've got some other things in my head, for back up on the auto trunk open failure. I'm gonna go pick up some foam board tonight and make a couple of mock ups of the subs. I might be back to my original thought of the subs behind the seats. I don't want to cause I think the subs in the corners are a better fit, more trunk space, but I wanna check it out. 

I did some calcs a few days ago, and I've got a lot of space behind the seat and only take up a fraction more than the IB subs did. So that's why I'm thinking I might be back there. I'll see.


----------



## JayinMI

I am planning on getting the same style of Varrstoens...but mine will probably be 18x9.5 +22 and 18x10.5 +22. 

I assume Navith is on 8th too? The guy seems to be everywhere. 

Post pics once they're on.

Jay


----------



## scooter99

Ok so here's the latest. I've removed the front damper and sent it to buddy club to be fixed. My baby is temporarily on the side of the house with the stock damper sitting in there for support. I didn't want it sitting on a jack stand for 2 weeks. Funny thought, now with the BC's on, when I jack up one side of the car, could be front or back, I'm literally jacking up the whole side of the car. Unlike when you have stock only whatever corner you're jacking goes up. I got a kick outta that. 

I'm now driving my mother in law's chevy cobalt until its done. WOW do I more appreciate my car. This thing is a rocky and rolly mess! I feel like it's gonna tip at any minute. I'll be happy to get back in mine. 

When that damper comes back I'll be taking it in to get the new wheels put on. I'm also going to drop it another inch and go get a proper alignment. I'll probably lower it before i take it in to get the wheels put on, that way I kill two birds with one stone. No reason to go back. 

So that's it for now.


----------



## scooter99

Here's a little something with pictures for you guys. Not audio related but I'll post it anyway. 

I recently bought some side marker lights for my civic. Well they don't come with the connecting harness so I decided to make one for myself. This is off the other website so the links are from there if you get confused on that. 


So I know there's already a DIY on the Sidemarker Harnesses but I ran across an issue when I got my sidemarkers in and decided I'd have to make my own solution. So that's what this is. 

In the previous sidemarker harness diy, linked above, the socket has two tab/quick disconnect tabs in there. When I got mine in, they have pins instead of the quick disconnect tabs. 










So here's what you're going to need in order to do this DIY:



















18ga red primary wire
18ga black primary wire
20-24ga molex female connectors
Molex connector crimper's (or you can solder them which is the preferred method)
3/8" heat shrink (clear pictured cause that's what I had)
3/32" heat shrink (red and yellow pictured cause that's what I had)
1/4" heat shrink (not pictured)
1/8" tech flex
Heat Gun of some kind
Loctite Epoxy (can be found in the paint dept at home depot)
Pam or some kind of non stick lube
Drill
Tape Measure

First thing you're gonna do is open the primary wires and measure out 6' of wire for both red and black.










Next attach the Molex connectors. This is where you'll either solder them to the wires or you can crimp them. Whichever you prefer. 










Cut a piece of the 3/32" heat shrink for each wire. The length is up to you, but should completely cover the connector and any exposed wires. Heat the heat shrink so it's positioned at the end of the connector.










Next take the drill and close it around the other end (Opposite of the connector end) of the wire so it's snug, but you don't need to smash it tight. Here, unless you have a 6' arm span, it would help to have another person hold one end. Another way to do it is to tape one end to a bench or put in a vice. 

Keeping the wire tight, little slack, start the drill and spin the wires until it becomes a nice tight spiral. Once the spiral gets to the end with the connectors stop and you're done. 

This is what you end up with.


----------



## scooter99

Now take your 1/4" heat shrink and put it around the two wires and heat to shrink it. The way I did this to figure out how far down to put it, was put the connectors on the pins, then slide the heat shrink down to where it was just below the top of the socket.




























Now cut your 3/8" heat shrink so it's about 1/4" above the edge of the socket. The heat shrink may fold in on the socket just a little bit. If it does, you can either use a smaller piece of heat shrink, keeping in mind that this is what helps hold the socket in place. Or you can slightly heat the heat shrink until it just barely starts to activate. Then slide it back in. 










Remove the heat shrink again, and spray some of the Pam or non stick spray into the socket. Re insert the heat shrink, and insert your connectors and wires in the pins.










For the next phase, i used a set of pliers cause that's what I had around me. You can use anything that will hold up the socket. Remove the bulb from the socket and put somewhere safe. With the socket in the upright position, open the loctite epoxy and follow the instructions. Then fill the socket inside the heat shrink and set aside.



















Follow the instructions on the Loctite for drying. Once dry, pull the connector (now a solid) out of the socket.


----------



## scooter99

Next put the techflex on and heat shrink the ends. Leave about 6 to 10 inches of wire exposed on the opposite end of the connector. 

On the connector end, slide the heat shrink on over the techflex and then down to the connector. Slide the connector back into the socket. Slide the techflex back over the connector and up to the end of the socket. 



















Then add the smaller piece of heat shrink on the other side. 










Now you're done. 



















You can refer to the Side Marker DIY for installation of the wires and side markers.

So there it is. I have to repeat this for the other side, then the markers will go in whenever I can pull my car off the side of the house where it resides. It's sitting on a stock damper for now while my other Buddy Club damper is being fixed. But with it on the side of the house, I can only get to one side of it. 

That's all for now, thanks for checking it out!


----------



## IBcivic

Hey that is some nice work there, man. :thumbsup:

Now stop milkin' the kitchen remodling job or else I'm calling your customer and letting her know what ur up to.... git back to workin on the civ!


----------



## scooter99

:laugh: Yea, I'm waiting on the damper to come back form Buddy Club. As soon as that happens, there's gonna be some changes really fast.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I just wanted to show everyone what I've been making. This/these are my install manuals. It's actually one big manual but it was so big, I had to break it into two separate binders. Left one (orange) is the first one, with the index, and the right one (white) is the second part. This is everything I've been planing on. Performance mod's, audio, upholstery, and more. 










Kinda crazy huh!


----------



## IBcivic

i call that thourough preparation, man!


----------



## jlh2003

awesome!


----------



## MTopper

thats really impressive. you did a lot of documentation. good job so far, cant wait to see the finished product


----------



## scooter99

Yea I have a feeling that the finished product is gonna be a ways away! But, a bit of progress, B.C. called me today and I paid for the damper fix. They shipped it out today! Woohoo!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I just got a package in:










It's pretty long, like the size of a damper! 


__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content










WOOOHOOOO BABY!!!










So I'm gonna put this bish on tonight. Tomorrow when I get a minute, I'll be getting the tires switched out to the new wheels. Oh major changes on the way!


----------



## scooter99

New shoes baby! 

Drop before adjustment









Drop after adjustment, a little much. I fixed this. 









Old wheels with the last adjustment.









New sexiness!!

























So that's how she sits! I love it, love the look! What do you guys think?

BTW, I've gotta get some 215's, I think I'm gonna go 215/35/18 falkens. That will help the clearance issues I have. I do get rub in the rear wheels on heavy bumps and hard or sharp turns. I have more fender that I can roll, and I have a couple spots that can be cut if I wanna go that far. I have 225/40/18's on there now, but I think that the 215/35/18's will look better and help those issues out. I wanna leave it the way it sits, cause I just love the way it looks. With the 35's I can go lower in front too. Right now I have no rub up front but if I drop any more, I will. 

First I gotta sell the old wheels. Those will pay for the new tires. Then I can sell the old tires and pay off those new ones. 

That's it for today. Next up will be the front end conversion and engine bay projects. That will be the start of the audio as well. New battery compartment, alternator, power, etc. Also going in, projectors, leds drl's, ccfl halos, retro fogs with projectors, HID's for both fogs and projectors, intake, TBS, and a slew of other things. 

Stay tuned things are gonna get wild here.


----------



## IBcivic

:thumbsup:


----------



## edouble101

Looks good


----------



## scooter99

Thanks! I've been sanding the kitchen all day, it looks like it's snowed in my kitchen. HA. 

I can't wait till next week. Kitchen will be done, and the building will continue. WOO!


----------



## jlh2003

NICE!


----------



## n_olympios

IMO much nicer than the previous wheels!


----------



## scooter99

Oh I love it! I've been staring at it during brakes from working on the kitchen, and the more I look at it the more I love it!


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> Oh I love it! I've been staring at it during brakes from working on the kitchen, and the more I look at it the more I love it!


quite the make over


----------



## scooter99

Stay tuned, there's more coming very soon!


----------



## scooter99

Well I've got a new issue. A while ago my daughter told me there were lines on the video monitor in the headrest. I thought it was just a signal cause I had issues with the signal a while back. I fixed that. Now there are lines across the screen. On off, doesn't matter. I've flip flopped the two monitors thinking it might be something in the signal and it's not. Now I'm not sure what to do. Pioneer doesn't make a monitor anymore, THAT'S CRAP! And I can't seem to find one anywhere. So I can just replace it. I've emailed Pioneer but I'm sure that since it's discontinued they're gonna say it's not fixable or something. 

I'm wondering if I can just get another LCD screen and swap out the screen. I'd hate to open it up and have Pioneer say "we can fix it just send it in" then find out I've opened it and say no. 

Anyone have any suggestions. Here's a pic of what it looks like. I know it's not a great one, but look in the middle of the screen, you can see the line. 










I just looked online here and as you can see it's 194.00 for the LCD screen. I'm wondering if I got a regular 7" screen if I could swap it out. Does anyone have any insight on this or any suggestions.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so it's been a few days since I've said or done anything on here. I got the email back from Pioneer. There's an authorized dealer up the street from me. I have to take it there to have them fix it. Or send it in, whatever. But I'm gonna do that and let them fix it. Although I'm sure it's gonna cost me big. 

The latest equipment change I've decided to go with, is I'm getting rid of the Hertz High Energy HL70 mid ranges. I'm going to be replacing them with the Hertz Mille ML700 Mid Ranges. These are also 3". Now the whole front stage will be Mille. Mille ML1600 mid bass x 2, Mille ML700 mid ranges, and Mille ML280s tweeters. 

I'm almost done with my kitchen. So in the next couple of weeks be looking out for some updates and pics, yes I know you may have to sit down for the shock to not shut your system down, but I am going to be getting things rolling. 

I have to be honest with you guys though, the audio is gonna be a little bit still. I'm going with some of the performance mods on my ride first because they have to go in first before i can get the audio done. It's all part of my "install plan" and it will all mesh and go together well. 

Stay tuned.


----------



## IBcivic

lookin fwd to it ,man!


----------



## scooter99

So here's the latest going on. 

First I sold my sunroof visor. I think I was just getting tired of the look. It looks cleaner without it, and I'm happier with it gone. 

Next I put the old ebay window visors back on. However, they're pretty scratched up and I'll be looking for replacements very soon. Here's the way the car sits now. 



















This is the best one.









I have sitting here next to me, at work, a tube with the carbon fiber vinyl that's going to go on the Si trunk with the wing. That will be happening soon.

The other issue going on right now is the rear is probably too low at the moment. I'm rubbing quite a bit with anything in the trunk, and only a little with my girls back there, which I have at least once a day. So I'm either going to have to bit the bullet and get some new rubber, raise her up about a half inch, or roll the fenders and alter the rest some how. I'm going to look into that right away. My tires are already showing some rub wear. Can't have that. 

I'll be getting some more updates going soon. I'm about 95% done with my kitchen now, and then I'll be getting some work done on the ride! Stay tuned!


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> I'm about 95% done with my kitchen now


You've got a real attitude problem, McFly. You're a slacker






























































































































































































































J/K those pics of the work you did to your kitchen are impressive


----------



## scooter99

Yea well just like him, it's the woman holding me back! What can I say!:gorgeous:


----------



## IBcivic

so true


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I'm taking my ride over to the same place I got my fenders rolled the first time. I actually went over there today, and they've set up an appointment for monday with me to fix my rubbing issues on the rear wheels. And for practically nothing too! Woohoo! 

I'm finishing the kitchen checklist this weekend. Then I'll be starting "the build!"


----------



## jlh2003

woohoo! ready to see progress


----------



## scooter99

So here's the latest. I just got back from Driven Authority here in Sacramento. I had them roll my fenders a long time ago and since lowering my ride some more etc I had some rubbing issues again. So I just left there and they've eliminated about 98% of the rubs. I get some over harder bumps and a hard turn but it's about 100x's better than it was this morning! I'm soo happy right now! 

I also upped the stiffness level in front to match the rear at setting #12, and man it rides soooo much nicer right now. I have no creaks, rattles, vibrations, or any other noises that I had before. I'm in love all over again with my ride! 

The next step is going to be to get some smaller rubber on the wheels. I've got 225/40/18's on now, and I'm either gonna go to 215/40/18's or 215/35/18's. That should take care of the other 2%! 

My kitchen is 100% done now, so I'm going to be starting some mods this week. I should have some progress pictures this weekend or beginning of next week. Stay tuned, it's about to get exciting!


----------



## jlh2003

finally!


----------



## scooter99

Yes, that's what I'm saying. This guy is slackin big time. What's with the kitchen remodel excuse. That's all a load of BS. What's the deal, come on!! LMAO!! 

It is about time though. I'm itching to get this stuff going!


----------



## jlh2003

dont feel bad its killing me to finish mine up too

I finally made a to-do list today and I thin its safe to say i might be done by a big local show April 30th


----------



## scooter99

I'm hoping to be done by April 30th............of next year! I think this is gonna be a long long process! 

I saw your list. It's so much easier when you plan it out. I've found that out for sure!


----------



## jlh2003

I had a huge head start over you..lol..most all of my other mods are already done


----------



## MTopper

i'm not an import kind of guy but all 3 Hondas on here are great looking cars and have awesome owners. you guys really know your stuff. keep it going


----------



## scooter99

Thanks. There are a lot more than 3 on here though. I appreciate you checking in though.


----------



## MTopper

i was strictly talking the honda civic guys. you are the 3 i see constantly going at it. whether it be a small update of you got some side markers, new wheels, or huge like you got all your suspension work along with the rims mounted. I see the work being done and understand its no easy (nor cheap) task. i congratulate it all


----------



## jlh2003

thanks! it definitely isn't cheap nor for the undedicated...

hard work pays off by comments like yours and being commended by people like Steve Meade and others at events or car shows!


----------



## scooter99

Well thank you very much for noticing! I appreciate you being here and checking it out. Thank you!


----------



## scooter99

I've been trying to hook up with SM over at his shop. He wanted to check out my ride at one point, but we never were able to. I'd love to pick his brain! I know he's around town here somewhere. I just never found out.


----------



## jlh2003

I've only been to Cali a few times ....but he gave me props on his FB & on my build thread on his forum...


----------



## scooter99

He's a pretty cool guy


----------



## scooter99

So I just got these today! 









All the bushings! Now I'm waiting for the Short Shifter adaptor and I ordered the Hybrid Racing Shifter Ball as well. 

I'm going to be starting some projects this weekend. My plan is to do the Sidemarkers, Get the headlight retros going, and maybe the fogs. I'll post up pics when I have something to post.


----------



## jlh2003

I'm jealous my sub and stuff from college hills is coming today but fedex/ups are slow


----------



## scooter99

Yes very! Actually I just got the tracking number for the shift knob yesterday! It's gonna come in on March 7th! WTF!! That's like forever away! Why so long!!! DAMN IT!! Well I still have the skunk 2 knob to rock till then. Hopefully the SS Adapter will be here today or tomorrow. By the weekend hopefully.


----------



## jlh2003

yea i'm waiting for the sub and liner's today....sundown and DC apparel sometime in the next week....and stickers from grafixpressions

My buddy started my tweeter pods for me yesterday since he is good with fiberglass and i have no experience with it...

box and amp rack are getting started tomorrow then i'm out of town this weekend so maybe he will be nice and do a little bit so it can get done before next weekend


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> So I just got these today!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> All the bushings! Now I'm waiting for the Short Shifter adaptor and I ordered the Hybrid Racing Shifter Ball as well.
> 
> I'm going to be starting some projects this weekend. My plan is to do the Sidemarkers, Get the headlight retros going, and maybe the fogs. I'll post up pics when I have something to post.


what is the advantage of these bushings over the ones you've got?


----------



## scooter99

IT'S NOT CORSPORT SHAT!!! I want it off my car! Ever since the buddy club incident with them, i want nothing to do with them or their products! F-ERS!! So I went with these. I am getting reviews though on the 8th saying these are much stiffer an nicer than the others though. So we'll see when I get them in. Only thing I'd like different is the stickers to be black not white!


----------



## Yuck.

scooter99 said:


> Yes very! Actually I just got the tracking number for the shift knob yesterday! It's gonna come in on March 7th! WTF!! That's like forever away! Why so long!!! DAMN IT!! Well I still have the skunk 2 knob to rock till then. Hopefully the SS Adapter will be here today or tomorrow. By the weekend hopefully.


Selling the S2 knob? Civic pride up in here, feelin' it!

My system is in 'stage 1' form
-Pioneer 4300 HU
-Polk DB 5.25" comps running active off a JL 450/4v2
-2 JBL eL cheepo 10" SVC 4 ohm jawns, forget the name, but they're in a dual chamber sealed box with 2.5 cubes each, so they play low and tight.
-JBL BPX500.1 on the sub stage, but I want to put my other 450/4 on the substage cause I miss class A/B power on my substage  May sell it for a 300/2.

Everything (besides the amp) is lights out hoody hood hood, but sonically it works, and the polks are nice little speakers for about a bill. 

I got these Hybrid L3's, L6's, and clarus tweets, as well as some A pod pillars, but I may stick with 2-way and the big box, or L3's and L1V2's in the pillars, and subs in the doors, but I like some amountof output. I'm gonna be combing thru this thread of yours here for ideas....


----------



## scooter99

I have a local guy who wants all the bushings and shifter and the knob, but if he doesn't buy it, Ill hit you up. 

I'll halfta go check our your thread. Sounds like you've got some good gear there.


----------



## scooter99

I guess you don't have a thread. You have an Fa5. So you have that little window. I would highly suggest using that to your advantage. I'm going to put the 3" mid range and the tweeter in that window, vented into the dash. There's lots of room up there. The stock tweeter location is going to give you lots of reflection and really in the long run not sound as good, which is why everyone else is going to a different location. The only issue you're gonna have with that, is the driver side. Your gauge cluster is something you're gonna have to work around or you'll get reflection from that as well. 

Just my little input. Lots of good ideas on here to work with.


----------



## scooter99

Just got her washed, waxed, and clay barred today! She's purrdy again! 










So here's my little altered list of things to get done this weekend. 

Trunk/wing - De badged and CF Vinyl Wrapped
Front Grille - CF Vinyl Wrapped or painted
Lower Grille - CF Vinyl wrapped or painted
Shifter Cable Bushings 
Shifter base bushings
Might build a temporary sub box and get those and an amp in too! Tired of no bass! 

Isn't what I wanted to get done this weekend but I'll take the time as I can get it, and I think the retros and fogs will take too long to get done. Progress is progress!

Reason I'm not gonna have the time I thought I was gonna have is cause we've decided to hit up the Bay Area tomorrow (saturday) for a family day. Then sunday I'll have all to myself, my garage, and my car. So The tretros are just not going to get done this week. But I should be able to get the rest of this stuff done. 

I'm eying an Si Axle Back too for nothing basically, until I get the cash for the Vibrant Catback, so if I get it that'll get added to the list too. 

I'll post up when I get a chance.


----------



## IBcivic

i'd settle on the si cat back....you will tire of the exhaust drone really quickly, otherwise....

wait a minute... nevermind, i just remembered you're building somethin' loud


----------



## scooter99

What do you mean building something loud? You mean the audio?


----------



## scooter99

scooter99 said:


> So here's my little altered list of things to get done this weekend.
> 
> Trunk/wing - De badged and CF Vinyl Wrapped
> Front Grille - CF Vinyl Wrapped or painted
> Lower Grille - CF Vinyl wrapped or painted
> Shifter Cable Bushings
> Shifter base bushings
> Might build a temporary sub box and get those and an amp in too! Tired of no bass!


Almost forgot: Send Martin my left over CF Vinyl


----------



## trojan fan

Last time I checked, this was a car AUDIO forum, I'am sure your mods would be more appreciated on a civic forum


----------



## scooter99

They're on my civic forum. Thanks though for informing me. This is an audio site, and as well some people here, you'll see by checking around, have more than audio on their builds. I'll get to the audio soon enough and when I do I'm sure more people will check in. This is a very slow process and has taken way more time then I suspected getting it off the ground. So in the meantime, while I have some stuff going on, people who know me, appreciate seeing what's going on with me. That's why I post it all on here. 

But, again, thanks for letting me know. If you like, you're welcome to check out my Civic Forum Build as well. But you'll find if you do read it, it's pretty much the same as what's going on here. Cause that's a "civic" forum not an "audio" forum. But because I'm working on a civic, other people there like to see all of it, for the same reason here, I'm not the only civic owner in here. 

Ok with that being that, I'm sure I'm going to get flamed for this by all you guys, but I'm reverting some of the plans back to the original I think. Here's my thoughts right now. This would refer to the heading of "Here we go again". This is where you all say that and then insert other comments here......................

I might be changing the design again for the audio. Just in the trunk. The inside stays the same. 

Ok follow along with me here. 

Right now, starting at the rear seat, the barrier strips and components are going on a wall panel so when you pull the rear seat back down, all the wiring is right there and easily accessible. That stays the same. Still gonna do a panel for that, and then have a blow through as well. Right now the plan is to cut out the seat, where the center arm rest is now, and have it as a pass through to the trunk so air and sound travel through there. 

Behind that panel, I was going to do a wall as a power panel. I think I'm going to move that. 

In the rear corners of the trunk, i was going to do two fiberglass boxes for each 12" sub. I think I'm moving those too. 

Under the rear deck, the original plan was to build a slide out amp rack which will house the Audison LRx 4.1K 4 channel amp for the mid range and tweeters, and the LRx 2.4 2 channel amp for the rear fill. That is still the plan and should not change. 

On the floor the original plan is to do a raised false floor amp rack which will house the two Audison LRx 1.1k mono amps (one per sub) and the Audison LRx 2.9 2 channel amp which will run the dual mid bass in each door. That will not change. 

Here are the changes I have in mind:

I'm now thinking I'm going to build, in place of the rear power wall, a box for the two Hertz HX300D subs. In the middle of the box, I'm going to build in a hole to match the pass through plan for the arm rest. So there will be a pass through all the way to the trunk from the back seat. This will be covered with grill cloth so you can't see through it. On the box I'm thinking I may build a raised panel in front of this port that I can put the Hertz Logo on and back light it with LED's. Not sure if that will materialize or not, but I like the way it looks in my head. 

Next up is the Power. Right now I have holes in the driver side trunk cubby that allow my 1/0 ga power and ground wire to pas through. I'm going to utilize these holes and match them on the other side. I'll then fiberglass an enclosure to house the Stinger SPP1200 batteries (one on each side) and as well the Audison Connection Distribution Blocks, and Fuse Holders. Then I'll make a cover that goes over it all the way back to the box that can be removed for adjustments to the damper settings which reside in the trunk. 

The Trunk lid, which I forgot to mention above, will stay the same. It will house the Audison Bit One Processor, an Audison Logo, and a Hertz Logo flanking the processor all back lit with LEDs. 

So the only things really changing are the subs and power positions. If I could figure out a way, and I'm still working on this, to get the distribution blocks and fuse holders on the back wall under the trunk opening, I may do that. Right now I have to look at that and see if it's do able or not with the raised floor. I don't think I'll have the depth after the floor is raised. I'll have to see what I can do about that. 

SO that's it. I'd love to hear what you guys think! I'm sure I'll get sighs and other things as well as comments since I seem to keep changing it all. But the bottom line is I'm trying to fit the amount of equipment that would go in an suv into the trunk of a civic. I want to make sure it's all gonna flow when I do it. So that's why I'm keep changing it. 

That's it for now.


----------



## jlh2003

trojan fan said:


> Last time I checked, this was a car AUDIO forum, I'am sure your mods would be more appreciated on a civic forum


pointless ....

if you don't care to see all the hard work audio or not he is putting into his car then move on... thanks for your unwanted and useless input!

dont flame the guy for being passionate and hard working...


----------



## IBcivic

jlh2003 said:


> pointless ....
> 
> if you don't care to see all the hard work audio or not he is putting into his car then move on... thanks for your unwanted and useless input!
> 
> dont flame the guy for being passionate and hard working...


x 3


Here, have a few, it's on the house


----------



## scooter99

Thanks guys!


----------



## djjonnyb

trojan fan said:


> Last time I checked, this was a car AUDIO forum, I'am sure your mods would be more appreciated on a civic forum


I would absolutely LOVE and PAY to see you say that to him in front of his face.

...but before you do, lemme take a good picture of your face because it won't look the same, ...not even close.


----------



## IBcivic

Scooter is a big teddy bear


----------



## MTopper

i love seeing both aspects of a build. i understand this is DIY Mobile Audio... but most audio fans also love a little pep in their car. Not to mention, you walk into a custom shop anywhere and they do audio, video, and car modifications. So, carbon fiber, body kits, wheels, headrest monitors, and of course the amps/speakers/subs/processor/HU all wrap up into one giant aspect. 

keep up the great work and post everything you're doing scooter. love to see what happens next. (even though it isn't american )


----------



## scooter99

I'd type thank you in Japanese but I'm American so I don't know how. Not to push the the whole country/race thing, cause that just ain't my style! 

I appreciate all the support. I'll get some new pics up this week for sure.


----------



## scooter99

Wow what a long ars day! I got the entire garage cleaned up. Did a few things for the ride, but nothing on. 

I also put a couple of tarps up on the side of the house where I park my baby. I had one up there, but it was over a year old and time to be replaced. So I got a 2 pack of 16 x 12 tarps from costco and put them up. NOw I have all kinds of dry space on the side of the house.

I pulled out the old IB wall for the 15's, and am designing a box with amp rack to go back there, temporarily till my build gets to the trunk. 

I also pulled out the TW Si trunk with wing from the side of the house and took it apart. I completely dismantled it and after doing all that I can say it's going to be 100x's easier to wrap it than if I hadn't. My wife is going to help me do it for an extra set of hands!  I said the same thing, wow! 

So along with dismantling the trunk, I took the taillight out of the wing and tinted that bish! It looks HAAAWWWTTT now! One project done! :laugh:

The next thing I did was dismantle the grille that I got this weekend. I'm going to keep the stellar paint job on the bottom part of it, it really does look awesome, the guy who had it before me did a great job painting it Matte Black! However the top of it being glossy, is just not going to look good with everything else being matte black. SO I'm gonna wrap the top of it with the same CF vinyl. 

This brings me to my first dilemma. I need some opinions from anyone but specifically the Civic guys. 

OPTION 1: I was going to take the OEM "H" and tint it like everything else. It would then look like smoked chrome. I ran out of tint after the taillight FTMFL, but I'll get some more if I go this route. 

OPTION 2: Prime it and paint it matte black and have be black like everything else. 

OPTION 3: Spend the money on the JDM red "H" and put that on. I'm not so hot on the Red but I can see that it would improve the looks if I went that route. 

The other more difficult thing to do would be to wrap it also in CF Vinyl. Not sure I want to do that. 

My personal favorite is to tint it really dark. 

I completely de-badged the trunk too.

I'm also thinking about, only if I go with it up front, getting the JDM red H for the rear too. I honestly think that it will take away from the looks of the GG and Matte Black two tone. I'm just curious what you guys think. 

So there you go. It's been a very productive day and yet didn't get a whole lot done to show for it. But I'm happy and we'll see if I can get back out there after the girls go to bed and get a couple things wrapped. 

What do you guys think?

I'll work on getting some pictures up of what I did this week, but probably won't be much to show until some stuff gets on the ride. Lot of changes when they go on, looks wise, but right now it's just pictures of car parts.


----------



## IBcivic

i vote tint the "H"


----------



## MTopper

Option 1


----------



## YouSirName

Maybe this is a little off topic but I was wondering how you got your IB wall to stand on its on? That is, I noticed that the baffle where the speakers are mounted are leaning against the false floor in the trunk so I am assuming that that is what is holding it up right? 

Just wondering because I have the same car and have an IB setup as well but mine is a bit different and seems to take up more space than yours. Even then I was only able to fit a pair of 10" AE IB10.4's in there. However mine are mounted facing the front of the car and not the back. My "wall" (dont really like calling it that since its not really a wall) doubles as an amplifier mount as well but I find that it takes up too much of my trunk space. Yours has more stuff in it (and better as well) and takes up less space so I was wondering how you where able to do that?

I really like the way the IB setup sounds but I don't like the fact that its taking up so much of my trunk space. I missed most of this thread so if you wouldn't mind what pages should I look at to get a better idea of your setup. Any help would be appreciated. By the way great job on your install.


----------



## scooter99

YouSirName said:


> Maybe this is a little off topic but I was wondering how you got your IB wall to stand on its on? That is, I noticed that the baffle where the speakers are mounted are leaning against the false floor in the trunk so I am assuming that that is what is holding it up right?
> 
> Just wondering because I have the same car and have an IB setup as well but mine is a bit different and seems to take up more space than yours. Even then I was only able to fit a pair of 10" AE IB10.4's in there. However mine are mounted facing the front of the car and not the back. My "wall" (dont really like calling it that since its not really a wall) doubles as an amplifier mount as well but I find that it takes up too much of my trunk space. Yours has more stuff in it (and better as well) and takes up less space so I was wondering how you where able to do that?
> 
> I really like the way the IB setup sounds but I don't like the fact that its taking up so much of my trunk space. I missed most of this thread so if you wouldn't mind what pages should I look at to get a better idea of your setup. Any help would be appreciated. By the way great job on your install.


When I get some time, not tonight, I'll go back and see where that starts. Basically though, I put a panel on the inside of the cabin behind the rear seat. Then put some threaded inserts in that. When I built the wall I wanted it as slim as possible cause I have kids and at that time I HAD to conserve space. So I built it about an inch or so bigger than the depth of the subs (AE IB15's). I used L brackets and attached it to the inner panel using screws to the threaded inserts. Then foamed around it. 

That's the option I'm leaning toward too, option 1. I just think it'll look sick dark tinted.


----------



## scooter99

So I made a discovery this morning on the way to work. No kids today cause they have a "professional development day" off. WTF is that! Never mind, doesn't matter. 

So I took the IB wall out last night, as I said above. What I wasn't thinking about was how heavy it was. I rode to work this morning not even thinking, but I didn't rub out of the drive way, didn't rub into my work parking lot, and almost didn't rub at all on the roads on the way to work. I'm sure that will change when I get my girls in the back, but I was very happy about that. Cause it means that I don't have to go back up very much. I'm betting a half inch will do it. 

I did get my "temporary box" design done. I've been working on it for about 3 days actually. I have to build the back at an angle so it will sit flat against the back wall. I didn't want to waste space with a square box. I SUCK AT ANGLES by the way. I never got far enough in math to take geometry or anything like that and sucked at Algebra. So I have to do everything the hard way. BUt I got it. I got a design with one sub, for now, and then one amp in the same box with the amp flush mounted next to the sub. My air space is within .06 cu ft. Is that close enough do you think? 

I have to be at a .98 cu ft of air space. I've got it at 1.04 cu ft now, that includes the displacement. So I'm thinking that if i put foam around the inside of the box, that should take care of it. What does everyone else think? 

The way it works out is if I put a 1/2" piece of ply/mdf on the sub baffle then it will take up that extra .06, or there abouts, but that would make 3 baffles on the face. That's a lot I think for a 12" sub. so I think if I put the 1/4" foam on all three sides around it, that should take care of it for sure. 

That's where I'm at today. I'm going to start making this in the next couple of days. My week days are crap for spare time, but I may be able to squeeze something in. I don't think I'm even going to wrap it. I don't have any cloth or anything, but we'll see.


----------



## scooter99

Damn Martin, you change your avatar like you change your panties! 

Ok got these today!

Hybrid Racing Shifter Knob - limited edition black nickel 










TWM Performance Short Shifter - FTMFW!

This is a seriously complete package. Paid the extra 10.00 for the hat to be put on. But they included instructions, allen wrench, loc tite, and a sticker. It's black which is sick! Very happy with this package. 










So I'll be doing this sometime this week as well.


----------



## scooter99

Ok, big time picture posting tomorrow/today! Big night for me! Good and not so great! I'll post up tomorrow!


----------



## IBcivic

gorgeous knob


----------



## jlh2003

amitaF said:


> gorgeous knob


X2


----------



## jackp311

Scrolling through first post... Here's the list of what is in the car now. Wow! When you say list, you mean list!


----------



## scooter99

Yes sir! I'm at work now and things have not gone very well today. I've got pictures uploaded, I just need to finish this project I'm working on before i can post! I'll be working on it soon! 

It's been a really crappy day!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so here is some audio related stuff for those of you out there that feel it necessary for me to do "only audio" on here. Not gonna happen but hey, I'll keep you coming back with little bits and pieces here and there. Here's the first bit and piece.

I decided to get the IB wall out of the trunk and start designing a quick but subtle and nice sub box with an amp rack. Here's the pictures of the removal. Let me tell you, if you've never done this before, IT'S A BISH!! It took me forever and some coaxing to get this bad boy outta here with all the foam around it etc. I even drew blood. This system is just not gonna go down without a fight. But I will keep fighting till I get what I want! 

Project, and weapon of choice - Ridgid 14v angle impact driver. Basically I used this cause there wasn't enough room for the other 12v driver. But whatever! LMAO!!









Let the madness begin! 









After litterally an hour of fighting, here it is on the ground with me victorious! THAT'S RIGHT BISH!! WHO'S YOUR DADDY!!!









The vacancy!


















And this is what's going to go in. 









I have the box laid out on paper. The sub will go on the passenger side, and the amp on the driver side of the box. Reason being is cause the power wire is already going through the diver side of the trunk. I don't want to risk the power and the rca's crossing paths. The RCA's enter the trunk on the passenger side. No big! 

So that's the audio portion of the show! On to the next section.

For those of you who are not interested in "non audio" portions of this build, feel free to turn the channel, don't pay attention, go somewhere else, I really don't care. Cause that's what this is going to be. A LOT OF IT!


----------



## scooter99

Next project I embarked on was the front grill! I decided to go away from the R18 front chrome grill and go with the Si grill. I picked one up off a friend here from Sac 8th, thanks Bevis! 

This is a salvaged picture, from another one. I just cropped it. 









So the first thing I did was take it apart so that I could carbon fiber vinyl it. I had pictures of this from the begining, but when I went to upload them something happened and now they're out in cyberspace. I don't know. It's not that difficult to do. Turn it over and you'll see 4 little screws on the back side. One on each end, and two in the middlish (well maybe like a third the way in.) You'll see em.

Then you'll see the tabs on the back that will allow you to separate the bottom piece from the top piece. Do that. On the top piece will still be the "H" emblem. There is one screw on that, then tabs on the 4 sides. Pop that out. Now you should have three pieces, top, bottom, and middle (H). Again I had pics but they're gone. 

So to start I took the top piece and cut out a strip of cf vinyl that would more than cover it. 









Then started to cover it. Lots of patience and a heat gun do wonders. This is not a spur of the moment project. TAKE YOUR TIME WHEN YOU DO IT! Here's the end result. 



















So I put the H back up against it and decided I just didn't like it. Too bright! So I decided to tint it. 

So I started spraying, in different intervals!

Stage 1









Stage 2 









Stage 3









I clear coated it but a picture was useless since it looks the same as the last. Now I admit, it's a little darker than I wanted. But it's livable! 

Next I installed it in the grill!









Time for the SEXY!

To take off the old ex grill you need to take off the top plastic piece, don't know the name sorry. To do this, there are 4 plastic pins. One on each fender above the headlight housing and then two about middle third of the plastic piece above the bumper. 










The two above the headlights, just pop out. Flat blade screwdriver will do the trick for these. The two in the middle, you have to lift up the middle, and then the whole thing comes out from the base. Screwdriver will help you here too. Should be able to remove them with your fingers though.


----------



## scooter99

Next you'll see two allen head bolts. Using an allen wrench, remove these two bolts.










Next you'll use an 8mm socket and loosen the nuts behind the grill. You'll find these if you pull the top of the grill back just a bit and look in behind it.










This is looking in from the top. There are, again two in the middle and two on the outside. 









The outside one was kinda blurry so I didn't post it. But it's there. 
Now that you've taken those out, you should be able to pull the grill off. There are tabs but if you pull starting at one end, it should pop off. I had no troubles. 

GONE! 









Old and new









Now put in the new sexy just like you took the old one out! 









Mmmm purdy! Before and After
















Now put the plastic cover back on the same way you took it off. Put the pins back in and your done! 

Next project.


----------



## scooter99

Next up is the trunk project. I'll give my review after I'm done with the posting of pics. 

First up. Get yourself an Si trunk with the wing! This one is for a sedan and is white, obviously! 



















First thing I did was take the wing off. There are a couple of bolts on the outside ends of the trunk on the inside. These are 10mm, and you'll use a 10mm socket. 










There are two more, same size, in the middle portion of the trunk. 










Now you have to deal with the pins. You'll have to use a small screwdriver and push in each tab on each pin and at the same time pull a little from the other side and it will come loose. It's easier than it sounds.

See here, easy!









Now I figured that while I was taking the time to do all this stuff on the trunk, I would take the time to do a little side project with the tail light. That way it could dry while I'm doing the rest of it. Here's that project.

The taillight on the wing. Remove the two screws on the light. 









Pull it out and the light wires. 









the plug just comes through the hole. 


















Get a piece of cardboard or something to cover whatever surface you're working on. Or if you don't care about what you're working on, F-IT!


----------



## scooter99

Start spraying baby!
This is the first coat.









Second coat.









Third coat.









Clear coat.


















Set it aside and get back to the other projects.

Next I de-badged the trunk. Heat gun, sting, and some patience is really all you need here. Some gloves work too, cause it can get hot on the trunk. 




























I didn't have to worry about the "H" cause this trunk didn't have one. But if you do this you'll have to do the normal de-badging like I just talked about, but in the middle there are two tabs. You can access these inside the trunk lid. 

Clean off the areas. 

Next piece I pulled off was the trim above the license plate. There's only one bolt on here, again 10 mm. Remove that and then play with the tabs and it'll pop out. 



















Set it aside for later. 

Clean all the pieces with some kind of cleaner so there is no dust on it.


----------



## scooter99

Here's your blank slate to work with! Now the fun begins! 










I laid out the cf vinyl the night before so the roll would lay out of it. I wanted a flat piece to work with. I was already dreading the project and the difficulties of it, I didn't want to have to fight rolls too. 










Next I cut the piece bigger than the size of the trunk. That way I didn't have to fight the whole sheet when I only need part of it. 










tools









This is what it looked like after the top half. I ended up cutting it here, cause the trim piece will cover it, and it was a pain to get it to mold correctly. So I decided to make it easier on myself. 

I set the other piece aside. 




























Then I wrapped the bottom. 



















Next it was time to wrap the trim piece.


----------



## scooter99

All wrapped.










The two pieces side by side.










Put together.




























I didn't have enough to do the wing. So I decided to look and see what it would look like just with it on top. 



















So that's about it. So here's my review.

I'm not happy at all with the way the trunk turned out. I did it all last night when I didn't have great light. This morning I looked at it when I opened the garage to leave, and it's a MAJOR MAJOR FAIL! There are air bubbles all over the place and it's just not looking good. So I'm going to chalk it up to a first try, I know how to do it now, and when I get a few bucks in, I'll get some more and do it again.


----------



## scooter99

The other project I did today was my shortshifter and base bushings. I was going to do my shifter cable bushings but there were major problems with those as well and now they're not going to work. I'm in touch with Hybrid Racing, the company I bought them from, and am waiting to hear back from them. In the mean time, I'll show you the other stuff. 

This is all the materials that were going in today.













































Here they are in, except the cable bushings. 

Picture of the previous short shifter and base bushings (chrome piece on the bottom is the short shifter, and the blue bolts have the base bushings under them. They were aluminum.) 









Side by side. Big difference.


















Here's the base with the new bushings and the new short shifter.









Not a great picture but it's orange.


----------



## scooter99

The Shift knob's. Old Skunk 2 and the new Hybrid Racing Black Nickel.


















SEXINESS! Mmmmmmmm HAWT!! 


















So here are my impressions of this. I think it shifts outstanding! The only complaint I have, is that now my shifter seems to tall. I think it needs to drop about 2". I'm gonna have to decide if I wanna fork out the money for a new shifter base with a shorter stick, or if I wanna just cut this one down and re-thread it. 

So that's about all I got. I guess that's good on the pictures huh? Hopefully that makes up for a while of "gonna get started soon". 

I'll be starting the "temporary box" in a couple of days. I'll update more then. 

Thanks for checking in.


----------



## jlh2003

looks awesome bro...

dont feel bad at all about the trunk...when I did my interior pieces i used a bunch of vinyl...lol

I think I may get my roof, trunk and mirrors done this week....I was already planning to do the lip of my rims...hmmmmm...we shall see


----------



## sinister-kustoms

Looks great man. Is that the 3M Di-Noc stuff? How did you find it on the more complex curves? I just got a bunch to do some trims on our Leggy., hopefully will makwe a starrt this coming weekend.


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## scooter99

Yea, like everything else, it's a learning process. I'll take more time next time and do a better job. Partly cause I know better what I'm doing. Thanks! Still wanna see the cf vinyl wheels of yours! mmmmmmm!


----------



## scooter99

sinister-kustoms said:


> Looks great man. Is that the 3M Di-Noc stuff? How did you find it on the more complex curves? I just got a bunch to do some trims on our Leggy., hopefully will makwe a starrt this coming weekend.


It's the 3m Scotchcal stuff. It was alright. I think if you just take your time, apply heat in places it'll go well for you.


----------



## scooter99

WOW! So I just got off the phone with Tim at Hybrid Racing. I'm floored. I'm the one who F-ed up the little bushing, but he said he sent me out the wrong set, so he's just replacing them. He's sending them to me today, should have them by monday! Unreal! He also is getting some black hybrid racing logo's in, it just says Hybrid racing, but I wanted to put those on the bottom below the doors, up front, but the ones he sent me were white. SO he's gonna send me the black ones when he gets them in. I'm so excited now! :dancing::woowoo:

Also I went and looked at 3M's website at their carbon fiber vinyl specs etc. It says that the vinyl should be put on when it's between 60-72 degrees. I know for a fact that it wasn't that warm in my garage last night. I'm guessing it was more like 47 -50 degrees. So my guess is that's part of the problem. I'm going to order some more when I get some cash, and by then it'll be middle spring to early summer, and I'll do it then. It'll be warmer. I'll take more time too. Maybe I'll do the trunk in the living room, if my wife will let me. 

The more I look at the trunk, the less happy I am with it. The air bubbles are bad, but the worst part of it, is where the license plate cut out is, where it drops in. All around that edge now is one big long bubble. So I'm for sure gonna take that stuff off and start over again. 

I'm going to be posting stuff for sale soon. Need to get these credit cards paid off before I can buy anything else. 

More soon! Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## IBcivic

man..that is great customer support!
applying large size decals is an art, so do not despair if you "almost" got it .

i cannot wait to try that stuff out, before i commit to doing my hood


----------



## Chayse

I'll tell you, I like to mod my car too, so the go fast mods are still relevant in your build log. Looks good. My wife had an '06 Civic sedan when they first came out. It was that dark gray as well.


----------



## scooter99

Thanks. Martin, I haven't had a chance to get that cf v out to you yet. Been hella busy here at work. 

However, I did get the ok from my lovely wife to start the box tonight. I'm gonna take advantage of the "Ok" and hopefully get most if not all of it done tonight. But I'm gonna be limited by time. DAMN JOB GETTING IN THE WAY!! LMAO!! 

I'll update when I can, should be tomorrow.


----------



## scooter99

Little teaser pic.............










Now before you guys flame me for using plywood, don't forget this is just a temporary box! Not the real thing, just something for some bass while I work on the rest. I'm gonna put some foam inside the box too. 

I ran outta time tonight. I got all this done in about an hour and a half. If I'd have had another hour, I'd have finished for sure. I think I am going to go ahead and cover it. That way when I'm done with it I can sell it. Some guys here local are interested in boxes all the time. That will finish it off for sure. 

Ok I'll get pics up in the next day or two when I get it finished! Until then, goodnight!


----------



## MTopper

plywood yes, temporary bass.... i'm all for it. looks good for a "temp" box anyways.

local people are all too lazy to build they're own box and too cheap to buy from a shop which i understand. box building isn't hard, its just boring.


----------



## scooter99

Yea sometimes. But also some don't know how to do it, so if I can, not necessarily take advantage of it, but take advantage of it then it benefits all of us here. 

I'm gonna finish it up tonight and then I'll post up the finished pics tomorrow. Probably won't be able to get it playing until Saturday, but maybe my time will be with me tonight. We'll have to wait and see.


----------



## IBcivic

scootah 'as gat da skillz!


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## scooter99

Thanks man! Hey I like that Avatar! Pretty snazzy man!


----------



## IBcivic

i wish i had half your carpentry skills


----------



## scooter99

To that my friend, I say, I wish I had a fraction of your welding skillz!


----------



## scooter99

Ok folks here it is. The "temporary box / amp rack" is done and ready to install. That's not probably gonna happen until this weekend sometime. But It's done, I'm happy with it for he most part, considering it's "temporary". The other reason I did this was to check some things out. Space issues, fitment issues, and other plans. 

Now let me share with you that these are not the best pictures. I think it's time to either take a photography class, or buy a new camera that's easier to use. I don't know. But you've been warned, and now onto the build and pics.

I used plywood for this cause, well again, it's temporary. I used 5/8" ply. It's very sturdy, and very ridgid.

This was all done on the side of my house, of the garage, where I normally park my lovely ride! So it's a little cramped for pictures, as you can see. 









Bottom and back wall built at an angle so it will sit flush with the back seat wall. Didn't want any wasted space in the trunk. Remember I'm testing things here as well as just getting some bass in the trunk. 









Top added


















As you can see from the above picture, the back is the only thing that's slanted. I slanted the front of the IB wall to go with the back seat slant in my previous build, but with this one I want to do a flat surface to bee better seen. So that's what I'm testing here. 

And this was the first test fit in the trunk. Fit's like a dream!









Then I side walled it and made it almost a box! 









Started the amp rack. Now some people are asking, probably,why I incorporated the amp rack in the box instead of separating it and getting more space. Well here's my thinking. First it was just a temporary box, and I wanted it to be just a neat little package and not have everything scattered throughout the trunk. I also didn't want it to be ugly, and just screw the amp to the outside of the box like some people do. Lastly, I'm using this type of design in the actual build so I thought it would allow me to utilize this time to practice it and see how it would work, as well as make the temporary, look good and not so temporary. So that's why I incorporated it into the box. Continuing on with the build.

So here the amp rack is attached to the box. It's only a back wall with a little side wall next to where the sub will go. The other three walls are made up of the top of the box, side of the box, and the bottom of the box. The sides were sealed off with construction adhesive on the joints as well as a generous bead along the outsides of all the corners. THIS THING IS NOT GONNA LEAK ON MY WATCH!! 









Now comes the time to check the air space. Remember I needed to have about 1.5 cu ft. This will account for the specs from Hertz at .98 cu ft sealed/performance and the .46 cu ft of displacement. So around 1.44 cu ft is what I need. Pictured here is a bankers box which measures out to be exactly 1 cu ft. And aside of the box, is good ol packing peanuts. Lets get started! This is just one bag, I have another in the garage I didn't picture.


















So here you can see I've put 1.0 cu ft in the box.


----------



## scooter99

Here you go, half the box = .50 cu ft. 









And this is filled and what I was left with! I think we're gonna be close enough! 


















Next test fit! I love it! 









Time to cut out the sub rings. For this I used a Ridgid Trim Router, love this little thing, and my home made circle jig. I also used a simple straight bit. 

This is the first top piece. This is going to allow the sub to attach to the box, as well as make a level section around the amp rack so the top face piece sits level across. You'll see, cause I'm sure I'm not making sense.



























Now I'm cutting out the Final top trim piece. 


















Here's how they'll sit.


----------



## scooter99

Now it's time to layout the amp placement. Remember a long time ago when I made all those mock ups for the amps and equipment, I think it was last summer. Some will some have no clue what I'm talking about, it's cool. Here's where I finally get to use one! 


















I cut that out, and then rounded off the edges. About this time, it was approaching, VERY QUICKLY MIGHT I ADD, 10:00PM and I had to get these things cut so I could put the saws etc away. Well in rushing to get that done, I made a mistake. Not a huge one, but it certainly was a mistake. What I did was set the router about 1/8 or a little less than that, too tall. When you do that, you get a nice edge (sarcasm) on the round over. Not good on a final piece, and if this were the final build, I'd have cut a new piece but it's temporary and I know now, and it will not look like this on the final build. 




































If you look closely you can see the lip! :facepalm:


















Here's where it starts really getting exciting. I attached the first front piece. I used a combination of 2" screws and finish nails. If you look closely you can see that I used the finish nails only on the filler of the amp side. I used screws all around the sub side. Also I, again, used a generous amount of construction glue. 









Perfect fit. I mean there is NO wiggle in this sub. Couldn't be happier with it.


----------



## scooter99

Tested the trim piece. Also I was lining up the amp to get it secured. 









TIME TO COVER!!


















Oops blurry









All covered, time to trim


















Attached the cutout for the amp area to the bottom of it. just in case, I didn't want any wood showing. No need for the sides, not gonna be seeable. 









I had to cut a piece to elevate the amp rack. When I did it originally I guess I didn't account for the sub panel being on the outside of the box. I think I accounted for it being inside the square cut out. No big. I cut this and covered it to raise up the amp. I'm happy I did it. Covered it too. 


















Wired up the sub at a 2ohm load, and installed it.


----------



## scooter99

Mounted the amp









Put the amps trim pieces on and finished it off a bit. 









Added the trim piece. IT'S BEAUTIFUL IMO!! SO happy with it!


















Test fit in the trunk. 


















This will show everyone that it's not taking up much trunk space at all! If you look closely, it only comes out to the damper knobs where the shocks come through the trunk. Not much at all. Plenty of floor space left! It may not look like it in the pics, but it's dead even with those dampers if not a little closer to the seat. 


















So there it is. Now I have to find some time to wire it up. I have my old 1/0 ga running in the back still. SO I'm going to use a couple of the fuse holders I have for the build and use one for positive, and then make a cable connection to put in another one for the ground. I'll do that this weekend and I have to change over the RCA in the back of the head unit to the sub output so I can have full control through my head unit of the sub, on/off, volume, etc. Once that's done, I'll post up more pics. 

Overall I'm very pleased with it, and I'm anxious at this point to hear it. 

Ok so my next thing I'm going to have to do now is this. 

Aparently I've messed up my shifter cables with the shifter cable bushings fiasco. So now I'm going to have to change those out, and from what I'm reading on the DIY, it's not going to be fun! But I have to do it now, so I'm just trying to confirm the actual part number for the shifter cables. Once that's done, and I have money, I'll get those on order. 

I purchased some speed bleeders, for the brakes as well as the clutch line, and I'll be ordering a stainless steel clutch line in the next couple days when I get paid. I'm also going to get some manual transmission fluid. 

So while I'm going to get in there and have to change out the shifter cables, they'll get the new HR bushings, then the ss clutch line will go in, I'll replace the clutch fluid, change the MT fluid, and I'm going to get the CAI and TBS installed as well. That will be the next big project. 

Following that, I'm going to pick up some SS Brake lines, and change those out, put the speed bleeders on, and flush out the brake system and put new fluid in. When that's done the calipers will get a coat of Black paint. Also going to paint the front of the rotors behind the wheels. They're rusty and look like Shat!! 

So those projects are what's on the horizon, or very near future. 

I know i was going to do the retro fit projects but these have taken a front seat to those. The shifter cables for sure! 

I almost forgot, today I'm picking up an HFP SI axle back. So that will be going on as well. 

Ok more to come soon!


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## simplicityinsound

good job, how the hell did you cover the sides of that box with that sort of carpet


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## scooter99

You know what Bing, coming from you, that means a hell of a lot thanks! I actually had a lot of over hang. I took one side folded it down and cut from corner to center, then sprayglued it down. Then did basically the same for each corner, just being careful, and then removed the excess. That wasn't even the hardest part. The hardest part was getting it to sit down in the corners of the amp cutout. That took some serious patience! 

I'll get it in and playing tomorrow. I'm very excited about that! Been too long with no bass in my ride!


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## kyheng

^You give me some ideas how to mount your amp.....


----------



## IBcivic

good job, man! most "final" sub boxes arent built that well

bing, seeing a line backer sized texan with a hammer in his hand, the carpet had no choice but to submit to his will.:laugh:


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## n_olympios

Very nice!


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## simplicityinsound

lol @amita that is that unflexible backed carpet right? or is it trunk liner?


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## IBcivic

it is hard to tell, at first glance it almost looks like commercial loop pile.


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## scooter99

It's cheapy carpet from home depot. It's just indoor/outdoor carpet. I dont think it has much of a backing on it. Thanks guys! I'm gonna help my daughter with her school project this morning and then I'm gonna get this thing in the car this afternoon! I can't wait!


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## scooter99

Alright guys, it's in, it's playing, pics are uploading and I'n NOT A HAPPY CAMPER!! However, I have some theory's to my problems. I'm gonna post up these pics first and then I'll go through what's going on, and what I think the problem is. 

So here we go with the finished install pics. 

Here's some of the stuff going into the install. I actually only used one of the fuse holders. Thought I was gonna need two but didn't. 









So I prewired the box before it got installed in the trunk. 

Speaker wires in


















Then I ran the ground and power wires


















Put the cover plate back on. 









Here you can see the remote wire that I hid in there.









Here's the back seat, looking from the front seat with the back seats folded down. Did you get all that!?! I'm going to revisit this again later! 
I attached the box to this board. I made the board when i had the IB wall in to act as a trim piece, something to attach the wall to, as well as something to hide LED's behind. 









Installed, time for the wiring! 









This is the 1/0 ga that I previously ran and passed through the trunk on my previous build. The 8ga wire is the power for all the audio components. It goes to the boxes under the passenger seat with all the barrier strips, relays, etc.


----------



## scooter99

Cleaned all that up and this is what I've got now. 









Time to wire the box up. 









RCA's connected.









Put the trim piece back on.









Fired it up, and SHE'S ALIVE!!!!









And put completely back together again! 









Alright so after all that, I had to go back up front, remove the head unit and move the RCA's around. The set of RCA's I have running to the back are for the front out. I had these from the front out cause they went to the processor. Well I'm not running a processor at this particular point in time, cause this is just temporary. Anyway, I didn't take pics of that, no real reason to. You'll see plenty of behind my dash when the rest of the install goes off. 

Now to the issues. I go it adjusted as best I could and got everything put back together. While I was adjusting gain, in the trunk, it sounded awesome from low volume. I'm all excited at this point, cause things are working out well. 

SO I had to move my car out, and put my wifes in the garage, cause I'm pretty much done at this point. I thought well, while I'm moving cars, I'll just drive mine around the block real quick, crank it up, and see what this baby's made out of! 

Volume normally is at about 18 - 22 on my head unit. SO I put it at 12 driving around the corner. Didn't hear much bass, not much at all matter of fact. So I went through all my settings, and had the bass volume on the head unit (P4200DVD) up at +4 (max is +5) and really still wasn't hearing much bass. So I turn it up to 22 and it sounded ok, but not nearly what the output should be. SO now I'm pissed, adn I drive down the block to a business park where there aren't any houses, so I can do some adjusting. SO I get it cranked to about 18, and pop the trunk, and when I open up the trunk, it's ABSOLUTELY POUNDING BACK THERE! I mean is sounds crazy good! So now I'm just floored! I'm pissed, irritated, disappointed, and a bunch of other emotions rolled all into one! I stood there thinking, with the trunk lid open listening to this wonderful sound..............THEN IT HITS ME! 

I refer back to exhibit A:









I refer way back to exhibit B 1:









and B2:









Anyone picked up on this yet!!! 

Ok if not let me explain why I think I'm getting great sound from the trunk, and none from the cabin! 

When I installed the IB wall, I had to seal off everything between the trunk and the cabin in order to have a leak proof, good sounding wall. I did that. I know i did that cause I used like 10 can's of insulation. Overkill? Maybe, but I know it worked! 

Now then, to present time! When I put this box in, I planned on firing it to the trunk, cause that's what I've always known and done. When I got it back there, Exhibit A, I screwed it to the board to secure it and keep it from sliding around in the trunk like boxes want to do. 

Well, when I did that, I sealed off any sound from traveling from the back tot he front! At least that's what I think I did. So, what I'm going to do tomorrow, to prove my theory, is unscrew the box from the back wall, and move it away a couple inches. Turn that bish back on, and then see what happens. If my theory is correct, then it should sound awesome and have great output into the cabin. If not then something else is terribly wrong, but I think it'll work. Another thing I need to do is remove the speaker pods I made for my 4" coax in the back deck. The 6 1/2" speaker holes should allow good air to come through. Again, if I'm correct!

If that's the case, then I'll have to decide how to fix it. Not a huge deal, but a deal none the less. The other thing I can do, if it works, is test the front firing sub theory. That will require me making another box, but so be it. This is the time to test these things. Remember, some of you do some of you don't, that my original thought or want was to have my subs front facing so you can see them only if you put the rear seats down. My problem with that was noone could really tell me if that's how you make it work or not, and I never really wanted to "just make a box and find out. Now I've made one, have this problem and theory, and if it works out I'm going to make another one and try it out. If it works, I might be back at the original desired plan! 

I'll keep everyone updated as to what I find out tomorrow. For now, goodnight, and if anyone wants to give some input or suggestions, then I'm happy to listen to them. 

Thanks, as always for checking in! Good night!


----------



## quality_sound

Yep, if you sealed off the trunk from the cabin you're not going to get much in the cabin.


----------



## IBcivic

just for ****s n giggles....flip it around and try it


----------



## scooter99

I'm going to do a couple of things before I flip it around. Cause now the cables and stuff are in the way they are it'll make that a huge project. Frist I'm going to remove the rear trim piece and take the rear speakers out. They're going up for sale anyway and need to come out so they can get posted. Secondly that'll provide airspace to travel between trunk and cabin. Next, if that does work, then I'll put it back together again and call it good, for now. 

I'm going to then decide to make another box, and then I'll transfer everything over to that new box, and face everything front and see how that sounds. But that's a test for another day. 

Ya know I take that back. First I'm going to unattach the box from the back wall, push it back about 4 inches, and see how that does. Then I'll go to the rear deck. 

I'll update later with results.


----------



## scooter99

Thanks! 

Ok let me just say, HOLY SHAT!!! I moved the box back about 4" from the wall, and it's a complete night and day difference. DAYUMM!! This thing pounds! One sub, amp about 3/4 gain, and it's just bangin! Not gonna do videos, so don't expect em. It just sounds like distorted poooh on a video! Anyway, just take my word for it. 

So now I'm gonna push the box back to the wall, and remove the rear speakers, like I was going to anyway, and see what that will do. 

My only issue now, is the issue I forgot completely about. THE REAR DECK RATTLES LIKE A MO FO!! I mean really! Irritating as all get out. That's gonna push the rear deck build up significantly! I can tell. So anyway, my camera apparently I left on, so the battery is dead, but charging now. So as soon as that's done, I'll get some pictures taken and move forward! 

I'll be back later!


----------



## IBcivic

that was with the seatbacks up?


----------



## IBcivic

oh...and you have a ski pass....i'd put that to good use


----------



## scooter99

That was not with the seat back up. But I've removed the two rear speakers now, and put the back seat up and now it sounds amazing! Problem fixed. I'm uploading pics now. 

I got some other things done as well. 

My plan is to cut that out and put a grill over it so sound can travel through the rear seat. It's not a ski pass at the moment, it's really just an arm rest. It's solid behind it. So I'll have to cut out the metal, and the foam, and then make it look pretty!


----------



## IBcivic

yeah screw the arm rest and put a speaker grill, covered with open cell foam and fabric...and voila! foam is transparent to low note bass


----------



## scooter99

Alright here we go! I did quite a bit today! Got the sounds fixed, calipers painted, wheel well issues fixed, and put on an Si Axleback! 

I'm gonna start with the sounds cause that's what I finished off working on last night. 

As I stated before, I started by moving the box away from the wall about 4 inches. 









This made an unbelievable difference by letting the sound through. I didn't however put the back seat up, and with that just moved onto removing the rear speakers and speaker pods cause I still wanted that box on the wall. So if removing the speakers and pods fixed the problem then I'd be all good. 

So I started by removing the grills in the rear deck which exposed the rear speakers and speaker pods. 









Here's the passenger side pod from the trunk, under the deck









Removed



























I pushed the box back against the wall, and fired it up...................... 








AND DAYUM IT SOUNDS GOOD!! 

So I put it back together again! 









On to the next project!


----------



## scooter99

I put the car up on Jacks, all fours baby! 



























Then I pulled all four wheels. Man I'm still amazed at how light these things are. NICE! Here's a before pic with the silver caliper.









Rear rotor and caliper









Taped up 


















Ahhh color! Oh and look, UC Davis is headed for the tournament! 


















Removed the tape! 
Rear


----------



## scooter99

Front









Rear after









Front after









So I stepped back and looked at these when I was done. It just add's a whole other dimension to the look of the ride! I like it!

Then the next project I did today, the last with pictures, was installing the Si Axle Back. 

Before


















Side by Side









After


















I didn't take many pics of this being done, not the install anyway, because for one, I forgot, and the other is it's pretty straight forward! Not hard at all to do. Matter of fact, I think I had it done in about 15 - 20 minutes. Like I said, not hard at all. AND, it sounds terrific. Makes me want to get my Vibrant Catback so much more! 

The last thing I did was break out the grinder. I got under the rear wheel wells and took a look and found a few places that were rubbed away from the tires rubbing on them. So I got the grinder and went to work. Not going overboard, but just a bit. Got it all ground down and took it down and went for a ride. 

Before, even with no one in the car, I'd get a little rub on occasion around corners, and bumps etc. Now I've put the box back there, and with my girls in the car, I knew I was going to have some issues. I got in the ride and went down to the corner, and nothing. No rubbing I mean. Went to the next corner and took off and turned pretty good. Trying to make it rub. Nothing! I went up to the school parking lot, and did turnabouts. Not doing doughnuts, but a big circle turning harder and going faster each time. Nothing. So it appear s I've fixed my rubbing problem. We'll see, the true test will be tomorrow with the box back there and my girls back there. But I'm pretty happy to say I think I've got it licked! 

So this week. Not much gonna happen this week. My wife and I are hosting a family dinner next weekend in our new kitchen, and that means this week will be cleaning and dealing with everything else that is our normal crazy lives. So I'm highly doubtful that anything is going to get done this week. Although I'm very anxious to get the Injen CAI in now and the throttle body! 

So until next time thanks for tuning in!


----------



## MTopper

looking really nice for a temp box setup. wish i had thought of that when i did my trunk. might steal some of your ideas if i sell my truck and go the car route. if so, you'll be seeing a build this summer/fall (not a honda though, sorry )


----------



## scooter99

No pattens here buddy! Take what you need! That's what this site is for, helping each other! If you've got any questions I'd be happy to help if I'm able. 

So just an update, or follow up, on my wheels. I drove to work this morning. On the route I take to work, there are at least 3 spots where I rub, with people in the car or just me it doesn't matter. This morning, NOOOO RUBBY!!! HHAAA! YES!!!! I've fixed my problem! Woohoo! So I'm super excited about that. 

What I'm not super excited about is the shifter cables. I'm going to be getting paid tonight, and as soon as that's done, I'll be buying those cables. I should be getting my cable bushings today from Hybrid Racing. So I'm going to look for the cables today online and then I'm going to call my local honda dealer and see what the price through them is. Not to install but the parts. Either way I'll be getting those or at least ordering them this week. I don't know if I'll have time this week to make that a priority to get on, but most likely this weekend, Sunday I might be able to do it. I'll keep everyone updated with what happens.


----------



## trumpet

Have you ever picked up one of your wheel/tire assemblies and almost banged yourself in the face? I had lightweight wheels years ago and they were great. I did the same thing with painting my rotors black. It's a great touchup.


----------



## scooter99

trumpet said:


> Have you ever picked up one of your wheel/tire assemblies and almost banged yourself in the face? I had lightweight wheels years ago and they were great. I did the same thing with painting my rotors black. It's a great touchup.


Um I can't say that I have honestly, but I could see how it could happen, i guess. These are significantly lighter than the older chrome wheels. Im guessing like half the weight. :surprised:


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## scooter99

This is not a good morning already!

I was taking my kids to school this morning, dropped them off and on my way to work, lost 2nd, 4th, and Reverse. Pulled into a parking lot, and got it into 3rd, and couldn't do anything else. SO I limped home in 3rd, then realized I could shift to 4th but can't go either way. PUlled the air box to find this :facepalm:










So I'm going to be ordering one of these, overnight shipping which will cost me my ASS, and then I'll be replacing this! Hopefully there's nothing wrong with the clutch, and this is the only problem. Keep your fingers crossed! 

I guess, as frustrating as this is even knowing it was going to happen, I'm glad it happened on my way to work after I dropped of my kids, and not with them.


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## scooter99

I'm going to have to wait till lunch to call around for the part though. I'm not holding my breath that anyone has one though. I'm sure it'll all be special order. But maybe my luck will turn by lunchtime cause it's sucked so far. Car broke, my phone froze, I got rained on, oh and to top it off when I was trying to drive home, I got to a light and the cap from my short shifter popped off. Had to F with that while sitting at a light with my hazards on. I'm not sure that's supposed to happen is it? Makes me wonder if there's something else wrong. That would really throw a kink into things! 

If I can find a cable, hopefully my bushings will be here today, that way if I can go get the cable today I can do the bushings at the same time. Probably will throw the CAI and the TBS in while I'm in there as well. She's parked in the garage now so that's where she's gonna stay till she can move again! I think when I get it fixed, I might take it into the dealer and have them do a check over and make sure it's all good. So here's a list of the upcoming projects that I'm now doing.

Shifter cables
Cut the shifter stick and re thread it
New HR shifter cable bushings
Changing the MT Fluid
CAI
TBS

That ought to do it! Grrrrrr! I'm happy and frustrated at the same time. I didn't expect this to happen so soon.


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## scooter99

Ok so I just got off the phone with my honda dealership here, where I bought it from. We have "Honda Care, which is the best service warranty you can have in Honda" and he all but guaranteed me that it would be covered. I'm gonna put my OEM stuff back on it, just for precaution, and then get it taken over there. If they don't cover it, it's gonna cost me 110.00 for diagnostic, and then another 300.00 + for parts and labor, or plus another 150.00 + for parts if I fix it. So either 260.00 + or 410.00 +. 

I'll keep everyone updated.


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## n_olympios

Great progress man, as always! Shame about the gear change wire, it's happened to me before as well. It was rather fun starting on a slight uphill with 3rd whilst trying not to burn the clutch. :laugh:



scooter99 said:


> and *he all but* guaranteed me that it would be covered.


So it won't be covered then?


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## scooter99

Well thankfully I had mostly flat ground to travel from where I was to home. And I got the garage door to open early so I could just cruise on in. 

But by the smell of things, my clutch was NOT HAPPY! 

And yea, that's usually what that means, but i'm gonna put the OEM stuff back on, and hope for the best! I'll take it back in in the morning and cross my fingers for the rest of the day. Maybe I'll have it back tomorrow night! I doubt it since they already told me the part was Special Order. 

On another note, I've decided that if I go with the subs facing the cabin behind the seat, I'm going to go under the seat with the components, i.e. barrier strips, relays, fuse block, bluetooth, hd tuner. I'm gonna have to get creative with it, but that's part of the fun of this thing right! Hopefully i can get a box built for the two subs soon and that way I'll know for sure. Once I know, then I'll be able to get started on fabricating the component panel.


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## aeon

Man that sucks. That's a first hearing about the shifter cable breaking.

I've thought about replacing my shifter cable bushings with the Hybrid Racing ones. I just have the Corsport bushing in right now.


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## scooter99

Ahhh don't get me started about Corsport! TERRIBLE COMPANY! I'm going with HR bushings, which was really how this thing got started, my fail. But the new ones should be here today or tomorrow, or sometime. 

Do you belong to 8thcivic.com? It's on there. You have to be so very careful when putting those bushings in, cause you can pull the boot out, which is what I did, and eventually it will break, case and point. You just have to be very careful and gentle when putting them in, unlike me, who's a god damn bull in a china shop sometimes. Sometimes I'm born with grace I should have no business having, then other times, I'm the clumsy oaf I'm meant to be. I don't know (shruggs). 

Where in Cali are you?


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## aeon

I actually drive a Tsx, but I am a member on 8th civic. 

I did have both the corsport bushings for my shifter base and the shifter cable, but I ended up going back to stock with the shifter base bushings. It was a little too hard and notchy for me. Other then that, I've never had any problems with their bushings.

I'm in Sacramento also. Just moved here at the end of January.


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## scooter99

come check out the Sac 8th crew. Or are you already on there? We have mini meets at Howe Bout Arden in front of the Starbucks every other friday. This friday at 7pm.


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## aeon

Cool, looks like a lot of people in Sac are on 8th civic. I'll look into it.


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## scooter99

Good guys for sure.


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## scooter99

Ok so here's the latest in the shifter cable saga. I got home last night and could not for the life of me find the OEM bushings etc. So I'm screwed basically. And really the more I thought about it the more I stressed about it. Karma's a bish, and I believe in it, so I think I'd have not felt comfortable in the long run lying, in a sense, to the dealership. Yes it would've saved me money, which is a plus, but I think I wouldn't have felt good about it later. So I'm going to go ahead and bite the bullet and buy them and get it done myself and just move on. 

Today, I'm going to be calling all the dealerships in town and just outside of town, and seeing if they have the cables in stock. Doubt they do, but there's always an off chance that they might. If not then I'll have to order them. 

Tonight, in the meantime, i'm going to start tearing into the car and getting it ready. Tonight I'll get the old cables out, I'll get the OEM air box out, and take the bumper off. From there, probably won't be tonight, I'll get the front of the CAI in, get the TBS in, maybe put the new horn in while the bumper is off, take the shifter mechanism out, re thread it, and cut it down. When the new cables are in my hands, get those installed, the Hybrid Racing Cable Bushings installed, Hybrid Racing Base Bushings installed, Re Install the TWM Performance Short Shifter, and then finally the shifter ball. I'm going to do one little cosmetic upgrade, and that's wrap the shifter surround/frame in cf vinyl. I also want to look into making a new shift boot. But I'm in no rush for that. 

So that's what's up now. I'll update later today whether I've found a set of cables in town here, or if I've had to order them. 

Hybrid Racing has a set of cables they've prototyped but aren't ready to be sold yet. They're still running tests on them. Once those are done, I'm gonna get in line for a set of those as well. Wish they were ready now, I'd just get those and bypass the OEM's, but this will give me a back up set (the OEM's) down the line. 

Stay tuned, more to come later.


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## scooter99

Ok well I ended up ordering the cables online. It saved me 20.00 and they should be here by Friday, so I'll get everything put back together on Sunday. Got lots going on friday night and a full day saturday. I'll be back cruising around by monday!


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## scooter99

Ok well I just talked to Tim from H.R. and he informed me that the bushings are out of stock. So he's gonna ship em out to me overnight when he gets em. I tell you customer service is so great with Hybrid Racing. I could never say enough good things about them so far. 

So for now, when I get the cables and install em, I'm going to have to keep the Corsport bushings on for a while longer. Then when the H.R. bushings come in I'll have to change em out. I was just hoping to do it while they were out and loose, but that's the way life goes sometimes. I'm just gonna have to be extra cautious when I do the install this time. 

So that's about it for now.


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## IBcivic

scoot...i got your text message, thanx!


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## scooter99

Not a problem. 

So I picked up a Megan Header for my R18 today. Well it's getting shipped. 

Waiting on the cables still. Got wrapped up in the family tonight so I'm not doing anything tonight. I'll have to just do a bunch of stuff on sunday. 

goodnight!


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## scooter99

Ok so I got the tracking number for the cables this morning. Not happy. They're going to be delivered on Saturday, which is too late cause I don't work on Saturday and I needed them for the weekend to put them in. I had them delivered to my office cause I thought they'd be delivered on Friday and I'm not at home during the week, cause I'm at work. 

I just got off the phone with the company, and they're going to change the address to the house. So problem resolved. They're going to deliver it by 430 on Saturday. I'm gonna be home all day with a family party. So Sunday's car tech day is back on! 

On another update. I managed to get myself a brand new Megan Header. That should be getting shipped tomorrow. Once that goes on, my next big purchase, I think, needs to be Flash Pro. Gonna see about getting some stuff posted for sale, and see about getting these credit cards paid off. I've got about 500.00 freed up from the wheel well fixing, so now I don't have to get new tires since I'm not rubbing anymore. So that will help for sure. That was a big part of my near future. 

I'll update more when I get a chance. Thanks for tuning in!


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## scooter99

Wow! Ok so I ordered my cables from G1Parts.com, they just emailed me saying they've upgraded my shipping to overnight. I'll have it by tomorrow here! WOW! Have I ever said on here how much I love great customer service!?!


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## IBcivic

isnt that header going to make your vehicle fail emmisions testing?


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## scooter99

If I leave it on. I'll take it off and do all that when it's time. I just got my new tags, so I'm good for at least another year.


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## scooter99

Big day today. Waiting for the cables today. Doubt I'll get to work on it tonight but it's a maybe. Lots going on tomorrow, daughters science fair, and we're hosting a family lunch for our new kitchen. Sunday I have all day to work on her! 

Check it out guys. I can't believe I got chosen in this type of video. I'm so touched and honored, and humbled at the same time! At 2:34.

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmaHJ-NaNxQ&feature=channel_video_title]YouTube - Pray for Japan[/URL]


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## scooter99

CABLES JUST GOT HERE!! That's funny I can't believe how big the box is. I expected it to be in a little box with them coiled up or something but I guess not!


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## scooter99

Alright, 7:50pm PST, and she's going up on stands! If I can accomplish the shifter cables, change the MTF, put in the TBS, and the intake tonight I'll be ecstatic! HERE GOES!!


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## scooter99

Ok so it's 9:45 pst. I've got the shifter mechanism completely out, shifter base bushings out, cables disconnected, oem intake completely removed, some audio cleared out (had to get to the cable entry point to the cabin. Also removed the battery and all the distro blocks around it. Lots going on, and I'm about to finish getting the cables out and start putting the new ones back in. Lots of pictures being taken, hopefully I can put it all together when I'm done. I'm doing so many different things at the same time, it's gonna take some time to decipher all of it. and put it together to make sense. 

Gotta go kiss my babies goodnight, and get back to work. Gonna be a long night I think! Making progress though.


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## IBcivic

git er dunn!


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## scooter99

I got the MTF changed, cables in, bushings in, shifter back in, and the TBS in all complete. Got the intake in all the way to where it has to pass thru the wheel well area and the wall needs to be cut, and possibly the wheel well but I'm gonna try to avoid that one. So I guess really I'm about 90% of where I wanted to be tonight. 

So sunday I'll finish up the intake, and then I'll have to put the power back together again. There is soo much more space under there now though. I'm soo pleased. My mind is racing for ideas already for my power enclosure. So after that the bumper goes back on and then I'll put the insides back together. Then I get to drive it again! Woohoo! 

I did do a couple little things cosmetic wise. I'll show those when the pics go up! So it's 2:15am PST and I"M EXHAUSTED!!! Time for bed, long day tomorrow!


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## scooter99

So a small update. I've got about 200 pictures to go through and somehow get posted. Here's a small list of what I've done.

Shifter cables
Injen CAI intake
P2R throttle body spacer
Made a new shift boot
CF Vinyled the shift boot frame

I'm now working on these items
New battery
New distribution stand
cutting down the shift stick and re thread it
Re attach the audio wiring inside the cabin.

So I still have some work to do today, but for the most part, I'm getting close. I'll be running a little bit later! 

Ok sandwich is gone, back to work! More later.


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## scooter99

216 Pictures uploading now!


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## scooter99

Ok so I just went out and test drove my car. OH MY GOD, I'M IN LOVE ALL OVER AGAIN! Now it's raining here in Sac and everything is wet so I couldn't get a good judgement off the line from a light, but when I get going it's got a wonderful drone to it and you can hear the intake sucking in air and it's just sounding and feeling amazing. 

The shifting. I don't know if there was a problem before I messed up the cables and it snapped, or if it was the transmission fluid, but the shifting now is absolutely amazing! There's really no other way to explain it. It's heavenly. It really just glides into gear. Now I changed out the MTF with Amsoil Manual Synchromesh Transmission Fluid, and I put the Corsport Cable Bushings back in (even though I hate to, the others won't be here till probably the 1st of April or somewhere around there). So those two things, combined with the TWM Performance Short Shifter Adapter (in place of the Corsport SS), and the Hybrid Racing Shifter Base Bushings (in place of the Corsport Base Bushings) and it's absolutely dreamy shifting this car right now. I cannot wait to get the Hybrid Racing Cable Bushings in there. I've felt them already and I know they're harder than the Corsports. 

So I think the only other thing I'm going to do is spend the extra little bit of money and buy the AEM Bypass filter, and the hydro shield for the filter itself. Even when it I drove, when it wasn't raining, I was nervous about hydrolock. I've heard so many horror stories, and it's gotten me a little nervous! 

The only thing I think at the moment I'm not happy with is the CEL. But I'll search for a solution to that in the up coming days! IN the meantime, I have a great picture of my beautiful daughters that would go great there! LMAO!

Pictures are going to take forever to get uploaded. I'll post some up tomorrow. 

I'm off to clean my garage, and go to bed a bit early. Goodnight all! Thanks for checking in!


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## scooter99

Ok so here's a couple little teaser pics. I have a ton more to post up. Just don't know when that'll happen.


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## knifedag007

sub'd to your build on here as well


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## scooter99

Just saw your ride! Very clean! I likey!! 

So I went to pull my car out of the side of the house, it's where I keep it put away so it's not vulnerable to the retarded thieves out there, and started it up. NO CEL FTMFW!!! Very excited about that! 

I picked up, on the way to work, some engine cleaner so I can get that filthy engine bay cleaned up, and while I was at it I picked up a ScanGaugeII. Should be in store by tomorrow at 3pm. 

Gonna try to get pictures up today, but I got a lot to do at work, so may not happen all at once. Stay tuned!


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## scooter99

Damn, this photo thing is gonna take forever. I'm organizing it all. So it may be a long while before pics get posted. FYI.


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## scooter99

Alright! Only 112 more pictures to edit and organize! sigh!


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## scooter99

Ok so here's the first wave. Like I said I'm going to try and DIY these things I do as best I can. If you have questions please feel free to ask.

First things first, I had to jack up the car. I did all four jack stands to lift it up pretty high so I could slide under the car and move around easier. The car was about 2' off the ground. Make sure that when you're doing this, that you do the front first with the emergency brake on, so that the rear won't roll on you. Chalks are best used here as well. I just didn't happen to have a set. 









Next I'm going to remove the cables in the engine bay. Note the yellow arrows. Remove the cotter pins, and the C clips. In the big cable, obviously I didn't have to do the C clip cause the whole cable is snapped. So I just removed the whole thing. But in order to get the bushings off, you'll need to get the C clip out. I used a flat head screw driver and turned it like a screw, not prying. This will allow the flat end of the screwdriver to move it out by using it's width instead of marring it up by prying.









The big cable









Next you're gonna wanna remove these clips in the back. *They're a pain in the ass but you can get them off.* I used, again, a flathead screwdriver from the side. This one I used was a thin small one. Cause there isn't much room to work with, for small, and thin to get it in there cause there isn't much room to get in there and pry. Work at it and you'll get them off, but be careful cause when you get to the end of it, it wants to spring and pop off. I lost mine momentarily. Ooops! But I found it! 

The arrow here was for the bushing to be removed.









When you get those clips off, you'll slide the cables toward the cabin of the car (away from you) to get them out of the bracket. Then you can just let them hang for a bit. 









Next I moved to the other end. I went inside the cabin and started to dismantle that.

First you need to remove the center console. No you can't do this with leaving the console in. The cables pass through pretty much right directly under the head unit on the floor and you can't reach it from the shifter hole. 

In your center console cubby, there is rubber panel on the bottom. Pull that up, there's a little tab on it to pull. These two screws need to be unscrewed. I usually will unscrew these, I've done this 300 times, and then leave them in the console cubby and close the lid. That way you don't risk loosing the screws.









Now I didn't take pictures of this part, but to get the center shifter piece off you'll follow these steps. 

1. Unscrew the shifter knob (if you have the stock shift knob on still, you'll need to separate the shift boot from the knob, which all you have to do is pull down on it and it'll pop off.)
2. Pull up the shift boot and frame.
3. Grab the center shifter piece by the hole you just pulled the shift boot out of and pull up. 
4. When that's pulled up a little, then just pull it toward the rear of the car and it'll slide out. Set it aside.

Ok here's what you're looking at now, minus the peanut M&M wrapper. LMAO! Busted!









Next in that hole you'll see a bracket with 4 screws in it. The two outter screws (circled in yellow) are the only screws you need to remove.









Slide the center console back, but DO NOT TRY TO PULL IT ALL THE WAY OUT YET! Lift the back of the console up a little bit to get your hand under it. You'll need to pull the connector off the 12v outlet inside the console cubby. It should just pull down. You may need to find the clips, unless you've broken them and they're irrelevant now like mine LOL! Once that's disconnected, you can pull the whole console out.


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## scooter99

You're looking at this now.









Ok so now you're going to take off the cables from the base. Pay attention to how these go before you take them off, cause you'll need to remember when you put them back on in the end. To remove the clips (circled in yellow) you'll need a screwdriver, or strong fingers. They'll spread out wide, and then you slide them down. I pulled mine completely off so I wouldn't loose them. 


















The cables should just pop off now. 


















Next remove the cables from the base itself. You'll do this by twisting them, there are tabs on them, and pulling them out. You can also use a pair of vice grips or pliers on them if you need to. Just be sure not to break the base shifter.



























Now this picture is of the cables and wires I had on here for my audio gear. Barrier strip and board. I had to remove that in order to access the hole in the floor to remove the cables. I also had to eliminate some wires that are not used and are going to be eliminated anyway.

Also in this picture, you can't see it really well here, but where the yellow split loom ends and looks like the dash begins, is about where the cables pass through the floor. That's why you need to remove the console to access these.









Next you'll unbolt/unscrew the shifter base. You don't have to do this if you don't want to. I did it so I could have clear access to what I was working with. It's not hard to do either.


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## scooter99

This is what you're left with









Now under the car. 

Easiest way to get to this and go about this is from the front of the car. Go in headfirst on your back and about the center of the car you'll see the cables going up. Can't really miss them.

This is the first bracket you'll come to. I believe it's a 10mm bolt head. Come to think of it, I think it's all 10 mm bolts under here.









Next you'll see the bracket that passes through the floor. Between this bracket and the first bracket there's one more bracket. 









You'll notice on the previous picture that the bracket is partially covered by the heat shield. In the DIY in here (8th Civic) the poster says that you can just bend back that heat shield to expose the other bolt/nut. I looked at it and pulled on it and decided to pull out about 6 - 8 little nuts and bolts would be easier to deal with than bending the shield and then having to replace it cause it won't go back straight again. Your choice, I chose this route. Nothing wrong with the other way. 

Heat shield removed









The bracket is now easily accessible. Unbolt this and pull the old cables out.









The mess of the bracket, bolts, nuts, and old cables. Keep the nuts for the brackets and the bolts for the heat shield separate. Not sure why but I just though it should be separated. Up to you I guess.


















Now that you have those hanging, you'll just need to pull the cables from the engine bay and they're out. Make sure the engine bay ends of the cables are not caught in the bracket still. Or you'll have to get out from under the car, and then free them up, and go back under. 









Now you're ready to install the new cables.

Old and new next to each other.









Remove the OEM bushings. This will take some effort. I used a small screwdriver to get one side started, and then pushed them out.


----------



## scooter99

I chose to do this by pushing the engine bay ends up through the bottom of the car. This is not terribly difficult to do by yourself. But, if you have someone to grab them when you raise them you might be better off. 









Push them up through the floor hole. Each cable goes in a specific place. One goes on the passenger side of the base frame and the other goes in the center of the base frame. You'll see by the pictures how you can determine that. Little hard to explain, you'll just have to play with it and get it right. It will only go in one way. Same with the plate, it will only go in one direction. Use that as your guide.









Put the nuts on to hold the bracket but don't tighten just yet.









Same with the other brackets. Don't tighten them all the way yet, but put the nuts and bolts in to hold them in place. 









Now get out from under the car, and go to the engine bay. Giving your back and neck a little rest we'll work standing up now. 

If you look down behind the transmission you'll see the new cable ends staring you in the face saying "HI, connect me please"! 


















Now while the cables are not clipped in, is the time to put the bushings in. This is what should've been done in my case in the first place, and I wouldn't be doing this. LIve and learn right!









Then like when you took the C clips and cotter pins out, the is the opposite. Put them in. Also slide the clips back on the cables. This is not very easy. Take you time, do it carefully. If you feel comfortable enough, you can use a straight head screwdriver and a hammer. Slide the clip on as far as you can by hand, then put the screwdriver on the clip, and TAP (NOT BANG THE SH&T OUT OF IT!) it down. BE GENTLE!! You don't want to have to do this all over again! If you don't feel comfortable doing it with a screwdriver, you can use the handle of a hammer if you have a second one, or a stick and a hammer, or something wide and blunt. 

*By the way, if anyone has any suggestions on the whole clip ordeal, getting them on and taking them off, that would be easier then please by all means speak up. I could use an easier way myself. This was nerve wracking to the core! These were just my ways of dealing with them. I did not find any way to get them off. I asked on the DIY how they got them off but I never got an answer. Thanks!*

Ok back to it.









Ok that's enough rest for you. Back on your back and slide under the car. Time to put it back together! 

Go back under the car and tighten all the brackets up.


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## scooter99

Look at those beautiful new cables! Purrrrr









Reinstall the heat shield and get your ass out from under the car. Don't forget your tools. You're done under there! YAY!!









Ok back to the cabin! Let's start putting that back together. 

Let's put the base shifter back on. Don't screw it down, just put things together. This will keep it loose and easy to work with. The bushings are easy enough to put in after the fact. 

Ok so the cable to the passenger side of the frame goes through the middle of the base shifter. 









The Driver side cable goes on the outside of the base shifter.









Slide the cables on the short shifter (white) and the side mount (blue). The cable brackets go back on the base, opposite the way you took them off. Same routine, twist to lock in place, and you can do this by hand. I did at least. 









At this point, I put the bushings on. Pretty self explanatory. Here they are (orange).









Then slide the clips on. You'll need to make sure its around the cable and then spread them apart and snap them onto the cable ends. Just the opposite of how you took them off. 









Now in this case I had to get my wires back together so I would have audio until I could do the wire make over. This is a dark picture. But you get the idea.









Not as neat and tidy as I'd like, but it's only temporary! I know famous last words right! 









Now you're ready to put the console back together. DO just the opposite as when you took it out. Don't forget the 12v outlet plug in for the cubby outlet. Otherwise, be careful sliding it back in. The plastic tabs that hold the screws to the metal bracket up front are kind of fragile. I know, this is my second set of outer console pieces cause I broke both of the first ones. 

So slide it back in, and get the holes lined up and screw it back down. 

You can slide the top piece back in and snap it in place. Then goes the shifter boot, and then the knob. 

I chose to go a different route. That's the next project.


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## scooter99

Ok I have to go back in and organize the next batch of pictures. I'll be back with more in a little while!


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## scooter99

Ok so the next project was a little cosmetic face lift on the interior.

First I took the center console shifter piece and gave it some love. I had the control panel in there from my old build that used to house the Bit One Processor Remote, as well as the switches for the interior LED's, Trunk LED's, and the head rest monitors. Also housed in there was the ipod holder. I decided to remove this and go back to the cubby. 

First I turned it upside down and there are 4 screws. Remove those screws, and pulled out the old piece. Installed the new piece and put the screws back in. Done! 


















Next I decide to give the shifter base a face lift. 









This is why.









To do this, remove these 4 screws.









The boot just slides out. Ready for action.









A little (lot) of heat and a sharp knife later, and we're b e a utiful! 









Ready to go back together.


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## scooter99

Ready for the Console


















So I looked at that and decided that wasn't enough! 

So i took on another cosmetic project.









Removed the screws again









Turned it inside out, and cut the ziptie holding the cap in. BTW, I'm sure some of you are wondering, the drinks in the background. The dark one is Sailor Jerry Rum and Diet Coke, and the green one is my wifes Leprechaun Concoction. Lemon Lime soda frozen in a bunt pan. Put in a punch bowl, and a half gallon of key lime sherbet. Pour more lemon lime soda over the top and let it do it's thing. Quite good. Ok back on track.


















On the base there are a bunch of staples around it. Remove those. Then separate the base from the boot.


















Now before you do the next step you should mark how the boot sits in the base. It's kind of important. I had to put it back on and do it cause I realized this after. Then start de-stitching the boot.


----------



## scooter99

Next it's time to trace onto your new material. I made two little marks inside the tracing because that's where I decided to adjust the boot to. Then make your pieces cutting out the lines.


















Old and new









NOW IT'S TIME TO SEW!!









Put the finished edges together. Start with two, then add the third and then sew them together. 




































At this point, you should iron it and flatten out the seams. 

Now it's time to put it back on the frame. Take a staple gun, with short staples, and using a hard surface, staple the boot back on the frame. YES, more drinks!


----------



## scooter99

Now you're ready for the cap. I decided to put a cover on it, to dress it up a bit. You can do it however you want. The next step is still the same.










If you're covering it, you'll need to pull it in from the outside in. Like this.


















If you're not using a cover, then you can slide the cap through and zip tie it.

Here's the ziptied covered cap.









Then trim off the extra and snip the zip tie.









Now it's ready to go back on the frame.


















Then in the console.


----------



## scooter99

Then, in the car! And the interior is done! 









You can see my fail here. I made this boot a little too short. So when I shifted into 5th or Reverse, it popped the base off. So I took the cap and cover off. I'll have to make another one, but for now it's fine. I'm going to look for something else too. I used this gray cause it is pretty closed to the stock gray interior. But I'm not sure it's gonna hold up well with hands on it all the time. So I'll address that and update when I get it done. 

Onto the next project.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so the next wave is a bunch of little projects. 

Now that the cables are in, it's time to change the MTF (Manual Transmission Fluid). I used Amsoil Manual Synchromesh Transmission Fluid. Here we go.

Here's what you're going to need. 








MTF
Syringe Pump 
3/8" ratchet
12mm socket
old towel
old carton of some sort
funnel helps
shop rags to wipe off with

Ok so lets get started! 

First thing is to lay down the towel. Trust me do this! 

Next you'll take off the upper (fill) bolt using the 12mm socket.
This is not how it will look. I already loosened this one and then remembered I didn't take the picture. 


















Next you'll get your carton ready along with your funnel. 

You're gonna loosen the lower (drain) bolt using the head of the ratchet (no socket on it)


















Using your funnel and carton drain out the old MTF.









When it's completely drained, put the lower (drain) bolt back in and wipe down the area clean.









Oops, this is why you use a towel. Told you to trust me! lMAO!









Ok so cap off your carton, and get the mess out of there, and if you have another one put another towel down. 

Open up the MTF, and using the syringe suck out the MTF from the bottle.









Fill up the transmission in the upper (fill) hole.


----------



## scooter99

Fill it till it spills out.









Wipe it down and put the upper (fill) bolt back in.









You should use about one and a half bottles./









Clean up and you're done!


----------



## scooter99

Next we're gonna take off the bumper and get things rollin.

First your gonna take off the cover to expose the grill. I covered this in the grill project earlier in the thread, but for those of you who don't want to go back, I'll go through it again.

Remove these pins









slide it off.









Remove these allen head bolts









Next you'll find some holes in the wheel wells. You'll need to unscrew those screws with a phillips head screw driver.


















Then under the bumper, along the back row (meaning towards the back of the car), are some tabs that need to be removed. Pull out the center with a small flat head screwdriver. Then pull out the rest of the tab from the outer edge.









Starting from one side or the other, start pulling on the bumper around the headlights. It'll pop loose. Work your way around to the other side. Pull off the bumper and put it somewhere safe so it won't get scratched up. You'll end up with this.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so the first thing we're gonna do now that the bumper is off might be the easiest mod I've done so far on here! 

Gonna start with a 12mm wrench or socket and ratchet. Either way works. 









Next you'll remove this bolt, and this connector.









Old and new!









This is a 2006 Honda Accord Horn, OEM! 


















Plug and play. Easy peazy! So the only thing I see with this, is that the wires are kind of stretched tight. If you're worried about it, you can cut them and extend them. I wasn't that worried about it. Here it is installed. Took me all of 5 minutes to do it. Matter of fact it took longer to take the pictures then it did to install this.


















Now I have a deep loud horn not a high pitched joke! 

Ok moving on!


----------



## scooter99

Now it's time for the P2R Throttle Body Spacer.

Here's what you're installing









The rest of the stock intake was taken of when the sifter cable broke. Not gonna go back through it, cause I didn't take pics of it then! But lets finish the upper part to get this install started.

Using a phillips head screwdriver, I used a shortie to get in there, loosen up the hose clamp holding on the upper elbow. 









It should just slide off.









Next loosen the 4 bolts holding the throttle body on. These are 12mm bolt heads. 


















Next, prep the TBS by putting the gasket in the groove. The tab goes in the square slot.









Lift the throttle body up and slide the spacer in under it. It will go. Might be a little tough but it will go in. Next you'll bolt it down using the 4 bolts provided by P2R. These are 13mm headed bolts.



























That's pretty much it.


----------



## scooter99

Now it's time to put the sexy intake in! 

First up let's take some more off the engine! 

First hose is on the throttle body, here.









Then remove the breather hose and metal connector.


















Now lets take out the lower half of the intake. 

Here's the upper part of the lower tube. This is the part that goes into the OEM intake box. 









Remove these two bolts, 10 mm heads. It'll pull out from the lower resonator.


















Then remove the lower resonator. I didn't take a picture of the bolt to remove, but remove it and pull it out. You should be left with this.









Now it's time to unpack the sexy!


----------



## scooter99

INJEN FTMFW!!









Ok so take the smaller of the two sylicone couplers and put it on the throttle body and tighten it. Only tighten the throttle body hose clamp at this point. That way everything else is loose for adjustment. 









Next you're gonna take the thinner of the two hoses provided and you're gonna put it on the spot on the throttle body, where you took the old hose off. Use the hose clamp from the old hose to secure this. 









Next, and I forgot to picture this, but you can see it here. There is a hose on the other side, you need to take that off. Then slide this new hose on, and use the oem hose clamp. 









Next install the vibra mount screw. This goes into the bolt hole that held in the OEM intake box.









Time to remove the MAF sensor. This is held in by two screws. Remove the screws from the OEM intake box, then hold onto the screws cause you'll use them to attach it to the new intake. Try not to touch the MAF sensor anywhere other than the top. Remove it from the OEM box and slide it into the new intake tube. It only goes one way. Then screw it down.


----------



## scooter99

Next install the upper tube into the coupler on the throttle body. Remember do not tighten the clamp all the way. Put the arm of the tube on top of the vibra mount.









Next it's time to get out the ol dremel. GOD I LOVE THIS TOOL! So what we need to do is cut out some of the metal wall. I don't want to cut the wheel well liner cause I don't want extra water or dirt or whatever getting in the filter, or the engine bay. So this is the way I chose to go.









Here's the line (black) that I need to cut.









Out









Gotta grind down the burrs and rough edges.









I decided to use some sound deadener to protect the the intake from the edges. Now whether this will hold up or not remains to be seen. However, I'm going to be pulling the bumper again in about a month, so I'll know then what's going on with it, if anything.


















Then I installed the lower tube and vibra mount.









Attached the bigger coupler, should be the only one left. Then connected the upper and lower tube together. Again don't tighten everything. You'll still need to adjust it all. 









Installed the lower tube with the nut and washer on the vibra mount.


----------



## aeon

Man great job. That looks like a pain in the ass to install those shifter cables.


----------



## scooter99

Install the filter.


















Next we go back up top. Now we can adjust and tighten everything. Go for it. The nuts are 8mm heads by the way.

Ok so now we have the MAF sensor wire. I removed the ugly plastic housing. But in doing so I was left with exposed wire. So I covered it with split loom tubing.


















Then connected it and zip tied it (LOOSELY) with enough slack on either end of the tie to allow for movement.









Next I put the bigger, should be the only one left, hose on using some 1" hose clamps I bought from Harbor Freight. It's worth the piece of mind. The hose goes on pretty loosely. 









Now then, I need to address another project before you get to see the finished work. ON to the next one!


----------



## scooter99

So here's the components from removing the old battery. This really needed to be done to get to everything anyway. So I decided it was a good time to get the new one in there and test some things out! 










Old battery in.









Old battery out!









New sexy Stinger Power 2 SPP1200 battery ready to go in.









Now the Stinger Battery comes with a nice metal frame. This frame is pretty stout so I decided to bolt it to the existing oem stand. Here's the stand ready for action.









I reattached the grounding cable.









Then it was time to drill holes and bolt the frame to the oem stand.



























Out of the box and ready for it's new home!


----------



## scooter99

And it's home! 









Time for a panel. I know this is just temporary but this is just what I had laying around. Mocking up the panel.









The bolt holes on the new battery allow me to use terminal rings vs the terminals like was on here before. I like the terminal rings better as a personal preference. 









Drilling the holes I broke the damn piece. But I started laying it out anyway. I'll let the pictures take over from here!


----------



## scooter99

Time to install the cables



























Then I looked at it and I didn't like the way the cover for the buss bar looked! So I dressed it up a bit! 


















And done! 









And here are a couple of shots of the finished product! 


















I know my engine bay is dirty filthy! I bought some cleaner today and I'm going to be cleaning it up in the next couple days. 

So when you are ready to start the car up. Start it and let it idle for approximately 15 minutes. Sometimes you may get a CEL, as I did. But like what happened to me, the next morning (today) I went out to start the car, and the CEL was gone! I've driven it a few times today, and still no CEL. So I think it's all good. 

The only other thing I did was add some bling to the front cover. 
Hybrid Racing 









Injen Technology









So there it is. That's what I did all weekend. Comments are welcome! Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## scooter99

aeon said:


> Man great job. That looks like a pain in the ass to install those shifter cables.


Ya know, it wasn't actually that bad. I just did a lot of picture taking and just read through the DIY's very well.


----------



## Mic10is

I like the battery cover, But you should really cover the terminals and any bolts that are exposed 12v connections.


----------



## scooter99

Oh that reminds me. The finishing pictures. SO I was half way through the throttle body spacer install. I was using my laptop on 8th civic for the DIY's for reference. Then I get this! 








FAIL!!!!!

So I had to refer to part 1 of the war and peace novel of DIY's! 









Then this was after I was finally done Sunday night! 









Here's me last year when I was making mock ups.









Little size difference! I'm happy to see it! More to go! 

And of course my lovely wife happy I'm done! 









So there you go! Happy wife, happy life! 

So my impressions of driving! It's so damn nice! I can't even begin to explain how much more I'm in love with my car! It's an absolute pleasure to drive now! 

Ok, till next time! Comments, as I said, are welcome! Thanks!


----------



## scooter99

Mic10is said:


> I like the battery cover, But you should really cover the terminals and any bolts that are exposed 12v connections.


The're covered. Which one's do you mean?


----------



## scooter99

I think I see what you're saying. I'm not overly worried about it right now. But it'll be addressed for sure in the future.


----------



## Mic10is

Just based on the pics. you have a bolt that goes into the Positive terminal with a ring terminal coming off it and that wire feeds your Dblock
That bolt looks exposed.
then the wires coming off the Dblock all those terminals are exposed.

am I missing something like clear heatshrink thats covering the terminals or something?
As is, thats one accidently dropped wrench or screw driver and alot of sparks


----------



## IBcivic

damn!...you've really been workin out....keep it up!

keep up the good work,mang!


----------



## scooter99

Mic10is said:


> Just based on the pics. you have a bolt that goes into the Positive terminal with a ring terminal coming off it and that wire feeds your Dblock
> That bolt looks exposed.
> then the wires coming off the Dblock all those terminals are exposed.
> 
> am I missing something like clear heatshrink thats covering the terminals or something?
> As is, thats one accidently dropped wrench or screw driver and alot of sparks


Nope, you're right. I didn't put the ones that came with the ring terminals on. I didn't like how foggy they looked. But I'll address it in the near future like I said. I'd like to get some clear heatshrink to put on em. At least they beautiful metal will show through the clear shrink better. 

Anyway, I follow.

Martin, yes 5 days a week, and boot camp 3 times a week and on a 1600 calorie intake a day, does wonders. Thanks!


----------



## Brian_smith06

Looks sick!!!!

I tried to do a plexi cover like that with mine but my hood was in the way ugh

here is how mine ended up. well Im still not done but its how I left it until I get a chance to cut a new thicker piece of plexi


anyway, it still looks a bit like dookie but you get the idea


----------



## scooter99

I think it looks good. Maybe needs some finishing. But it looks good. By finishing I mean smooth the edges, and I'd even spray tint it. Something like that but your wiring looks pretty clean.


----------



## Brian_smith06

scooter99 said:


> I think it looks good. Maybe needs some finishing. But it looks good. By finishing I mean smooth the edges, and I'd even spray tint it. Something like that but your wiring looks pretty clean.


yeah I used 1/8" plexi on that. I have some 1/4 waiting to be cut up for it and actually finished up nice just havent had the time. I only get to work on my car a few times a year. My dads shop is an hour away and I only get enought time off to make the trip worthwhile a few times a year. it blows hardcore


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I think in the next couple of weeks I'm going to start working on the rear sub box. I noticed today when I opened up the trunk, even with the rear speakers out, I'm getting far more volume in the trunk than I am in the cabin. So I guess I'll start there and once I get that figured out, I'll get the real box started. 

Just a little update.


----------



## n_olympios

Evil smile! 

Great work, as usual! I enjoyed the pics!


----------



## scooter99

Thanks. Hopefully I'll have more to share soon! Matter of fact, I'm gonna take one now! Muahahahahah!


----------



## scooter99

Picked this up today. It's the Scan Gauge II. It's a trip monitor, a digital gauge, a scan tool, and so much more. Now I just have to learn how to use it!


----------



## scooter99

Ok well I just went through this thread: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/12-volt-events-team-diyma/100908-sbn-2011-pics.html and now the ideas are flowing again! I'm gonna go do some drawings and sketches and see what I can come up with. I think I've got some new designs coming! OH NO, HE"S AT IT AGAIN!!!


----------



## scooter99

Oh yea bishes! Here's my Scan Gauge II's new home! 


















It fits so well it was like it was made to go there. A little rage gold and some sanding and paint, it'll be sweeet!!!

Here's my new trunk plans too if anyone is interested! 









Let me give you the run down really quick! Here's what you're looking at.

Starting at the top, you'll see the drawer which will be on slides. This will reside under the rear deck, above the sub box. This will house all the wiring barrier strips, relays, the Pioneer HD tuner, and the Pioneer Bluetooth Module. Plus anything else that needs to go in there. 

Below that will be the sub box which will go up against the back seat with the subs firing into the a pass through I'm going to cut out behind the arm rest in the back seat. The pass through will get covered with gray grill cloth to match the seats. When you drop down the back seat, a Hertz logo will be on either side, back lit with either orange, or blue LED's. I have to figure that one out. Suggestions are welcome.

Each enclosure will be a 1.5 cu ft sealed, what i'm using now for one and it sounds great. Subs will be ran at a 2ohm load on two Audison LRx 1.1k amps, one per sub.

The amp rack for those amps will be located on the back side of the box, angled pointing down toward the bottom center. In the middle of them, an audison logo will be back lit with blue leds.

Below that you'll see another amp rack. This is on the floor and will house the Audison LRx 4.1k, LRx 2.9, and the LRx 2.4. These are shaped in a pyramid layout. On the sides of those will be the Audison Connection, SEXY ASS, full distribution blocks. 

To the sides of the floor amp rack you'll see the battery compartments, or battery racks. These will house, on both sides, a Stinger Power 2 SPP1200, a regular fuse holder, and a digital fuse holder. 

The 1/0 ga cable will come from the front, into the battery rack to the fuse holder. From the fuse holder to the battery. From the battery another 1/0 ga cable will go into the digital fuse holder and out of that to the distribution block. Why two fuse holders. Because I want to track the voltage from after the battery to the distribution block. Not just get the voltage from the front battery before those two. 

So there it is my new plans. The trunk lid with the Audison Bit One stays the same. The Cabin layouts stay the same. 

Comments, suggestions are always welcome! Thanks!


----------



## scooter99

Even better place. I was going to do this with my Bit One Processor remote, but I decided to go a different route with that, but this would put it in the dash and right in eye view. Reroute the hvac controls to the cubby, where my last control panel was! Muahahahaha!










MARTIN!! Gonna have to bend an ear I think! We gotta talk buddy!!


----------



## scooter99

BY the way, I tried to adjust the drawing size and for whatever reason on Photobucket it's bigger, but on here it isn't. I don't know! But hopefully the explanation along with the drawing is good enough to understand. I GET IT! LMAO!


----------



## scooter99

So I thought I'd share a little of the conversation over on the 8thcivic with this build. This is in regards to the gauge. Feel free to add input if you have any to add. It's all welcome.



scooter said:


> Oh yeah, looking at the picture now, I like it even more! NEW MOD ON THE WAY!! Gotta get on this one! I want this in NAO!!!





craniumboy said:


> i dunno if i like it in place of where the hvac controls are.... which cubby are you planning on putting them in? i still kinda feel like the scan gauge is too far out of your field of vision there. I would want mine closer to the speedo





scooter said:


> Well either one of these two places I'm thinking of.
> image
> 
> 
> I got the idea from here.
> DIYMA.com
> 
> Well he took the pictures down. He took a second head unit bezel and cut it down so it only had the hvac cutouts. Then he molded it and epoxied it to fit in front of the cubby that has the aux and 12v outlet. It looks sick. So I'll either do that, or I'll go to the cubby that I just replaced.
> 
> I'm going to get the gauge hooked up and play with it a bit, but I'm very adamant about the face that I don't want it sticking out like a sore thumb in on top of the column.
> 
> Like I said I'll play with it and figure it out.





scooter said:


> I think I found another place to put it, but I'm gonna have to do some more fabrication. I'm thinking right here! (this is an old picture but you get the idea. YELLOW LINE)
> 
> image
> 
> 
> EDIT: Here it wouldn't be any different than the guys with the turbo gauges.





knifedag007 said:


> i like the idea of putting it in place of the HVAC and moving them i wanted to do this as well at some point way down the line, like if i ever get a bit 1





scooter said:


> I think that now the more I look at it, the spots, I do like the idea of it at the HVAC spot, but it's just a shift of the eye up on the dash in the trim area. I'm going to put it in tonight, and even though I'll have a wire draped on my dash, only temporary, I think it'll give me a good idea of if that spot's gonna work or not. I think I'll also put it up on the HVAC spot too after that and see which I like better. It really fits well, looks wise, there I think. Under the head unit, it just flows. But functionality is important too.
> 
> It's kind of like speaker placement. Just gotta move it around and see where it is best.





scooter said:


> So I just looked it up and a replacement piece for that trim is only 18.00. I mean 18.00 is a little much for it, but it's not horribly unreasonable if I had to get one.





scooter said:


> Ok so I hooked up the gauge and threw it up on the dash. I think that the upper dash trim mount looks like a winner so far. I'll give it a few days and switch places and figure out which one I like better. The only downfall, to the temporary mountings, I have a cord running across my dash! :facepalm: Looks terrible! But I have to keep reminding my self that it's just temporary!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I was just sitting down and figuring out my box dimensions for the sub enclosure per the diagram I posted above. It looks like, staying with the approximate size area that I'm using for the temporary box, I'm going to be around 3.16 cu ft for the box. I think that might be a little large, since I'm taking into account with that, the sub displacement, the wedge area removed (that's the area where the subs will face eachother in front of the pass through) etc. 

On my current box, I'm running it at 1.04 cu ft, plus displacement. And I'm not sure where I got my specs from, but I'm wrong on both accounts 

Ok so I thought my displacement was .26 cu ft and somehow on the current temporary box, I think I accounted for .46 cu ft of sub displacement. that can't be right. OH MY. 

Ok so anyway, my current box total is 1.5 cu ft. I guess if you subtract the sub displacement (.10 cu ft) then it's 1.4 cu ft. Hmmm. That's awefully large for sealed yes? 

I know I'm rambling on, but this is not my strong suit. Getting dimensions for boxes. 

Here's what I've got for area to work with. 41" wide x 16" tall x 16" deep - but here's the catch, it's not exactly 16" cause I want the face to be angled. 
It's angled cause of the back seat and I want the back wall to be straight. I want the wall on the seat to be angled, and I want the back wall facing the trunk straight. 

Right now the box I have, measures like this:

Width - 38" (minus the outer walls which are 5/8") = 36.75"
Height - 13.5" (minus the outer walls - 5/8") = 12.25"
Depth - Top 8.25" ( - 1.25") = 7"
Bot. 14.25 ( - 1.25") = 13"
This represents the fact that there is an angle against the back seat. Everyone got that? It's roughly a 25 degree angle, I think!

Then I have to take out 24" x 12.25" x 2.25" = 661.5 / 1728 = .38 cu ft

Then Minus the .10 cu ft for displacement. 

Total box is 2.60 cu ft - .38 cu ft - 10 cu ft = 2.14 cu ft. Wow that's either way wrong, or this box is way big. How the heck! WTF! I'm so confused! 

HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## subwoofery

Rockford Fosgate® - Woofer BoxWizard 

Kelvin


----------



## scooter99

Wait none of that can be. You guys all saw when I used the peanuts. The interior of the enclosure is 1.5 cu ft - .10 displacement = 1.4 cu ft. That's still a little big I think, but regardless it's way less than what I just did. Oh I'm so confused!


----------



## scooter99

3.99 cu ft - .50 cu ft - .20 cu ft = 3.29 cu ft

3.99 cu ft according to RF (thanks man)
.50 cu ft represents the wedge 
.20 cu ft represents both sub displacements 

Did I do that right?


----------



## scooter99

HAHAAAA! I got a present today! Check it out! 





































Isn't she purrrrdy!!! Next I'll pick up the angled defouler. Then FLASHPRO!!!! After the credit cards get paid off!


----------



## scooter99

Thought I'd give a little update on where I'm at. 

I'm fighting the urge to start my audio build. Why? Well I wanna get back on my schedule, the war and peace manuals I made. I started on track and kind of got off track a bit with some stuff. But I think what I'm going to do, is get the alternator in, and work on the retros (headlights and fogs). After that point, I guess I should get my alarm put in. Probably a good idea. I have the stock, or aftermarket stock, alarm now but I just don't trust it and with the wheels on and the car looking the way it does, I'm nervous all the time. ESPECIALLY at the gym! 

Wanna get those side markers in too. Maybe I'll get to spend some time on the ride this weekend. Depends on the family plans.

So I've calmed down after my sub enclosure incident yesterday. I'm just thinking of so many things at one time right now, this happens to me from time to time especially when I'm super tired, and I end up going into super confusion mode which leads to a sort of panic attack. I'm all good now. 

I've been thinking about the enclosure again, and looking at what I have now, depth etc, I'm thinking that the second box is gonna be a little bit bigger. I'm still fighting with the layout of the trunk. Lots of gear, not lots of space. However here's my idea and I'm not sure if this makes any difference or not. 

I'm thinking of moving the two 1.1k's back on the floor with the 2.9, cause they're all the same size and it would look cosmetically uniform. They would also give me a little more room to work with behind the box. The 4.1k is just so big. It's a good 3" bigger than those three. SO I'm thinking that all my components are going to go from the drawer under the rear deck, to the front of the box behind the seat. So when you pull the seat down, there will be a panel (with the Hertz logos on them) and then behind that panel will house all the barrier strips and relays, etc. The 41.k and 2.4 will go back up in the drawer like originally planned. I'd rather put them behind the box, so you'd be looking at them when you open the trunk, but that means I'm gonna have to add at least 2 1/2" to the back of the box for them. Not sure I'm wanting to take up that much space. 

I know, lots of talking, but this is the best way for me to figure out the layout. Talk it out. 

So, if anyone has any thoughts to add, or suggestions, I'd love to hear em. 

I thought about putting the two sub amps, 1.1k's in front behind the back seat (where I'm talking about putting the components now, but there's no difference between adding them there or behind the box. 2 1/2" is 1 2 1/2", whether front or back. Besides that, I'd like to keep the cabin hertz and the trunk audison. I'm really looking forward to the logo panels, and that would throw it off I think. 

That's all for now.


----------



## knifedag007

Eager to see what you come up with, I am playing with a few ideas with my trunk right now as well.

I made a build thread on here and will update it as much as possible. I am unable to post a link to it on here until I am at 30 posts. It is titled 2006 Civic Si - First Major System. :thumbsup:


----------



## scooter99

I'll find it and check it out. 

I'm honestly eager to see what I come up with too. It seems to change from time to time, but i think I have a basis of what I want to do but I want to make sure it's gonna flow. In case you hadn't noticed, I got alot of stuff going in this little ass trunk! :laugh:

But I think I can make it work, and the thing about now vs when I started a couple years ago is: before I had to make sure I had trunk space for strollers and daycare bags and kids stuff. Now i only need room for golf clubs and bat bags! Kids are grown enough to not need an entourage to carry their stuff. 

Thanks for checking in!


----------



## scooter99

So I forgot, that i have some large sheets of 1/4" foam board i bought a while ago, really I think it was like 2 weeks ago, but I can use that to start my new box mock up. This is the same stuff I used when I made all my other mock ups. This will help me in designing the box and angles and stuff. I think I'll start that this weekend. So I guess the other box is coming out temporarily to work on that.


----------



## knifedag007

foam board?


----------



## scooter99

Office depot. It's like display board. I use it for making mock ups for my amps, batteries, distro blocks, and stuff like that. That way I can use those and not F-up my equipment in building. There are times I have to use the equipment, but I avoid it if I can. This stuff is cheap enough.

With the sub box, I'll use it for angles and stuff like that. Obviously I'm using 5/8 or 3/4 for the box itself so using 1/4" foam board will not give me accurate measurements to use for cutout templates. Maybe for the outside measurements will be ok, but inside won't work. But, for someone like me, where even though I'm in construction and do frame, angles are not easy for me to figure out. I have lots of tools and calculators to help me, but there are instances, this one, where they don't always work out well.


----------



## scooter99

I'm just talking here, but:

You know, it just hit me. I've already got an angled box in the right direction. I just need to seal up the sub hole, that's existing, and make a new one in the angled side to determine if this is going to work with the sub facing forward. Just to kind of give me an idea of what's gonna work or not. 

NOW, if I'm facing forward, and then cut out the arm rest pass thru, do I need a space between the back seat and the box? I'll do an MS Paint quick drawing to show what i'm talking about. 

Here you go:


----------



## knifedag007

im not pro but i think the space would be good to allow the sound to expand


----------



## scooter99

I'm thinking that as well. I think I'm going to build a box, then put it flush first. Then I'll do a frame around it, so I can slide it back to allow space, then still be sealed from the trunk. That way I can test both ways.


----------



## scooter99

So let me start off by saying, I think that everyone knows how big a San Francisco Giants fan i am. If not, I have a tattoo on my arm of the SF for crying out loud. Well if anyone knows anything about baseball rivalries you know that SF Giants v. LA Dodgers are one of Baseball's biggest rivalries. It's up there with the NYY and BOS rivalry. So this is what I got on my other site this morning. 



AlphaQ said:


> Enjoying the post until I saw the SF tattoo. Dodgers baby...


Yea how's that workin out for you!?! Must have been a pretty depressing year for you last year. I might have just taken my life if I were you! Me... I was enjoying World Series Domination! 

Ok so now that the good natured argument has been won by me, :laugh: I'm gonna get to posting up some stuff I did this weekend. Not much major was done. I'll start up the pics. Enjoy! 

So the first thing I did this weekend was address my steering issues. I have been dealing with the understeering issues, I know they were there, for some time now, due to the front wheels being out of camber. I was ok with it until lately I've noticed some wear on the inside of the front tires. Haven't had too many issues driving in the rain, and it's been raining a ton here in Sacramento, until this weekend. 

I had my daughters in the car on Saturday heading over to a buddies house to have him put my car on his scanner to check for codes. I went around a long curve going from one freeway to another and while I was only going about 45 - 50 (per the sign) I noticed I was almost turned all the way on the wheel and I thought i was really not turning like I should. So that obviously scared the hell out of me, and I had ordered the second set of Ingalls Front Camber Bolts last week and they're sitting in my garage, so at that point I decided it was worth shooting that to an emergency/extreme priority status to get those on. So that's what I did.

So here's a little DIYish type posting of that. 

First, as always, I jacked up the ride. I don't have pics of doing that, there are enough of those on here. *NOTE: if you don't know where exactly to jack up your ride from the front, with a floor jack vs. the pos in your trunk, let me know and I'll do a basic instructional on that for the front and back. If you're working on your car alot, your really need to invest in the following. Low profile floor jack 2 1/2 - 3 or 3 1/2 ton
2 sets (4 total) jack stands
a set of chalks* 

Ok back to it. 

Here's a couple before shots to show you where I"m sitting at with the wheels. They're not flush at all. This is the problem.
Driver side


















Passenger side wasn't taken, it looks the same but on the other side of the car. 

Next the wheels come off and the tools get set out. Now I have a set of camber bolts on already, but this is just to add the ability to adjust more camber. Per Firestone, last time when I got it aligned, they said there wasn't enough adjustment on the one set to get it aligned within OEM spec. So I spent the extra 30.00 to get the second set. That should take care of it. 

Tool list:
1 - 1/2" Ratchet 
1 - 3/8" Ratchet (now if you have two of one or both, you can use either. It's irrelevant the size of the ratchets but you'll need two or a box wrench will work too)
1 - 15mm socket
1 - 17mm socket
1 - 18mm socket
1 - 3/4" socket (I'm not sure if this is really the socket but if fit tight on the nut and with that, it's what I used. Just seems like a fish outta water being that the rest are mm sockets) 
1 - Front Camber Bolts (Ingalls are model number 81260)



















Now here's what you're changing. You'll notice, if you look hard cause apparently I took crappy pictures BAD ME, that the lower bolt is a brass color and the upper bolt is black. 









Take the ratchets with the 3/4" socket and the 17mm socket. The nut gets the 3/4" and the bolt head gets the 17mm. Loosen those and you should be able to slide the bolt out, but you may have to tap it out. *NOTE: IF YOU HAVE TO TAP IT OUT, DO NOT JUST TAP THE BOLT. Put the nut on just a few threads or low enough so that it's just above the bolt, meaning just make sure your taping the nut not the bolt. Otherwise you take the chance in messing up the threads, and at that point you might as well throw em away cause they'll be worthless unless you need a paperweight of some sort!* So get the bolt out and you're ready to install the other ones. 


















Now before you put the new camber bolt in, you need to slide the washer on. The tab angling out, goes against the head of the bolt, and the straight tab (90 degree, smaller tab) points away from the head of the bolt. 

When you're sliding the new bolt in, with the washer, you need to pay attention to the hole and how it lines up. These are offset with that nub on there that looks like the bolt has a tumor on it about a 1/4" down from the bolt head, that's the adjustment on the bolt when you turn the bolt it moves that nub and in turn moves the spindle (not sure that's correct what it moves, and if not someone feel free to correct me so I can get the correct info on here) in or out. So you're going to get that bolt in there and before you insert it all the way in, look at the hole, and line up the tab with the space that's in the hole. You'll see it cause of the "tumor on the bolt" it's not perfectly round, which creates a space in the hole. You'll slide the washer into this space. Then move the bolt the rest of the way in. 

When I did mine, here, the top bolt arrow (triangle on the bolt head) was pointing up, and the bottom arrow (triangle on the bolt head) was pointing down. For me, I was taking it to Firestone to get aligned that morning, so I wasn't too concerned about how true it was. But this should give you a little idea of what i was looking at. 

Put the nut on. You won't be able to get it all the way on by hand. I think there's loctite in there or something. Anyway, the nute gets the 18mm socket, and the bolt gets the 15mm socket. I think if I remember correctly, it says to torque it down to 25 - 30 lbs. I did not do this, cause again, I was taking it to Firestone as soon as I put the wheels back on. But read the instructions with your bolts, and follow the ft lbs torque settings. 

Here are the two bolt in place.


----------



## scooter99

Here's with the wheel back on and what it looks like. Off to the alignment.


















And after
Driver side


















Passenger side


















Here are my specs. 

Front: Left
Actual Before 
-0.7 -0.8 Camber
7.4 7.4 Caster
0.03 -0.18 Toe
13.8 13.8 SAI 
13.0 13.0 Turning Angle Diff.

Front Right
Actual Before 
-0.4 -0.6 Camber
7.4 7.4 Caster
0.03 -0.17 Toe
13.6 13.8 SAI 
13.2 13.2 Turning Angle Diff.

Front 
Actual Before 
-0.3 -0.1 Cross Camber
0.0 0.0 Cross Caster
0.00 -0.35 Total Toe
0.1 0.0 Cross SAI 

Well I was going to post up my results from the first alignment but I didn't post them on here apparently. SO I'll have to find them and then edit this. 

Bottom line is that it's 100% better and more responsive in turns than it was. It's much more flush, although you can't really tell on the picture, but it is. And best part right now, is that it's not rubbing. I say right now, because I have a feeling it's gonna settle a little bit. Seems like anytime I get her up in the air, she doesn't settle back down till a couple days later. So I'll have to keep an eye and ear out for it. 

So that was the major project for me this weekend. I started some others too, and those are up next.


----------



## scooter99

Next thing I did. We all know, and have seen how filthy my engine bay was. Well I decided to do something about that. This is pretty basic, I won't go through a how to, just read the directions on the can. It's pretty easy. 

FILTHY BAY!









I used some Gunk Engine Degreaser Foam. Pretty easy to use. It's got a pretty good stream so be careful not to get it all over the place, i.e. paint, windshield, etc. Left it on for the 10-15 minutes it says to. 


















Rinsed off









Next I went behind that with some Gunk Citrus Degreaser and Detailer. This was not so streamy, but still a pretty good stream. It doesn't foam up like the other stuff, and it SMELLS GREAT! MMMMMmmmm! Same thing spray it on, leave it for 10-15 minutes. Rinse off. 









Not a great picture but this was with the citrus on it. 









Then rinsed. This was taken this morning cause I couldn't get a good picture with it rinsed last night. So it's sat all night and dried. 








Before again for comparison










As you can see it's a lot better than the first picture when it's filthy.


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## scooter99

Another little thing I did was paint the oil stick.









While I love orange, it's my favorite color, it just sticks out like a sore thumb in there.

I used some flat black paint primer to start. I also, as you can see, used the sifter cable box to do this. I cut a small hole in the lid so I could put the stick through it and let it hang so nothing got on it. 


















Next after that dried I busted out the black plasti dip! Yes sir!! Grip and color! And I just had it! LMAO!


















There's not much to it, but there it is. It just blends well and the plasti dip adds some grip to it. Not that you need it, but it is. 









Ya know, it's the little things that clean up a bay!


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## scooter99

The last thing I did for the day was start my side marker project. This was pretty easy, and at the same time, a little difficult and nerve wracking. I mean you're cutting into your car body for chirst's sake! If that doesn't make you nervous you've either been doing this for a while, you've got money coming out of your ears to fix it, or you're just crazy. I'm none of the three so I was nervous for sure. Here goes.

I took the original instructional on this from this thread. You're welcome to follow that, or follow this. I had some differences so I chose to combine this thread with my own brain to come up with the end results. 

So first things first you need your template. You can print that out here and then cut it out. I used a regular exacto knife. Follow the lines. Now on the fender space line (two lines) and the accent line (again two lines) I cut out the outer line, and now that I think about it, I probably should've done the inner line. But I did it a different way so you're welcome to do either, they're the same direction. 


















Now that you have that cut out, I got out my trusty tape measurer and some delicate painters tape. Now I'm ready to go to work on the car. I really only took pictures of the prep form the passenger side. No reason to duplicate the same pictures on both sides. 









Using the tape, I put on 3 layers of tape on the fenders. I did this for a couple reasons. First is to make sure that you have a good padding so that you don't scratch the paint with anything, and second so that if you touch it with the dremel, it has to go through a few layers till the paint. 


















Next I measured from the floor to the top and the bottom of the front headlight. The other thread said they measured approx 10 15/16" from the bottom groove. I didn't like this. I thought it was a little low. So I decided to line it up with the front signal. 









I wrote it down and marked it out.


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## scooter99

Next I took the width of the lines (3") and divided it by 2, which gave me 1/2". This gives me my center line. Then I measured the base width of the light itself, and divided it by 2, and got 7/16" That's what you see here. 









I measured in 1 9/16" from the fender line. 









I put my template up, and colored it out.


















Same for the driver side









Here's a look at the height compared with the signal light.


















So stepping back about a dozen times and looking at it, there was a problem with my placement. It just looked too low centered between the top and bottom lines. So I moved it to the top line. This is the other nice thing about the tape, you can just cover up the mistake and draw on a fresh canvas.


















Then I was faced with a different problem.
By measuring it that way, it gives me a level with the ground set up. That's not a bad thing, except that nothing else is that way. SO it looked off. So I went back to following the template with the lines lined up on the fender etc. I kept my height, and the distance away from the fender line, but it gave me an angle on it. 

This looked much better in my opinion.


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## scooter99

Now it's time for the cutting. I was by myself so there aren't any cutting pictures, but it's just cutting. You get the idea. Follow the lines. 









I would advise a couple of things. First, the orange colored bit in the picture above, is not what you should use for this. It's not abrasive enough to cut the metal. I'm not a dremel expert so I wasn't sure at first but I tried a different bit, and of course forgot to picture it, but it worked 100x's better. 

So advise. I would cut out a rectangle with the cutting wheel. Cut the two straight lines, top and bottom. Then cut from the ends of those, to meet each other. Next cut out the notches on the ends. At that point you'll use the other bit, and grind out the rest. 

Use your base as a guide. What do I mean by this? Keep trying to put it in the cut out. If you have to, and probably will have to, remove the layer of tape over the outer edges and put on another piece. I had to, cause the tape gets all marred up. Then you can either use your template again, or just put the base in the hole, and then mark out what still needs trimming. Use your griding tool for this still, it's the easiest and probably safest way of doing it. Then just keep adjusting till you get the base to snap in. Like this! 




































Now that that is done, you'll need to finish the rest of the install. I've not gotten this far, and so I'm not prepared to finish this section. I'm planning to do it tomorrow night. You're welcome to tune in on Wednesday for more updates. But for now, that's as far as the side marker install has gotten. I think I posted in here somewhere the harnesses that I was making. I finished those, and they're ready to go. Both have been tested and work. When I go through the install, I'll be happy to repost that. 

Here are some sun shots.




































So there you have it. My weekend's worth of work. So on Tuesday night, I'll be getting the wiring put in and getting these babies up and running. 

Until then, thanks for tuning in! I appreciate your support.


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## mellowbob

At the pace you're going it looks like you'll get a JDM front conversion in about a month.


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## scooter99

I don't know about that. The only things left for the front are the Mini H1 Projectors, clearing the side signals, the led's under the headlights, and the fog light retros. Aside of that, I don't have plans for anything else. I wouldn't mind the HFP body kit, front bumper, sides and rear bumper, but I don't think I wanna put that kind of money into it. Maybe if I find a set cheap, but it's not a priority on the lists!


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## knifedag007

nice side markers...you will get $hit talked about you on 8th since they arnt the jdm amber ones from a FD2 but i like the smoked look better especially with your blacked out set up with tint and wheels


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## scooter99

Well that's really why I did it. I don't want them to stand out that much unless they're on, I think amber looks like sh!t, and really I wanna be different than everyone else. I'm sure not everyone's a fan, but that's cause their either jealous cause they didn't think of it first, or they're too stuck on the OEM JDM thing and they don't like character or style. I prefer a subtle combination of all three. 

Trust me, :laugh:, I have no problem firing back at some of these jackholes (favorite commercial by the way) for being critical. I can handle some, but some people just take it too far. Especially on the 8th. Some people love to flame others but have no room and should be flamed themselves. 

I'm happy with it, and I'm happy you're following. Enjoy, there will be more to come very soon.


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## knifedag007

posting up the first pics of my car/build right now since i am able to now that im over 30 posts


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## scooter99

Woohoo. I'll go take a look!

I'm gonna go work on some wiring diagrams. I need to get some stuff ordered up for the start up of this thing, and I need to see what I'm going to need. I was going to do all black and then label everything, but for some reason I feel the need to torture myself and color code everything! I'm sure this will bite me in the ass later, but in my head, it's gonna look so nice!


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## knifedag007

scooter99 said:


> Woohoo. I'll go take a look!
> 
> I'm gonna go work on some wiring diagrams. I need to get some stuff ordered up for the start up of this thing, and I need to see what I'm going to need. I was going to do all black and then label everything, but for some reason I feel the need to torture myself and color code everything! I'm sure this will bite me in the ass later, but in my head, it's gonna look so nice!


I just labeled everything instead of color coding because while it does look nice, once its in the car you never see it.

One thing I have been wondering is why does everyone techflex all their wiring?
I know it keeps everything together and looks nice but does it serve any function as far as SQ?


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## scooter99

Are you kidding me, this adds all kinds of SQ! It stops resonance, vibrations, and signal travels better...............ok I couldn't even finish that sentence. NO it does nothing other than clean things up. It allows you to better protect your wiring though. For me, I like it cause if I'm pulling wires, if anything gets cut pulling through metal or something like that, it would be the flex not the wire. There's nothing really to grab onto with the flex, it slides through places pretty well actually. 

With me I'm doing it colored cause when I take pictures, and bind them, it'll look nice and you can identify everything. I still may go black and do colored heatshrink. But I'm going to have to decide that after i get all the harnesses figured out and counted up. 

The other thing alot of people use is split loom. It also slides through places well and looks nice. Helps blend into the stock wiring very well.


----------



## IBcivic

lolz


----------



## scooter99

Ya know, it just hit me. I'm going through my wiring and making my wire harness diagram. So I forgot what oem wire is for the dimmer with headlights. SO I go looking. And found this. Complete Stereo Wire Diagrams - All Stereos/Navigation - 8th Generation Honda Civic Forum Now if you'll remember, for those of you who've been following me for some time, I've had nothing but trouble with steering wheel interfaces. I've connected everything, so I thought, correctly and it still doesn't work. Well according to this, I wanna say, I've connected to the wrong damn connector. I think, again according to this, that I've been connected to the A connector 17 pin and either on the left rear speaker grounded, or front passenger's door grounded and then the pink driver door -, left tweeter -. NOW WONDER IT'S NEVER WORKED!! 

Here's Connector (A 17P)


Audio Unit Connector A (17P)
[Without Premium System]
Cavity - Wire Color - Connects To
A1 - Red - Dash lights brightness controller
A2 - Brown - Left Rear Speaker (-)
A3 - Pink - Driver's Door Speaker (-), Left Tweeter (-)
A4 - Green - Multiplex Integrated Control Unit (MICU) SCTY Radio)
A6 - Light Blue - Multiplex Integrated Control Unit (MICU) (K-LINE)
A7 - Brown - Front Passenger's Door Speaker (-), Right Tweeter (-)
A8 - Orange - Right rear Speaker (-)
A9 - Black - Ground (G505)
A10 - Grey - Lights-on Signal
A11 - Yellow - Left Rear Speaker (+)
A12 - Light Green - Driver's Door Speaker (+), Left Tweeter (+)
A13 - Blue - ECM/PCM (VSP) [VSS]
A14 - Purple - Multiplex Integrated Control Unit (MICU) (ACC Radio)
A15 - Grey - Front Passenger's Door speaker (+), Right Tweeter (+)
A16 - Blue - Right rear Speaker (+)
A17 - White - Multiplex Integrated Control Unit (MICU) (+B Backup) [+12 volts (Battery positive)]


Here's Connector B (20Pin)


Audio Unit Connector B (20P)
[Without Navigation]
(1)The shielded wires have a heat-shrunk tube insulating the outside of the wire. The Color of the insulating tube, typically black or dark gray, may not match the color of the wire listed on the schematic.
(2)With premium sound system
Cavity - Wire Color - Connects To
B3 - Brown - Auxiliary Jack Assembly (Aux SGND)
B4 - Gray(1) - Shield for terminals No. 3, No. 5, No. 13, No. 14, and No. 15 (Aux Shield GND)
B5 - Blue - Auxiliary Jack Assembly (Aux GND)
B6 - Brown - Audio Remote Switch (Audio Remote GND)
B7 - Pink - Audio Remote Switch (Audio Remote SW)
B13 - Yellow - Auxiliary Jack Assembly (Aux L)
B14 - Green - Auxiliary Jack Assembly (Aux R)
B15 - White - Auxiliary Jack Assembly (Aux Det)
B16(2) - Light Blue - Stereo Amplifier (Amp On) [+12 Volt power on]


So according to this, also, on Connector A Pin A1 Red is the Dimmer wire, can someone else confirm this please? Or is it Pin A10 Grey Lights-on signal? I'm guessing now it's that one. I guess I'll have to wait and play with it and see. 

Here's the other reason I think that I've been on the wrong connections, because this Connector A would be the one an aftermarket harness hooks up to, since it has all the speaker wires, power, ground, ignition wire, etc. Well that's where I've hooked up the interface is right behind this harness. FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL! I'm such an idiot!


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> NO WONDER IT'S NEVER WORKED!!











Just keep at it my friend, only the people who never try, don't make mistakes


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## scooter99

Thanks man!


----------



## quality_sound

I'm not hating cuz of the color (I'm on 8th as well) but simply because you did it. Must be a "grass is greener" thing since everyone I've ever known (me included) that had OEM fender markers would have given their left nut NOT to have them. Plus, now you're going to have the corner markers and the fender markers lighting up. That's a lot of light.

Just my $.02. If you like it, roll with it.


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## scooter99

Well I appreciate your .02. Thanks. I don't think it's that much light, it's only a 5 watt bulb. But that much more light, to me, informs the person next to me or behind me next to me that I'm coming over GET THE F OUTTA THE WAY! But thanks. I don't discourage .02 at all.


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## scooter99

Well a little update. I was going to finish the side markers tonight but given the current financial state I'm in, I decided it was more important to get pictures taken and stuff ready for posting of for sale items. I'll post up those threads when I get them done tomorrow. Until then, the side markers will most likely be finished on Thursday at this point.


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## knifedag007

dont we all need money


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## scooter99

To feed this damn hobby, yes! I guess everything else applies too. LMAO!

Here's the link to the classifieds section where I'm selling equipment if anyone is interested. http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/classifieds/101637-cleaning-out-garage-pay-off-credit-cards-sale.html


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## quality_sound

Gotta say, the more I see your car, the more I miss my 07 Si. Had the best seats of any car I've ever owned and that includes my '10 M3.


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## scooter99

I love mine, even though it's not an Si. I'm gonna reupholster the insides though too. Just not very high on the priority list. The plan is to go with a black microfiber suede outside, with charcoal gray microfiber inserts.


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## scooter99

Not much to report guys and gals. I've been busy trying to sell a bunch of stuff so I can get these cards paid off. Going well, but if anyone is interested in anything, hit up my thread, link at the bottom, and let me know. 

Gonna try and work on my car this weekend. We'll see how that goes.


----------



## scooter99

So here's a bunch of jibberish from the other site (8thcivic.com) This is what's going on right now. 




scooter said:


> Well I decided Saturday night to take the plunge. I didn't want to spend anymore money, but after hearing that Vibrant isn't going to make a catback for the R18 anymore, I had to jump on it. So I've purchased the Vibrant Catback Exhaust from Excelerate Performance. Now I'm kind of panicking cause the stuff that was selling so quickly, is how I bought this, and now there's still quite a bit to sell there, and it's slowed way down. But I'm sure it'll work out, but I've gone against what I was planning so that's why I have the anxiety that I do now.
> 
> However, on the flip side, I'm all set up on the performance level with the exception of Flash Pro. I've got the header already in my hot little hands, I bought the new defowler this weekend to eliminate the CEL, and now bought the Vibrant Exhaust.
> 
> My question now, if anyone has the answer, is do I go ahead and put this stuff on and then try to make the money for flash pro? Or do I wait for flashpro and then put this stuff on? My concern is that I don't want to get this stuff on and then have the car run like crap. Kind of defeats the purpose of having it on.
> 
> Right now it's already running a little rough, especially at idle, and yet I'm still getting average of 32 MPG on the freeway. That's with just the TBS, CAI, and HFP axle back (if that even does anything besides sound good). I have a buddy of mine who is in a BMW forum etc, and has a guy who he's checking with to see if he can tune my ride. But is that going to last? Or is the ECU gonna reset itself? So these are the things I need to figure out.
> 
> The next thing up, is going to be getting these side markers working, and then after that I'm starting on some audio BABY!! Gotta get that started. I'm going to be building another sub box, and cutting out the rear seat back at the arm rest for pass through. Once I've got the sub box done, I'll be starting on the trunk most likely. That was not the original plan, however, I think that's where I'm going to start. I thought about it and I don't want to get the speakers and stuff all in and done, and then ride without sound for a long period of time while I worked on the trunk. So, I'll be working on the trunk, getting it done, and then I'll wire to it when I go to the rest of it.
> 
> So that's it for now. Any comments, answers, questions, help, whatever is appreciated. Thanks for tuning in as always!





SteveFA5 said:


> You already have the TBS/CAI on. I would expect the CAI to throw off your AFR the most considering it's letting more air/cooler air into the motor without a tune. [One of the reason you're running a little rough at idle.]
> 
> Without a tune with your Header/Exhaust the major downside of not having a tune is you won't get the most power out of the mod.
> 
> :shrug: Maybe someone with a bit more knowledge on this can chime in.





scooter said:


> Um AFR? Air Flow Return?
> 
> My boy just sent an email to his tune guy to see what's up. I'll know soon and then I'll make a decision. I'll keep you guys posted!





SteveFA5 said:


> Air/Fuel ratio.





scooter said:


> Ah, :facepalm:
> 
> Yea we, my boy and i, were looking at throttle body calibrations, and he found the one on here about the TSX throttle body and calibration etc, but I'm not able to wrap my head around it, so I'm either going to have to really sit down and read it a few times, or just have someone else look at it. I don't wanna F something up!





SteveFA5 said:


> You should talk to E-tunez if you have any question on tuning your car.
> 
> E-Tunez - 8th Generation Honda Civic Forum
> 
> I've heard they're the best around :thumbsup:





scooter said:


> I hear that too. I'll send them a message. Thanks!





scooter said:


> Ok just sent an email to Etunz. I also heard back from my boy, and his guy is asking what exactly i want to do. Hard to answer these questions cause I don't know other than get the best performance I can out of what I've got on the ride. I'll update more when I get more.


So that's basically it. Nothing big, just trying to get things sorted out. Audio VERY VERY SOON BABY!!!


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## scooter99

So a little update :wiseguy: on things. 

Yesterday was an active day. My Vibrant exhaust, Weapon R Angled O2 Sensor CEL Eliminator, Hybrid Racing Cable Bushings, and Hybrid Racing Black Logo Stickers all shipped! 

Last night I had a hard time getting to sleep. I had a ton of stuff running through my head for the audio portion of the build. Everything really from the trunk all the way to the engine bay. I think I played out every portion of the build, and got new ideas and I think got myself way too far in to customization than I really was wanting to in the beginning. I've decided to do a little adjustment on the headliner hub (the pod that's going to house the DRC for the bit one.). I've decided to remove the switches from there, and just have the DRC up there ultimately as well as the OEM light and sunroof switch housing. I think this will simplify the area, and I think it will look a lot better that way. 

So where are the switches going then? Well I've decided I'm using the glove box to put the Sarotech aBigs (media player) in there if you will recall. So I'm going to be making a panel for the glove box anyway, so that way when you open it up, you'll be looking at the face of the unit. Well also going in there (still from the original plan) will be a usb port for the aBig's so I can just plug my laptop into it when I need to upload it or whatever, as well as a second usb port for the bit one for the same purposes. All my audio and video stuff are going to be on my laptop, so I'll be using that for any adjustments etc.  The switches are now going to go in there. 

I've thought about this, and the conveninece of the switches and how convenient do they really need to be. Well the really don't. These are the switches and what they work with. 

1) Ignition portion of the parking brake bypass for the head unit
2) Video Monitors (I may decide to separate these, I'm not sure yet. Meaning one switch per monitor instead of one switch for both)
3) Cabin LED's
4) Trunk LED's
5) Garage Door Opener button 1 (my opener has two buttons, this one is for my house)
6) Garage Door Opener button 2 (this one is for my parents house)

That's about all I can think of for now. I thought there were a couple others in there, I thought about another switch for the rear fill amp. I know I can control it from the bit one adjustments, but I think it would be much easier to flip a switch. I'll explore this more and decide then. So if I do that and then separate the monitor switch to two, that makes 8 switches. And these are all pushbutton switches not the bulky rocker switches. so there's not much space taken up by each switch. I think like a 1/4" for all but the garage door switches which may be 3/8" at most. 

Then, in thinking about the Sarotech. Not necessarily that unit itself, that's pretty much a done deal. But more the remote is what I was thinking about. My first initial impression was to copy another member that has one of these, and put it in it's own little case on the passenger side of the stick shifter like this.
Before 









After









I didn't like it too much there for the simple fact that it's vulnerable to knees/legs hitting it when I have passengers. Aside of that, it would stick out and I'm not sure it's gonna look best there. 

So I decided maybe I'd flush mount it in the arm rest like this.
Before









After









Not 100% sure I like it there either as I use the arm rest to, well rest my arm, and I'm afraid I might be pushing buttons a lot by mistake. 

So I got to thinking. Where else could I put it. I came up with these two scenarios. 

First one is at the cup holders. Not to eliminate them, but cover them. I know it has a sliding door already, but something different. 
Before









After









I do like this idea and placement. I can see it done in my head and I think it would look really good. The remote would flush mount in the door itself and be surrounded by suede, most likely gray unless I can find away to get the remote done in black, then I'd do black suede. My only concern about this placement, is the simple fact that I use my cup holders daily, so it would always be up or open. I can't decide either if i would have it open toward the passenger seat or open up like the center console arm rest. I think that would be the best bet but it would depend on how tall it was when opened. That's because it would be open all the time, because of the extreme use of the cup holders. 

Then it hit me!! Steering wheel!!! If I could figure out a way to break up the remote, and build a panel to put the buttons in, I could put it in the steering wheel like this! 
Before









After









This would give me all my controls, with the exception of the DRC, on the steering wheel. 

The problem I'm seeing already is the buttons. I need to make a panel that these buttons could sit in, I'd have to paint it, and I'd have to figure out how to get the screened letters back on. There is no power for the remote aside of batteries, and i could just simply incorporate the batteries into the back of the pod and change them when needed. 

My other delimma is how to break up the board to make this work. This is where it's going to get custom and complicated I'm sure. 

I'd love to have some input on this if you would please. I'm going to continue to look at different places for the remote location in the mean time. 

There is an extension to the IR eye for the unit, so placement isn't an issue, it can pretty much go anywhere. For the steering wheel, I'd mount the remote eye on the back of the pod, and then the extension on the steering column or somewhere in there. 

Next, after that, I got to thinking about my Scan Gauge. I'm going to still put it on the dash but as it's sitting right now I've kind of gotten used to it so I think it's going to stay in the center of the dash. I'm going to look into buying a new trim piece and a new gauge trim piece, and then I'll be incorporating those two. It's blending well where it sits, it's right below the speedometer, and just in front of the black, but if I can countersink it into there, a little bondo work, and some paint or cf vinyl, and I think it's gonna blend real well! 

Then I got into thinking about all my door treatments and dual mid bass pods etc. I won't go into that, that plan stays the same, I just keep building it in my head cause I can't wait to get them in and done. 

So you see why I couldn't sleep last night! I really need to get this thing started! 

OOOOhhhh I almost forgot. I bought that foam board the other day to get started on my new sub box design. I've decided that's not going to work for me. I've decided that the best way to go about that is going to be to get a piece of 5/8" or 3/4" foam insulation board from home depot and build it out of that. It's easy to cut, cheap, and when I get the whole thing done, I can take it apart and use it for my cutting template! That is going to happen in the next couple nights. I want to get that started cause I want to get this trunk started and going. I've decided that's the best way to go. I don't want to get the speaker pods (dual mid bass doors, mid range and tweeter pod apillars, rear fill back deck panel) done and then have no music for months while I finis the trunk. So I think I'm going to start the trunk now, and then get all that squared away, then i'll wire back to it. 

So that's it. I know it was a lot of typing and reading and processing. I'm sure most of you didn't read it, but for those of you who did, if you could give me your input, I'd be wonderfully appreciative! 

Thanks so much for tuning in!


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## IBcivic

I'd do it right here. Why....cause it is easy and conveinient.
Don't screw up your cup holders..you will regret it!


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## scooter99

Ok so I think I'm leaning towards the center arm rest again. I think the other places would take too much to make it work. I'll get to that at some point. 

To the tuning issues. I emailed Etunz about my situation and as suspected I go this back: 

_Hello,

I would suggest you get the Flashpro as soon as possible so that we can start tuning. If you are noticing issues thus far it would probably get worse with time as you add more modifications. Once you get the Flashpro and order a tune, we will send you detailed instructions as to what you need to do (basically datalogging using the Flashpro and sending the logs to us via e-mail). You will not go wrong with Flashpro and E-tunez tuning your vehicle. I look forward to maximizing the performance of your car!

Best regards,

Rulo_

So the FlashPro is $714.99, the Tune is $129.00, and shipping is $19.99. That's $863.98 that I just simply don't have right now. SO if, and this is a big if, I could make 200.00 a month towards this, I'm looking at about 4 or 5 months before I can even order it. 

So now I'm looking at other options in the meantime. It's already running a little rough, as I said, so I don't want any other issues with performance. If anyone else has any suggestions, I'd love to hear em. I thought I'd get my cards paid off with the stuff I have for sale, but it's just not moving like i thought it might. So I'm going to have to make the money somehow on my own, unless something happens with the for sale threads. 

I'll post more when I get more. I said I was planning to start the trunk build soon with the foam board but I need to go get it. I have my truck full of dump stuff, and haven't made it to the dump yet. The 4 x 8 sheets won't obviously fit in the civic, so I have to wait till i get time to get the truck emptied. 

I do have some new ideas having to do with linear actuators as well. I'll touch on that another time. 

Thanks for tuning in.


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## knifedag007

Get out on that corner and start making that money

J/K


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## scooter99

Shooot I wish it were that easy! I have the wrong equipment, if you know what I mean! LMAO!


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## n_olympios

scooter99 said:


> I have the wrong equipment, if you know what I mean! LMAO!


I hope that's not an excuse to go shopping - again! :laugh:


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## knifedag007

scooter99 said:


> Shooot I wish it were that easy! I have the wrong equipment, if you know what I mean! LMAO!


I bet there is a market out there somewhere for what we got...any ways off that topic.
I'm off work today and just cant seem to get myself outside to work on my car, I need to just go plus its so nice outside like 75F


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## scooter99

I went to Home Depot yesterday to see how much that insulation board is. It's only 7.00 a sheet. I'm going to get some this weekend and get started on my trunk.


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## knifedag007

good stuff...I made it out and worked on mine for a few hours last night after procrastinating all day but I'm heading out there in a few to try and finish up cutting on the rear deck to make the sub box fit. I hope me cutting the rear deck wont make it flimsy or weak.


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## scooter99

It shouldn't. How big is the sub?


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## knifedag007

scooter99 said:


> It shouldn't. How big is the sub?


JL 8W7

it fits fine in the hole its just in order to make the box the right size for air space I had to make it pretty large it needs like .96 ft^3...so i am having to cut a few things to make it fit up under the deck


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## scooter99

I think it'll be fine. 

Onto my build, I posted a thread a long time ago, like back in January, about linear actuators. I'd still like to have the trunk auto open and be able to operate it with the trunk pop button on my alarm key fob. Well I've stumbled upon a couple of modules. I'm just trying to figure out how to wire them up to make sure it's going to work before I spend the money on them. 

Here's one - Linear Actuator Control Module at Commando Car Alarms.com

Here's the second one that I'm more interested in. - Actuator Control Module This one has the instructions on it, and I've looked at them. Now I have to figure out exactly what the mean with them and compare them with my alarm and see if I can get it to work. 

I think that I only need one actuator. I don't think our trunks are that heavy (civic's) but I'm also putting on the rack for the bit one and logos. So I'm going to have to figure out what kind of force I'm gonna need. I guess I could always start with one, and then move to a second if I need to. 

I'll post more as I figure it out.


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## knifedag007

Well depends are you going to keep the torsion bars in the trunk. If so you only will need maybe a 10-15lbs of lift...if you remove the torsion bars like I had to, the trunk actually weighs more like 45-50lbs


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## scooter99

No the torsion bars are gonna go away cause I'm putting in an automatic drawer amp rack in. That'll be on an actuator as well, but operated by a switch in the trunk.

EDIT: sorry let me clarify, I'm doing the drawer under the rear deck, above the sub box. It'll hopefully look like one piece but it's gonna depend on the box size i think.


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## knifedag007

scooter99 said:


> No the torsion bars are gonna go away cause I'm putting in an automatic drawer amp rack in. That'll be on an actuator as well, but operated by a switch in the trunk.
> 
> EDIT: sorry let me clarify, I'm doing the drawer under the rear deck, above the sub box. It'll hopefully look like one piece but it's gonna depend on the box size i think.


Ok then in that case you will need 45-50lbs(+ the weight of the bit one and logo rack) of lift from the actuator 

I'd say 55lbs should be sufficient


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## scooter99

LOTS of research going into this. I've got the wiring part of it, with a switch, but I'm trying to figure out how to get it with the alarm trunk button, or aux buttons. I'll report back.


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## scooter99

OK I THINK I"VE GOT IT! 

Ok everyone listen up. Here's what I've got. 

Zenesis ZN-502 alarm auto start. 
DEI 530T window modules (2) 1 for front 1 for back
DEI 529 window module - for sunroof

Ok so I've been researching this trying to figure it out because I need two auxilary channels to operate the actuator. One for up and one for down from what I can tell. So that would leave me with needing one more Aux button cause this model only has 2. 

So I went to the thinking chair (the bathroom) and it hit me. I talked to a guy at Autoloc earlier today and he said that the trunk latch, lock, whatever you wanna call it that holds the trunk closed, now has to come out. That frees up another channel. The TRUNK POP CHANNEL!! That's now the third Aux so to speak. So here's how I've worked it thus far. 

There is going to be, regardless, a button inside the cabin, most likely in the glove box with the other buttons, that I can use to open and close the trunk from inside. 

*Option 1*
Trunk pop (+) = Trunk Open (actuator up)
Aux 1 (-) = Window Modules/Sunroof Module 
Aux 2 (-) = Trunk Closed (actuator down)

*Option 2*
Trunk Pop (+) = Trunk Open (actuator up)
Aux 1 (-) = Window Modules
Aux 2 (-) = Sunroof Module
Button in trunk lid to close trunk (actuator down) along with the button inside the cabin.

So those are my two options. I need to do some further research on this to make sure of the relay wiring etc, but from what I'm seeing in my research this should work. 

Comments and suggestions etc. are welcome as always!


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## knifedag007

pop my trunk yea yea yea


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## scooter99

My other two questions that i need answered are these: 

1) Since the trunk pop is a (+) output already, does it still need a relay since that's what's going to be used for opening the trunk? 

2) Same basic question but for down, if I use Aux 1 or 2, because of them being a (-) output does it still need a relay to close it? 

3) Is there a way around removing the latch in the trunk. Isn't there a DEI module that delays operation of whatever it's connected to? So if I had that on the actuator up side (+ I'm assuming)then in theory if I had that as well as the regular trunk latch on the "trunk pop" wire of the alarm, then the trunk would pop as normal, and the delay module then would delay the actuator a split second to come up. Is that accurate and can someone clarify the module that allows this? Is it the DEI528T maybe?


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## scooter99

knifedag007 said:


> pop my trunk yea yea yea


That's funny!


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## Mikcuz

subscribed


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## knifedag007

...get the alarm thing figured out?


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## scooter99

I'm working on it. I didn't touch it last night. Had some drama on the 8th going on, and then besides that my brain was scorched yesterday from trying to figure things out so I left it alone last night. No kids tonight, woot woot, so I'll look at it more tonight. I think for the most part I've got it. I just need to sit down and draw it out and make sure it's making sense. I'm doing it all in my head right now and it's confusing thinking about how it's gonna look. If I can sit down and draw it, then I'll be onto it for sure.


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## knifedag007

scooter99 said:


> I'm working on it. I didn't touch it last night. Had some drama on the 8th going on, and then besides that my brain was scorched yesterday from trying to figure things out so I left it alone last night. No kids tonight, woot woot, so I'll look at it more tonight. I think for the most part I've got it. I just need to sit down and draw it out and make sure it's making sense. I'm doing it all in my head right now and it's confusing thinking about how it's gonna look. If I can sit down and draw it, then I'll be onto it for sure.


what happened on 8th??


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## scooter99

Drama, guy started talking crap in our Sac forum about a guy who got banned. So he shows up in a forum that he's never in or on, to talk crap about a guy who couldn't come in and defend himself. So we did it for him. It's done now, he's been reported, and that's that for now.


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## scooter99

I have a little update for everyone. Nothing has been installed yet but there's alot going on right now. 

First things first, I got the Hybrid Racing Shifter Cable Bushing replacements today. So those are going to bump up in line to get installed.









Second, today again, got this beauty! Well you can't see the beauty yet, cause it's all wrapped up and I didn't feel like unwrapping it here at work. BUT IT'S HERE! 









Next, it's been a busy weekend. I went and got all the foam board insulation that I'm going to need to do my mockups for the trunk build. This will include the sub box, sliding amp rack (if I decide to use it as that), the side battery holders and power block, and floor rack. I bought 3/4" and 1/2". If you're going to need to do some mock ups, I'd highly recommend this stuff. It's the same thickness as the wood, and it's only like 6.00 - 7.00 per sheet. Win win if you ask me. You can make whatever you're making out of this stuff, then take it all apart, and use it for template's. So that'll start this week, maybe. 

I say maybe, cause the stuff I have on here isn't selling. I was going to use the money from all that to pay off credit cards, but beyond the couple hundred I've sold, it's just died. So I'm probably going to have to start working some serious over time again. I have to pay off these cards, and somewhere in there now with all these mods, I HAVE TO GET FLASH PRO. So that's just gonna add another grand probably on top of what I have to make. So I'm gonna have to definitely put in some serious hours. The build may be on hold for a bit cause of that. 

So lastly, my big victory this weekend was the trunk actuator idea. I got everything figured out and posted it up on the12volt.com and everyone is in agreement with my diagram. So here's the final plan. 

I've gone with option 2 of my previous post about this. On the alarm pad, the Trunk button will be just that. It will pop the trunk latch (as normal) and I've integrated a DEI 528T delay module before the DEI 529T module so that after 2 seconds or maybe even 1 second, the actuator will activate and open the trunk. This will give me added security of the trunk latch that's there now, as well as the actuator being down. The Aux 1 button will operate the front and rear window modules via the DEI 530T's (2, 1 for front two windows, and 1 for rear two windows.). The Aux 2 button will operate the Sunroof module via the DEI 529T. Yes you notice correctly in that I'm using a window module to operate the sunroof as well as the actuator for the trunk. It gives me the full operation that I'm needing. 

In the cabin, in the glove box with the rest of the switching, I'll put two buttons. One button for the trunk pop and actuator up motion. Second button will be for the closing of the trunk. 

I'm also integrating a down button in the trunk. The reason I've decided to go with this is after talking with my wife this weekend, we've decided for safety factors, it would be best to close the trunk from inside the cabin or from the trunk lid itself. If you think about it, all automated trunks have the button on the trunk lid or around there and most do not allow for the trunk to close via the remote. I have to imagine that is so that you don't close it with the remote and turn around and a kid tries to get in there or whatever. Yes i understand there's safety features that stop the trunk from closing all the way for that reason, but you just never know. I'm not willing to take my kids safety to chance for something like that. 

So that's where I'm at at this point. I bought the DEI 528T and DEI 529T last night, however, I'm lower on funds then I thought so I'm going to go ahead and wait till I get some more funds saved up before I buy the actuator. I'll be getting a 6" actuator for this application. The down fall to that is the length of the actuator. At compressed length it's 10.5" and my distance from the upper back wall behind the seat to my lifting point on the hinge is 7". So that's 3.5" too long. So instead of putting it straight and level with the rear deck as I wanted to, I'll have to lower it and put it down further to make it work. This is ok but not my preferred spot. I'll be loosing about 2.5 - 3" in space where I really wanted to use up all space between the wheel wells for the sub enclosure. I'm already limited in the amount of space I have to use, but this is just one more glitch in the system. I'll figure it out. Maybe it'll all work out fine. 

So here's the diagram for the actuator system:









I know it's not a huge view of it, but that's about as big as I could get it. Sorry. With the buttons being used for the trunk opening operation, the lower latch will no longer be used. I'll be locking that and leaving it that way. If anyone get's into the car, they'll have to figure out how to open the trunk because they won't be able to open it by the latch and get it, and even if they break the latch, they won't be able to lift it with the actuator (hopefully). I'll test this theory when I get it in. 

So like I said, lots going on, but most of it is just planning and receiving of more gear. 

My list of things to do on the horizon if I have the time are:

1) Finish wiring the side markers
2) Install the new HR Cable Bushings
3) Mock ups for the trunk
4) Exhaust 
5) Header
6) Headlight Retros
7) Fog Light Retros

That's not the necessary order it's gonna go in, but it'll be similar to that. It's driving me nuts not to have finished the side markers. So that's for sure going to be first on the list. The exhaust and header will most likely take a back seat to the rest since I'm gonna take a while to get the Flash Pro. 

So that's it, thanks for tuning in and sorry for the long read!


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## scooter99

Ahhhh yes, now my day is complete! Ladies and Gentlemen let me introduce you to........

Hertz Mille ML700 3" Comp Mid Ranges









I love these already, the grills (on the left) are metal not plastic! Awesome! 









And the ass!









Thanks Travis, you da man! :beerchug:


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## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> Ahhhh yes, now my day is complete! Ladies and Gentlemen let me introduce you to........
> 
> Hertz Mille ML700 3" Comp Mid Ranges
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I love these already, the grills (on the left) are metal not plastic! Awesome!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And the ass!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks Travis, you da man! :beerchug:


Nice mids....now lets see some pods appear


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## scooter99

Right I'll see if I can fit that in! LMAO!


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## scooter99

Here are some random shots after I washed her today! 

I also removed a couple of the 8th Civic.com logos (from the rear passneger wing window and same place on driver side.) and then also removed the DMB Fire Dancer sticker. That was a hard one. Got that at a concert in Berkley! But it was time. Also removed the Buddyclub logo in the front passenger side wing window. Didn't have one for the driver side, so it was not looking right to me. 




























What is this you ask? 









Preparation, for this! My support! 



























That's it, nothing too big. But I love my ride, it's lookin clean, no pun intended!


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## scooter99

More updates loading now! Even a couple videos! Tune in tomorrow!


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## MTopper

why not now?


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## oldturd

knifedag007 said:


> pop my trunk yea yea yea


I'm saddened to have done this to more than one car. When you work on commission, it's hard to turn work away.


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## scooter99

MTopper said:


> why not now?


Sorry I got back off right after I posted last night, so I'm just seeing this. It was a little late, the pictures are raw so they need to be organized, labeled and then I need to document them on here. Not as easy as just posting pics. Plus..........................there's 129 pics, and 2 videos! Lots to get posted! :laugh:

Soon, I'm working on it now.


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## IBcivic

MTopper said:


> why not now?


sheesh, get that estrogen under control


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## scooter99

That's quite the hand Martin! Nice bandage job buddy! I bet there's a helluva story behind that one!


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## IBcivic

its a half cast...the bandage/cast job was done by one hot doctor(ess)


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## scooter99

Really, you couldn't even snap off one little picture!?!


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## scooter99

55 pics of 125 (I deleted a few useless ones) left to go.


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## scooter99

Ok the pics are done. I'm going to start uploading here. Please let me finish before you start commenting. LOTS of pics and stuff to upload. Thanks guys and gals!


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## scooter99

Ok so first things first. This is my install of my Megan R18 Header (testpipe or whatever you wanna call it), Weapon R CEL Eliminator, and Vibrant Catback Exhaust. It didn't take too long to do and I have average to slightly above average skills at best. I started this project at 2:55pm and finished it, buttoned up cleaned up etc. at 5:05pm. That should just give you an idea of what this entails. Also though, keep in mind I took approximately 130 pictures and 2 videos to document this all. I'd probably have shaved about 30 minutes off this for pictures alone. So either way, you have an idea. 

I got the install of the header from this thread to go off of. This is a great DIY on this install, but I decided to do a little bit more detail on it, and see if I could maybe improve upon it. Again, great DIY to use, very informative, and I thank the op of that for doing it. Helped me a lot. 

I couldn't really find a DIY on the exhaust, I'm sure I didn't look in the right places, but I just winged it. So onto the build.

First things first lets lay out the sexy! This is about the time I started humming the tune: "Isn't she lovely, isn't she wonderful......"









































































Ok so there they are. The parts that are ready to go on. Next up to jack the car in the air. I've done this 100 times before it seems like, so I'm not going to go over this. If you need help with this, pm me, but it's pretty self explanatory.


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## scooter99

So now she's up in the air, we're ready to get started. Make sure, before you do get started, that you're high enough up in the air to get your body comfortably all the way under the car. Now if you have phobias like I do, you may want to get under there and get comfortable and acclimated with being under there, cause you're gonna spend a good amount of time under your car. Me I have an issue with something like this hanging over top of me. The thought of being crushed I guess. Moving on. 

I'm gonna start at the header. Hood is up. I think you should probably disconnect the battery at this point, the negative, cause you're going to need to reset the ECU when you're done. I didn't do that then, I waited. But either way, you'll have to do it at some point. 

Disconnect the clip for the O2 sensor on top.









On one of my many excursions to Harbor Freight, I purchased an O2 Sensor Removal Tool. It's basically a big socket, with a slit cut into the side of it for the wires to pass through. I think it was about 5 or 6.00. Connects to any 3/8" ratchet. Using this, remove the O2 Sensor. 



























Next, using a 10 mm socket, remove the upper heat shield.



























Next there's a second O2 Sensor down the driver side of the header. The clip is right under or next to the EGR tube. This is clipped on a bracket. The upper part of the clip will slide up, the lower part, that goes to the O2 Sensor is clipped to that bracket. I chose to unclip it from the bracket and then disconnect the two. Whatever way you decide to do it, disconnect it.









The sensor. Don't remove it yet. Well you can if you can get to it, but it's way easier if you wait till the unit is out. 









Next I loosened the two nuts and two bolts on the header itself. These are 12mm. Then I loosened the two nuts on the EGR tube. Those are also 12mm.


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## scooter99

Ok, now that's all loosened up, time to go for our first of many trips under the car. 

Now on the DIY thread, it suggests pulling down the under pvc. You'll see it, it's right under the header. Black, you can see it in this next pic. I chose not to pull it off. To me, I think you can get to everything without this extra step. But again, that's just me and it's whatever you feel comfortable doing. Also here you can see the joint between the header and downpipe sticking down. This is where you wanna get to. Start SCOOTING!!! 









Using a 12mm socket, remove these spring bolts. These are going to change, I'll get to that later. Remove these for now. 









Next you'll see some other bolts. These are the bracket bolts holding the header to the car. They're 14mm bolts. 

This one is on the driver side. 


















These are on the passenger side, and a little tougher to get to. In the DIY it says to unbolt the bottom one, then later says that you need to take out the bracket to get the header out. I decided why make it harder, and chose to do the upper bolt and remove the bracket with the header. Also it's a bit easier to get to. The PVC just pulls back. *(Quick Note: If you use a 1/2" socket and ratchet, you're only gonna get so far till you hit the frame cross bar. I was not able to turn the bolt by hand. I have a set of combination box wrenches that are ratchet style. SO I used one of those and it was no problem. I think you'll be alright with a 3/8" ratchet though.)* So remove the upper bolt.


















Next, get back out from under the car, take off all the bolts and nuts up top that we loosened earlier, and carefully pull the whole thing out.


----------



## scooter99

Next, don't forget to pull off the old gasket from the block. 









Now it's time to dismantle the OEM header.

Grab your O2 Sensor Removal Tool again, and remove the second O2 Sensor. 



























Next you're going to remove the EGR Tube. These are 12mm bolts just like the uppers.









This is where I ran into a little something. I'm not sure how to fix this but I'm going to work on it. Probably gonna have to drill it out. 

IN trying to remove the bolts for the EGR Tube, I ended up only getting so far and the bolts seized up and snapped off. So I'm thinking I'm going to have to drill out the old bolts, hoping not to ruin the threads at the same time, and then get the remains out that way. I'll work on it like I said. 

Here's those things removed









Now then, you're going to need to remove the seal from the bottom. If you have a new downpipe, you won't need to worry about this as I think the new downpipes come with new seals. Check it out. 

So to take this off, I used a flat headed screw driver, and very very very very very very carefully pried on it twisting the screw driver, not just prying on it. Take your time. It's brittle. 










After that, use a 14MM Socket and remove the bracket. 










Now start putting everything on the new header!

I just went in reverse the order I took everything off, so the last thing off was the first thing on.


----------



## scooter99

Put the bracket on.









Then here's where I found out something. I ended up putting on the EGR Tube, cause that's the order I went in. Well it doesn't work that way. You have to wait on this. If you put this on, then the CEL Angeled Valve, the valve won't turn, it'll hit the EGR Tube and not get tight. So put the CEL valve on first! 

Here's a picture of the broken bolts BTW, and the EGR Tube, and the gasket. 









EGR Tube on, oops.









CEL Eliminator Valve









As you can see it wouldn't clear. 

This Nut should be only finger tight. If not, use a 19mm socket to remove. Same for the top. 



























EGR Tube removed, again. 

Now I didn't have any wrenches big enough for the CEL valve, so I used a crescent wrench for it. I got this on and test fitted it, taking a second here, and the sensor clip and the oem clip would not reach each other. So I read, re read, and read the instructions again and couldn't figure it out. SO I called Weapon R. 

The CEL Eliminater can go in any direction. UP, DOWN, Angled in any way. doesn't matter. As long as the connectors connect. It should be threaded in all the way, as long as it connects, and then tightened. This is straight from Weapon R. Now everyone knows.



















Put the O2 Sensor on!


----------



## scooter99

Now put the EGR Tube back on. 









Time to address the area in the motor. Put the new gasket that should have come with your header on in place of the old one you removed earlier. 



























Put the header in carefully, and loosely install the nuts and bolts. Also connect the second O2 Sensor and snap back on the bracket. 




































Remove


----------



## scooter99

Install the Top O2 Sensor and connect.




































Now you're ready to go back under the car! 
Now put all the nuts and bolts back on, again, loosely!


















Now you're ready to move onto the next step! THE EXHAUST! YAY!

Here's a view of the old HFP Axle Back.









View of the OEM exhaust


----------



## scooter99

So starting at the joint between the mid pipe and the axle back. 

Remove these two spring bolts. They're both 12mm. Yes that one is crooked, and I've replaced it with a new one now. So it's a complete set again. 


















Remove the rubber hangers, this is right behind the bumper above the axle back.









Slide it out!









Old vs. New









Back to the midpipe. Remove the rubber hanger here.









and here









Now go back to the front to the header and downpipe joint and put the spring bolts back in. Remember that I said before there was going to be a change with these. It's not done yet, but after messing with it, it's a pain to get this to seat correctly. What I did originally was stretch the springs with a large flat head screwdriver.

However, this is what I think it needs, and what I think I'll be doing most likely today. I think it needs a couple of washers to go in between the hat of the bolt and the midpipe. I also think you should spend a couple bucks and get a second gasket, a paper one really, and put it in behind the round doughnut gasket and maybe even some gasket putty as well. I'll get pictures of all this later and update it then. SO look for those in the very very near future. 










At the front of the car right behind the front axle you'll see the joint between the downpipe and the mid pipe. Now only the nuts will come off here. They're 14mm.


----------



## scooter99

Now you're ready to drop the mid pipe! 









Another Old vs New pic.









Now we're ready to start putting the new midpipe in and the rest of the exhaust.

Here's the first part, Midpipe Part A. Remove these bolts and nuts. You won't use the bolts for this one. You can just set them aside, put them back in the box, whatever you wanna do with them. Remember that the oem downpipe has the bolts welded in. These nuts are also 14mm.




































Now strip the other side of the Part A and prep for Midpipe Part B. This has the matching side to Part A (with 3 holes) on one end and just a cut pipe on the other end. 


















I put the bolts into the flange on Part A so that it could hold the gasket for me. 









Mid Pipe Part B


----------



## scooter99

Bolt it up and let it hang. 









Now you're ready for Part C with the resonator.

Put the Rubber Hanger on here.









And here









I would advise bending down the hooks a little bit. The instructions ask for about 3/8" between the exhaust tip and the bumper. It's a tight fit if you don't bend these. 


















Now hang it.


















You'll notice a 3rd hanger on the mid pipe part c right behind the resonator. This is not used. Unless you want to make another hanger. It'll clear, and it's not in the way of anything. FYI.

Part C Hung









Now it's time to try and connect Part B and Part C with the connector supplied by Vibrant!









Now I'm not so sure about this connector. I may try and alter this as well for a better more secure seal, but I'll update if I do. 

Part B and Part C.


----------



## scooter99

I chose to have the bolts facing down. It's not that hard really to figure out. Just wrap it around and bolt it up. The bolts are 14mm btw. 









NOW....IT'S TIME FOR THE SEXY!!!









The nuts bolts and gasket are supplied by vibrant. They're 17mm









Remove the rubber hanger and bend down the hook that it's hanging on like you did the others. 









Install it here









Then hang the muffler









Slide in the gasket and install the nuts, washers and bolts. Part C and Axle Back


















I used a terry towel here to slide between the bumper and the tail pipe. This will help separate the two and give a center while you tighten everything up.


----------



## scooter99

Now, go back starting at the top of the header and tighten everything up.


----------



## scooter99

Next, you're gonna need to have someone inspect it for you! :laugh:









My inspector just happened to have gotten up from her nap. She's got a fresh set of eyes! 

Put her back down on the ground.









Reconnect the battery, this will reset your ECU, and then start it up and let it idle for 15 minutes to let the ECU read the new stuff. 

Then you wanna take yourself some videos! 

HFP - BTW, that squeak in the background is a bird chirping, not my ride! 


The new sexiness! 


So there it is. I just found out I'm free to go today, so I'm gonna hit up some auto stores on the way home and get some stuff to fix my issues. I'll post up later if I can the new pics and explanations. 

Thanks for tuning in. Comments etc welcome! More to come!


----------



## knifedag007

I hate slip fittings like that, why didn't they just make it one piece?

Now you just need an aftermarket down pipe and you will be set. :thumbsup:


----------



## scooter99

Yeah that's on the list. 

Ok so I got some parts. Got some fans on the ride to see if I can cool it off AT ALL. Not expecting much but any would be nice. I'm gonna go see if I can get this thing to purrrr!!


----------



## scooter99

Oh forgot to post up the new logo! Added to under the hood!


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## scooter99

Ok well I've gotten all the changes done. It's resetting the ecu now, idling, but already it sounds better. I'm not gonna hold too much stock in that though, cause I thought it sounded alright yesterday till I took it around the block. 

I'll have to get the pics uploaded later. I've gotta go change and go get my kids from school.


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> Really, you couldn't even snap off one little picture!?!


PERV


----------



## JayinMI

amitaF said:


> Location: YUL- Kanukistan


LOL.

Jay


----------



## scooter99

amitaF said:


> PERV


Your point isssssss.........................

Ok my buddy called me up last night and we Sea Foamed and did some other stuff to the ride. 

Found my leak, it's coming from the secondary O2 sensor. If you don't know about Sea Foam, it cleans everything out of your motor, carbon build up, gunk, etc. Well when you use it it creates this white smoke. Well with my issues being the exhaust, we were able to see that smoke through the leaks. Seems as though the only leak, that we could tell anyway, is coming from that O2 sensor. So now I'll have to repull the header and tighten that sensor. I'm trying to thing of something that I can use for the threads to seal it better, but I'm not coming up with much. I originally thought of thread tape, but I think it might melt. So my next though is thread loc. I'll think of something. 

Here are all the pictures of the sealant on the gaskets etc. I'm not going to go through and describe each one but all the joints have been sealed. 










Here you can see some build up around where the header and downpipe meet. 


















Removed the downpipe



























I did replace the bolts I snapped off on the EGR Tube.


----------



## scooter99

I used some washers and put them in in place of the springs.


----------



## scooter99

This is a muffler repair kit. You heat it up and it sticks to metal. I figured it would allow for a nice seal under the metal strap. 



























Then, Last night I did this! Hybrid Racing Shifter Cable Bushings FTMFW!! Shifting is sooooooo much nicer. They are night and day just in feeling from the corsport pos that was in there. They are more solid, feel better built, and they're machined better as well. And they look nicer! Because we all know that's tops on the list for parts! :laugh:



























Sorry this is a bad one. 









So that's it for now. The shifting feels great. It feels so much more solid. 

As for the header and exhaust, I'm not so sure I like it. I'm going to get the O2 sensor leak fixed and i'll go from there on whether or not I'm going to keep it on or not. Right now I'm leaning towards no. But I'll make my decision when all the leaks are fixed. 

In the meantime I have to figure out how I'm going to get the broken bolts out of the OEM header. I think first things first, I'm going to have to soak them in PB Blaster or something like that, then I'll get the drill out and I guess drill them out. Hopefully I can get in there close enough to the threads to thin it out, and then at the same time not wreck them. I need to go get an M8-1.25 Tap so that I can re thread it if I need to. 

Also, I think for sure I'm going to need a bottle resonator. I think I'll refrain from making that decision until the leaks are fixed but I think those aren't gonna make that big a difference at this point. It's pretty loud. SO I'm going to put that on my very near list of things to get, and with that maybe a downpipe as well. 

I'm going to start on my lighting next. I think I'm going to start pulling the head light housings apart and getting them ready for the retros. Same with the fogs. I'll start taking the fog light housings apart and cutting the retros and getting those going! When all that gets ready for install, I'll finish wiring the side markers. 

That's all today. Thanks as always for tuning in.


----------



## scooter99

Not much to report today! Not loving the header. I think I'm going to fix the OEM and get it back in and see how it sounds.


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## scooter99

Well it's not a matter of waiting to see. I've decided I'm going back to the OEM header. I have to get bolts drilled out of the OEM header EGR Tube holder but aside of that, I should be able to switch it out in the next day or so. It's just too raspy, thanks Cory for the term, and I'm constantly worried right now about getting pulled over for sound. So I'll go back to OEM, then at that point I'll decide if I need to add the bottle resonator or not. 

The other thing I'm not sure what to do about is the Exhaust. It seems very loose, shakes a lot at idle. Seems like it should be tighter. I may try and see what I can do to fix that. It's also out of center, to the passenger side. 

So there's a couple things I need to do to fix that. Anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking that there's a hook on the mid pipe Part c that was not used, and if I could some how figure out some sort of hanger to put on it, maybe that could help with stabilization. I'll have to see about that. Damn it I need to learn how to weld!


----------



## scooter99

So here's the latest of what's going on. It's been a couple days since I've updated. There really hasn't been anything going on. I've been put down with a sickness. It's absolutely leveled me! My wife and I both, which might be the only good thing about being sick this time is that my wife and I are sick at the same time. Meaning that we both were home on Tuesday together. Not exactly the "quality time" I'd like to spend with her, but it was nice to just spend the day together being lazy and watching tv and not having to run around doing housework or dealing with kids (they were at school). 

So I'm back today though, went to the gym today, and I'm feeling a lot better than I have been all week. Wife's still down though, which sux but she's on the mend! 

I did manage to get a couple pilot holes drilled into the broken bolts in the OEM header the other day. So now I need a couple bigger holes and I'll get the bolt extractors in there and hopefully (fingers crossed) I'll get those out soon. I need to get this header back in and get things back under control. My gas mileage is suffering, and I'm getting a backfire on the down shift from third to second gear. Only seems to be at that point. SO that will be my priority right now. After that I'll start getting some other stuff done. 

This build is lagging I know, but it will pick up soon, I promise! 

Stay tuned!


----------



## scooter99

Ok here's another little update folks! I just sent off payment for the Hybrid Racing Silicone R18 Hoses!


----------



## aeon

Man you're just on a modding frenzy there. 

Sucks having a leaking header. I think my flex pipe is leaking and man it's annoying when I step on the gas. As for the for the exhaust shaking, it could be because of the unused hanger. I noticed that some aftermarket exhausts don't use all of the stock hangers making it a bit looser so the exhaust shakes.


----------



## scooter99

Thanks for the input. Unfortunately the hanger that's not used on the exhaust doesn't have a hanger on the car to mate with. So i'm looking into having a hanger welded on there and then I'm going to see about changing all the hangers to stiffer ones.


----------



## PottersField

If you're ging to stiffen up the hangers, make sure there's a section of flex pipe or you very likely will break stuff. Other than that the exhaust being loud as it is, is likely more due to the muffler than the header. Vibrant makes some loud ****.


----------



## scooter99

Oh good call! I didn't think about that.


----------



## scooter99

OK well that's it. I decided to say good bye to the header today! Took it off and put the oem back on. Soo much calmer! I'm waiting for the 15 minutes to be up now at idle, and then I still need to drive it but it sounds so much different just at idle now. Crazy! 

Now, on to other projects!


----------



## scooter99

So now that my header is off and the cat is back on, my ride is much quieter. I miss the deep throttle sound of the exhaust, and to be honest now I wish I'd have kept the HFP on instead of spending the money on the Vibrant. It really doesn't sound any different. I may pull it off and sell it but I'm not sure now. I did also loose some power as well. It was nice to drop down a gear and pass someone with no effort, but it's not a huge difference. The loss of about 5 - 6 mpg wasn't worth it though. I was averaging about 25 - 27 on the freeway and I was doing that in the city with the oem header. So I think in the long run it'll be an even trade off. Now I can move on to other things like lights, alternator, and starting the trunk!


----------



## scooter99

Here's a little update for everyone. Not much going on at the moment, or has been done at all. 

I'm working some ot this week. I've now sold almost all my audio stuff now, only a few more pieces to go. Still lots of performance stuff that needs to go. But I'm gonna start this week striping the inside of my car out. Everything's coming out, wires, old panels, head rest monitors etc. I think if i get that stuff out, first I can sell some of the old wires like the 1/0 ga, and a couple of sets of custom full length RCA's, and then second, with the OEM head unit back in I think it will motivate me to get started on this build. I need to remove the dd head unit anyway to mold around the outter area of it, so it sits flush and there's no "trim ring" around it. So as far as I can see there's no better time than the present. 

Once that's done I'll be working on that and getting it all done and painted and ready. Although I think I may be going with Carbon Fiber Vinyl to cover the panel. I think it will blend a lot better and look better and I won't have to worry about matching the paint. I think the same is going to happen with the dash gauge trim piece when I get it done with the Scan Gauge II flush mounted in it. 

So lots going to happen here soon. I know it's been a couple weeks since some real progress has been made. Kind of took a step forward and then two back with the whole header ordeal but I think I'm much happier with the end result. I do miss the power, as I've said already, but I don't miss the drop in gas mileage and I don't miss the horrible shudder in the idle I had going on. 

At this point the car is running well. However, it still could be tuned and I think while flash pro is in the future, I don't think it's going to be in the near future. I've got some other things I'm moving up on the priority list and when those get done, unless of course the money tree in my back yard gives me a good crop this year, then the flash pro will have to wait. 

That's all for now. Look for some big changes soon! Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## kyheng

Do let me know if you decided to part the head rest monitors.....


----------



## scooter99

I don't think that'll happen unless Pioneer get's off their ass and makes a new model. If that happens I'll be in touch. Otherwise I need to get of my ass, and get the one fixed so I can get on that part of the build too. Still not 100% decided on how that's gonna go yet.


----------



## scooter99

Ok well I decided to get out and do a couple little things to the ride. I decided it was time to get the OEM head unit back in and that would free me up to do some mods to the bezel and aftermarket head unit. 

Pioneer head unit coming out.









So I had to do a couple of things to make this happen. First I don't have the door speakers hooked up to the OEM harnesses in the doors cause I had them running to amps from the last install. Well I didn't feel like opening up the doors at this particular time, so I had to splice in the wires behind the deck. Why did I tear up the harness? Well it was already F-ed up from the fail I had with trying to hook up the Axxess Steering Wheel Controls. So here I've tapped them in so the speaker wire from the door speakers now are connected to the OEM harness. It's not pretty but I'll clean it up when I get the new install going. 









That leads me to this. DIYMA people this doesn't really pertain to you, unless you have the parts to help me out. I need a new harness now. This is the harness I need, the 17 pin (unless I'm not counting correctly) harness that carries the ignition, hot, ground, speaker wires, etc. 









For the record, this is the harness I was supposed to use for the Axxess SWI. FAIL!


















So now that the speaker wires are hooked up and the excess wires are removed, so is the Pioneer Head unit. Here they are side by side. And now I need to transfer all the extras (hvac controls, vent, hazard button, etc.).









Done









Plugged her in and put her in place









Turned it on and she's alive. Had to dig out the radio code, which made me nervous cause I didn't know if I had it or not! Whew!


----------



## scooter99

So with that done, that brought me to the next thing.

WIRES! A MESS OF WIRES! 









But really this is what I'm wondering. In the new build I've said I'm going with some stuff in the glove box, buttons, aBigs media player, etc. Well under that panel is where I'd like to put the Axxess SWI. Why? Cause that would put it out of the way, out of sight, and keep the area behind the dash clean and organized. I don't really need to get to it once it's programmed and besides that the panel for the glove box will be easily removable so I can get under it anyway. 

Here's my problem. The plug in for the wired remote control 3.5mm jack behind the pioneer unit, is too short to do this with. So my question to you electronics guys out there is this. In the following picture you'll see that the plug in cable houses two wires, a white and a red. Are these just simply that a single white wire and a single red wire, or are there several small wires inside of this one wire? 









I'm asking this because if there are only the two wires, then I could easily cut these, and the extend them using new wire which would solve my length problem. If you look at this picture, the two wires enter the holes behind these pins, yellow arrows. So that would lead me to believe that there is only one wire inside each sleeve. 









I'm interested to see if anyone has any input here, cause I don't want to just cut the wire, and then be screwed to find out there's a bunch of littler wires in there. 

So after this was done, I decided to go another step further since I had the dash apart.


----------



## scooter99

If you will recall this is where I decided to put the Scan Gauge II. I did remove it tonight and put it where the HVAC controls are at and decided for the work to move everything it wasn't worth it to put it there. So I decided that since the dash was apart and I was going to start molding with bondo and glass etc, why not do this part too. So I removed it. 

With the dash pieces off, you can easily remove this piece as well. If you look at the front of it, where the other pieces are already off, you'll notice three screws. I thought I had a picture of this but apparently I was in too big a hurry tonight. The screws are located at the right side of this piece, the center, and the left side. Remove those screws. Then pull toward you and the clips will let loose. There are no cables to disconnect or anything like that. 

Here it is detached. If you look closely at the front edge you can see the three screw holes at right, center, and left. 


















Now if you turn it over, you'll see 4 more screws and a crap load of white tabs. I removed the screws to later find out you don't need to do this in order to get the piece off you want. 









Simply start at one side, and push on the white tabs and the piece will pop out. That's it! That easy! 









This is not a great picture but I was trying to show that there's a bunch of room under this area, so depth won't be an issue at all. This is with that trim piece put back on and screwed in, without the center trim piece that we're going to modify. For those of you with turbos or superchargers or whatever, and you get gauges, this is where you will most likely get the trim piece that has the gauges in it. This is where it will go. 


















SO I hve a couple of options here. I can either stick with the center mount on it, or I can go with the right hand side mount on it. I'll decide that at a later time, but either one will work. It's in plain eyes view, and it's no different from in front of you to just right of center. SO I have to decide on that part.

Then finally I put it all back together and called it a night. 









So that's all for now. I'm going to start messing with the scan gauge pod and the head unit bezel, and start the new wiring harnesses for the head unit to clean all that up. 

I need to find a new OEM harness to replace the one that's now messed up, so if anyone has one or knows a part number please let me know so I can order this up asap! 

This weekend I plan to gut the car again. All old wiring is being removed and the car is getting stripped down to a clean canvas again. I'm sure that's gonna make my wife extremely happy.  I'll have to take whatever punishment she's ready to dish out. I'm ready to get this thing under way! 

If I have time, again this weekend, I may start the trunk mock ups. But we'll have to wait and see what the weekend holds. 

Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## scooter99

So I swear it's the little things in life that keep me going. Driving to work this morning I couldn't help but just play with the steering wheel controls. I missed them sooo much! LMAO! So nice to have them back!


----------



## scooter99

So in my never ending thoughts about this build etc, I have another question or quest for everyone. I'm going to have a thick twisted pair to go into my doors for the mid bass drivers, only one since I'm running them in a 2 ohm load. But also with that I'm going to have the two window modules (DEI-530T) for the auto up and down for the alarm system. There are a lot of wires that go along with that as well. 

What I'd like to do is make a new pass through harness for the driver door for these wires to go through from the door to the kick panel. The issue, and really the only or best way to go about this, is to take the door off. Can this be done? Meaning can the door be removed from the car/hinges? 

This would allow two things:
1) to create this secondary wire harness pass though;
2) make it easier to do the door pods for the mid bass later on down the line.

So, I'm interested to see if anyone has any insight on this.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I'm kickin around the idea of changing head units a little bit. Here's what I'm looking at! 

Pioneer AVIC-Z130BT
Pioneer AVIC-X930BT
Pioneer AVIC-X920BT

I was doing a little research on them and this is what I've found out: GPS Navigation | Pioneer Electronics USA

*Screens*
Z130BT has a 7" screen vs. the 920 and 930 having the 6.1" screens. I do like the bigger screen but it's not horribly bigger. I don't watch movies up front anyway and 90% of the time when a movie is on, I have the screen turned off so that's not a huge deal, especially talking about 3/4 - 7/8". I like the thinner button bar at the bottom, seems less obtrusive, but at the same time I like how the X models seem flat and all one level, where as the Z models (and the 4200 I have) have the button bar that sticks out on the bottom. 

*Navigation*
They're pretty close for the most part. The differences are that the Z130 has the ability for 3D landmarks and the other two don't. 

Not sure if this is a big deal or not. 

X930 uses a separate module for the TMC Traffic Tuner (ND-TMC10), X920 doesn't use it, and the Z130 has it included. 

X920 has MSN Direct capability with a module (ND-MDT 10), the other two don't. 

I don't know that I would use either of those, I've never had any experience with either, so I don't know that it's that big a deal. It would be nice if I was traveling somewhere and there was an accident, to tell me and give me an alternate route. I'm assuming that's what they do. 

*Voice Control*
Both the Z130 and the X920 have voice control, the X930 does not. 

Is this something that I would use alot? I think if i got used to it I might use it a lot. It would be nice to say an album or a song or artist and find it on the ipod, however, I'm not using an ipod anymore because of the media player. For calling it would be nice, dial a number, call a person, but to what extent does it need to be set up? So I can see how this would be useful to have this, not sure why they decided to leave it out of the new X model. Interesting.

*Media Playback*
These are all the same with all three units. So nothing different here. 

*Tuner*
With this section the only thing that stands out to me is that the HD Tuner. I love the sound of HD radio now that I've had it for a while. The X models need the GEX-P20HD module that I have now, however, the Z130 has it built in. Why is this a catch? Because it eliminates a module, which eliminates wiring. I already have a ton of wiring in the car, so to eliminate any would be a good thing. 

Other wise they're all pretty much the same. They all have 24 stations / 6 presets, which I'm assuming means there are 3 fm bands with 6 presets each, and an AM band with 6 presets as well. Standard really, I only use the first band anyway. The rest is overkill for me. 

*Audio*
This is a stand out as well. All three units are the same for audio. 50x4 built in amplifier, EEQ (Easy EQ) Preset Equalizer, 7-Band Graphic Equalizer, 3-mode loudness, and Advance Sound Retriever (not sure what this is). None of that will be used in my situation (with exception of maybe the Advanced Sound Retriever because I don't know what it is so I don't know if it would be used or not) because I have the Bit One.1 Processor doing all my sound processing. 

This is what stands out though. Both the X models have 3 - 2volt rca outputs. The Z model has 3 - 4volt rca outputs. The higher volts will be good for signal to the processor. So that's a bonus. But is it necessary. I thin I have a lot of head room in my amplifiers to be able to make up for the lower signal. I'll have to think about that one. 

*Blue Tooth / Ipod / SD Card / USB*
All three units are pretty much the same here. The only difference with these are the X models use a mini SD Card and the Z model uses an SD/SDHC card. 

The Blue Tooth is audio streaming which is good cause I need to use that for Pandora on my Blackberry. I don't have an iPhone which seems to be what this world revolves around, so I won't be able to use those features on these units anyway. SO I can do Pandora from my Blackberry this way. That's a pro. 

*General*
All three are similar in this section. They all have: IP-Bus, Aux Input in the rear, rear view camera, composite a/v input, composite video output, customizable home screen shortcuts, same amount of button illumination colors, wired remote input, cellular mute, and Advanced Touch Slide Operation. 

Here are the differences: The X930 and Z130 have Dual Zone Video ability (which I have on the 4200) and the X920 does not. This is sort of a big deal. My girls love to watch movies in my car on the way home or on the way to school or even long trips. I don't really care to hear the movies, and I'm putting IR headphones in for them in the back with the headrest monitors, so it would be nice to have the dual zone so I could listen to some music while they enjoy their movies. 

The X930 has a detachable face, or like 3 buttons, and the other two do not have any detachable features. Seems kind of silly to me to have a couple of buttons that are detachable. This is irrelevant to me. 

The X930 has a rotary volume control and the Z130 and X920 have push button. Not a big deal because I'm using the steering wheel controls anyway.

*Price*
So based on what I've seen out there, I did a google search, I'm seeing this:

AVIC-Z130BT - Ranging from $887.87 to $1311.51 (Amazon - $1195.00)
AVIC-X920BT - Ranging from $578.99 to $975.08 (Amazon - $609.99)
AVIC-X930BT - Ranging from $622.43 to $879.12 (Amazon - $795.00)

So I guess right now I'm not sure which one I like best. Well that's not true I like the Z130BT best, but I'm not sure I want to spend that much money. It does have everything that I'm putting in now with modules, and would eliminate all those modules. It also solves the complications between the other two units being this: Non dual zone vs dual zone, voice control vs no voice control, 2v outputs, smaller screen. 

I think at this point I need to weigh out how much I need or want these different items and what can I live without, or if I'm doing this "Final Build" do I just do it right and get the whole nine yards. 

And just to be clear, the differences between the Z130BT and Z120BT seem to be these:

HD Tuner - Z130 has it built in, Z120 needs the module
APP Mode - Z130 has it, Z120 doesn't 

That's it. Pricing for the Z120 is $859.99 to $1488.49. (Amazon - $929.00)

So is it worth it to even move from where I am with the AVH-P4200DVD with the Blue Tooth Module and the HD Tuner module and no navigation? I could always get the navigation kit (AVIC-U220 ranging from $236.00 to $595.92) and that would solve the no navigation issue. 

I guess I have some thinking to do on this. Anyone who wants to throw some suggestions out there, or opinions, I always welcome that. I'm interested in what you all have to say.


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## knifedag007

I would say either the Z120 or Z130...a friend of mine has the Z110 and he loves it.


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## scooter99

I'm leaning that way as well, but if I go that route then it'll have to wait a while. I just simply don't have 1200.00 sitting around for a head unit. The problem with that is, without it, I'm using all these modules. If I get it down the road, then all the modules come out and the install will have to be modified! I'll have to think about this one a bit. Maybe I'll just be happy with what I have. I don't know, but we all know that now I have the buying bug, something's bound to give I'm sure! Time will tell.


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## scooter99

Ya know the other thing about going with the z130 unit vs what I have, is that I won't be able to go with an optical cable into the bit one from the head unit. I still have to check and confirm this but I think that with the converter I can go optical from the 4200. Now I can go optical from the abigs media player but I can't do that and then go rca into the head unit. 

It's looking more and more like I'm going to ditch the digital optical set up and go analog I guess. Oh well!


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## scooter99

Ok couple things going on. 

I've decided that I just simply can't afford to go with a different head unit right now. It's just not in the cards. If I do go with one I've decided the Z130BT is the one I want. Might as well get one and have it all. Otherwise it's just not worth it. I've got a great head unit now in the 4200 and I love it. I've got the HD tuner, and I've got the bluetooth. I don't need navigation most of the time, and if I do I have my phone to get me there. So I think I'm just gonna stick where I'm at. Save my money, pay off credit cards, and go from there. 

Secondly, the FEDEX guy just dropped off a gift at work!









Whatever could it be! 









YESSIR!! My Hybrid Racing Silicone Radiator Hoses FTMFW!!! 









Aren't they beautiful! 









I can't wait to get these bad boys in. 

Third, I was able to take a closer look at my doors yesterday. It appears they are bolted on vs welded on. So it looks like I'll be able to remove them to do the second wire harness in there. I think the most complicated part of it will be disconnecting things in there to allow the door to come completely off. I'll have to get creative with the wiring I guess. Not a problem really, since some or most of the wires in there are going to need to be cut anyway, i.e. the window wires for the alarm modules, the oem speaker harness isn't a big deal, and I think the side mirrors too. But I'll have to open up the door when I get to that point and explore more how difficult the task will be. 

Remember this is my daily driver, so If I do cut them all, I'll replace them with quick disconnect connectors so that I can remove it and put it back when I need to work on it. My next step will be, if I decide to go through with this, going to a pick and pull or something so I can get a second grommet and tunnel kit. That way the A) match, and B) it's waterproof. 

I guess that's about it really. Haven't had time to work on the pieces I took out the other night yet. But I will soon! I'll post more when I have more.


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## knifedag007

I think the biggest problem you will run into with adding the second wiring channel is that on the drivers side right behind the piece of metal you will have to cut on the car not door is the fuse box, so cutting is going to be a big pain.


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## scooter99

Yea, now that I think about it, I forgot about that being right behind the wall there. Hmm I'll have to look further into it and see what I wanna do. I just don't think I can fit everything into that one tube. I'll go back and see what I have for wires to come through there and see where to go from there. Good find. Thanks!


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## scooter99

Ok I got my next minimal project in mind. I know I've got a ton of stuff going on already. 

The exhaust. First off, I'm hoping that when I get paid in a couple days, the Megan Downpipe I'm looking at will still be there for $75.00. Second that thread gave me an idea. Not the first part but the second. 

Fist part, I'm going to take the mid pipe part A and Part B where the coupler connects them, and I'm going to take it down to the muffler shop and have those biches welded together. I keep scraping the bolts that hang down and it's pissin me off. It's quiet enough and I'm not going to need a bottle resonator. 

Second part, I'm gong to use this and this and paint the whole exhaust. I don't want chrome on my ride, and after a couple weeks with this on, I don't like the look of it. 

So there you go. More to add to the project list! HA!


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## scooter99

Ok, bought the Si RSB tonight. That'll be going on when I get it.


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## scooter99

Well I had an unexpected half a day at home today. Well a little more than that. My daughter got sick at school, not sick but apparently something she ate. Anyway, she was fine so she wanted to watch movies while we were at home and so I worked on a project. 

I worked on my headlights. Yes, I finally got started on the headlight retros! I'm still working on them so I won't post pictures yet, but they should be done by this weekend, hopefully!


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## scooter99

Ok well it's been a little while since my last update or project. I have a big project in the works but I don't wanna reveal it yet cause I don't want to split up the DIY style of it. So in the meantime, I've gotten a couple other little things done. 

First one is very little. No big deal, just changed the oil! 









Next up, I got the Hybrid Racing Silicone Radiator Hoses installed finally! I'm probably going to do an actual DIY thread on this one, so you may see it around, but I wanted to make sure it's in my build thread too since it's part of my build! Winning, duh! 

So here we go. First things first, MAKE SURE YOUR CAR IS COOLED OFF! Remember you're messing with radiator coolant fluid. If the car is hot, *DO NOT OPEN THE RADIATOR CAP!!* This is not a project to do after you've driven home from work! 

*DISCLAIMER: I WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR INJURIES AND BURNS OR ANY OTHER ISSUES! IF YOU DON'T USE YOUR HEAD, YOU WILL GET HURT!!*

Now that we've established the difference between safety and stupidity, let's get on with it. 

First thing we're going to need to do is take off the Cowl. 4 clips, I've gone over this a couple times already. If you need assistance with this, you're welcome to search my thread on how to do it. So remove that. 


















Next you can go ahead and remove the radiator cap. 


















Now jack up the front of the car. Again, use your head and be safe. Yes you're only raising up the car for a little while, and only the front, but use some jack stands as a back up. Besides that it's easier to work without a big jack in the middle of where you need to work. So get the car in the air! 

Lets take a look at what you're going to be removing. 

These are the hoses up on top of the radiator. Under the cross member. The one on the right is the fill neck hose, and the other is the middle size of the three hoses. That one goes from the top of the radiator to the top inlet on the motor (identified by the orange line on picture number 2).


















Directly under that second hose(again identified with orange line), is the third hose(identified with the yellow line). This is the longest hose. It goes from the motor into the bottom of the radiator. 









Connection at the bottom of the radiator for the third hose.


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## scooter99

Now if you look at these hoses you'll notice at the connections to the motor and the radiator, on the hose, there's a little yellow mark and a little white mark. These are some sort of identification, possibly to notify what end goes where. I identified them that way anyway. Then I just matched them up to the new ones and made sure that I remembered that part goes up top on the connection. Moving on. 

Now you want to drain the system. When I looked for a DIY on doing this project I could only find the Si one where the top hoses were changed but saw nothing about the bottom hose. So I didn't find anything on whether or not to drain the system. So I did it anyway and that way I was assured new fluid and no messes, well sort of! 

This is a good thing to have around. This is an oil catch basin. This is what you would use to change your oil. You can drain the fluid (whatever you're working with) into here, and then drain it from here in a cleaner manner into something else, bottle or something for PROPER disposal. You can get these at any auto parts store, or something similar. They're not very expensive and save you a ton of mess and clean up. Just remove the green lid, and there's a screen under that to drain into, this will catch anything that drops in, i.e. oil plug etc. Also I use it to turn the oil filter, when changing my oil, upside down to drain it out. Like I said, LESS MESS!









This is a kind of fuzzy picture but right below your radiator in the middle, you'll see a cut out of the bottom pvc cover piece, and this drain valve staring you in the face. Depending on how high you've raised up your car, possibly literally in the face! This is how you'll drain the system.









Put the basin under it, and turn to open. Start the draining! You're not going to get a huge stream, and it'll take about 10 minutes to drain it out. 


















Now it's time to get to your replacement pieces. Here's the sexy going in. Hybrid Silicone Radiator hoses, screw type hose clamps from your local hardware store (probably 2" for the larger hoses, and 1 3/4" for the fill neck should do), Prestone 50/50 Radiator fluid, and the sexy Hybrid Racing Stickers which add at least 5hp! I already have one of these on my Cowl so these will go in the stash with the rest of the logo's I'm not using at the moment. Oh and towels, those are always good to have around. I get mine from costco, like a million in a package for 8.00. I use em a few times wash them and when they go bad I have no problems with just tossing them. 









Your larger hose is going to be labeled for the "K-Swap". This is fine, it's the same size, it works! 









Sexy









Now to remove the old! 

I decided instead of fighting around everything, that I would just remove the fill neck. This is not hard. Two 10mm bolts on top. 









Using a pair of pliers, there's probably a specific tool for these clips but I don't have one and pliers will work just fine, remove the clip on the right for the fill neck. NOTE: if you have a CAI like I do, be careful. The best way to get to this clip is from under the cross member, and that puts you right next to the CAI. I would suggest putting a towel on it, or something to protect it unless you don't care about scratching it. I care so I protected mine.


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## scooter99

You may need a flat head screwdriver or something to break the hose loose. I just carefully put a small flathead screwdriver under the hose and pried gently, so as not to rip the hose so I can put it back later, and then pulled it off. 









You'll notice the small (3/8" diameter) hose on the fill neck. This is for the overflow catch canister. Gently massage around it and it should just pull off. Mine did. 


















Remove the second clip and remove the hose. 









Old and new









Slide the new hose on. Now some people have said they're having problems with the tightness of these hoses. That's very possible. HR has said that the reason for that is the OEM hoses have lots more flex in them than these do. This is true. Don't believe me, simply pick up an old one and new one and bend them. Now you believe me? What I did just as a test, is I just simply dipped the hose in the old radiator fluid. Just to get it wet. Slid right on. 



























Now you can see by that picture, just how much bulge there is where it's connected to the fill neck. 

Next you'll need to put a hose clamp on it. Now looking at this, I didn't find out till later, but this is not a good place for the clamp. The screw part needs to be on the bottom part of the filler. Why? CAI. It will hit the CAI, and you may get a rattle or scratch it or whatever. I found it better to be at the bottom, facing towards the battery.


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## scooter99

Slide the second clamp on in this direction. The screw part should be on the left hand side and facing up. You'll see why this is in a moment. 









Now set that aside. We'll put it on later. Move on to the next hose. 

Same thing, now we're working with the left hand side. As with the smaller hose, it's easier to get to the clamp from under the cross member. Takes a little working but it is easier. 









Remove the clamp on the other end. 


















Work the hose off. 









Not the greatest picture but here you can see both hoses removed from the top of the radiator.



























Now we'll move to the bottom hose. This is the top part of it, directly under the hose you just removed. Take this clamp off. 









Slide the hose off.


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## scooter99

Crawl under the car and you'll see, this is looking through the PVC cover where the drain valve is at. This is located on the driver side of that hole. Remove that clip. You can access it from behind the PVC piece over the bottom cross member. Then slide it out. 


















More old vs new pics.









This is the end of the new hose (the one labeled "K-Swap") that goes to the bottom of the radiator. Position the hose clamp so you can access it from the drain valve hole. The screw part should face down on the passenger side of the hose. 


















Don't tighten it all the way. Just so it's in position. Just in case you need to move it around. 

Looking up from the bottom.









Slide your upper hose clamp on so the screw is on the left hand side facing toward the front of the car. 









Slide the hose on, and tighten the clamp if it's in a good position. If the hose is twisted at all reposition it so that there isn't any twist other than the way it was molded. Then once the top is tightened go back under and tighten the bottom clamp. 









While you're under there make sure, and you should've done this already, the drain valve is tight. At this point you can lower the car. I didn't cause I still needed to change my oil but you're done under the car at this point. 

Now we'll go put the upper hoses back on. 

On mine, and I'm sure the rest are like this, the Hybrid Racing faces the driver side. Put the clamps on. Motor side clamp screw should face up and to the right, toward the CAI. The radiator side screw should face the same way.


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## scooter99

Here is why you face the clamps on the radiator to the sides I've said. There's a little cut out there, and these clamps can be tightened there. If they're facing up and the correct way. Tighten the clamps on both ends.


















Next up is the filler neck and hose. 









Slide it on and tighten it. Then reattach the two 10mm bolts on top.









Here is where I moved the hose clamp. You can see it was hitting the CAI, or close at least. 









Reinstall the overflow hose. 


















Now it's time to fill this bish up! 









I wrapped the neck with a towel so it wouldn't go everywhere. I highly advise doing the same thing. You're going to pour the fluid in very very slowly. If you will recall how fast it came out of the drain valve, that's about the same rate it should go in. Start filling until it's full, it's gonna take quite a bit. I'd say probably 60 - 70% of the bottle to fill it initially. 









This is where it was full. Not a great picture, but if you look hard you can see the fluid is about a half inch below the top.


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## scooter99

Put the sexy Buddy Club Radiator Cap back on, or whatever kind you have. 









Start her up and let her run for about 30 seconds.









Remove the cap again, and you'll need to refill it. Won't take much so go slowly.









Another crappy picture, but you look hard and you can see it's full.









You'll know it's full when it stops gurgling or bubbling. Put the cap back on and start it again, and check it again. When you're done, you'll have used about 80 - 90% of the bottle. 

Put the cap back on, step back and look at the sexiness of your new hoses! 


















And that's it. You're done! Enjoy!


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## odj23

Liking the progress updates on non-stereo stuff as well 

One note for the future on replacing rad hoses - it helps to fill as much as you can via the hoses before re-attaching them... you get less chance of air bubbles and such that way.


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## scooter99

Thanks.


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## scooter99

I just wanted to give a little addition to the install. I didn't get to drive her yesterday cause my wife and I had a "date night" last night after work so we car pooled to work in her car. So today is the first time I've driven her since the install. 

Here's what I've noticed. At temperature the reading is usually right at halfway, right where the temp symbol is on the gauge. Well this morning I let it warm up as usual, and noticed it was about 4 bars lower than normal. It's not cold here in Sac, but it was about 52 this morning so cool, but I figured once I drove it, that would go up. My drive to work is about 12 miles, and plus traffic so I drive for about 30 - 45 minutes to work. Well in that time, I only gained one bar of temperature. SO I can already tell a difference in temperature on the car. But 3 bars worth is pretty significant I think. I'll see what happens this afternoon, it's supposed to be lower 80's today. SO I'll see what it says tonight after I get home from sitting in traffic for an hour.


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## JayinMI

What happens in winter? Does this mean the car takes forever to warm up?


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## scooter99

LMAO, I don't know! I guess we'll find out. :laugh:


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## JayinMI

Probably not a big deal in California vs. Michigan. :laugh:

So, you and the wife work at the same place? Handy.

Jay


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## scooter99

Very true! 

We don't work in the same place, but we only work like a mile from each other so it works out sometimes to carpool.


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## scooter99

I just got back from the gym. It's 85 degrees here today, and all the driving I just did, there and back, and no raise in temp. It's at the same where it was this morning. Duh, winning! 

Also, just got my Si RSB. Woohoo! Another piece to put on! Downpipe is on the way too!


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## SAM77H

Nice work log! I hate the standard hose clamps, have to change mine soon.


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## scooter99

Thank you. I hate em too. I wish they made, and if they do if someone can post a link to them, black coated ones. I hate the polished look in my black engine bay! But it is what is is, till I decide what else to do about them. Maybe I'll get another set and get them painted or something. Ya know, it's the little things that matter right! 

So I've decided to add a skill to my repertoire! I'm going to learn how to weld. It's gonna be key for me for a couple of reasons. Some having to do with this build, but mostly to do with my truck restoration and build. In this build, I'm needing to weld the catback system, and I'd like to weld the power bay together and I'm thinking about the trunk as well. But mainly the power bay and the exhaust. The exhaust has a bolt on strap which is pissin me off because it's scraping over everything. The bolts are gonna get ruined and then at some point I'm gonna have to cut it off. I'm trying to do all the build stuff on my own, hence the DIY portion of things, and I don't wanna take it to some muffler shop and pay them to do it. 

So we'll see how that goes. I found a great website that will help me learn to do it, and must give thanks to Martin (Thanks buddy!) for giving me some pointers and suggestions for tools and stuff. So I'll be updating you all on how that goes. 

I know this is an "Audio Site" and it's been pointed out on my thread here some pages back, but this is really more of an all over build on my ride. So that's why there's so much performance equipment that you're seeing right now. I'm about to the end of that portion and the audio WILL BE starting very very soon! I'm going to start getting my wiring thoughts together and ordering some techflex and other things to get that portion going. 

Until then, STAY TUNED! Much more to come very very soon! Thanks for watching!


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## scooter99

Yea buddy! Just got the gorgeous Megan Downpipe in! Woohoo! She's sexy! Can't wait to get that and the Si RSB in!


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## IBcivic

I'm like donald tramp...i need to see it + the birth certificate, to believe


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## scooter99

That's about as good as it gets right now. It has the "Megan" plate on it. I'll get a picture of that later. It's in my trunk now. I'm lazy I don't wanna walk out there! 

The guy used some flat black high temp paint to paint it. I'm gonna use the same and paint the catback system too.


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## GrandMarkie

Honda's are so fun to work on. Your build looks great, keep us posted on the wire install.


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## scooter99

Yes they are! I love mine! Thanks for checking it out! I'm loving your build! Very nice work!


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## scooter99

Ok so I'm in a quandary now, just heard the McDonald's Commercial with that so I had to use that word , but really though. I'm not sure if I want to stick to my plan to put the Si Trunk with Wing on my ride with the carbon fiber vinyl. Or I'm thinking about sticking to my original one that's on now, at this point. 

Can I get some feed back from folks. If I stick with the one I have on now, the original, I need to sell the Si lid with wing. Which is fine, cause that's more money for other things. But I'm curious what everyone else has to offer for a suggestion. Here's a couple pics to help decide. 

Si Trunk with CFV, of course the wing still needs to be done:









Current:









If I keep current should I try to cover it with the CFV? I think I want to, cause I want the roof and hood done, so it wouldn't make much sense to leave out the trunk. 

THOUGHTS!?!?!


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## IBcivic

I prefer wingless and my wings, boneless n spicey


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## scooter99

Nice! 

Someone on 8th suggested I do the JDM conversion! I looked into it, HEEEEELLLLLLL TO THE NO! I can't afford that crap! Looks SEXY THOUGH!


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## scooter99

Not sure when the next round of mods are going to happen. I've got a busy week. My office is moving and I'm in charge of the move, and that happens a week from friday on the 21st but there's a ton of packing, game planning, organizing, and stuff like that to do between now and then. 

On top of that, I did a friends boat last year putting in a bunch of audio equipment and an old amp that we knew was gonna crap out on him. Well it did. He ordered a bunch of new amps to make up for the one amp, as well as adding speakers, and I need to rebuild the sub enclosures. Well there weren't any sub enclosures, they were running IB so now I'm going to have to build some enclosures. So this week I'm going to build a sealed and vented enclosure to test sound, what's the best. So I've got that going on. I've got bootcamp three nights this week. I've also got to check out a small side job, and make an estimate. 

SO it's gonna be a busy week. I'm gonna concentrate on the "secret project" next so I can get that done and reveal it. I'm very excited about that one, I think I've mentioned that already somewhere before. Then a small one after that. When those two things are done, they're a little more major, then the audio will in fact start! In the mean time when I have a little spare time, I'm gonna put the Si RSB on as well as the Megan Downpipe. Those take no effort to really do, so they'll be easy. 

I'm just about done with the performance mods at this point. There are a few things going on in at a future time, but I have to save up money for them and right now I'm trying to get my credit cards paid off. I think I have a buyer for the ghetto wheels I started with on this car, and if that does in fact happen that will take out a huge chunk of credit card balance for me. That will be a relief. I'm not getting my hopes up cause it may not happen. I'll take what I can get. 

I did want to mention this. We, my family and I, went all over Cali this weekend. I went to my parents house, about an hour away, for my grandmother's 81st birthday as well as mothers day early on saturday. Then went to my sister in law's an hour and a half away from there on sunday. I am very very pleased with the sounds, performance, and ride of the car right now. When I needed to pass somebody, I was able to downshift and pass with no problems. There were a few times where it really felt like I was going about 70 - 75 and looked down to find out I was at 80 - 85. So she's doing those speeds seemingly effortlessly. That makes me happy. I adjusted the dampers on the coilovers from 12 out of 15 to a 3 out of 15 to not make the ride to bouncy for my family. The girls are used to it but my wife isn't and she's bitched before about how bouncy it was. I could tell a huge difference, but of course she couldn't. I just can't win! :facepalm:

I was getting quite a bit of road noise in the cabin, but I need to deaden the side panels, all trim panels, and still need to do the ceiling. I'm thinking seriously about adding a third layer, or maybe it's second, I don't remember how many are on the floor, of deadener. Removing the anti fatigue mat and going back with actual closed cell foam. Also closed cell foam on the doors, sides, and ceilings. I think that will help alot. I have a feeling that the trunk is gonna need at least another layer as well as foam, I've only got one in there currently. The exhaust does put out a lot of sound coming through the floor. While I love the way it sounds, it can get a little loud on the freeway on long runs. SO, I think more deadener on the floor and closed cell foam will help that a ton. 

I'm starting to count out my wires an stuff for the audio so I can get the techflex ordered for the prep work. I was going to use split loom but I decided I think that color coded techflex will look much better. I think it'll be easier to deal with too. But that's just me. 

I'll be posting up when I get more. Be patient with me, but there will be alot more coming soon. I've already got 200 pictures for the "secret project" locked and loaded and when the rest of it gets done I'll be getting those posted. Another DIY in the works! WOOOHOOO!! 

Sorry for the long read but thanks for tuning in! If anyone can help me with some suggestions on where to get some closed cell foam or Ensolite, I'd really appreciate it. I remember trying to find some before and had a hard time finding it. Oh wait I found some. Is $11.96 per yard a good price, I have no idea. But I may just get it so I can have it. Thanks again all!


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## scooter99

So a little update. I pulled my monitors out last night. I'm going to open up the one that's broken. Gonna see if I can use a cheaper lcd screen replacement, instead of having to go back with the pioneer replacement. It's 200.00 and if I can avoid paying that much, I'm happy to! So I'll tear it apart tonight and see what happens.


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## scooter99

Well not much has been going on with the ride as of late. Been very busy with the "office move" getting things ready and packed etc. It's a big job to move an entire law office. Lots of files, books, file cabinets, shelves, and more. The big stuff gets moved this up coming weekend. But lots of preparation between then and now.

This weekend was long. Last year, I believe it was, I worked on a buddy of mine's boat putting in a sound system. He had an amp that was suspect to begin with. Lots of rust on it, smelled a little funny already, and sure enough it's starting to cut out on him. So I replaced that, added a couple of speakers, and am also working on some fiberglass sub boxes. I know this doesn't have anything to do with my build but it is a few pictures to keep everyone satisfied as well! LOL! 

So here's the old amp pulled out:









Removed from the board:









This thing is a beast. Compared to the new, it takes 3 amps to make up the length in the old one. CRAZY! 









Wired up for the most part. It's tight quarters in there, so I didn't have much room to work with. Not overly happy with how crammed the wiring looks here but it'll have to do with the room I had to work with.









Rest of the board:









New tower cans in and ready to go. 









My buddy bought all the gear and I was ready to make a wiring harness for these cans, but when I showed up he gave me this big thick wire harness specifically made for these towers. Made things 100000x's easier to do. So I got the wires ran to the cans.


















Drilled a hole in the side of the boat where the tower mounts and ran the wires in to where the amps are at. The harness was a two piece harness. One piece that goes into the boat, and the other that goes into the tower. They connect by a waterproof plug in harness, pictured. Dressed up with a little chrome circle frame piece.


----------



## IBcivic

Nice job,mang! I'm not into boats, but I do appreciate good workmanship.


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## scooter99

Next it was time to wire up the amp for the tower speakers. This harness has 8 wires in it all color coded. This gives you the opportunity to run four cans up top. We're only running two at the moment, so I tapped up the other sets of wires and that way they're already there to run the others later. 









Final shots:

Can's wired up:









And the other stuff I did last year:

Rockford Fosgate Marine 6.5" Coax Speakers up front









Rockford Fosgate Marine 8" Coax Speakers (two sets) in the main area, one at the driver legs, one at the passenger side leg, one on either side of the back seat low to the floor. 
The big hole you see under the front dash is a Pioneer Shallow Mount IB Flat 12" sub. That has a sister under the driver dash as well. They're not in right now obviously.









So my last task for this thing is to fiberglass a couple of enclosures to go in those dash areas for the subs. We did the subs running IB last year, and they pretty much had no output what so ever. I made a sealed 1.0cu ft enclosure test box, and a 1.0 cu ft ported enclosure test box and they both sound pretty damn good. So taking into account having to put the port somewhere, we decided to go with the sealed enclosure. I'll be working on those this week or sometime in the next two weeks. He's not going to be ready for them for a couple weeks anyway. Then I'll be done with this project till he wants the other set of cans. 

Here's the list of equipment thus far:

Rockford Fosgate M262B Coax Speakers 
Spectrum 6.5" components in Tower cans
Powered by: Rockford Fosgate P4004 4 Channel Amplifier
Rockford Fosgate M282B Coax Speakers - 2 sets
Powered by: Rockford Fosgate P300-1 Mono Amplifier - one per set
Pioneer TS-SW3001S4 12" subs (2)
Powered by: JL Audio G1700 Mono Amplifier

I'm trying to convince him to change the subs to the Rockford Fosgate Marine M212S4B 12" subs and power it with a Rockford Fosgate P100-1bd. But he's not ready for that yet. I think he might be at some point but only time will tell. He has a second set of 6.5" Rockford Fosgate Coax's like the ones up front, for the tower cans, but he got a good deal on these cans loaded, so he want's to try those. I don't like how they sound at all, and I think the Fosgate's would blow them away, but I'll wait for him to agree with me. He usually does! LMAO! 

So that was Saturday, then yesterday I had some stuff going on, or supposed to go on, and I got hit with a hail storm, Look:









So that pretty much killed my plans for yesterday. I'm home today with my sick daughter so depending on how much she needs me, I might get some stuff done today. We'll have to wait and see. I'll post up when I have more.


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## scooter99

amitaF said:


> Nice job,mang! I'm not into boats, but I do appreciate good workmanship.


Thanks man! This was my first boat job ever, and he knew that going into it, so he's fine with being the guinea pig. :laugh: I've learned a lot I'll tell you that much. What I'd really like to do with the subs is something like this: http://caraudiomag.com/sites/default/files/images/00001/27/52/marine_audio.jpg except one on each side, but he's not overly thrilled about cutting out those panels. So we'll just go with what we've got I guess.


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## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> .


I can give you the number of a guy who does snow removal for a fair price


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## scooter99

:laugh: I'll think about that. Course it's sunny now so it's gone, but I'll keep you in mind next time we have a hail storm!


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## scooter99

Holy crap, I guess I've been super busy. I've not even posted up anything since the 16th! WOW! Ok so I've cleared a few things off my plate now. Got one more to go and then I'm gonna be back to working on my ride again, instead of other peoples stuff. Finally done with overtime on the move, so I'm back to normal business hours. The boat is done, and my buddy is thrilled with the way it sounds. The only thing left on it is determining how long he can run it on just the two deep cell marine batteries. He has 3, but 2 dedicated to the audio. So that's done. 

I've cleaned my garage finally and made some changes. I stripped off the 1/8" hard board crap that was on my workbench, there when I bought the place, and put a layer of high traffic carpet on it. It's very very nice and soft now. I was concerned anytime I put something on the bench, that I would scratch what I'm working on. So now I'm ok and the worry is gone. Also took down the old peg board from the back of it and painted the wall. So now all I need to do is address the cabinet fronts. But that's another project for another season. I've got everything cleared off and up and ready to work on it. 

I did decide I need a couple of things though. Right now I'm running my old work compressor that I took from job site to job site when I was contracting. Well it's a dual tank 4.5 gallon compressor and to say it struggles to keep up, well that's an understatement. So I've decided I'm gonna invest in a big 32 gallon standing compressor. With that I've also decided I need a new tool box. I have an old beat up stackable rolling one, but I need one to house everything from audio to my sockets and stuff. I also am going to be adding outlets and running an air line down the back wall under the upper cabinets. This will allow me to plug in anywhere without having to pull a hose too far. So now, CRAIGSLIST HERE I COME!!!! 

What else has been going on........

My daughter has had some medical issues going on. She's not been doing well. We took her in for an Endoscopy on Thursday and found out things are fine in there, and the doctor has diagnosed her with Functional Dyspepsia. Which is a doctor word for tender stomach. Basically if she gets stressed out, or something like that, her stomach gets upset. WE have meds for her now, and she's been doing well since Thursday, so hopefully we're past that now. 

Had a major fail last week too. The stupid exhaust, well not the exhaust, but the stupid design of it! So on the Vibrant exhaust and the first pipe that connects to the down pipe has a flange on it with three bolts that connect it. On the other end of that pipe is just a cut off pipe, no flange. Same with the start of the next pipe, no flange, then on the other end of that pipe, which connects to the axle back portion, is a flange with the same three bolt format. Then the axle back has a flange as well. 

So the two flange less ends are for the resonator. This is where the resonator goes in the system. Ok fine. But for people who don't get the resonator, are left with these cut off pipes. Vibrants ingenious fix for this is an aluminum strap with two bolts to connect it. Well those bolts scrape on everything I go over, bumps. Well the other day, I went to pick up some stuff for my mom/boss at the accountants office. I went up the driveway into the parking lot, and scraped as usual. Went out of the back side on the way out, and high centered the exhaust, and DESTROYED THAT DAMN PIECE. 

What a fiasco that was. Had to have my wife come get me at exposition blvd and the freeway, back in there. Take me home to get my jack, stands, and tools. Go back jack it up, figure out the piece was destroyed, and then she had to take me down to PepBoys to see if I could find something to suffice while I ordered a new piece. HERE's what PISSES ME OFF! I paid 425.00 for this exhaust, and the strap I find at Pep Boys for 10.00. Yes same exact strap with the same damn part number and everything. Really!?!

So here's my gripe, why don't the put flanges on these ends like the others. It's stupid. You have to cut the damn pipes anyway to get the resonator on, so why not flange it instead of this cheap solution. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's had issues with this. Anyway, after all that, after all the driving around, getting tools and waiting and crap, it took me literally 3 minutes to fix it. Horrible. I was not having a great day. 

So ever since that all happened I've noticed it just doesn't sound the same. I found out now, that I've got a leak coming from that stupid strap. So my next step is now going to be to take it down and have the damn thing welded. This is REDONCULOUS!!! 

Had a crazy scare Tuesday because I wasn't paying attention and took too much of my supplements. Made me crazy sick. I was throwing up all afternoon. 

So that's really it now. Trying to get settled into the office. 

My projects are going to start up again probably this weekend or next week. Have to get back to my special project, start the fog retros, and wire everything up including the sidemarkers that have been in forever and not hooked up. I've had numerous people come up to me and tell me my signal light doesn't work on the side. I just sigh and say thanks! 

I've been also thinking about my audio in the trunk. I'm still flip flopping from rear firing subs to front firing subs. I'm worried that I need a specific set up if I front fire them. Meaning that I would need to have a specific amount of space for the front chamber. The chamber I'm talking about is the area between the back seat and the subs. I'll have the cut out in the arm rest which would be where the sound would come through. But if that's the case then I'm not sure I am able to calculate all that. The easy way out would be to rear fire them, cut out the center of the box and line it up with the pass through on the arm rest so the subs aren't fighting to get through the seat. 

I'm about 99.9% on the design of the amp rack however. By that I mean how to finish it. Three layers, lights, and two toned. I just have to decide if I want to go to Alcantara on the top or not. Little pricey but, I'm ok with that in the long run. 

So that's it in a nutshell. I'm gonna go get back to work, and I'll be posting updates here very very soon, WITH PICTURES! 

Thanks for tuning in!


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## scooter99

Ok so a couple little things to report. I've finally gotten the whole garage cleaned up and functional for a big build. Still some things that will make my job easier that needs to get done. Namely the standing compressor, a specific box or spot for the soldering stuff, and possibly a wire mount for the wire reels to mount to. Otherwise I used it this weekend to do a couple little things and it's nice. Nice to work on. The other thing I noticed with the carpet on the workbench, is that I don't really have anywhere to cut on, and I have to be careful of the heat gun and soldering iron. I have a pretty sizeable piece of granite left over from work when I did the kitchen there, and I think I'll cut off the edges of it, they're rounded over, and put it on the bench to use for cutting and soldering etc. 

I finally got the last project ready to go for a friend, and that should get done this week, and once that's done, I'm onto my own stuff. However, I was able to get this little thing done! I did one, and did not get any pictures taken of how I did it. There's a DIY here on how to do it, and I just followed that. I wanted to make sure I was successful when I did my first one, so when I do the second one, I'll do a DIY on it myself. However, the current DIY I linked above, is pretty spot on. 

Here's a couple little pictures:


















Switched out!


















Like I said, little! 

I also, however, managed to draw out how I want my amp rack to look. I would like some opinions though. I've done a drawing on MS Paint, gotta love that for small things. I need to know which would look better in your opinions. 










Hopefully everyone can see that ok. I'll explain though. Basically, I got this from Bing's installs which I love so much so I hope you don't mind Bing, but I'm doing a 3 layer rack. The floor will be a false floor. The bottom layer will be routered out with a 45 degree angle on it. I'm thinking I'm going to be using 3/4" mdf and then do the routering down to about 1/2" leaving approximately 1/4" square on the face. The amp will sit at that transition, so basically you'll see the angle but not the square part. The reason for this is so there's a little drop below the amp to cover or hide any space below. 

On top of that piece a 1/4" piece of plexi or acrylic, unless i win the lottery and can afford something thicker, will go in for lighting. I'll run LED's in behind that. This will have a square face, no angles. 

The top layer will be the trunk floor. Again with the top piece there will be a 45 degree angle routered into the edge with approx 1/4" square on the bottom of it. That will sit flush with the front of the acrylic or plexi. Then covered with Suede or Aclantara. 

Here's where I'm kind of stuck. I'm going to be making some sample or mock up pieces of both of these, but I want to know what everyone thinks. 

First option: The bottom layer extends past the acrylic window approximately 1" to 1 1/2" and then the angle starts on that. This will give a surface area of the 1 - 1 1/2" to show the carbon fiber vinyl. The vinyl will either be black or silver/gray. I'm leaning towards silver/gray due to the amps being blue and silver. I think it will look much better and give a great contrasting look with the blue LED's shining on it. 

Second option: The bottom layer does not extend past the acrylic window and the only thing showing from there would be the approximate 1/2" 45 degree angle covered in carbon fiber vinyl. The rest is the same as above. 

I'm personally leaning towards option one. I think the surface area will contrast greatly with the amp colors and the LED's. The other thing it will allow me to do is attach the cover panels. I can use grill insert tabs and put them right on top of the cfv or insert them and then cover them so when the covers are removed you'll only see the little holes and not these black pieces. 

The second way doesn't allow many options in the way of cover attachment. I don't know that press fit panels will work. Maybe for the floor they'll be fine, but I have other things that are going to be hanging on their sides and as far as the processor is concerned, that will be hanging upside down. If I had an insert to keep them in their place that would be helpful. 

So what are everyone's opinions. Bing, I'd love to hear your input on this, since you're the guy who has seemed to patten this method! 

I'm going on my cruise starting Sunday, and will be gone for a week. When I get back, BIG BIG things are gonna start to happen! I'm excited! 

Till then, thanks for checking in!


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## jworley83

nice work!


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## IBcivic

I personally prefer the pic that has the 1" step


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## scooter99

I agree Martin, I think the blue shining off the CFV is gonna look good. I just didn't want it to be too much. I'm gonna make some samples when I get back from vacation and I'll post em then.


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## scooter99

So here's a little update folks. Just got back from vacation, finished the office move last friday before I left, and finished my last project for someone else last thursday before I left. I am back, and ready to start up this build again. I'll be working on finishing my "secret" project this week. I'll start updating with pictures very very soon!


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## scooter99

Ok well I've made a decision. I'm deciding to lessen the system a bit. I need the money right now and I think some of my design is overkill. I've decided to put one of the LRx 1.1k's and a set of the ML1600's up for sale. The threads are up if you're all interested, but like I said, I need the money and I think what I was after was a bit much. I'll proceed with this lessened design and see if they sell. If not then I guess I'll hold onto them, but hopefully I will be able to move them. Here are the threads BTW:

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/classifieds/107791-bnib-hertz-mille-ml1600-mid-bass.html

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/classifieds/107790-audison-lrx-1-1k-blue-amplifier.html


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## kyheng

Oh no, not again...... I hate you man.......


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## scooter99

That's ok buddy! I luuuuuuuuvvvvvv youuuuuuu!!! No ****!


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## kyheng

Must resist on this.......


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## IBcivic




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## scooter99

Naw man, don't fight it! You already have the sister of it! Make the match, make the match!!


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## scooter99

Well here's a little update that was forced upon me! Let's just say it's Monday and Mondays SUCK!! 

So I'm pulling out of my parking space at the gym today and I hear this horrible rumble sound from under the car. It's no secret how I feel about the worthless collar that Vibrant gives us to put the two pieces of pipe together. I've ripped one off on accident by catching the bolts on the collar. Replaced it with a piece from PepBoys, oh and did I mention it' the same DAMN PART NUMBER AND PIECE as the one that Vibrant gives us! 11.00 piece. Anyway, looked under the ride to see that the damn thing slipped out and the pipes were just hanging! 

So with a completely pissed off attitude and a little thought process I lifted up the car with the stock jack, cause well that's all I had on me, and slid the two pieces together. Yes that's right you read it correctly, I was able to slide the piece that fell out, into the collar with no tools. This collar is tight as can be tightened. Adding to my frustration after finding that out. I also tied up the front piece with a piece of loose wire I had in the trunk from the last build I did. Like I said, little thought. 

I Googled the nearest muffler shop and here's the rest. 

First sorry about the bad pics, I only had the crackberry to use at the time!

Here she is going in the bay!









Up and ready to go









By the way, look at that last picture. How sick is that exhaust going to look when I take it down and paint the tail matte black! YES SIR!! HAWT!!! Ok moving on!

PIECE OF CRAP!!!









Kind of hard to see, but there's the two pipes hanging.









Here's the guy positioning everything









And the welding! 









The other thing this did, was straighten up the tail in the bumper. It was a little off kilter and has melted the bumper a touch. I think it was from the last incident with the stupid collar. I had it perfect with the initial install. 

The work is finished!









So in the end it cost me 40.00 to have this done. I can't imagine it would cost much more than that for Vibrant to put the flanges on the pipes in the first damn place. If anyone has the vibrant system I highly recommend you getting this done. Worth the 40.00 and more in my opinion.

So I know now that I've had a leak for a while, and I know that cause the exhaust purrs like you can't believe now. I've lost that little pop back fire sound when downshifting, and it's more responsive i think. Course I may be mistaken, but that's just what I feel. It sounds much tighter and not as loud. For me that's a good thing, but at the same time I liked how throaty it was before. But I can live with the little bit more quite than having to replace that POS collar every month. GRRRR so frustrating. 

Next up on the exhaust list now is painting the system. I'm actually probably going to only do the axle back, but I may take down the whole system, grind down a high spot or two on the other side of that weld, and then paint the entire system. I'll have to decide that later. The other thing that needs to be done is the last hook above the axle back that holds the poly bushing needs to be extended down and out. Or something needs to be made. I'll have to look at that as well. I have a couple of ideas. I'll just have to get some time to see if I can make it happen or not. 

That's it for now.


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## IBcivic

Way to go! 
Vibrant selling their **** for top dollar and supplying a cheap-azz muffler clamp...FAIL!


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## scooter99

Oh forgot, I got re aligned the other day too. Saturday! From the last time I got it aligned it was pulling right. Finally had a chance to get it in Saturday and now it's purrrrfect! Back to good!


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## scooter99

Anybody have a place that I can find some short drawer slides? I need like 8" or 6" if possible. I'm not finding anything on google. Or maybe I'm not looking in the correct places. Thanks!


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## IBcivic

McMaster-Carr


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## scooter99

Thank you sir! I think they're all too big though. I think the shortest one they have is 12". I don't think that will work. I'll have to measure later.


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## scooter99

Nevermind I looked again and found a couple 8" ones. Those might work.


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## scooter99

So I have a small update! I was able to go out to the garage tonight and make some progress on my special project. I'm very happy with the little bit I was able to get done tonight. I'm setting a goal that the project will be done by the weekend. Maybe Monday the latest! But I'm very excited to get this done. I've been holding onto a crap load of pictures to finish so I can post them up! I don't think you guys will be disappointed at all! Maybe, just maybe, I'll get a little teaser pic up tomorrow! We'll see. My camera died tonight, battery, so it's charging. 

So that's it for now. Goodnight all!


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## scooter99

Ok folks I've decided after laying in bed last night that I'm gonna go ahead and post up the pics I have. I have 140 in photobucket now, and about another 20 loading as we speak. Not sure when I'll get them up and posted but I'll work on it throughout the day. I assure you the wait will be worth it. I feel like I'm revealing prematurely but I think at t his point it will be fine!

I won't be able to edit the post in a couple of days, when I think the project will actually be done, but I'll post up the rest of them at that point. 

I'll be back later!


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## scooter99

Ok so 164 photos for this project. This is gonna take a while! LMAO!


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## scooter99

Ok so this is the "secret project" that I've been working on. WEll really this isn't the secret part. This is pretty straight forward. This is a set of Mini H1 Projectors, Morimoto HID's, and a custom retro. There's some twists and turns and some different stuff going on in here. So, sit back, relax, and get ready for some heavy duty pictures and reading. I'll explain as best as I can an walk through all the steps I went through to get where I am now, as usual. Let's get started!

So here's what we're working with:

I think I've posted these before but if not, here they are. I've had them sitting around for a while, I'm sure some of you are saying "NO SH!T". That's fine! Here we go! 

Package of goods from the guys over at The Retrofit Source:


Projectors:









Shrouds (GTI-R):









CCFL Angel Eyes:


















Morimoto HID's 5000K


















2 sets of ballasts (one for fogs and one for headlights):









Set of new OEM headlights. I chose to get new ones for the retrofit cause of a couple of reasons. 

1) I've never done this before and with my ride being a daily driver, I didn't want to f it up and then be without a car.

2) If I ever decide to sell or trade in my ride down the road, I can just simply remove these and put the originals back in and be good to go, sell em and make some money.


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## scooter99

So there's what we're working with. Now onto the actual project. 

First things first, we need to start the oven. Here's mine:









I set it, as you can see, at 275 degrees (F). 


















I set up a little table in the kitchen right next to the oven so I had a place to work and I didn't have to go too far. 









What I suggest you use for this:
Gloves or oven mits <~~~~FOR SURE!!!
A couple of towels so when you're working you don't get the sticky goo on the table, unless you don't care about the table. 
A few flat head screwdrivers to help pry 
A pair of gloves to work with
Baking sheet
Utility knife to cut off any goo.










Ok now that we're all laid out, check the oven. Is it ready?

Yup!









Ok put your headlight housing on the baking sheet so it'll balance. Check the oven rack and make sure that it's at a good height so the housing doesn't hit or rest on any part of the oven. Then put the housing inside and set the timer.









I started at 6:00 on the timer (reading at 5:50 cause I almost forgot to take a picture) but realized that wasn't long enough. For the second one I did it at 8:00 I think and that was pretty much perfect. 









Tick tock tick tock tick tock - Music please.............................my oven has a little song it plays when it's done, instead of a dinger or a bell or a beep. 

Now what I did was put on my working gloves (old batting gloves)


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## scooter99

Then the "Ove Glove"









Why did I do this? Well cause I didn't know what kind of time I'd have, how fast this would cool, how hot it would really be, and stuff like that. So with both on, I can take the pan and housing out, and then set it on the table and remove the ove glove and already have the work gloves on and i"m ready to go. 

So pull the housing out and take it off the pan and put it on your table. 









Take your screwdrivers and start prying. There are also little tabs around the edge that need to be lifted to loosen the lens. As I went along I stuck screwdrivers in as I pried so what I pried apart wouldn't go back to close. This is ultimately what you end up with. 









Next one:









Longer time (reads 7:40 but set for 8:00):


















Same results









Now, it's time to clear this bish out! Amber lens FTL!!! 









Remove the couple screws back there.


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## scooter99

The chrome signal housing slides towards the headlight area. Where my hand is. 



























Now it's been a while since I did this but my big finger is saying, I assume, that the lens goes that way! 









and it does









Now you're left with this. 









See that little orange tab in the bottom left of the housing? Push it.









and this happens









Now just slide it out.









and you're left with this.


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## scooter99

No amber turn signal lens FTMFW!!!! Add chrome bulbs and you're set!










Do the same to the opposite side. 

Now comes the fun part. When I originally thought about this project I started browsing the site and came across the "LED" DIY. Well after looking at that and a couple others and a few done up close, I decided to do my own thing, as usual! That's me I guess, "which one of these kids is doing his own thing" LMAO!

So here we go! Onto the next section:









Ok so back to the housing. Flip it over again, and on the back you'll see a couple of screws that fasten the lens on. Remove those. 


















Now take the LED's and lay them on the bottom part at the edge of the frame.









Close up!









Put the lens back on to check the fit. I'm a perfectionist so I wanted to make sure it was straight. I think I did these about a half dozen times! 









Can barely see them when they're not on.


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## scooter99

Ready for the first test............









IT'S ALIVE, IT'S A L I V EEEEE!!!! Sorry caught up in the moment! 









Now then. We like the placement, and it works. You'll need a small drill bit. Only just slightly bigger than the wire. 









Right at the tip of the housing, where the point is, you'll see a little channel on the inside. Drill the tip where the end of the leds are. 









Back in place









Another test


















Now you can see the stip and the wire is passed through.


















Can't get enough. I love the way this looks!


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## scooter99

Now do the other side, and you get both! 









Muahahahahahahahah!!!!









Now to the projectors.

Here's the original DIY on these: Complete Mini H1 Retrofit DIY on 8th gen Civic - 8th Generation Honda Civic Forum

I'll run through it a little bit again, but if you need another reference there's the link. 

This is the back of the housing. If you look in there, you'll see a tiny screw. This holds in the little arm part in the headlight. Remove it.



























Do it to both









Now to paint the housings you'll have to tape everything up. Get some painters tape and pretty much tape everything you don't want to change color! 









Now take those, and these:









out and paint them.


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## scooter99

2nd coat


















Shrouds:


















Now remove the tape.




































With the shrouds in


----------



## scooter99

Quick look









Now to the install. Here's the parts layout.









Remove those three screws and everything else 









Here's the order. On the right is what you just took off or will need. The left you don't need but it's what came in the package.









Rubber washer on.









Now remove the headlight housing from the rest of the frame. In this one, there's a big screw in the back for adjustment. Has a washer on it, I apparently didn't take a picture of it oops, that looks like it has teeth on one side. Unscrew that, it won't remove, but unscrew it till it's loose on the housing. You'll see what I mean, it's long so keep going till it's out. 

Then pull from the top of the housing. There are two tabs up there that hold on the housing. You'll see in the picture below. They're brass or copper looking









Now you have the housing out. Here's the hole in the back for the projector, and under it is the slit that the arm, first thing you removed, was in. 









You'll need to either open up that slit a little bit, or remove the wires from the connector. I found it easier to cut the slit with a utility knife. Doesn't need much.









Pass the connector through.


----------



## scooter99

Now pass the projector through the hole, with the rubber washer on the back like the picture above.









Screw the nut on finger tight. Then using some pliers, I found needle nose worked well, tighten it a bit. Not real real tight cause you'll have to adjust them later. 









Now you have this. 









Now put that back piece back on, with the three screws.









Then the spring. Slide the legs through the holes, the curve toward the light.


















You'll see the tabs on the bottom have hooks on them. That's where the spring will attach to. 


















Pop the housing back in.


----------



## scooter99

Time to trim the shrouds. 

Grabbed my trusty router. He and I have been through hell and back and he's still going strong! Love this tool! Best tool I own. 









I marked my shrouds, but didn't take a picture. So trim your marks, and then there's a lot of back and forth. I'm going to just post the pics cause it's pretty redundant. 



























With the lens back on, temporarily.









Not great pics but here they are. 









After this, I decided F THAT!! It looks bad and frankly I'm not willing to leave it that way! SO to that, HERE COMES THE SPECIAL PROJECT!! 

Heres what you need:









Headlight housing
Foil - standard is fine
screwdrivers
masking tape
knife
towels
rubber gloves
sharpie
wash cloth or small towel
etc

Oh and a Giants game! 









Ok pop the housing back out. 









Remove the 4 screws holding the lens in. Then once the lens is out, turn it over and you'll see a couple of tabs holding the lens itself in. BE CAREFUL MESSING WITH THE LENS! DON'T SCRATCH IT! You'll want towels or something soft like that to work with. I didn't work with gloves and should have. I have finger prints all over the lenses and I'll have to clean those off. But if you work with gloves you won't have that problem. Push those tabs in and pop the lens out. Comes out of the bottom.


----------



## scooter99

Time to trim the shrouds. 

Grabbed my trusty router. He and I have been through hell and back and he's still going strong! Love this tool! Best tool I own. 









I marked my shrouds, but didn't take a picture. So trim your marks, and then there's a lot of back and forth. I'm going to just post the pics cause it's pretty redundant. 



























With the lens back on, temporarily.









Not great pics but here they are. 









After this, I decided F THAT!! It looks bad and frankly I'm not willing to leave it that way! SO to that, HERE COMES THE SPECIAL PROJECT!! 

Heres what you need:









Headlight housing
Foil - standard is fine
screwdrivers
masking tape
knife
towels
rubber gloves
sharpie
wash cloth or small towel
etc

Oh and a Giants game! 









Ok pop the housing back out. 









Remove the 4 screws holding the lens in. Then once the lens is out, turn it over and you'll see a couple of tabs holding the lens itself in. BE CAREFUL MESSING WITH THE LENS! DON'T SCRATCH IT! You'll want towels or something soft like that to work with. I didn't work with gloves and should have. I have finger prints all over the lenses and I'll have to clean those off. But if you work with gloves you won't have that problem. Push those tabs in and pop the lens out. Comes out of the bottom.


----------



## scooter99

Now that you have the lens out turn it over on the towel so the flat side is down. Take your sharpie and color around the flat edge. 


















Now take the lens and wrap it in the wash cloth or small towel and set it somewhere safe. 


















Next cut out some cardboard fillers for the frames.


















Tape em up. 









Now tape up the frame


----------



## scooter99

Put them together and tape them some more


















Now screw it back in.









It's probably easier if you take the projector back out. Or even do this before you put it in. Up to you.









You'll essentially need to tape up most of the projector.


















Start taping the housing.



























I tried the grill cloth method, but that failed. I actually think I had some old resin and it was bad or something. I foiled the housings, then attached the grill cloth, and resined. But it failed. Here are those pics.


----------



## scooter99

So I took off the cloth and went and just foiled it and went with chopped glass. That worked much better. 


















3 coats




































Then removed them after curing.


----------



## scooter99

Unmasked the housings then the projectors


















Time to trim up! My new clean workbench. Put some carpet on it. Nice and soft and easy on the hands and arms. NICE! 



























Drill with a hole saw. Easy as Pie! 



























Test fit









Marked it where it needs to be trimmed, black line.


----------



## scooter99

Tools needed:
My trusty tool Mr. Dremel with a cut off wheel
Safety glasses









Trimmed up.


















Test fit #2









Getting there. Now to sand it down with a sanding drum.









Test fit #3




































With the lens temporarily


----------



## scooter99

Time for a little primer using VHT prime coat



























Again with the lens in temporarily


















Priming the back side too


















So that's where Im at now. I have to do the other side tonight and then I'll be ready for some filler. I'm not sure if body filler will work for this or not. I'm worried about the heat breaking it down. But I can always use the primer filler as well. It doesn't have to be 100% perfect I just want all the sand marks out. They're deep now. But the lumps and stuff like that are pretty much out now. So I'll address those things in the next couple days. 

Once the custom shroud is done and painted, then these bad boys are ready to be adjusted and then the lens back in. But I'm going to wait till I do the fogs for all that. I wan't to only have to adjust one time with all of it. 

My only concern right now is the CCFL angle eyes. I'm not sure if they're going to work now or not with this new shroud. I think the top taper is too sharp. I'll get them up against it tonight and take some pictures for opinions tonight. 

Also, color. I'm wondering should I be different and go with the body color (galaxy grey) for the shrouds, or black like I have. I'm leaning black but I thought a little difference isn't always a bad thing! Open to suggestions! 

That's it for now! Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## The A Train

:bowdown:


----------



## IBcivic

Mad skillz here, folks


----------



## scooter99

Thank you, thank you! 

Cleared out the trunk a little while ago. Cleaned up all the wires and coiled them under the back seat. Now I have a clean slate to work with and start making templates. Things are rollin along! But one project at a time! 

I'm hoping to get out there and do the other shroud tonight but it's not looking real positive. I'll update tomorrow.


----------



## MTopper

that looks amazing man. where did you order the parts from again? sorry if its annoying but wow does it look great. oem actually


----------



## scooter99

Thank you very much. I've got more loading right now. Not what I wanted tonight but I had to do a little. I'm psyched! Got them at TheRetrofitSource.com. Great guys. Not annoying, nice to hear. Thanks for checking in!


----------



## scooter99

Ok I just uploaded a few pics. Not what I had planned for tonight but it's something. I'm very very excited about these. Check em out! 

I got the CCFL Angel Eye's out and check to see if they'd fit ok. Remember I was worried about the taper and how sharp it was up top! FITS BEAUTIFULLY! See for yourself!




























Then I got a wild hair up my ass, and had to make em glow!!! 









Then hell, why stop there right! The whole thing lit up! Well minus the projectors! 



























These pictures don't really do them justice. Those CCFL's are bright as hell. I'm a little worried they're too bright. But I'll do more looking before it's all done. I wanna see them lit up during the day! Maybe I'll make the CCFL's my day running lights, and my LED's on with the projectors. I don't know. I have to get through the rest of it before I decide on how I want to run them. 

So that's it. I'm going to bed. More soon! 

OHH I almost forgot. I need some opinions! I picked up a can of color match paint tonight. Should I paint the shrouds the same color as the car, or leave them black? What does everyone think?


----------



## scooter99

Ok thoughts and opinions! More! 

If I decided to go with the LED's on at night with the headlights and CCFL's off. Should I change the white to amber and just hook them to the signal lights? Or leave them the way they are and have them glow white at night?


----------



## screamatamonkey

I think Audis keep the LEDs on at all times like Daytime Running Lights...and the BMWs I've seen with the angel eyes run them the same way. Kind of unnecessary during the day, but it looks pretty tits in the evening before you fire those projectors up. 

Just my 2 cents.

Either way, dem ****s look really good! Nice job!


----------



## scooter99

I've decided to use these for the leds V-LEDS 10K WHITE/AMBER TYPE 2 SIDE FIRING Strip Light 60 LED 24 inch

Did a light coat of filler primer last night. Got some sanding to do and filling and then we'll see where we're at. I'm very happy with how this one is turning out though. I'll get some more work done tonight, I hope! 

I also cleared out my trunk last night. All wires and everything else from the previous build/builds are out except the deadener. I'm also thinking of redeadening the trunk. We'll see how that goes. But now it's a clear canvas to start making templates and mock ups. That will be starting here very soon. 

I should have these lights done this weekend. Then next week I'll start the fogs. Once those are done it'll be installation and wiring, which will be a process all by itself. I've got the headlights which consist of the Projectors, angel eyes, and leds, then the fog lights, and the side markers still need to get wired up. And everything needs adjusting. So that's going to be a weekend project I think. 

So in reality, probably two weeks and I'll be on the trunk, time permitting. And then I go on vacation again for a week starting July 25th.


----------



## scooter99

Oh and I'm now, the more I look at the pictures from last night, leaning heavily towards doing projectors for the 9005 bulbs as well with the angel eyes. I love the thought of dual angel eyes. I don't use the highs that often, and I don't flash anyone so I have to decide if I want to go through the expense or not. But now would be the time to do it if I was going to do it. I'll have to see if my finances will handle it.


----------



## The A Train

im with you, i love the look of a dual projector setup! they look damn sexy. maybe look for a halogen projector. then youll have that nice look, but dont have to worry about buying another hid kit, or anything of that sort


----------



## scooter99

Well now the more I'm looking I'm thinking about throwing the money out there. I think the quad set up with the HID's would look great. I'm trying to understand them though. I'm guessing a quad set up would mean quad low beams on all the time right? Really I don't think I've used the high's maybe one time since I've had my car. And with a quad low set up, I don't know that I'd need em. I'm gonna have to seriously think about that. I'm gonna email my boys over at The Retrofit Source and see what they say!


----------



## MTopper

quad beam is a common mod on chevy's. its where your you have separate low and high beam bulbs (like your honda). its setup so that you can have all 4 lights on or just your lows.

so when you have lows on, just the low beams run, you flick your high beams on, your highs turn on but your lows do too. that way you have short and long range light. 

you can rewire it so that its 4 low beams or 4 high but the only difference in my truck is the angle of the bulb, not the actual brightness


----------



## malutki

I love your car ;-)


----------



## scooter99

Well I would prefer it to be separated high and low with the projectors. I don't mind having 4 lows on at one time, but at the same time I think it's illegal to have 6 lights on, which would be the 4 lows and 2 fogs. So in the interest of being legal, I'd like to do the quad set up but have the 2 lows on all the time and then be able to switch on the highs as well. I guess I could do it as a 4 low set up, and then put the second set on a switch, cause they're all bixenon projectors. So if I'm driving out somewhere that I need brighter brights, I can flip the switch on and have all 4 lows on, and then I could flip on all 4 highs if I need them even brighter. I'll have to think about all this. 

If I didn't say it, and I'm too lazy to scroll to look for it, I did send TRS an email about the second set. 

Thanks for the compliment btw Malutki.

Stay tuned, much much more to come.


----------



## scooter99

Well things did not go as planned this weekend. That's not shocking to some of you who know my history. I did get a chance to work on some things, but not the lights. I ended up putting in a new pool this weekend, soft pool, but it's not as easy as just throwing it up and putting some water in it. It was an all weekend affair. 

Like I said I was able to get some other stuff worked on, little things that will be posted up tonight probably. I forgot my camera or I'd post them now. So, I'll get working on those this week.


----------



## scooter99

So I'm just throwing this out there. I put up my LRx 1.1k in classifieds but I've gotten no hits at all. Not even an offer. So maybe I'll end up keeping it. I won't know till I get to that point and figure out if it'll fit or not. 

I also just got done looking at a few threads where they had the subs forward facing and say it sounds pretty good. This has always been a curiosity of mine cause, well just cause. I already have the sealed off trunk, so that would be done. 

I don't think it's any secret that I suck at the box design sites. I just do. I don't know why but I do. I could really use someone's help in getting box specs for a ported enclosure for these HX300D subs. I'd like a round port design, and a slotted port design, as well as maybe a single port design. I think if I had to choose I'd like the port to be as big as the rear arm rest pass through. But I don't know if that's possible or not. IF I could get the designs I could experament with different boxes and find the best one that sounds the best. I would be willing to pay someone for their time if need be. 

That's all for now.


----------



## IBcivic

Dooooood ...you can do it, we can help!
You have the skills to build just about anything. That's 75% of the job, right there!


----------



## scooter99

True. But are the specs on the website trustworthy or are the better more optimal specs out there like from WinSD or something like that. I can build anything with a set of blueprints. That's not my issue. It's getting the blueprints that's the issue.


----------



## IBcivic

IMHO, trust hertz specs.
They designed it, tested it and have a solid rep in mid/high-end car audio.


----------



## scooter99

Good point! Ok I'll get a couple temp boxes built and try it out.


----------



## Yuck.

scooter99 said:


> True. But are the specs on the website trustworthy or are the better more optimal specs out there like from WinSD or something like that. I can build anything with a set of blueprints. That's not my issue. It's getting the blueprints that's the issue.


WinISD, because you get what you get. Manufacturers usually post specs for the "magic box" exhibiting a Q of .707, which is a good combo of warm but clean. But it is a compromise of whatever argument your trying to make. My sealed box has 2 10's in their own airspace, with 2.5 cubes each, sealed. I have a final Q of .55, because I like that clean punchy sound that is just a tad warm. Realistically, I would have shot for .5, but I ran outta trunk  WinISD will show you how your sub will sound, relative to other boxes, other subs, you can look at the graphs and with someone else's help if your not big on deciphering it all, you can get a feel for what will happen. Pick 5 subs from reputable companies and run them in WinISD with their recommended box size, I guarantee 4 out of 5 will give you that .707 spec, with one maybe offering too small a box, lol. Remember, subs have to be marketable....


----------



## scooter99

Ok so here's a little update. Not much has been done but I've been able to do a little bit here and there. 

First up the light shrouds:

Last time I painted it flat black and just looked at it. Loved the way it looked. 
Now here I painted it black again and then with high fill primer and then sanded it a little bit. 


















Got some body filler on it.


















Then tonight I sanded it down and re primed it. 


















As you can see from the last picture I still have some filling and sanding to do. But it's getting closer. 

Next up I took a look at my Si Rear Sway Bar I got for like $35.00 and it was beat up pretty good. Paint was chipping and peeling and it just isn't gonna do for me. So what I decided to do was strip it, and get it ready for a new look.


----------



## scooter99

So I grabbed some VHT Strip Fast and went to work on her! 



























It didn't do too bad but I decided to get out the ol sander and see what it could do with it.


----------



## scooter99

Then yesterday before I took off to boot camp I decided to get some more work done on it. 




























So now she's sitting waiting for some primer. 

Now in the last couple days while doing that, I did another little project. I got some brackets for my end links from a buddy. He sold his civic and gave them too me. These, if you don't know, are the brackets that bolt to the OEM bracket and strengthen it. The OEM brackets have been known to break when using beefier rear sway bars. Now I'm not using a real stiff sway bar, actually it's the Si sway bar. So probably nothing will happen, but if I do decide to go to a Progress RSB or something like that, I'll be ready for it. 

So here they are, in all their raw metal glory. Ready for some life and some color! 









But before color we need something that will help the color stay! 









Then I found some color match paint at Pep Boys. I had originally decided to go with a bright orange color, but decided that while I was trying to go aftermarket on alot of things and look more performance oriented, I also don't wanna look unclassy. So I decided to go with the color match for a subtle yet flashy approach. 


















So they're primed and ready for some love!


----------



## scooter99

I actually primed these about 3 times. Just to make sure. 

COLOR!
Look at that metallic in the flash baby! 



























Well, it's a match! 



























So I ended up with about 3 coats of paint as well. That makes 3 primer coats, and 3 color coats. What's next. Oh yeah! The clear! 









Now why did I use Engine Enamel Clear? Well it's pretty simple really. First, I figured that Engine Enamel has to hold up to high high heat and so it must be pretty durable. But second, and really more this reason, I already had it on the shelf and I figured what the hell! LMAO! 

I apparently forgot to take pictures of the pieces with the clear coat. I'll have to try and get some tomorrow when it's lighter and you can see the true color. It looks great though. I can't wait to see them on! 

Tomorrow I'll probably string up the RSB and get a few coats of primer on that as well. That will also be the color match! I'm still debating on whether i want to spend money on new endlinks, keep the oem one's, or build my own. I'm leaning toward building my own. Why? Because that's what this game is all about right!?! 

Till next time, thanks for tuning in!


----------



## scooter99

Ok well I did a ton of little stuff today. I also had a little fail because of not paying attention and getting ahead of myself, but that's been resolved and will be fixed probably Friday night. So lets see, hopefully I won't screw this up too bad. There's a lot going on and I have to bounce around for the pics in photobucket so hopefully I can keep it all straight. 

First up. Let's start off with the headlight retro going on. I managed to get some work done on the one shroud I've been working on and I think I've finished it. It's pretty good, I'm sure I could get it better but we'll see if the OCD in me takes over. For now I think it'll work just fine. So today I managed to get some more filler on it, and sand it down and prime and paint it. Like I said, it's good for now. It's not perfect but I think for what it is, It'll do. If I get it in there before I seal the lens and I don't like it or it's driving me crazy I'll go further with it. Here's pics! 




























This is wet, it's gonna be flat black when dried!









Like this! 









So overall I'm satisfied with it. Do I love it? No I don't think it's that great, but this thing is soo hard to sand right and get perfectly smooth, and that's what I'm having trouble with. So like I said we'll see how I can live with it or not. 

Next up. I told you guys before that I forgot to take pics of the brackets with the clear coat on. Well here they are. 









I think they match perfectly. Now I need to get some hardware and get these babies mounted! 

So the majority of what I did today was paint! I painted lots of things, and did a couple installs. I had a list of things that I wanted to get done and I didn't because I ran out of paint. I wanted to repaint the calipers the color match galaxy grey metallic but I ran out of high heat primer. So I'll do that another day. The other thing I wanted to do, because I had my car jacked up in the air, was lower the front a little bit. Well because I ran out of primer I never took the wheels off to paint the calipers and therefore when I was done today I dropped the car back on the ground and at that point said "SH!T I forgot to lower the front"! So that will be another day as well. Now onto what I did do. 

You saw what I did yesterday with the sway bar. I had sanded it down and it was ready for primer. So that got hung on the side of the house to wait for everything else I wanted to paint. 

Ever since I got the Vibrant Exhaust on the ride, I hated the look of the chrome of it, while everything else is a black theme! So I decided to remedy that today. Take a look!


----------



## scooter99

Here's the axle back and the rsb hanging and ready to paint! 









The materials









Primed


















Painted




































I painted the whole thing but I clear coated the tip. That's why it looks different and a little glossier. I'm not sure I like it all that much, I like the flatter black paint. 









Axleback, drying, next to the Mugen down pipe. That's coming up.


----------



## scooter99

Color matched the RSB









Looks like a match to me!


















Axleback back on and lookin purrdy! 



























Next up I pulled out the RSB brackets and gave them a once over. I think I said previously, I bought this off someone here for about $35.00. I'm not sure what they did with it but it looks like they took the ride off roading or something. There was soo much dirt and stuff in these brackets I had to give them some attention!!

Filthy!!!!









Got out Mr. Dremel! He's always there for me when I need him! This is just a nylon bristled rotary bit. Not harsh so it won't tear it up but good enough to clean it up. 









In this picture you see on the dremel the copper bristled rotary tool, but I had forgotten to take the picture before I changed it. The brackets are cleaned cause of the nylon one. 









Time for a little deeper cleaning! This stuff was caked on!


----------



## scooter99

And a final once over with this one, again nylon bristled!









Look how beautiful the are now! Now all they need is some life, aka color! 









Gotta seal em up!









Ready to go


















COLOR


















Gave the bolts a little love too!









Now let's install some stuff. 

First I went and took care of the down pipe. This has been sitting in the garage for a couple months now, waiting for me to jack the car up again, so here's the day! She's going on! It was already painted black when I got it so no need to worry about that.


----------



## scooter99

Old OEM pipe









Old and new side by side. Size difference. 


















New installed









Took a sound bite clip but I don't think it sounds any different. But I'll post the last one as well and you can be the judge. 

Actually I take that back. I only had the one from when I had the header on so I know it sounds different. But here anyway! 


I will say this. I drove it tonight and it feels a little different. Maybe it's just me I don't know, but it feels a bit more responsive when it takes off. I don't know. Maybe I'm just loony! Well we know that's at least part of the case! LMAO!!

Ok so moving on. The last install I did today is the one that I failed. The RSB! Ok everyone, let me just give you a tip. I'm sure most of you know this, and even I know it, but I failed at it today. When you're going to follow a DIY, make sure you read the whole DIY first and then make sure you understand it second and if you don't re read it again until you do. So let's get started.

I started removing the old RSB, the puny one off the R18. 









You'll need a 14mm socket to get the lower bolt off the endlink. 









These take a 12mm socket, save these bolts.









Endlink nut removed









Tiny RSB removed


----------



## scooter99

Now you'll need to remove the top nut on the end link to put it on the new RSB, unless you've got new ones or aftermarkets. Then don't worry about this part. 

To remove the nut you'll need an open box wrench, again 14mm, and a 5mm allen wrech. Stick the allen wrench in the bolt end, only goes one place, and then the box wrech and loosen it up. 









There you have it, uninstalled.









Before we get onto the next step, lets take a look at the size difference between the Si RSB and the R18 RSB. Crazy isn't it! 









Love that color match!


















Ok now we're ready for the new boy! Put the end links on the new RSB the same sides you took them off of. You can go ahead and tighten these, they'll turn for you when you get them into place to put in the brackets. I have my support brackets ready to go on here, but as I said before, I need to get hardware for them. SO I'll do that later. 










Put the bushing on.









Painted bolts









Put the bottom bolts on.









Oh sh!t I can't line up the holes for the top bolts! FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL! This is where I realized I missed something. I have to get the Si brackets for the swap! Ran inside, called up my local dealer, NOPE don't have them in stock. Nope no others in town have them either. "I can order them for you, but you just missed the cut off to get them tomorrow. So they'll be here Friday!" Ok well Friday it is then I guess. So I tightened these bad boys up and really I don't think it's going anywhere, at least I hope not. I'll be taking it easy for a couple days just to be sure but after driving it tonight, I don't notice any different movements that shouldn't be there, nor do I hear any noises that shouldn't be there. I think I'll be fine for a couple days! 

In the meantime I can go get some hardware for the other brackets and then Friday when I get under there to do this swap, I can put those on as well! 

So here's the other side! 









I'd like to get some aftermarket end links, or maybe even build my own. That will most likely be down the road though. Not tops on the list of things to do! 

That's about it for today. Like I said a lot of little things. Now I just need to tidy these couple things up and I'll be ready to finish the lights, do the fogs, and get started on the trunk! I'm getting excited! 

More to come very soon! Stay tuned!


----------



## scooter99

More updates. Pics up loading as we speak!


----------



## scooter99

Ok here we go. So I decided today to change it up a bit and start my trunk layout. So I cleaned out the trunk, except the spare! 









Got the foam out









First I wanted to get the base of the floor laid out. Gotta do three pieces, a middle piece, and the two outter pieces. I used a piece I got from someone else as a template and added to it to make a full floor piece. 



























Set it on the foam, and traced it out. 


















Floor center done!









Used some cardboard to make a template for the side pieces.


----------



## scooter99

Next it was time for the component wall! The hole in the center is for the pass through for the arm rest on the back seat. I'll cut that out of the back seat another day. 



























Laid out the cubbies for the components.









I used those cut outs as the back wall of the cubby and made some one inch walls. The total depth will be about an inch. Actually I'll most likely make it more like 2 inches. I'll decide that later. 









I started out using hot glue but it got too hot and just melted the foam. So I switched to duct tape. DUCT TAPE FTMFW!!


















Taped it to the back of the board. Put it in place.


----------



## scooter99

Front view. The components I'm talking about are the following. 

Left cubby (passenger side)
Barrier strips
Fuse block for all components, but not amps
relays

Right cubby (driver side)
Pioneer Bluetooth Module
Pioneer HD Tuner Module










So that's it. That's all I got done tonight. Next up with this will be to make the foam pieces into wood. I'll go ahead and start with the board cause that's what's going in first. The sub box I'm just going to go with my original plan of rear facing and then do the pass through to the trunk. I'll leave it at that and cross my fingers. Maybe Ill do the component board, get it installed and make a temporary box and see if it sounds ok first but that'll be another day regardless. 

Next update should be tomorrow. I should have my brackets and I can get my sway bar fixed and finished. 

Till next time! Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## IBcivic




----------



## IBcivic

I spy work in progress! epper:


----------



## scooter99

Yes sir! Might have a half day today. I'll see if I can get some wood cut and get this thing really moving!!


----------



## scooter99

So after laying in bed last night thinking about the component board, I'm gonna have to change it. Reason being, when the sub box is in, and the amp rack is in, on the floor, I'm going to have to pull all that out in order to wire anything or if I have any issues or to trouble shoot. I don't want to have to worry about that. SO, I'm going to try to figure out a way to make it so it will fold forward, kind of like the rear seat. I think all I'll need to do is make a frame for it and then get some sort of pin hinge for it. I think that should do it. Then it can simply fold forward, I'll have access to the back of it, and then all the wires that will pass under the sub box to the amp rack as well. 

Not sure any of that makes sense to anyone but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway.

I have a half day today at work, so I'll be off in about 3 hours. Gotta go get my kids from daycare and hopefully the brackets will be ready for pick up. Then I'll get some more work done. Till then. Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## scooter99

Ok folks, I finally finished the RSB. I picked up my brackets today for the Si RSB. Now it's time to finish this thing up. 









Here's the one bolt holding it in for now. Let's get that out of there and free up the RSB. 









Next you'll see the bracket and the bolts up there. They're 14mm. Get those outta there. Save those bolts! You're gonna need em! There is something that you should know. The inside bolt above the arm is gonna need a box wrench to get out. I couldn't, at least, fit a socket up there. I just happen to have a set of ratchet style box wrenches FTMFW!! 













































Old R18 bracket and New Si bracket. Differences, anyone see them. YES!


















Ok bolt those bad boys back up there.


----------



## scooter99

Now then, the other thing I didn't know, and I'll show you now, is that you're gonna need the Si Bracket Bolts as well. You can get them from Honda, or if you know the size you can go down and get them at Home Depot. I had the size but I threw the package away and now I can't find them. Sorry, someone can chime in if they know it. 

Well I was under the car and had to get it fixed so this was my temporary solution. 1/4 x 20 screws with wing nuts. Ghetto, yea a little, but it got me to depot to get more! 


















So I finished up with black allen head bolts with lock washers FTW!! 









So there it is. I was going to do the brackets while I was under there, but I was having trouble lining up the holes, so I decided screw it I'll deal with it later. 

That's it. Not much, oh wait there's more. I did lower the front about 3/8". 
Before:









After:









Not much difference really, and I think I can go down at least another half inch. But I need to roll the fenders first. Then I'll get it a little lower. Might even think about some spacers. Not sure yet. 

That's it! Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## lostdaytomorrow

Long time no talk man, just got caught up on your ride and it is looking really sick from about a year ago when I last saw pics. Painting that RSB and Exhaust both look ****ing awesome, and your trunk looks like it's coming in great.


----------



## rsfaze

What's that liner you got blocking off the seats from the trunk?


----------



## scooter99

Well there's lots going on. I am changing up the plan. Just a little bit but enough to allow a secret install!! Muahahahahaha! Yes folks I've decided to go air ride!!! So here's what's changing. 

Start at the rear deck drawer. The original plan was to put the LRx 2.4 and LRx 4.1k in there. That is gonna change. The drawer is not gonna go in. Instead i'm making room for a 4 or 5 gallon air tank. The long skinny one, not the big thick one. 

The trunk lid was originally gonna house the audition bit one processor. Now it's gonna house both of, or one of the LRx 1.1k's. I have one up for sale but to date I've gotten not one offer on it. So it is what it is. I do need the money! But if It doesn't sell then so be it! I'll work it back into the system. May just do that anyway. So those are gonna go on the trunk lid. 

Next the original plan with the batteries was to have one battery on each side of the trunk in the rear corner cubbies. Now I'm changing that. I'm going to stack both batteries in one cubbyhole, most likely the driver side since the main front battery is on that side, and then in the passenger side cubbie ill be mounting the bit one. 

The subs are gonna fire to the trunk and a pass through will be made in the box to allow sound to travel from the trunk to the cabin. I'm also thinking If putting one of the sub amps on a switch so that I can turn one off whe I want less bass and turn it on when I want more bass. Just thinking about this. Anyway! Subs firing rear. 

Below the subs will be a raised floor, as with the original design, however now instead of housing the 2 1.1k's and the 2.9, it will now have the 4.1k and the 2.9. If one of the 1.1k's sells, I'll change the format. 

The 2.4 rear fill amp that was supposed to go in the drawer originally, Is now going into the rear deck. The original plan for the rear deck was to do the hsk comps, and then the crossovers were gonna go into an enclosure in the center of the rear deck. Now the crossovers are gonna go to the component panel behind the rear seat. I'll get back to that next. So now instead of the crossovers, the 2.4 is gonna go in the center enclosure. If the sub amp sells, the 2.9 will go into the trunk since it's the same size as the 1.1's. Then the 2.4 will go on the floor with the 4.1k. At that point the crossovers would go back to the rear deck as original. 

The component panel, which will be behind the rear seat, will fold down as the rear seat does. That way I can work with the wiring if I need to, for troubleshooting or any other thing I need to do. On the driver side of the panel there will be a drop in panel, as seen on the mock ups pictured above, that will house the fuse panel, barrier strips, and relays. On the passenger side the same type of drop in will house the blue tooth module, hd radio tuner, and rear fill crossovers. 

In case I didn't say already I've sold one set of the ml1600's so I going to a single mid bass set up. Just thought I'd throw that I so everyone is up to date. 

So to the air. The air tank is going above the sub box as I said already. The compressor, valve manifold, and electronics will go in the spare tire well. The floor amp rack will be raisable as before so everything air will be accessible. The tank will be painted in some way to go wit the audition and hertz theme. Most likely will have hertz and audison stickers on it as well. 

So that's it. I think I covered everything. 

Thanks for tuning in as always! More to come, probably, Sunday but if not soon after that. Busy week this week so probably not much gonna happen.


----------



## scooter99

rsfaze said:


> What's that liner you got blocking off the seats from the trunk?


It's half inch foam board. Just using it for mock up. It will be mdf when it's done.


----------



## rsfaze

scooter99 said:


> It's half inch foam board. Just using it for mock up. It will be mdf when it's done.


ah ok, after reading over the build again I got you were using it to make a template.. good idea for some easy to work with material.


----------



## scooter99

rsfaze said:


> ah ok, after reading over the build again I got you were using it to make a template.. good idea for some easy to work with material.


Ya that was the plan. Then when I'm ready for wood, I can just take it apart kand use the foam for templates.


----------



## scooter99

Does anyone know if the bit one software will work on an iPad? I've been playing with my sister in laws iPad this weekend, on it now, and now I want one. But I'm worried I will have problems with the bit one software on it. Not sure why, but it's just a worry. Anyone have any info or experience?


----------



## lostdaytomorrow

Did you see this thread about the Bit One and ipad integration? http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/off-topic/78999-ipad-audison-bitone-install.html

Cool idea with stacking the batteries in one of the side corners. Which batteries are you doing in this build and how will you stack them? I've got two 165ah batteries in the spare tire well and all of the 1/0 awg connections down there as well and it actually worked out really well for me with a perfect snug fit, but adding 250 lbs. in just batteries right between the rear axle and even behind the rear axle sure has done hell on my stock rear suspension so I just lowered the front on Progress springs about a year ago and got rear camber bars for the back and all is well, minus the ride quality.


----------



## scooter99

Yea springs are a little rough on the ride for sure. Yea I watched that a while go. I'll have to go back and watch it again, but it looks like after searching a bit that the only way to do it is to have a VNC (or virtual network control I believe) put the app on your ipad and then have the software on the main computer with the VNC. I think we have what's called VPN here at work, but I think it's the same thing. Anyway, I'm gonna look further into it. I don't want to just have an ipad as my main unit like he does, ok maybe that's a slight lie, but I'd just like to have it to use instead of a bulky lap top.


----------



## scooter99

Question for you guys! For those of you who ride tucked in front or lower than the top of the tire, do you have rubbing issues when steering? I want to go lower but I can't get passed the thought of rubbing every time I turn. 

Other thing is, I feel like I'm sitting too far back with the tires, doesn't look good. I'm wondering if spacers up front might be a good thing for me. But then I'm back to the steering issue or concern. Thoughts?

Here's some pics of what I'm talking about. 

Front wheel:









Sits about 1" inside the wheel well:









Rear wheel:









About 3/8" from the wheel well:









I know the tires are a little worse for wear but that's from before the fenders were addressed. 

The front fenders will be rolled and fixed before I go lower, right now they do hit on a harder bump or something. That will be soon. 

Any thoughts from anyone on this? 12mm spacer up front maybe?


----------



## scooter99

Ok well I guess noone has any input on this, that's fine. I'll move on. 

I am going to start some stuff tonight that's not performance related. But I don't think I'll be able to show much if any of it. Going to start my alarm install. I have all diagrams and plan and as usual, I'm being creative with this. That's why I wish I could show it, but that would defeat the purpose of an alarm install wouldn't it. 

More later if I can!


----------



## SiR_Dave

Have you brought up this question on 8th Civic.... they might be able to help.. I would not go more than a 5mm spacer up front... but thats just me ...


----------



## IBcivic

Be careful, radically changing the offset in the front on a FWD vehicle can increase torque steer.


----------



## scooter99

SiR_Dave said:


> Have you brought up this question on 8th Civic.... they might be able to help.. I would not go more than a 5mm spacer up front... but thats just me ...


Yea chances are if I do go anything I'll go with a 5mm. I just don't like the thought of adding extended lugs, and I don't want to sit right on the fender. So we'll see. Yes I did, sorry should've said this first, put this up on 8th and noone seemed to want to give me any suggestions. I've posted it on all my forums. 



amitaF said:


> Be careful, radically changing the offset in the front on a FWD vehicle can increase torque steer.


Yea I've thought of that. If I get them on and I don't feel like it's safe, I'll test obviously without my girls in the car, then I'll take them off and just live with the way it is.


----------



## scooter99

WELL F-F-F-F-F-F-F!!! I pretty much spent all day fiberglassing a pretty big piece today. Started getting into the early evening and it was time to put my car back together, so I pulled it out of the car. Molded beautifully to where I made it to in the car. I set it outside on the patio to let it sit overnight and then i would put more on it later, or another night. It was still pretty flimsy at the time. I figured it was as cured as it was gonna get. 

Well I just went out there, it's 11:40pm Pacific Time, and I had set it ontop of something, an now it's bowed to what I set it on top of. So now it's no longer flat the way it was supposed to be and I'm not sure what to do about it, if I can do anything to it. 

Does anyone have any suggestions? I thought maybe if I put more resin on it, that it would heat up the original resin, and help it lay back down. Does that sound like it would work? Or should I just scrap it and start over? 

I'm so frustrated about this. Spent about 6 hours from dismantle, prep, glassing, pulling, and putting the car back together. I guess I just wasted my time huh? 

Anyone have any input?


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## IBcivic

If it is still flexible and you can get it to sit properly, you can , most likely, add a few more layers to stiffen it up, while it is held in place where you initially molded it. If it is warpd beyond that...as frustrating as this may sound>>>>live n learn, bro


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## sinister-kustoms

Got pics? If it's not warped too badly, you could try making some relief cuts and add another few layers?


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## scooter99

No it's all good. I'm gonna just redo it. I'll just try to remember next time. I'll wait till I get my truck back so I can do it on a saturday, and have the truck to drive around, and just finish the whole thing in the car. I can leave it overnight and then take it out. Thanks though guys. 

I did take pics but I can't show them. It's all part of the alarm thing. I did however, cut the pass through out of the rear seat arm rest. I have pics of that. Just not here. I'm at work and they need to be uploaded. So now things in the trunk will be easier to line up with that. Gotta figure out a way to finish it too. I'll try to get those up tonight. My work hours are changing by the way. 

I've taken out a small loan to fix my truck and pay off credit cards so in order to pay that off quickly I'm going to be working overtime Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays so that I can use that money to pay the loan off. So my nights of working on the car are going to be limited. I'm sure not much is going to happen in the next month or so. Priorities in life ya know. 

I will however post up when I'm able to with updates. 

Thanks as always for tuning in folks. It's nice to have people take interest in your work. I hope it's living up to everyone's expectations. I have a ton of ideas in my head, and I'm hoping when they come out to physical form they'll be satisfying to you all as well as myself. I am my own worst critic ya know. So I'm sure things will be done and redone at times. But I always appreciate your guys inputs and suggestions and ideas. Thanks as always!


----------



## scooter99

Here's a little project that I did this weekend. I cut out the pass through in my rear seat. Pretty strait forward, so I won't go into much detail. Here's some pics.


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## scooter99

And my favorite tool makes yet another appearance! Man I love this thing!













































Looks like 2 pictures ago, but I just cut out the back cloth panel









And myself! This SH!T is sharp! Careful if you're doing this project. 









Little duct tape to keep the kiddies safe, and myself!


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## scooter99

Actually I forgot about this piece. Now this and the tape will for sure keep the kiddies safe! 




































So that's about it. The other project I had going on failed. I think I posted that up. I'll have to redo it, but that's what you guys can't see anyway! Sorry! 

That's it for now!


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## scooter99

Ok here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to have to build some boxes I think. In order to do that and start testing some stuff, I'm going to have to get some stuff done first. I'm going to move on from this at the moment. I'm going to work on getting my head unit bezel done and put the head unit back in. I'm going to do the two runs of 1/0 ga from front to back and get that powered up and ready to go. Then at that point I'll make the rear wire panel and after that I can start making boxes and see what sounds best. 

The problem is I have so many damn ideas in my head and not enough time to test them all. 

Sorry guys about the confusion. I'll handle all this. I'll update when I can.


----------



## sinister-kustoms

scooter99 said:


> No it's all good. I'm gonna just redo it. I'll just try to remember next time.


I hope I'm not telling the chicken how to lay an egg here, but when you do it over again, just make sure your MEKP ratio is spot on. Mixing it too hot can make the panel warp to **** also.


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## scooter99

Yea I think I was fine there. Really the whole thing was fine, I was just the dumb ass that laid it down on something. SO it's my fault, I take the blame for the fail. Live and learn. I'll have to redo it when I get time again! Which is not very often. Thanks for the tip though, it's appreciated.


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## scooter99

Got some pics uploaded, 35 of them. Did a little project over the last few days. I'll update in the morning! Gotta get up at 430 am, need to go to bed! Progress, I LOVE IT!!


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## scooter99

Ok, UPDATE ALERT! 

So for a while I was looking at my head unit in the dash bezel and I just simply didn't like the way it looked with the trim ring and everything. It looked unfinished and I thought, as have some other civic folks I've seen and know, I could customize it and make it look 100x's better than that. Here's what I'm talking about:

The red arrows point to what I'm talking about. 









And here's a picture I took starting out, these actually show what I'm talking about. 



























This is going to be a problem, not a problem but an issue with finishing. I think it's going to be an issue of blending well. There's a step down from this bottom bar to the frame around the screen itself. It's about a quarter inch, which isn't significant, but it can be in a small space like this. 









Let's get started. I took the head unit out. This is the oem dash kit and all oem brackets. You can get them at majestic Honda, I think that's where I got this from. Better than the Scoche or Metra kits. Although if I had to go with aftermarket I'd prefer the Scoche kit. Looks much better IMHO! Ok enough of that. 









After I removed the unit and the brackets I had to start taping the unit off to protect it. In order to protect the screen and still get a nice sharp edge around the frame of the unit, I decided to cut up an old microfiber cloth I had laying around. Cut it to the size of the screen and just tapped over top of it. 



























Next I got out my drill and started making swiss cheese out of the bezel.


----------



## scooter99

Then I sanded it down and the rest of the piece as well. I'm not sure how I'm going to finish this but either way it'll need to be sanded to help whatever I'm doing to adhere to it. The oem paint on it is slick for sure. 


















Daddy. WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!









So, after all that I had to put the head unit back in. I tried to do a few things with this and see if moving it forward was a good thing or not, and when it came down to it, where it was seemed to be the best place for it. So I just left it there. It's ready for the next step. 


















In these last pics, I had put some epoxy in there, just the loctite 5 minute epoxy. I thought I had a bunch of it, but apparently I didn't. Anyway, I was going to fill the majority of the gaps with that, then finish with body filler. I made it all around the unit but not enough to fill it. 

Well, this was my first issue! Not knowing it yet, but having fears of it not coming out. I'll get to that later. It did leak out a little bit and that's where my fears came in. 

Next I got out my body filler. Yes it's just bondo filler from home depot or where ever it's sold. Then I got some fiberglass strands and started cutting them up to mix into the filler. 


















This is the first time I've tried this, but it was a pain in the ass. Maybe I put too much strand in, I'm not sure, but it was not very easy to fill in. Anyway, I went and got it all in and first coat applied. Gaps filled, and ready for sanding.


----------



## scooter99

Just touched it with the sand paper a little on top. I didn't have much time to work on it today. It was Friday night. I had done all this while watching my kids and sitting on the patio with my wife while the kids swam. So that was it on Friday night. 









Didn't work on Saturday, I golfed most of the day. Then we took the kids bowling. Come Sunday. Doing more work. BBQ going, kids swimming, perfect opportunity! 

This is where I started









This is after about an hour of sanding. Top looking good!









My daughter grabbed the camera in stealth mode!









Gotta stay hydrated! Captain Morgan and Diet Coke FTMFW!! Wait ice is gone FTMFL! "Honey can you go get daddy some ice please!" WINNING!!









Ok so this was after another hour on the sides and bottom, which was a ***** because of all the buttons down there. I was simply trying to find the edge of the frame all the way around so that I could take the head unit out and have my edge to work with. 









So! Now, it's time for the moment of truth! I unscrewed the brackets from the dash piece and started trying to get it loose. THEN PANIC SET IN! It wasn't moving at all. What happened was the epoxy had seeped through the sides and set up between the brackets and the dash piece. 

So next was remove the brackets from the unit itself, then try to pull them out. Worked. Positive progress. Still obviously worried about the head unit, I walked away from it for a while. After dinner I came back to it and slowly started pulling and wiggling and maneuvering it, and POW it came out!!

Man was I sweating that one! What a relief! 


















Little test fit!


----------



## scooter99

Little rough still, but it's only the first coat. 









I took the sanding block and just kind of knocked down the little lip that was around the unit. Now it's kind of roundy. This looks much better. Too small to take a picture so I didn't. Next it was time for a second coat and to see this thing start taking shape. No glass in this one!




































I absolutely love how this second coat came out. I'm very very pleased with it. It's taking shape well, and the part that I was worried about, how it would finish out being the 1/4" lip at the bottom, I feel came out nice. I think a few more coats and it will blend right in. 

Got a lot more sanding to do. I think I'm going to get some different paper and a piece of wood to do the rest of the sanding. I only have some sanding discs for my sander I've been using by hand, and then some sponge blocks. I don't want to risk not having a straight edge around the piece, or that dip in the middle I keep having to fill all the way around. So that will allow me a straight taper down. 

The other thing I'm going to be doing, is get some rage gold, and some other better filler for finishing. I think that I'm going to go ahead and finish this piece with some carbon fiber vinyl. My only other thought about it, and this is gonna be tricky with not ever doing it before, is to get some carbon fiber and just carbon fiber finish it. I just don't want it to be bulky. I want a nice thin finish. Probably won't paint it. I'll just cover it some how. I'll paint it to see imperfections of course, but I mean finish paint it. 

So that's it for now. I'm going to sand some tonight and see where I'm at. I've also got my Scan Gauge Pod to work on and I may work on that tonight as well. Start it at least. 

Comments welcome! Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## MaXaZoR

Don't go too tight with that bondo otherwise the deck might not open! Before you wrap it, make sure you test it out, also make sure you plan for the thickness of the Di-Noc wrap since it will cause issues.

Good luck


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## scooter99

Thanks. Good info. I'll do that. I'm ordering it now and I've got a spare piece from last time at home. That'll give me the ability to test it out.


----------



## scooter99

Did I loose everyone in here? No one interested anymore?


----------



## MTopper

i'm just waiting to see some amps, speakers, and subs... no offense


----------



## derickveliz

scooter99 said:


> Did I loose everyone in here? No one interested anymore?


*Nope!*

We are always checking on your install.


(o:


----------



## scooter99

MTopper said:


> i'm just waiting to see some amps, speakers, and subs... no offense


Sorry. As you well know, sometimes the small things take over an install before you see the grand finale! 



derickveliz said:


> *Nope!*
> 
> We are always checking on your install.
> 
> 
> (o:


Ok glad to hear it. I was worried there for a moment that no one was watching anymore. Not worried but I was starting to think that if no one was watching, why post. But glad to hear it. 

A little update for everyone. Just had a minor set back tonight. Not really a set back, more like an added thing to the list. My front brakes started hollering at me tonight. So I'll order up some pads tomorrow and get those in. May not be till after I get back from vacation. 

My last major vacation of the year. I'm headed to Salmon Idaho to float down the Salmon River for 5 days of nothing but catering and pampering! I can't wait. Then when I get back I'm off for a week to watch my girls, since their grammy is going on vacation. But that week I've got stuff I HAVE to get done on my truck. Brake jobs, head unit install, door speaker install, shock replacement and some other things. I'll throw the front pad replacement for the Civic in there as well since that's my daily. Mucho more important than the truck stuff. 

But I'll be doing other things on the Civic as well. Get the dash bezel finished and ready for covering, get the scan gauge pod done, and hopefully get the headlights finished as well and installed. Gonna be a busy busy busy week! 

That's all for now. Goodnight!


----------



## MTopper

i check in every time that you post.i just have no idea what you're doing on your honda (i'm an american car guy, no offense) so i just watch and read. plus, i'm not on here every night anymore, i get home from either class after work or my second job and i hit the couch out cold from exhaustion


----------



## sinister-kustoms

Yea I'm still checking it, just running out of ways to say 'wicked install man'! 
Keep it up!


----------



## screamatamonkey

I check it every day man! Can't wait to see what you're gonna do to your car next!


----------



## IBcivic

I was offended by the fact that you didn't entrust the whole DIY community with your car security secrets.
Un-suscribed!


















































































































J/K


----------



## scooter99

Maybe next time I'll get one of those magnetic key holders and put it under my wheel well and let you know where I am and what wheel well it is! LMAO!


----------



## IBcivic

bwhahahaha


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I did some stuff last night and it blew up in my face. As I said the other day I had to change out my brake pads up front. They started grinding the other day, and although I didn't see any ware on the rotors I decided that knowing they were low anyway, and the fact that it's my daily driver and my girls are in it with me daily, I didn't want to take a chance. So I bought some pads. 

Then the modder in me, said the infamous words of "well while I'm in there I'll just" do the following:
* change the brake pads up front (rears are over 70% still)
* install the speed bleeders I bought last year
* repaint the calipers Galaxy Grey Metallic 
* flush the brake fluid system
* lower it a little more. 

Well I started off by draining the system. I jacked it up, removed all the wheels and pumped the brake pedal till it was as stiff as a teenager at a swim park!









Went under the hood, opened up the lid to the reservoir, pulled the screen, and got out the suction syringe. 




































Sucked out all the fluid in there and bottled it up. Nope that's not diet coke folks! LMAO! My 6 year old comes out while I'm working, she loves soda when she's allowed to have some. Daddy, can I have some of your diet coke? Me: Umm, that's not diet coke honey! Laughing. Funny, yet realistic moment. Put your stuff away folks if you have kids around. So I did. Moving on from there. 



























I didn't do that on the car by the way. Just was up there to take pictures. I did that on the floor. This stuff will ruin your paint, FYI, so try not to get it on anything painted. 

Empty!









Now it was time to remove the old bleeders and install the new speed bleeders. This is not such a great picture, but you'll see the bleeder when you get in there. Mines painted black so that's why it's so hard to see.


----------



## scooter99

You'll need a 10mm wrench to remove this. 









You can see here it's out. The gold dot, again sorry for bad pics. You're going to have some fluid from the hose come out. Inevitable, so make sure you have something under there to catch it so you dont have a mess on the floor. 









So here's where things blew up in my face and just got sideways! 

Here's the speed bleeders. 









See anything wrong here?!?









Looks like it's in right?









Got the torque wrench out and set it to 7ft lbs per the instructions.









Well after that pic I was all F-ED up. Here's what happened. I read the DIY on here (8th Civic for everyone else) and it says use 4 - SB10125 Speed Bleeders. That code translates into M10x1.25 threads. Welll after I torqued it and it wasn't tightening, I figured out, that I stripped the hole. I WAS PISSED! But, it was to noone's fault but my own. I should have paid more attention, did more research, emailed them, whatever to get these. The DX, EX, and LX civics use an M10x1.0 speed bleeder up front and the others in the back. 

So now I had to run down to O'Reilly's Auto Parts and get a new caliper ($40.00 so not bad) and start this project over. So I did that. Got the rear Speed Bleeders in not a problem. I found, in the box i kept these in since I bought them over a year ago, an SB1010 Speed Bleeder which is the one the site says I need up front. Got that one put in the passenger side, but didn't have a second one for the driver side. So I have 3 S.B's and one OEM. After getting that one in and tightened down, I noticed it was leaking out of the top where the fluid would come out to bleed it. I was like WTF!! 

So I took it out and compared it to the OEM one. See below!









Threads are right, it fit perfectly. But it's about an 1/8" short. So it's not going far enough in (insert dirty joke here guys) to shut off. So I took that one out, and the oem went in there as well. 

So after all that, I finally got the pads installed up front, and painted all the calipers. I called a buddy of mine, cause I've never really bled brakes and I wanted to learn, OBVIOUSLY. So while he was coming over I did some other things. 

Here's the calipers:
Before









After color match paint (not the greatest picture and yes I know my wheels are dirty. MY WHOLE CAR IS FILTHY!)









So there you go. I got my brake pads changed, 2 of 4 bleeders in, calipers painted, and even adjusted the coilovers. Today I did email Speed Bleeders and let them know what was going on with the fronts. I'm waiting to hear back from them. When I do I'll update that. 

So the coilovers. I adjusted stuff and I think that while I've improved the ride quality, I've mistakenly raised the car when I wanted to lower it. So I'll have to go back in sometime and adjust that again. 

So there it is. My car is safe again, and I feel better, even though it took so damn long to do it. 

I picked up a few toys yesterday, well ordered anyway, and got some other things to help finish the the dash bezel as well as the headlight lenses. 

Most likely won't have anything else to show or update until I get back. I leave monday for the river trip, and this weekend I'm spending in San Francisco for a Giants game and a weekend on the town for my birthday. 

Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## IBcivic

good job, mate!


----------



## scooter99

Thanks mannn!!


----------



## scooter99

Anyone have any opinions one way or another? Trying to decide between:

All black shroud and housing









Or, 

Galaxy Grey Metallic Shroud and Housing (what's left black)









Or, 

Galaxy Grey Metallic Shroud and Black housing (the way it's pictured above)

Or

Black Shroud and Galaxy Grey Metallic Housing

What does everyone think?


----------



## MTopper

i can't imagine visually what it'll look like without it sitting on the car. so i'm of no help


----------



## IBcivic

all black gets my vote


----------



## scooter99

The more I look at it, the more I like the thought of black. I'm thinking that I'm gonna be forced, by my own will, to get the second set of projectors (quad set up) and then do the shroud for that as well to go all black. The blinker side, or side marker, I'm going to tint. then it would make it all blacked out, but not really, and everything is fully functional!


----------



## n_olympios

Black all the way.


----------



## scooter99

Yea I'm thinking that's gonna be the winning decision!


----------



## SiR_Dave

Black for the shroud's looks best


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I couldn't stand it. I said I was most likely done with updates before my vacation but I couldn't help myself. I was looking at builds today in a number of different places and my mind started running on my own build. I'm not 100% sure how I ended up here, but I did. So here's where I'm at! 

I got a hold of an Si trunk lid a few months ago that I tried to cover up with Carbon Fiber Vinyl. It was my first attempt and it failed. Most of it went ok but bottom line is that it failed. Too much for one person to do by themselves, let alone one person doing it by himself on the first time ever. That being said, my full intention is to still use it, get it covered now that I'm a little bit better at it, and get it on the car. So this saves me some time. Also saves me some build stress. 

So I got the old amp mock ups out from last year, and the trunk lid and made a layout that I've basically been thinking about all day long! Here it is.









So after looking at this, I decided I love the way it looks. It's gonna pop you in the face as soon as you open the trunk. It's gonna look good! So I decided to start building it up. I may, of course, need to go back and do some stuff later and probably re do all that I've done tonight but I've got a great idea now of how I want it. 

Started taping off where the basic line is going to be. There's a foam surround that goes here that seals off the lid from leaking when it gets water on the car, i.e. rain, carwash, whatever. So I don't want to go much past this point. 


















Got out my foam board so i could make a platform for the amps to sit on. Well sort of, this is to mimic a platform. I'll probably go back and make this out of wood and glue it on with some dowels etc. 


















Next I just taped the hell out of it. I thought I was going to just fiberglass over this but then after it was all done, I decided it would be best for me and the work to be done, if I made the platform out of wood and attached it, then glassed over it. So that's probably what I'll do. 


















The little cubby you see at the top is where the trunk latching mechanism goes. 


















So this is the basic layout of the amps. I didn't really want them straight. I think though after looking at them a bit more on the pics, I'll change the radius and try to get it closer to the trunk radius there on the bottom. So I guess if I do that it'll probably end up straighter then I want it to. So we'll see what happens. 









So that's about it. Not much but believe it or not, that will allow me to sleep tonight. 

That's it for now. Probably for sure the last update for a couple of weeks. I'm probably leaving for San Francisco tomorrow night, or Saturday morning, and then I'm leaving for my river trip on Monday. So there won't be much if any time to work on this stuff. I'm very excited for what's in store when I get back. You should be too. Lots to come and lots to come quickly, I hope! 

Thanks for tuning in as always!


----------



## DLO13

with the attention to detail you have with every other part of ur car, seeing ur trunk/amprack idea just got me excited. 
enjoy your vacation.

Edit: thinking about it - how do you intend to keep the wires clean while running to the trunk lid, i know on my 07 the harness doesnt allow for room to put a set of 4 gage wires + speaker wire etc.


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## scooter99

Going to make a new fiberglass cover for the arms, and they will dive into the fiberglass cover on the trunk lid. All removable, you'll never see em!


----------



## scooter99

So after thinking about it a little bit last night, and moving stuff around this morning, I've decided to change it just a touch. I decided the two amps up there really was too much to they eye. I thought what could I put up there that would be big, but not overkill! Then it hit me! LRx 4.1K! One amp, large size, perfect for that! 
Original









Now









Then I got to thinking about the rest of the install. What am I gonna do with the trunk area now. How much room do I have for the enclosure, the amps, etc. Here's that and the idea:

Recall that we have this on the back seat, or up against it. While it's going to change just a touch, it won't be much. The depth is still gonna be the same. 


















So I laid the two sub amps down on the floor, and looked.









And I thought, ya know, I could put the other amp in there as well. The mid bass amp, LRx 2.9, is the same exact size as the sub amps, LRx 1.1k. So they would cosmetically look good together in a pyramid form. Like so! 









My only question then would be, where do I put the LRx 2.4 which is the rear fill amp? Ah ha!! I still want to balance out the weight in the trunk, meaning I don't really wanna stack the two batteries on one side. The processor is going to not offer much in the way of weight to balance it out. So I've been trying to figure out a way to move that processor and go back to the original plan on the batteries in each corner cubby of the trunk. 

So now I'll put the LRx 2.4, rear fill amp, and the Audison Bit One Processor in the drawer I had originally planned to put the LRx 4.1k and LRx 2.4 in. Spreads it out more, the processor is easy to get to, and it all works out. I love it. 

Now I need some help from the enclosure boys! I need some confirmation actually. 

According to the Hertz Website and their specs, here the air space desired by these subs and their specs for "performance vented" enclosures is at 1.34 cu ft per sub. That's tuned at 40hz per the port they've provided. 

Now taking into account what little knowledge I have of vented enclosures, and how much research I do, here's what I found the other day and used it here while figuring out enclosures for my truck. 

Source: Audioque.com

So try to follow along.

I have a wedge box going in. This will allow it to sit completely flush against my component board on the back of the seat. With the 3rd amp in on the floor, measured to give me an even surround like the other amps, I have 17 1/2".










In the picture it shows a lot deeper but that's cause I measured to the back of the seat. I had to subtract from the measurement because of the component panel, and the depth between the back seat and the top cross bar. It's 3".

So my measurements go like this: Top measurement 9" and bottom measurement is 17 1/2". If I take those to make one measurement for my depth and go like this (17 1/2 - 9 = 8 1/2") Now I can't bring back the 17 1/2" 8 1/2" and extend the 9" 8 1/2" cause I'll be in the exact same spot. So I divide the 8 1/2" in half and I get 4 1/4". Now I add that to 9" and subtract that from 17 1/2" and get a total depth of 13 1/4". Get all that. 

I've also got 41" wide and 16" tall to work with. So that gives me an overall measurement of 13 1/4"D x 16"T x 41" W. Take away the thickness of the wood, it's 11 3/4" D x 14 1/2" T x 39 1/2" W. That gives me a total of 3.89 cu ft to work with. 

Now according to the audioque website, woofer displacement and port area are approx 18% of the total area of displacement. So if I take that into account (3.89 cu ft x .82 (100 - 18 = 82) then that gives me net air space of 3.19 cu ft total. 

Now with the pass through that I'm doing, I need to take that into account as well. The pass through is 6" W x 11" T x 13 1/4" D (same as the box depth we figured out above) which gives me .51 cu ft. So now I take that from the net area we figured out above, 3.19 cu ft - .51 cu ft = 2.68 cu ft. If you divide that by 2 that gives me 1.37 cu ft of air space per sub. 

My port area is, again according to the site, 2.68 cu ft x 16" = 42.88 sq inches. For the vented port I want, I take the 42.88 sq inches and divide it by the height of the enclosure (11 3/4) and that gives me a 2.96" wide port.

So my port would be 11 3/4" tall x 2.96" wide x 18" deep. According to the site, again, 18" long port would roughly give me a tuning of 40hz. 

So again my enclosure, if I did this right, would be:
11 3/4" Deep x 14 1/2" Tall x 39 1/2" Wide

with a port tuned to 40 hz of:
11 3/4" tall x 2.96" wide x 18" deep

Did everyone get that? What do you all think about that? Is it correct? Opinions on all of it please. Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## scooter99

Ok folks, I'm about 99% on a major major change in this build. I'm just trying to figure it out and then I'll make my decision as to whether it's worth it to me or not. 

First off I'm planning to take my:

Pioneer AVH-P4200DVD
Pioneer Bluetooth Module
Pioneer HD Tuner Module
Sarotech aBigs Media Player

And sell them off. Why would i do this? Well because, with the exception of the Bluetooth I think, they can all be replaced with an Ipad2 BABY!!! I'm honestly so close to pulling the trigger on this one, I can't even tell you. Everyone knows that the Soundman.com has been doing these for a long time. I've found one other civic with it, but it's done in a vertical stance, which I'm not fond of. I can do a horizontal stance on it, but I would loose the vent in that dash bezel. That's not a big deal to me really, as in theory, it should blow more air out of the other three. I'm not concerned about that. 

What I am concerned about is steering wheel control retain ability if possible, digital signal to the Bit One which I think is possible via parts from Soundman.com, and making it look good which I'm a perfectionist at so I think that will work. I also need to be able to slide it in from the top vs the side like most others do, because of the way the dash is made, it's not going to slide in from the side. So that will be an issue possibly. I'll be doing some research on it and decide what I'm going to do about it. I also need to be able to run a video signal from the Ipad to the rear screens. I think I've got a solution for that as well, IYWR, I only have one pioneer video monitor at the moment cause the other is broken. I'll address that after this. 

Today I'm getting wood and will try to get some work done on the car. I'll be posting up some stuff when I can.

UNTIL THEN, Please give me your comments, concerns, suggestions, ideas, or whatever else. I'm very serious about this and would like to see if anyone has any experience with it etc. Thanks for tuning in guys!


----------



## IBcivic

COOL!


----------



## scooter99

I just have to figure out how I'm gonna pull it off now. 

I'm gonna most likely sell off the head unit and modules, the media player, and I think I'm gonna nix the comps for the rears and go with coaxes instead. I've also got one of the two monitors I can sell for a good price, and the other I will sell off too for cheap and if someone wants to fix it they have it for cheap. Oh and I still have the second LRx 1.1k I'd still like to sell off. That would help me in room for the trunk. 

Just did a quick price check and it's gonna be close to if not a little more than a grand (that's $1,000.00) for the Ipad, fiberglass pods - which I may just make myself to save a few bucks, the dock connector, the Scosche Cable to pass the video signal through to the other monitors in back, and a couple other things. Gonna be a pricey venture. But in the end I think it'll work out better than now! Just won't have a cd player anymore. 

My only other worry is the ability to adjust the bit one. I'm gonna send an email to the boys at Soundman and see what they say about that.


----------



## scooter99

Making some pretty good progress today. Had some setbacks with designs, but I powered through and I'm making headway for sure. I'll have pics uploaded tonight.


----------



## scooter99

Pics uploading now. Great progress today! I'm very happy with what I was able to get done. Little unhappy with a few things, but nothing major. I may go back an fix them later. I'll update with pics later tonight after my boot camp workout!


----------



## IBcivic

yippy!


----------



## DLO13

scooter99 said:


> Ok folks, I'm about 99% on a major major change in this build. I'm just trying to figure it out and then I'll make my decision as to whether it's worth it to me or not.
> 
> First off I'm planning to take my:
> 
> Pioneer AVH-P4200DVD
> Pioneer Bluetooth Module
> Pioneer HD Tuner Module
> Sarotech aBigs Media Player
> 
> And sell them off. Why would i do this? Well because, with the exception of the Bluetooth I think, they can all be replaced with an Ipad2 BABY!!! I'm honestly so close to pulling the trigger on this one, I can't even tell you. Everyone knows that the Soundman.com has been doing these for a long time. I've found one other civic with it, but it's done in a vertical stance, which I'm not fond of. I can do a horizontal stance on it, but I would loose the vent in that dash bezel. That's not a big deal to me really, as in theory, it should blow more air out of the other three. I'm not concerned about that.
> 
> What I am concerned about is steering wheel control retain ability if possible, digital signal to the Bit One which I think is possible via parts from Soundman.com, and making it look good which I'm a perfectionist at so I think that will work. I also need to be able to slide it in from the top vs the side like most others do, because of the way the dash is made, it's not going to slide in from the side. So that will be an issue possibly. I'll be doing some research on it and decide what I'm going to do about it. I also need to be able to run a video signal from the Ipad to the rear screens. I think I've got a solution for that as well, IYWR, I only have one pioneer video monitor at the moment cause the other is broken. I'll address that after this.
> 
> Today I'm getting wood and will try to get some work done on the car. I'll be posting up some stuff when I can.
> 
> UNTIL THEN, Please give me your comments, concerns, suggestions, ideas, or whatever else. I'm very serious about this and would like to see if anyone has any experience with it etc. Thanks for tuning in guys!



i too will be adding an ipad to my install so hurry the heck up and figure it out so i can copy you!

ahah good luck. Watching and waiting!


----------



## scooter99

Yeah I'm gonna work on it. It's gonna take some major modding and some major customization to make it work, but I think I can handle that! I'm sure the folks over at the 8th won't like it but they seem to hate on everything that's not the "norm" or the "rage". So if it's out of the ordinary or unique, they flame it. Whatcha gonna do? You know what they say "Hater's gonna hate"! I'm fine with it. 

Tomorrow, I've decided, I'm gonna post up a HUGE for sale thread. I know, I know, again. But aside of the Ipad modification, and needing money for that, I'm changing amps now. Reasons; cause I'm gonna go down to 4 amps from 5 amps, and saving some money in the long run. It's all Travis's (Saladfingers) fault, so you can thank him, just f-in with ya buddy. He just had to post up those new Hertz HPD amps. These things are sick, powerful, and small. A great combination in my book. Now I'll be all Hertz, with exception of the Bit One. Sure wish they'd jump on the Processor band wagon, I'm sure i'm not the only one thinking this! Anyway, I'll be going from the LRx line (two 1.1k's, 2.9, 4.1k, 2.4) to the Hertz HPD1, two HPD4's, and I'm gonna try to pick up an EP2x but Travis tells me that they're not selling those anymore. I just hate the looks of the HP line. They're hideous in my opinion. But that's my opinion. I wonder if I could get away with painting one. We'll see what I do. Maybe I'll just do away with the rear fill and stick with IR head phones for the rear movies, and then I won't need another amp. Still deciding on that one. Things are changing. But the build continues on. 

Give me a few minutes, and I'll post the latest pictures from today. I have to go read stories with my girls! It's past bed time, for them and me! LMAO! 

Be back in a few!


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## scooter99

Ok so here's today's update! 

I started out with the floor. I needed to create a base for everything to sit on. At some point in the build I'll cut it out so that the spare tire is accessible. For now I'll leave it the way it is. 

If you will recall, a while ago, I made some foam templates. I simply removed those from the trunk now, and transferred them to the MDF. Speaking of MDF, did somebody say WOOD!!??!!

2 sheets of 1/2" MDF and 2 sheets of 3/4" MDF:



























Here's the template for the floor.









Time to cut. Love my trusty Ridgid saw!









Used the jigsaw to cut out the rest.


















In the car









Then added the other pieces.


----------



## scooter99

So I needed a way to make it all level. The side pieces weren't sturdy enough to sit level with the main piece on their own, they hang over the drop down on the sides and thus there's not any support for them. So I needed to create some! 



















No support


















Support Created!




































Also on the main floor board so that the three pieces would sit level with each other.


----------



## scooter99

All the supports


















Sitting flush! 



























Now that the floor was done, it's time to move on to the first main piece. The component board. The first mock up wasn't going to work. I wanted it so that it would be accessible from behind if I need to add, take out, or make any changes to wiring. Well doing it that way the original mock up I made a while back, wasn't going to work. That's why I used the foam, cause it's cheap and if I need to go a different direction, it doesn't cost me more in wood in the long run! 

So now we're onto the next one. Starting with some poster foam board, I started mocking things up again. 




































Once I liked what I had, I transferred it to the MDF.


----------



## scooter99

This was 3/4" and after playing with this in place a bit, I thought it was a touch thick. I ended up with 1/2" in the end, but didn't waste the 3/4", I used it as well. 



























Testing it with the seat in place. 


















Someone's been cutting MDF! LMAO!









So after I cut the panels out, I had to get some strips cut to make a cubby for the components to sit in. 









Before I did everything, I went into eat lunch. When I came back the MDF was in the sun and warped a bit. So I had to get creative to see if I could straighten it out at all. Worked a little.


----------



## scooter99

Time to put this thing together. My weapons of choice! 









Walls on


















1/2" panel on









Door and hinge on


















Time to get it in place.


----------



## scooter99

Trunk shot









Lets get it put back together.









Here you can see the pass through, the arm rest is up and you can see the cup holders.


















Everything back in. Seat up!


----------



## scooter99

From the front seat view


















This is the plastic piece that goes in.


















Here it is with the seats down.









And the panel door down.









So there it is. Needs finishing, and some detail touch up. There are a few things that need fixing on it. I'll get a longer piano hinge, cause this one is pretty short. Not really necessary, just one of those things, I'll know about and will drive me nuts. The second thing is, the pass through tunnel doesn't line up very well. I may have to re do the walls and trim it out or something. Lastly, the upper sides. I had some trouble with fitting it in, cause the side walls needed notching. It was getting towards the end of the day, I'd lost track of time, hand't started dinner yet and the area was no where near cleaned up yet. So I just did a quick fix. It look atrocious and needs to be addressed for sure. I may have a quick solution made up already in my head. I'll address it later when it comes time to finish. 

So that's it for today. The next thing I'll be addressing is the drawer under the rear deck. That'll be another project for another time. I also need to get some gas actuators for the trunk lid. I was going to do linear actuators and have it all motorized, but I don't think I'm going to go there at this time. Maybe in the future, I don't know. Reason I need to go to the gas actuators is the metal springs that are under the rear deck, need to come out for the rear deck drawer. 

Till next time, thanks for tuning in!


----------



## IBcivic

Lookin real fine!


----------



## SiR_Dave

Lookin' good


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## jaikai

New to the site - just went thru all 38 pages. 

My mind is officially blown. Great stuff.


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## scooter99

Thanks Jaikai! It's gonna get even better!

So I said before that I put the thread up and was going to sell off alot of my equipment. I've redacted that some what. I'm keeping the amps and stuff like that and selling the head unit and all the modules. Also selling the head rest monitors and have to decide what I want to do about those. 

I am for sure 100% going to an Ipad custom in dash set up. That's going to happen. Hopefully the stuff I have for sale will help with that cost. Otherwise I'll have to figure out how to soften the money blow. But that's a ways down the road before any of that happens. 

I'm keeping all amps, and all designs stay the same and the build will continue as planned. 

It's a crazy week with my girls starting school, meaning my hours change at work now. So it's going to be a juggling act for the next couple weeks to get into a routine. I'll see about getting some work done in the meantime and see what I can get posted up. 

Maybe I'll work on getting the few projects I've got going finished up and then I'll be up to date will everything. 

Till next time, thanks for checking in! 

My for sale thread is in my signature if anyone is interested in anything or whatever.


----------



## Paul1217

I used some really short gas struts off of a jeep cherokee hood I think on a Civic coupe like yours. Worked great.




























On the arm its a factory rear hole and then used an L bracket from Home Depot, or equivalent, for the trunk side. Opened almost all the way up, very close.


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## scooter99

that's great. Do you have the measurement, opened and closed? I was just gonna pick one up at Auto Zone somewhere like that.


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## scooter99

I still REALLY wanna do an actuator to open and close the trunk, but I don't know if I wanna spend that kind of money right now. Course all I have left is the actuator. I don't know. If I do I won't make that decision till I get the drawer made up.


----------



## IBcivic

Paul1217 said:


> I used some really short gas struts off of a jeep cherokee hood I think on a Civic coupe like yours. Worked great.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On the arm its a factory rear hole and then used an L bracket from Home Depot, or equivalent, for the trunk side. Opened almost all the way up, very close.


Oh-Oh!....I like

Plz specify year/exact model that these struts came from


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## Paul1217

Im really not sure what they're from. I did that install about 4 years ago. I really think they were hood props from Jeep Grand Cherokee. Maybe and 03-05. It was a customer's car and has now tradded owners so I don't have access to it any more. Sorry.


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## scooter99

ok. Thanks!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I killed two birds with one stone tonight. I had to pull some of the cabling out of the car tonight so I could put them with the items to sell. So while I was at it I just decided to strip the rest of the cables and wires out of the car. It needed to be done, so while i was in there messing around I decided just to get it done. 4 hours later, here I am showing you pictures! 

Starting off, I had removed alot of the wires from the trunk when I disassembled the trunk area. So when I did that they all went under the rear seat like so:









So I pulled the seats and the trims. Started cutting zipties, that was crazy! Then I came across one of my wire banks. These were in three different places in the car for the last build. One was under the dash center console, which housed a block for all the wiring from the head unit, power from the back, a pass through for the neons, and whatever else. The second one, you see below, was for the neon relay, the monitors, the component fuses, and a ton of other wiring that wouldn't fit under the dash but was for all the cabin components. The last one was in the trunk behind the IB wall. That was for all the trunk neons, the remotes, bit one power, etc. So three different places and lots of runs of wiring in different places. 

Here's the second panel, under the passenger seat! 


















In this picture you can see the panel under where the passenger seat would normally go, and then under the dash you can see the remains of the old barrier strip with the front wires. This was done over to do a temporary set up. I had a much bigger strip in there before. 









Second panel removed.









First barrier strip removed. In this you can see that I had an 8 ga power wire, which started from the trunk where the main 1/0 ga cable ran into the trunk and went to the second panel, then from there to the first panel. I also ran an 8 ga ground from under the passenger seat as well to a grounding block, the triangle thing there. 









So after all was said and done, I had cut a ****LOAD of zipties:









and was left with this pile of cables to deal with. 









But the end result is that I now have a clean slate, clean palate to work with. The panel that I just built behind the seat will take all three of those wiring junctions that I just talked about and put them in one spot. I'll have runs from the front to the back of course, but it will all reside in one place making things 100 times easier to troubleshoot and put together when it's time. I'm not going to get to that for a while but that should help you understand my reasoning for going with the panel. 

So not much of an update, but and update none the less! Good night all and thanks for tuning in as always!


----------



## eviling

very nice, sub'd. i oinly read the past few pages but i will certainly get through this whole thread soon, very interesting stuff


----------



## scooter99

I know it's lots to read, but I appreciate what you have read. This week is a little crazy so I'm not gonna get much done, but after this week, I'll be able to get more into a routine and see about getting some work done. My daughters's school is starting this week (Thursday) and then Friday we're leaving mid day to go camping. Last family trip of the summer! BOOOOOOO! Seems like summer never really happened! Oh well!


----------



## jaikai

Absolutely insane - in a good way. 

This whole thing should be turned in to a book!


----------



## scooter99

I might just do that! LMAO!


----------



## IBcivic

Paul1217 said:


> Im really not sure what they're from. I did that install about 4 years ago. I really think they were hood props from Jeep Grand Cherokee. Maybe and 03-05. It was a customer's car and has now tradded owners so I don't have access to it any more. Sorry.


Thanx! gives me an idea , where to start searching


----------



## scooter99

*Tablet Customization Plans and Dilemma's - Need some thoughts folks!*

Ok so here's the latest on the tablet design. I'm doing a lot of research on this as I want to make sure I make the right decision the first time and not have to do it over again. 

So the reviews I'm reading on tablets combined with my current situation have led me to these two options. First is the Apple Ipad2. Second is the Samsung Galaxy 10.1. 

I was originally going to go with the Ipad2, cause that's what I've seen done mostly. I've been speaking with a friend who works with Apple about the Ipad and getting info on it and stuff like that. He states that I can tether any phone to the Ipad. That’s fine. However, from what I’m reading, everything is stating that it’s way easier and better if you tether from a corresponding phone. Meaning Iphone to Ipad, Android to Android (in this case Samsung Galaxy S Phone to Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tablet.) I state this, because I don’t want to incur anymore monthly charges, so I’ll be tethering whatever it is I get to my phone. Let me explain that, cause some of you may be scratching your heads cause it might not make much sense. 

My wife and I are currently with T-Mobile and have, up until recently, spoken about leaving T-Mobile and going to Verizon. There’s a couple of reasons. First we get terrible signal service with T-Mobile where we are the most, work and home, and my mother in law who's on our plan as well get's zero service at her house. She just turns off the phone now cause it's worthless trying to get a signal. As do we have the same problems when we're at her house. Even looking at T-Mobiles website coverage maps and typing in our address’s we’re supposed to be receiving excellent coverage where we are and don’t by any means. Very frustrating at times! 

That being said we've had spotty service in those places with our previous Verizon service as well. Now I think that was several years ago and I'm sure they've got better signal since then. I even checked their coverage pages and they say the same thing. Excellent coverage in these areas. So that brings me back to my original story. 

If we decide to move from T-Mobile to Verizon, we'll almost definitely get Iphones. If that happens I'll most likely get an Ipad2. If we stay at T-Mobile then we're probably going to go with the Samsung Galaxy S phones. If that happens then I'll most likely get the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tablet. I'm leaning to staying at T-Mobile, for this reason if no other at all. When we got our plans several years ago we signed up, when the texting craze was starting to boom, for unlimited data. So we get unlimited internet, texting, photo sending, and any other data form you can think of. If we leave T-Mobile then I loose that and we won't get it back cause T-Mobile is the only carrier, IIRC, that hasn't booted their existing unlimited data users from those plans. Until that happens I almost think that it's silly to leave. So considering the fact that I’m going to tether the tablet to the phone it almost makes no sense to leave at all. Does it all make sense to you all now?

Here's why: if I get a tablet I don't see the reasoning to spend the money for the internet all the time one (I think it's the WiFi + 3G version) cause I have the phone to tether it off of. If I'm tethering off my phone I'm using that data and I have unlimited and don't have to worry about it. I do a lot in my car and would be using it a lot as I do now. Pandora, music, facebook (only in stopped traffic of course  ) movies (I don't know if I can get Netflix with droid but I think I could). So there's alot going on there. 

Now lets move onto the actual tablet and hook up. 

The only problem I'm thinking I may have is, I may have to just simply do away with the rear monitors for the kids in back. That's not going to make them or me happy. I cannot seem to find a way, however, to get a good signal from the tablet to the Bit One, as well as have a video signal to the rear monitors. Let me explain. 

In the soundman.com installs on the Ipad here, they use a piece called an iStreamer which is seeming to be specifically for the Ipad/Ipod. That seems to take care of the audio for the unit, with a better DAC than the Ipad has on board. However I have no way to get video out of the Ipad into the monitors in back. I can use a piece called the Scoche Sneekpeek cable but by using that I loose the external DAC and the better sound, according to the guys over there at soundman. 

If I go with the Ipad and just do away with the video monitors in back, then the hook up will go something like this. 

Ipad - dock/90 degree pass thru/or extender (depending on what way it's going to slide in.) - iStreamer w/ Ipad car charger - Bit One via RCA's - amps. The turn on will come from the rca signal to the bit one to the amps. 

If I go with the Ipad and keep the monitors, then I'll loose the DAC and the install will go like this (to my understanding anyway).

Ipad - dock/90 degree pass thru/or extender (depending on what way it's going to slide in.) - Scoche Sneekpeek cables - Bit One via audio / monitors via video - amps.

Given that I'm not really going to be competing much, if at all, should I be worried about an external DAC? I'm not sure. I'm thinking that if I went without it, worst case scenario, I would have to put it in. I don't see that as a huge deal. But 200.00 is a lot to just get and not need. I will say the more and more I listen to music in different cars, good and bad, I'm getting more accustomed to quality of music. I'll have to take that into account when making my decision here. 

*CHECK ALL THAT!!! *I just found this on the Apple store (Apple Composite AV Cable) and it may allow me to retain the rear monitors. If I’m thinking this correctly, I can use the 30 pin into the Ipad, the composite RCA’s will go to the monitors, to allow the headphones via the L/R audio and then the video out to the video of the monitors. Did you guys get that. Then the USB cable will go to the iStreamer to get the better sound to the Bit One. Anyone see any problems with that? Please speak up if you see problems.

Moving on!

Everything gets complicated if I go with the Samsung Galaxy Tablet. I'm still researching how I can even get a signal out of that to the Bit One, if there's a DAC that's compatible for it, if there's a video ability, and things like that. 

If anyone has any links for the Galaxy Tablet on a full on setup like what Soundman has on the Ipad, I'd greatly appreciate them. 

There's the latest info! I may add to this later, but I'll let you guys know if I do. I'm very excited about this, I just want to make sure it works well before I start buying stuff. 

I'm leaning toward the Galaxy Tablet (of course cause I can't seem to do anything easily) but mainly because I like to not go with the grain. Everyone seems to be doing Ipads, but I would enjoy to do something different. I'm reading reviews on both tablets and the Galaxy is getting pretty rave reviews. I know everyone is hung up on the Ipad2 and I've been with it as well. I've played around with my sister in laws Ipad and I do like the way it feels. I have yet to play around with a Galaxy but I will be doing that very very soon to compare. Of course if that plan with the video out on the iPad will work, I may just go back to that. Might just elevate everything I just discussed! 

I think that's about it right now. I’m anxiously awaiting any comments, suggestions, links, and whatever else!


----------



## Babs

You and Erin are my 8th Civic heroes. Good grief! 

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


----------



## scooter99

Thanks I think! I can be pretty stupid sometimes with equipment especially. I'm actually pretty happy about keeping the LRx's now though. I'm alot less stressed about it. I can handle the cost of the ipad conversion, but the 2400.00 of the new amps on top of that, no way! SO I'm feeling better about keeping them. If I decide to and I have enough overtime in the kitty, then maybe I'll start buying one of the Hertz amps here or there but I doubt it. I'm probably going to switch over to the truck when I'm finally done with this one. I'm pretty motivated on this build. May not show yet, but I am!


----------



## kyheng

For god's sake, keep the LRX......


----------



## scooter99

I am, I am!


----------



## MTopper

i completely forgot you had all that wiring and barrier strips in the car. i think you have more invested in your wiring than i do in my amps and sound deadener


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## IBcivic

MTopper said:


> i completely forgot you had all that wiring and barrier strips in the car. i think you have more invested in your wiring than i do in my amps and sound deadener


That civ has more wire in it than the the space shuttle

Good choice on sticking with the LRXs....that would have been an expensive, (slight)downgrade IMO. But I understand how that size-wise the newer HDP were very tempting.


----------



## kyheng

Small does not means good..... Because if he insist on selling it, I may have to buy it.....


----------



## IBcivic

kyheng said:


> Small does not means good















....AGREE


----------



## scooter99

No I'm gonna keep em. If I do decide to sell down the line, Kyheng, you'll be the FIRST to know! LMAO! 

Ya I'm thinking that with the new tablet as the head unit, alot of those wires will be going away! Part of why I took them all out. If I do this right, I should really only have a few, like maybe half of what I had in there. I have sooo much swimming in my head right now as far as set up and hook up for the car and these damn tablets, my mind is going to explode. 

My main issue is that damn Samsung Galaxy 10.1. It's so new that there aren't any adapters for it yet. But I'm thinking that i can still get the sound working and it has an HDMI adapter for it, so maybe i will have to go with HDMI monitors, or a single monitor for video. I'll get it figured out. But it's gonna take some research and thought process to get it done. 

I've also thought about just getting a replacement screen for the monitors I have, and just keeping them. 200.00 is what it'll cost for the screen and if I sell these and buy new screens or even just a screen I'll be spending more than that for new ones. 

I need to see if I can get a standard RCA A/V cable set up to convert to an HDMI input at that point though. But that's only if I go to the Galaxy 10.1. I have the Ipad2 down no problems, that I know of! 

More research coming for sure!


----------



## kyheng

No, I don't want to know..... Because it will be very stressful for me to dig money to buy your stuffs.....
Just have a quick check on both(iPad and Galaxy), looks like iPad will be better for you now. 
What's is different between av component cable and av composite cable? - Apple Store (U.S.)
Got this from the website, guess you cannot feed your Bit1 with digital signal?


----------



## scooter99

No I knew that I couldn't do that. I'm not so worried about a digital signal. I gave up on that a long time ago, hence selling the converter box and Panasonic optical cable as of late. However, I want the best analog signal I can get. I've got a couple of different solutions I'm looking at. I think, BIG THINK, I found a solution with the Galaxy 10.1 tablet video etc. Having to do with the HDMI cable adapter. I'll check back with links etc so I can get some input from you guys. 

The reason I'm not decided on the Ipad at the moment is the fact that we may not move from T-Mobile, in which case I won't be able to get the Iphone. If that's the case and I get a droid phone (probably the Samsung Galaxy S), I'll have compatibility issues with tethering it to the Ipad. 

I'll be back in a few minutes.


----------



## kyheng

I see.... Anyway, from the HDMI adaptor, you can split the digital signal out(if possible)..... For me, as far as possible, digital signal > DSP will be the best......

On a side note, I love your SDV-P7 very much after I spend $65 for the Pioneer optical cable, guess I will only ditch the fellow when it retires.... 
But there's some glitch when I connected it in, I got no sound and this really freak me out... Have tested almost 6 DVDs and no sound.... But CD have sound..... End up have to dig out the manual and found out I need to change some settings.....


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I think I might have found a way around the video out issues. I'm going to run through my idea for the set up using links etc. so try to follow along. Hopefully you guys can help me with if this will or will not work. 

Ok so using the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tablet I'm wanting to do the custom in dash set up. I'll do this with fiberglass and the Galaxy 10.1 Tab Multi-Media Dock and integrate it into the fiberglass pan. I don't know what the internals of this docking station looks like but I have to think, if you look at the gallery, that all the internal parts (i.e. boards etc) are residing in the box in the back. If that's the case, no pun intended, then I'll hack it out and mold it into the fiberglass pan. 

From there to get my signal I'll utilize the Galaxy Tab Adapter (HDTV) for the output. This adapter has an HDMI output on the end of it, and if you go into the gallery in the link and zoom in, you'll see on the second picture it has a second port out for the 30 pin connector. I'll get to that in a moment.

From the HDMI output I'll need to break that signal up and turn it into a composite signal (RCA's R/L and Video). I can do this with this a module/converter I think. This is the converter I found called the Monoprice HDMI to VGA & R/L Stereo Audio Converter. I can get a universal car charger and hard wire it to power it up. 

Out of the HDMI converter I can use the audio outputs L/R and run those to the Bit One Processor. For the video I'd use a VGA to S-Video/RCA (Composite) Adapter Cable and run a video cable from the RCA (yellow) to the head rest monitors. To get the audio to the head rest monitors for the IR headphones I can use a 3.5mm Stereo Male To 2X RCA Female Adapter out of the 3.5mm jack in the dock and run RCA's to the monitors audio inputs. 

Back at the Galaxy Tab Adapter. I was talking about a second 30 pin port. This port will house the Galaxy Tab™ 30-pin Vehicle Power Adapter with Detachable Cable. The charger, again, will be hard wired to an ignition source so it's not an always on thing and that will take care of charging the Galaxy. 

I think that about covers everything! I know it's alot to hook up, but honestly it's ok with me, as long as I get the end result I'm looking for which is a good audio signal to the bit one processor, and video out to the head rest monitors. 

So can anyone out there tell me if they think this will work or not. And if not, can you please help me to understand why it wouldn't work please? Thanks! I'm very excited if this is going to work cause this will put me one step closer to starting this project!


----------



## Oblivi0us

Can't wait to see the finished project. 

I've spent some time in the soundman forums trying to figure out how to integrate an ipad2 into my civic. I'm stuck between loosing the vent or relocating the climate control unit to the space below it's current location. I removed the dash trim and toyed around with positioning and it seems I can keep the vent and fit the iPad if I relocate the AC unit. We shall see.

Good Luck!


----------



## scooter99

I thought about that too. The Galaxy 10.1 is a little bigger than the Ipad2 and if I go that route I will probably have to loose the vent anyway. Right now that's the route I'm looking at going, cause I'll probably be staying with my current carrier. I'll know more in a few days I think. 

Once that decision is made, or maybe not even that long, I'll start tearing into it and seeing what I can and can't do. 

You know what that means folks!!!!! MOCK UPS COMING SOON!!


----------



## scooter99

Ok well there it is. I've pulled the pioneer monitors off the for sale thread and i've now just ordered the replacement screen for it. So I'll be keeping those and they'll go back in the headrests, when I get the screen anyway.


----------



## bginvestor

Wow, you started this thread last summer! When do you expect to be done w/ this build? 

Definitely subscribed!


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## scooter99

My schedule is so screwy, with a 4 and 6 year old, boot camp 3 times a week, work, overtime, family time, and life in general, I never know when I'm gonna get to work on it. 

But, I've also done a ton of research and a ton of planning, and designing for it, and I'm where I want to be right now as far as equipment and build plans. Well for the most part. Had a little hiccup there the last couple weeks with equipment but I'm settled on what, just have to wait for some details to iron out in the next couple weeks to determine model etc. But the amps are staying, the tablet head unit is a sure thing, and everything else is the same. 

I'm honestly hoping that by the new year, I'll be up and running and done, or mostly done. Then I can start on my truck project. That's gonna be a big one too! Not as big as this, but big none the less!


----------



## scooter99

I'll be going over a list of equipment again here soon. I know it's been a little confusing as of late, but I'll sum it up again for a refresher here soon. I have to find the old list, can't remember what page it's on, so I don't have to type it all out again!


----------



## scooter99

I need some varification again please! I'm trying to get the rear monitor head phones figured into the system somehow. I can do a couple of things. 

First thing I could do is take the audio signal out of the converter, and split it. Two (R/L) to the Bit One and two (R/L) to the headrest monitors which has the IR for the headphones. 

The other option I was thinking cause I was afraid that if I split the RCA's then I would loose signal to the Bit One. So what if i went the main signal to the Bit One, then the signal that goes to the rear fill amp (LRx 2.4). From there I use the "PRE-OUT Bypass" outputs to run the signal to the headrests and then headphones. Problem with that is, don't I loose signal when I turn the bit one down. So then i'd be turning the headphones down with the rest of the system wouldn't I? 

Can someone confirm that please? Either options really. Will I loose that much signal by splitting it before the bit one? Things are slowly starting to come together. Can't sleep now cause my head is swimming with ideas! Oh tomorrow is gonna be a long day!!


----------



## scooter99

Ok I think that's it. I think I've got it now. I've been searching some of the sites for tablets etc and found a lot of great answers and info on this stuff. So I'm about 99% on either of these layouts. 

Here's the first one. It's the Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tablet, going into a docking station. I need to actually change this one, cause the dock is getting modded. The Galaxy 7, previous version, docking station has an HDMI port out and that's the only difference between the two, aside of the fact that it's only 7" wide and not 10" but that may not matter once I hack it all up. Anyway, that dock with the HDMI port will eliminate the extra adapter. Anyway, here's the first version of the layout with the Gefen HDMI to Composite Converter. 










Now I'm not sure yet if I can just use that Coax Digital Signal or if the Toslink Optical is the best. Or will I even notice at that point? But, here's the option to go to the toslink optical connection. This is with Gefen GTV-DIGAUDT-141. 









Then I found another module, which gives me the same "all in one" module ability. However to get the video out of it I need a couple of adapters to go from HDMI to VGA, then to composite. That just seems like a lot. However it's significantly cheaper, like by 150.00, than the first one. Really it's more like $225.00 cheaper if I go with the toslink adapter cause that's 75.00 alone. So anyway, here's that one, it's the Octava HDMI Audio Converter.









So I'm leaning towards the first option, I think it gives me the best ability of all in one. If there isn't that much difference between the coax digital and toslink optical signals, then I'd much rather go that route and be done with one box. 

So big things happening here, even though there isn't anything to post picture wise. 

Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on this? Please feel free to speak up. Thanks for tuning in!

Oh Edit: I measured my dash last night and I'm thinking the 10.1 might be a little tight in there. So I'm going to make a couple mock ups for it and see how it can sit etc. But, the Samsung Galaxy 8.9 should be releasing very very soon here, and if so that might be ideal for me if I can't get the 10.1 to fit nicely. Something else to consider. I think that 10.1 inches of screen in the dash would be orgasmic, but I also don't want it to look like crap. So I'll have to find a medium. Maybe I'll go use my step brothers ipad2 and put it up there and see what it'll look like.


----------



## scooter99

Ok, just got a little present from the UPS guy! 

Oddly shaped brown box.









Let's see who it's from! 









Oh now I'm interested! 

Yay computer paper! What I always wanted............oh wait there's more!


















Little pink bubble wrapped package.









OH YA! NOW WE'RE IN BUSINESS! The sad thing is, I'm not excited for me, I'm more excited cause my girls are gonna be happy! HA!



























So I guess tonight I'll go get the bad one and see if I can get it taken apart and replace this thing! 

Been a pretty productive day I think! Figured out a wiring schematic for the tablet, got my screen, if I could just not have to work anymore, I'd be ecstatic!!!


----------



## scooter99

Ok after further review and research and asking questions, I've decided to go with the first option of the coax cable and NOT the toslink adapter. 

Now I need to make a list of things to get. 

1. Samsung Galaxy S 4g Phone upgrade
2. Samsung Galaxy 10.1 32gb WiFi Tablet
3. Samsung Galaxy 7.0 Multimedia Dock with HDMI 
4. Samsung Galaxy Tab Vehicle Power Adapter 
5. Gefen GTV-HDMI-2-COMPSVIDS HDMI to Composite Converter
6. Some kind of car charger to power the Gefen Converter
7. Digital Coax Cable
8. Audison Connection RCA Male Connectors, I already have these

I already have the Gepco EZ cable for the RCA's, I'll use the same Digital Coax Cable for the Monitors and the RCA ends as well. I already have the monitors, and I already have the Bit One. 

Now if I could just get the rest of my gear to sell I could fund this damn project!


----------



## eviling

the Galaxy s is junk, get the LG 3D phone, it's the G2X on steroids. 

have you considered other tablets? I just bought my self one of these for school and genral use, programing my car system is one of them  

Newegg.com - ASUS Eee Pad (Eee Slate) EP121-1A010M Tablet PC Intel Core i5 470UM(1.33GHz) 12.1" Wide SVGA 4GB Memory DDR3 1333 64GB SSD HDD Intel HD Graphics










theirs also the transoformer. 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230019


----------



## SiR_Dave

Interesting:surprised:


----------



## scooter99

eviling said:


> the Galaxy s is junk, get the LG 3D phone, it's the G2X on steroids.
> 
> have you considered other tablets? I just bought my self one of these for school and genral use, programing my car system is one of them
> 
> Newegg.com - ASUS Eee Pad (Eee Slate) EP121-1A010M Tablet PC Intel Core i5 470UM(1.33GHz) 12.1" Wide SVGA 4GB Memory DDR3 1333 64GB SSD HDD Intel HD Graphics
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> theirs also the transoformer.
> 
> Newegg.com - ASUS Eee Pad Transformer (TF101-B1) Tablet NVIDIA Tegra 2 10.1" Wide SVGA 1GB DDR2 Memory 32GB Flash HDD NVIDIA ULP GeForce


Just junk huh? What's the basis of your comment. Not firing back, cause I don't really know much about techy stuff, besides what I've been reading and everything that I'm reading says that The Galaxy 10.1 is the rival or one up of the Ipad2. Sooo did you have a bad experience, no experience and it's just a fan thing like you would say a rival baseball team sucks, or do you have some specific reasoning for your comment? 

Reason I'm going to the Samsung Galaxy S is cause it's the same as the tablet, T-Mobile has limited options in this area (at least until they merge with AT&T for real and the Iphone comes available) and with both of the same units I can tether them easier and get apps to merge easier. 

This isn't something where I'm trying to do this major techy thing in my car, but really just a cool application for music, videos, pandora, and possibly other things like Facebook. 

I'm very interested in your thoughts though. But as to this point, I'm at the Ipad2 or the Galaxy. I chose the Galaxy for the fact that I'm staying with T-Mobile and don't have access to the Iphone, and I also didn't want to do what everyone else is doing, meaning the Ipad2 in the dash.


----------



## scooter99

Also according to other sites, the Galaxy is above and better than the Transformer and the Slate. Forgot to add that into the last post.


----------



## scooter99

SiR_Dave said:


> Interesting:surprised:


What's interesting?


----------



## scooter99

Just to clear the air here, I'm NOT a tech person. I don't know much about it at all. I wish I did, but it's just up and over my head an I just cannot understand it. My basis for this switch is the WOW factor as well as more functionality in the car. I spend so much time in there, I figure it's worth the money to have more functionality in there. Just so everyone knows where I"m coming from. I have no loyalty to any products or any markets or whatever it is you wanna call it that the droid and apple network keep fighting over. I think if you like one great and if you've tried both and like one more than the other great. But if you've tried one and not the other you have no room to sit there and say, this one's the best and that's crap, cause well as I teach my kids, "you won't know till you try it." 

That was not aimed at anyone for the record, I'm just saying I see alot of that out there. That's all thanks!


----------



## eviling

i am a techy person. the tablets fine, but you can still consider all that is on the market. I'd also get one with 3G if i were doing it in a car, the galaxy s tablet does have 3g right? 

i have the galaxy s phone...samsung just isn't very good with phones. if you like andorid and are with tmobile, i thought you were with att. 

get the LG G2X, it's a muchhhhhhhhhhhhhhh beter phone than the galaxy. the galaxy 4g might have dual core and the same specs, but trust me. samsung sucks at phones lol their GPS is horible, and for what ever reaosn what ever they do to the OS justs makes it very glichy.



here are whats on the market for tablets. 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...eactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1

I also think maybe if you just want something showy, with music and such. archos has some older tech stuff with android based OS's in small form factor units, with much larger HD's. check these out. 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...odeId=1&name=ARCHOS&ShowDeactivatedMark=False

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16858501005

500gb tablet, you can't beat that  it's an older unit though. so the tech's a bit dated. but it's still nice features and might be right up your aly.


----------



## scooter99

eviling said:


> i am a techy person. the tablets fine, but you can still consider all that is on the market. I'd also get one with 3G if i were doing it in a car, the galaxy s tablet does have 3g right?
> 
> i have the galaxy s phone...samsung just isn't very good with phones. if you like andorid and are with tmobile, i thought you were with att.
> 
> get the LG G2X, it's a muchhhhhhhhhhhhhhh beter phone than the galaxy. the galaxy 4g might have dual core and the same specs, but trust me. samsung sucks at phones lol their GPS is horible, and for what ever reaosn what ever they do to the OS justs makes it very glichy.
> 
> 
> 
> here are whats on the market for tablets.
> 
> Newegg.com - Internet Tablet
> 
> I also think maybe if you just want something showy, with music and such. archos has some older tech stuff with android based OS's in small form factor units, with much larger HD's. check these out.
> 
> Newegg.com - ARCHOS, Internet Tablet
> 
> Newegg.com - Archos 48 Internet Tablet - 500GB Running Google ANDROID + Wi-Fi (501598)
> 
> 500gb tablet, you can't beat that  it's an older unit though. so the tech's a bit dated. but it's still nice features and might be right up your aly.


I'll take a look at that stuff. The Galaxy does come with 3g but I didn't want it cause I don't want another monthly payment onto what I already have. I already have unlimited data so why not just use the WiFi on my phone. 

Otherwise I'll look more into the other things as I get a chance. Thought about the HP as well.


----------



## tmcdade

Honestly, I haven't read every post, but I didn't see this one mentioned - just thought I'd throw it out there. Don't know 100% what exactly you're looking for, but it's worth checking out. It even plays FLAC, and is available with 250GB hard drive built-in :thumbsup: Supposed to be released in September: ARCHOS


----------



## scooter99

I'll look into some stuff. Thanks for everyone's input.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I went over to T-Mobile today and took a look at phones on my lunch. I will agree that the G2X looks and feels better than the Samsung Galaxy S. So I may sway there to something else, either the G2X or the HTC Sensation. Most likely the G2X. 

However after looking at other tablets I'm still on the Galaxy 10.1. I like it. I like the way it looks, I like the reviews I've read about it, I like the videos I've seen of it and how it works. I've designed my set up around it, so I'll most likely stay there. 

I looked at the Slate and they don't have a WiFi version of it yet. As I said before I don't want to pay an extra monthly fee when I have unlimited data on my phone now and can use the WiFi feature on it. 

My wife and I are talking about phones now. Once I've made that decision I'll start getting parts for the tablet and the install. Things will start happening soon.


----------



## bmwproboi05

I have a transformer in my car running optical.


Archos is a nice idea when your into media. Archos has pretty much everyformat covered. ( have the transformer, a70, archos 5, ipad)

Transformer can play flac i been playing flac on it for awhile.

As for my convertor I used it was from mono. I just wanted digital out soo I didnt care for the video, but i did find a car adapater (cig) that worked for my unit. My unit took dc in soo I just found soething that had the same output


----------



## scooter99

I just went and looked. Nice job. But I'm not using this with my head unit, I'm using it for my head unit. Did you use the analog off the Alpine for your set up? I think I saw that piece by the way.


----------



## bmwproboi05

scooter99 said:


> I just went and looked. Nice job. But I'm not using this with my head unit, I'm using it for my head unit. Did you use the analog off the Alpine for your set up? I think I saw that piece by the way.


Thx for the compliment. What do you mean, "not using this with my headu unit, I' using it for my head unit?" 



My set up is kinda complicated, but I am using the bitone to its potential (at least on the inpts)

Alpine 9886 > rca > bitone into six preout master inputs
Factory head unit>rca > Bitone aux1
Random rca 3.5mm jack > Bitone aux2
Asus Transformer> Mini hdmi> HDMI splitter w/ digital out > Toshlink> Bitone Toshlink jack

Does that answer your question?


----------



## PottersField

If it were me it'd be a toss-up. I like the Droid platform, very customizable, a ton of free apps. But the iPad is really, really intuitive. I never have liked Apple anything but I got an iPad2 for my wife and it was really easy to use. She doesn't even use her laptop anymore, just uses the iPad.


----------



## bmwproboi05

Ipad has bad file support, and other things bout the ipad just annoy me. Yes, it is simple and eassy to use, but if you ask me they kinda took out some of the fun out of it.

Im one of those ppl who see it as an over rated device.but we all see things in our own ways


----------



## sddale

scooter99 said:


> Ok so I went over to T-Mobile today and took a look at phones on my lunch. I will agree that the G2X looks and feels better than the Samsung Galaxy S. So I may sway there to something else, either the G2X or the HTC Sensation. Most likely the G2X.


A lot of people, including myself, have had problems with their G2X. Mine would freeze occasionally forcing me to remove the battery to reboot. It was a big problem because I had the hard case that needed to be taken apart to remove the battery. I ended up returning the phone. People are still reporting problems with it even after the latest software update. It was a superfast phone but has a lot of bugs.


----------



## scooter99

bmwproboi05 said:


> Thx for the compliment. What do you mean, "not using this with my headu unit, I' using it for my head unit?"
> 
> 
> 
> My set up is kinda complicated, but I am using the bitone to its potential (at least on the inpts)
> 
> Alpine 9886 > rca > bitone into six preout master inputs
> Factory head unit>rca > Bitone aux1
> Random rca 3.5mm jack > Bitone aux2
> Asus Transformer> Mini hdmi> HDMI splitter w/ digital out > Toshlink> Bitone Toshlink jack
> 
> Does that answer your question?


What I mean by that is that I'm removing the OEM head unit, and not using an aftermarket head unit and instead using the Galaxy as a head or source unit. I'll get all my music, videos, radio, etc from there and straight from there, not passing it through anything. 

Your set up makes perfect since thanks for sharing. I'm assuming by "bitone into six preout master inputs" you mean you're taking the Front, Rear, and Sub outputs form the 9886 and running them to the master inputs of the Bit One correct. 

All makes perfect sense. I may actually start getting parts today. I have some build up in Paypal, and the tablet itself is going to have no baring on what phone I get. Or the other way around either. So I'll most likely start ordering parts today. I'm actually thinking of getting the tablet now, but I have to sell off my head unit package first to have enough money to soften the blow. Anyone wants a great head unit package (Pioneer AVH-P4200DVD with an HD Tuner and a Brand New In the Box Pioneer Blue Tooth Module) check out my for sale thread in my signature. Sooner I sell that thing, and whatever else is left in there, the sooner I can get this project rollin! 



sddale said:


> A lot of people, including myself, have had problems with their G2X. Mine would freeze occasionally forcing me to remove the battery to reboot. It was a big problem because I had the hard case that needed to be taken apart to remove the battery. I ended up returning the phone. People are still reporting problems with it even after the latest software update. It was a superfast phone but has a lot of bugs.


Ya I read reviews about those problems and bugs. However, according to T-Mobile, "those have been fixed just recently". They apparently pulled the line and replaced them with the fixed versions to it. Whatever, things are in the air about the phone again cause my wife needs to decide if she wants to stay there or go to Verizon. So that portion is gonna have to wait till she makes that decision. The rest of it, can move on when money comes in.


----------



## bmwproboi05

scooter99 said:


> What I mean by that is that I'm removing the OEM head unit, and not using an aftermarket head unit and instead using the Galaxy as a head or source unit. I'll get all my music, videos, radio, etc from there and straight from there, not passing it through anything.
> 
> Your set up makes perfect since thanks for sharing. I'm assuming by "bitone into six preout master inputs" you mean you're taking the Front, Rear, and Sub outputs form the 9886 and running them to the master inputs of the Bit One correct.
> 
> All makes perfect sense. I may actually start getting parts today. I have some build up in Paypal, and the tablet itself is going to have no baring on what phone I get. Or the other way around either. So I'll most likely start ordering parts today. I'm actually thinking of getting the tablet now, but I have to sell off my head unit package first to have enough money to soften the blow. Anyone wants a great head unit package (Pioneer AVH-P4200DVD with an HD Tuner and a Brand New In the Box Pioneer Blue Tooth Module) check out my for sale thread in my signature. Sooner I sell that thing, and whatever else is left in there, the sooner I can get this project rollin!



Yes the master are the front , rear, and sub. I havent really even used my alpine since i put the tablet in. It is just their if I want it. Factory radio is up cause it has blutooth built in soo I use that for handsfree on the road.

You should def get this ball rolling! Going digital makes things seem clearer and more detailed. well IMO:surprised:


----------



## scooter99

ya I'm on it now. I'll post the latest update next. 

I thought about the bluetooth thing, and I'm sure I'll need it at some point, but I have a headset, and otherwise I don't ever talk on the phone. I'm a texter, emailer, etc. er. Not while I'm driving of course, cause well that would be illegal and I should definitely follow the law! BS!!! 

My only hiccup now has to do with the set up of the bit one. I can do it on my laptop of course, that's what i've been using. But, I'd like to know if I could somehow put the software on a thumbdrive, or somehow upload it to the tablet, I could have it on site all the time! I'm sure I can't but it'd be nice to do. 

As for the digital, I'm very happy to get it going. I still have the rest of the car to build though too before I can hear any of it. I think I'm on the cusp of some big things work wise, but my schedule is crap right now so I keep getting hung up. Soon, very soon!


----------



## scooter99

So here's the latest today. 

This morning I had an epic fail! I'm so pissed! 









Gotta figure out how to get this fixed! But on the flip side to that I found out they're 18 x 9.5" not 8.0's. NUTZ! I had no idea. I'll have to double check the box when I get home, but I went and measured from inside to out of the wheel and it's 9.5". 

Also I just went to best buy and played with phones and the tablets. 

First the phone situation is still up in the air. i won't get into that.

HOWEVER, the tablet has been decided. I played with a few, HP Touchpad, Transformer, Xoom, and the Galaxy 10.1. I absolutely fell in love with the Galaxy as I thought I would. I honestly did not go in there closed minded to just that tablet. I went in thinking keep an open mind about them and see what I like best. I used the Galaxy last too btw. I picked it up and it felt different then the rest of them. It moves well, I navigated through it well, well enough for someone like me, and I just really really enjoyed it. So I'm decided now. That's the one I'm getting. Etch it in stone, take a picture I don't give a "F". Done deal! As soon as the Pioneer head unit sells I'm gonna have enough to get it and I'll order it in! 

I also found out that with the HDMI port and 30 pin connector port, that I won't be able to transfer data through the usb but will be able to charge while using the HDMI. That's all I need now, which was the last option I posted on hook up. So I'm very happy to find that out. 

So that's about it for now. There's the latest.


----------



## bmwproboi05

If you have facebook go to audison offical page, and like my post! Kinda like a petition to show them their are ppl interested in having it on the fly!


an congratz on the tablet choosing


----------



## scooter99

Hmm can't find your post. But I've already liked the audison and hertz pages.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so as a switch to things, I started thinking back to my rear component panel. What I thought of was how it's attached. I don't like that screws are just into the metal. 

So what I'm thinking is that I know there are these rivet things, I don't remember what they're called, that go into the metal and are like threaded inserts. Can anyone give me some insight on what they're called so I can order the gun and the inserts please?

PS: Wow I this thread made it over 1000 posts. I'm humbled and honored guys and gals. Thanks for the continuing support on this. It helps when I get to situations like this where I've only been able to research stuff and not even actually touch the car. Thanks!


----------



## bmwproboi05

Rivet Nuts and Threaded Inserts, avk nuts, ribbed L rivets nuts, ribbed K rivet nuts, half hex rivet nut, flat head rivet nuts - Jay-cee Sales & Rivet Inc.
these?



are you guys going... | Facebook


----------



## scooter99

YES! SCORE!! Thanks! 

I aparently was not "liking" the right page. Thanks for posting that. I commented.


----------



## bmwproboi05

scooter99 said:


> YES! SCORE!! Thanks!
> 
> I aparently was not "liking" the right page. Thanks for posting that. I commented.


haha np!


HAHA yeah that plge is the "offical" page... Might post it in the sq forums later.. I want the ball to roll.lol


----------



## scooter99

I'd be all over that! Awesome!


----------



## scooter99

BTW, new FS thread up. I need to get the head unit and stuff gone so I can get the tablet to START THIS DAMN PROJECT!! Research is done, plans are finalized, I have the dash kit already (using the old one), now i just need a tablet to start fiber glassing and getting it ready to go. I don't wanna beg but......................PLEASE SOMEONE BUY MY STUFFF!!!!


----------



## bmwproboi05

yah! Im sure alot of people wouldnt mind paying a few bux for it either. I might ask my boss tmr if he is ok with me calling the audison rep and talking to him bout it


----------



## scooter99

Ya, keep me updated! I'm interested. I'd buy a program, or app, whatever!


----------



## scooter99

Here's the latest and final drawing for the tablet install.


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> So here's the latest today.
> 
> This morning I had an epic fail! I'm so pissed!




I'd try to re-contour it with 80 grit emery cloth and then smooth it out with 120-150 grit and re-spray the area. You may need to use J-B weld putty to build up the surface, if too much metal was ground off.


----------



## scooter99

Ya I'm thinking about tackling it myself. I did a little sharpie test last night, colored it with a sharpie and the scrapes are not that deep. May just be able to sand it down and paint just fine. 

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll pick some up today and see when I can take care of it.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so things are gonna get super custom with this. I couldn't help myself so I made a paper mock up of the size of the tablet, according to the Samsung website. Then I got ahold of MS Paint again! Gotta love it! 

Here's what I came up with. 

Here's our blank slate. This is the current OEM in dash unit. 









There's a couple of issues I'll address as we go along but overall it's a pretty good spot. There is quite a bit of slope but I think I can get around it in a flowing manner to get this to work. 

So this was the original plan: Wanting to keep the HVAC controls where they were, knowing that I was going to loose the vent in the upper left there, I decided to put it here. The top HVAC controls, if you'll notice in the picture above, has a pretty straight line the defines the slope and almost divides the unit. Here's the picture of the original thought with the paper mock up. 









So after looking at that I decided I didn't like it. I want this thing to be more upright and not have to look at it at an angle. This is where a lot of vehicles take advantage over mine, like the chevy's, fords, etc which have more vertical dashes. I, as you can see, do not. So I got to thinking, what can I do about this. Started moving the mock up around and seeing what I could do. 

Here's what I came up with. I decided I'm gonna have to get seriously custom with it. Meaning, I'm gonna move the HVAC controls, the Hazard Button, and the Air Bag indicator light. I think, at this point I'm still gonna loose the vent, but I'm a bit closer to a good thing. I like the position. Here's the second option picture:









As you can see the vent is still impeded quite a bit. I could maybe still save it, but it would take some serious alteration. 

So I thought more about it and this is what I finally came up with. Here's the last pic and option three:

Oops apparently I didn't take a straight on of this, and I've already thrown the paper away. Here are the sides. 









You can see in this pic I could almost save the vent. Again we'll have to wait and see what happens after I play around with it. 









So with all that, I have committed at this point to move the HVAC controls, and the other items as well. Found this as a good place to put them. I rarely use this thing, and honestly it's removable, out of the way, and probably going to be the easiest place to put it. 









Here's a little MS Paint alteration to show you how it'll look.









So that's the idea right now. I may still end up losing the vent, I don't really know yet. I'm gonna have to make the fiberglass pan for it and then see where I can put it. I may be able to go more to the right and fiberglass and mold it in nicely to flow with the dash, but I don't think I could go deep flush mount with it if I did that. We'll have to see what I can come up with.


----------



## scooter99

So here's a couple of mock up pics from paint to give you a general idea of what we're talking about. 
Before:









After:









Before:









After:









Thoughts?


----------



## DLO13

just get the vizio tablet

HDMI out


----------



## scooter99

Why when I can have a Galaxy 10.1 with HDMI out?


----------



## bmwproboi05

mayb you should make the tablet boldge out abit and go to the right abit?


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## scooter99

I thought about that. That's kind of what I was talking about. I'll get to play with all that when I get the tablet. I'll have more of an idea of it's dimensions and other stuff.


----------



## scooter99

Found a possible snag in my plans. After reading more on the Galaxy 7's docking station everything suggests the audio through the 3.5mm jack on the dock. However the HDMI cables carry an audio signal which can be converted through the converter that I'm going to use. However, my fear is that the port will not support the audio through the HDMI cable. So what I'm going to do is just order the dock. Once I get it, I'll test it out and see if it will work through the converter. If it doesn't then I'll go to the Media Tab like I was going to do previously before I found the dock conversion. 

Here's the catch. If I have to go to that adapter instead of the dock, I just found out they're not even shipping them or supposed to be released, until early or mid September. Not the end of the world, however, I'd like to find this out sooner rather than later. 

I'm going to go get my tablet today. I'm going to see if they have a docking station as well. That way I can find out as soon as my converter gets here. 

More to come soon! 

SOMEONE BUY MY HEAD UNIT SO I CAN PAY OFF THE CREDIT CARD I"M ABOUT TO USE!!!!!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so things didn't happen as planned tonight. I didn't have the funds to get the tablet tonight, but I'm not in any great hurry. I'll order it next week. 

I did however fix the rear component door, brand new one, and then started the rear deck drawer. That's gonna take some real planning, although I think I have the jest of what I want to do. Not much flat real estate under there to get a good grab. Gonna have to do some thinking and planning. 

I've got pictures but I'm about to head out for a date night with the wifey! Doesn't happen too often so when I have the chance I have to take advantage.


----------



## bmwproboi05

scooter99 said:


> Ok so things didn't happen as planned tonight. I didn't have the funds to get the tablet tonight, but I'm not in any great hurry. I'll order it next week.
> 
> I did however fix the rear component door, brand new one, and then started the rear deck drawer. That's gonna take some real planning, although I think I have the jest of what I want to do. Not much flat real estate under there to get a good grab. Gonna have to do some thinking and planning.
> 
> I've got pictures but I'm about to head out for a date night with the wifey! Doesn't happen too often so when I have the chance I have to take advantage.


theirs always a snag in the plan. In mine I cannot turn off the screen, becasue the audio through hdmi cuts off, but if i use headphone jack their is no problem with the screen off. Not a major prob.

haha yeah. go work on everything else till them


----------



## scooter99

Ok well, due to the fact that the Head unit package hasn't sold yet which I CANNOT BELIEVE, I'm not able to get the tablet just yet. I may have the ability this week when the paypal funds I had saved up hit my bank account. But I want to try and pay down my credit card before I use it this way. I don't want to just run out and put 600.00 on it if I don't have the funds to pay it off. 

So that being said I can do one of two things. I can either get the tablet, which I need to get the bezel started, or I can get all the other pieces, i.e. converter, chargers, dock, etc. 

If I have my preference, then I'd rather get the tablet first so I can start on the dash bezel. However, either way it's not gonna be ready for install for a while. 

On the flip side, I want to get everything together to bench test it all before I get it all installed. 

So that's where I'm at. I'm gonna try and get some pics uploaded of what I did the other night, but it's gonna depend on what time I have later. 

If by some chance, someone picks up the head unit package from me, then it won't matter and I'll order it all at one time! But that's a BIG if right now! Lot of backouts at the moment!


----------



## quality_sound

Here's something to keep you busy. 

BMWTips wheel-scuff repair


----------



## scooter99

Thanks. I may try this but instead of bondo putty I may use something stronger. I hear that the bondo putty stuff cracks and chips out over time. Something like JB Weld or something like that that can be sanded down or ground down and then painted over would probably be better. I printed it out. Thanks for the link. Much appreciated.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so as I said the other day I got some more work done on the build. I redid the component panel door, which if you know anything about me with this build and things past you'll know that even though I'd do it in a minute I HATE doing things twice. But I just couldn't live with the results of the last panel door. So I changed it and re did it. 

So here's some of the issues that were bugging me.

If you look at these pictures, you'll see that the space between the door and the panel is a little tight. When I cover this thing, it would just be way too tight. 



























The next thing is, I didn't cut the pass through out very well. I think I measured it out instead of building the frame and then tracing it and cutting it out. Really what I should've done is measured it out, built the frame, and then used the router with a trim bit and cut it out then. I didn't do it that way. So this was standing out to me as well and this was really the main reason I made a new one. Obviously the top could be cut down or sanded down and it would've been fine. But the way this was cut out I had to make a new one cause I had cut too much out of one side or the other. You'll see in these pics. It's obvious! 









Just terrible terrible shotty work in my opinion. I can't believe I even allowed this in the first place. I must have been in a hurry. 









Here's more from the back side. Like I said, Shotty shotty work! 









So what i did was just basically cut out a new piece. I just shortened it by about 1/4" on the three sides and that will give me enough room to cover it and have it shut nicely, not jamb it shut. 









Roughed out.









At this point I did what I should've done in the beginning, which was put it in place, then trace the pass through out. In this case unfortunately I would've had to pull the whole seat out and remove the whole panel to router it out with trim bit, or I'd have had MDF floating around the car, and that's no bueno! SO, I grabbed the jigsaw again, and just went super slow.


----------



## scooter99

I think it came out pretty good. I have a palm sander and I could use that if needed, but I think most of it is satisfactory and will cover just fine. I may sand it anyway, knowing me. LOL But for the most part I'm pleased with it. 



























Spacing issues fixed as well.









I think in the end, I may either round or 45 the edges with a chamfer bit. I'll deal with that later when it's time to finish it out. I'm still trying to decide what kind of materials I wanna use for this. I'm thinking suede for my first choice but then it's not very visible unless the seat is down so a cheaper solution might be used like carpet. I have yet to decide that. But again my first choice would be suede to match the seats. Or maybe black. The seats are going to get reupholstered at some point down the road with charcoal gray and black two tone suede. So maybe a combination of both will be in order.


----------



## scooter99

So once I got that done I decided the next move was to start the rear deck amp drawer. I originally thought I'd just do a manual drawer, and then I went to thinking about an actuator to slide out automatically to increase the "WOW" factor, then I went back to just getting it done and do it manually. Now the more I think about it, the more I want to get the actuator in there. I'll have to get the drawer done, then decide how far out it needs to extend so I can figure out what sized actuator I need. Then I'll alter anything I need to alter on the drawer to make it work. But that all has to be done before the sub box is built. This will all affect height limitations on the box. 

So the first thing I had to do, which didn't make my girls happy, was remove the rear speakers. No the grills weren't missing this whole time, just removed them. 









I removed the whole rear tray to expose everything. 









Part of the reason I had to do this was because under the rear deck, the only things that are hindering any kind of slide out drawer are the hinge springs that stretch across the bottom of the deck, and the center seat belt in there. However, that being said I want to make sure it's able to be in there as well. So I'm not going to remove it permanently. If you will recall, I'm building a new rear try to house the rear speakers and crossovers in a custom forming. So what I'll do is put the seat belt mechanism back in, but using longer bolts and some custom creativity, and raise it up above the deck line. Then when I make the custom rear tray, I'll incorporate the height difference in there. 

Here's the removed mechanism.









I found the old wires for my trunk light, which is going to be changed to leds, and also for the rear brake light that goes in the rear deck which also is going to change when I put the new trunk lid on with the spoiler. That wire is what goes to the spoiler brake light. Anyway, when I sealed off the trunk for my old IB build, I foamed them in there for some dumb reason. But they're out now. Also in the pic, you can kind of see what I'm working with as far as height and what I have to work around under there. 









So next I cut a couple of braces to go under the rear deck. I was trying to not cut an entire panel to go across the rear deck. 



























I ran into a little problem with how to square these brackets up. There's only a little space on the back side and I know that it's not square. The difference is over an inch and a quarter. So if I move them both in 5/8" it'll be square but I run out of space to attach it. So I only screwed them up front and let the rears float. It's just for mock up at this point.

Next I got my trusty foam board out.









Screwed it to those pieces making sure that the front is square and the rear is all the way back where I want it. 









Then I wanted to make sure that when it's done, it sat back of the weather stripping cause I want it to be under the weather stripping not in front of it. That way it makes a cleaner look and cleaner finish. So if I have to go back anymore, I can always cut the difference of the back side which is a square cut, unlike this half moon cut. So I pulled the weather stripping up exposing the metal under it. That's what I wanted to trace against.


----------



## scooter99

Time to trace! Got my Bic Permanent Marker out and went to work! 









Here you can see the traced line.









The rest is pretty much basic. Pulled the foam down, and then cut the line!


















So now this basically gives me a template to go off of. This gives me about an inch and a half on either side before the trunk arms and that will allow plenty of room to build my custom trim pieces on the arm itself. Remember I have an amp going up there and I have to have two 4ga power wires, a remote wire, and two sets (4 ch) of rca's going up the other side. SO I'll have to put those up the trunk arms and then build or fiberglass a trim panel to go over them. 

At this point I'm going to scrap the braces and go a different route. After thinking about it, and deciding to go ahead with the actuator idea, that I'll need the bottom of the drawer exposed. So what I'll do is use this template for the top plate as well as the drawer bottom plate. So I'll take this and make a half or 3/4" plate and then have a couple of sides mounted to it for the drawer slides. Then to anchor it to the rear deck I'll use threaded inserts, and bolt down from the top. That way I can take it out if I need to without destroying the wood, although it'll be a ***** to do with that custom deck up there. But it's the best way and I'm gonna have two amps up there so there will be some weight to it, and I don't want to worry about it pulling loose. So some hurricane nuts from the bottom, and some screws or bolts with washers from the top should do the trick nicely. Then on the bottom I'll do the actuator in the center so that it can move freely and not bind. I'll then build a cover piece for the front so all you'll see is the trim piece. When it's closed you'll only see that and the sub enclosure trim piece will butt up to it. When opened, in order to see under it, you'll have to get down and look up. Not worried about that. 

So there it is for now. Gonna work on building the drawer maybe this weekend. I doubt I'll have time this week. I am, however, going to try and do a couple of things that need to be finished this week. Hopefully I'll have time. 

Thanks for tuning in, that's it for now. 

Still waiting for someone to pick this stuff up so I can get my tablet and components! Check it out!


----------



## IBcivic

woo-hoo! progress

nice work, buddy


----------



## scooter99

Thanks man! How you doing? How's your ride?


----------



## scooter99

Ok, I'm waiting to transfer the rest of the money from my paypal account to my bank account, takes 3 or 4 days, then I'm buying all this stuff. This project is about to be officially under way!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so here's the final list of things for the tablet project:

Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tablet 32gb WiFi
Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Docking Station
Samsung Galaxy Tab 30pin Vehicle Charger 
Samsung Galaxy Tab with HDMI port out
Gefen HDMI to Composite Scaler
Mini Box M2-ATX (160W) Intelligent Automotive DC-DC Car PC Power Supply
Gepco Digital Coax Cable
Firgelli 2" Mini Linear Actuator

There's the list. Lots of fabrication, due to having to relocate the HVAC controls, most likely loosing the Vent, and moving the other things. As well as making a 10.1" tablet fit in the OEM head unit location. 

I'm waiting on some final wiring confirmations over at MP3Car.com but it's all pretty much a go!


----------



## scooter99

Here's the updated list of audio going into this build. For the most part anyway:


Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tablet
Gefen HDMI to Composite Scaler
Pioneer AVD-W7900 Monitors
Pioneer SE-IRM250 Headphones
Hertz Mille ML280s Signature Tweeters
Hertz Mille ML700 3" Comp Mid Range
Hertz Mille ML1600 Mid Bass 
Hertz High Energy HSK-165 Rear fill (passive)
Hertz High Energy HX300D subs (12"s dvc)
Audison Bit One.1 Processor
Audison LRx 4.1k (mid range and tweeters), 
Audison LRx 2.9 (mid bass), 
Audison LRx 2.4 (rear fill),
Audison LRx 1.1k x 2 (subs)
Stinger - Batteries (x3 SPP1200), H/O relay, Cables (1/0 Ga, 4ga, 8ga, speaker, other wires) *Front - Done March 20, 2011*
Audison Connection - distribution blocks, and all connections
Mechman 220 amp alternator
Zenesis auto start alarm with window up/down modules, and sunroof modules


----------



## scooter99

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!!!! I'm very very exited about this! Check it out! 

Straight from Best Buy, man their getting cheap. They don't even use good bags anymore! 









YA Baby! Part 1 of the "Tablet Project" is here! Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 32gb WiFi. All they had was White but that's ok, when it's in the dash, it won't matter cause you won't see it! 









This will give you an idea of the size of it. Such a little package with such a big price tag!









And there she is! Plastic film still on it! I'm not going to unwrap it now, I'm at work. I'll play with it tonight or tomorrow and get it set up etc. 









Not much in the box, power cord, adapters, usb cable, booklet, and some headphones under the booklet. Like I said, small package for a big price tag! 









So there you go. Part 1 is here. Next up, I'll have to get the card paid down with paypal money, and then get the rest of the parts: dock, media tab, car charger, converter, and the power supply that I end up using. I think I'm going to still use the same one, M2-ATX, but I'm also looking at a couple others as well. 

That's it for now!


----------



## IBcivic

shweet! epper:epper:epper:


----------



## scooter99

I'm gonna get the extra dash bezel out and put it up there later and see what it looks like. Get my mind running!


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> I'm gonna get the extra dash bezel out and put it up there later and see what it looks like. Get my mind running!


plz do!


----------



## bmwproboi05

yeah. thats the prob with alot of "eco" bags out their. The material is thin down so the earth can decompose it, and can be melted down again. Not many companies out their are willing to pay preimum cost on bags for customer to use for "free".

Even some plastic bag co. are not doing well do to these eco stuff, and states wantting to restrict bags


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I got the Tablet out a little before I had to come back to work tonight. I got the charger out, wall charger that is, and started to think about it and I said "self, if this charger for the wall takes the usb cord, and the car charger takes the usb cord, then why would the voltage be any different here than there." So out came the DMM and the charger, and I took a little test. This is what I came up with! 



















Not sure why I needed 2 views but I took it! 

So 5v for charging it is! Just thought I'd share that.


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> Thanks man! How you doing? How's your ride?


Doin ok....I havent really worked on it in a while, but I should resume working on it shortly
Once I take delivery of my company vehicle, the civ will get gutted and treated with extensive noise reduction treatments


----------



## umadamba

Will be watching this thread from now on.

Heading in a similar direction in one of my cars.


----------



## scooter99

amitaF said:


> Doin ok....I havent really worked on it in a while, but I should resume working on it shortly
> Once I take delivery of my company vehicle, the civ will get gutted and treated with extensive noise reduction treatments


Sweet! Got a jobbie job finaly! Bring on the benjamines!



umadamba said:


> Will be watching this thread from now on.
> 
> Heading in a similar direction in one of my cars.


Nice! Feel free to ask questions. Got a build log yet?


----------



## umadamba

scooter99 said:


> Nice! Feel free to ask questions. Got a build log yet?


Not yet, it is going to take a while until a lot of the stuff for the build will get here but I'll try to put something together soon and post it.

Limited time and resources... Anyway, can't wait to see how your system turns out moving forward. The 10.1 isn't available here yet. I've been using the original tab for about 9 months now. It has been OK but I am also looking forward to upgrading after the 10.1 is out awhile. The price usually drops rather rapidly.


----------



## scooter99

Im playing with it now. Lots still to learn, but so far im liking it for sure!


----------



## scooter99

Teaser pics! 


















I got all excited inside when I put that up there!


----------



## IBcivic

crap...cant see the pics... i'll check em out , when i get home


----------



## scooter99

That's ok, probably best, then you can have privacy! LMAO!


----------



## scooter99

First post on the tablet using tapatalk!

Sent from my GT-P7510 using Tapatalk


----------



## screamatamonkey

Man, I can't wait for you to get started on this! I know there's a handfull of us that are thinking about doing exactly what you're about to do, and we can't wait to see the results!


----------



## scooter99

screamatamonkey said:


> Man, I can't wait for you to get started on this! I know there's a handfull of us that are thinking about doing exactly what you're about to do, and we can't wait to see the results!


I'm hoping I can have some time soon to do it. The problem right now is, this is my daily driver and it's a pain, if you're a civic owner you know what i'm talking about, to get the head unit bezel out cause you pretty much have to dismantle the entire dash. I need to get that out, so I can take not of my depth and see what I'm going to be dealing with as far as obstructions etc. I'm heavily thinking of incorporating the bit one remote into where the HVAC controls are now, but I'm not sure if I can make that work or not. The tablet looks SICK centered on the whole thing, and if that's the case I may not have the ability to do that with the remote. So a lot hinges on getting that bezel out and I've not had time to do it yet.

Which brings me to this weekend. I was going to, and really looking forward to, work on my car this last weekend. But some stuff happened that was not under my control. First I had a small sidejob to do on Saturday, that turned into a huge side job and a full days work instead of a few hours. Not bad cause I made some money, but lost my opportunity to work on my car. Sunday I had an estimate to do, and through all this starting on Saturday, my wife's neck went out on her. She was in a car accident about 10 - 12 years ago. Every once in a while her neck goes out on her, due to horrible whiplash, and she's pretty much tied to the couch or bed with ice on her neck and drugs in her system. Sucks, I hate seeing her like that. But that leaves me to take care of the kids. So, needless to say the car got pushed back again. I'm going to try and get something done this week, but I'm not sure if I can make time or not. 

Things are slow going and I apologize for that, but I have to take care of life and family before car. I have about 100 ideas running through my head and it's frustrating not to be able to work on them. 

It will happen, but until then, I thank you for your patience.


----------



## 3cyltrbo

scooter99 said:


> UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!!!! I'm very very exited about this! Check it out!
> 
> Straight from Best Buy, man their getting cheap. They don't even use good bags anymore!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> YA Baby! Part 1 of the "Tablet Project" is here! Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 32gb WiFi. All they had was White but that's ok, when it's in the dash, it won't matter cause you won't see it!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This will give you an idea of the size of it. Such a little package with such a big price tag!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And there she is! Plastic film still on it! I'm not going to unwrap it now, I'm at work. I'll play with it tonight or tomorrow and get it set up etc.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Not much in the box, power cord, adapters, usb cable, booklet, and some headphones under the booklet. Like I said, small package for a big price tag!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So there you go. Part 1 is here. Next up, I'll have to get the card paid down with paypal money, and then get the rest of the parts: dock, media tab, car charger, converter, and the power supply that I end up using. I think I'm going to still use the same one, M2-ATX, but I'm also looking at a couple others as well.
> 
> That's it for now!


So???

this thing is going to be used as a video monitor or to control the system?


----------



## scooter99

Both kind of. I'm going to use it mainly to be my head unit of sorts. This will be what plays everything, from music, to movies, and more.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so due to money issues, I'm going to downgrade to a lesser converter. The one I was going to buy was too expensive and then to add all the other components on top, was just going to be too much at the moment. SO I'm getting a different one and then we'll see how it sounds from there. If I need to down the road, I'll go to the other stuff.

I just ordered all items that I need to get this thing started. So I'm guessing by next week I'll be ready to bench test and then start the install! WOOHOO!!


----------



## 00Kevin

I've skimmed this log a couple times but I just officially read through all 43 pages today.

Thats some great DIY work your putting into that Civic. Subscribed and excited to see the outcome of your system.

I too push a 2011 Civic Sedan and will be going with a iPad 2 install. 

Keep up the great work, homie.


----------



## scooter99

Thanks. It's always nice to see another Civic guy on the threads. Thanks for checking in!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so not crazy huge updates but I got some pictures of something tonight. 

I sat down and finally replaced the bad lcd screen on my pioneer headrest monitor. Not too difficult, but I took it slow. Lots of little screws to get down to the screen. Not much to describe, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves for the most part. 

Actually I will say this. In this picture you'll see the old screen, and if you look in the middle of the screen from left to right you'll see a line darker than the rest of the screen. Well when this is on, it's black, there are no pixels working there. So it really messes up the screen and picture. Why couldn't it have been on the bottom of the screen. Oh well done now! 


















Laid the towel down and started taking screws out! 


















Look around on the towel, like I said, lots of little screws! 


















Time to get the new screen out and ready to go! Straight from pioneer! Expensive F-ERS!









It was well protected though. Have to say that! 


















New and old screen. New on the right old on the left.


----------



## scooter99

Here's a close up of the pixels that are gone. 









Close up of the new screen.









The rest was pretty much the same as taking it out. Here's the new screen installed! 









New in, old out!









Like I said it's not much, but it's one more thing off the list. That's it for tonight! Thanks!


----------



## scooter99

So I'm going to go ahead and attempt, depending on how the night turns out of course, to get the dash taken apart tonight and see what room I have back there. Once that's done, and I get the new piece in there and cut it up, I'll be able to do the rest out of the car. Still going to try and use an actuator, but I'm not sure that's going to be a priority at the moment. WE'll see. I'll see if I can find a cheap one today.


----------



## OldSchoolRF

Looking good. Keep the pics coming.


----------



## scooter99

Hopefully I'll have some taken tonight and maybe get them up tomorrow. We'll see how the night plays out but I already sent my wifey an email saying that I'm gonna work on the ride tonight after the kiddo's go to bed. Only time I have during the week to get anything done. Even then it's a stretch sometimes! LMAO!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I didn't manage to get much done, a little bit, but not much. I didn't work specifically on the tablet, but decided to try and finish one of my other projects before I start on another project. I don't want too many projects going at one time on this build. 

So I went back, and pulled out the headlight shrouds and started working on those. These are all I really have left as far as getting the headlight retrofit done. I have one of these now about 98% done, and I started the second one tonight. I'm going to go ahead and devote my time I have to finishing these up while I wait for the components etc to come in for the tablet. So, without further ado! 

Not a ton to show from what you've already seen previously. I decided, after suggestions and thought as well, to go with black shrouds after-all. So I had some little spots still needing filling and addressing. So I sanded it down a bit and filled it. 


















Then while that dried, I started on the second one. 


















Few minutes with the dremel and a cutting wheel, and this was the end result.









Then I went back to the dried first shroud. Sanded her down, and this is what she looked like. 









Little high build primer









While that dried, I sanded down the other shroud with a sanding wheel on the dremel. Just to knock down some high spots and rough it up a little bit. 









Then I filled it with it's first layer of filler. Here you can see I also took the other one with the high build primer, and filled in the little pin holes that were left. Those will just take a light sanding, another coat of high build primer, and then it'll be ready for some paint! 









So that's where those are at. One at 98%, the other at about 19%! I'm hoping to get the first one done tomorrow night, second one sanded and another coat of filler on it tomorrow night. Then probably by next week, they'll be ready for install! FINALLY! 

Stay tuned for that!


----------



## scooter99

So as I said before I didn't work on the tablet specifically. However, I did do some looking and deciding. This was on the tablet so it's not exactly the best angle to look at it but I couldn't really hold it up there and take the picture very well. 

But here's the first one I did:









So as you can see, this is the plan for the Bit One remote control. I'm going to go ahead and move the HVAC controls, and the Bit One Remote will go there. I think it's a great spot and moving the controls won't be that difficult to do. Worth it in the end. 

I didn't mind this one initially, however, after looking at it from behind and all around I discovered a couple of things. First issue is that if I want to flush mount it or counter mount it, this option is not going to work. I have the edge of the bezel there, and there are clips behind it, and if I eliminate those clips the bezel will not hold properly. So there' s that issue. 

Second issue is I just simply didn't like the way it looked. It looked way too crammed in there and just didn't fit right. I think with trying to keep the vent, and trying to center it and the remote together, it just didn't look right. So that being said, I went the drastic look.

Here's what I'm most likely going to go with:









I think this look just fits so much better. It's centered on the bezel. The remote can be moved to match, and center on the tablet. Then the rest can be filled in. I'm just content with loosing the vent, it'll be fine. I have 3 others. There aren't any clips behind where the tablet is sitting and the other thing is this. The tablet is going to be sitting in that dock piece. For that to happen, it's gonna need about a half inch of space above the bit one remote. Centering this will allow me to raise it a little to make that happen. With it to the right like in the first picture, I won't be able to do that. 

I'll be starting this after I get all the components in, and when the headlights are done. 

That's all for tonight. More to come, hopefully, tomorrow! Goodnight!


----------



## scooter99

I got a little bit of down time this morning before I have to take my girls to school. So I decided to go out and sand down the first shroud. I guess I'm just not very good at this stuff, or the primer just wasn't dry yet, which is a little hard to believe. Whatever the case is, I was sanding it and I've made more work for myself now. On the bottom of the shroud the top layer peeled off. This is not a good sign. So I'm a little frustrated. I sanded it down as best as i could the rest of the way, and then primered it again with high build primer. I'll let it dry a bit and then put it outside and let it sit in the warm air all day. 

So I'm a bit frustrated this morning. I feel like I went from 98% down to about 75%. Not happy! I know it's a shroud and most people aren't going to see a few little pin marks, but I don't want to leave it that way, A, and B, now I've made it worse and people will see this problem. 

Gonna have to get some more sand paper today.


----------



## simplicityinsound

if you dont come to the regionals on the 24th i will be bitterly disappointed


----------



## scooter99

simplicityinsound said:


> if you dont come to the regionals on the 24th i will be bitterly disappointed


Man I'd love to but I'm not sure if I can brake away or not. I've got my nephews going away party on that day, he's going to the Navy. I'll be in Livermore, but not sure if I can get away for a while or not. What time does it start again?


----------



## scooter99

Ok that's it! It's official! I've lost my freaking mind! I'm going to get crazy with the headlight shrouds, and the fog retros! Gonna finish getting them sanded and cleaned up, and then.................I have only two words.................CARBON FIBER!!!!!!!!!!! Yes! That's right, I'm gonna carbon fiber the shrouds! Real carbon fiber, not the vinyl overlay. Yep, it's gonna happen! Was kicking it around for quite a while, secretly, and then I decided with the problems that I've been having with these things, I'm just gonna do it! So, today I'm gonna stop by tap plastics, and get the carbon fiber and the epoxy resin. I'm also gonna get a can of UV sealer so it doesn't yellow under the lens there! 

Got some clean up to do around the projector lens, it's not real clean as far as I'm concerned and like, so I'm gonna get that buttoned up too while I'm at it. Gonna get crazy! WOOHOO!


----------



## Babs

LOL!!! It's the Franken-Civic! Run for the hills!


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> Man I'd love to but I'm not sure if I can brake away or not. I've got my nephews going away party on that day, he's going to the Navy. I'll be in Livermore, but not sure if I can get away for a while or not. What time does it start again?


excuses,excuses!!!!


----------



## IBcivic

Babs said:


> LOL!!! It's the Franken-Civic! Run for the hills!


Ha! I win 1st prize in that department


----------



## scooter99

Hmmmmmmmmm


----------



## scooter99

Hey guys, and gals, what kind of phones does everyone have. Off the wall question I know, but I'm probably switching to verizon and i am curious about any opinions etc. So specifically the Verizon based phones please. I'd prefer the Android market, since I've got android on the Galaxy 10.1 tablet, I'd rather stay with it. 

Thoughts and opinions/reviews please! Thanks!


----------



## eighty5iv

(I'm with sprint so take my opinion lightly) I was going to say Samsung Galaxy S II but then I saw that you were with Verizon which sucks cause everyone else is getting it but Verizon. If it were up to me I think the best runnerup after that might just be the HTC Thunderbolt. Root them both up, and tether it so you can run GPS and NAV off your carrier for the 10.1 Tablet.


----------



## scooter99

I was looking at that one or the revolution by lg I think it its. Of course the bionic is supposed to release soon too but I don't know much about that one either. Still need to look into rooting too. Not sure I really understand what it does. Thanks for the input.

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


----------



## eighty5iv

I think the revolution and thunderbolt are evenly matched and good contenders but IMO I like htc's track record. If you arnt in a rush I would choose the bionic. It tops both the revolution and thunderbolt in specs alone. Rooting is the equivalent of jailbreaking for iPhones. Rooting allows you to open up and fully utilize the phones capabilities including but not limited to: overclocking the processor, full customization of phone, tethering, running custom ROMs, and backing up files and apps. Also like i mentioned before if both your phone and tablet is rooted you could utilize both for up to date gps and nav and internet. Like a carpc almost and if both are rooted you wouldnt need a 3g/4g service for your tablet (if it was offered/required) because it would be tethered off your phone. I have an HTC Evo and I am rooted and I couldn't have it any other way. I know oof a great forum to help you learn more about it. Let me know if your interested in it.


----------



## eighty5iv

Also please don't take this the wrong way but I have been following your Retrofit and I think you should've picked a different shroud originally and avoid the fiberglass or now soon to be cf made shroud. I felt like the fiberglass shroud just looked incomplete and naked overall and am afraid the cf shroud will too. It looked too simple and didnt fit the style of the headlights and car. Its really bold and daring for you to do the cf shroud and major props for taking a chance and going with it and im sure members on hIDplanet would root you on but I feel it could be better money spent elsewhere on the build of the car.


----------



## Babs

scooter99 said:


> Hey guys, and gals, what kind of phones does everyone have. Off the wall question I know, but I'm probably switching to verizon and i am curious about any opinions etc. So specifically the Verizon based phones please. I'd prefer the Android market, since I've got android on the Galaxy 10.1 tablet, I'd rather stay with it.
> 
> Thoughts and opinions/reviews please! Thanks!


I'd go either Droid X (X2 I guess) or the better HTC's. But my criteria now is which has the best custom roms once you hack it. Running MIUI on my DX now which was only a couple months ago impossible but the 2nd enit method which allowed Cyanogenmod on the motorolas opened up a whole new thing, bypassing the locked bootloader issue without risk. It absolutely rocks. That said, these killer roms have already been on HTC's for some time, and HTC's stock android skin is IMO the nicest on the droid phones anyway. Motorola's you pretty much have to hack to escape the motoblur skin.. But that's only a 20 minute operation on a standard DX if you know what you're doing.

Also, since going to either CM7 or MIUI roms, I really have no need to consider overclocking.. The rom's are just too smooth. Also consider the displays.. Those samsungs are just sexy in daylight.. spanks the display on my DX. Nothing worse than trying to use a phone in daylight and not being able to see the freakin' screen. Moto puts the money in the processor (the DX is fast) but I think the others (HTC, Samsung) put a bit more in the display though maybe not quite as fast, just going by running quadrant scores on friends' phones.

My 2 cents.


----------



## scooter99

eighty5iv said:


> Also please don't take this the wrong way but I have been following your Retrofit and I think you should've picked a different shroud originally and avoid the fiberglass or now soon to be cf made shroud. I felt like the fiberglass shroud just looked incomplete and naked overall and am afraid the cf shroud will too. It looked too simple and didnt fit the style of the headlights and car. Its really bold and daring for you to do the cf shroud and major props for taking a chance and going with it and im sure members on hIDplanet would root you on but I feel it could be better money spent elsewhere on the build of the car.


Well I appreciate your opinion, thanks. I actually did it cause none of the shrouds looked good in my opinion. I understand the plainness of the current versions of the shroud, and that's part of the reason I decided to go with the carbon fiber look. It'll give it a little pop that it's going to lack with just being black. Otherwise, the projector's going to be on, and you're never gonna even see it. 

As far as money better spent, I think that creativity and customization is always good money spent. Knowledge isn't free, financially or in experience, and with my desire to have one of the best looking car's, civic's specifically, then I have to go out on a ledge and take some chances. It also gives me the experience to know what I can and can't do. If these work out and come out as good as I'm imagining them in my head, which it almost never does in most cases, then it's gonna blow the socks of my followers as well as myself. In which case, I'll be following suit when I do the custom fog light retro. 

Keep in mind that I'm doing CF vinyl on the hood, roof and trunk. At least until I can figure out how to mold and make my own real carbon fiber hood, or afford to buy one. Which ever I decide to do. Until then, the CF theme will go well together. 

So now you have a look in my head and why I chose the direction that I've chosen. Thanks for taking the time to check in, and hopefully when it's done, you'll still like it. But regardless you have your opinion and I respect that and thanks for sharing it with us. And that was not meant to sound mean, just FYI. I truly appreciate everyone's opinion here.


----------



## scooter99

As far as phones, I'm probably going to have to wait a couple more weeks anyway, so I'm going to hold off till the Droid Bionic comes out and then start playing with the different phones and see which one I like the best. Thunderbolt was at the tops of the list currently, and not that it's not up there, but I've been told by a few friends that the Bionic is supposed to be better than the Thunderbolt. 

I'll have to do research on the different stuff regarding the rooting etc. I have no idea about all that or even where to begin to understand it. It's very new to me. But if doing that on the phone and the tablet is going to make it easier to put them together and make things better, then I'm all for it. Provided I don't kill one or the other or both. Makes me nervous cause I'm not a computer guy! I never got into it. 

Thanks for everyone's input.


----------



## 00Kevin

jailbroken iPhone 4 aka Darth Vaders lightsaber.


----------



## scooter99

I got a piece of equipment today! Woohoo! Not much but it's an important piece, well pieces, not that the rest aren't! Here you go! 


















HD Cable, and Optical Cable Score!


















I must say, not that I've used these before, but just by the sheer weight, feel, and looks, these things are very well made. I look forward to getting them installed in the upcoming months. 

Also can't wait to get the rest of the gear in. I've got this stuff coming:
Samsung Extension 30pin to usb cable (just longer than the normal one)
Samsung Media Tab (HDMI output)
ViewHD PXRC0102 Scaler or converter
VGA to Svideo/RCA video adapter
Power adapter

Now some of this stuff is scheduled to arrive today, some not till tomorrow or next week. So needless to say I'll be starting some testing next week when I get it all in. I, of course, now have to clean off my bench so I can get everything set up properly. But I'll get things set up and see what happens there. Stay tuned, it's gonna get pretty live around here! 

I also ordered a P2R Lower Tie Bar. Should be here soon too!


----------



## Babs

I'll say this.. Knu makes some sexay cables for sure. I've not used their stuff so can't speak of how great, but sure is cable-eye-candy.


----------



## eighty5iv

scooter99 said:


> Well I appreciate your opinion, thanks. I actually did it cause none of the shrouds looked good in my opinion. I understand the plainness of the current versions of the shroud, and that's part of the reason I decided to go with the carbon fiber look. It'll give it a little pop that it's going to lack with just being black. Otherwise, the projector's going to be on, and you're never gonna even see it.
> 
> As far as money better spent, I think that creativity and customization is always good money spent. Knowledge isn't free, financially or in experience, and with my desire to have one of the best looking car's, civic's specifically, then I have to go out on a ledge and take some chances. It also gives me the experience to know what I can and can't do. If these work out and come out as good as I'm imagining them in my head, which it almost never does in most cases, then it's gonna blow the socks of my followers as well as myself. In which case, I'll be following suit when I do the custom fog light retro.
> 
> Keep in mind that I'm doing CF vinyl on the hood, roof and trunk. At least until I can figure out how to mold and make my own real carbon fiber hood, or afford to buy one. Which ever I decide to do. Until then, the CF theme will go well together.
> 
> So now you have a look in my head and why I chose the direction that I've chosen. Thanks for taking the time to check in, and hopefully when it's done, you'll still like it. But regardless you have your opinion and I respect that and thanks for sharing it with us. And that was not meant to sound mean, just FYI. I truly appreciate everyone's opinion here.


Oh no it did not come off mean at all. I am glad you explained it, and I totally understand where you are coming from. Also now that I know where you are heading I can visualize the car much better. I'm excited to see what is produced. You have mad respect from me for creativity and adventurousness. I need to take a little bit of that from you, because I tend to play it safe. To be honest I really want you to succeed with the carbon fiber shroud, I'm just scared for you that it won't be amazing but then again that's why you are much more adventurous than I am. lol. I want you to succeed with the carbon fiber shroud so much that even I tried to imagine a few ways to make it happen, although I don't think my ideas would help you any. But regardless, I plan to stay tune. Keep at it.


----------



## scooter99

eighty5iv said:


> I think the revolution and thunderbolt are evenly matched and good contenders but IMO I like htc's track record. If you arnt in a rush I would choose the bionic. It tops both the revolution and thunderbolt in specs alone. Rooting is the equivalent of jailbreaking for iPhones. Rooting allows you to open up and fully utilize the phones capabilities including but not limited to: overclocking the processor, full customization of phone, tethering, running custom ROMs, and backing up files and apps. Also like i mentioned before if both your phone and tablet is rooted you could utilize both for up to date gps and nav and internet. Like a carpc almost and if both are rooted you wouldnt need a 3g/4g service for your tablet (if it was offered/required) because it would be tethered off your phone. I have an HTC Evo and I am rooted and I couldn't have it any other way. I know oof a great forum to help you learn more about it. Let me know if your interested in it.


No man I'm always good for some suggestions. Throw them at me. Thanks. More for sure when I get back from my trip.


Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

Oops quoted the wrong person. Sort I'm on my tablet useing tapatalk, not quite used to it yet.

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


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## umadamba

Scooter I can't wait to see this stuff get installed. Maybe its a good thing that the 10.1 isn't available here yet otherwise I would be spending a ton of money again even though my 7 is serving me well.

I will start an install thread soon. Nowhere near as impressive as yours is but I will look forward to your feedback.

Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

umadamba said:


> Scooter I can't wait to see this stuff get installed. Maybe its a good thing that the 10.1 isn't available here yet otherwise I would be spending a ton of money again even though my 7 is serving me well.
> 
> I will start an install thread soon. Nowhere near as impressive as yours is but I will look forward to your feedback.
> 
> Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk


Me either my friend. I'm gonna make it happen real soon.

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

So first day back at work today from my last mini vacation. Found a couple little packages waiting for me. Got my converter, vga to rca adaptor, and the 30pin to usb extension cable for the tablet. So I still have a couple more things left to go this week to get in. Once those come in I'll start getting things st up for bench testing. Getting closer. 



Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


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## DLO13

in about a month or 2 there are going to be big changes to the smartphone world..... Nexus prime is going to be the phone to buy... wait for it.

NOTHING will compare.


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> So first day back at work today from my last mini vacation. Found a couple little packages waiting for me. Got my converter, vga to rca adaptor, and the 30pin to usb extension cable for the tablet. So I still have a couple more things left to go this week to get in. Once those come in I'll start getting things st up for bench testing. Getting closer.
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


WOOT! Keep us posted , good buddy!


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## scooter99

DLO13 said:


> in about a month or 2 there are going to be big changes to the smartphone world..... Nexus prime is going to be the phone to buy... wait for it.
> 
> NOTHING will compare.


May be the case, but I don't think my phone will allow me to wait that long. It's on it's last leg I can tell. I'm getting closer and closer to making it into a skipping item on the freeway! I'm guessing at 80mph it'll skip quite far! 



amitaF said:


> WOOT! Keep us posted , good buddy!


Thanks man! I'm hoping to see the rest of the stuff this week. I have to clean up the work bench again, I know no surprise there, but I'm going to start getting things set up to bench test. Gonna set up a head rest monitor, the bit one, an amp, couple speakers, and everything tablet related, and make sure it's all a go. 

I'm having a not so great week or I'd be working on the headlights still, but it's just not happened this week. 

I'm debating just painting them black and calling it good. I'd love to do the Carbon Fiber overlay, but I'm not sure it's in the cards at the moment. I'm going to try and stop by Tap Plastics on the way home and see about a yard of CF and the epoxy, but time is not on my side right now. I hate to take the easy way out thought, black paint, cause I know I'll want to go in and change it sometime. Anyway, I'll figure it out I'm sure. 

However, that being said, I still want to do a quad set up, and if that happens I'll have to reopen them down the line anyway. So maybe I'll just paint them black for now, to get used to them, and then when I have to go back in and add to the shroud for the second set of projectors, I can do the overlays then. Maybe I just talked my way into my answer! LMAO!

Anyway, I'm hoping that there's going to be some major action soon!


----------



## bginvestor

DLO13 said:


> in about a month or 2 there are going to be big changes to the smartphone world..... Nexus prime is going to be the phone to buy... wait for it.
> 
> NOTHING will compare.


Dangling a carrot huh? 

Could you tell us why NOTHING will compare to it? thx.


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## scooter99

Got a little package today! 



























OHHH YEAHH!!! 









Point of Load module! Woohoo! Oh and the frame for it, and a pig tail connector. 









So that brings me to the last thing, I believe, that I need being the HDMI media adapter from Samsung. It's saying that it's shipped and yet doesn't give me a tracking number, so hopefully it'll be here today or tomorrow. Hopefully the latest on friday! That way I can start bench testing this thing. 

I didn't get pics of the converter and adapters, and I'll do that when I get home. But look guys, I posted pics! LMAO!


----------



## IBcivic

What is that point of source module? Is it some kind of dc/dc p-supply?


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## basshead

amitaF said:


> What is that point of source module? Is it some kind of dc/dc p-supply?


yup (DCL11 Automotive Point-Of-Load DC-DC 15W Power Supply)

but a simple voltage regulator like the lm7805 could have done the job no?


----------



## IBcivic

It guess it depends on how clean the voltage needs to be. For 3 watts or less, mini dsp has a tiny dc/dc circuit that completely isolates the output from the 12v source. They came out with these to address the issues of using the mini dsp in a noisy car environment.


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## scooter99

amitaF said:


> What is that point of source module? Is it some kind of dc/dc p-supply?


Yes that's correct. Thanks basshead for taking care of that. Basically this will allow me to hardwire my tablet charger, and converter power to the ignition switch, and not have to plug into a round 12v charger via car charging adapter. Make sense? 



basshead said:


> yup (DCL11 Automotive Point-Of-Load DC-DC 15W Power Supply)
> 
> but a simple voltage regulator like the lm7805 could have done the job no?


Ya know to be honest with you I'm not sure. I've been posting stuff on this tablet project over on MP3car.com and the guys there suggested something like this as a cheaper route to a carputer dc - dc power supply like the Opus which is 80watts and twice the price.

Now if this doesn't work, meaning the converter, then I'm going to have to go back to the more expensive one, then power 3 units instead of 2 and that means I'll have to go to a higher wattage dc - dc so the opus would be a better fit most likely. 

I still have to figure out how to wire up the converter. I'm guessing, and maybe you guys can chime in on this, but if I cut the plug in cube (the part that plugs into the wall) and then use those wires for attaching to the regulator, is there a specific positive and negative on these wires or does it work like either is and the other is the other? 

I guess an easy way to test it is attach the wires, then use a dmm and touch the outside and then the inside. So whichever is whichever, I believe the inside is positive and the outside is negative like an rca cable. 

You know what, scratch that, I'll just check tonight by plugging it into the wall and checking that way. How's that sound! LMAO! I guess I'm making things way to difficult aren't I? You could say it's all part of learning right!?!


----------



## scooter99

Ooohhhh also I did another check on the HDMI adapter, and it's supposed to be delivered to my house not my work. So pray that it's there today when I get home. If it is, then I'll be ready with everything in hand to get set up on the weekend for bench testing! WOOOHOOOO!!


----------



## scooter99

amitaF said:


> It guess it depends on how clean the voltage needs to be. For 3 watts or less, mini dsp has a tiny dc/dc circuit that completely isolates the output from the 12v source. They came out with these to address the issues of using the mini dsp in a noisy car environment.


I think, and I can't remember where I found this at, but the tablet charges with 3 - 5 watts and the converter is at 7 watts max. So I'm not sure how well this thing will hold up. I also considered isolating each item (tablet and converter) by getting two of these bad boys and just running one per just to be safe, but was told I don't need two and that one would power both just fine. 

I'm still not even sure how to wire them up. Do I just wire them both up to the outputs or does that change things and I need to go to a higher voltage or are volts volts and the regulator will adjust to it? Or, should i get a second one after all. 

I need to figure all that out. I'l have to do some DMMing and a diagram and get things ironed out before finalization. My biggest concern is screwing up the tablet. I could care less about the converter. I don't want to ruin the tablet. It was too expensive to F up!


----------



## IBcivic

The regulator will give you a steady output...that is it's main function. with 15 watts of output capacity and a 12watt load, you will be fine.


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## scooter99

Ok thanks! And congratulations my friend, you are the 1101st poster on this thread! LMAO! I can't believe it's this many posts and I'm barely really getting this audio portion started! Oh well! At least it's entertaining! I guess!


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## scooter99

Ok well, no HDMI adapter waiting at home for me. So I'm on watch for that. 

But I have some pics of the other stuff like I said. Here you go.









Adapter and charging cable









Converter.




































So nothing super exciting, but that's what I have for now. More later! Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## scooter99

Grrr! No HDMI piece today. Hope it's here tomorrow. If not I'll start getting it all set up and then I'll just have to plug it in when I get the piece. Wish it'd have been here today though.


----------



## DLO13

bginvestor said:


> Dangling a carrot huh?
> 
> Could you tell us why NOTHING will compare to it? thx.


Just google Nexus prime and look at the projected/anticipated specs of the phone. Its a beast and substantially more powerful than a lot of net-books.


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## scooter99

Ya that thing looks real nice. I went and checked out and played with the Bionic last night. That thing is pretty freaking nice in and of itself! At this point I'm probably waiting until December to switch over. My other two accounts, wifes and mother in laws, are up after October. Mine isn't until June, but I drop my contract buy out from $200.00 to $100.00 in December. Also by then there should be some sales for Christmas. That Nexus is supposed to release in November, as are I'm sure other phones. Plenty of time to play. 

Now to update a little, but only a scare or a set back we've found. I say we, only cause there's another guy on another site that I'm kind of going hand in hand with. Not the same audio equipment but the same tablet, same functions for audio and video (i.e. he has a headrest monitor he's using as well), using the same converter. 

This is what he posted last night. 

_"Huston... we have a problem 

I've just tried the HDMI media adapter with the HDMI Converter and all i am getting is squelchy audio from the RCA's on the converter (haven't tried the SPDIF yet). Not good. 

Thought it may be a problem with the convertor so tried the desktop dock and guess what?... the audio is fine. Very strange. 

Just thought i would give you a heads up. "_

This was my response to him, just trying to better understand his problems and figure out solutions etc.

_"Let's clarify here. You used the HDMI Media Adapter, through the HDMI converter and got the "squelchy" signal? Then you tried the Galaxy 7 dock with HDMI or what do you mean by that? I was actually contemplating getting that dock today anyway, in case the adapter doesn't show up, I can still bench test. I just want to be sure of what you're talking about. 

Do you think it's possible you have a bad converter? If the adapter isn't there tonight I may just go get the 7" dock tonight or tomorrow just so I can bench test it this weekend. I really don't want to get the more expensive converter but maybe it's going to be necessary if these aren't going to cut it. 

Also, what does your noise sound like? Is it like engine noise or what is it?"_

So as of right now, I'm not panicking just yet. I will see what happens with mine when I'm able to bench test it. I'm hoping that he just has a bad converter, or something wrong with his connections or something simple. I had originally, if you will recall, had my sights set on the Gefen Converter which was significantly more expensive than this unit was. I guess if I have to I'll go back to that unit, and see if it will work for sure or not, but I'm going to wait until I try everything with this unit first. 

On another note, I'm going to go ahead and go get some carbon fiber and epoxy tonight for the shrouds. I went the other night but they closed at 6pm and I got there at 615. So I'm off earlier today and I'll go then. Tomorrow I'll be cleaning up the garage and setting things up for bench testing. Stay tuned, I should have some updates this weekend! YAY!


----------



## scooter99

Ok well damn! I just went home for lunch and no adapter. SO I'll be going to get the dock with the HDMI port tonight on the way home. So I'll be bench testing at some point this weekend for sure! Stay tuned!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so here's a little update. Not exactly the update I was hoping to post up. I did a couple things Friday night, and took pics, so those are locked and loaded and ready to post. But, I'm holding off on that because of this; the reason I was going to clean up the garage, or at least my work bench, this weekend was to get the stuff set up to bench test the tablet. Well.......sometimes family just pushes pleasure aside! 

Yesterday, I was planning to get the workbench cleaned up, but had a couple of errands to run in the morning, and then just when I thought I was going to have a few free hours before we were supposed to leave for a 40th birthday bash, I got told by the boss that we were going to be having a Grandparents Day Brunch on Sunday morning. (Have you called your grandparents today?!?!) So, she started prepping stuff for the breakfast and I headed off to the store and the rest of my day headed out in the car with me! Ugggghhh! 

So that brings me to today! Woke up this morning and started getting stuff ready for the brunch and we had the brunch, which ended around noon. Had a great time, and then it was time to possibly get started on the garage.......NOPE! Suddenly I found myself in my daughters bedroom doing some cleaning and getting thing purged and ready for the season change. Yep, family stuff! So around 1:00pm I found myself on the couch with some lunch and then found myself watching the Giants game and the Niner game, flipping back and forth of course! 

I actually planned to protest the season cause Alex "I'm a Piece of Sh!T quarterback" Smith is still starting for some unknows STUPID F-ING REASON! But I found myself watching anyway. So about halftime I finally got out to the garage and started cleaning! Here it is, 5:22PM, and as I type this the garage is sitting cleaned up, tablet gear out and ready to start putting it together for bench testing. However, that being said, it is 5:22pm on Sunday night, my wife (lovely as she is) is making dinner which is almost ready, my kids are out playing, and when dinner is done, kids need baths and story times for bed around 7:30 - 8:00. 

SO, if I'm able to get out there and get that stuff put together for bench testing it's not going to be until later. If that happens, I'll take some pics, and videos, and go from there. Chances are, it's not gonna happen, but it is set up and ready to go. SO if not tonight, I'll get started tomorrow night or sometime this week. It will be bench tested before the weekend! 

Until then, please be patient with me, it will get done! 

STAY TUNED more to come real soon!


----------



## scooter99

***UPDATE***

It's not the update everyone was hoping it would be, but it is an update. This is going to be long cause I left out a bunch of stuff that was going be said yesterday but I've got pics along with talking so just bare with me here. Long read, but it'll be worth it. 

I feel like I'm back on track with my thinking here. I'm not 100% confident in my direction as of yet, but after I get this bench testing thing done, I'll know which way I have to go. If it all works as planned, at least planned so far, then I'll only have one glitch in my plan that I already know about and have to some how deal with. I'll get to that in a moment.

_***Headlight Retros Update***_

We'll start here. I went over to Tap Plastics on Friday and after talking with the guys over there, I've decided to not do the carbon fiber on the shrouds. I got so confused by talking to those guys and they also suggested that for my first time I try something that doesn't have such hard radius's. I would have to agree with that. Here's my other fear. It's 46.00 per yard for the CF there and while I know I can order it cheaper from somewhere, it's still gonna be a pricey venture and with my lack of skills at this time, I just don't think I want to spend that much money to "try" and do some carbon fiber overlays. 

Maybe later on down the line if I go with the quad set up, and I've done some carbon fiber between now and then, I'll give it a shot. For now, I'm going to just get these done and paint them black. 

Along with that, I put them on the projectors in place last night and was less satisfied with them, knowing that they're gonna be painted and not gone over with anything. I want them to look nicer. SO, these are going to take a bit longer to do, but it'll be worth it in the end.

The issues I have with them, are that the spaces around the projectors themselves are uneven and honestly just ugly the way the sit now. The other issue I have is that they rock a little bit and I don't know why, but I don't want them to put pressure on the projector and be that guy riding down the street having the shaky headlight. I HATE THAT GUY! And knowing me it would drive me nuts and I'd have to open them up again and do it over or fix it. Might as well get it right now while they're open and I'm already working on them. 

So my next step is going to be to finish the firs sanding on the second shroud. Then I'll tape up the projector lenses and frames. I'll put the shrouds in place and then fill in a little tighter to the lenses to get a good finish on them. Once that's done, they should be ready to go. 

That's the only update I have for these. 

***Scan Gauge II Pod***

I know I said I wasn't going to start another project but I just couldn't help myself. I'm tired of driving around with a piece of my dash missing. While I was cleaning up the work bench yesterday I ran across the dash piece and the Scan Gauge II. So I started fiddling with it, and trying to make the idea in my head happen. Here's where I started:









So I looked and looked and looked and after I was satisfied at the look of it, and envisioning it in that spot I decided to take the plunge, no pun intended. 









Now this cut was just to see where i was at. I can, and did, cut out a little more at a time until I get the desired look and angle that I wanted. I didn't want it straight up and down cause I just thought it would stick up too tall and interfere with the other gauges on the dash. I use the mileage, and I use the temp gauge and stuff all the time and I don't want to have to look up over the Scan Gauge in order to see those. SO I trimmed and trimmed a little more. 









This was the end result angle and the height I was happy with. 



























Now that's just sitting on the bench. The true test was going to be in the car. SO I went out and stuck it up there real quick. I have some trimming to do behind the piece on the dash so that it will fit. It does stick down a little bit and so in order for it to sit straight in there and the piece to fit properly I'll have to trim a bit. But at this spot, I'm completely satisfied with the way it looks. 100% satisfied!!









It may not look like it from the picture, and I forgot to turn on the car so you guys could actually see it, but it does sit lower than the gauges and doesn't impede them at all. Like I said, completely satisfied! 

So my next order of business is how to attach it, get it to blend in real well, and at the same time, not ruin the screen or anything. So I took it apart and the insides are all one piece. This is a good thing. However, with it sitting at the angle it's sitting, I have a slight issue. 









In this picture it looks like the face cover is bent, but it's not. That's just the way it looks in the picture. 









So here's my issue and my plan. I'll use the pic from above as a reference.


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## scooter99

The face of the Scan Gauge is very thin and only the face. I've used an orange line to dictate where the two pieces meet. At the angle, part of the back piece is showing on the sides and the top. If I just use fiberglass, or even filler, and go right over the whole unit, then I can't blend the front in, and I risk messing up the screen and I'd never be able to sand over the buttons. It would never look right. Also if i get it in there permanently, I'll never get the brains back in it cause I could never take the back off of it. 

So I've decided that what I want to do is basically build a frame around the units three sides. I'll tape off the unit completely, then use some thin abs plastic and glue it or epoxy it down to the dash piece. This will create a basic 3 sided box, two sides and the back, and will sit flush with the face. Once that's done, I can basically epoxy in the face to make it permanent to the dash piece. Then I can basically unscrew the back of it, and it should slide right out. This will allow me to be able to do all the finish work on it, make it look nice, and then when all is said and done, put the brain back in, and screw the back of the unit on. Blends beautifully, and I can work it and make it look great. 

I just need to find some abs about 1/16" - 1/8". Shouldn't be an issue. Maybe I can snake one of the snapware containers from the drawer, without the wife finding out. YA RIGHT!! 

So there's the latest project I've started. That should be able to be done a little bit here and there without too much effort. That's another reason I started it. 

***Galaxy Tablet Update***

So here's the big project I've been working on. I thought for sure I'd have my HDMI adapter in on Friday, or even Saturday if it was coming USPS. Didn't get it on either. So I decided to go ahead and spend the money and get the Galaxy 7 Media Dock with the HDMI port on it. I also picked up a couple other things. The port on the Dock has a Mini HDMI out on it, so I had to get an adapter for mini to standard HDMI. I also had a screen protector on it, but wasn't real happy with it. SO I got a new one of those specifically for the Galaxy Tablet. The other one was a cut to spec one. 









So what I did this weekend was sit down and get the 7" dock and the 10" dock swapped out. I'm possibly going to end up using the entire dock itself for the install. The frame and the body. So I had to swap out the bodies on the 10" frame. Pretty basic to do. 




































These are not the greatest pictures, but here they're the same on the back side. 









Same on the left side, nothing there.









Right side you can see they're different. One has the HDMI Port and the other has nothing. 









Also got my new cord out. 









As you can see it's twice as long as the one they send you. This was just not a good job in planning by Samsung. The cord should be this long out of the box. But it is what it is.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I put the NON HDMI body back on, cause I wanted to make sure and show that they both work. I connected the charger and here's what you see.









You can see the tablet out of the dock, not charging cause it's not plugged in. So see the battery has no lighting bolt in it on the bottom right of the screen.









Sliding it in the dock.









And now it's charging. Lighting bolt in the battery! 









Now I changed out the bodies and we'll do another test to make sure it's going to work.









Plugged it in.









Not on the dock, no lighting bolt in the battery.









On the dock, she's charging! 


















Here's a video, turn up your sound, you can hear it beep when it's docked.


----------



## scooter99

Adapter



























So that's about as far as I got with the tablet this weekend. I did run across a slight issue while playing with it. I have the screen set right now to 10 minutes to sleep. SO if it's not doing anything and sits idle it goes to sleep after 10 minutes. I downloaded Pandora on it this weekend also and found out that if it does go to sleep, Pandora continues to play. So that's a good thing. 

But, here's the issue that I've found. When it does go to sleep, I cannot make it wake up to unlock by touching the screen. I've had to push the power button on the top of the unit. So I got online with Samsung last night and talked to their tech department, and they said there's no way to wake it up other than to push that button. So that's going to possibly be an issue for the install. The problem is that I wanted to do a complete enclosure for the tablet, only able to open via the actuator arm from behind. That puts the buttons enclosed and non accessible. See the problem!! 

So here are a couple things I've come up with as a solution. 

1) Go into the settings and put the sleep mode on "never". The problem with this is that if I don't remember to put it to sleep when I'm not using it, you can do this by pushing the power button, then it'll be on all the time. Now it's not that hard to do, and shouldn't be that big a deal, cause the only time it would be sleeping is when it's out of the car not being used. So I could just push the power button and put it in the case. 

2) Another possibility is to some how, and I'm not sure how I'd do this and make it look good, incorporate some sort of button extension on the dash piece above the tablet. It would have to be something that was long enough to not impede the opening and closing of the tablet door, and yet be long enough to just touch the power button. It doesn't have to be pushed that hard or long. Once the button is pushed, you just swipe the lock on the screen to activate it. 

So that being said, I have some designs to think about and solutions to think about with this. I don't know that I like the thought of leaving it on never sleep mode, to be honest, and yet I'm not sure how a button will look on the clean dash. I'll have to think of something. 

So there you go. Those are all the updates I have at the moment. Here are the list of priorities in order, for me to work on:

1) Bench testing the Tablet and other hardware.
2) Finishing the headlight shrouds so they can be installed.
3) Get the Scan Gauge II pod finished and installed
4) Install the headlights, and wire up the side markers. 
5) Get fog lights installed and retros done! 

The bench testing should happen tonight, if all goes well. I'll be able to work on the shrouds and the pod at the same time, both dealing with filler, sanding, and finishing. The fog's should be pretty strait forward. I have to get the bumper cut and the housings installed an straight. Then I can get the projectors in there for the retrofits and Once those are straight in there, I'll remove those and fill them with epoxy/resin and when that's done paint em, and install them back in. Both the headlights and the fogs have HID's which need to be installed as well. 

After all that, the audio will be main priority and that will be pretty much the only thing I'll be working on for a long long time! So I'm going to guess by Nov 1st all this will be done, and I'll be working on the audio. 

Stay tuned! MUCH MUCH MORE TO COME!!!


----------



## eighty5iv

Here are some ideas, hopefully they spark off better ideas. 

1. As for the shrouds why don't you do what many people do for fiberglass subwoofers? Use what you have now as a base. Make an mdf ring large enough to allow the projectors to peep through, have them supported via wooden rods, fleece them, then glass and paint. The surface may make it easier to sand and may provide a better shape. Plus the mdf ring could act as a support to reduce shaking projectors and therefore you will not be the guy withthe shaking headlight. Win! Btw sorry the cf shrouds didn't work out. My only concern would be malformation or contortion due to the heat from HIDs. Plus I think the mdf ring would give you a better circular shape than the current ones and your shrouds would be one-offs.

2. Thumbs up on the scan gauge. I like it there too.

3. As far as the galaxy tab goes, I say make an enclosure and instead of allowing it to sleep why don't you let it dim the backlight first. Say dim the backlight way down after 10 minutes. Then if your still not using it after 10 min let it sleep at 25-30 minutes. Backlight down saves battery and allows you to touch screen to wake up. And full sleep could be a last resort. I thought I had found an app that could fix your issue but turns out the app would only allow work with actual hardware buttons. And all your buttons are at the top next to the power button which in full circle will not work if you do a full enclosure. Unless you make a notch in the enclosure that allows you to pop out the tablet and that notch could also give you access to the power button. I might have to draw a diagram to explain myself because I am confusing myself when I reread that statement. Lol.

Hope that helps.


----------



## scooter99

eighty5iv said:


> Here are some ideas, hopefully they spark off better ideas.
> 
> 1. As for the shrouds why don't you do what many people do for fiberglass subwoofers? Use what you have now as a base. Make an mdf ring large enough to allow the projectors to peep through, have them supported via wooden rods, fleece them, then glass and paint. The surface may make it easier to sand and may provide a better shape. Plus the mdf ring could act as a support to reduce shaking projectors and therefore you will not be the guy withthe shaking headlight. Win! Btw sorry the cf shrouds didn't work out. My only concern would be malformation or contortion due to the heat from HIDs. Plus I think the mdf ring would give you a better circular shape than the current ones and your shrouds would be one-offs.
> 
> 2. Thumbs up on the scan gauge. I like it there too.
> 
> 3. As far as the galaxy tab goes, I say make an enclosure and instead of allowing it to sleep why don't you let it dim the backlight first. Say dim the backlight way down after 10 minutes. Then if your still not using it after 10 min let it sleep at 25-30 minutes. Backlight down saves battery and allows you to touch screen to wake up. And full sleep could be a last resort. I thought I had found an app that could fix your issue but turns out the app would only allow work with actual hardware buttons. And all your buttons are at the top next to the power button which in full circle will not work if you do a full enclosure. Unless you make a notch in the enclosure that allows you to pop out the tablet and that notch could also give you access to the power button. I might have to draw a diagram to explain myself because I am confusing myself when I reread that statement. Lol.
> 
> Hope that helps.


1. I'll have to think about what you're saying on the shrouds. I get what you're saying, I just have to think about if I want to go through doing it over again. I'm right at being done with one of them. The other is ready for sanding, and then they both need just to be filled in around the projector itself. I may just go with it for now. If in the end, I decide I don't like it then I'll do it over. I think we all know by now as much as I don't like to do things twice, for a great finished result, I'm not afraid to do it over. 

My only fear with the MDF is, and maybe stupid question, what is the heat rating on MDF? That's all I need is a fire in my headlights! 

Also, it's Monday and on top of that my head is just cloudy today for whatever reason, but what do you mean by "one-offs"? 

2. Thanks, I did it and it just pops to me, subtle and yet looks great. I can't wait to get it done and get it all finished up so I can post up some final pics. Maybe a project that actually gets done on this build. 

3. No diagram needed, I completely understand what you're saying. Matter of fact I think I thought about something very similar and ditching the actuator idea. I'll figure it all out in due time. 

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions. I'll definitely take them into consideration while I go forward.


----------



## eighty5iv

About the mdf, I thought about it and you are right that is a fire hazard. Its looking at 400 degrees F before it lights up and I'm not sure how hot the mh1's get. And I wouldnt want you or anyone to risk it either. Oh and by one-offs I meant one of a kind. My Mondays suck too. Hang in there its almost Tuesday.


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## scooter99

Ya I thought so, cause basically MDF is just saw dust and glue and basically it's the glue's flash point that I'm worried about cause if the glue goes then the saw dust is just an accelerant. However, If I could get some aluminum one's made up, maybe. I'll cross that bridge somewhere down the line. I'm gonna try and finish them as is now. 

I get the one-off now. I figured it was something like that. Thanks! I think they'll be that as they are anyway. Hopefully I can get them finished as nice as they are in my head. Does it ever work out that way...........noooooo! LMAO! That's why we do this though!!! 

T-Minus 9 hours and 23 minutes, according to my clock! HA! Well, actually as soon as I get out of work and home with my family, then in the garage where I'm best, things will be allllllllllllll good! So in that case, T-Minus 1 hour 22 minutes for off work, and the rest is not nail down able. About 8:00 till I can get in the garage!


----------



## scooter99

I've run into a little bit of a snag and I'm trying to figure this out. I'm not sure I can even download the disc for the bit one tones on my tablet. If I can't do this, how am i going to set it up? Anyone have any suggestions? I'm not seeing anything thus far that allows me to transfer the tones from my disc to laptop, and then to the tablet. I'm gonna keep looking but if I can't set up the bit one, then this whole project is worthless.


----------



## quality_sound

If you can't find the tones online then someone should be able to upload them for you. If you can find the disk then rip them and move them to the media player on your tablet. Easy peasy.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so here's an update for the night. I'm very very frustrated. As I've said I have no media tab adapter yet. I'm frankly pissed at the company. I ordered this thing almost 2 weeks ago and I could have walked it to my house by now and gotten it faster. So I went and got the Galaxy 7 dock with the HDMI port until I got the adapter. At least I could get it running and figure out some stuff. Well I cannot get it to work and I'm pretty defeated and frustrated right now. 

First the DC-DC converter doesn't charge the tablet. It shows the lightning bolt like it is charging it, but there's a red x through it and I can assure you it does not charge. The percentage went down as I was sitting there. So that's the first thing. 

Second and most importantly, I could not get sound or video at all! When I plugged in the HDMI cord into the docking station, the sound cut out and that was it. Then I got no sound on the tablet or through the system, nor did I get any video out to the monitor. I don't know if I'm just not doing something correctly or what, but it's not working. I'm not sure if I need to change a setting or something, which there doesn't seem to be anything that I can find that I can change, but either way I'm missing something or this has been a huge gigantic waste of my money, in which case I'm going to probably loose it. I need help I think and a fresh mind to work with this stuff! I'm tired and going to bed. I have some pictures to post of the bench testing set up. I was going to get a video, but it all fell apart as I put it to work and so I didn't get the video done. 

That's it for now, I'm open to suggestions or anything that anyone has that might help. Good night!


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## scooter99

quality_sound said:


> If you can't find the tones online then someone should be able to upload them for you. If you can find the disk then rip them and move them to the media player on your tablet. Easy peasy.


I forgot that my settings were still on my laptop. So for the sake of testing, I left it that way and hooked it up the exact same way. Not that it mattered! Good idea though cause I'm going to need them when and if I ever get this thing working. Thanks!


----------



## scooter99

So here's what I did last night for a bench test. 

Let's start here, first. I decided not to build an actual box but just to use what I had laying around for speakers. This isn't a sound quality bench test really, I just want to make sure it's all going to work before I start dealing with the actual install in the vehicle. I have here a set of cheap Orion coax speakers in an Amazon box! LOL









Next I got my Audison LRx 2.4 out to run the speakers. 









Next, Audison bit one.1 processor









HDMI converter









with vga to composite adapter









Now we'll get down to some business. This is the power adapter for the HDMI converter. I had to do a couple of things here. First confirm the voltage coming out of it, and then figure out what's positive and what's negative. 


















5.17v









Next I got the DC-DC converter out.


----------



## scooter99

Now is where I started getting nervous. I grabbed the samsung 30 pin to usb cable, and I decided to sacrifice it to test this stuff out. Cutting things that are specific always make me nervous. 


















Next, Pioneer monitor for the video.









So I got things wired up. I love barrier strips. I use them in all of my installs and I used them here as well. Helps, especially when you have the bridges. When I do my final install in the car, if this all works, I'll be soldering wires that color match etc. I love these bridges and they're ok looking and quick, but they just don't look nearly as good as when you take the extra time to color match with wires and fork connectors, soldered and heat shrunk. No comparison! 

Let me take a second to describe what you're looking at. 

Right barrier strip - This carries the 12v constant power to the components. 

Center barrier strip - This carries the ground wires to the components.

Left barrier strip - This carries the switched power (ign) to the components. To get this I used a rocker switch from the 12v power to act as my ignition. 

I know it's not the cleanest looking set up at the moment but for what I had to work with, and the time I have to work with, it'll do. If you take a second and look at it you can see it's not nearly as messy as first appearance. I used wires from a previous set up, so I can color match things, for example yellow for 12v, red for ignition, and black for ground. The white wires you see go to the battery. One to negative and one to positive. I did them one at a time so I didn't mix them up. 









Here you can see the components set up. 









I have it going like this. The output from the analog signal on the converter, which in this picture is not hooked up yet, will go to the processor pre-in ch1 and ch2. This is what the settings were at from my previous set up. I just used that. There should be no change there. Then the VGA-composite adapter plugs into the video in for the monitor. Next I have output channels 1 and 2 from the bit one out to the input channels of the amp. Then amp to speakers obviously. 

Then I powered it up.


















Showing power before switching it on, 12.41v resting.









Ignition on!


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## scooter99

And we're all fired up! Amp, processor, DC-DC, monitor


















This is the barrel connector for the converter, checking voltage before I plug it in. It's a little bit higher than with the wall unit (5.17v), so there's a difference of .16v. Not sure if that's an issue or not. Doesn't seem like much. 









So I plugged that in, and that's powered up. 









Bit One DRC ready to go.









Now we have all that powered and ready to go, let's get the source set up. 



























Got the Bit One software up and running on my laptop. WOULD LOVE to get this on the tablet. But there may be issues there, I'm not sure.


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## scooter99

This was pre plug in.









Then I plugged it in. This is where I got the red x over the battery and lighting bolt. 









After this, the wheels fell off. I did get the wall charger for the tablet, if I remember correctly, and I still got nothing. I got no video, I got no audio, I got nothing. When I unplugged the HDMI cable, all sound came back to the tablet, like I unplugged my headphones or something. SO I plugged it back in and then it went silent, same scenario like I plugged in my headphones, but got nothing out of the converter. Nothing out of the bit one, amp, speakers, or monitor. I did keep getting a little headphone icon on the bottom menu which turns out to be some sort of media hub, or music player of some sort. SO maybe that's it's way of saying that I have to play stuff out of that particular application. 

It just doesn't make much sense to me that in a mirroring situation, that you can't play certain things such as pandora or netflix. I never did try any other media cause I simply don't have any downloaded nor do I know how to download any of it just yet. I have a ton of music on my laptop, but it's through Itunes, and it's all been downloaded from another site. So I have no idea how to get that music onto my tablet. 

So all that being done, and nothing seeming to work, I was burnt last night. I decided to walk away from it and come back to it and do some research today. I'm asking anyone who knows anything about this please to respond and give me anything you can think of that I'm missing or not doing correctly or anything. 

TO me, if you have a signal to put out, in this case an HDMI signal, then it shouldn't matter where it goes, but maybe it's not that simple. Nothing ever is. I would hate to do this, but my next option is to go from the 3.5 mm jack in the back of the dock out to RCA's for my audio signal, and then try some way to get the video signal from the HDMI. I just don't think I'm gonna get that great of sound quality out of the 3.4mm jack. I do wonder, however, if it would improve with a line driver between that and the processor. 

I just can't help but think I'm missing something. On top of all this, the damned original HDMI adapter that I ordered 2 weeks ago is STILL not here yet. I sent them an email last night saying basically "What the F!" I've not heard anything back yet today. 

So for now I'm stumped, frustrated, and fearing that I've wasted a ton of money on an idea that just simply isn't going to work, when in theory it should. That's my biggest fear cause now I have no money to go out and get a decent head unit for what I want to supply in my audio system. But I'm not going to give up just yet.


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## scooter99

Ok so a guy on MP3car.com suggested something I never thought about. Apparently on the Galaxy 7 there's a display setting that has a tv out switch on it, and that needs to be selected in order to allow the HDMI out to work. I don't have the tablet here at work with me, so I'll have to wait until I get home to try this out. Let's all pray it works, cause it'll solve all problems if it does! I'll update later when I find out. IF not, then it's back to the drawing board.


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## scooter99

Hey guys, I wanna take a second and just say a couple things. 

First of all...

Thanks for checking in as always. You guys really don't know, and maybe some of you do, how much it means to me that I have people who are actually following my build and the things I do. I don't have the support at home to get what I need out of a project and satisfaction of doing this thing that I love, building a car or audio system. All I get when I show the wife is that ever so subtle "that's great hon" which is empty an non emotional. But I do appreciate her just playing along. 

Second, it means that much more that after this much time, and all the rambling that I do on this thread, that so many people are still following it. I know I talk alot on here and I don't always post pictures, but it's the way I'm able to work things out. Whether it be in my head (typing on here) or by having a simple conversation or asking questions with you folks. It really does help me cause if I wasn't able to do that, I'd never sleep at night cause I'm that guy who can't shut off his mind to go to sleep. That's even more telling of how tired and brain fried I was last night cause I laid down at midnight, and was probably out at 11:59. Yes I said that right, think about it for a second, you'll giggle too. 

Anyway, it means a lot and motivates me to get done with projects to move on to the next ones. That being said, STAY TUNED, MUCH MORE TO COME!! If this tablet settings things works, I'll be doing back flips in my living room!! Can you imagine that, a 255lb man doing back flips in his living room! Are you laughing now!?!?! HA!


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## angelspeedfreak

Keep it up... All looking great so far.


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## mr.metoo

Build is looking amazing, keep up the good work.


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## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> Can you imagine that, a 255lb man doing back flips in his living room! Are you laughing now!?!?! HA!


Nah man, those big texan pawz of yours would make any sane man think twice about doin' that!


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## scooter99

Bwahahahahahahah!! Little does everyone know how much I'm not a fighter! lMAO!


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## scooter99

Ok well I just put it on my tv and it works flawlessly! So I got it all back on the bench test, and it's a no go. I'm not finding any settings for a tv out, and by not doing anything and setting it up on the actual tv in my bedroom via HDMI, that tells me there isn't one. I even went as far as to take the converter off the DC-DC and re connect the wall outlet for that, and nothing. I'm getting power, but i'm not getting anything out of the video or audio portion of the converter. My guess is that it maybe a bad converter. I am still waiting for a reply from a guy that's working with the same set up and the same converter to see what he says. I don't know folks, I'm frustrated and stumped.


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## ocblaze

Hey man after reading your post alittle bit above I know exactly how you feel! When I first did a full install for my brother (simple passive with a sub) all I got was "thanks, does it get any louder." I was like are you kidding me I just spent two days doing this for you and thats it. But its all good! Anyways, I can't wait to see how the tablet works for you. I have been looking at getting a tablet for Christmas from my family and am highly considering the Galaxy Tablet above the Ipad since I'm a PC guy and tend not to like Mac products all that much. It also gives me the confidence I need to see someone do things for the first time and complete the project with a great looking finished product! So thank you for all the hard work and being the guinea pig that I truly appreciate since I have alot of the same aspirations as you.


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## mitchyz250f

This may help or it may not, but it does explain why it works on your TV but not the car. 

SoundMan Car Audio - Car Audio Forum - Technical Help
"I am curious who is getting a real spdif signal out of their tablets. It seems soundman has moved away from a fully digital signal and instead is now promoting the istreamer which is a high end dac. If you use this dac you are still getting an unnecessary a/d d/a conversion if you are sending the signal to a bit one. Is anyone getting a true spdif signal out of their tablet that can then be used by any dac or processor that has digital in? 

BTW for you guys who think you can get digital audio out of HDMI and use it car, you are wrong. The audio data is interleaved with the video. You need a device like this one to get a separate spdif signal. Newegg.com - StarTech HDMI to DVI-D with SPDIF Audio Converter HDMI2DVI DVI Interface. I have not tried this device but it is the only one I have found that says it can do the job. 

If anyone has a working system could you please post up some details of what you are using and what, if any, problems you are having?"


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## bginvestor

scooter99 said:


> Ok well I just put it on my tv and it works flawlessly! So I got it all back on the bench test, and it's a no go. I'm not finding any settings for a tv out, and by not doing anything and setting it up on the actual tv in my bedroom via HDMI, that tells me there isn't one. I even went as far as to take the converter off the DC-DC and re connect the wall outlet for that, and nothing. I'm getting power, but i'm not getting anything out of the video or audio portion of the converter. My guess is that it maybe a bad converter. I am still waiting for a reply from a guy that's working with the same set up and the same converter to see what he says. I don't know folks, I'm frustrated and stumped.


I hate road blocks like these.. takes some of the fun out of it , but its that more rewarding when you get it figured out.


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## scooter99

There is no setting for the display or tv out. It's automatic as far as I could tell. I looked for it when I got home, then said to hell with it, plugged it into the wall, plugged it into the tv via the HDMI and then it worked like it was supposed to. I got all giddy inside but held off the back flips till it worked on the bench. So I took it out there and it didn't work. 

I've been, as I think I've said, keeping a thread on MP3car.com and I'm getting a lot of great help and suggestions over there. The next step is this. 

I'm going to take a computer monitor home with me from work today. Why do you ask? Well the suggestion was that the VGA to composite adapter that's coming out of the converter is stopping the signal. 

Let me back up. Here's what I found last night and posted up over there. This will help it all make a little bit more sense. 

*"Ok guys I have something I just discovered which leads me to a theory. Now try and follow me here! 

I plugged the dock into the wall charger. 

Plugged in the HDMI cable.

Plugged the HDMI cable into the converter. 

Need help and info from you guys, please read:

Took the converter off the DC-DC and wired the wall charger back on. Then plugged that in and got the Red led signaling that the converter is on. 

I then checked the Optical output by opening the door, and I have no light which means no signal. I've even plugged the cable in and same thing, no signal. 

So I unplugged the converter from the wall, then just cause, I looked at the LED and it was dimly lit. First I thought it was the sun, then I unplugged the HDMI cable and it went out. 

So not really understanding what I just did, or what happened I did it again. I looked at the LED this time when I plugged in the HDMI cable and got nothing. The LED was out, not dimly lit, nothing. 

Plugged the converter back in, LED lit up, and then unplugged it again. Same thing, the LED was lit dimly and when I unplugged the HDMI cable, it went out. 

This leads me to a theory that I'd like to share and explore with you guys. My theory is this. The HDMI cable needs a power source to make the High Def signal. When the HDMI cable is plugged in, it doesn't have enough power to turn on the converter. But when the converter is powered on, and then subsequently unplugged, there's power in there left over, allowing the power from the HDMI cable to continue powering it minimally. I mean look it ain't much, but it is power. Bottom line is, what this tells me is that there is a signal being sent from the dock itself. 

I think I have a bad converter. I think there's something wrong between the input of the HDMI cable into the converter, and the components that break down the signal and send them to the outputs. 

What do you all think? Again, this dock and cable work on a regular tv with HDMI."*

So after that someone said the thing about the adapter stopping the signal. So we're going to test the theory tonight by using a spare monitor that I have here at work. If that in fact works, and the way it will go is to not use the vga adapter and just plug the monitor into the vga port, then I need to switch up monitors for the headrests to monitors to accept a vga input. To use two monitors to that accept the vga input, I'll need a vga splitter to split the signal to two places. 

Now the other option is this. Get monitors that will accept an HDMI input, carputer monitors is what I'm finding, and use the 3.5mm jack out of the back of the dock for the audio portion of the system.

_*This is where I need some advise:*_ The 3.5mm jack audio out is not the greatest of quality. I've seen numerous posts about this fact alone. I've not seen many posts about the bit one and if it cleans up that sound or not. Obviously I could test the signal for clipping and note that spot as far as where the volume needs to be on the tablet when it's in the car. However, my feeling is that this level is going to be pretty low. That leads me to questions. 

1) Would I need to boost the signal to the bit one or would the bit one take care of the boost before the amps?

2) If I need to boost the signal, what are my options as far as boosters or in line drivers? 

3) What should I do about an optical input? They make a converter that takes an analog signal (RCA's) and converts it into a coax digital or optical signal. If I'm to do this, I'll need to split the RCA's cause I need one for the set up, and then I need one set for the optical converter box I just mentioned. Should I split before the boost, or should I split after the boost?

4) Actually at the moment I think that's it.

What we're doing here is trying to avoid a converter box for the HDMI signal. If I can do that then I'll save myself a lot of heartache. However, I'll know after tonight what I can and cannot do as far as sound with the monitor off and if it will even work. 

I appreciate any help you all can give me on these questions. Thanks!


----------



## scooter99

bginvestor said:


> I hate road blocks like these.. takes some of the fun out of it , but its that more rewarding when you get it figured out.


I agree on all accounts. I keep getting excited thinking that I've almost tamed the beast, but then I hit another issue. But it'll work out at some point. And if it doesn't then I'll at least have the experience under my belt that someone else can learn from.


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## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> I agree on all accounts. I keep getting excited thinking that I've almost tamed the beast, but then I hit another issue. But it'll work out at some point. And if it doesn't then I'll at least have the experience under my belt that someone else can learn from.


That there is the true DIY spirit


----------



## scooter99

Of course! Your timing is epic as always. I just shut this down cause I didn't have any responses. Oh well I'm going to update anyway.

So here's what we've found, me and the guys at MP3car.com. We've found a Samsung Raw LCD monitor with VGA and HDMI inputs. So either way I'll be changing from the pioneer screens which now seem worthless to my application, to samsung screens which plays into my ocd about matching gear!! LMAO!! 

I'll be doing one of two things, depending on tonight's tests. 

1) Going with the VGA input and keeping the converter for audio and digital output.

2) Going with HDMI inputs and eliminating the converter and using the 3.5mm jack for audio output. I still have to decide if I'll need a line driver or not as well as the digital converter for optical into the bit one . 

So that's what's what for now. I'll be updating after tonight's tests! Stay tuned for results!


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## scooter99

Hey guys I'm getting mixed signals from another forum. Some are saying yes I need something to boost my signal from the 3.5mm port. Some are saying the Bit One should take care of it. 

Same with the optical converter. Some are saying that it would be a good idea to use along with the analog signal. Some are saying there's no point cause it's not a true digital signal. Does that sound right. 

Can some of you clarify a direction I would be ok to go in? Would be nice to hear from the bit one folks specifically but of course I'd love to hear from all sources as well. Thanks!


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## SAM77H

scooter99 said:


> All I get when I show the wife is that ever so subtle "that's great hon" which is empty an non emotional. But I do appreciate her just playing along.


I know exactly what you mean......  
My wife has no interest in my hobbies and wonders why I get so bored with her chatter about childbirth and blood and stuff (she is a midwife)


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## IBcivic

SAM77H said:


> I know exactly what you mean......
> My wife has no interest in my hobbies and wonders why I get so bored with her chatter about childbirth and blood and stuff (she is a midwife)


The only reason they tolerate hobbies, is that they know that we are not out chasing other women, while we are busy with our "toys"


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## SAM77H

amitaF said:


> The only reason they tolerate hobbies, is that they know that we are not out chasing other women, while we are busy with our "toys"


well when mine complains about my time outside I say fine, Im off to the pub to drink and gamble. That normally shuts her up.........


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## scooter99

You guys are funny! 

Ok I had a positive break through tonight. I'll post up some pics, and a description later. Even got a video! Stay tuned. I'll get to work right after I'm done with the kids baths and bedtime!


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## scooter99

Ok so here goes. I'll start from last night. 

Like I said last night I was super excited when this happened. I went in and hooked it all up to the tv in my bedroom. This is what I got! It's not the greatest picture, but it gives you an idea................IT'S ALIVE!!!









Tried a bunch of different programs. This is pandora radio.









This isn't the greatest picture, but you can see here if you look real hard, that the video is playing off you tube on the tv, but not on the tablet. It's blacked out. As soon as I removed it from the dock, it plays on the tablet, obviously.









Video Video Video!!!
You're going to hear the volume go up and down. It's not your volume, yours is fine. I'm turning the tv up and down by the remote. Showing that it's the tv volume that's giving us sound, not the tablet. 


Now it's time to go to the bench testing system. Pandora radio again!









NOTHING! 

So this is where I started talking to different folks and walked away from it. 

I brought an extra computer monitor home from work and hooked it up today. 









You can see here the blue vga cable plugged in going directly to the monitor, and the other adapter that i was using last night, sitting to the side. 









Turned it all on and......................................................................YES!!!!

Main screen, home screen on the tablet









Pandora Radio









Netflix..........................damn! No sound! 


So that's where I'm at. I'm still getting no red light out of the optical, I'm not getting any sound out of the rca's. I've even bypassed the bit one thinking maybe there was an issue there. I'm getting a plug in buzz when I plug the rca's in when it's on. I've used two sets of rca's that I know worked when I put them away. 

I walked away from it and got to thinking. What if, even though it has the HDMI output, it doesn't put out a digital signal? Would the optical port light up if there was no digital or optical signal? I don't know the answer to that. 

So that brings me to my next test which I'll do tomorrow. 

I'm going to go out and get a 3.5mm cable to RCA's and plug that in. I'll do the screen the same way, and plug the 3.5mm cable in and try and get my audio from there. My fear is that with the HDMI cord plugged in, I won't be able to use the 3.5mm jack at the same time. 

Actually I have a way to test that right now............be right back..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................


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## scooter99

CRAP! That's what I was afraid of. 

You cannot use the 3.5mm jack out of the back while the HDMI is in use. As soon as you pull the HDMI out, you get sound out of the 3.5mm. SO, I'm back to square one in needing a converter that actually works. 

Used a DMM, I'm not sure if I did it correctly or not, but I put one in the inside of the RCA, and one on the outside of the RCA on the converter itself. Here's the pics. 









Left RCA









Right RCA









I'm stumped. So even if I were to get different screens, I'd still have no audio. I'd have to unplug the HDMI every time or plug it in every time! Seriously, WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO BE SO DIFFICULT!!! FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## scooter99

You see, this is my problem. I'm so wrapped up in this, I was going to go to bed and just walk away from it, but it's consuming me. I had to look for more options. This is what I've found.

The HDFury3 Check out the specs on it. It does have two HDMI inputs, which I only need one, but it also does audio output on it as well. It also does analog as well as optical output. That would get me set up on the analog, then I could switch it to the optical. Just in thinking anyway. As far as the video output, I could still go with those samsung screens, and use the VGA input on those through a split module as well. 

Price is a little up there, but it might just work.  Monoprice has it! 

The other step I may take right now, is getting another cheap one and see if it'll work or not. Talking about the Parra converter that I linked earlier. Seems to go from HDMI to composite. I may try that and if by some miracle that works, then I can keep the screens I have, as well as have audio. I'm truely going to bed now! My brain is on overload, as is my emotions!

I forgot to post why I think this might work. Here's a link from their forum that someone else asked about the Galaxy tablet, however I think it was about the Galaxy 7 whereas I have the 10.1. Anyway, here's the link!


----------



## bginvestor

scooter99 said:


> You see, this is my problem. I'm so wrapped up in this, I was going to go to bed and just walk away from it, but it's consuming me. I had to look for more options. This is what I've found.


Did you talk to the manufacturer directly to see if its capable of your requirements? If no, call them up! Please disregard if you have already discussed this..


----------



## scooter99

Got new toys today! A little break in the "tablet" monotony! 

Vibrant 12" bottle resonator! Exhaust was proving to be a little loud for my girls. This should tone it down a touch. If not, then I'll move to the 18". 


















Next up, P2R Rear Lower Bar. Might be painting this thing! Either Black or GG, not sure yet. Chrome/Polished just stands out too much! 


















Nothing too exciting, but it is to me.


----------



## IBcivic

make sure to use self etching primer on that anodized aluminum


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I did a little bit of work last night. not much but just a little. It was nice to take a break from the tablet thing for a night. Although I'm excited again because there's been lots of progress made today and I think we're about home on that. If these things today work out, then I'll be ordering components and testing again. Then we should be a go for launch! 

So like I said a little work. I basically painted the Lower Bar and got it ready for install tomorrow night. Here we go. Not much to say, pics really just speak for themselves. 


















2 coats on each side


















2 coats on each side





































THEN the sexy! 
3 coats of this on each side.


----------



## scooter99

Then 2 coats of clear. It was dark out so the picture sux sorry! 









This was this morning on my dirty hood. But you get the picture. Color matched baby! 









Now tomorrow night a bunch of us are getting together for a tech meet. I'll be getting my front fenders rolled so I can lower it a touch more, put this thing on, and maybe something else but I'm not sure yet. 

More to come soon! I'm hoping to work on some other things this weekend, but we'll have to wait and see how that plays out. 

Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## IBcivic

Nice job, bro!


----------



## scooter99

Thanks. 

I'm ordering a new converter today and I think this is the one that's going to work!! I've been emailing back and forth with the company all day. 

It's the Octava HDDA12-AD

According to the company, they've had it working with just audio and video off, as well as all on. This would be exactly what I need. I'm going to also be posting up the Pioneer monitors and I'll be getting two new head rest monitors with HDMI inputs. Things are starting to shape up fast!


----------



## scooter99

Ok, screens are officially up for sale as a package with the IR headphones. Check it out here: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/car-audio-classifieds/113947-pioneer-avd-w7900-7-monitors.html

As soon as these screens sale, I'll buy the new screens. 

I also ordered the new converter today. Things are starting to move! Gonna get exciting in here real quick!


----------



## IBcivic

You are gonna have so many screens on hand, you'll make "mad mike' jealous


----------



## scooter99

MAD MIKE ain't got nathan on me! That's why he don't work for WCC anymore! HA!!! 

No I'm selling these before i buy those. I used the money I had set aside, for the new converter. So I can't buy the new screens till these sell. Not a big deal. Gonna be some work. I still have to make frames for them. The new screens are raw with a raw open board.


----------



## IBcivic

LOL...I'm sure he got fed up of being told by the MTV producers, to put screens on mud-flaps and such.


----------



## IBcivic

Raw...but I'm sure you'll make em look purdy!


----------



## scooter99

Ya, "hey I got a great idea, let's put one in the spare tire under the suv so that way when he works in that 2' radius he can watch tv instead of paying attention to what he's doing"! IDIOTS!! 

Ryan puts out some sick as cars though! WOW!

I have my plans! 

I thought about getting an 8 or 9 inch screen and making a slide up from the back of the center console. But nixed that!


----------



## bginvestor

scooter99 said:


> Thanks.
> 
> I'm ordering a new converter today and I think this is the one that's going to work!! I've been emailing back and forth with the company all day.
> 
> It's the Octava HDDA12-AD
> 
> According to the company, they've had it working with just audio and video off, as well as all on. This would be exactly what I need. I'm going to also be posting up the Pioneer monitors and I'll be getting two new head rest monitors with HDMI inputs. Things are starting to shape up fast!


Sounds promising.. good luck.. I can't wait to see this installed..


----------



## scooter99

bginvestor said:


> Sounds promising.. good luck.. I can't wait to see this installed..


Thank you sir! I was looking over your Ridgeline build! That thing is sick! I especially love your kicks! I contemplated doing the same thing, but I'm not sure about it or not. I'm not there yet so maybe i'll decide before then, but I think for my application, in the pillars would be better and easier to do. 

Anyway, nice work!


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> I have my plans! !











I love it when a plan comes together!


----------



## scooter99

You're killin me. HE's exactly who I was thinking of when I said that. "I love it when a plan comes together"!

http://thea-team.org/downloads/audio/Love%20plan.mp3


----------



## scooter99

Ok, just got notice that the converter shipped! Should have it tuesday or wednesday.


----------



## SAM77H

this has to be the most entertaining install thread ever with the jokes and pics......
Keep up the great work !


----------



## jaikai

scooter is nuts. I mean that in a good way. Mostly.

Seriously, I dig his energy. I don't know how he does it all.


----------



## scooter99

Lots of pictures from the weekend. Not a ton got done, but a bit. Stay tuned, pics in the morning!


EDIT: I also think I have a new and better design for the trunk and the way I've drawn it up on paper, everything is gonna be super balanced out. I did not like where the last design had everything and I thought it was not as balanced out as it should be. I think I'm gonna go ahead with this one, not sure if I can port it, I have to decide if I have enough room still, but I'm most likely going to keep this one under wraps. The "SURPRISE" factor! I'm extremely happy with this one. I don't have to re do anything, don't have to stop and go back and make any pieces over again. Everything continues as planned!


----------



## scooter99

Let's get some pics up. 

First thing here, I did the trunk floor a while back, when I did the rear component wall on rear seat. But I never did cover it with anything, so I've had the board bouncing around back there and I can hear it through the seats etc. Plus when I have stuff back there it slides around a lot and other things. So I decided to go ahead and temporarily cover it with some Home Depot black interior/exterior carpet I had left over from the temporary boxes I built before. So nothing fancy, just black carpet on the boards. 



















Next up, I started again working on the headlight retrofits. The shrouds really. The first one is just about done. Now I've filled in around the projector, taped the shroud in place where I want it to go, and when I did that discovered there was quite a gap on the bottom. So I started filling. Also filled in some other spots that needed addressing. 

On the second one, I sanded it down a little and then covered it again. Same thing taped off the projector and got the shroud in there and started with the filler. This one for sure needs a lot of work and a lot of sanding. But that's all part of the fun in creating your own things. Onto the pics. 

Driver side headlight









Driver side shroud, very rough still.









Tapped off and ready to go.









This is the passenger side. See at the bottom the big gap there. That's just not gonna work for me. The hard part about that, and on the driver side, is that it's pretty tight in there, so I'm having to use my finger instead of the spreader to fill it in. I guess it's not really that hard, just messier. LOL.
You can also see the spots on the bottom that still need addressing. 









Both taped up and read to go. 









To help with the process, I cut one of the spreaders in smaller strips. I found the smallest spreader was still a little big. I'm open to some tips if anyone has any. For something like this with lots of curves I'm not sure how to get a nice smooth spread around. Square angles on a curved surface makes a lot of lines, as you can well imagine. So I'm having a little bit of difficulty with that. I may abandon the spreaders and just do it by hand. Anyway, here we go! 









See, Big ugly mess, lots of sanding to do. 


















So there's still lots of work to be done on these, but I'm pretty happy with the progress. Once I get them sanded down and smoothed out better, I'll be happier.


----------



## scooter99

More to come but I have a couple work errands to run. Be back in a bit to post more!


----------



## scooter99

Let's see, Saturday night I did a couple of things. This was my front fenders getting rolled. Not much to roll but with my wheels and wanting to go a little lower, I had to get them done. 









I haven't had a chance to lower it yet, cause when my car was done, there was another one to do, so I had to back out of the garage. When I did I was in the street and while I did lift the rear of the car to do the next project, I didn't feel so comfortable with that and wanted to do it on a level surface, like a garage. But yesterday (Sunday) was a family day so it's still not done. 

I will say this though, I can already tell a difference in clearance. I did rub this morning on a bump I always rub on, but it wasn't fender, it was fender lining. So I'm going to have to do something about that. See about somehow raising that or see how bad it will effect things if I take it out completely. I'll decide then. 

So this was my next project. Recall that I painted this bad boy the other night. It came out wonderfully and I couldn't be happier with it. Too bad it's not really going to be seen. Oh well I know it looks good! Not much to picture other than a before and after. But it's there. These were taken at night too, so I had to use the flash. Not the greatest pics, but I'll take a better one when I have her skirt up again! LMAO!



























There are a couple of things to add to this. 

First off: There are a lot of people I've seen who've comment after they've done this to their car. A lot of reviews are saying that they just don't feel much of a difference and that it's mostly for show. I'd have to beg to differ. I really pulled on it on the way home around turns and taking off ramps, specifically the one I get off the freeway on near my house DAILY. I felt a huge difference. It feels a lot stiffer to me, and I felt way more under control, especially around that off ramp which is off and a complete loop around where the recommended MPH is 25. I did it at 45 with no problems and didn't feel out of control what so ever. Again I take this one daily and I can tell you from the afternoon when I took it and then again later that night, it was a big difference. 

What do I have on my car for suspension? I have Buddy Club N+ Spec Coilovers, an Si Rear Sway Bar with OEM endlinks, and Buddy Club Rear camber arms. Now the P2R Lower Tie Bar. So the only thing that's changed is the tie bar being added. It does make a difference. 

The other thing I'm going to be doing in the future is most likely adding a bed liner or something like that under the car. Specifically in that spot where the spare tire well comes down, you can see in the pic above. I think that will go a long way in doing a couple of things. One, even though it's under the car, it'll dress it up a little. Two, it will hopefully help deaden it a little and if I put it under the exhaust, it will hopefully take some of that drone out of the cabin area that we get now. I do have the bottle resonator ready to get welded in, but I have to replenish the funds a little bit before that happens. 

So, on to the next project. This is the one I'm actually pretty excited about! This was the Scan Gauge II pod that I'm building. I'll go through the steps and the pics as I post them. Here we go!

So the last time I left this project I had just kind of described the pod design. This weekend I made it and it's coming out great, in my opinion. As the creator, that's what counts right! But I'm as always happy to hear your thoughts on it. 

The cut out was already made in the piece itself, now it was time to trim it up, get it straight and get to work. Then make some templates! Right and Left templates were made of card board. 













































Got those done, then I taped the frame back in, and got the fit as close as I could with the sides. I simply put the card board cut outs up to the sides of the frame, and traced the outer part of it.


----------



## scooter99

Here they're ready to be cut out.









And they're side templates at this point.


















Now it's time to take the templates and make them out of the abs. The abs is going to be the base of the pod. There's going to be some body filler involved and some shaping, but the abs will give me my pod in itself, and then everything else will go on top of that. 









They're rough, but they'll work.









Hot glued the gauge fame in place, this way I can remove it later without issue.









Glued the sides in place.









Little heavy on this side! Oops!









Front view!


----------



## bginvestor

scooter99 said:


> Thank you sir! I was looking over your Ridgeline build! That thing is sick! I especially love your kicks! I contemplated doing the same thing, but I'm not sure about it or not. I'm not there yet so maybe i'll decide before then, but I think for my application, in the pillars would be better and easier to do.
> 
> Anyway, nice work!


thx. Yeah, kicks can great.. on some vehicles you have to be careful that the driver's side channels aren't blocked too much by the steering wheel and legs or else the sound stage will suffer..


----------



## scooter99

Time to make the top. Got my card board out for template. 









Then cut the abs with the template.









And glued it in place!









Can anyone see where this is going yet? Making more sense yet? 


















I then removed the frame to take it apart. At this time the front of the frame is what's going to permanently stay in the dash piece. The other piece, the back, is going to be what's removable. That way I can mold it in and make it look like one piece and not ruin the screen etc. 









And this is the "pod" you have left over! 


















a quick in place pic.









Now it's time to get the face in there and make it permanent. I guess there's a certain nervousness with this, but I'm assuming if I had to I could always get another one from Scan Gauge company. We'll see.


----------



## scooter99

Hot glued it in, so it would be in the place I wanted it in.









Time to get serious and make it permanent!









There you go! It's a little messy, but it'll sand down. Everything about the face will stay the same, with exception of the fact that you won't see the indentations next to each button, and the scan gauge symbol will go away as well. 









Here's another quick in place view! 









I love the way it looks, and if you look at it, you'll see that everything is visible around it. Nothing is obscured by the gauge itself. That was what I was looking for! 

So that's what I got done this weekend. I'm hoping to get some more done this week. The problem I'm having at the moment, is I'm going to have to go into "payoff" mode. My credit cards are pretty high again, and I need to get those paid off as well as a loan to my mom for the truck. Going to have to stop buying stuff, and start working on my overtime. That's going to start taking a lot of my weekday time up at night. Some weekend time as well. So this thing may slow down a bit, but I'll see what I can get squeezed in. I want to get those retros done, it's kind of my priority at the moment, before it starts getting dark at like noon (just kidding it's really like 430 around here.). Anyway, more to come.

Also, after thinking about my new design, I'm getting more and more excited about it. However, I'm thinking that ported enclosures are just not going to be able to happen with it. I'm going to do some foam mock ups to see if it'll work or not, but it's probably not going to be anytime this week. Like I said I have other things, even in the car, that are more important than that. But I'll have to get that done and then figure out what my air space is with that. Once that's done I'll know which direction I can go, meaning ported or sealed. 

Thanks for tuning in! Thanks for the support!


----------



## scooter99

Forgot, the converter shipped yesterday! Should have it by the weekend!


----------



## XpME36M3

Really great following this thread... much props to you. I must say that you have big balls doing all this work especially on a civic. I used to have a 2000 Si and i wouldnt even dare put over $1000 in stereo on it. My car got broken into and got the stereo stolen like 3 times. I worked at Circuit City at the time and the employee cost on car audio was ridiculously cheap so i just ended up getting some open box gear and my manager gladly hooked me up with the price. The 4th time they tried to take the whole car, but they failed since it had a broken timing belt at the time... LOL...

Wish i had 10% of your skills, i would be long done with my car by now... 

Here's to hoping that the converter you got works. Problem with HDMI (easily tested in Windows) is that you either get your sound from it or from an analog source, but not both at the same time. Something with outputting both Digital and Analog source at the same time. If im not mistaken the sound card can process one or the other at a time. Maybe the converter you got has some type of module to convert the digital signal from the HDMI and pass that through the RCA or 3.5mm Jack as an analog signal.


----------



## scooter99

Alright guys, I was home today cause my daughters bed was supposed to be delivered for her birthday. She turns 5 in a couple weeks. Anyway, I got her room all ready and then I just couldn't stand it anymore. I've been thinking about this to get my mind off the tablet stuff, since there's nothing I can really do about it at the moment but think about it. 

So here's what I did. I just couldn't help it. 

Got out the foam, tools, and sub! 









MOCK UP TIME!!






















































All the pieces are here and ready to be put together! 


















Looks like something out of a sci fi movie!


----------



## scooter99

But here's the end result! A mocked up sub at a fraction, a pfffff, of the weight!









Now, it's time to get busy! WOOHOO!! Can you tell I'm excited about this!!!!!??????!!!!

Got my floor cut, and the back wall cut.









Then I traced and cut out the center cut out pass thru.


















Sides









Now I took it out and started taping it together. I said originally that I was going to use hot glue for the foam mock ups. But I found out later, that the glue just melts through the foam after a certain point. So, tape it is! 









Just keep watching! 









Oh yeah getting closer!


----------



## scooter99

Taped up the "basket" of the sub mock up, cause I need to fill the enclosure with packing peanuts for my air space measurement. 









Here is the box of peanuts! 









Box measures 15" long by:









12" wide by:









10" deep for a total of 1.04 cu ft total. I also had some extra in a bag that I found in the corner among all the misc stuff. 









So I got it into the enclosure, and shook it around to settle it in, and level it out. This is what I ended up with. 









So I was left with 2 1/2 x 12 1/2 x 10 1/2 which equals a total of .19 cu ft. 



























So I added the 1.04 cu ft and the 0.19 cu ft and got a total of 1.23 cu ft!


----------



## scooter99

So I put her in the ride! There she is, the way she's gonna sit, mock up sub and all! HA! 









Oh but wait................there's more! What is this!?!?!?! 









What the hell is that for? Why is it in the middle there? Hmmmmmmmmm, what could it possibly be!?!

T

H

E

Y

C

A

L

L

T

H

I

S

SUSPENSE!!!!!

BAM!!! Here was my big idea! I love it, I love the way it potentially can look! I love the thought of what I can do with it! I love it! 









I didn't put a face on the enclosures. But that's ok! 

So here's the idea I'm after and I need to figure it out. I'd love nothing more than to have it suspended on wire or some kind of cable system or something like that, but my biggest issue is the wire, i.e. RCA's etc. I still am going to have those to deal with, so I may have to have some kind of arms for it. Would be cool if I could do some kind of Bars that I can paint black or orange or something like that, maybe galvanized pipe, and then cut the sides off and the wires can pass through there. I'll think of something! Sturdy and stealthy is what I'm after! 

Next is an issue I didn't see while I was doing the pieces in the car. I have the upper left and right back corners of the enclosure that hit the corners of the trunk. Now I think I can get around this problem by cutting the corners just for clearance, just enough to slide into the space right up to the back panel. Then, from the inside, I can put a piece to bridge that gap, and then I'll be fiberglassing and resining the corners anyway, so that should make up in strength. 

I also am pretty sure I'll have to do one in phase and one out of phase. Like a push pull type of deal. 

So there it is, the proverbial "cat" is out of the bag! Now, comes the response! Let me have it!


----------



## umadamba

OH MY GOD! You are OBSESSIVE! - I mean that in a good way!

I really admire how you keep this thread up to date and never tire posting.
I just wanted to let you know that it is very much appreciated and valued.

Hoping you figure out the audio issue with the tablet though. Like I mentioned I'm going in a similar direction. My stuff is just taking so long to arrive.


----------



## IBcivic




----------



## scooter99

Nice! HA! That button could kill someone if it lets go!


----------



## scooter99

I'm not sure if maybe I'm not explaining it correctly, or if I'm miss understanding some of you guys, or if I'm maybe just doing a 4th order application as it's been suggested and I don't know it. But this is the way I'm going with this. Here's a marked up picture:










I only angled the subs so that they would be seen better for showing. Otherwise they kind of get lost behind the bit one. I'm also thinking of adding some acrylic rings between them and the baffle and back lighting them, as well as something around the bit one. I'm just not sure how I'm going to pull it off just yet.


----------



## XpME36M3

Look what i found.... maybe the one you got is similar to this:

For only $54.00 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 4x2 True HDMI Matrix Switch w/ Analog Audio Output | Auto & Powered HDMI Switches


----------



## scooter99

Nice find, but no I got this one: Octava 1x2HDMI Splitter Distribution Amplifier with Toslink Audio Output. I'm hoping it'll be here tomorrow or latest friday, but if it's friday I won't be able to test it, cause i'm leaving from work to go to my sister in laws out of town. It's ok though, I've waited this long, what's another couple days.


----------



## bginvestor

When you said bars.. I thought of this.. The wires are very stealth.


----------



## scooter99

Ya know, I forgot about that build, but I've seen that and thank you cause that's a great idea! I could almost do a curved bend to it, and have a bar on top and on bottom. It'll be strong enough to hold and be sturdy, and wide enough to have all the wires ran through it. I like the way you think buddy!

That's off car audio electronics website isn't it?


----------



## bginvestor

scooter99 said:


> Ya know, I forgot about that build, but I've seen that and thank you cause that's a great idea! I could almost do a curved bend to it, and have a bar on top and on bottom. It'll be strong enough to hold and be sturdy, and wide enough to have all the wires ran through it. I like the way you think buddy!
> 
> That's off car audio electronics website isn't it?


I guess it was from an Al & EDs demo build. Very nice. 

Toyota Matrix Demo Vehicle Build - Install Logs - Car Audio and Electronics


----------



## scooter99

I sent them an email to see if I could get some other build pictures. Just for ideas! I think the tubing would be great though. Not sure about the chrome, but if nothing else I could always paint it. I'm also thinking if I did it in a roundy x shape too. That would be sweet! 

Something like this, bars in orange but not what the final color would be. It'll be something else, I THINK!:


----------



## scooter99

Ok folks here's the package I've been waiting for! WOOHOO!!! 



















Cute little optical cable. Meh! It was included. 










DUN....DUN....DUNNNNNNNNNNNNN



























It's not bad in size. Pretty small really. I guess it's about the same size as the other converter I just used. Here it's next to my car key for size reference. 









So there it is. I can't wait to get home and get it plugged in and see what happens. Problem is, I don't have my video monitors just yet, so I'm probably going to have to take it into my bedroom and use that monitor. That's gonna be a pain in the ass to deal with. Oh well, in the name of audio right! I do still need two more HDMI cables now. I'll have to order those when money comes in. Right now it's just not there so i can't just go ordering other gear. Maybe in a couple weeks. I may hook it up in the garage first, where it sits, and see if I can get some audio without having to hook the monitor up. Keep your fingers crossed! More later when I can!


----------



## scooter99

Ohhhhh boy do I have an update for you guys! We are golden and I mean golden with a capital G!! 

I could not wait to get home and try out the new converter, so I did just that. I was able to get off work a little bit early due to having to go run work errands. So after all that I came home and changed and grabbed the tablet and the camera and a positive attitude. Got it all hooked up and it's a go baby!! WOOOOO. Ok so I have some pictures, but I also have a video that explains and shows everything working. I'm very very excited about this and I cannot wait to move forward to phase two! 

New Converter









Speakers, and Bit One DRC









Wired up and ready to go.









"ignition" switch.









Rca inputs









Outputs









Into the amp









Tablet and dock









Battery hooked up









And the video! Apparently I could only get 10minutes, but I had another minute and 23 seconds or something like that. But here you go, it'll explain everything! 


So there it is. All done, working, and ready for a couple HDMI ported head rest monitors. AS SOON AS SOMEONE BUYS THE OTHER ONES! COME ON!!! 

Anyway, this was a huge leap forward and I'm ready for phase two which will be starting on the dash bezel and getting the tablet molded in! 

Oh happy day!


----------



## umadamba

What happened to my post?

Anyway, all I in essence said was, the Octava unit is too expensive for me right now. Mods, what was wrong with my previous post?


----------



## screamatamonkey

Dude, I am so stoked about this! 

Like I said in one of my previous posts, I've been thinking about throwing a Galaxy tablet into my civic for a while now, but after that first scare of yours I was a little gun-shy. I've got my system running off of the headphone jack on my phone right now, and to be honest I don't like the sound quality. Obviously I can't speak to the sound quality coming out of the tablet, but I would much rather run all digital than have to worry about the integrity of a 1/8" headphone cable. 

I'm glad that you're being the guinea pig and clearing the hurdles for all of us out here! I can't wait for the next steps, keep up the good work!!!


----------



## screamatamonkey

I do have a question though...

Is there any reason why you went with the 1x2 HDMI converter instead of the 1x1?

1x1 HDMI Audio Converter. Extract audio from HDMI to Optical Toslink. Full 1080P resolution.


----------



## justfuz

that is so cool... I love how you geek out over everything, totally see my self doing the same thing. After watching this video and reading the build log its getting me thinking about what to do next after i get my install done. Keep it up!!


----------



## trojan fan

amitaF said:


>



x2....exactly....48 pages and counting


----------



## bginvestor

I think scooter's build has some momentum right now....


----------



## IBcivic

trojan fan said:


> x2....exactly....48 pages and counting


Quit staring at the boobs:laugh::laugh::laugh:.... it says "I like where this thread is going"


----------



## scooter99

screamatamonkey said:


> I do have a question though...
> 
> Is there any reason why you went with the 1x2 HDMI converter instead of the 1x1?
> 
> 1x1 HDMI Audio Converter. Extract audio from HDMI to Optical Toslink. Full 1080P resolution.


Yes there is. I don't know if I've given a final list of what's going on, but I'll do it here and that will make way more sense and answer your question as well. 

So in my application I needed rear head rest monitors. I need them specifically so that I can provide video entertainment for my daughters in the back seat. I actually did a test for them with just the tablet in place and while my 6 year old can see it fine from the passenger side, my 4 year old cannot cause my shoulder is in the way. She has to lean over pretty far to see it clearly and it's just not worth the risk of an accident while shes leaning over or even what long term neck issues she might have by doing that. So that being said, I couldn't just do away with the monitors, plus the fact that ever since I've taken them out a few months ago, that's the first question they ask me when they get in my car, which is daily, "daddy when are you going to put the tv's back in?" So it's pretty much a necessity now. I've spoiled my kids, I know. 

So that being said, I had two options. I thought maybe I could get audio out of the back of the dock, 3.5mm jack, and then the video out of the HDMI port. Then I found out that wouldn't work, cause I can't use both. One shuts off the other. Not sure if that makes sense to you, but it's the way it is. SO I have to use the HDMI port simply for the fact that I need video out along with audio out. 

I bought the last converter, thinking it would be a cheap fix to this, and it didn't work. We all saw that I think. So with that not working, not being able to get an RCA video out, I had to find monitors that would take an HDMI port input. 

I originally looked at the Octava 1 x 1 converter you posted, and thought that was great. Then I got to thinking that I still need a splitter cause I'm going to two head rest monitors with the HDMI signal. 

So I emailed Octava asking some other questions regarding that, I've been working together with them trying to solve this mystery and they've been more than helpful with the project. Big thumbs up to them. Anyway, so after a few emails back and forth, we decided for an extra 20.00 I could get the 1 x 2 that I got, which will do the same thing as the 1 x 1 but has a built in splitter on board. A splitter, one that's worth a crap any way, was going to cost $50.00 or more. So for $20.00 I got the best of both worlds in one converter. Also means I don't have to run another box back there either. Less pieces the better I think. 

The next big hurdle was audio and video. The big question was, "can I retain audio function, when I turn off the video monitors?" Well as you can tell by the video, that is possible 100% with this application. This converter basically is the "handshake" between the tablet and the HDMI input here. Normally you have to have a video feed to "handshake" with the source and that's the only way you can get audio and video. When Octava emailed their response to me, they said basically, that they've experienced both issues and they thought maybe it was a source definition. So if the source has some certain codes, or whatever I'm not a computer guy so it's all spanish to me, then the monitor would have to be on for the "handshake" to retain audio. But they also said the if it doesn't work the way I need it to, call them and i can return it, and they'd start working on a module for my solution. Like I said they were very helpful. So in my case, like you saw, I had no HDMI output inserted, and it worked beautifully. 

Why did I need to worry about this? Well for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, I don't want to have to worry about buying new screens in a year or so cause these had to be on all the time. I wanted to have the ability to turn them off when my daughters, or anyone else for that matter, were not in the car. This will prolong the life of the screens and money in my pocket book as well. Second reason, was I didn't want to have them on for no reason so I'm not "that guy", you know the guy who has 10 screens in his 1993 Buick Regal with 30" wheels and speakers in his grill, painted sun yellow, and has all screens playing cause he can. I hate that guy! He irritates the hell out of me. I don't want to be that guy. So I want to turn them off! Now, I don't have to worry about it, cause I can turn them off and have audio working when they're off. Great! 

So that's basically where I'm at. I do have another little glitch I have to figure out, I'll get to that in a bit in a little update. Hope that helps bring you up to speed, and everyone else, as well as answers your question. 

I don't mind being the guinea pig. It's kind of fun. I enjoy a little challenge every now and then. I hope when this is all done, I can be of some help to others considering this. 



justfuz said:


> that is so cool... I love how you geek out over everything, totally see my self doing the same thing. After watching this video and reading the build log its getting me thinking about what to do next after i get my install done. Keep it up!!


I think I geek out over it all, cause I'm easily entertained. I have ideas flowing through my head all the time. Sometimes so badly that I can't sleep at night until I get on the computer or write them down or somehow get it out of my head enough to turn it off. Sometimes I can't and i literally work my brain to exhaustion and that's what puts me to sleep. Anyway, so to take those ideas and sometimes make them work, it excites me. Hopefully at the same time, my excitement can entertain you guys at the same time! I know it's hard to read a lot of stuff on here, most people just want pics and see stuff in motion. But there's much more to a build that throwing some wood together or fiber glassing this or that. There's a lot of thinking and brain work involved and I want to put that down on here so everyone really kind of grasps what's going on behind the scenes. To see directions, ideas, and basically live in my head with me. Scary I know! LMAO! So if you're going to read, I try to at least make it entertaining for you all to do so. 



trojan fan said:


> x2....exactly....48 pages and counting


What are you confused about? Maybe you need a drink! That helps me sometimes! :beerchug:



bginvestor said:


> I think scooter's build has some momentum right now....


I'm trying to maintain that too right now. I have so much going on with it, the successful bench test WHICH WAS HUGE, the trial and error with the sub box, and other things that I'm ready to go on. I don't want to slack off, but with my schedule, it's not easy to keep up on. Time for me is such a rarity anymore, when I do get free time, it's hard not to just sit on the couch next to my lovely and just enjoy the tv, read a book, or just enjoy some quite time to decompress. Hopefully I can keep this stuff going. I'm guessing when this build is done, it'll be closer to 100 pages. That's a little scary. But at the same time, I'm hoping that most of those pages will be pictures and videos! WOOHOO!


----------



## scooter99

amitaF said:


> Quit staring at the boobs:laugh::laugh::laugh:.... it says "I like where this thread is going"


I can't stop looking at them. I'm a boob guy and those are AAAAAWWWEEESOME!!!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so here's the update. Well not really an update, but more like thoughts and just getting things down on paper again. 

I have some decisions to make and some more research to do on the tablet install. I've got, as you can see above in the response to screamatamonkey's queston, most of this figured out and I think I'm ready to go on the install. I know what to hook up, how it's going to work, what I need to do, etc. 

I went to the MECA event in San Jose this weekend and took a look a Bing's installs, Vince's ride and some of his installs, and some other vehicles as well. First let me give credit where it's due. 

Bing, I appreciate more than I can tell you, taking just the couple minutes out of your busy schedule to talk to me and look at my mock up sub enclosure. I heard what you said and I'm going to take that into account. 

Second, you're work is better in person than pictures could ever do justice for. You're a true inspiration to me, and I very much look up to you and the skills you have and have shared with us on this site. That Porsche is a Top Tier install in my book and I felt honored to actually see that in person. Truly amazing to see. 

Vince, I have to say basically the same thing. You've done a lot for me, from install advise to product delivery, and just being available at these shows to talk to and hang with. Ryan's camero is an absolute beauty and you guys hit it out of the park with that one. For those of you who haven't seen it, it's kind of a Giants theme, hence the lame "out of the park" phrase. It really is a sick ass build. Love it! 

Both of these are Giants type builds and I love them both. Now that that's over with, I'll get on with my stuff. BTW who won what this weekend. I'd love to hear from you guys, Bing or Vince! 

Ok, so being at the show this weekend did one thing for me. First, my brain almost exploded with information and build ideas and the like. I'm sure my head was smoking by the time I left there. I couldn't stay long enough to hear any cars, they were all prepping for judging etc. But to look at the installs and the details and stuff that goes into them, I did two things. 

One, I felt as though my thoughts and ideas were right on track with what I've seen out there as far as competition. Second, I came to the realization that I have to figure out a way to incorporate a cd player in the car if I'm going to ever compete. I may not, and I've never said I would one way or another, but if I do decide to compete, I have no CD player in the system design right now. 

So that brings me to my current decision making dilemma. 

Do I put one in, for the "just in case" side of me if I do compete?

If I do, what do I put in?

Here are my options. 

Option #1 - I'm trying not to have any head unit in my car at all. I don't want one, which is why I was going to the tablet install. So my first option is going to be to try and figure out if I can do an external cd rom drive outside of the tablet. 
Can it be operated by the tablet? 
Will I be able to operate a USB hub as well as power the tablet through the hub which will be somehow powered by the car charger? 
Can I get around the car charger? 
If I get a powered usb hub, will it have enough power to charge the tablet?
These are the major questions I have to answer in order for this to work with a cd rom. 

Option #2 - This would be the option I don't want to go with, but if option 1 doesn't work, I'll be forced to go with. I'll have to go with a single din head unit for the cd playing. There are two things here that create some minor problems. 

First - In competition you want the best cleanest sound possible. SO in this case I'd want the digital signal (optical) going here. So, I first would have to find a unit that is capable of carrying that signal. 

Second - If I go with the optical signal here, I'd have the problem of having the optical signal from the converter and the tablet, as well as the optical signal from the head unit. The Bit One only has one optical input. So I could either find a way to split the optical, which I don't even know if that's possible to do which is where the research comes in, or I could simply have the cd player optical unplugged until I would be ready for competition. The tablet would be an everyday thing, and the cd player would be a once in a while thing. So, do I just simply unplug the cd player optical, and then have the tablet optical in all the time, or do I find another way? 

So as you can plainly see, I have some more things to look into. The drives, head unit or cd drive, placement will most likely (95%) be in the glove box. I think it's the best place for it given the area and things on the dash. I've got lots going on there, and if it's only used once in a while, it doesn't need to be out and visible for everyone to see. 

That's about all I've got for now. Back to research and design I guess. So the tablet went from 99% on the design, to about 75%. I'll know more in the next couple of days. Maybe even by the end of the day, but I doubt it. I'm curious to hear input on this stuff. 

I'm going to work hard on the shrouds this week. Try and get 20 - 30 minutes a night done. Maybe by next weekend I can have those done and ready to do the headlights. Keep fingers crossed. 

Thanks for checking in!


----------



## screamatamonkey

If you end up going the CD player route, you could always get this:

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-sq-forum-technical-advanced/100887-mosconi-dsp-6to8-pics.html

You'll notice the 2 optical inputs. I don't really have any info on it outside of what the article says but it looks promising, and it could be an answer to your multiple signal source issue.


----------



## bginvestor

scooter99 said:


> Ok so here's the update. Well not really an update, but more like thoughts and just getting things down on paper again.
> 
> I have some decisions to make and some more research to do on the tablet install. I've got, as you can see above in the response to screamatamonkey's queston, most of this figured out and I think I'm ready to go on the install. I know what to hook up, how it's going to work, what I need to do, etc.
> 
> I went to the MECA event in San Jose this weekend and took a look a Bing's installs, Vince's ride and some of his installs, and some other vehicles as well. First let me give credit where it's due.
> 
> Bing, I appreciate more than I can tell you, taking just the couple minutes out of your busy schedule to talk to me and look at my mock up sub enclosure. I heard what you said and I'm going to take that into account.
> 
> Second, you're work is better in person than pictures could ever do justice for. You're a true inspiration to me, and I very much look up to you and the skills you have and have shared with us on this site. That Porsche is a Top Tier install in my book and I felt honored to actually see that in person. Truly amazing to see.
> 
> Vince, I have to say basically the same thing. You've done a lot for me, from install advise to product delivery, and just being available at these shows to talk to and hang with. Ryan's camero is an absolute beauty and you guys hit it out of the park with that one. For those of you who haven't seen it, it's kind of a Giants theme, hence the lame "out of the park" phrase. It really is a sick ass build. Love it!
> 
> Both of these are Giants type builds and I love them both. Now that that's over with, I'll get on with my stuff. BTW who won what this weekend. I'd love to hear from you guys, Bing or Vince!
> 
> Ok, so being at the show this weekend did one thing for me. First, my brain almost exploded with information and build ideas and the like. I'm sure my head was smoking by the time I left there. I couldn't stay long enough to hear any cars, they were all prepping for judging etc. But to look at the installs and the details and stuff that goes into them, I did two things.
> 
> One, I felt as though my thoughts and ideas were right on track with what I've seen out there as far as competition. Second, I came to the realization that I have to figure out a way to incorporate a cd player in the car if I'm going to ever compete. I may not, and I've never said I would one way or another, but if I do decide to compete, I have no CD player in the system design right now.
> 
> So that brings me to my current decision making dilemma.
> 
> Do I put one in, for the "just in case" side of me if I do compete?
> 
> If I do, what do I put in?
> 
> Here are my options.
> 
> Option #1 - I'm trying not to have any head unit in my car at all. I don't want one, which is why I was going to the tablet install. So my first option is going to be to try and figure out if I can do an external cd rom drive outside of the tablet.
> Can it be operated by the tablet?
> Will I be able to operate a USB hub as well as power the tablet through the hub which will be somehow powered by the car charger?
> Can I get around the car charger?
> If I get a powered usb hub, will it have enough power to charge the tablet?
> These are the major questions I have to answer in order for this to work with a cd rom.
> 
> Option #2 - This would be the option I don't want to go with, but if option 1 doesn't work, I'll be forced to go with. I'll have to go with a single din head unit for the cd playing. There are two things here that create some minor problems.
> 
> First - In competition you want the best cleanest sound possible. SO in this case I'd want the digital signal (optical) going here. So, I first would have to find a unit that is capable of carrying that signal.
> 
> Second - If I go with the optical signal here, I'd have the problem of having the optical signal from the converter and the tablet, as well as the optical signal from the head unit. The Bit One only has one optical input. So I could either find a way to split the optical, which I don't even know if that's possible to do which is where the research comes in, or I could simply have the cd player optical unplugged until I would be ready for competition. The tablet would be an everyday thing, and the cd player would be a once in a while thing. So, do I just simply unplug the cd player optical, and then have the tablet optical in all the time, or do I find another way?
> 
> So as you can plainly see, I have some more things to look into. The drives, head unit or cd drive, placement will most likely (95%) be in the glove box. I think it's the best place for it given the area and things on the dash. I've got lots going on there, and if it's only used once in a while, it doesn't need to be out and visible for everyone to see.
> 
> That's about all I've got for now. Back to research and design I guess. So the tablet went from 99% on the design, to about 75%. I'll know more in the next couple of days. Maybe even by the end of the day, but I doubt it. I'm curious to hear input on this stuff.
> 
> I'm going to work hard on the shrouds this week. Try and get 20 - 30 minutes a night done. Maybe by next weekend I can have those done and ready to do the headlights. Keep fingers crossed.
> 
> Thanks for checking in!


I want to check out these builds. Do you have the links on this forum? thx.


----------



## scooter99

Check out Simplicityinsounds profile, he has a TON of installs on here. That's bing. He's on right now, or at least his profile is on. Plenty of reading to do there. 

Vince's stuff is mostly on his website. HERE

Check em out, they do awesome work!


----------



## scooter99

Ok well according to Samsung, and that's the only place I've gone so far to look, I cannot put an external cd/dvd drive to the tablet. So that being said, and I'll keep looking, I guess I'm going to be forced into a head unit specifically for the competitions if that's the direction I want to go. 

So now I need to research units to see what I'd go with if that moment arises.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so here's what I'm thinking. If I do decide to go with a head unit and I do decide to compete, this might be the best way to go about it. Aside of just doing analog, which may be my option and just go with that, I guess I can also have the option of utilizing the digital coax input on the bit one. 

I could use the analog out on the head unit, split it, going to this, then to the bit one with the coax, and then the other analog into the Aux 1. I think that could work. Wouldn't cost a ton of money. I could probably actually use the Alpine CDA-9886 I bought for my truck. But that would eliminate some cost. The converter costs about 85.00. The rest is easy peasy! 

We'll see how I feel about that!


----------



## trojan fan

What is going on with this build....

get-r-done....:laugh:


----------



## scooter99

Lots and lots of things. Final planning stages of the audio, finishing the retro headlights, getting ready to start the audio build! Lots of stuff going on, whatdaya wanna know?!?!


----------



## trojan fan

scooter99 said:


> Lots and lots of things. Final planning stages of the audio, finishing the retro headlights, getting ready to start the audio build! Lots of stuff going on, whatdaya wanna know?!?!


Was just wondering why this thread has dragged on for 49 pages ...


----------



## scooter99

Did you just skip to the end or did you read all 49 pages? I actually explained on page 48 post #1200 where I multi quoted everyone why it's so long. And again I asked there the same question I'll ask again. What are you so confused about?


----------



## trojan fan

scooter99 said:


> Did you just skip to the end or did you read all 49 pages? I actually explained on page 48 post #1200 where I multi quoted everyone why it's so long. And again I asked there the same question I'll ask again. What are you so confused about?


After reading page 1, I figured it out it's the OCD...:dead_horse:

It has YOU confused ....that stuff can be nasty :laugh:


----------



## scooter99

Hmm. Ok, well I'm not exactly sure how to take that, so if it's a joke, HA! If not, then well, I don't have time for it. I'll just move on. 

But if I were you, which obviously I'm not, I would take a few hours and read beyond page 1, cause I'm not sure but unless I forgot, I'm sure I'm pretty detailed in all the updates I post. So it probably explains the evolution of this project. Now if you don't wanna read it, that's on you, but you're going to miss out on why it's is where it is. And I'd say if you don't then you should reserve judgment until you have all the facts. 

That said, I have updates if anyone cares. I'm uploading pics now.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so first things first, I had some time to take tonight to do some sanding. Lots of sanding. I decided today that I'd try to take at least 30 minutes a night and get some of this stuff done for the headlights. I did that tonight. Here's the end result. 

This is the original one. The passenger side shroud. I took it off the taped projector and did some sanding, and it was ready for the final (what I hope is the final) coat of filler. 



























Got the premium bondo ready. Can't afford Rage and don't have any. Bondo will have to be it. 



























After that was done, I set it aside to dry, and that'll sit till tomorrow. I like how it turned out though. After looking at it a bit, I am confident that tomorrow it will be done, I'll put some high build primer on it, and then I should be able to paint it and it should be ready. We'll see. Maybe I'll do a little wet sand and then prime it again. It's going to depend on how it turns out tomorrow night. 

Now on to the rough one. This is the driver side shroud. As you can see there's A L O T of work to be done with this one. I noticed that it's off in shape too from the passenger side one. Not a big deal to most and probably not noticeable to some, but I know it, I saw it and yes that's where the OCD problem is. So I'll have to see about fixing that. I'll get to that later. Here we go.

Off of the projector and ready for some sanding.


















Got it mostly sanded, still needs some work, but I ran into a little problem. This one didn't build up underneath like the first one. So around the inside where it meets the projector, it's broken off about half of the ring. So that'll have to be fixed now. I can tell, this is going to end up being my problem shroud.


----------



## scooter99

After I sanded a little more I put some more filler around the outer areas of the hole for the projector. On the upper right of the shroud, you can see where I went over a big spot. That's where it's a different shape. On this one it sunk down there, and on the other one it was up and nice and tight looking. So I'll have to build that up a few times to get it to look right. I think other than just some more work on it, it'll be just fine. 









And lastly she went back on the projector and I filled it in again. This time I jammed quite a bit in there. I noticed that on the other one, it was a little tight around the projector. I think when I put the filler in there, it jammed in around the outer housing and in the end it's allowed for a nice tight fit around the projector. I don't think it'll be doing any moving like I was worried about. 









Definitely going to have a lot more sanding on this one! 

So next I decided to work on the Scan Gauge pod. Since I had the sanding gear out and the filler out as well. Thought I'd get a sand on it and the base coat of filler. I'm going to have to figure out how I'm going to shape this out. I think square will look ok, but there are alot of curves on the dash. I'm considering flaring and curving it out on the bottom a bit. To match the sides sort of. I'll have to look at is as I work on it. 

Pictures are pretty self explanatory. Check em out!




































Filled roughly.









Now in this picture you can see pretty well what i'm talking about as far as the curves go. You can see on the dash piece itself in the background, that it's got a nice curve or round on it. Then you see the gauge pod and it's sharp around the edges. I have to figure out what I'm going to do about that as I go. 


















So that's pretty much it. About 45 minutes worth of work. Should be more tomorrow. Thanks for checking in!


----------



## trojan fan

:wrongforum: It's posts like this ^^^ that has me confused, this is a car audio forum. save that stuff for a civic forum, I'm sure they would appreciate it more....

Please post pics that are relevant to your build


----------



## trojan fan

n_olympios said:


> I'm here. You know what though? I think I can safely state on behalf of most of us: less talk, more pics man.



exactly...and your talking 100 pages now :bash:

Get all your ducks in line and finish this build then start a new thread with a short and sweet version of it with relevant pics....right now this build thread is a hard read


----------



## The Crooner

trojan fan said:


> exactly...and your talking 100 pages now :bash:
> 
> Get all your ducks in line and finish this build then start a new thread with a short and sweet version of it with relevant pics....right now this build thread is a hard read


Then dont read it, and let those of us who do read it in peace.

There is an off button, grow up and learn to use it.

Oh, and quit whining like a spoilt girl - your petulance make me sick.

Tony


----------



## FLYONWALL9

If you haven't done it already I think I would suspend the BitONE
from behind. Hide plexi rods or thin aluminum rods. You could mount
it on a 1/4" piece of plexi or aluminum plate then drill and tap the 
plate to accept the suspension rods. This way it will really look like
its hanging in mid air.

I think in this case LESS is def more. The less material you use the
better the effect. Perhaps if you use plexi rods you could use smoked
plexi mirrors to mount the subs in so that you appear to give the viewer
a way to see how its mounted. But in using smoked plexi mirror it should
hide the plexi rods to a degree. Just thinking out loud....

Or is some way you could get a plexi shop to make you some dowels out
of smoked plexi along with using smoked plexi to hold the BitONE that may
even hide better?
Lastly I think perhaps do a summery at the end of the build with a few 
pics showing enough of the build to hook readers into going through all
the pages. Rather than starting a completely new thread.

Cheers,
Scott


----------



## IBcivic

The Crooner said:


> Then dont read it, and let those of us who do read it in peace.


X2


----------



## scooter99

Look Trojan, I'm sorry to dissappoint you, but your words aren't going to influence me to change what I'm doing. It's an all over build, I'm pretty sure I stated that in a post about 1000 posts ago (it's somewhere that's not a specific number). You're not the first person to get all butt hurt cause it's not just audio. I'm also not the first person on this site to do an all over build. 

I'm also sorry that I wasted your time and that you might have wanted to see more audio, but it just hasn't gotten that far yet. 

Maybe I should see if the mods could change the name to include performance and audio or something like that so lazy ass people like you who don't want to read the whole thing would know right away that it's not JUST AUDIO. 

I know, it's an audio forum. I signed on here. Matter of fact I've been on here since December of 2008. That's in my avatar on the side but you probably didn't want to read that either. Bottom line is this, other than being an ass, what's the point in even stating this, especially when you haven't read the whole thing? <----REAL QUESTION! I don't get it. Did you really think I'd say, oh you know what you're right I should just stick to 8thcivic.com for the performance side of things and keep the audio here. If you did, you're an idiot! 

I've had people following this thing since three builds ago. It's not the perfect build thread no, and I'd probably sum it up at the end, and might just re post some pics of final pieces. But it's here, here to stay, and when and if I get to 100 pages, I'll celebrate! Why, cause that means I'll have stuck with it and actually finished it, which I completely plan to do. 

Honestly, I'm not actually sorry about those things above, it was me just trying to be nice. 

And I do have a build thread on 8thcivic.com. <----Clicky Course now you'll probably go over there and ***** about the audio portion telling me that it's a civic site not and audio site and that my audio stuff would be more appreciated over on DIYMA.com. Cause it's a civic site not and audio site. 

Do me a favor, hang out, check it out, follow along if you want, I don't really care. But keep your mouth shut from now on. I don't need someone who doesn't have the desire to read a whole thread before passing judgement on my thread. 

Other than that, enjoy, and I do mean that. Have a nice day! 


TO EVERYONE ELSE;

I have to get things done to get my girls to school, I just took time out this morning for that, I'll answer the rest later! Sorry!


----------



## The A Train

I think you have just convinced me to build that same pod for my scangauge! that is a great idea. have an idea on how much that panel was that you cut up? i definitly would buy me a spare for this!


----------



## trojan fan

What flavor of koolaid are you guys drinking....:laugh:


----------



## scooter99

FLYONWALL9 said:


> If you haven't done it already I think I would suspend the BitONE
> from behind. Hide plexi rods or thin aluminum rods. You could mount
> it on a 1/4" piece of plexi or aluminum plate then drill and tap the
> plate to accept the suspension rods. This way it will really look like
> its hanging in mid air.
> 
> *I'm trying to understand this, what you're explaining. Where exactly are talking about from behind? Are you talking about mounting the rods to the back of the box where the pass through it and then have it extend out in that space? Or are you talking about mounting it from the bottom or top and extend down?*
> 
> I think in this case LESS is def more. The less material you use the
> better the effect. Perhaps if you use plexi rods you could use smoked
> plexi mirrors to mount the subs in so that you appear to give the viewer
> a way to see how its mounted. But in using smoked plexi mirror it should
> hide the plexi rods to a degree. Just thinking out loud....
> 
> *Are you talking here about mounting a piece of mirrored plexi to the whole face the sub sits on. So it would go, mdf, mirrored plexi, sub? I can see how that would look sweet. I wonder what effect it would have if it was back lit. Something to think about.*
> 
> Or is some way you could get a plexi shop to make you some dowels out
> of smoked plexi along with using smoked plexi to hold the BitONE that may
> even hide better?
> 
> *Again something to think about. Maybe I could just use window spray tint and spray regular rods and plexi and get the same effect. I like all your ideas. Gives me some directions to think about going!*
> 
> Lastly I think perhaps do a summery at the end of the build with a few
> pics showing enough of the build to hook readers into going through all
> the pages. Rather than starting a completely new thread.
> 
> *My original plan with all this is to get it done, then I'm going to make a report or summary, maybe even a different thread which will please the hell out of some people ehem ehem, that takes each part of the build, and describes what was done along with pictures to support it. I'm also going to make that into a book so if I do ever decide to show it, I'll have a book to describe the install. I'm just nowhere near that part yet.*
> 
> Cheers,
> Scott





amitaF said:


> X2


WHAAAAATTTT, you can read! I'm so happy for you! Phonics finally worked for you!?!!?!?!



ameuba10 said:


> I think you have just convinced me to build that same pod for my scangauge! that is a great idea. have an idea on how much that panel was that you cut up? i definitly would buy me a spare for this!


I believe, if you go to Collegehillshonda.com, that the panel is about $15.00. Not much at all. Definitely worth it to go do it. Good luck I would love to see it when you're done! Feel free to ask any questions! 

To Trojan - See, people like Ameuba are the reason I post it all here. I post everything in all my forums. Cause you never know when someone needs help or has an idea and could stumble on something I'm doing that is similar to their idea. It's all about helping others not telling them how to make a thread, or where it should go. Think about it! 



So for everyone here, I've got a question that I think I know the answer to but I want to ask you guys who might know for sure. 

As everyone knows I'm using three small batteries in this build. One up front for standard duties, and then two in back for audio duties. I would like to do two Stinger Voltage Meters in the car, so I can monitor the voltage in the batteries. Up front is not an issue, pretty straight forward. 

The rear batteries, I want to use one meter to monitor both batteries. Both batteries will be combined so they're running strapped. Here's a little diagram of what I want to do. Then I'll describe it below that, so everyone is clear. 










So my battery wiring plan is this. I did not put all the pieces in there. I'm going to be redoing the big 3 when I get the H/O alternator installed. When that happens, I'll be going all 1/0Ga, although it is now. Just could be cleaner. 

So I'll be going Alt to battery, or alt to h/o relay (I can't remember.) I think either way will work fine. Anyway, then I'll have the front battery just specifically for the engine, and the other normal car duties. Standard stuff. The meter will go on that battery or on the alternator? 

Then there's the rear batteries. I'm going to go ahead and run dual 1/0 lines to them. I'm putting one on each side of the trunk. So I'll be going from the other side of the H/O Relay with two 1/0 Ga cables one going to each battery. Then off the batteries, I'm going to be using an Audison SFD-41C multi distribution block. Half the amps on one, half on the other. I was going to take the positive wire for the meter, and run one from each distribution block and connect them and then go to the meter. Is that going to give me an accurate reading between the two batteries? It should right?

The other option I can do, is these beautiful distribution blocks have a pass through port for the positive cable. I can put on in one end, and then one in the other. So I could, in theory, connect both batteries together in the back like that. Does that make sense? Then I can run my single wire from the meter to the connection. 

Anyone care to shed some light on this? Good, bad, other? Thanks!


----------



## estione

Just an observation but how can you keep check on two batteries with only the one meter like you are showing??


----------



## scooter99

If they're both strapped together it shouldn't be a problem. I wouldn't think anyway. If you take two batteries, strap them together, pos to pos, neg to neg, and then run the meter off the positive, it should read fine. 

But then, that's why I posted up to ask.


----------



## estione

Ok it's just that you are showing two cables coming off the s/relay ( one to each battery?? ) so if you are taking the meter off one of the audison block's then surely you cant be getting a true reading, well not off both anyway, Still luv reading your thread though


----------



## joselmartinez

scooter99 said:


> If they're both strapped together it shouldn't be a problem. I wouldn't think anyway. If you take two batteries, strap them together, pos to pos, neg to neg, and then run the meter off the positive, it should read fine.
> 
> But then, that's why I posted up to ask.



According to the 12volt and DC law's this is the way it works.


----------



## scooter99

Thanks, my thought was where the two cables were coming off the relay, was essentially strapping it. Cause they're right on top of each other on the same terminal. 

However, in thinking about it while I was writing it out, that's kind of why I mentioned the out ports on the distribution blocks. So there would be a cable going from one block to the next, and that would bridge the gap between the two.


----------



## scooter99

joselmartinez said:


> According to the 12volt and DC law's this is the way it works.


Thanks for checking that. I always forget to go over there!


----------



## estione

However, in thinking about it while I was writing it out, that's kind of why I mentioned the out ports on the distribution blocks. So there would be a cable going from one block to the next, and that would bridge the gap between the two.[/QUOTE]

Ahh i did'nt see that bit :blush::blush:


----------



## scooter99

No problem.


----------



## FLYONWALL9

When I'm on my meds I often ramble and can go off in different directions. Sorry for that.

Here is what I was getting at. It looks as if the hole cut in the front of the box (seat backs) is smaller than the bit one. So what you can do is either take the back off the bit one and install screws through its back to attach plexi rods, dowels, or all thread. If you didn't want to drill small holes in the back plate of it you can then use a piece of plexi or aluminum plate the exact size and screw it to that. Use the plate to then hold the dowels, rods whatever. If you want to light up something I would only light this piece in the area of the box. What I would do is frost or use VERY light sandpaper to sand the edges of the plexi plate. I would then use very flat small LED's. You would cut or route the plexi where you want the lights to be to recess it into the plexi. I may even then paint the back side so that in no way could you see the light through the mirrored sub baffles. Your description is correct, MDF, mirrored plexi then sub. You are going to want to cut it out so the sub doesn't rest on the plexi. What I mean is cut the plexi to the outside diameter and use something like 3m 5200 to fasten it to the box. Now, if you used hollow plexi rod you could then run the wires for the LED's through those rods. 

I really don't think any kind of spray would stick and have the same properties as it would on glass. I couldn't answer to that. If your going to that trouble I would think money wise it may be less just buying it already smoked and mirrored. But I have not looked into this. 

We built mirror boxes back in the day to fool the eye into thinking more subs were in the box then you really have. That said if you have two mirrors one being the sub side the other being the rods, it may fool your eye into thinking your not seeing the rods at all. Giving the effect of the bitONE hovering in space.


Mirror - Plexiglass Mirrored Acrylic - Order Online - Cut-To-Size 
ACRYLIC - PLEXIGLASS - Page Links to Acrylic Products For Sale

example of the plexi tube. Again, you could frost the outside of it if you would want the tube to glow and put the lights on the inside.
Acrylic Plexiglass Tube (EXTRUDED ACRYLIC PLEXIGLASS TUBE) Order Online

If you want you can PM me and we can hash it out that way VS adding more words to your thread. Some folks only look at photo's.


----------



## scooter99

No it's ok. I think I get what you mean. I'll have to think about all that and see what I come up with. I'll think about it more and try to better understand what you mean. 

Thanks for the links!


----------



## IBcivic

trojan fan said:


> What flavor of koolaid are you guys drinking....:laugh:


Hopefully not the flavors you're into...


----------



## scooter99

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH


lmao


----------



## FLYONWALL9

:beerchug::rockon:


----------



## Tarheels1

ameuba10 said:


> I think you have just convinced me to build that same pod for my scangauge! that is a great idea. have an idea on how much that panel was that you cut up? i definitly would buy me a spare for this!


What IS YOUR LATEST PROJECT?


----------



## scooter99

Tarheels1 said:


> What IS YOUR LATEST PROJECT?


Umm, I don't really have a latest project. I have a bunch going on at one time really. 

Currently I'm working on:

Headlight projector retrofits - doing the custom shrouds at the moment. When those are done, they'll be ready to wire up, aim, and install. 

Scan Gauge II custom dash pod - Doing some body filler and sanding then covering. 

Fog light projector retrofits - Haven't started these yet, but once I do they'll go a hell of a lot faster than the headlights did. Should be able to do these in a weekend. 

Otherwise, I've got testing for the tablet going on which is pretty much done, trying to sell my head rest monitors to get new HDMI input ones, mocking up my sub enclosure and designing how I want my processor to go in. 

Like I said I have a lot of stuff going on at once! 

I'm going to be making a little summary of what's going in, where it's going, and how it's going in, today. It's going to take me some time to do, but it will bring everyone up to speed on the latest and, what I'm hoping to be, the final design and plan. 

When that's done I'll post it up with pics and whatever else is needed. 

Stay tuned!


----------



## scooter99

Update:

Ok, so last night, I did not get to do any work on my shrouds. When I got home there was this tension in the air, my wife looked frustrated, and my kids were bouncing off the walls (hence her frustration). So I had to play superman when I got home and bring things back down to earth, on top of make dinner (bbq pork chops, rice a roni, and steamed veggies), fix the tv that the kids were upset about not working (got a new cable box this morning), and give my wife a break that she much needed! 

So by the time all that was done, showers for the girls were done, and we had some free time to ourselves, we kind of just crashed! Busy night! 

Hopefully I'll make up some time lost from last night tonight, as well as tonights work!


----------



## scooter99

Ok folks, here's the deal! I'm halting everything for now. Only a little bit of time. I'm working on something that you guys are either going to love me or hate me for, but I think it's worth it to do now. Don't worry, it's not going to take me long! Maybe a couple of days, but until then just be patient while I get it done. Then I'll be back to working on the build! Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## FLYONWALL9

DUDE, you know we don't work off deadlines here! lol just look at my build if you don't believe me... 

We'll be here when you get back.


----------



## scooter99

FLYONWALL9 said:


> DUDE, you know we don't work off deadlines here! lol just look at my build if you don't believe me...
> 
> We'll be here when you get back.


Thanks buddy. It all has to go with this build. It's just not something I can get done in an hour or even a day. It's gonna take a bit. But as always I thank you for your's and everyone else's support that's been following me from day 1. EVEN IF, I write a lot and post build pics on stuff other than audio. 

Thanks everyone!


----------



## JayinMI

scooter99 said:


> Update:
> 
> Ok, so last night, I did not get to do any work on my shrouds. When I got home there was this tension in the air, my wife looked frustrated, and my kids were bouncing off the walls (hence her frustration). So I had to play superman when I got home and bring things back down to earth, on top of make dinner (bbq pork chops, rice a roni, and steamed veggies), fix the tv that the kids were upset about not working (got a new cable box this morning), and give my wife a break that she much needed!
> 
> So by the time all that was done, showers for the girls were done, and we had some free time to ourselves, we kind of just crashed! Busy night!
> 
> Hopefully I'll make up some time lost from last night tonight, as well as tonights work!


Gee, what would have happened if you walked in, surveyed the situation and said "Wow, I'm gonna be out in the garage working on the car. Can you bring me a sammich?" and proceeded to walk out the door to the garage.
Probably the end of ANY progress ever in this thread...



Jay


----------



## scooter99

TROJAN, I'm calling you out here! 

What's the reason for negative reping me? You said on there, "wrong forum" but I'm wondering if you really know what the HELL you're talking about. Why don't you take a minute and search the build threads in this forum. Check out the threads that are cars being built from the ground up. Check out the older custom cars that have been built from the ground up. You gonna go negative rep them too? If you are, you're an idiot and you don't belong anywhere near a site like this, or any other for that matter. 

It's the simple minded people like you that we don't need around here. You see a site like this that's DIYMA (Do It Yourself Mobile Audio) and you simplistically think that's all that goes on here. NO, believe it or not, it's not all that goes on here. People build cars, people post on numerous forums, and they also have followers from each of those forums that follow them from one forum to another. 

Here, here's a few links to go look at that are not AUDIO SPECIFIC! 

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-member-build-logs/114510-build-thread-roach-my-1959-volkswagen-double-cab.html

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-member-build-logs/111600-rexroadjs-81-jeep-renegade-restoration-audio-build.html

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-member-build-logs/109536-1972-chevelle-build.html

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-member-build-logs/101092-redaggie03s-1992-nissan-hardbody-extended-cab-truck.html

Here's one on another site that I'm on, that might simply be one of the best car builds a lot of us have ever seen. 
BERYLLIUM BMW 323ci. - SMD Forum 

And if you look around, which I'm sure you won't, there's a bunch more. I remember another older truck build on here somewhere where the guys stripped it down and rebuilt it. That's the whole point though, is that they're here. They're vastly outnumbered by the people who do just "audio" builds, but that doesn't mean they don't have a place on here. 

Look the fact is I don't give two craps about the rep power. I personally don't think it's needed or worth much other than to the new people on this site who don't know how to go research what people talk about or say anyway. But the thing that irritates me, is that you come in here, start talking crap, you're not a mod, and you really have no reason to open your mouth and speak, especially to something with which you're speaking! But you go the extra mile, go out of your way, to put a negative ANYTHING on my profile! F-YOU! 

Get a life, stay the hell out of my thread, and go find someone else to talk trash too. I'm quite sure you wouldn't be doing it, if you were standing here in front of me, or at least you wouldn't be for long anyway! 

TO EVERYONE ELSE: sorry to throw this in here, I know you guys follow me and this thread and for those of you who do know me, you know I'm never this irritated or pissed off about much of anything. I guess it's just the wrong time and the wrong place. Lots of stress in my life right now, this was just something that put me over! So to you all and especially to the mods, I apologize for what I just said above, again you all know I'm not that guy. 

TO TROJAN: Take a hike, get out of my thread and feel free to not come back in! 

MOD'S: I'd appreciate any help you can provide with this guy, otherwise it is what it is! I'm done with it, I'll not be responding to anything else he posts in my threads, any of them, and I won't be doing anything like this again either!

Now that all that's done and over with, this build will be back on schedule very very soon! Again I apologize to everyone else! Thanks for your patience!


----------



## scooter99

JayinMI said:


> Gee, what would have happened if you walked in, surveyed the situation and said "Wow, I'm gonna be out in the garage working on the car. Can you bring me a sammich?" and proceeded to walk out the door to the garage.
> Probably the end of ANY progress ever in this thread...
> 
> 
> 
> Jay


That's exactly what would've happened Jay! I'd be living in my car not working on it! HA! 

Thanks for the chuckle! Especially right now! :laugh:


----------



## The Crooner

In the UK they are Durex, aren't Trojans contraceptive rubbers in the US?

The guy has a problem, he cant get rubbers small enough to fit, he cant get it up, so he uses it to p**s on folks' threads.

Ignore him, he'll crawl away soon enough.


----------



## scooter99

Ok, I'm just about done with the project. I'll hopefully be done this afternoon. I'll update later!


----------



## scooter99

The Crooner said:


> In the UK they are Durex, aren't Trojans contraceptive rubbers in the US?
> 
> The guy has a problem, he cant get rubbers small enough to fit, he cant get it up, so he uses it to p**s on folks' threads.
> 
> Ignore him, he'll crawl away soon enough.


Ya I said all I'm gonna say, I'm done with it. Time to get back on track with the build.


----------



## scooter99

Hey guys, on a different note, I wanna build a set of tower speakers for my home system. All I have is a Sony AV system, and I can never get the sound right out of those little F-ers, and I don't ever use the surround sound anyway. Mostly just the center and the sides. I thought maybe if I built some towers, I could get some better sound out of them. I'm thinking like 4 7" mids and 2 tweeters. I have the sony sub, but I would consider a new sub as well. Then maybe build a new center speaker, like maybe 2 6" or 5" mids and a pair of tweeters. Can someone help, maybe point me in the right direction of some links that would help me understand how to build an enclosure etc.? Thanks!


----------



## The A Train

TriTrix MTM TL Speaker Components And Cabinet Kit Pair 300-702

The TriTrix - Speaker Building Project at Parts Express


----------



## scooter99

ameuba10 said:


> TriTrix MTM TL Speaker Components And Cabinet Kit Pair 300-702
> 
> The TriTrix - Speaker Building Project at Parts Express


Wow that's awesome. I'm gonna take some time to read those links! Thanks a lot, that's what I was looking for. Perfect, I'll do further research off of that!


----------



## The A Train

Np, I havnet built one yet but I cannot find one bad thing about them. Especially for that price


----------



## scooter99

Very true. I think my biggest issue is going to be space. I don't know what size those are, but I don't have a ton of space which is why I'm thinking tower vs a bigger cabinet. It's ok, I'll look into it. Thanks, reading now!


----------



## ndinadis

WOW - took two days to read the full 51 pages
Your doing an awesome job and have inspired me with many of your projects!
Keep it up
Nick


----------



## scooter99

Wow, thanks for actually taking the time to read it out! That's awesome! Did it all help to show why I am where I am with the build today?!?!


----------



## kyheng

Frankly, I'm lost, haha.... But then is a great passion and time you spent......


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> Ya I said all I'm gonna say, I'm done with it. Time to get back on track with the build.


Yup...no use stoking that fire.


----------



## ndinadis

scooter99 said:


> Wow, thanks for actually taking the time to read it out! That's awesome! Did it all help to show why I am where I am with the build today?!?!


Yep, I did skim through some of the written part as I had spent probably 6 hours or so reading it felt like. What is the current situation with the audio (Whats in there now) I know you were keeping the Audison amps (great idea) and sold one of the midbass' 
Nick


----------



## scooter99

Right now nothing is in there. Stock head unit and a pair of Alpine Coaxials up front. The true audio build will begin in a couple weeks. I did decide to keep the LRx's and I'm very happy about that now. No regrets at all. I have a few regrets about selling the mid basses though. But I'm gonna be fine with one pair. 

Thanks for looking through the whole thing. It's much appreciated!


----------



## kyheng

1 midbass are more than enoguh for your car... Unless yours are avan or going subless setup....


----------



## scooter99

Ya I knew it was, that's part of why I sold the other set.


----------



## scooter99

Ok folks, the project is done! I've done the best I can to make this as clear as I can for now. When the build is done I'll be writing a summary for the whole build. However this will bring everyone up to speed on the audio build to come. 

The one thing i ask is that you do not post please for a while. I'm having to break this up over several posts and would like it to not be intterrupted. Please respect that request. I should have all this up shortly. Once it's done, I'll post up that it's done. Thanks!


----------



## scooter99

*Car Audio Project Summary*

_*Car Audio Project Summary:*_

Ok so some people out there are having a problem following along where this is project is at, or where it is going, what’s going in, etc. I have no doubt that those problems are due to not following along from the very beginning, or if you’ve just joined, actually reading the entire thread before you ask your questions. So I’m going to take this opportunity to go ahead and sort of reset for everyone where I’m at, and the direction in which I’m planning to go. IF, this doesn’t apply to you, then disregard all that. 

Please keep in mind also, that I’m posting updates in 4 or 5 different forums, and so some of this is not going to apply to everyone. 

So all that being said, I’ll go ahead and start on the summary. This is going to cover pretty much everything. I’ll put the pics up, weeding through of course, and this should bring everyone up to speed. This will be very much generalized, so I’m not speaking specifically to one forum or the other four. This just is what’s going on, and what is going to happen. 

_*Updated Equipment List:*_

Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tablet
Alpine CDA-9886
Octava HDMI Converter
Samsung 7" LED LCD with HDMI input x2
Gefen Analog to Digital Converter
Knu Knoceptz HDMI cables - x3
Knu Konceptz Optical cables - x2
Hertz Mille ML280s Signature Tweeters
Hertz Mille ML700 3" Comp Mid Range
Hertz Mille ML1600 Mid Bass 
Hertz High Energy HSK-165 Rear fill (passive)
Hertz High Energy HX300D subs (12"s dvc)
Audison Bit One.1 Processor
Audison LRx 4.1k (mid range and tweeters), 
Audison LRx 2.9 (mid bass), 
Audison LRx 2.4 (rear fill),
Audison LRx 1.1k x 2 (subs)
Stinger - Batteries (x3 SPP1200), H/O relay, Cables (1/0 Ga, 4ga, 8ga, speaker, other wires) *Front - Done March 20, 2011*
Audison Connection - distribution blocks, and all connections
Mechman 220 amp alternator
Zenesis auto start alarm with window up/down modules, and sunroof modules

_*Phase 1 – Operating System aka: Sources:
*_
Original Plan: The original plan with this was to stick with the Pioneer AVH-P4200DVD unit as my head unit and mold in the unit to look cleaner, sleeker, and really just blend better into the dash piece. The problem was that the standard double din trim ring, first off, looks like crap. It’s not a good look and looks very cheap. So doing this will clean that up. The problem was that the bottom part of the unit sticks out and that makes for a difficult molding. Check out some of the pics that I’ve put up here. 

Here you can see the trim ring around the unit, as well as, the lip on the bottom with the control buttons that stick out.  



















Here are some pictures of the actuall filling of the sides etc. Remember this never got finished so it looks like I didn’t post all the pictures to the end.


----------



## scooter99

*Main Source Unit:*

After starting on that piece, things gradually changed. I was searching other things just for “curiosity sake” and decided why am I going to try to do this unit, with the Bluetooth module – specifically so I can play Pandora off my cell phone cause I simply do not use the phone that often, cause I’m a texter not a talker, and also the HD Radio Tuner – which really I’m tired of the radio anyway cause they play the same crap over and over and over again, and I end up using my iPod or my phone for music anyway. 

So what happened? I did some more searching and researching on tablet installs and found an obscene amount of people were doing the “iPad (gen 1 and 2) install” and I really couldn’t find many other types of installs. 

If you don’t know who I am by now from the threads I’ve made, then you wouldn’t know this, but I’m not a “go with the grain” type of guy. I don’t like to do what everyone else has done, or get what everyone else has got. So I decided to go with who I am, and started researching other tablets and phones. Phones because I’m getting ready to switch carriers and I didn’t want an iPhone, much like I don’t want an iPad. But I want to be able to tether my phone with my tablet. 

So I researched a lot of different tablets, and came across my current tablet. The Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tablet. Here are some pictures of it. 




























I’m not going to get too much into this part of the install, but I will be doing a different article write up on this and what I’ve discovered, what worked, what didn’t work, and where that is at. When I get that done, I’ll post up the link to that here (in the forums that will allow me to edit posts forever). For the other forums, I’ll just post a link up and describe it and start a new thread on the subject. So, moving on. 

This is going to be my main source unit. I’m going to be using this for everything, from movies, music, and Facebook, to everything else I need. Well most everything else. Until I can confirm that I can get the Bit One software on the tablet and it’s usable to control the Bit One, then I’m stuck with “almost everything”. 

*Secondary Source Unit:*

I recently went to a car show for sound quality. I was looking at car builds, installs, and watching judges getting in and out of cars and trucks listening and scoring. It was at that point where I discovered, that I have no way to compete. 

Let’s backpedal a moment. My intention with this car and this build was not originally to compete. It was simply set out to be a personal pleasure vehicle, a project car to keep me busy, and something I could be proud of when I was done with it. Show it off to friends, forum members, etc. I was not looking to compete. However, that being said, I’ve always wanted to make sure that I set it up as though I would be able to drive up to a competition and be able to compete in it. Make sure the install was to spec according to whatever rules and laws, the sound was on point, and whatever else needed to be done to it to make it a compete able vehicle. 

Back to the above where we left off. I was at that competition and realized that with the tablet install, I have no way to compete because the judges have their cd’s that they use. Now I’ve not read up on the rules etc for competition or even asked how the judges decide what to use in what competitions etc. Why would I not be able to get a hold of these cd’s they use and download them to my tablet to be right there and able to use the tablet for competition after all. I’m not sure of the answer to that. 

But after asking around to a few people, the conclusion came that I would need a cd player in the vehicle. So this is going to be my secondary unit. 

I recently bought a used head unit for my truck which is going to be a future full build. But for now, I can get a different unit for it and use this one, which I think is a decent unit. It’s an Alpine CDA-9886. It’s very clean, and does a great job in my truck at the moment. Here’s a picture:

Apparently I didn’t take a picture of it, so here’s a link: Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.

*Phase 1 Install Notes:*

The install on these units are going to be completely custom. 

For the tablet a custom dash piece will be made with actuators and other features for the “wow” factor, as well as security, and functionality. In order to make this all happen some things need to be removed, and some things just simply moved. The dash kit has an air vent that will have to either be removed, or will end up being partly covered. That decision will be made during the build portion of it. The HVAC controls also reside in the dash kit, and those will have to be moved to make room for the tablet and other things. The HVAC controls will be extended and moved above to the headliner. There is a spot where the interior lights, and sunroof switch resides on the headliner. Those will be removed and brought down and a custom pod will be made to house the HVAC controls as well as retain full use and functionality of the lights and switches. 

For the Alpine unit, this will reside in the glove compartment. A panel will be made to fill the glove compartment and the unit will be centered in the panel. On the side of it, I’ll be putting some buttons/switches to operate a handful of other features in the car and system, including a switch to operate the Alpine unit so it can be switched on and off. 


*Phase 2 – Power, Components, & Other Wiring:*

In most every application you can’t have all this equipment and produce great sound without a good power plant. I’ve read install logs and build logs for a long time and come across some serious power and interesting use of it. Now obviously in the SPL world, the more batteries the better along with alternators. I’ve seen some pretty funny stuff there. Seems as though some of the thought process with these is, “just cram it in there no matter what”. But with that much power, sometimes you have to. 

In my case, I’m not putting in 12 batteries and 4 alternators. Let’s face it, it’s a Honda Civic. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. But no, my thought on this design was, get as much realistic power in there as I possibly can without it being obnoxious and have the ability to make it clean. That’s pretty much my objective with the power in this build.

*Engine Bay:*

Under the hood is going to reside a Stinger Power2 SPP1200 battery, Stinger SGP35 500Amp Relay, and a Mechman 220amp High Output Alternator. 

One of the reasons I chose this size battery is cause of its size. I have an install idea in mind for the engine bay and I need to have as much space as possible to be able to make that idea work. The SPP1200 allows me that ability, and gives me 2400watt regular, and a Peak Discharge of 2600amps, in a package of 6.75”H x 7.75”W x 6.5”D. That’s pretty impressive. I’m planning this battery only to handle the standard car duties, starting, running accessories, etc. and nothing else. So it’ll need to be isolated from everything else. 










Then I decided with this battery up here, and trying to isolate it, and power the rear batteries for the audio system, I needed an alternator that could keep up with those duties. For that I chose the Mechman 220 amp High Output Alternator. This will charge everything and keep up with no problems, unlike my wimpy OEM 70amp alternator. 

One of the reasons I came to this decision on the Mechman Alternator was because there were several problems with other company’s alternators. Plugs wouldn’t work, lights came on, etc. I emailed the guys over at Mechman, and they assured me it would be a plug and play unit on my vehicle. I have yet to get it installed yet, but at this point it may be the point of no return. It’s been a couple of years since I got it. Here it is:


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## scooter99

So in order to separate the Stinger SPP1200 up here and the rear, I needed a good isolator. This isolator should allow me to play my system off the rear batteries and keep this front battery charged so I can still start my car and drive off. For this I chose the Stinger SGP35 500Amp Relay. Why did I decide to go with a 500 amp relay? Well I have an alternator that puts out 220amps, and the one below the 500amp was the 200 amp. So I decided for a few bucks more, and a lot more comfort, not to skimp on the size. 










To make this system a little more efficient, I’ll be doing the “Big 3”, using Stinger 1/0 gauge HPM Wire. 




























Here are a couple of good tutorials and how to’s on the Big 3. There are also several others you can find, just look around, they’re out there. 

Car Audio 101 - The Big 3 Upgrade Tutorial - YouTube
How To Do The Big 3: Tutorial - SMD Forum

Here are some pictures of my current temporary battery set up in the engine bay.


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## scooter99

*Trunk:*

Now that we have the engine bay figured out and the power to the car decided. I’m going to turn my attention to the trunk of the car, where the power is really needed. 

Like the engine bay for power I chose to run Stinger Power2 SPP1200 batteries. However, I’m going to be running 5 amplifiers that are capable of up to 4300 watts, give or take the true power ratings. So, with that in mind, remember back that the SPP1200’s are capable of 2400 watts. So if we take two of those and add them together that gives us 4800 watts. That would give me about 500 watts of headroom. 

Now, obviously I’m not going to be using 4300 watts of power in this system. It’s quite overkill honestly. But I wanted to make sure that I had enough power that I didn’t have to worry about it. There are also other things that went into the decision as well. 

*Component and Wiring Wall:*

With all this power, and these components to get power to, I decided I needed a way to keep track of it all, make it clean, and make it presentable. It has to be easy to trouble shoot if necessary, but we hope not, and easily accessible. 

The easiest way to go about doing this, for me, was to build a rack that would house all the fuse blocks, barrier strips, relays, smaller components, and anything else to do with the wiring portion of the build. I decided that the best place to put it, because remember I have serious space issues with it being a Civic, was behind the back seat. The back seat in the Civic has the ability to fold down with ease. This help to the accessibility. It’s also a large enough space to put everything in that I need to power the components including the components themselves. 

There isn’t much more I can do to describe it to you, so I’m going to go ahead and show you the pics of what’s been built thus far.


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## scooter99




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## scooter99




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## scooter99

*Phase 2 – Power, Components, & Other Wiring Installation Notes:*

You already saw the front temporary battery installation in the “Engine Bay” section above. Here is how things are going to work out. I have a couple of diagrams that are basically going to show you how everything is going to be wired up. Now, I do these diagrams for a couple of reasons. First reason is to get it on paper because, as with everything else, there are so many ideas that float around in my head on how things are going to get done, that if I don’t put them down on paper somehow and actually build it out I’ll forget about it or get confused and I will start losing my mind! Sounds funny, but it’s true. The second reason I do these is so that I can post them up on these threads and get input on them. I may have a question on something and it’s hard to explain sometimes what’s going on in my head. I don’t know all the correct terms sometimes and that makes it even more difficult to explain to get an answer on something. So I do the diagrams to post up to show everyone what I’m thinking and it helps for answering those questions etc. Here’s the first diagram to look at, this is the Engine Bay and battery. 











Here you can see the way things are going to run. 

We’ll start with the Stinger SPP1200. From the positive output, a 1/0ga Cable will go into a small buss bar. It’s a 4 pin buss bar and power will go from there! I’m not 100% on these buss bars, I’m honestly thinking of making my own and if I can get my hands on some materials I will give that a shot. So From there we’ll start at the right side of the first buss bar. 

From the buss bar, a 1/0ga cable will go into an Audison BFD21 Dual Fuse Holder. From there a 1/0ga cable will go to the Alternator. This will be part of the Big 3 I mentioned earlier. This will give me a fuse to protect it as well. Also off the Audison BFD21 Dual Fuse Holder, a 4ga cable will be supplied to the starter. When I originally went in to change out the battery and cables etc. on the first install, I found that the starter cable was way too short. I had to splice it by soldering on a 4ga cable and that’s the way it sits now. So, in order for this to work correctly and look clean, I plan to replace that cable all the way back to the starter with a new cable. The fuse isn’t really necessary, however, so it looks balance I’ll most likely put in a 300 amp fuse or something large so it’s cosmetically correct. 

Back to the buss bar, next to the post we just discussed will be the 1/0ga cable for the battery. No explanation needed there. 

To the left of that will be the post that directs the power to the rear of the car. From this a 1/0ga cable will go into the Stinger SGP35 500Amp Relay. An ignition wire will be run off the relay as well back to the component wall into the ignition barrier strip. From the relay a 1/0ga cable will run into a second buss bar. The reason for this is because I’m using Audison Connecton screw on type connectors, and they’re quite bulky. I didn’t want to put strain on the post of the relay by trying to cram them on there. This way they get on securely, no strain, and I can make it a cleaner look. 

Off of that second buss bar will be the two power runs to the trunk and the rear batteries. These will be done with two 1/0ga cables into a pair of Audison Connection BFH11 Fuse Holders. Then from those 1/0ga cables will run in Carlon Flex Conduit under the vehicle, and enter the trunk through water tight connectors. That will take us to the trunk, and I’ll get to that after I finish up here. 

Going back to the first buss bar, off of the 4th and last post will be a 1/0ga cable that runs into an Audison Connection BFH11 Fuse Holder. From the fuse holder a 4ga cable will attach to the main fuse block. On the picture, you see above, it says “ECU” and that’s wrong. Sorry! 

So that completes the Wiring Diagram for the Engine Bay. 

Let’s go to the trunk. We talked a bit ago about the Carlon Flex Conduits that are carrying the 1/0ga power cable under the vehicle. Those will be held up to the car by metal pipe straps every 6 inches if possible. The reason I’m using the Carlon Flex Conduits are so that the cable is protected under the vehicle. I used to work for a data company very many years ago and that was where I first discovered this material. It’s very flexible, to a reasonable extent, and very very tough. You might be asking, “why run it under the car, why not go through the car”? Well it’s pretty simple. There just isn’t room without cramming it in there, and there are so many wires going through the car I don’t want to take the chance in causing any noise issues, or simply looking bad. This was a pretty easy decision. I’ve done it once already. Here are a few pictures of the current set up.


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## scooter99

After it was ran it was painted black to get rid of the standout of the gray color. Then I did the same with the ground, but I tapped the frame right under the entry point to the trunk and put a stainless steel screw in there. It was also sealed up with black polyurethane. I’ll be doing the same with the new set up. With the new set up, the Carlon Conduit will run next to the frame on the middle side of the vehicle on both sides of the vehicle. 




























Here is how they come through the trunk floor. 




























So that’s how the power and ground will get to the trunk. Just a little bit different direction this time. 

Now here’s what’s going to happen in the trunk. If you recall, I’m using the same Stinger Power2 SPP1200’s in the back, as I did in front. These will reside in each corner of the trunk. There’s a cubby or cut out or whatever you want to call it, and they will fit perfectly back there. I’ll be building a couple of battery racks for them to sit in and hold the fuse holders. Yes holders. I’ll get to that. 

Here’s a diagram on how the wiring will be done. 










To explain the diagram, I’ll try to do it as best as I can. We’ll start with the left side battery in the diagram which we’ll take as the driver side battery. So take this as you’re looking into the trunk of the car. 

So you have the 1/0ga cable from the front going into an Audison Connection BFH-11 Fuse Holder, and from there into the battery. I’ll either be making a couple of buss bars or buying ones that match the front. However, in the diagram it does not show them. I made a separate diagram for that. Here that is.










There will be one of these on each positive and negative of each battery. The power cable will come in and attach to the buss bar, and then off the buss bar on the other side, into an Audison BFH-11DGT Fuse Holder. Now the difference between this fuse holder and the Audison BFH-11 Fuse Holder is that this one has a Digital Gauge on it to gauge the voltage. I did this so that, specifically, I could show the voltage from each battery in the back. Otherwise to have fuse holders this close together is pretty much overkill. 

So from the Audison BFH-11DGT a 1/0ga cable will go into an Audison SFD-41C Complete Distribution Block. This will take and distribute positive and negative cables in the same unit. The diagram shows that there would be a dummy line coming out of the other end of the Audison SFD-41C. However, I’ve change that. There will now be a 1/0ga cable that ties the driver side Audison SFD-41C and the passenger side SFD-41C together. 

The passenger side is the same way, so I won’t go over that. 

The Audison SFD-41C distribution blocks will allow power to go to all the amps and components. I was originally going to have both sub amps on one along with the processor, and then the component wall, and the other three amps on the second one. But now strapping them together, it won’t matter I don’t believe. The amps will all be powered and grounded off the SFD-41C using 4ga cable. A 4ga power and ground cable will also go from the SFD-41C to the Component wall into a fuse block, which will then distribute power for the components. Below is the fuse block I’m using for that. Any left-over ports on the SFD-41C’s will be dummy lined out with 4ga cable.


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## scooter99

I’m still working out details on these but I’m also going to be installing a gauge up front, the Stinger SVMB. This gauge will allow me to view the voltage I’m getting out of the rear batteries. I’m also going to be putting one in for the front battery as well. So these two gauges will be going in up front in the dash. I’ve drawn up a diagram for these to install. The power wire of it will go in the bridge 1/0ga cable, according to the diagram for the rear batteries, which should give me a voltage total for both batteries. The one for the front will simply go to the positive side of the system, before the relay. Not in the diagram, are the fuse holders or buss bars for the batteries. Here’s the diagram for that.










Finally this is the diagram overview of everything that I’ve described above. 









So that about covers the Power portion of the build. 

*Phase 3 – Trunk Build:*

In most audio builds the “WOW” factor is reached by displaying equipment. The second part to that is if you have more equipment, and it’s displayed properly and cleanly, you get an even better “WOW” than other builds. I’m going for that bigger “WOW” in my build. I have a lot of equipment, some overkill admittedly, but at the same time a lot is needed as well. To be able to fit this much equipment in my little Civic is going to take some serious planning and some trial and error. Here are a few pictures of the equipment that I have going into the trunk.


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## scooter99

Now that’s not all of it of course. I’ve got fans and wires and other things going in as well. These are more going into the component wall than anything. The fans will be in amp racks and behind the processor, but it all has to go in. Here’s a picture of some of that (minus the Pioneer module, that’s gone).










So as I said to fit this much equipment anywhere takes some designing and thought and patience in trying to make it all fit, let alone make it fit cleanly and pop! So how would someone make things fit without actually building it. Well you could draw it out, if you could draw, which I’m not great at. Or you could measure it out, which I’m better at. Or you can spend a little bit of money on some cheap materials that you have no care about destroying or not and start doing a build mock up. That’s exactly what I did. 

I bought a few sheets of some cheap insulation foam sheets from Home Depot, or you can get it at Lowes and places like that. It’s about $8.00 per sheet and they come in different widths. The thought process is that you can build whatever you want; using the size sheets you’d use in MDF, and not spend 30.00 per sheet to mock something up. Sounds like a golden idea to me. 

So with that in mind, I started mocking things up. First I started with all my amps and the processor as well as some components like distribution and fuse blocks. I even had a helper! Take a look! Now in these pictures, I had plans for different batteries. Those are no longer being used. Now I have the Stingers. 




























My helper!


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## scooter99

So now that I have all my equipment mocked up, I can start building other mock ups of the actual trunk build. I have the component wall done, which I did mock up for that as well with the foam. 

*Rear Deck Amp Rack:*

So the first step in the trunk for me is to get the rear deck amp rack done. Using Google Sketch up I drew out a diagram a while ago. This was going to be for a different design, but that has changed and evolved since then. Here are those designs. These will give you an idea of what I’m planning to do. In these diagrams you’ll see that the Audison LRx 4.1k and the Audison LRx 2.4 are in the rack. The only change in that is the Audison LRx 2.9 is going in, in place of the Audison LRx 4.1k. I have other plans, which I’ll get to in a bit, for the Audison LRx 4.1k. I felt it was too big and too beautiful of a piece to hide away in a drawer amp rack. The Audison LRx 2.4 stays. 



















This is with a cover on it, exposing only the tops of the amps. This was for a couple of things. There’s no need to have a cover over these because unless the drawer is open, you can’t see the amps. The second reason is with the open top, venting will be easier and the amps will stay cooler. 










Now in doing this rack, I had to sacrifice some stuff. Really only the stock rear fill holes. The reason for that is because the speaker magnets stuck down too low. It was hard enough to get this to plan out, and I had other pieces that need to go away, so to speak, and so I decided to do a completely different install for the rear fill. Along with the rear fill speakers, the center seat belt had to come out temporarily. I might leave it out at this point, but I’ll have to decide that at another time when I get further into the build. 




























Now some people are gasping, “oh no, don’t remove the seat belt what are you doing!” Well let me explain. First I have two daughters. They both are in booster seats, and remember that I drive a Civic. NO ONE, I DON’T CARE HOW SKINNY YOU ARE, IS GOING TO FIT IN BETWEEN THEM! So that, at this point, alleviates the need for a center seat belt, which is the one I’ve removed. When they get older, and I’m sure bringing friends’ home etc for play dates, then I’ll get it back in there. I may, in fact, figure out a way to get it in there now, but not put it in there until later. That way it doesn’t impede getting the back seat down. There you go! 

So here’s a little bit of the mock up of the Rear Deck Amp Rack. Again I used the foam, but also used some wood blocks for some testing.


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## scooter99

That’s about as far as I got with that. The end result will be this. I’ll build a frame using this piece as the top plate. I’ve decided also to utilize the speaker holes in the rear deck for some attaching as well. The trunk springs or torsion bars will be removed later replaced by gas linear actuators. This will also create more room for the rack to sit up closer to the rear deck. 

So after I build the frame for the rack, I’ll build a drawer for it and then the drawer will attach to the whole set up using a pair of Heavy Duty Drawer Slides. These slides have notches on them, so when closed they don’t slide open. But I fear that the drawer with the amps in them will be too heavy to stop it from sliding. I’ll do more testing as I get closer to that point. 

Now in retrospect of that fact, I’m also going to be incorporating a linear actuator to open and close the drawer automatically. Again, more “WOW” factor! A button will be on the drawer or somewhere in the trunk to activate the actuator. 

Now I had to do put that drawer first in line, in order to decide how much height I had to work with on the sub enclosure. The amps are their height, and there’s no changing that. I can alter the height of the sub enclosure. Speaking of let’s get to that next. 

*Subwoofer Enclosure:*

So in my original quests to find a sub enclosure I really liked, and one that I thought would pop in the install, I found some pictures, I drew some diagrams. These are some of the early on diagrams that I drew to do a sub enclosure. 

This one is with the subs firing into the rear seat pass through and sealed from behind. Each enclosure is a separate sealed enclosure. 




























I also thought about just facing the subs toward the back seat in a flat orientation against the seat. This is that diagram trying to decide if I needed to create more space between the seat and the enclosure.


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## scooter99

I also had a couple of diagrams that show a rear firing sub enclosure, vented, with the pass through in the middle. I can’t figure out how to save it in a JPEG format. So I won’t worry about that one. 

But this next one is what I decided on. I’m not 100% sure it’s going to work but the way we all learn is by trial and error. I don’t have a diagram of it made up, but I did just mock it up and I like the looks of it, plus the cu ft numbers are right. So here we go with that mock up! 

In order to actually mock up the sub box, I had to do something about the sub. These bad boys are heavy, and in order to not have to stand there and hold the heavy sub on the foam mock ups, I had to figure out how to make that work where I don’t have to do that. So, I mocked up the sub. Check it out!


















































































After the sub was mocked up it made my job of mocking up the enclosure 1000 times easier. So I started that mock up. Here are the pictures of those. I’ll go ahead and explain the idea a little after the pictures.


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## scooter99

At this point I needed to check out the space and see how many actual cubic feet I had in each enclosure. So I used the old Styrofoam peanut trick.


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## scooter99

I ran out of peanuts so I measured the space I had left over to figure out my remaining cubic feet.




























So with those two measurements, the original peanuts combined with the measurement of the remaining space, I got my full measurement of 1.23 cu ft. This is after displacement. That’s a little bit large I think, but I plan to put some foam in there on the walls so that should take up some other area as well. 



















Now these next pictures are with the little bridge of sorts in the middle for the Audison Bit One Processor. The thought behind this was to really show off the processor for that wow factor. I think this will pull it off nicely. 



















However, I’ve started thinking of different ways of doing this. I don’t particularly like the idea of a board going across. It’s too bulky, and I’m just not too wild about it. So I’m in the process of altering that design and trying to go with either a design that will utilize some metal poles, hollow so that I can pass wires through them, and a metal bracket, or some kind of acrylic design. I may actually decide to go with a platform that attaches to the bottom. I’m working on it currently. It all evolves from something.


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## scooter99

*Trunk Lid Amp Rack:*

So earlier I alluded to a design to really show off the Audison LRx 4.1k amplifier. As I said before it really is a big and beautiful amplifier. It’s about 21 inches long so it makes it difficult to really just put it anywhere. It really commands respect, and demands the center stage. It’s really for the front stage but you get what I’m talking about. So I decided to go off an original design idea I had from the beginning design stages. 

In the original design stages of this build I had gone through a couple of different designs putting equipment in the trunk lid. Here are those designs.

This one put the Audison Bit One Processor and the Audison LRx 2.4 on the trunk lid. The thing that steered me away from this design was the amount of wires that had to go through there. There’s plenty of space on the trunk lid itself, but going from the trunk lid to the trunk itself was going to be difficult to say the least to do in a clean manner. So I nixed this one. 



















Then I thought to myself, remember the “WOW” factor, and came up with this one. The Audison Bit One Processor up there by itself, as a piece of equipment, and then flank it with an Audison and a Hertz Logo backlit with LED’s. Ultimately, as much as I loved the potential of this design, I was still faced with the same design issues of a lot of wires going through the lid arms. 










Then I came up with this one with the Audison LRx 4.1K all by it’s lonesome up there. By herself, center stage, and showing off her beauty. Still some wire issues but after measuring the amount of bulk the wires would be and the way I was going to run them, this presented the best option for me! So I took that as a sign that it was meant to be. 

So then I started the mock up of that. Take a look!


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## scooter99

But see this is exactly why I do a mock up with that foam. After doing this and it sitting for a few days, and looking at it, I didn’t like the way it looked! Not the way the amp looks, I’m 100% sold on that, but I wasn’t happy with the way the rest of it looked. So I’ve taken all that apart and it’s back to a trunk lid and a clean slate. I’ll be starting on that again. 

The thought behind it is, I don’t want it to stick out too far. But I need it to be pretty flat as possible for covering. So I’m planning to cut the base board down so it’ll sit in further and deeper, and then I’ll build some sides around it, and fiberglass a cover for it. Hard to explain, but I know what it’s gonna look like. IT’S SICK!! Here’s where I got the idea from. This is a BMW trunk lid. 



















So with that being the way I’m going, I figured out really quickly that the trunk lid is going to be pretty damn heavy. It’s going to have fiberglass, body filler, covering, and on top of that I’m changing trunks to a Si trunk to have the rear spoiler which adds more weight. Taking all that plus the weight of the actual trunk into account, the gas powered actuators were not going to be enough. 

I was browsing a different site and saw something that I really liked. I admit to taking this idea as well, yes. But, this person had a couple of linear actuators to make the trunk go up and down automatically. I liked this because it would work with my application. I could still utilize the gas actuators, to assist in ease of the linear actuator. But here’s the catch. I wanted to make it operate with my alarm’s trunk pop button, not have a separate button to push or separate remote to have. 

I started getting on line and researching and asking questions and building more diagrams, yes more diagrams. Eventually I figured out how to do it. At least I figured out how to do it to the extent that I need to get the stuff and bench test it to make sure it’s going to work. But I made the diagram and here it is. 










That was the first design. What I wanted was to be able to, as I said above, open the trunk via my trunk pop button on my alarm remote. The problem was that in order to do that I needed to eliminate my trunk latch in the back. I was not real keen on this idea, considering that I was going to have thousands of dollars of equipment in the trunk itself. Just didn’t make me feel real comfy. So I had to figure out how to pop the trunk latch, then a second later, have the actuator operate and open the trunk. 

Then I got to thinking. In most cars, that come with the auto lift feature, there’s a button in the trunk itself that makes it go down. The question then became, can I do this to operate from the alarm remote, have a button in the trunk, and then have two buttons doing the same thing (trunk open and trunk close) up front as well. That’s where the second diagram comes in. So I revamped the original diagram and figured out how to make it work. 










So let me explain really quickly how this works. There are two ways it works but I’ll start with the open first. I can now operate the actuator via the trunk pop on the alarm, or a button up front. Either sends a signal to a relay. In those signals there will be a diode, so that when one is used it doesn’t back feed on the other that’s not being used. You can see that in the diagram where the red button wire and the blue alarm wire meet. So those wires go into a relay that will essentially reverse the polarity of the signal and send into two places. The first place it goes is the trunk latch, popping it and preparing the trunk to open. At the same time, the same signal is being sent to a DEI-528T delay module. This is a module that allows a signal to be held for a certain amount of time before it’s sent through. Most of the time they’re used on alarm remote starts for vehicles with a diesel engine. So that signal is then sent to a DEI-529T, which is an open and close module. I’m using this same module to operate my sunroof to open and closed through the alarm system. The 529T then sends a signal to the actuator to extend, or open in our case. 

Then we need to close the trunk at some point. So what do we do about that? Well a button will go in the trunk, and a second button will go in the dash somewhere, most likely in the same area as the open button. These buttons will also have diodes on them; you can see those in the diagram as well. These buttons will send a signal, which does not need to be reversed, into the DEI-529T, unlike the open procedure that needed to go through the DEI-528T for the time delay. The 529T will then send the signal, opposite of the open signal, which will tell the actuator to retract, or close in our case. 

So there you have it. Automatic open and close trunk! I’m still working on getting the materials together to bench test the theory and make sure it’s going to work. At this point I only need an actuator and some buttons. I have everything else on hand. 

So given the power of the linear actuator, or two if necessary, and the gas powered actuators, the trunk lid should not be a problem at all. 

*Battery Trays:*

These battery trays will be pretty straight forward. Fiberglass, wood, creativity, and some flare! I started mocking up the trays but that was with the older mock ups. I’ve not started the new ones yet. Here are the old ones.



















Now things have changed with this since then. Obviously, again, I’ve changed batteries to the Stinger SPP1200’s. I’m also changing the position of the Audison SFD-41C. Right now, in the pictures above, it’s sitting next to the battery. The whole side where the battery is going to go will be fiberglassed in. This will allow me some flexibility in order to place the distribution blocks. 

The new positioning will be the battery where it is, and then the Audison Connection BFH11 and the Audison Connection BFH11-DGT will go next to it, where the SFD-41C is in the mock up above. The second thought on this is that they both go above the Stinger SPP1200 in a tower type of set up. The problem with that is that if the battery has to ever come out, it’ll cause a problem. I also have the thought of putting the battery trays on a set of HD Drawer Slides, much like what’s going on the Rear Deck Drawer. This would allow me to slide the battery out and then take it out of the tray if needed. 

So obviously there’s some designing still to do with this yet. Whatever the design ends up being, it will go the same for both sides of the trunk. 

*Distribution Blocks:*

I’m still thinking about this one. I have a couple of ideas, but I’m not sure one will work. The main idea right now, is to put them on the floor in the raised amp rack in front of the batteries, one on each side. 










The other thought of placement was the trunk trim right where the trunk latch is, but I think the raised trunk floor will be too tall to make that worth the effort. 

So more designing needs to be done in this area.

*Floor Amp Rack:*

This makes for the third and final amp rack in the build. We’ve gone over the Audison LRx 4.1k standing tall in the trunk lid. We’ve discussed the Audison LRx 2.9 and the Auidson LRx 2.4 in the rear deck drawer. Now it’s time for the sister amps, the Auidson LRx 1.1k’s. These babies will be front and center on the floor handing all the sub duties for the system. Remember the two subs we have going in the enclosure we spoke about before. We’re going to take these two amps, and we’re going to run them each to each sub. So one amp per sub is how it’s going to go. But, we needed to find somewhere to put it. Remember, space is tight. So what do we do with these beauties? 

First I’ve got a base floor already done in the car. Here are some pictures of that project, including more foam mock ups!


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## scooter99




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## scooter99

During the mock up process I put the previously mocked up amplifiers up there. This is how they’re going to sit on the floor. 










This gives me a good amount of space to work with on the floor. 

The base that I’ve pictured above will get cut just in front of where the final sub enclosure is going to go. The base board in front of the sub enclosure will then get removed and boxed in. The amps will sit in the spots like pictured above on the base board. On top of the boxed in base board with the amps sitting inside, a cover will go over it all with cut outs exposing only the tops of the amplifiers. It will get dressed up with some angles and other designs to dress up the area. This is the idea here; the one on top in this first picture is the one I’ve decided on:










Then following that covers will be made so that the amps can be covered up and the trunk has full functionality while protecting the amplifiers. 

Doing it this way, allows me to have plenty of space for wiring and gives me the ability to wire freely by having that space. I don’t want to try to cram a bunch of wires and cables into a small place. I want to be able to clean it up the way it needs to be, and is supposed to be. 

At the back of the amp rack, a piano hinge will be installed. This will allow me to lift the amp rack to access the spare tire if it’s ever needed, making this a fully functional vehicle, as well as a show type vehicle. Remember, I have two daughters that I drive around daily; it’s a must that I have that spare tire in the car. I don’t want to risk getting a flat tire, and be on the freeway or out in the middle of nowhere with a flat tired, and my kids in the car. I’d rather take the ten minutes to change the flat to a spare, and get my kids to safety. 

So that pretty much concludes the trunk summary! 

*Phase 4 – Front Stage:*

The Front Stage on this build is not too difficult to understand, nor is it going to be terribly difficult to do. I’m going full active with the front stage, and as I think I’ve said before, I like bass, so I like a heavier mid bass application. Now I know that when it comes to competition, I’ll have to tone things down, but that’s what settings and the Bit One are for. Otherwise, I’ll have it set up to be a bit bassier up front as well as with the subs. Since we’re already talking about it, we’ll start this phase off with the Mid Bass. 

*Mid Bass:
*
In the last build I used a set of Hertz Mille ML165 (6 ½”) mid bass for the front stage. I had them very well tuned at one point, well I guess some people would object with that statement, but for me I was extremely pleased with how they sounded. In all honesty they were very tight, very solid, and I felt that they did just as well as the subs for the low end. There was one point in time, I always turned off my subs when my daughters were in the car, when I had left the subs on and my kids got in when I picked them up at school. I turned off the subs and had made some comment about it apologizing because it was routine to turn them off. We took off on our way home, and my girls asked me “Daddy I thought you turned off the boom boom sound (that’s what they call bass).” I told them I did. 

So again, as I said before, I was extremely pleased with the way those performed. So, some have asked, why did you get rid of them? Well I decided to move up to new gear. That’s basically it! I know it’s a little crazy, but nothing on this build is short of the line of crazy! So why should this be any different!? 

In this build I’m using the newer version of the Hertz Mille line of mid bass, the Mille ML 1600. Like their sisters, the ML165’s, these are also a 6 ½” mid bass. I don’t know much about the differences of them yet, since I don’t have them in yet, but I’m expecting great things just like the ML165’s. Here’s the Hertz website link to check out both sets if you’d like. HERTZ by Elettromedia - Special Car Stereo Here are some pictures of the beautiful beasts.


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## scooter99

So let’s talk about the application. The previous application put the mid bass in the door’s stock locations. This application is going to be about the same but much different. 

Starting with the doors themselves, the insides of the doors have been deadened with a layer of sound deadener, and a layer of spray deadener. In this build, I’m going to apply one or two more layers to the inside of the doors. Along with the inside of the doors, I’ll be adding more deadening to the outside of the doors as well as the door cards. I did not apply deadener to the door cards in the last build and while I don’t think it’s an issue now, I did get some rattle and vibration in with the ML165’s. There’s a little bit of difference between the ML165’s and the Alpine Type S coaxial that are in there now! Here are some pictures of the deadening from the previous build.


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## scooter99

The doors are sealed up as much as they can be sealed. In the Civic’s doors they have cables that go from the inside of the door to the outside of the door. I’m guessing most have this going on. There’s a large space in the door right in the middle. You can see that in the pictures above. Right now this has been covered and sealed, but it’s still pretty flexible. What I plan on doing with the doors is fiber glassing them and creating a panel that is the same size as the door card, but that attaches to the door itself. A couple of grommets for those cables as well as the wires that pass through the fiber glass panel and that will allow free movement for the cables, and less chance of damage to any wires. I’ll also deaden both sides of this panel with deadener. 

This was the attempt at covering those large holes the first time. This didn’t work as it interfered with the panel going on. I had to greatly alter the whole thing. I was very frustrated at the time, and I didn’t take pictures of the alterations, only the finished product.


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## scooter99

As you can see, it stuck out pretty far. So with the fiberglass I should be able to make the panel, have it be just as strong, and at a fraction of the thickness. 

The Mid Bass are going to go in the stock location in a sense but not exactly. After the panel is made, tested, and finished, I’ll be using that, combined with the door card to create an enclosure. Now there have been a couple of discussions here and there about this type of thing, and none of them make much sense to me. So for me, when things to make much sense, I just do them, and experiment for myself. So that’s basically what I’m doing here. 

So the enclosure is going to go like this. In the door card, there is the stock grill. This thing is very constrictive. So that’s going away. What I have to decide is if the driver is going to go directly in that space or not. Here is a picture of the door with the door card on it. 










If you take a look at this picture you can see the stock speaker grill I’m talking about. The void or curvature above it is where the door shuts to the dash. Nothing is going to be able to go in there. However, here is where I’m going with this. To the right of the grill, there’s a cubby. These are NEVER used in my car. Don’t ask me why, I just never use them for anything. I guess everything I need for storage is in the center console. I don’t know. So those bottom pieces are removable. The whole curved piece under the armrest will be removed, dremeled out, to create one cutout all the way from there around the speaker grill. 

From there I’ll have to get creative and see what I can come up with, but the final piece will be an enclosure of sorts that size. Now here’s where it gets tricky. The original speaker hole will be cut out of the fiberglass panel in the back. So the enclosure that I’m making, will still vent into the door itself. If in the future, this proves to be too much air, then I can just close that up. This will have to undergo some testing to see what happens. Here’s a diagram of my thoughts, if you can follow it. This diagram was also when I was going to use the dual mid bass originally. So now imagine one mid bass instead of two. 










The finishing of it will most likely be a suede door panel and a custom grill for the speaker. The grill will be made of grill cloth, with a little twist. Then the speaker will be set in, kind of counter sunk, and surrounded with carbon fiber vinyl. 

So that about does it for the mid bass. Let’s move on! 

*Tweeters and Mid Ranges:*

The tweeters and mid ranges are what we’re going to address here. A couple of builds ago, I did a sort of A Pillar Pod. It was never done real well, and while it looked ok in pictures, I never really liked it much in person. I have had a couple of attempts, failed attempts, at redoing them, and then lost the desire to mess with them. Here are some pictures of those.


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## scooter99

Second attempt


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## scooter99

The second attempt was temporary, but effective. It for sure allowed me to understand the difference from off axis, like above, and on axis. In this second attempt I used a laser light to point the speakers in a pretty exact direction to my ears. In these pods I used a Hertz High Energy HL70 Mid Range, and a Hertz High Energy HT25 tweeter. Here are those pictures. 























































Now while these did work well, I found them to be too intrusive. While driving, at first, they were fine but then after a while I found myself looking at them quite a bit. This told me that they’re too far out in the open and too noticeable. 

So taking those two builds into account I’m doing a very similar thing. I’m going to take the first build which was filled and glassed into the pillar itself, and use the on axis approach of the pvc caps. The drivers are not going to be able to be as on axis as they were with the caps, but they’ll be close and I think the overall sound will be great. This time, however, they’ll be much more tucked away and less noticeable by the eye.


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## scooter99

I’ve switched drivers though. As I stated above, the second attempt drivers were the Hertz High Energy HL70 and HT25’s. I’m completing the Mille front stage by going with the new Hertz Mille ML 700 3” mid range and the Mille ML280s Signature Tweeters. Here are some pictures of those. 























































The thought on these as well is to try and finish them in a suede covering. I’m also planning the same with the surround in carbon fiber vinyl. I’m not planning to use the Hertz Grills with the midrange. I think that I’ll leave those “raw” and the same goes for the mid bass, although I didn’t mention that before. The only thing that makes me think about actually using the grills is that the tweeters grills are not removable. So that may swing me to use the grills. Only time will tell, and the decision will most likely not be made until after the build on the front stage is done. However, either way a grill will be made with grill cloth to go over them to conceal the drivers from viewing eyes. 

*Front Stage Amplification:*

The front stage will be amplified by 2 Auidson LRx amplifiers. 

The Tweeters and Mid Range will be powered by an LRx 4.1k. While I don’t need nearly that amount of power, I have it already and to try and sell it for a smaller LRx 4.5 would prove to be more hassle than it’s worth. So I’ve decided to go ahead and keep this to utilize it in this way. 

The powerful mid basses will be powered by an LRx 2.9. This will supply approximately 260 watts x 2 at 4ohms. I would love to get the 450 watts x 2 at 2ohms out of this amp, but these are 4ohm speakers and to run active that’s not possible. I think this power will be suffice however and I look forward to pulling it and seeing what these beasts can do! 

So there’s the front stage. There’s going to be a lot of customization and a lot of designing on the fly, but I’m looking forward to the challenge! 

*Phase 5 – Rear Fill:*

So back in Phase 3 I needed to eliminate the rear fill speakers from dropping under the rear deck. Well with daughters, and head rest screens I’m going to need to have sound back there. It’s a must and now I need to find a way to get them in there in a nice dressed up way. 

In a previous build I had a pair of 3” full range speakers in the C Pillars. Here are a few pics of those.


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## scooter99

While those weren’t too invasive, I just wasn’t happy with them. I wanted to go a different route. 

A while back when I was thinking about how to do the rear fill I came across a build from a company I know well. They redid some stuff for a Honda Civic and it was just what I was looking to do, but hadn’t quite been able to put together in my head. Here are the pics of that build, courtesy of Audio Xperts in Vacaville, CA.


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## scooter99

So this gave me the ideas I needed to get my design going. Pretty much I’m planning the same type of thing. There are a few differences however. First of all I’m planning to use a set of Hertz High Energy HSK165 Components for this. 

While I love the set up and look of this build they’ve done, I’m not in need of the outer grills. So, what I’m planning is to move the mid bass over about where the tweeter is in the picture, and in the same centered space as the current mid bass in the picture. The tweeters will then be moved more towards the center, so basically the mid bass and the tweeters will swap positions from what they are in the picture. 

The crossover networks are going to be custom enclosed. I’m planning to make an enclosure that equals the angle of the speakers, however, will not be as high as them. The center will house a counter sunk 4 walled enclosure which will have the crossover networks inside. There will be an cover over them so as not to have any glare while driving. 

Again with the covering I’m going to go ahead and go with a suede top. The speakers will have extended surrounds around them, and some carbon fiber vinyl added for consistency and appearance. Custom grills will ultimately go over the mid bass and complete the look. 

A lot of custom work for this one, again, but I think in the end, it will be great. Thanks to Audio Xperts for posting these pictures. 

_*Conclusion:*_

So as in every enthusiasts build, things change. My build changes a lot it seems, but at this present time, I’ve never been so sure about what’s going to happen. I’m very happy and pleased with my designs so far and barring any testing and failed tests, this all plans to be the way things go. I’m not planning any changes as of this moment. Of course that’s always subject to change, but that’s the fun of this stuff is it not?

On a serious note though, while I have liked most of the designs I’ve come up with, I’ve never been in love with them. I’m a perfectionist, and sometimes that’s not a great thing with a hobby that requires a lot of custom work. So I do change designs and I do redo things, but that’s because I have to look at them every day. I’m serious about what I do. I may not be a professional installer; I’m not even close to a professional installer. But I’m not going to let that stop me from doing a professional job. I’m truly hoping that this is the actual “Final” install in this car. I love my car, and I love to work on it, but I’m at the point now where I’m tired of working on it and I would like to finally start to enjoy that. I’ve gotten about 90% of the performance stuff done on the car, as most of you have seen and for those of you who haven’t you’re welcome to check it out over here at: Scooter's R18 GG Build - 8th Generation Honda Civic Forum where you’ll find a list of the parts and modifications I’ve done to date. There are only a handful of things I have left to do on it. Those will all come in time. 

I currently have a couple of projects going which I’m hoping to have done here very soon. I stopped the work of all those projects to write this summary because I believe that I’ve made some significant changes to the design and overall plan in the last couple of months and I thought maybe some people may be lost on it. I’m also posting it because I’ve started a few new threads and some of those folks who are interested in this, would maybe like to know where this is at and where it’s going. That is what this summary is for. 

What is it that I’m looking for out of this build? Well I have a few answers to this question. First, I love to do projects, and as I stated a moment ago, I love to work on my car. It’s given me something to do when I need to decompress after a hard day, or relieve stress on a weekend where things just aren’t going right. Overall I’m looking to do two things. I’m looking to showcase my skills as an amateur installer, and looking to have the best sound that I can possibly produce on my own with good equipment. I love bass, and I love great music. My ultimate goal is to have that when I get finished with the build. If I compete when this is over, then I want to have no regrets about doing so. If I don’t I don’t’ want to have any regrets for not doing so. I want it to sound great to me, and great to my kids, and enjoy the music I love. I drive this car for a couple hours a day. I want them to be the best sounding couple of hours as I can. 

I also want to know that if I pull up to a friend’s house, or a parking lot, or an even, that I can strip it down and show it off and not be embarrassed by a shotty install. 

I hope that this sums up everything about this build and myself to everyone, and answers any questions that anyone might have. If not, please, feel free to ask me. 

Finally, I’m going to get back to building now this week since this is completed. These are the things that I want completed before I start on the audio build:

Headlight Projector Retrofit

Side Marker Wiring

Fog Light Projector Retrofit 

I’ll be working on those diligently the next couple of weeks and hoping to get those done very soon. I feel as though I’m very close on the headlights, and once those are done and ready to install, the side markers and those will be wired up at the same time. 

The Fog Light Projectors will be installed shortly thereafter. Those should not take quite as long as the headlights took. They should really be quite a bit simpler that the headlights. 

But it’s getting darker earlier now, and lighter later in the morning. I want to make sure these are done very soon so I can see better than I do now with just the standard bulbs. 

I do plan to post pictures of those things, as I’ve done with the other performance items I’ve completed. Again, this may not apply to all forums, but I will be posting in all forums the same stuff. I know there’ve been complaints from some certain people about “this is not a performance forum”, or “this is not an audio forum” and the pictures would most likely be better appreciated on a different forum. While I appreciate you all taking time to tell me what to do and where to post my pictures, I appreciate even more the folks that have been following this build and all of its different angles, changes, twists, turns, and whatever else has been involved where it be audio, performance or just plain chatter. 

Audio portion of this build, which is what this summary was about, will be starting in approximately 2 to 3 weeks. I’m guessing by the last week of October, or the first week in November, I’ll be starting it. Until then, there will be plenty more to read, and plenty more pictures to view. 

I appreciate everyone’s patience as I got this done. I’m very excited about the upcoming build and hope that you share the excitement with me as it gets started! 


Thanks as always for tuning in and for taking the huge amount of time to read this! Now, on with the build!


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## scooter99

Ok, so everyone knows, I know some of the pics need to be resized and I'm working on that right now. 

Otherwise, I'm done and Enjoy and thanks again! Feel free to post up!


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## scooter99

Having trouble resizing. It's resizing, says it is, on photobucket, but when I reinsert it, it's not changing. Anyone care to chime in on this!?!


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## bginvestor

Hey man,

Have you had a chance to audition your new 3" and compare to the HL70's? 

Have you found any severe weaknesses w/ the HL70's? thx.


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## scooter99

No I haven't. I'm not even close to getting them in. Sorry.


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## scooter99

Ok here are some "NON AUDIO" updates for you guys. 

Just a swap from some ebay bluish tinted bulbs to some Nokia 2500k yellows!
Originals. Not the greatest pics for comparison, but it was pouring down rain outside! 




































See the difference now. Old on the right, new on the left. 


























Not the greatest pictures, but you get the idea. I will say though, they're bright as hell when I put the high beams on! Awesome looking!


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## scooter99

Then came the real work. I wanted to go a bit lower all the way around. That was one of the main reasons getting the front fenders rolled. Otherwise I rub too much up front and that's just not gonna work. 

First thing I did was take a look at the area. The fender lining was getting torn up, literally. You'll see that in the first couple of pictures. 

So what I did was walk around and get a measurement of all the same spots. 

Front Passenger Side (see the torn up liner sticking out of the top):









Front Driver Side (again the liner sticking out): 









Rear Driver Side: 









Rear Passenger Side:









So after I did that I decided that I wasn't getting accurate readings, or I didn't think I was anyway. So I got a little creative, and while this may not be the best way to do it, I went this direction cause it seemed good at the time. I got my level out and some tape, and went to work.









I went around and got some measurements and was able to write them down in two places. I took the center point, which is the line with the "C" in it, by putting the level in the center of the center cap on the wheel and leveled up to the fender. 

Front Passenger:









Then took my measurement from the floor to the fender at the center line.









Then I took a measurement from the top of the wheel (not the tire) to the fender.









And wrote my measurements down as I went.


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## scooter99

For every wheel.

Rear passenger:




































Rear Driver:




































Front Driver:


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## scooter99

So after that I took all my measurements and wrote them down on a piece of paper and did a little math. 









You may not be able to read my scribble so I'll explain a little bit about how I came up with my numbers. You've already seen all my measurements, so here you go:

Front Driver: 2 7/8" wheel to fender and 24 5/16" ground to fender
Front Passenger: 2 7/8" wheel to fender and 24 3/8" ground to fender
Rear Driver: 2 3/8" wheel to fender and 24 1/8" ground to fender
Rear Passenger: 2 5/8" wheel to fender and 24 5/16" ground to fender

**Ok I just noticed I wrote the wrong number down for the rear passenger ground to fender. It says 9/16" on the paper and it's 5/16" on the measurement. I thought I was going crazy there for a moment, cause the numbers weren't adding up. Also, actually going back and looking at the pictures, it's about 2 15/16" not 2 7/8" on the front passenger side. HA!**

So moving on, here are our differences and how I came up with what I did. 

Basically between the fronts there's a wheel to fender difference of 1/16". Not bad, I could live with that. On the rears there's a difference of 3/16". That's a pretty big difference. So that's gonna have to be adjusted for sure. 

So in looking at everything I decided that if I went by wheel measurement, 2" would be a decent number to shoot for all the way around. So that tells me that in the front I need to drop 7/8" and in the rear I need to drop 3/8" on the driver side and 9/16" on the passenger side. That should give me a level drop at 2" all the way around. That's what the paper shows. So, LET'S GET BUSY! 

I measured, marked and taped where I needed to go with the drops (although I'm finding out now, that I didn't do that right.) I need to do the spring and I didn't do that the other day. No biggie, I'll get to it at some point. 

Rear Passenger:


















Rear Driver Side:


















Then, it was time for the fronts! Here you can see a bit that I cut out the top half of the fender liner. I left the front and rear parts so that they could still block most of the road grime and water. I'll get back to this later at the end. 

Front Driver Side:


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## scooter99

Front Passenger Side was done the same way, I just forgot pics of the process. Sorry!:









So was able to get about a half inch of drop out of it, and then I couldn't rotate it down anymore. I'm sitting about 1/4" above the axle as you can see in these pics. They are not touching even though it might look like it in the pics. I don't want to risk going any closer to that. 

Front Passenger:


















Front Driver:









So after all that, and a test drive, I measured.

Rear Driver:









Front Driver: <~~~There's an issue here too but I'll get back to that later.









So the rears were the same as before. No drop done unfortunately. Still at 2 3/8" and 2 9/16". Fronts are down to about 2 7/16" or 2 1/2". It's close. I remeasured this morning (10/6/2011) and it's dropped a little more to about 2 3/8". So it's settled a little bit which is good. 

Now in order to get a little more drop I may have to do some front spring adjustments on it. On the paper, that you cannot see, is where I wrote down a measurement for the spring. I know it's not the correct measurement, but from the top of the damper where the threaded part stops and the damper shock rod goes in, I measured down to the top of the silver washer on the top spring nut. It's where the spring, washer, and top nut meet together. I've got 2 3/8" there. Both sides. The spring right now is just barely tight. So if I backed the top nut down a half to 3/4 turn, it would be pretty loose and probably would rattle around. SO I think I can get the 3/8" more out of that but compressing that a little bit. So I'll work on that next time. 

Next time I have it in the air, I'll get that done as well as the rear springs adjusted to drop the rear a little bit more. 

Now onto my issue with the front driver wheel. I took a measurement cause it looked off. It looks very sunk in vs the passenger front wheel. The measurements are showing that there's a 1/4" - 3/8" difference in depth. The passenger wheel is more flush and the driver is sunk in by 1/4" to 3/8". That CANNOT be good. It's always seemed to pull right, and never really ever been centered, or so it seems to me and my horrible memory. And with it like that, aside of the more important functionality, it looks like CRAP! Irritating! 

The fender liners. So as I said above, i cut the top of the liners out of the wheel well so that they wouldn't rub or flap. They were getting wrecked so I said "F-IT" and just cut it out. I cut just above both the upper pins on the front and back. That way those two pieces could be on there securely and there would be no flapping around. I think in the future, probably far future, I'll make some fiberglass liners that go the whole wheel well area to replace it. That way there wont' be any rubbing, it'll be stout, and then I'll also do some sort of hardware to secure it instead of the POS plastic pins that easily break. More projects! I'm going to also, at some point in the near future for the audio portion of things, deaden the inside of the fender, as well as the body next to the door portions. It's pretty thin and flexible in there. I'm going to have some beastly mid bass in there and I don't want any issues. I'll then probably spray down the whole thing with some under body spray or bed liner or something like that to protect it and dress it up. 

Oh, almost forgot, here's my ghetto fabulous exhaust hanger fix. Drilled a hole, stainless steel screw, washer, and nut. That crap aint dropping anymore! 









Ok that's it. Tonight and tomorrow I'll be working on headlight shrouds! Hopefully those will be done this weekend!


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## sq_guru

scooter99 said:


> New shoes baby!
> 
> New sexiness!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So that's how she sits! I love it, love the look! What do you guys think?


I like the black Mugen look much better than the chrome. Good choice!


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## scooter99

Thanks. Yea I love em too!


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## scooter99

Iv'e gotten lots of work done this weekend folks! I'm off today so I'm going to try and get the headlights done, but it may not happen. We'll have to wait and see what time does. Of course the day I have off, it's raining like crazy! Oh well. I've got a lot of pics to post, but that won't be till probably tonight.


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## scooter99

Pics are uploaded. I have to go get my kids from school. I'll get them posted tonight!


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## scooter99

Ok so here's some updates. Lots of pictures here. These are the last few projects before I get onto strictly audio. That should make some people happy! 

I'm not going to identify each one, there's too much. I'll just summarize now. I've been working on these retro projector shrouds for a while now, way longer than I wanted to, but everyone know's my situation. I just don't have all day to work on my car, as much as I'd love to be able to. So I have to take my time here and there when I'm able to take it. 

So these shrouds have been finished and then stepped back to about 90% now. I spent all day yesterday and half a day on Saturday sanding and filling and priming and painting. They were done this morning. Then, of course as I always do, I just had to try something out. I spoke a while back when I first started the shroud project, that I was either going to carbon fiber them or try carbon fiber vinyl or just go black. Well I went black and they looked killer, and I just couldn't leave well enough alone. So today I put some carbon fiber vinyl on them, and was worried about the heat so I cleared them with some engine clear coat. That just didn't work. While it would've protected them I'm sure, they really lost the carbon fiber effect. So I wasn't happy with that. 

I took the cfv off only to really do a number on the paint below as well as break some of the shroud. So I'm fixing that now and by next weekend it'll be black again. That's how it'll stay and be ready for install. So, here are all the pics.


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## scooter99

Forgot about this one. This is the second of the two, I test fitted the angel eye and it was too built up at the bottom so it wasn't centering. Glad I caught it at this point however, rather than at the end!


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## scooter99




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## scooter99




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## scooter99

The one on the right is without clear, and the left is with clear!


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## scooter99

So after that was done, and the frustration was over sort of, I decided to move over to the Scan Gauge II pod. Sanding on this. I'll have to do a coat of topper and then sand it down and it should be pretty close after that. This will get CFV on it as a final layer. Here are those pics! 



























































































So that's it for the updates this weekend. I can tell you I HATE sanding and that's pretty much all I did this weekend! But I'm closer to finishing these projects, plus I still have the fog lights to do. Then, ON TO AUDIO! Thanks for tuning in!


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## screamatamonkey

scooter99 said:


> So today I put some carbon fiber vinyl on them, and was worried about the heat so I cleared them with some engine clear coat. That just didn't work. While it would've protected them I'm sure, they really lost the carbon fiber effect. So I wasn't happy with that.



Have you tried layering several layers of epoxy and sanding like Rob does on his masterpiece of a BMW?

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-member-build-logs/30321-one-badassed-bmw-330-a-25.html#post943773

It looks like he coats the parts with epoxy and then bakes them...

TBH, I didn't have time to go through his whole thread to find his exact process, but I vaguely remember him going over it before.


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## scooter99

I just came on here to delete that big post I put up earlier to find a clean thread. I'm not that guy, which is why I was going to do that. Thanks to whomever. We're back on track now!


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## scooter99

screamatamonkey said:


> Have you tried layering several layers of epoxy and sanding like Rob does on his masterpiece of a BMW?
> 
> http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-member-build-logs/30321-one-badassed-bmw-330-a-25.html#post943773
> 
> It looks like he coats the parts with epoxy and then bakes them...
> 
> TBH, I didn't have time to go through his whole thread to find his exact process, but I vaguely remember him going over it before.


Yes I've seen it, and talked to him about it too. Just alot of work for those shrouds. You saw what I posted earlier in response to this, I love Rob's work and it excites me anytime I get an update email from his thread. I wish I had half of his skills! 

I think I'm just gonna stick with black though. More this weekend! Thanks!


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## JayinMI

I'd be worried that the cfv would melt or lift with the heat inside the headlight housings. It's a cool look, tho. What kind of adhesive did you use to apply it?

Jay


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## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> I just came on here to delete that big post I put up earlier to find a clean thread. I'm not that guy, which is why I was going to do that. Thanks to whomever. We're back on track now!


Very cool


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## scooter99

JayinMI said:


> I'd be worried that the cfv would melt or lift with the heat inside the headlight housings. It's a cool look, tho. What kind of adhesive did you use to apply it?
> 
> Jay


I was worried about that too which was why I used the clear, but after about 3 or 4 coats, it washed out the cf look, so it defeated the purpose. I looked into it on the Retrofit source forum and people are using it on their housings etc and it seems to be holding up, but I'd hate to be the one it doesn't work on and have to go back in and re do it again. That would suck! So I'm going back to flat black heat resistant paint. 

It's self adhesive. Peel and stick. Heat gun and stretching and it sticks pretty well. 



amitaF said:


> Very cool


Ya, very! But I'm keeping the Kool-Aid man avatar and quote! :laugh:


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## bginvestor

scooter99 said:


> I just came on here to delete that big post I put up earlier to find a clean thread. I'm not that guy, which is why I was going to do that. Thanks to whomever. We're back on track now!


When I feel motivated to write that "letter" or "thread", I write it up and wait til the next day... I usually don't send it off.. 

This has advanced my career at work, I'm sure. :2thumbsup:


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## scooter99

That's a great point! Sometimes my anger gets the best of me. A mad Kool-Aid man is not Kool!


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## animated_zombie

I can't remember exactly how I found your thread - one of those links on a forum to another link and so on. For the last couple hours I've been reading it from the start. (No I haven't slept yet... urgh) But I am so blown away by not only you attention to detail, but your perseverance in getting it right. Not done, but right. 

As I was reading threw your retrofit build I was laughing to myself about how many times you added another layer and re-did it. But that's what separates 1st place trophies from attendance prizes. 

Anyway, I went ahead and made an account here just to tell you bravo mate, keep up the good work and now that you've gotten me to make an account you're stuck with me! Haha...


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## scooter99

animated_zombie said:


> I can't remember exactly how I found your thread - one of those links on a forum to another link and so on. For the last couple hours I've been reading it from the start. (No I haven't slept yet... urgh) But I am so blown away by not only you attention to detail, but your perseverance in getting it right. Not done, but right.
> 
> As I was reading threw your retrofit build I was laughing to myself about how many times you added another layer and re-did it. But that's what separates 1st place trophies from attendance prizes.
> 
> Anyway, I went ahead and made an account here just to tell you bravo mate, keep up the good work and now that you've gotten me to make an account you're stuck with me! Haha...


Thanks for the kind words, it's appreciated! Glad to have you here, look out for more stuff too. I'm going to attempt to get both sets of HID's in, and stuff wired up today. I may wait on the last shroud and projector install till next week. If I get these HID's in, then they're there and I can be ready for the headlight housing swap, and aiming! Should be done with it next weekend. If all goes well!


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## scooter99

Well here we go again. Two steps forward and another step back. 

After a beautiful morning, I sat on the couch and watched my 4 -1 Niners beat the 5- 0 Lions, I decided to shower up and hit the garage for some work. My goal today was to work on getting the fogs in, get the retros started, the HID's in and then see where I was at after that. Kind of alot to bite off for an afternoon, but I was feeling good about it. 

Things were going very well for a bit. Then i hit my first snag. I'll take you through the first part and fill you in when I get there. Here are some pics. 

Little before action! New Nokia Yellow DRL's in there, no fogs. 









My baby with her bra off! 









And thrown on the floor! Not really, don't get excited! 









Starting the process! Pretty self explanatory in the pics! 


















Samsung Galaxy Tablet on the DIY for some help if needed! 









Got the drill out with a little drill bit. Now the directions online said, use a push pin to puncture through to the front and then cut it out, basically. These guys must have fingers of steel, cause even though this is pretty soft plastic, really a push pin!?! Not sure who wrote this up, the guy from "Office Space", maybe he did it on his lunch hour! Anyway, I opted for a drill and a bit to drill the holes out instead! Easier! A push pin.....pshhhh!!









Kind of hard to see the circles but they're there if you look hard, 8 of them. 









Before drilling


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## scooter99

Back after









Front after









Then, my trusty dremel made an appearance! He's so loyal! Love that thing! 









Here's my first little issue! Pissed me off more than anything, but whatever I thought I'd share. I was dremeling out the holes, and I hear this thud and the dremel almost slipped out of my hands. What was it you ask? Well it was the camera falling off the table, and the dremel body, falling on top of the camera! Don't know if you recall, a while back i had a broken camera and had to fix it, lcd was broken cause I sat on it at 2am or something like that. Well I semi lucked out on this one. Same issue, but the screen cracked not the LCD! But this happened as well! 









However, it's still working! Whatever!




































So I did have to trim out the holes a little bit, and fiddle with it a little here and there but ultimately I WIN!


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## scooter99

So my lights are in now, and my next order of business was to get them fired up and lined up correctly. Not sure if I did it correctly but here's what I did. I anchored down the back of the bumper so it was stationary. If you've never taken these off before, they're a little front heavy and tip pretty easily. Didn't want to fight it so I screwed it down. Then I shimmed up the front until I got a good level on it. 

Scoot, how did you get a level on it? I didn't. I measured it. I'm not sure now what it was but the table was 29" from the floor to table top, then I think it was 5 or something from there to the fogs or something like that. It was over 5 frustrating hours ago, so I'm not sure. Anyway, I measured the garage door and taped it off as well. 

Then I taped off the fogs, to give a sort of cut off. Proved to be a dumb idea cause it just didn't work that way! Oh well! Ya know you don't know these things till you try them! 









Tape representing the table top









Tape representing the center of the fogs.









So here's where I started, and before any leveling. 









Here's where I ended up. 


















More adjusting.









Then it was time for the HID's! 









Much better light in person, not sure if you can tell here!


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## scooter99

Now here's where the whole project got frustrating. I started the projector retros for this. I really honestly figured it was going to be pretty straight forward. Don't ask me why I thought that, I must have been drinking that night. I've been sitting on Blazer Fog Projectors for a while and of course these fog lights and have been thinking about how I was going to do this. I honestly for some reason thought that if I could just simply cut the Blazer Projectors in half, they would just simply fit in the fogs and I'd only have to glue them in, then follow with epoxy when level to seal them in place. Then when set, I was going to take them out of the brackets, level them upright and pour resin in there to fill to the bottom of the projector lens. 

Here are the projectors.


















I didn't take anymore pics, I was so frustrated after I was done with this I said F-IT! Or i just didn't think about it! Either way there aren't any! 

But I cut one projector at the seam in the middle and when I got it cut out, realized that the bowl behind it was where the reflector was at. So I trimmed it out a bit, and then tried to put it in the fog light. NOPE! Too fat! While I could probably trim it down some, I'm still stuck with the fact that I cut the reflector out of the whole thing. So the next thing I did was take the second one and cut the tail end off of it. I cut about a half inch off the part where the bulb for the projector goes in. Then I trimmed it out a little to allow the hid to slide in and stay put. Lit it up and was NOT impressed! So I'm not sure if it was the projector or the HID but either way there wasn't much light output. 

So I decided to admit defeat today, and just do away with the projectors and just be happy with the HIDs. Got the one bulb back in the fog light and turned it back on and it went on great! Looked good and then.................ZAP, POP!! The damn HID bulb blew! I could not believe it! So I was back to the regular fogs with the regular bulbs! I have to email Mike over at The Retro Fit Source and see if I can get a new bulb to replace it. After I get that all squared away, I'll be back with the HID's in the fogs and hope that they're not too bad on the road. 

So continuing on with the project, I was getting a little pressure from my wife cause it was starting to get a little late and there was still bath time and night routines to do for the kids. 

The next thing I did was Lexan the lenses. I knew I was going to have to take them out in order to do the projectors, and so I just planned to change the lenses out when I did that. So here's that! 























































What I did not do and should've done was take a picture of the difference between the two. The old lens was so brittle that I was afraid I was going to break it when I was taking it off. It's about 1/16" where the lexan lens is about 1/8". Big difference. 

So next I routed the wires. 









And that's really about as far as I got. Here's a pic with the bumper back on. 









After getting inside, and decompressing a bit, I realized that I wired the lights in the wrong direction. There's a little plug harness on the passenger side with a single wire in it and that's supposed to be what the harness plugs into. Well I ran my wires down to the driver side. Sill me to think that they should go on the side where the power is, you know battery and even where the GOD DAYM SWITCH IS LOCATED INSIDE! Stupid me for thinking with some common sense! So anyway, easy fix I just have to cut the zip ties and flip flop the harness! I'll do it when I get the HID back and the headlights go in.


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## scooter99

So the other project I did tonight was, finish a project I started a long time ago! The side markers. 

If you will recall last week, or maybe the week before, I cut the tops of the wheel well liners off. Well that allowed me access to the side markers with no problem and without having to take off the wheel. I just have to turn it in order to be able to get my big arm in there. So I was able to get those wired up. It's not pretty and to be completely honest with you all, I'm a bit embarrassed about it. I will for sure go back in and re do this in a better way! I just simply cannot let this go like it is. But, as I said before, I was under the gun. Here are the pics.

Took the side trim piece all the way off, and found this hole to sting some wire through for my harness I made before. The blue wire is not my harness. 










This is inside the top of the inside of the wheel well. Now this is part of why I want to re do it, is because this needs a grommet of some sort. For protection and looks. 


















Here's the harness fed through the side marker hole. 









Side marker on!









Here's the harness going through. I ran it under that lip not on top. But it's got techflex and heatshrink on both ends. So it's semi protected. But not nearly enough. 


















Marker back in.









This is the other part I don't like. I used wire taps, but what I want done is to cut the wire, strip it, solder it, and then heat shrink it. Much cleaner, much nicer looking and then slide some loom back over it, and then tape it up. I kind of rushed this! I am ashamed! FAIL! 









I did use a light meter to find the correct wire though. The passenger side is the brown wire, and the driver side is the blue wire, if anyone is wondering. The red wire is for the running lights, and the black I'm assuming is ground. There you have it. 









I taped all that back up and it's all covered with electrical tape now.


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## scooter99

Here's a crappy out of focus video in the garage. 


Here's a better video outside after I was all done! This one gets all three lights, tail, side, and front. I'm pretty happy with it. 


The thing I'm not really happy with is the lack of light. Although I know it's on me cause I tinted it, I think it should really shine through better. I'm going to go ahead and pick up some led lights for this and get those in there. That should make a big difference. 

So that's what I got done today. So the only thing left to do now, is get the shrouds done, or redone I guess you could say, and get the retros in and aimed. Then put all that back together and wire it up. I'm guessing that may happen next weekend, but I think I have plans on Saturday so I'll have to make sure of what's going on before that happens. I'll work on the shrouds this week and get those refinished and fixed, then it'll be on to get the lights in and done! HID's need to go in as well. I'll need to get all four ballasts in and wired up. Headlights (2) and fogs (2). I also still need to wire the fogs up. Shouldn't take too long. I think I want to make those go on with the parking lights though. I'll have to look at how all that's going to have to wire up. 

More to come very very very soon! Thanks for checking in! I have go get to bed now! Boot camp in the morning! Lost 8lbs in the last 2 weeks, and I've got a minimum of 2 - 7lbs to go by Christmas! I wanna blow that out of the water! 5am comes very early! Good night!


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## scooter99

I forgot to add up there, that I'm probably going to be tinting the fog light lenses as well. Especially after the HID's go in! What do you all think!?! 

I'd like to eventually get the covers, I think it's called lexani, that tints everything, but when your lights are on, it's like they're not tinted at all. My boy has them on his BMW and it looks sick! Dark in the day, but bright as normal at night. Brake lights are seen as normal as well! Something for down the road maybe!


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## scooter99

A little stance update for you guys! Not the greatest pics, but I like the way it's sitting right now. Still could go lower in the rear, but the fronts have actually settled nicely and I think I may leave them there. Needs and alignment BADDDLLLLYYYY!!! But I'm not sure about Firestone anymore. They just don't seem to know what they're doing. Maybe I'll go to another shop and see if I get some different results.


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## Coppertone

Cali streets for the win, nice setting.


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## quality_sound

Take it to Linville Bros. on El Camino. If you're on CCF West get off on W El Camino and hang a left at the end of the ramp. It'll be less than a block up on the right. Big blue and yellow sign. They have an RV alignment pit so no rack to deal with. They were also the ONLY place in Sac I trusted to mount tires on my show wheels. $15/wheel for mounting and balancing. I want to say an alignment was $60. 

They're good people. John and Jerry have been hooking me up for YEARS.


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## scooter99

quality_sound said:


> Take it to Linville Bros. on El Camino. If you're on CCF West get off on W El Camino and hang a left at the end of the ramp. It'll be less than a block up on the right. Big blue and yellow sign. They have an RV alignment pit so no rack to deal with. They were also the ONLY place in Sac I trusted to mount tires on my show wheels. $15/wheel for mounting and balancing. I want to say an alignment was $60.
> 
> They're good people. John and Jerry have been hooking me up for YEARS.


I'll get over there. Good lookin out man! Thanks!


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## scooter99

Here's a little update for what's going on. 

Ok so I got the old HID bulbs sent back yesterday and received an email this morning saying they're sending the new H3C's out today. I also got the Hella Projectors ordered just now, so Part II of the Fog Light retro will be coming soon. May not happen until after the audio starts (which will be the first part of November) but it will happen. I think it's gonna end up being one of those projects that I do in my spare time. Kind of like the Scan Gauge Pod. It's just about done, little sanding and then the finishing. Probably going to be CF Vinyl. 

More to come very soon! Stay tuned!


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## mitchyz250f

Great thread. What is going on with the Galaxy Tap?


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## scooter99

I've got everything working the way I want it to. So the bench testing is done, and needs to be turned into an install. That was going to be one of my first installs with the audio portion, and while it may still be, if I do it that way, and actually do the install, I won't have any music until the rest of the install is done. I don't know about you, but I KNOW that would drive me nuts. 

So I'm thinking I may do some preliminary testing for fitment, but then once that's done, I'll most likely do all the building out of the car and then test fit now and then. Once it's done, it'll just sit until the rest of the build is done. Just kind of the way it has to be. 

There's going to be a lot of work to go into that part. Glasswork, body filling, sanding until my hands are raw, finishing, fitting, and a ton more. It's going to take some serious time and patience to get it done! Up to my standards anyway! LMAO!


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## angelspeedfreak

still looking real good. Glad to see the whole car getting attention and not just the stereo.


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## scooter99

Thanks buddy! It's still going on, you know, just not on here. Don't get it but whatever. I'm not letting it get to me. Just keep reporting it and let it get dealt with the way it should be. 

As far as the car, the latest is starting tonight. I'm gonna start taking it apart and getting things done. Gonna get the HID's in, get the old headlights out, and the new ones in. Hopefully by Sunday, the headlights will be done! I do still have to do a little work on the shrouds, but those will be ready by the time the headlights are done. If not, then I guess I'm driving the truck for a couple days next week. 

Then the fogs will be the only things left. I'll be taking those off this weekend as well, that way I can have them out and ready when the projectors and new HID's get here next week. Now that I've got it down what I need to do, I should be able to get on it right away. 

Still planning on the Audio Start the *FIRST WEEK IN NOVEMBER!!!!* <~~~thought I'd make that easy to read so it wouldn't get missed, although I guess it doesn't really mater does it! :laugh: 

Anyway, More to come in a couple days! Stay tuned!


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## bginvestor

Hey man,

Why did you not choose a ipad2 for this install? ipad2 is awesome!


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## scooter99

Honestly, cause everyone has one. I checked out the Galaxy and played with it and fell in love with it. My sister in law has an ipad 2 and while it's nice I don't see anything better about it over the galaxy. I'm just not a "go with the grain" type of guy so I went with the Galaxy.


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## bginvestor

scooter99 said:


> Honestly, cause everyone has one. I checked out the Galaxy and played with it and fell in love with it. My sister in law has an ipad 2 and while it's nice I don't see anything better about it over the galaxy. I'm just not a "go with the grain" type of guy so I went with the Galaxy.


that's cool.. Glad to see that it wasn't something technical that was keeping you from going w/ it..


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## scooter99

He does an outstanding job on those too! I've seen so many of them done, and he has the fiberglass tubs for those for sale too. But alas! I think we all know how I love to do things myself! 

So mini update! 

Some GREAT progress made last night and tonight. I've only been working for an hour or so tonight, and now it's dinner time, but I've got one project about 95% complete, the shrouds have their 3rd and about to put the 4th coat of paint on them. Car is in the garage for the "break down" and I have all night after dinner, and all day tomorrow to finish!  Great weekend so far! 

Lots of pics to post either tomorrow or monday! Stay tuned!


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## scooter99

Ok so here's my little disclaimer! I have a ton of pics to post up! They are NOT of audio, so if you don't want to see em, don't look! Otherwise, let's go! 


Ok guys, there's a huge amount of pictures to post here. Not everything is 100% done but I'll start with the part that is done....

The Scan Gauge II pod! Yes folks it's finally finished! Not much to really talk about so I'll just post the pics and then add comments when necessary!

Here we go! 

So I last left with another layer of filler, and had lots of sanding to get done. This was the last pic from the last time I posted on this! 









Then I finally got back to working on it:



























Little high build primer



























Because I wasn't going to paint it for finishing, I had other things in mind which I'll get to in a moment, I decided I still wanted it to be black under whatever I did. So I just hit it with a little black primer.


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## scooter99

So after that, which I'm sure someone had noticed, I needed to do a little more sanding to get some imperfections down. Again, I'm not painting it for a finish, but if I did decide to go back and do it again later, I'd like it to be as close as possible. 

Also had to get the holes drilled out for the buttons. 


















Then this was the first test fit! 









NOW, it's time to finish! This is what I wanted to do. Actually originally I was going to go ahead and paint it for a finish, but then I decided to do it this way. 









The problem I had, was the angles. You see in this picture, the sides were going to give me big problems. Had to come up with a way to get those taken care of. 









So I covered them first. 


















Then I did the rest of it in one piece!


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## scooter99

Overall I'm happy with how it came out. I learned however that I had to go ahead and really cut the back of it, twice, the width of the actual scan gauge pod, because with the angles it presented a problem and would have caused a rather large seam in the middle. With me only doing this a hand full of times, I'm sure there's a different and better way to do this, but that was the best way I saw to get it done and make it look decent. The only problem I ran into was one side ripped a little and when it did that it caused a crooked line. I'm about 99% sure, I'll be going back over this again and doing it over to get rid of that. But i want to get some more covering under my belt before I tackle this again. So for now, it's in the back, behind the pod, and cannot be seen from the driver view. But, as I've stated several times before, it's the details that separate from the rest. 

Finished!


















Next it was time to get it in place and wired up! I took the dash back out, and got it trimmed out and prepped for putting it back together. 
If you get this far in your dash, you look at the face of the dash gauge piece. There are 3 screws you have to take out. One is under the head unit, so pop that out, the second right next to the lower gauge cluster holding screw (white bracket) in the center, and then the third next to the driver window. Remove those, and then it's all clips after that. Should just pop out. Might take a little pulling pressure, but it'll go.


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## scooter99

Next is to take out the lower gauge cluster. This will help for wiring! There are three screws here as well. The one top center I spoke of earlier, then the second and third on the lower right and left corners. Can't miss em! Take those out! Then you can just flip the cluster up. 









This is what it looks like behind it.









Take your scan gauge wire with the bulk end, and pass it through the big slot there and drop it down under the dash.


















Here's the OBDII port. I'm under the dash looking up under the dash. If you're looking at your head unit and HVAC controls, it's on the lower left hand side of that just under the dash. Pretty easy to spot. 









Plug it in there.









Now do some wire management and get it ready for finishing! 









Put the upper frame back in, and the lower gauge cluster, and screw them all back in. 









Then plug the wire into the pod, and put the pod in!


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## scooter99

As you can see, there is not impedance of the gauges etc behind the pod. It's perfect! 









Have to do some adjustments to the gauge itself as far as settings go, but there it is! DONE!


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## subwoofery

Nice stuffs  

Kelvin


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## scooter99

So I also tore the front end apart and did a lot of work under the front. This was my goal for the weekend:

Scan Gauge II pod done - CHECK
Projectors In
HID's In
Fog Lights wired up
Re wire the Side Markers
Wire for LED's in headlights and under front grill

That's alot of work for basically a full day, and a half a day. Fortunately I got a half day extra on friday cause our server at work went down so they sent everyone home! Benefits of working for a small company! 

So Next up, I went with the fog light wiring! There was a lof of confusion here because the fogs i have are not the OEM fogs. They're knock off oem style. They look the same, but the harness is different and not quite plug and play. I still have the oem style button, and it lights up etc, but there was a lot of brain work that had to go into this to get the right wires in the right places. Let's get to it! 

Now, what I want everyone to realize here is that this is one of about 5 different harnesses out there for the ebay style fogs. So in all the research I did, I did not find many or really any that were the same style as the one I have. So I did some guess work on it, and did some figuring and that's how I was able to get the result I did. I'm going to go ahead and make this a diy style posting so that if anyone needs it, it's kind of easy to understand step by step on the same type of harness that I have. 

So here we go. 

Now on this install I'm adding two separate switches along with the OEM style fog light switch, because I'm going to be putting LED's in the headlights for the audi style DRL's, as well as under the front grill for the same glow effect. What I needed first was a harness to do all that. Here's what I started with.


















These were the switches I started with but didn't realize until later that they were not on off switches. They're push and hold switches. Don't know the true name for them, but you push it and hold it or if you let it go it turns off. Momentary switches maybe? Not sure. Anyway, I have some of the same type of switches with a blue neon that are on off switches that I went to later. 









Now you need to take the pocket out of the dash piece. There are three screws in this. One on the bottom and one on either side. Remove these. Also there are two tabs that hold the pocket in place aside of the screws. One on the bottom left about a half inch from the side, and another on the top behind the harness plug in. Now you can probably make this easier on yourself if you take the piece out above it, only two screws, but I didn't. Whatever you choose. 









Save the screws, you'll reuse them!









Here you can see the tabs.









Here's the piece that's going in place of the pocket. This one is from the Ebay kit. The OEM kit, will have the same piece but the three blocks will pop out. This is one piece. 









For mine, again, I'm using switches, so I wanted them to be centered. So I used tape to get my marks instead of just marking up the piece itself. Here's all that. Pretty self explanatory.


----------



## scooter99

Now drill them out. I choose to drill them out by stepping up in bits each time. I find it's easier to control that way. Some may not, it's up to you!



























If you run out of bits and still have to get a bigger hole, GET THE DREMEL OUT AND DO WORK! 









Test fitting









Can't just leave it black! 


















Now take that piece and snap it in place. The CFV may make it more difficult to snap in, but it will go in! Then put your screws back in.


----------



## scooter99

Now then, the wiring directions for the fogs. On the harness that I have, there's a small red wire with a splice connector on it, a White wire with a white connector, and a Red wire with a white connector on it. There are two spots in the install which require a small female disconnect connector to go on. I didn't have any of those, but I had molex connectors. So I used those. Using these you just kind of crimp them down, but not all the way, so it's snug on the connection where you're pluggin in. Works well, I've done it before. 









First up the little red wire! Remove the splice connector, and solder on the molex end.









Heatshrink it and plug it in. If you look at your fuse panel, upright not on your back btw, this plug in area is in the upper left hand side of the fuse panel. If you did not get, or have, the plug in connector for this, the pin you're going to plug into is the top row, last pin on the right. 









Next you're going to take the white wire with the white connector. Cut off the connector. The end on it is too big to use so you're gonna have to take it off anyway. Again, solder on and heatshrink the molex end. 









Above the fuse panel, you'll see three big plugs with a ton of wires in them. The middle one is the one you need. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR RADIO CODE CAUSE YOU"RE GOING TO BE KILLING POWER TO THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT DISCONNECTED THE BATTERY YET!! So lift up on the white tab on the right side, and it should come toward you. Once that's done, you're gonna need to apply some force and pull the plug toward you. That's how you get that plug out. 

Next you're going to slide that grey cover toward the end without the wires. I believe. Either way it slides, you'll figure it out. Not hard to do. 

Once you have that off, you have access to the spot where the white wire goes. I chose here, to plug the plug back in and leave the cover off. Why did I do this? Well using the molex end, it does not snap into the hole like the other connector would do. SO in order to not fight it, I chose to plug the connector back in, WHICH WILL SET OFF THE ALARM IF YOU HAVE ONE SO KEEP YOUR KEYS HANDY, and then plug the white wire into that hole and thus not fighting it. The wire will go between the brown and red wire. There's a free spot there. 









Now, back to the led switches. I found a spot on the panel, fuse space #8, which is not occupied and is an ignition source. I wanted an ignition source so that I could not forget to turn off the lights when I turned off the car. This will allow them to do that. 

So I used a male quick disconnect connector and soldered it onto my power wire to the switches. 









Then inserted it on the power side of the fuse slot. I did have to trim it down a little bit to fit. *(DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT THE PROPER WAY TO DO THIS, AND IT WILL GET CHANGED TO A PROPER APPLICATION, HOWEVER I NEED TO DO SOME SEARCHING ON THE BACK OF THE PANEL FOR THE "OUT" SIDE OF THIS SLOT. IT IS NOT CURRENTLY FUSED BECAUSE I DID NOT HAVE A FUSE HOLDER TO PUT ON IT. IT WILL BE FUSED.)*









Back to the fog light harness. Next you should have a branch of the harness that has a large 4 pin connector on it. This is for a relay. Plug the relay into that. Then figure out where to hide the 30 feet of unnecessary wire and the relay.









Ground it. This is what I had used before so I used it again for this. 









Next, get some stretching of your back out of the way cause you're gonna need to crawl under the dash and be there for a moment or two. 

You're going to see up in the back of the dash, behind the clutch if you have one, or just up there somewhere, a brown connector tied to another wire with blue tape! Yep, love honda, electrical tape everywhere, zipties, but here.................we're gonna use some blue painters tape! Nice! Here it is!









Told you, blue tape! Didn't believe me did you!


----------



## scooter99

Ok now with some of the installs I've read, I'm hearing people having issues with connecting these two wires. So the end result seems to be to take the connector off the, in this case red, wire and plug it in without the white connector. So if you look in the white connector on the back side where the wire is, you can take a small flat screwdriver, and pop the piece inside out. Then look in the other end, and take the screwdriver and push down the metal pin on the connector. Pull the wire out. 


















Then plug it into the brown connector.









Now we can plug the 20 amp fuse into slot #6 on the fuse panel. I forgot to picture it, but if you look on your kick panel, it has the fuse layout on it and it should say Fog (something) on it. I'll try and get a pic of it and put it up later. 

We've gotten everything wired up inside, now we can go ahead and put the switches in and test the connection outside. 

Here's the switch, I think it's upside down here though, oops! Take the green connector that you passed through the dash earlier, and connect it to the switch. It should click when it's all the way in. Switch is off here!









Then I used a light tester to check the connection. This is in the connector on the outside of the car, under the bumper, next to the windshield washer reservoir. 









Not a great picture, but the button is on!









We've got power! 









Now that we've confirmed that everything works ok, it's time to wire it all up and clean it up. I have to run the LED wires to the front. I found a little grommet in the upper part inside behind the fuse panel. This leads to behind the fender, actually directly right behind the side markers. Popped that grommet out and drilled a hole and passed the wires through. 









Not the greatest pic, but this is from the inside of the driver side foot kick area behind the fuse panel. The hole is just off center to the upper left side if you can't see it. 









From the inside of the fender with the wire passed through.


----------



## scooter99

Brought it through just following the hood pop cable. 









Button it back up. Switches off.









Fog on









All on!









So there it is. Clean under the dash, well sort of. The alarm is such a rats nest that it makes it look bad. But that's gonna get replaced and re located soon so I'm not worried about that. If you guys haven't noticed as of yet, I basically rewire things 2 or 3 times when I go about different projects. Part of being a perfectionist I guess! So there are the fogs, wired up! 

When I get the bumper back on, I'll get the fogs on with halogens to show the work! 

I DID, HOWEVER, just get my new projectors in, so I'll be doing that retrofit here very very soon! Waiting on bulbs from TRS! 

Let's move on to the next big project!


----------



## scooter99

NOW, onto the biggest project of the weekend! THE PROJECTORS! 

Lots going on here, bouncing around a lot cause there's just different stuff going on. So let's get started! 

When I last left this, i was fixing a shroud and getting them back to paint status. I tried the CFV and it just didn't work out. So I decided what a better way to get them better than just sand them down. I know more sanding, no one hates it more than I do. Irritating, but to get things looking good it has to be done. 

This is the broken shroud, I put some filler back in, and sanded it down. 









Nice and flat! Came out well I thought.









Started more sanding.









Then I started on the second one.


















Halfway through the sanding, I decided, I just didn't want the CCFL angel eyes anymore. I liked the original thought of them, but after that, i just felt like they were too much with the LEDs going in as well. so I had to cover the holes. So I stopped sanding and filled.









Then I kept sanding some more. 









and some more









until I basically sanded all the black off. I got a lot of imperfections out of them by doing this. Much better than originally when I decided to cover them. I'm much happier with them now.


----------



## scooter99

Some high fill primer. 



























Did a little more sanding, and now I'm ready for paint! 



























Here we've got the answer! VHT Flame Proof Paint! This should do it! 









This is the first of 6 coats!


----------



## scooter99

Now all that was done on my half day off friday! Got lots of work done for sure! 

Got the bumper torn off and started getting things ready for the HID's and projectors. 









Here's where it kind of get's DIYish. All these bolts are 10mm btw!

Removed this front bolt, not the rear one. 









under the housing, you see two bolts in here, remove those both.









this is on the side of the housing, remove that bolt on the left.









in the oval cutout there, remove that bolt. 









Then I put a towel down to not scratch the front of the housing, lens. The metal bracket on the bottom of the housing should be out now. The housing should pull out toward the center of the car. Down and out.









Take this clip out.









Set the housing aside!


----------



## scooter99

SHE'S NEKID! 









Some minor adjustments for the new stuff! 









Oh that's better!









Now it's time to get those sidemarkers cleaned up! 
Here's the harness for the parking lights without the bulb in it. There's a little pin in there that you can push to pop the wire out. Did that for the brown (passenger side) and the black (ground).


















Stripped some wire back, did not cut the wire completely!









Soldered on the positive from the side marker then heat shrink to protect it!


















Repeated with the ground!


----------



## scooter99

Some new loom!









Oh so much cleaner than before! 









Basically working on the passenger side right now. Here's the HID ballast for the headlights. Still have to figure out where I'm gonna put the fog light ballasts. 









Put some sound deadener too.









This is a picture of the ground wire, which is for the fog lights. I apparently didn't take a picture of them together, but the wire went down next to the brown connector for the fogs, so that it can be quick disconnected when I have to take the bumper off. 









Onto the driver side! MESSY!









Had a little friend here hanging out with me! 









All cleaned up! 









Next I had to run wires over to the passenger side and in the middle, cleanly!









Here they're running along the cross member all loomed up!


----------



## scooter99

Now that the wiring is ready, and cleaned up might I add.......it's time for the magic to happen! 









Rubber gloves are key here! DON'T TOUCH THE BULBS WITH YOUR FINGERS DAMN IT!!!!!


















Next one!


















Got em in! 









OHHHHH SHAT THEY WORK BABY!!!!









YEAHHHHH!!!!!









So there's lots of things left to do. I have to adjust them, and tighten them up, do the wiring for the highs, and some other things like wire up the leds. Seal the lenses back up too. But let me proceed with some before and afters thus far! 

Before!


----------



## scooter99

Nokia Yellow Highs



























Just DRL's









Now, the Pre-Adjusted Projectors!









So that's it. I've now eclipsed 350 pictures on this project alone! LOTS! But I have quite a few things left to do to button this thing up. Those will get done tonight. So after all that, if I finish tonight, I'll have gotten all the stuff done with what i set out to do this weekend. 

Scan Gauge II pod done - *CHECK*
Projectors In - *TONIGHT*
HID's In - *CHECK*
Fog Lights wired up - *CHECK*
Re wire the Side Markers - *CHECK*
Wire for LED's in headlights and under front grill - *TONIGHT*


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## kyheng

Good job Scott, for all the effort you put in.....


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## CustomAddictions

Looks real nice. Great job with the build..


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## Mirage_Man

scooter99 said:


> So that's it. I've now eclipsed 350 pictures on this project alone!


LOL, and I thought I took a ton of pictures .

Nice work man.


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## scooter99

subwoofery said:


> Nice stuffs
> 
> Kelvin


Thanks buddy! Almost done with this stuff! Cant wait for the audio build!

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

Oh the 350 pictures is only the projector project! Ive figured out im at about 1800 + on the whole project! Would love to figure out how to do a blog or journal with it all on its own site or something like that!

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

Didn't get a chance to work on it last night. Kind of a rough night with the kids, but I'm going home right now to try and get some more work done! 

I got the fog projectors yesterday and the bulbs went out today, so I'm gonna get those started while I've got the bumper off. Maybe I can get them aimed tonight, then leave them out and put the car back together and then work on the fogs when i can. 

More to come!


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## scooter99

OH YA!!!!!

Scan Gauge II pod done - *CHECK*
Projectors In - *CHECK*
HID's In - *CHECK*
Fog Lights wired up - *CHECK*
Re wire the Side Markers - *CHECK*
Wire for LED's in headlights and under front grill - *CHECK*

I've got another 50+ pictures to post up tomorrow. But right now it's 12:15am and I have to get up at 515am for bootcamp! GOODNIGHT!!


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## IBcivic

Where is the inter-cooler,man?!?!?! J/K
Good job, bro


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## scooter99

DUDE..........................who needs an inter-cooler when you have one of these!!!!!


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## scooter99

Ok folks so here it is! Everything is finally done that I set out to do. The only thing that wasn't done, which isn't surprising, is I didn't start the fog retros yet. The bulbs just shipped out today, thanks to TRS.com for working with me you guys rock! 

So I'll just get on with the pictures, and do a little chit chatting in there somewhere! I basically just worked a lot last night and didn't take a ton of pictures. Well I guess 50+ really is a ton, but you know what I mean. I now have eclipsed 415 pictures for the projector project alone! Insane I know! 

Ok here we go! 

These are some daylight pics of the retros in before lenses. Still adjusting a little bit, and getting things in order. 









First shots with the shrouds in! Lookin good I think!


















Here's the difference: left side with shroud, right side without. 









Time to get prepped to put the lenses back on. Now recall that the LED's for the Audi Style LED's are inside the headlights and not under like a lot of people are doing. One of the main reasons I did this was because I wanted the full LED effect, not just the glow from underneath! However, to get this to work, I still have to wire them up! So here are those pics.

Again, all connections that can be, are soldered and heat shrink added on.



























Time to attach the shrouds. Now originally I didn't want to use the epoxy, but the only reason I'll be opening these back up, is to do the Quad Retro, so I'm not worried about it. I had to attach them with something though, they were just too loose to let them sit in there. They'd rattle all over the place, or at least I think they would. 









mmmmmmm looks tasty! 









Basically put a glob in each of the four corners.


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## scooter99

Both done and setting up.



























Time to wire the second lens. I was kind of working one side at a time for whatever reason, sorry bout the bouncing around. 


















Everyone ready to join the party!









Looks like the passenger side housing hooked up with a little hottie! 









Oh yeah, look at those curves! Lucky S.O.B.!!!!


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## scooter99

Finished up the wiring after passing it through the housing.









Oh wait, driver side's gonna get lucky too! Damn some hotties up in here!









Ok lets get everything put back in.









Oh yes! Now we're ready to get this party started! WOOOOOO!!!!









Cleared sides and chrome bulbs! 




































Time for some pre-money shots! Oh it's starting to look good! 









Decided to put a little addition to the set up! After some trial and error, I decided on here!


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## scooter99

Little quick disconnect pig tail since the bumper comes off on occasion. 









Here she is put back together! 









LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION!!!!!


















Time for some money shots! 

Projectors only



























I think it still needs to go up a bit. I haven't measured it or anything like that, but I will. This is just with my eyes! 

Nice view of the parking lights. 


















I have to be honest here, I'm a little disappointed in these. They're very subtle and not very bright. I'm gonna have to look into something else, maybe led's. But I'm not happy with this at all at the moment. Maybe they'll grow on me, who knows.


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## scooter99

Projectors and Nokia Highs.


















The Highs are a little scattered and actually bunch a little to the left of center. They're bright as hell, the pics don't do them justice. They're seated properly, and in the way they're supposed to be, but for whatever reason they're for sure off center to the driver side. 

Projectors, Highs, and Fogs (halogen)


















Projectors and fogs.


















Fogs with DRL's


















Just fogs and parking lights


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## scooter99

NOW WE'RE TALKIN! Audi Style LED's baby! Just look at that glow! 









Grill LED's. I know they look like a different color, but wait till the next one, they're the same I promise.


















Group shot!









Now some daytime pics!













































This is the one I'm most happy with! I think it shows off the shroud very well!









So that's it! Here's my quick review.

First thing I can say is that it's a different view all together. The projectors with HID's are amazing and hard to look at at the same time. Let me rephrase, they're hard not to look at. I find myself distracted at times while I'm driving. I drove it around the block last night to the parking lot where I took the pictures to adjust them etc. I also drove it to boot camp this morning. The light is amazing. 

The first complaint I have, is the cutoff. First I think I'm going to need to rotate them a little bit still, cause after getting them adjusted height wise, they cutoffs started to crossover. I'll cross that bridge when I do the fog retros. The second thing I'm having an issue with is the cut off step on the left side. I understand it's supposed to be there, but it's gonna take some getting used to having a section of light missing. It's a little distracting for the moment. 

Next are the fogs. I like them, and they look ok, but now with the retros done, I think those are gonna get moved up in priority. I don't use them all the time, or don't think I will at this point, but when I get those retros done I can see myself having them on all the time. Right now they look a little wimpy! No Bueno! 

I already discussed the parking lights a little bit. It's not that they're dim, cause lets face it, I've tinted most everything else, but its the fact that they're dim and don't get any brighter with the signals on. That bothers me. Now if I get the LED's, you can bet your ass I'm tinting those sides! 

The LED's I'm pretty much in love with. The Grill LED's are just there for show pretty much. I'm not planning to drive with them on. I'm sure I'll have more risk in getting pulled over with those on than the others. I do, however, have a decision to make. I've show this to a few people and I'm getting a majority feedback saying that they DRL's need to go and just keep the LED's. That they look much better without the DRL's on. Which is fine, I can do that. The Nokia bulbs are gonna shine a tint of yellow even off, which looks SICK anyway!. So I'll have to decide on that, however, I do still want the ability to have my highs accessible. So I think if I just pull the DRL fuse I should be ok. But will I get the DRL light on the dash. I HATE LIGHTS ON THE DASH!! At least the ones that are not supposed to be there. 

My complaint about the LED's is this. If you look at the pictures again, you'll see on the driver side grill led strip toward the center, there are about 3 or 4 leds that are not as bright. That's not an angle thing, you're seeing it correctly. The strip is thick up until that point, and then it gets pretty thin. You can't feel the led lights up until then and then the epoxy over them is so thin you can feel the leds there. So it's faulty, but they were cheap (actually free) so I'm not gonna complain. I'll get another strip sometime soon, may just get two that way they match and there are no issues. I'll change them out then. Like I said I won't be using them often. I'm just glad it's there and not in the headlights! THAT WOULD SUCK!!!! 

So the one thing that I could pick in the entire project, Projectors, Clear Sides, LED's, Fogs. I think it's gonna have to be the custom shrouds hands down! Not even a contest. Especially after seeing them in the sun today and taking that pic. They are absolutely perfect and I love the way they look. Could there be a few changes, I'm sure there could, but for my first attempt I'm about as close to perfect as I could ever ask for. Now I just have to duplicate it again when I decide to go to a Quad set up! 

So there you have it! Done! Next up is either going to be the Audio Build Start up or the Fog Retros! Either way, it's gonna get exciting in here real fast!


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## IBcivic

Hey man, all that hard work , finally paid off! :thumbsup:


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## DLO13

#1 impressive work
#2 your attention to detail is incredible....
#3 I feel like your car should be a Transformer... the LEDs look sick!
#4 do you think its legal though?


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## scooter99

Oooooooo transformer civic! You might be onto something there. 

As far as legality, I dont know the answer to that but its on a switch, not that that matters, but ill cross that road then I guess. I have a feeling that if I ever get pulled over, the leds are gonna be the least of my worries!;-) 

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

I wanna post something up real quick that I just talked about with another member on another site! He said this:



> Scooter. this build is simply amazing. ive never seen anything like this. BEAUTIFUL! and those leds look amazing. I love this build.. u my friend have an amazing eye for details.. everything u have done is perfect.


This was my response and the reason I decided to post it up on these other threads is to hopefully bring to some realization as to why I do what I do and post the way I post! I'm sure I'm going to get some response from some specific people on this but I don't care about that person or what they have to say. But I know that sometimes folks on these threads may scratch your heads on occasion as to why I do what I do. This is why! My response:



> I dont' know about it all being perfect, but for someone who doesn't do this for a living and has never had any training, I'm extremely pleased with the outcome. But as well, there are a lot of do overs you guys don't see either. Although I think I post most of them. It's like a big long looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg story for everyone to read! Kind of like a reality show!
> 
> See I don't believe in just showing the final pictures cause a lot of this stuff isn't as easy as it looks in a lot of posts. SO I want to make sure that newbies who are wanting to get out there and try something, know and understand the steps to take and what you're going to have to go through to get the final result. That's what I'm trying to provide. Also, by doing it the way I do, I can maybe go through the heartache of learning how "not to do" something so someone else doesn't have to go through it. Or at least provide a realistic experience of what you're going to "have to" go through. Hope all that makes sense!


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## scooter99

Ok folks, so I've been driving my car now for about a week with the new lights. I can honestly say I'm not happy at the moment. I'm not liking the step down on the left side. I want it all one level. I know it's supposed to be there to not shine in the oncoming traffic's eyes, but there's no reason my light should be up high enough to be in their eyes. And frankly it's distracting to me. So what I may end up doing, is taking them apart again, and grinding down the step on it so it's all one level. Not going to be any time soon, but in the up and coming months most likely. 

That's all I have. Still planning to start next weekend on the AUDIO PORTION of the build!


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## mitchyz250f

Scooter, great build thread, one of the best. I am very interested in replacing my HU with a Galaxy tap 7. Do you know if the pinout for the 7 is the same as your unit? Can you post the pinout for the audio out and charging? Are the HDMI audio outs sufficient for the Audison?


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## scooter99

Yes the pin out is the same as far as I know. I took the dock for the Galaxy 7 and swapped it with the holder on the galaxy 10.1 dock, and it works just fine, no issues. As far as the HDMI audio outs, I've done significant research on this. 

That's why I went with the converter using the HDMI output, along with needing the HDMI for video in the long run, to use it for analog as well as the optical signal for the Audison. I've done a bench test using the analog and it sounded pretty damn good. SO I'd say yes very much it's sufficient. 

Hopefully that helps.


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## scooter99

So just a little update. I did do a little bit this weekend. Not much worth showing. I did a little 1/4" foam board mock up of the tablet so I can test and look at the fit on the dash piece. 

BUT, Houston we have a problem. It's a money problem. I've got my little girl's birthday coming up, Christmas coming up, my wife needs tires for her car, and we've got a family vacation coming up in January for my wife's birthday. So, me being the only one who can make overtime money in our family, somethings gotta give. That something is going to be the time to work on this build. So for now, things are going to stall out majorly for a while. I'm still going to try and work on it as I can get time to and when I do I'll post updates, but for the moment, don't expect much of a showing. 

I'm also working on designing something that's going to make the trunk "pop" that much more when it's all done. I know alot of people are waiting for the audio on this build, and it's still coming and is still starting next weekend, actually technically it's already started, but it's just going to go much slower than anticipated for the first couple months. Hopefully I can find some time to get stuff done, but a brotha needs sleep too!


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## kyheng

Lucky that you say "on hold" rather than "I need to sell something".....


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## Coppertone

Trust me as a father of four you do what you need to. It just gives you something to strive for to ease those extra work hours. As stated at least you don't have to sell your equipment.


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## bginvestor

scooter99 said:


> So just a little update. I did do a little bit this weekend. Not much worth showing. I did a little 1/4" foam board mock up of the tablet so I can test and look at the fit on the dash piece.
> 
> BUT, Houston we have a problem. It's a money problem. I've got my little girl's birthday coming up, Christmas coming up, my wife needs tires for her car, and we've got a family vacation coming up in January for my wife's birthday. So, me being the only one who can make overtime money in our family, somethings gotta give. That something is going to be the time to work on this build. So for now, things are going to stall out majorly for a while. I'm still going to try and work on it as I can get time to and when I do I'll post updates, but for the moment, don't expect much of a showing.
> 
> I'm also working on designing something that's going to make the trunk "pop" that much more when it's all done. I know alot of people are waiting for the audio on this build, and it's still coming and is still starting next weekend, actually technically it's already started, but it's just going to go much slower than anticipated for the first couple months. Hopefully I can find some time to get stuff done, but a brotha needs sleep too!


I appreciate what you are saying about time..

I am trying to scope my build to not last more than 6 months w/ everything! If longer, I'm afraid my truck will never be put back together due to so many circumstances. Good luck.


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## scooter99

kyheng said:


> Lucky that you say "on hold" rather than "I need to sell something".....


Well, that monitor is calling it's brother, I can hear it from here! "bring us back together Kyheng, we belong together!" 



Coppertone said:


> Trust me as a father of four you do what you need to. It just gives you something to strive for to ease those extra work hours. As stated at least you don't have to sell your equipment.


Wow, four huh. Good for you. I don't know what i'd do with two more! I'd be crazy by now, well crazier than I already am! But ya family always first. Once this is over, time will be better. And no, no selling equipment anymore, at least until I get done and see what I have left over. I'm sure I'm gonna have some install stuff left over. 



bginvestor said:


> I appreciate what you are saying about time..
> 
> I am trying to scope my build to not last more than 6 months w/ everything! If longer, I'm afraid my truck will never be put back together due to so many circumstances. Good luck.


I understand that. I just put that scan gauge pod back in, and not having that piece in there for a couple months was driving me crazy! I might actually buy some new a-pillars so I can put those in while I work on the mid range and tweeter pods in these a pillars.


----------



## scooter99

There was a job that I was waiting on that might have taken up the start time this weekend, but I've not heard anything as of yet. So as of now, we're still a go for the audio start this weekend. 

So I ordered some parts last night to get this thing started. I got another set of A-Pillars so I could get these mocked up and started, and not have missing parts in the car, and as well it will serve as a back up if I decided to sell the car down the line. I can take the pods out and put the stock equipment back in. 

I also got a couple of replacement grills for the dash. Not putting anything in there but the ones that are in there now have holes in them from the last temporary mountings. Then I got a new dead pedal. Not audio related but I'm tired of not having it. The last one broke! 

I also need to decide if I want to get a circle jig or if I just wanna make one. I may just get one. No time really to just make stuff. So I'll probably get that today. 

Gearing up, gonna get started this weekend unless that job comes through. I'm hoping it doesn't, I'm pretty excited to start this!


----------



## IBcivic

My dead pedal is fine...The 2 door has more leg room


----------



## scooter99

<4 characters>


----------



## scooter99

Ok. Second monitor has sold. Have to decide, do I buy the new monitors now and get it out of the way, or pay on my cards and buy them down the road.

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


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## Coppertone

Pay down cards, which will lead to more oppurtunity later.


----------



## kyheng

Or sell something to fund next project...


----------



## scooter99

Thanks for the help guys. Kyheng, the next project won't be till this car is done, but I will be compiling equipment sometime along the way for it. Just won't be now, plus I'm still in design stages of what I'm even going to do and we all know those can change like the weather! 

Real talk though, nothing is getting sold to pay for equipment right now. I'm back in recovery mode where I should be. I've got enough equipment to get the build going and that's good enough for now. 

So I'm gonna drop a big payment on the credit cards, probably one so I can get it down and under control. I do have other stuff to sell, and those funds will all go toward credit card payments. 

Again, thanks for the help guys, it's the best idea and the best scenario for me right now. Smart good choices.


----------



## scooter99

I wanted to just give a little update on the headlights. It rained here last night, not a ton, but it did rain. My car sits on the side of the house in my back yard at night, but I usually have a tarp covering the area so that I can work on it if needed, or just simply to keep the car covered. Well I'm in between tarps cause the summer does a number on them and I haven't had time to get the new one up yet. So needless to say my car was soaked when I got up this morning to go to boot camp. 

Started it up, got it warmed up, with the lights on, and I'm happy to say I have no fogging what so ever! So it seems as though they're sealed up quite well. 

I'm not sure what i'll be able to get done this weekend, it's supposed to rain last I saw, tomorrow, but I'm for sure gonna try to get something done and started. I may start the rear deck amp rack, since I've got the mock up done for it already. I will load pics when I get some time Sunday night or Monday morning. Stay tuned! More to come!


----------



## scooter99

Ok ladies and gents, and everyone else, I got some work done on the audio portion of the build this weekend. It wasn't nearly as much as I wanted to do but, as I've stated before, I have other responsibilities and they had to come first this weekend. 

First things first, I FINALLY, got my car aligned properly. I decided that the Firestone by my house just couldn't do the job right. After two tries, I said F-em, I'll find another shop to go to. I was seriously regretting the lifetime alignment package there at this point. But I took it in on saturday, and told them I was in no hurry, take your time, just please get it done right. Went over every issue I had with it, and it was the manager that I was talking to. 

Saturday afternoon the called me up and said we'll be done in about 20 minutes and we close at 6:00 so anytime before then it'll be ready for you to pick up. So I got up there not expecting much, to be honest, and I was absolutely wowed! It's beautiful! I could tell just by walking up on it, that it was fixed. Before you could tell that the driver side wheel top sunk in way further (about 3/8" per my measurements) than the passenger side. Now it's about perfect. 

Drove it home and have no complaints. This place is about 20 minutes from my house but I'd happily drive another 20 for them to treat me the way they did! BIG UPS to them! Thanks! 

Now, the audio. I mocked up my tablet a bit the other night, onto some 1/4" foam board. This is going to give me an idea about mounting and cutting on the dash bezel without actually having to use the tablet. Not a big deal. 




































I'll start working on that very soon! 

However, with today being so nice I had to take advantage of the weather and get some work done in the trunk! Not really having a design for the sub enclosure yet, I'm still mulling over some designs for that, I decided I needed to get some progress made on the rear deck amp rack. So, that's what I worked on. 

So a few months back, or a month, or however the hell long ago it was, I made a mock up of the area under the rear deck for this amp rack. So I started with that mock up of foam board, and some 1/2" birch ply wood. 









Got out the Ridgid (FTW) circular saw and the jig saw and went to work on my first board. 









Got out the amp mock ups from last year, FINALLY get to use these! Then did a little set up to see what kind of room I ended up with. 



















Then I got out the real deal baby! Audison LRx 2.4 and LRx 2.9! Mmmmmmmm sexay!









Ya those are gonna look good there!


----------



## scooter99

So with those bad boys in there I knew I was going to need something pretty stout to hold up to the weight. These are what I came up with. 14" Heavy Duty Drawer Slides from Home Depot, courtesy of the hardware department. 









So I did some more measuring and calculating and decided I need 4 panels. Two for the actual drawer, and two for the frame. So at this point I had my first panel done, I just needed to copy it three more times. So I cut out three pieces to copy. 









OH YA, NEW TOOLS FTW!! Bought this a couple months ago, and finally get to use it! 


















Then I got to routering.



























Now I needed to cut two of them down by a half inch to account for the rail slide thickness.


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## scooter99

Double checking my arrangements and calculations. And time to build the walls. I wanted to do this in a way that I could incorporate my final design and have it tight against the amps. So I had to do some serious calculations on this. Took me a few times of measuring and remeasuring and measuring again! But I got it. 



























That was all dry fitted in place. Nothing attached at this point. I looked at it a few more times, and with the design and the way the amps sit, etc., I had to get the wires in there and at the same time, make it look neat. My original thought was to cut out some really big arches , or two, leaving two inches on either side and two inches in the center to attach the wall. But then I got to thinking, and the only thing going in here are going to be two amps and maybe some leds. I don't need that much cut out, and with this being half inch, I need as much structural as I can get. So I decided on a couple of 1 1/2" cut outs on either end and in the middle. The RCA's will go through the center, and the power and ground through the outer cut outs. 



























If you're thinking wire management, and WTF, cause that's going to not look clean and tidy, well don't fret! It will look clean and balanced cause these amps can be rotated. The center part (grey) with the led audison logo, rotates and that allows you to put them in any direction! WINNING! 

Ok lets put it together. Glue, and nails!


















Time for the amp cutouts for the top plate!
2.4 done!









2.9 done!


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## scooter99

Traced the cutouts on the base plate so that I can make sure they all line up! 


















So here's where I hit my first hiccup. I did not like the way these set up. I'll explain in a moment. Here are some more test fittings. 









Now it's time to put the walls on the base plate. 









So with the walls and the base done, I decided it was time to do a little experimenting! I don't want just square cut outs. Well the cutouts aren't square, they have rounded corners, but what I mean is a square cut into the wood. I either wanted a rounded edge or a 45 degree edge. I think the 45 degree edge is what I want to go with most. Router time!









Left, square, right, 45ed









Now this is what I'm unhappy with. As you can see, there's a huge gap between the edge and the amp. It's not cause of the 45, it's cause of my miscalculations. So what I did was traced out the amp on the base. Base of the amp that is. What I didn't pay attention to, was that the amp itself, tapers at the top portion of it. Then it rounds in, and creates a lip. Well all this falls into play with my wall raising. 

See in order to make it all fit, I had to flip the RCA's inputs of the amp, to go under the amp. Audison people know what I'm talking about. You'll see later in the build at some point. Basically, the rca inputs, can flip to the underside of the amp. There's a little cut out under there to allow the plugs and wires to insert and hide the wires for a nice clean install. Well I didn't have the room or ability to go through the base, so I had to raise the amp in order to pass the wires under it. Now that's why I had to do all the measurements and calculations. 

So, back to the cutout and why I'm unhappy with it. You can see here, the gap is waaaaaaaayyy too much! 









Not a chance in hell I'm letting that go. I did some measuring and lines and things to get it where it needs to be, and I know it'll get closer. I'd like it within a 3/16's to an 1/8 inch. I'm probably going to finish with carbon fiber vinyl, or something thin like that, so I'll be good with that closeness. 

However, I took some closeups to compare the 45 angle and squareness next to the amps.


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## scooter99

This is where I want it, how close anyway!




































So there it is! That's what I was able to get done today. Hopefully I'll get some time to do more soon. 

On another note, the component rack I built a while back, I'm going to go ahead and remove and rebuild with birch ply. I know it probably seems silly, but the weight difference is crazy. Also I'd like to get it done and have it outside of the car so I can do some arranging and prep for wiring on it and not have to hunch over in the car. I could feasibly do it in the comfort of my living room! Course if I drop the soldering iron on my wifes carpet, I'll be living in my car from then on! Meh, small price to pay right! HA! 

Ok more soon! Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## subwoofery

Do you plan to leave some airflow where the connections are? Coz that's how the LRx circulates air. 










Kelvin


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## scooter99

Yes I have plans for a fan or two running through there on the sides. I haven't gotten there yet. 

BTW, did you draw that or get that from somewhere! Nice pic! Very simple and understandable to explain to someone, that's seriously great!


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## subwoofery

scooter99 said:


> Yes I have plans for a fan or two running through there on the sides. I haven't gotten there yet.
> 
> BTW, did you draw that or get that from somewhere! Nice pic! Very simple and understandable to explain to someone, that's seriously great!


Got it from a file I had on my computer: 
10216 Audison LRx - Speedy Share - upload your files here 

Kelvin


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## n_olympios

Great work man! 

God I love routers.


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## scooter99

Well, I was able to get a few things done today. Not much, cause I'm home sick. I don't have much energy today. But I decided to get the amp outlines figured out so I could make a template for the cut outs. 

Started with some regular computer paper, tape, pencil, and scissors (not pictured).









Oh and I can't forget the amps! 









So I just basically taped some paper together a little larger than the size of the amp. I cut the second piece of paper so that I would only have one level cause the original idea was to set it on top and trace over the amp itself. 


















Decided to see if the top of the amp came off or if it was just the way it was made. In the meantime, got a nice little internal naked pic! 









So after I figured out the top was one whole piece I ended up doing some measuring and using the end caps to get my pattern. 









Got it cut out...............









Then decided that the regular paper just wasn't going to do the job. SO I packed up real quick and ran up the street to Office Depot for some supplies! 

Enter, Poster board, a new ruler, and an xacto knife. This should do the work nicely.









Traced the paper pattern onto the poster board and got it cut out.


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## scooter99

That gave me a nice thick, stiff, template yet flexible enough to work with, although I'm not overly sure why it needed to be flexible. But whatever! So let's see if it fits.

OH SO NICE!!!!




































So the pictures don't show it real well, but there's about 1/16" - 1/8" between the amp and the template! That is absolutely going to work! Exactly what I was looking for. 

Here's the LRx 2.9. The good thing about this one is, this template will work for 3 amp with one template. The LRx 2.9 and the LRx 1.1K are the same size amps. There are 2 LRx 1.1K's and 1 LRx 2.9, is how I got the number of 3 amps.


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## scooter99

Again, to me, it's a perfect fit! I love it! 

Trimmed off some of the edging. Didn't need to be that big. 









Now then, the next order of business is going to be to make an MDF template of these, and if I can get my damn cuts straight with the jig saw, then we'll be good to go to get the router out, with my new 1 1/2" flush cut bit I bought at home depot the other night, and get this top plate finished once and for all! 

Need to cut it out, then decide if I want a 3/8" rounded edge or a 45 degree edge. I'll round off the current top plate and put some carbon fiber vinyl on it that I have laying around and post that up and see what you all think with them side by side. I like the idea of the 45 degree edge with the rounded corners of the amp, I think it will flow very well. However, the rounded edges I think would flow very well also. Maybe I'll bite the bullet and just make two top plates and do one rounded and one 45ed and see which I like better! 

More to come this weekend. Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## Babs

This is going to be under the rear deck as opposed to a false floor?
wwwwwwwwwow.. Cool! ... either way.


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## scooter99

Both. I have 5 amps going in. I have two mono amps going in, these two amps, and a 4 channel amp. Two are going here, two in a false floor, and the 4 channel in the trunk lid.


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## scooter99

I got out for a couple hours tonight. Not much, but, I'm happy with the progress. Here are some pics.

First, so that everyone could see the differences, I took the 3/8" roundover bit and did the second opening to see a side by side. 




























Covered it to see the full effect. I will most likely be doing the cfv in grey or silver, but this will give you the overall look of the difference between the two.




































What it looks like with the amps in place.


















Little different view. It was dark so I had a shop lite on and there was some reflection, so I took these the opposite direction.


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## scooter99

Now it's time to get the template cut. Took the old panel and then put a piece of 1/2" mdf on top. Got my new flush bit out and got to work!













































Test fit to see how they sit over the amps. I'm EXTREMELY happy with this. Again, the cuts aren't 100% straight but much better than the last one I did. I guess I can always sand them down a bit and get it straighter. But it's ok I'll deal with that if I need to. 









Now to cut the final panel.


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## scooter99

Oh ya! Much better! 



























Then I looked and looked and I decided I liked the 45 angle better, so that's what I decided on for the finish. 



























Not the bets picture, but I think it looks great right now. 









These are the pieces I cut out from the last panel, and I'm going to use them for the risers for the amps. This will get them off the panel for air flow, as well as bring them higher for looks. 









That's about it for tonight. I'll get some more work done tomorrow. Should be able to finish this rack up tomorrow, except for finishing anyway.


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## IBcivic

:bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:


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## angelspeedfreak

im digging the carbon fiber...


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## scooter99

Ok guys. I have to say, I think things are going to come to a screeching halt here! I don't want to stop cause it's pretty much all I think about anymore, but I'm getting pressure from the wife about overtime and bringing money in for the things i spoke of before. So I'm going to have to get on the ball and get this money made before any more can happen on this car. 

Sorry guys! Family has to come first!


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## Coppertone

Trust me you are doing the right thing. What you are doing is supposed to be enjoyable not stressful. As a husband and father of four I feel your plight. Do what needs to be done for your family first and you will never be wrong. Good luck.


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## derickveliz

There are many of us in the same boat, like you said...

*Family 1st! Rocks!*


.


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## [email protected]

Nice work, keep it up!


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## scooter99

Thanks guys! Hoping it wont be too long before I get back to it. Ill let you all know.

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

Alright well here's what I've decided to do about my lights. I'm not at all happy with them as well not happy with the highs. I decided that if I'm going to do this thing, quit F-ING around an do it right! So here's what I'm gonna do. 

I'm gonna go back to OEM, but keep the HID's for now. Next, I'm going to sell the Mini H1's to recoup some money and get a new set up as follows! 

2 pair of FX-R 1.1's for a quad set up,









A second set of Morimoto HID's, complete kit, (D2S's) in 5000K









A set of Replacement Morimoto HID Bulbs (D2S's) in 5000K









And I can't decide between these two shrouds. 

Either the E55 Shrouds:









Or the Bullet Shrouds:









Bullet's need trimming to fit, and the E55's don't. 

This is the plan, just may not happen until around spring. 

What do you guys think on the shrouds? Let me know!


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## The A Train

I vote E55, those things are sexy


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## Babs

amitaF said:


> :bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:


^ what he said, on the amp mounting work. nice!


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## scooter99

Thanks! I can't wait to get back to building the audio!


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## mklett33

Hey do you have a rabbiting bit? If so here is what I would recommend for getting an exact (and i mean exact) flush trim cover for your amps.

Here is a step by step:


Cover amps with painters tape to protect them
Flush trim around the edge of the amp creating a copy image
Rabit a ledge in the same thickness of your flush trim bit (looks to be 3/8 or a half?)
Now flush trim the rabited ledge away
You should now have a piece that is exactly the same shape but will be the thickness of your flush trim bit smaller
Put this on a new piece of wood with double side foam tape
Drill a hole the same size of router bit right next to the edge of the piece
Insert flush trim bit and trim the new piece of wood based on your "smaller" size

If you do this correctly you will now have cut this new piece an exact flush trim bit size larger than the piece exactly a flush trim bit size smaller, except you will have the _negative_ image thus the EXACT copy of outside the amp.

Try using this trick on something else in your build, you will be really glad you did. Plus if you have multiple components (2 of the same amp) then you can easily copy it multiple times using your flush trim bit.

Does that make sense? PM me if you have questions.

M


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## scooter99

I don't have one, but I can get one. I'll re read it again later when I'm not at work. I'm a picture person but if I read it and analyse it I may be able to figure out what you're saying. Thanks for the tip. That would give me a nice straight cut too, cause even this one, as much straighter as it is than then last one, is still not exact! Again, thanks!


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## scooter99

So let me give a little update. Not much to really update. I got my new A-Pillars in, so when I get a chance to do some speaker rings, I'll get those cut and aimed. Then I can take the existing pillars out, and then work on them out of the car, all the while not having my car look like it's torn apart. 

I'm looking into some new rubber for Christmas. I was looking at Pirelli P-Zero Nero's, and as well, some Falken FK452's. Both in 215/35/18's. Also looked at some Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sports. Anyone have any thoughts on these? I know alot of people here run Falken's and Nitto's but what about the other's? All the bad reviews I'm seeing have to do with ware and weather. But they're also back east and in more rougher winter climates. I'm in Sacramento California, and while it gets a little chill here, it's not that bad. The roads suck cause we have no budget to fix em, but aside of that, the weather isn't really an issue. So who's got thoughts? 

I'm still working my ass off. We needed to make about $4500.00 by the end of January, and I'm at about 2800.00 right now. So making good headway. I can't wait to get done though and get back to working on this thing. 

So that's about it for now. When there's more, I'll be posting. Sorry for the lag time though. Thanks for checking in!


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## [email protected]

E55 projectors looks much clean and if they fit easier, I wouldn' t even think to compare.
Rubber...there are many options; different for each type of driver. I have tested on civic the Falkens in the rear, and some chienese noname in front, and they were acceptable, but far from the grip and silence that the Goodyear Eagle F1 Assym. 2 have.

I do read your topic because I also have a Civic, FD1, with an LRx 6.9 in the trunk 
I'm working now at fitting a Bit Ten D, but my construction is far from your exact and precision cuts that you use for building your setup.
I do like and really appreciate your efforts that you put in building your car


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## sinister-kustoms

Great work on the amp rack!


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## RaunchyTheBug

Rly nice work


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## scooter99

Thanks guys! I'm hoping and praying that it's gonna continue soon! It's driving me nuts not to be working on it. 

I am seriously considering going with only one sub now though. Maybe one sub in a 4th order type box. Lot's to think about with no work time. But I think this may happen. Which is fine cause I can sell the second sub and the second 1.1k and pay some bills with it. 

Hope to get some stuff up soon! Thanks for hanging with me while I get life in order!


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## scooter99

Ok so here's a little update for you guys. Just ordered a set of Pirelli P-Zero Neros in 215/35/18's for the ride! Merry Christmas early right! Should have them on this week!


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## IBcivic

nice rubber,holmes!!!


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## scooter99

Thanks. Unfortunately they've stopped making those. I got called not too long after the order, and posting this, that I can't get them anymore. So now I'm going with the Falken Ziex ZE-912's. Either way, I'm getting new rubber! These are just 70.00 less per wheel!


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## kyheng

Sell them(the amp and sub)....


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## scooter99

If i do, then I'm guessing I also won't need both batteries in back either. You gonna buy the amp and sub Khyeng? Shipping to you for those would suck! I'm still wavering on it. I'm working on a vented enclosure right now, which is not going well might I add. If I can get that to work, I may just keep em. I'll know in a couple of days. 

This vented box thing, I know I'm not dumb. I should be getting this figured out, but it's just not working. Just like a 4th order too. I've researched a bit on those and I just can't figure out what I'm supposed to do and how I get the sealed portion and the vented portion. Honestly, if I could do that for one sub, i would seriously consider selling the other even more. Then i could do what I wanted to do with both of them, that just doesn't seem to work. 

Lots still to figure out.


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## IBcivic

4:30a.m. pacific....you musta been a rooster in your previous life, scoot


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## kyheng

Scott, nope I'm not going to buy it... I still have a JL Audio HD750/1 monoblock and my sub still in the store, and they are crying when canpunch my heart out from my body, haha.... 
And if you can see the 2 photos, that's your stuffs(from wire, the 6.9 and the monitor)..... I think my storeroom is your international storeroom....
New year is coming and I don't want my wife to nag at me....

For your system, you just need 1 battery and the rest you no need to use... This can keep your car light and won't stress your alternator...


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## scooter99

amitaF said:


> 4:30a.m. pacific....you musta been a rooster in your previous life, scoot


Nope, I had spin class @ 5am. 

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

kyheng said:


> Scott, nope I'm not going to buy it... I still have a JL Audio HD750/1 monoblock and my sub still in the store, and they are crying when canpunch my heart out from my body, haha....
> And if you can see the 2 photos, that's your stuffs(from wire, the 6.9 and the monitor)..... I think my storeroom is your international storeroom....
> New year is coming and I don't want my wife to nag at me....
> 
> For your system, you just need 1 battery and the rest you no need to use... This can keep your car light and won't stress your alternator...


You have always been my favorites and best customer! 

As far as the alternator being stressed, I'm not worried. I've got the Mechman high output alternator going in. no stress here. But if I'm only using one sub amp there's no need for the third battery. One up front, one in back with th h/o alternator should do it. Just have to decide what to do about the sub situation.

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


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## kyheng

Well, just keep KISS in mind, from my point of view, using 1 12" sub for a normal sedan are more than enough... 
I don't see there's any point for you to have 2 sub but you need to turn down the gain on the amps to near minimum. Instead, I'll build 1 perfect ported enclosure for that single sub and make it work harder... I guess in such way it will be better. Unless you are going the SPL route, then you will really need 2 sub sometimes....


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## scooter99

So I found out the Pirelli's P-Zero Nero's are discontinued. Sux but it is what it is. I'm going with Falken's instead. Should be ready for install today or tomorrow. 

So I know there's a lot of chatter going on. It's what happens when I can't build on my car. It's driving me nutz! But, here's what I'm thinking. I'm obviously having issues with this box. My original plan was to have something that looked like this, I absolutely love this thing:









I wanted to try and do dual subs this way, like these mock up drawings (this was before I learned how to use SketchUp):

This one is without a trim panel:









This is with a trim panel, bit one, and a logo (my own custom that still has to be made) in it:









This one just has some color to it:









It looks like that's not going to work, unless someone can figure out some way to help me make it work. 

So, that all being said, I'm thinking I may cut down to one sub, with one LRx 1.1k now. Remember this is not a bass pounding car, which is gonna suck a little bit as it's my daily driver and I do love bass. However, I want it show worthy and as I said before, I ABSOLUTELY love the design that I showed first picture above. I'd love to show off a sub, if not both, that way. One sub at 800 watts of power in an enclosure like that would probably put out some pretty good bass. My truck is going to be the one that's the "ground pounder"! 

Now if I do go with the one sub, I'll end up selling the second Hertz HX300D sub, and the second Audison LRx 1.1k. Along with that I won't have a need for both rear batteries, so I'll add one of those to sell as well. Those should help me re coupe some costs for other things that I have planned for the future. 

So if I go with one sub in that enclosure that opens the door for layout possibilities as well. Currently I have the LRx 2.9 read to go in the rear deck drawer along with the LRx 2.4. With the single sub set up, I'l remove the 2.9 from there, and most likely the Bit One will go in there. If you will recall, the LRx 2.9 and the LRx 1.1k are the same exact size. My thought is to do one on one side of the sub and one on the other side of the sub. The LRx 4.1k will stay in the trunk lid, the battery on one side cubby in the trunk, and I think I will put the fuse holders etc, on the other side cubby. 

These are all just thoughts, and all dependent on whether the enclosure will get designed or not. Could use some help there. In the meantime I'm going to go research and see if I can design it myself. Although I'm clueless on what I'm looking for and at. I'll start with google and go from there. 

Does anyone have any thoughts, suggestions, wanna help with the enclosure, or whatever, I'm all ears.


----------



## scooter99

kyheng said:


> Well, just keep KISS in mind, from my point of view, using 1 12" sub for a normal sedan are more than enough...
> I don't see there's any point for you to have 2 sub but you need to turn down the gain on the amps to near minimum. Instead, I'll build 1 perfect ported enclosure for that single sub and make it work harder... I guess in such way it will be better. Unless you are going the SPL route, then you will really need 2 sub sometimes....


No not going spl. I think one sub in a good enclosure will get down pretty well. I'm not worried.


----------



## kyheng

So sell it and make some cash.....


----------



## screamatamonkey

scooter99 said:


>


How does that sub "table" seal up against the plexi?


----------



## scooter99

I don't know. I would love to know however.


----------



## FartinInTheTub

Would be easy to seal it with 1/16" rubber trimmed so that when pressed against the plexi it would flatten out and look nice.


----------



## FrankstonCarAudio

scooter99 said:


> I don't know. I would love to know however.


Simple..
A black strip is painted on the back side of the plexi (woofer side)
A seal is placed between the painted strip and the woofer baffle.. so long as the painted strip is wider than the baffle and seal, it will cover whatever is behind.

Done it lots of times.. 

Mark


----------



## scooter99

Hey mark, do you have any pictures of the subs in your civic? I looked at your link in your signature, but I didn't see a full on pic. Is there a pass through, is it open, do you need the seats down to get good sound, can you give some detail on it please? 

Thanks for your info above, it's appreciated. Always love to learn something new.


----------



## FrankstonCarAudio

scooter99 said:


> Hey mark, do you have any pictures of the subs in your civic? I looked at your link in your signature, but I didn't see a full on pic. Is there a pass through, is it open, do you need the seats down to get good sound, can you give some detail on it please?


Hi, the Civic uses 2 10" Crescendo 2.10 subs.
They are in a dual chamber sealed enclosure (single enclosure with a sealed divider)
The subs fire directly into the cabin via the fold-down split rear seats.
For competition, I have the seats in the "down" position, but can close them for daily use. The output level decreases when the seats are closed, but I can live with it for the added security.. 

Here are a few pics..

Mark


----------



## quality_sound

scooter99 said:


> So I found out the Pirelli's P-Zero Nero's are discontinued. Sux but it is what it is. I'm going with Falken's instead. Should be ready for install today or tomorrow.



Not according to Pirelli's site. 
P Zero Collection, Car tires - PIRELLI US

I have a feeling your tire dealer has more margin in the Falkens.


----------



## scooter99

Wow Mark that looks very promising! When you say loose, how much do you loose? Is it significant? What would be the difference do you think if you had a pass through cut out like I did to mine? Would that give you back the gain like with the seats down? Also would it be beneficial to vent it and go through that pass through? You've got me thinking now. 




quality_sound said:


> Not according to Pirelli's site.
> P Zero Collection, Car tires - PIRELLI US
> 
> I have a feeling your tire dealer has more margin in the Falkens.


Those F-er's! He's supposed to call me today if those Falken's come in. I'm gonna bring this up! That pisses me off, although saving $280.00 doesn't really piss me off, but you know what I mean! Damn them!


----------



## scooter99

I got some new kicks today! Woohoo! Check it out! 

Before


















During









After:
Falken ZE912 215/35/18






















































Ahhhhhh yea!!!


----------



## FrankstonCarAudio

scooter99 said:


> Wow Mark that looks very promising! When you say loose, how much do you loose? Is it significant? What would be the difference do you think if you had a pass through cut out like I did to mine? Would that give you back the gain like with the seats down? Also would it be beneficial to vent it and go through that pass through? You've got me thinking now.


Thanks.. the car has actually been finished since the middle of January 2011 with tuning continuing throughout the year.

It competed in our Australian SQ competition (MEASQ) and achieved 1st Outright in my State Title series (Expert Class with 5 wins and 2 runners-up in the 7 rounds) this year.

The reduction in output level is noticeable, but not so much that the subbass is gone altogether.
I normally only "close" the rear seats (not on the latched position), keeping a gap of approx 1-1.5" across the top of both seats.
This is only done if the car is parked away from home, to stop prying eyes seeing what is in the car.
Where possible, I will leave the seats open for maximum "transfer".

I tested having the sub fire rearwards into the trunk.
Using only the rear speaker cutouts to allow the subbass into the cabin caused a few issues in the response. I figured this was because the subs were firing into a secondary "chamber" (the trunk) and then being "ported" into the cabin through the rear speaker cutouts. This was creating a possible "bandpass" type situation. The output level was also lower.

Direct "coupling" with the subs firing into the cabin gave the best result.
I have sealed the front of the enclosure to the cabin area and also sealed off the rear speaker cutouts (similar to an IB situation).

All I can suggest in your cars situation, is test various configurations, until you find the best compromise.

Keep thinking!
nd hurry up and get back to the serious stuff!. car audio system building! :laugh:

Mark


----------



## IBcivic

Ahh...shweet


----------



## scooter99

Really starting to get the hang of this sketch up thing! 

Ok so here's what I've got. According to Torress

Sealed:









Ported:









So then I got to sketching up. Here's the box I made:


















So the way I was thinking of doing the ports is, as you can see, they come out of the sides, then I can go under the component rack and up the middle. I'll have to alter the rack a bit, and take out the middle portion but not a big deal. Then I can come up with both, and finish it off with a nice trim panel that closes up the pass through, then round off the edges. That will put the ports through the pass through and into the cabin. 

Then I got to thinking about an amp rack, and figured out that the amps are almost 18" long and I've only got 14 1/2" to work with. So I got a bit creative! Here are those! 





































Both the LRx 1.1k and the LRx 2.9 are the same exact measurements. With it this way I can't really flush mount them, but I'll do some kind of panel to hide them all over the front of everything, or maybe I won't, I'll have to think about it. 

So there are my ideas! That was kinda fun and kind of frustrating at the same time. I'm interested to see if the box would sound decent or not. The sealed portion seems a bit small to me. Measures out to .71 cu ft, and the ported at around 1.23 cu ft. The sub motor would be in the ported portion while the cone in the sealed.


----------



## bginvestor

Hey man,

I think this design will look very cool.. Seems like you'll have a little truck space left over, right?


----------



## scooter99

Oh yeah, that's not even going past the rear deck, where the trunk lid meets the car. There's still like another 19 - 21 ish inches of trunk.


----------



## scooter99

Sorry buddy! Didn't ignore this, I just wanted to read it better than on my phone and respond with some attention to it. 



FrankstonCarAudio said:


> Thanks.. the car has actually been finished since the middle of January 2011 with tuning continuing throughout the year.
> 
> It competed in our Australian SQ competition (MEASQ) and achieved 1st Outright in my State Title series (Expert Class with 5 wins and 2 runners-up in the 7 rounds) this year.


I was able to catch a little bit of the article from your link. It's a great build, and has given me a lot more insight on the apillar pods as well. I've always had some ideas in mind but I really like what you've done. They really jump out, as far as detail goes, and placement, but it's very subtle as well. Gives me more to play around with. Different angle if you will. 



FrankstonCarAudio said:


> The reduction in output level is noticeable, but not so much that the subbass is gone altogether.
> I normally only "close" the rear seats (not on the latched position), keeping a gap of approx 1-1.5" across the top of both seats.
> This is only done if the car is parked away from home, to stop prying eyes seeing what is in the car.
> Where possible, I will leave the seats open for maximum "transfer".


I think my concern with doing something like this and the situation I have with the pass through I cut out, is that it would almost act, or will act, as a 4th order situation and the sound would get all messed up. I know it's not real technical as far as terms, "messed up", but I'm worried about what it will do. I think in the end, especially right now, I may have to just settle for one sub, and figure out how to make that work. Whether it be sealed, vented, or the bandpass I'm working on. I'm financially struggling right now, and I could use the good chunk I think the Hertz Sub and Audison LRx will bring me. 

But before I jump the gun, i think what i'm going to do is make a few test boxes and see how the work out. I'm going to for sure make the bandpass that I did and posted recently, and beyond that, I'll probably make a vented box, and then probably a sealed as well. If I do a sealed box and use only the one sub, I'm probably going to need to center it, then I can still do the amps the way I showed above as well. The concern there is, what issues will I face with putting the sealed enclosure in front of the pass through, and then I'd need to chamber it, sort of, or have the sub back off the panel a bit so it doesn't hit or rub. I mean, in essence, that's what a bandpass or 4th order is right? What are your thoughts on that?



FrankstonCarAudio said:


> I tested having the sub fire rearwards into the trunk.
> Using only the rear speaker cutouts to allow the subbass into the cabin caused a few issues in the response. I figured this was because the subs were firing into a secondary "chamber" (the trunk) and then being "ported" into the cabin through the rear speaker cutouts. This was creating a possible "bandpass" type situation. The output level was also lower.
> 
> Direct "coupling" with the subs firing into the cabin gave the best result.
> I have sealed the front of the enclosure to the cabin area and also sealed off the rear speaker cutouts (similar to an IB situation).


I did this same thing with a single sub in a temporary set up a while back and found the same thing. The output was not very good at all. So essentially then it's like a bandpass and the ported chamber is just way to big right? I'm still learning alot. I guess you're always learning in audio aren't you. 

I'm not sure what you mean by "direct coupling". I've always wondered about the subs firing into the cabin, and if it would sound ok or not. I'm a little surprised at myself that I've not just tried it by now. I mean my cabin and trunk are completely sealed off if I panel that area behind the seat. I used to run IB 15's and I did all that work way back a while ago. Course now I've since opened the rear holes cause I put rear speakers back there and I'd have to plug those, but otherwise it's pretty much ready to go to test it. 



FrankstonCarAudio said:


> All I can suggest in your cars situation, is test various configurations, until you find the best compromise.
> 
> Keep thinking!
> nd hurry up and get back to the serious stuff!. car audio system building! :laugh:
> 
> Mark


I plan on testing them all out, as I think I said above. I'm sure I'll find it eventually. 

As far as getting back to "the serious stuff! Car audio system building" I'm always building and designing, you just can't see it cause it's in my head. I'm approaching time soon to be able to get back to working on it. I think the first thing I have to do is make the test boxes. I won't be able to really finish anything else until I get this sub thing figured out. It's the main and center piece in the trunk. I want it to look perfect as well as sound great too! 

Also keep in mind, and this is for everyone else as well, that I'm not trying to be absolutely 100% SQ. That's why I always say SQish. I'm facing the reality that I'll never compete, I'm almost sure of it. I just love to build, I love to design, and I want to finally get this car done so I can move on to my truck project. But I want the time and effort that is going into this car to show up when it's done. I want it to sound great, soothing, and at the same time be able to bass it up a little bit when I want. That's a little bit of perspective of where I'm going with this build. I want it pretty much show capable, and at the same time, may not ever show it. But it's the details in the build, in the fore ground as well as the back ground that makes the build, and that's what I want to show through. 

Ok I'm going to go and try to design a couple more boxes now. Well I guess I should really actually work, it is what I'm getting paid for, although I'd much rather get paid to do this! HA! Thanks guys!


----------



## scooter99

Ok update. I'm fighting this a little bit, but I'll get to it later on when I reveal it. 

I've got 3 enclosures specd out. The one I already posted, a sealed enclosure, and a ported enclosure. While looking it over and trying to figure out how it would all work, I came up with a killer idea! I'm so damned excited about it, I'm shaking. I just don't have time to mock it up right now. SO, that being said, I'll just tease you with this, it involves more drawers and possible actuators for automatic opening! Awwwwwwwwwww sh!t! I'll report back tonight!


----------



## scooter99

Ok so I thought I was going to have time to sketch up the designs I have in my head, last night. But I wasn't able to. I worked too late and when I got home, "the wife" wanted to "work" some more! Can't say no to that right! 

However, today I'm getting off early, like in an hour, I'm headed over to my mother in laws to finish up her living room electrical. I've been remodeling her room, acoustic scrap, re-texture, repaint, tile entry, new electrical, new trim, etc. after work. So I'll get that done this afternoon and then I'll get home and start drawing. I'm so excited about it. The more I think about it, the more I come up with and the more I like it. 

Also this just in, I'm probably going to have the full week of Christmas off work. SO the building will for sure be on!!! 

Lastly. I'm getting sick of stock sound. So I'm going to bust out the Hertz High Energy Comps, and put them in the front doors, and throw the alpines (in there now) in the rear and hook up the LRx 2.4 via high inputs and get busy! I wish someone close to me had a DD-1 they'd let me use or help me. eepwall: Oh well it's just a temporary set up. 

Stay tuned, I promise the ideas will be worth the wait! It's about to get live up in this bioch!


----------



## scooter99

So here we go. 

First I did a sealed enclosure, which provides me about .98 cu ft of air space. The sub will face the cabin, it also has a space between the sub and the back seat, or component board. It will also cover the pass through. 

This is like staring at it from the back seat with the back seat down.









Upper angled from the cabin shot.









This is from the trunk side. To dress it up a bit, I've designed it with a piece of 3/4" plexi or acrylic on the back wall so the motor can be shown off. The inside will be dressed up as well. 


















Next up is a ported design which will have the sub cone facing the trunk, and the vent exiting through the rear seat pass through. This gives me approximately 1.24 cu ft of airspace, with a port tuned to approx 35.41hz. The show factor here is, the 3/4" plexi which the sub sits in as the sub baffle, and then to see the chrome motor, possibly putting mirrors on the back of the inside of the box. If not, I may go with an orange and black theme. Not sure. But it will be finished off. 

Shot from the trunk straight on









angled









From the cabin side


















I did the 4th order design a while ago. However I'm thinking more and more about trying to do it side facing. So instead of the sub sitting up and down, having it face side to side. We'll see. 

NOW, on to the fun stuff. I didn't want to do this with each box layout, but the amp rack will basically be the same way with each design. So I chose to do this with the Ported design, because it was the last one I finished when I decided on the rack design. So I just used it. Here goes.

So I looked at the design with the 4th order and I liked it with those amps flanking the sub, however I think it just looked a bit crammed in there. So I got to thinking. If I had done the vented or sealed enclosure I could set it to one side and provide myself with a full half of the area to build some sort of rack. I'm still able to utilize the pass through for sound either way, and still have plenty of room for the rack and other things. I'll pretty much describe it as I go. I'll show the picture and then describe it. Here are the pics. 

First up! 


















This is an amp drawer for the Audison LRx 1.1k. The amp will be covered as a flush mount so when the drawer is opened up, you'll only see the amp top. With the amp settings on top of the amp this works out well for tuning etc. No need to pull the panels to tune it. As you can see the front of the drawer, in the drawings, have a plexi window and will most likely be lit with leds. I'm not sure about this yet. I may just go basic on the front, I can't decide yet.


----------



## scooter99

This is the second drawer. Same layout as the above, however, this one houses the Audison LRx 2.9 for the midbass. 



















Third drawer has the same layout as the first two. This drawer houses the Audison LRx 2.4 for the rear fill. I chose not to use the crossovers in here, the drawer, because it was going to make it really tight, and I really don't like the look of the crossovers at all. I may just hide them in the rear fill pods. 

I originally wanted to put the LRx 4.1K in here, but it's over 21" long and I just couldn't make it fit. If I go with the sealed enclosure, not likely, then I may be able to make it work, but otherwise it's going in another place. 



















The top drawer has been reserved for the "TOP SHELF" processor! The Audison Bit One! This one had to be altered in order to get it to fit and follow the same layout from the top view perspective. All the drawers are 2.5" tall to accommodate the amps and have some extra for a chamfered edge around the amp on the panel. Well the Bit One sits about an inch lower than the amps do. So in order to get it raised up, I had to put a 1/2" bottom on the drawer to raise it up a half inch, then put a top panel on it to be chamfered. So this is where the plexi gets a little dicey cause I'd be worried about that being seen. But this guy will have a drawer all to himself, so the RCA's and other wiring can be laid out nice and wide and have no issues with bends etc. 










This is what it's like with the top plate above the top drawer. Just a space filler really. No drawer fronts on this one. 










Here are the drawer fronts. Each drawer has a cutout on it to frame in the plexi windows. These may be chamfered as well. I really think this look along with the ported box flows very well together.


----------



## scooter99

Finally, as I said before, the LRx 4.1k had to go somewhere. It's pretty large in size so I had to make sure I have enough room for it to breath and really showcase itself much like the Bit One. It's so impressive, I think it deserves to be center stage. Here she is, in the rear deck and all her glory! 




























So all drawers will be operated by an actuator and a switch. 

What do you guys think!?! I personally love it, however, I still have the enclosure dilemma to deal with. So what does everyone think!?


----------



## scooter99

By the way, I ordered the FX-R projectors on Friday! QUAD SET UP COMING VERY VERY SOON!!!!! Decided on the E-55 shrouds too btw. I'm very excited about this one!


----------



## n_olympios

Very nice designs, isn't Sketchup a great little program?


----------



## scooter99

n_olympios said:


> Very nice designs, isn't Sketchup a great little program?


Yes, I'm loving it more and more I use it. Thanks! 

I have a question for everyone. Someone suggested using the vented box, as I designed, but instead of that way, put the sub facing the back seat as the vent is, so on the same face basically. My question is, if I do this, won't I be creating a separate chamber like a 4th order? Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but seems like that to me. I'd have a vented portion, and then with it, a sealed portion. 

Damn I wish I had time right now to go build boxes!


----------



## scooter99

I guess I'm a glutton for punishment, here's another one with a 4th order of sorts. This gives me 1.38cu ft ported, and about .7cu ft sealed. The port is a 3" at 18" long which will tune me at 40.79 hz. The port in the diagrams are not round they're square, but the final would be round. 

Here you go. 



























The reason you don't see the ski hole in these diagrams is cause I didn't want to go through and draw the back seat. But they all utilize the ski hole area.

Also this design still leaves me plenty of room for the drawers to go in for the amps. Those only need to be about 10" deep and there's around 11.5" here.


----------



## scooter99

Here guys, especially Kyheng LOL: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/car-audio-classifieds/119136-hertz-audison-stinger-needs-go.html


----------



## scooter99

Ok here's my latest sketch up on it. I've added .5" and actually I may be able to eliminate the under rear deck drawer completely which would actually give me more room if I need it. But I'll wait and see how this sounds first. So this one is 15" tall by 19" wide and top 14" deep and bottom 19" deep. That's a total of 1.95 net cuft. 

The top chamber is the sealed chamber at 6" tall x 19" wide x 14" / 15.75" deep for a net of .61 cu ft

The bottom chamber is ported at 9.75" tall x 19" wide x 15" / 19" deep for a net of 1.19 cu ft

That's really close to a 2:1 ratio. 

Port is 4.25 x 4.25 at 13.75" long and is all external. Why all external, well because the way the enclosure would sit in the trunk puts the edge of the enclosure right at the edge of the seat pass through. This is a problem cause I have two of the 3 amps that are 18" long. The third one is about 10" long. So I need those inches cause if I add the 5" (4.25 + .75 wood thickness = 5") then I'm at 24" for the enclosure as a whole. 40 - 24 = 16" and that won't work. But, if I swap the amps, look at the previous designs for the drawer layout, and put the 2 18" amps on top and the 3rd amp in the middle and processor on the bottom, then that gives me the ability to shorten those drawers and put the port on the outside! Everything works! On paper anyway! All that clear as mud? Ok then! 

Also the sub will sit straight up. Motor down, cone up. 

Ok onto the pictures. 

Front view straight on









Front Side angle









Front opposite side angle









Side view









Rear straight on









I like this one and the numbers seem to work. I'll be building this one, as well as on sketch up doing the drawers etc on it and making the full package so I can see if it works or not. 

As I said before, I may eliminate the rear deck drawer. I was originally going to put the 4.1K on the trunk lid and if I need the extra air space for this enclosure, I can always put the 4.1k back up there as planned originally and that will give me up to 3 more inches of space available. 

So what do you all think?


----------



## scooter99

I am also toying with the notion of removing half of the component board. I may be able to get away with only half of it. I'll have to check out the numbers on it.


----------



## scooter99

Ok guys here we go. This is about as close as I can get it. I could maybe squeeze more out from the side, but I'm about out of ideas. This is even going up 1 1/2" more inches than I think I can go. I'm going up to 16" from 14 1/2" and I'm not sure if I can squeeze that out or not. I might be able to swing it but I'll have to check later. 

So this plan gives me 1.25 sealed, and 1.94 ported with a port of 4" wide and 4" long (aero). 

Here we go. 

Without numbers straight on:









With numbers straight on:









Without numbers rear:









With numbers rear:









Without numbers side:









With numbers side:









So that's about it now. I could adjust a little bit on the baffle separating the sealed and ported to lessen the sealed and expand the ported I guess. But other than that, the void behind the amp rack is only about 5" and I need room to make sure I can get my fat hand in there and run wires etc. 

I can still put the LRx 2.9 and 2.4 in the drawer like I originally planed and then the LRx 4.1k can just stay on the trunk lid as planned. 

What do you guys think now?


----------



## scooter99

I'll put a beauty panel over the front of everything, this was just the rough drawing of it. I wish I could make both the LRx 1.1k and 2.9 fit in there one on top of the other, but there just isn't enough room for it. I'll figure something out for it all.


----------



## scooter99

Well let's see, since I don't seem to have enough crap going on here, I thought I'd throw something else into the mix! Coming soon, to a forum near you, well here actually, project "Headlight Retro V-2 - The Quad Set Up"! That's right I'm doing it all over again! When, I have no idea! But, I took advantage of the Cyber Monday sales at TheRetrofitSource.com and picked up the stars of the show! Let me introduce them to you!

Here's their buss rolling up now:









Oh wait the doors are opening, who do we have, YES the E55 shroud crew:



























aren't they just sparkly! They'll look really dazzling after a little matte black paint! 

Who's that way down in there? 

Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing the FX-R Projectors:


----------



## scooter99

Now let's see them dance together! 



















Absolutely beautiful!

They also had a friend tag along, who is this, let me find out!?!

I've just been informed it's the 9006 HID Morimoto bulbs! Welcome to the party guys! Please won't you take your coat off, have a seat and relax! 









That's better! 









Let's get a family photo of you all! Christmas cards from this one I can tell! 









Ok folks that's it. They'll be making their way back at some point. Not sure when they'll be ready, but I'll let you know. 

Ok for real now, the quad set up is gonna happen at some point here down the road. The 9006 bulbs are so I can remove the current set up, Mini H-1's and sell em to get some money back to pay for the hid bulbs and the extra ballasts I need for the quad set up. Otherwise, this will be going off sometime in the very near future! Hope you liked my little skit!


----------



## scooter99

A little update: I decided after a long day of my daughters birthday party with a bunch of screaming 5 - 8 year olds, and then having to go out to my mother in laws to drop some stuff off for the finish of that job I've been working on, I needed some much needed Scooter Time! So I started the tablet build! This is going to do a couple of things. First it's going to switch my brain off the enclosure and refresh things a bit, and second it's going to actually get some portion of this build going. 

So I picked up some tape tonight, and got out some stuff and the tablet and got to work protecting it. 









Took the cover off of it. It does have the screen protector on it, but it obviously needs more before putting anything else on it, i.e. tape, resin, etc.

Front









Back









Not much to describe, other than I put a few layers on. 

First layer: Glad Press and Seal. This should protect it from the tape any marks. 


















When all is said and done, the inside of the glass pan will have suede inside of it. This will do a couple of things. It'll help the tablet slide in and out easier, as well as, and more importantly, help to prevent scratches and marks on the tablet from sliding it in and out. So given that I need to account for the thickness of the suede, I decided to get out some scrap suede that I have, and just incorporate it into the protection layers so that in the end, the glass has been done with that thickness accounted for. 



























Did one for the front and back.


----------



## scooter99

Then I started taping them on. 



























Next I got out the foil and wrapped a layer of it on. 









And taped it up.


















Now, it's time to glass! 









Put down some parchment paper so I wouldn't have to fight getting it off the wood. 









Cut a couple sheets of chop so that they were about an inch bigger than the tablet itself. 









Then, I put the first layer on. 









That's as far as I got tonight. It's pretty cold outside, so I'll leave it overnight and let it do it's thing. Tomorrow I'll get the second layer on and let it sit all day. 

That's about it for now. More hopefully tomorrow night!


----------



## bigdexxx

After looking over your Sketchup work, I will be downloading this program and getting familiar with it.


----------



## scooter99

Ya it takes some patience in learning how to use it, but it's so worth it. It really helps you to understand if what you're planning is gonna physically work or not. Especially if you're like me and don't have much space to work with. So far I'm extremely happy with it.


----------



## scooter99

Got some more work done this morning!

Pulled the tablet and uncovered it for now. 









After further inspection I discovered some voids on the edges. Those needed to be filled. I wanted a solid edge. That way when I trim it out, I don't have any voids that need to be filled later. 


















So I made a little wall or dam of tape to fill the edges in. 


















Filled









Much better edges. Not 100% straight, but it'll get covered up with the face plate. 


















Tablet uncovered next to the pan. Still works, whew! 









Time to get a couple more layers on, it's pretty flimsy with one. Couple layers of cloth should do the trick!


----------



## scooter99

Layer #2 total, Layer #1 of Cloth.









Layer #3 total, Layer #2 of Cloth.









One little issue point, but it'll get cut off in the end cause it's on the outside. But here you can see the two layers of cloth. 









So that's pretty much it for the back of the pan. I think after this it should be plenty strong enough. Next step is going to be positioning it on the dash piece, and then getting it cut out. Then getting it into the actual dash and making sure it fits or making adjustments so I can get the face panel done and start the molding process. 

Stay tuned, MORE to come!


----------



## scooter99

Couple of pics with the tablet in it. It is a little big, however, with the suede and some a little work, it'll be fine.

Suede in









Tablet in.



























That's probably going to be about it for the weekend. I'm gonna go out and hang lights with my daughters now. 

More to come soon! Stay tuned!


----------



## bginvestor

Oh man,

You got started on the tablet install before I did! Good job.


----------



## scooter99

Thanks. That's probably gonna be about all for a while. But I got it started and that made me happy. Got my mind off the damn sub enclosure too. That was a relief as well.
Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


----------



## scooter99

THAT'S IT FOLKS! I've officially lost my GOT DAMED MIND!!!!


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> THAT'S IT FOLKS! I've officially lost my GOT DAMED MIND!!!!


AGAIN?!?!?!?!


----------



## scooter99

Its really more like worse, not again. I've pretty much lost my mind years ago!

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

Not ready to reveal yet, but maybe by the end of the day. Depends on how the day goes.

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

Whoops double post!


----------



## scooter99

Ok well after a full day and a partial night of deciding and thinking I've made my decision. I'm sure I'm gonna get ridicule from some, but that's fine, let the jokes and the razzing begin I guess! 

So after messing with the placement and design of the system for a few weeks now, I've decided that the amps I have are just simply too big for my application and are also causing a lot of problems in the design of this system. So, that being said, here's what I've got:

Current Plan:
Audison LRx 4.1k on Tweeters and Mid Range
Audison LRx 2.9 on Mid Bass
Audison LRx 2.4 on Rear Fill
Audison LRx 1.1k on sub 2ohms at 800 watts

New Plan:
Hertz HDP4 on Tweeters and Mid Range
Hertz HDP4 bridged on Mid Bass
Hertz EP2 on rear fill
Hertz HDP4 bridged on Sub. 

How is the sub gonna happen you ask? Well the sub is a dual 4ohm sub. The HDP4 is a 4channel amp that bridges at 4ohms at 500 watts x 2. Each bridged channel will go to each voice coil on the sub. 

Currently I'm using Hertz HSK165's for the rear fill. I might hold onto those, but at the same time I'm leaning towards some Hertz High Energy Coax 6.5's as well. 

All other equipment stays the same! 

New layout: All three Hertz HDP4 amps will go in the rear deck drawer. The Hertz EP2 will go in the rear deck with the rear fill and new custom rear deck. The Audison Bit One Processor will go in the trunk lid or one of the cubbies. This will free up the entire area under the rear deck for the sub enclosure. I may move some things around depending on enclosure size to balance it out. 

So there it is, let the comments, bashing, whatever begin! The Audison LRx amps will be up for sale very soon!


----------



## scooter99

Not sure how it'll look on here, if it'll be big enough, but here's the basic new layout. 

This is just the equipment.









This is the power, without all the barrier strips, relays, etc. (the small stuff)









This is the signal layout. 









I'm not going to explain it all, but if you do want me to, please by all means ask and I'll try and go through it. 

Now then, does anyone wanna do a design for me for a 4th order on the Hertz HX300D sub? Please? Last part of this and I can have a complete design and get to building! Course the amps are gonna take a bit to get bought, but they'll come in due time! 

I also need to get my DD-1 and CC-1 now I guess!


----------



## scooter99

Here's another option I may go with. 2 HDP4's for the front stage, and then an HDP5 for rear fill as well as sub duties. 

Basic Layout 2









Power Layout 2









Signal Layout 2









I'm kicking around some configurations right now. This one would give me 200 x 2 on the rear fill, and then 550 x 1 on the sub at 2ohms. 

I'm still weighing my options here. I'm ready to order, I just have to figure out what I want to do with an enclosure. The layout would change a bit too, cause the HDP5 is pretty long, well about 2.5" longer than the HDP4's. So I think that would push it out of the rear deck tray. However, that wouldn't be that big a deal, I could swap it with the Bit One on the trunk lid. If it goes on the trunk lid, then the bit one would center on the HDP4's in the rear deck drawer. My only fear with this set up, is under powering the sub should I go with the ported enclosure vs the 4th order. It's starting to come together. That's for sure! 

What I may do, is order two of the HDP4's, and then build the temp ported enclosure and use the LRx 1.1k on it and see how it takes the power. Then I'll know which direction to go with the last amp, or amps. 

I should be ordering by tomorrow. I'm gonna go sleep on it now. I gotta get the LRx's up for sale too. Watch for those! 

More to come soon!


----------



## scooter99

By the way, the last fuse box, after the large multi distribution block, is a digital fuse box. It gives me a digital volt reading, so I have that there for show and for watch ability. I'll have a reading at the end of the line. Not sure if it matters or not, but it'll be there anyway. 

Same up front. The block between the buss bar and the alternator, is also a digital fuse holder. 

Just thought I'd clear that up, just in case!


----------



## bginvestor

Scooter,

Do the Audison amps not fit your form factor? Those are nice amps.. Not a big deal if they are too much power, right?


----------



## scooter99

bginvestor said:


> Scooter,
> 
> Do the Audison amps not fit your form factor? Those are nice amps.. Not a big deal if they are too much power, right?


No they don't unfortunately. I tried just about every different configuration and it just wasn't going to work. 

I am still trying to figure out if I want 1000 Watts available to the sub or if that's gonna be way too much power for em. I may stick with the third hdp4, and pick up a smaller Hertz amp for the rear fill. Thinking about an EP2 for them. 

I'll know more today. 

What I may do is get two of the hdp4's and build a temporary enclosure for ported and a 4th order and use one of the two amps and decide if it's too much or not.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


----------



## kyheng

^^^Do let me know when you put them on sale again... I'll keep myself suspended from DIYMA......


----------



## scooter99

oh hell no. You're one of my biggest customers. There's no way I'm gonna risk excluding you from these sales!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

Ok, if anyone's interested, the amps are up for sale here: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/car-audio-classifieds/119811-audison-lrx-amplifiers-blue-series-sale.html

I've also got my alarm up for sale as well. If you have a Civic 06 - 08, it's a complete package for you. Here's that link: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/car-audio-classifieds/119672-zenesis-zn502as-alarm-idatalink-bypass-usb-kit.html

No turning back now! Soon as my guy gets back to me, I'll be buying the new amps.


----------



## scooter99

Ok, if anyone's interested, the amps are up for sale here: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/car-audio-classifieds/119811-audison-lrx-amplifiers-blue-series-sale.html

I've also got my alarm up for sale as well. If you have a Civic 06 - 08, it's a complete package for you. Here's that link: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/car-audio-classifieds/119672-zenesis-zn502as-alarm-idatalink-bypass-usb-kit.html

No turning back now! Soon as my guy gets back to me, I'll be buying the new amps.


----------



## scooter99

Ok here's what's currently going on. I just sent payment for the amps today and hope they'll be here by friday so I can drool over em all weekend. 

Then, next week I'll be building two test boxes. One ported enclosure tuned to, off the top of my head, I think 38 htz, then the second is going to be a 4th order with the sealed being at .75cu and the ported at 1.5cu tuned to between 38 - 40 hz. Thanks Merzbow for the advise. 

The set up will be this, HDP4 for front tweeters and mid range, second HDP bridged for the front mid bass. HDP 5 bridging the front and rear channels for 200 watts x 2 for the rear fill. Then the sub will see 550 watts of the 5th channel at 2 ohms. 

Here's the layout: Scratch that, I'll do a sketch up of the layout. It'll be more fun that way! LMAO! 

Plans for next week. Monday, I'll be building the test boxes. Hopefully I can get them both built on Monday. If that's the case, then I'll be ready for testing. Then I have the following on the list:

1) Finish/work on - tablet install
2) Start on the front stage A-pillars (mid range and tweeters)
3) Rebuild the component rack out of birch and clean it up a bit. 

Not sure how much more I'll be able to do, but I'll figure it out as I go. 

That's it for now. I'll update more later.


----------



## scooter99

Ok here's the new rear deck amp drawer layout. 

1) Amps facing front to back of the car, with the bit one in the center. This angle is as if you were standing at the trunk with the drawer extended out. 









This is a shot of the back for the drawer. The black boxes are representing fans. 









This angle is with the amps laying side to side, like the bit one. I prefer this layout I think. It looks much more balanced. What do you guys think?









Same thing, rear view.









I've decided that the HDP5 will go in the trunk lid, as planned with the previous design. 

There are some other design changes as well. I'm thinking I'm going to move the battery from the rear cubby to the side of the sub enclosure. The enclosure should not take up the entire area back there. I'll do the battery on the bottom of course, and then above it will go the fuse holders, and the complete distro block. 

As you can see, or imagine, this is going to free up a lot of space for me. I am seriously thinking of putting bags on this car. Doing this will allow me to do that. It will free up space for all that. I'll utilize the cubbies, and the floor as well, if needed. For now, I'm on audio only. Not worrying about the bags or air as of now. But I'm trying to think of the future, and all the while still have a trunk! 

That's it for now. Amps have shipped, and one of 5 have sold. Things are moving along quite nicely. I may have some power stuff up for sale soon as well. But that may not happen until I'm done with the build and see what I have left. 

More to come, like actual building, very very soon! Let me know what you all think!


----------



## scooter99

No love?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


----------



## Salad Fingers

scooter99 said:


> This angle is with the amps laying side to side, like the bit one. I prefer this layout I think. It looks much more balanced. What do you guys think?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Same thing, rear view.


I vote for this physical orientation for the symmetry of the shape of the amps to the Bit.One. However, instead of the locations of the crossover and logo being symmetrical, the logos of the amps being the same and both not upside down would be the way to go IMO!!!

I like how organized you make all of your thoughts and put them in to physical form with your computer. I think of things in this way, but it all just sits in my head as I try to explain it to people.


----------



## ocblaze

I like the second orientation much better than the first. Have you thought about where the wires exist the amps though, my only worry is squeezing all the necessary wires between the bitone or the side walls. If at all possible I think having the horizontal logos face you and the vertical logos face the outside of the car would look the best. Oh and I love how much of a go fetters you are!! Plus your work ethic and efficiency are crazy bro!!!


----------



## scooter99

Salad Fingers said:


> I vote for this physical orientation for the symmetry of the shape of the amps to the Bit.One. However, instead of the locations of the crossover and logo being symmetrical, the logos of the amps being the same and both not upside down would be the way to go IMO!!!
> 
> I like how organized you make all of your thoughts and put them in to physical form with your computer. I think of things in this way, but it all just sits in my head as I try to explain it to people.


If I'm understanding you correctly, the answer to that is that the top plates flip over and the Hertz Logo's will be readable and not upside down. Is that what you mean or do you mean have the crossovers pointing to the same side, i.e. if one points to the right side, the both point to the right side?


----------



## scooter99

ocblaze said:


> I like the second orientation much better than the first. Have you thought about where the wires exist the amps though, my only worry is squeezing all the necessary wires between the bitone or the side walls. If at all possible I think having the horizontal logos face you and the vertical logos face the outside of the car would look the best. Oh and I love how much of a go fetters you are!! Plus your work ethic and efficiency are crazy bro!!!


There's about 3" between the amp ends and the bit one in the horizontal design. Plus the rca's are set back from the end of the amp. There's about an inch to inch and a half from the end of the amp, to the panel with the rca's on it. So that gives me about 4 - 4 1/2" of room between the side of the bit one, and the amp for the RCA's to go into. 

On the opposite side, it's the same, about 4 - 4 1/2" total and the power wire and ground wire I'm using are very very flexible. When I get them in this week, hoping Friday but I've not looked at the tracking # yet, then I'll get the old rack out that I'll be using and do a test fitting in real life. 

Thanks for the kind words too btw. It's the only thing that helps me stay sane while on hold from working on it. I've got to get the sub enclosure designed next. That way I can get the power bank designed as well!


----------



## scooter99

So here's the problem I'm seeing with this design so far. I don't think I need "cooling system" per say, but fans will for sure help. However, this is what I'm seeing that can be a problem. 

The heatsinks are on the sides of these amps according to the manual online. So the air needs to run on the sides of these amps. 

Given that info, the side to side may not work. I have only 39 inches max to work with, and given the side to side method, I think I'd have to run the fans from the sides of the rack. I believe the slides will hinder that from happening. There isn't enough room in the rack to make that happen. 

The other thought is to see if I could make a ducting system for them. I could run a duct from the outside fans, along the side of the rack to the end with in outlet on either side of the amp which will blow the air out, and then leave the two center fans open drawing the air out. 

As for the front to back positioning, the fans would be on either side, and would push one side and pull the other. The other thing it would do is put the settings up in the front of the rack vs in the middle. That doesn't really matter, they'll be accessible either way. 

The problem with that design, is that there's less room front to back between the amp and walls than the side to side. I'm designed at 14" of depth which gives me only 13" inside (using 1/2"). Not much left over. I don't think I can go too much deeper than that. 

My best bet for room is side to side. I guess I could leave out the back wall to buy another 1/2" of space. I'll figure it out! 

What do you all think about that? Make sense or no?


----------



## Salad Fingers

scooter99 said:


> If I'm understanding you correctly, the answer to that is that the top plates flip over and the Hertz Logo's will be readable and not upside down. Is that what you mean or do you mean have the crossovers pointing to the same side, i.e. if one points to the right side, the both point to the right side?


Well never really thought about it, but you can flip the logo around!! It's quite easy in fact. There are four allen screws at each corner of the top of the amp that must be removed and then it will lift off. Unplug the two pin connector from the board.










Get a smallish phillips head screw driver and remove this piece...









Then you be to the back of the logo!! Push gently on the Hertz logo from the front of the amp and you'll see the adhesive giving. Flip it and put everything back together!!










I'm glad I wrote that last response, now I and everyone else knows that it can be flipped without much time or work!!


----------



## scooter99

Nice! That's awesome man! Thanks for posting that. I cannot wait to get these bad boys in and do some test fitting next week!

How far back from the edge are those RCA inserts? LIke an inch, inch and a half?


----------



## MaXaZoR

scooter99 said:


> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


Jealous!! Waiting for mine but it's on backorder


----------



## scooter99

MaXaZoR said:


> Jealous!! Waiting for mine but it's on backorder


Man, listen, it'll be welllllll worth the wait! I lucked out, I have someone on the inside who informed me when it was going to happen. SO I was able to jump on it quick!


----------



## scooter99

Ok guys, I'm going to redo the tablet pan. Why you ask? Well when I got the other one started, I completely forgot to add the docking station in there, and aside of that, the current one is way too big. So I'll need to redo it a bit to incorporate the docking station, and to make sure it's a good size. So that will start next week for sure.


----------



## scooter99

Well I might still wrap em, but for now, here's some pics of the new beauties. 

A little love from my supplier! Thanks! 









Oh isn't that a beautiful sight! 









Hertz HDP4:



























Just how big is it? Well here's a little comparison to a dollar bill, all I had on me! 









Little end shot action:


















Crossover shot!


----------



## eviling

mmmm nice


----------



## scooter99

Next up is the Hertz HDP5:



























Again, size comparison, aka money shot! LOL had to! 









Little love for the ends!


















Crossover:









Man I cannot wait to get these things fitted! More to come later. Waiting for Steve to get back to his shop to pick up the DD-1! 

Oh how it's been a great Christmas already! And it's still two days away! WOOOHOOO!!!


----------



## IBcivic

Dang those amps r tiny!


----------



## scooter99

Ok, so I went over and met Steve and got my DD-1 baby! Woohoo!! He gave me a hat too! To make up for the price diff for shipping vs picking it up. Hell of a guy! 



















Oh ya! Signature in the hat! 










And on the DD-1! :yahoo: 









Ok so here's the set up! I got this going on per the drawings! 

First up, Bit One


















Then The HDP4's


















Now then, with that layout, it's a little close on the edges and to the bit one, but I can widen it a bit also, and it will provide more room. 

Here's Version 2









Same thing, little tight on the ends of the amp, but the front piece that's straight can get taken out and a new piece can be put in so it's curved like the front. That would buy me 2 more inches at least. 

Here's Version 3









Now with this one, the Bit One goes out of the drawer obviously, and I'm thinking counter sunk in the floor, or up in the trunk lid! 

Thoughts! Let me hear em!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

I forgot to fill the guys in that aren't on SMD.com.

A DD-1 is a Distortion Detector.

SMD Distortion Detector DD-1 Here is the website where Steve Meade sells them at. All the instruction manuals and everything are here, and if you go onto you tube and search for SMD DD-1 Distortion Detector, there are a ton of videos on it and he explains how it works and even goes through a how to on it.

There's also a CC-1 coming out which is called Crossover Calibrator Multi Amplifier Gain Matching Device. Not out yet, but it's coming soon! Here's a video: SMD CC-1 Crossover Calibrator Multiple Amplifier Gain Matching Device - YouTube Hope that helps.


----------



## scooter99

Merry Christmas DIYMA Family!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

Ok folks, day 1 of vacation. Here's what I've set out to do this week while I'm off. If I can somehow get finished with any of this stuff, maybe i'll move onto a couple other things. We'll have to wait and see what happens with this list. 

The list, pretty much in order of priority:

- Make a rear facing ported enclosure
- Make a front facing ported enclosure with the port in the pass through
- Re-Glass tablet with dock inserted and do installation
- Add Bit One DRC to dash piece under tablet
- Make A-Pillars (mid ranges and tweeters)
- Redo rear component wall out of birch
- Redo portions and complete rear deck amp drawer
- Add gas actuators to trunk lid
- Make the how to's on the tablet install

That's a lot to do. However, I'm starting here in about 30 minutes and I should have the enclosures done today. I have things to do this afternoon, see there goes life again getting in the way, but I'm gonna be back at it full on tomorrow. I will most likely be doing the pillars and the tablet at the same time, which will be good cause tomorrow it's supposed to rain so that will keep me dry in the garage all day long. 

The rear deck is going to take a little work, but I'm excited to get it going. I have some killer ideas about finishing. I think you guys are gonna like it. If my excitement is any indication of it, I think you guys for sure gonna like it. Little on the bold side, but not completely crazy! Just think, splash of color!!! 

So, it's about to get live, and I'm gonna need some patience. I'll try to get pics up daily, or nightly, but I may not get to it. So just hang with me, but there will be plenty of pics this week! HERE WE GO!! IT'S ON!!


----------



## fahrfrompuken

scooter99,
Where were you going to mount that amp rack? I was thinking of doing something similar in my '07 Camry mounted under the rear deck with heavy duty self-closing drawer slides.


----------



## scooter99

Yup. That's where its going. Under the rear deck with HD slides. May get a little crazy after its all done and put a linear actuator in. But not sure yet. 

Ok guys and gals. I've got lots of pic from today which was successful btw. However um about to get dinner going, late I know, and then I got called to work tonight on an important project. So when I finish with that I'll get pics up! 

Stay tuned!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


----------



## scooter99

Ok guys, here we go. Didn't get multiple things done today, but I got one thing done and ready to go. I did the ported enclosure for the rear facing sub. This measures about 20" wide, 14.5" tall, and it's a wedge box so the top is 14" deep and the bottom 19" deep. Comes out to about, and I don't have the Torres printout in front of me, but it ends up at about 1.23 cu ft (I think) and tuned at 35hz. 

So let's get onto the pics, shall we! 

Some tools, the torres printout, and my new phone. Gotta keep up with the forums while I'm working! LOL









MDF, Ridgid Saw, and Porter Cable Router









Also picked up a new toy today. Nothing special, but I got a rip fence. This will help with some stuff for sure. I usually use a level, but I thought why not get one of these, since it's what it's made for. 


















Had to make sure and get my angle right, before i start cutting anything. 









For those of you who don't know how to do this, you take your angle finder and get the angle for whatever you're working with, like above. 

Take it to the material you need to cut on. Mark the line like so:


















Take a speed square, I prefer the larger one cause you get more area to work with and make sure the line is correct. The smaller one can sometimes get a little outta whack. Put the point on the line joint, where the line meets the edge of the material. Line it up on the line, and count down your lines on the numbered side where it meets the square edge. 









In this case we've got 22 degrees angle. 









Now go cut some wood! I spared the pictures of the cutting part! Just skipped straight to the pile!


----------



## scooter99

Next I started screwing sh!t together! 
Weapons of choice! 









That's me in case noone's seen me in a while or at all! LOL! 









My 5 year old daughter decided she wanted to help me today. So I grabbed my little Rigid 12v drill, and she started going to town! She put the whole thing together, for the dry run! 5 years old folks! I know adults who can't operate a screw gun correctly! LOVED WATCHING HER DO THIS! MADE ME SO PROUD! Wait, teary moment! Sniffle! Ok I'm back! 









Little blurry pic of her first screw! 


















So proud of her work! Daddy's so proud too!









Port anyone! 6" x 3.5" x 26"









Rounded off the square edges! 









Time to glue and screw! I forgot the finished glue and screw pics of this first side! Oops!


----------



## scooter99

Pre drilled all holes! 




































Time to router out the port! Love me some router action!









Next I got out the little guy, with the pre home made circle jig on it. I'm gonna get a real one soon. Probably tomorrow. But for a test box, this will work just fine! 









See, told ya! Also rounded over the port edges. 









Man this thing fits like I can't even think of a word to put in here. It's sooooo tight! I had to push on it, not hard, but just a little pressure and it slipped right in...........................hmmmmm this could go very wrong very fast.......LMAO! Well whatever, perfect measurements FTMFW!!!!









Time to glue and screw! Predrilled the holes!









Glued!


----------



## scooter99

And screwed!









Little peekaboo down the port! 









Couple shots on the table! 


















Now time to fit er in! Now I know there are some fitting issues here, and I'm well aware of it. It's a test box and I wanted to leave it at that. I'll deal with them later on as I get the real box going. However, for testing I'm fine with this. 









Now let me explain what I'm talking about by issues! Right now you're looking down the left side of the enclosure. The enclosure is pushed all the way back to the component wall. Now, as you can see the enclosure is about 2 3/4" away from the side wall there. In the upper corner of the enclosure you'll see or notice that the wall angles up and over. Well that's the issue. What needs to happen is a chunk of the corner of the enclosure needs to be cut out. I need to decide if I'm going to go back with wood to seal it up, or just glass the shat out of it and pour resin in it from the inside and firm it up. I think the latter would be best as it would take up less room that a 3/4" piece of wood. 









Now why is that an issue you ask? Well the reason I cut out the center of the seats, was to create a pass through and allow sound to travel through to the cabin much easier and much more unimpeded. Well that 2 3/4" or close to 3" of gap allows the enclosure to take up more than half of the pass through. If I get that distance back, it will really open it up. As you can see here. 


















I can also put the enclosure on the passenger side, same issue there, and then the cut out angle will take up the enclosure portion instead of the ported portion. Either way it has to happen. Not sure if it matters or not, but it would also put the port in the center. I guess I could just build it the opposite way I did with this one and get the same effect on the driver side. I don't know if it matters or not. I think with what I'm planning to take up the space next to the enclosure, I may just go the enclosure on the passenger side. You'll see in due time! 









Now it's got the wire in, and it's ready for testing! 









I've got a buddy coming over tomorrow, since I have no equipment hooked up and ready, and he's going to hook his amp up and see what we've got! He's running a 600 watt amp, at a 2ohm load, tuned to about 80hz now on an Alpine Type R in a very similar enclosure! His sounds pretty damn nice! And to top it off, it's the same type of car! So why not right! I'm ready to go, just need some power, and he can supply that. I'll report back tomorrow! 

That's it for tonight! Tomorrow is a new day! I have to get back to work, at my job, now so I can not work tomorrow! When the boss says, from Hawaii by the way, "we just settled a multi million dollar case and I need you to draw up the paperwork I emailed you tonight", you kind of have to jump on it! So here I am! 

Goodnight all! Till tomorrow!


----------



## scooter99

OH, also, I was talking about the other enclosure; sub facing cabin and the port in the pass through, but I've heard from more that a few people who own civics, that they just are hard to make sound good like that. So I may not do that at this time. I'm also short on 3/4" mdf, so I don't know if I wanna buy another sheet just to do another enclosure that is getting bad reviews. So we'll see.


----------



## scooter99

Ok another day in the books. Not nearly as much done as I thought I'd get, but I'm pretty pleased with the progress. I can see things coming together. 

First up I started Version 2 of the tablet pan. The more and more I look at this and think about it, the more and more complex it seems. But I'm gonna keep working at it. Here we go. 










If you will recall, I was going to use the docking station for this. After taping it up, and looking at it I decided not to do it that way. I decided I would just use the base part of it, and cut it in later. Thankfully I decided this after tape and not after glass or there'd be a version 3. 




































Time for glass! ALl my materials, including my coffee! Let's go for it. 


















Got some wax on it this time to help with the separation after drying.









Then I started the glassing process!









2 layers!


----------



## scooter99

Time to separate. As you can see the plastic on the table proved to be a little bit of a problem. While I was dabbing the resin on, and moving things around, the plastic wrinkled underneath it, and created these ripples. May not be a problem but we'll see.









Houston, we have separation!









And this is what we're left with. The edges need some work, much like the last pan I made. I'll deal with that later. 



























That's about as far as I got with the tablet. I'll have to make some more time to work on it tomorrow.


----------



## scooter99

Now then, between doing that, and the next project I had decided I'd had enough of my damn work bench being so mess. Can't find anything, waste a lot of time looking, so it was time to get organized! 

After that I started on the next project. I was planning on doing this project and the tablet project at the same time, but it just didn't work out that way. Oh well! 

So this is the start of the a-pillars. The Mid Range and Tweeters will go up here. I didn't want to just make a couple of plates, or rings, and just glue them on, and I had been thinking about this for a while, but I wanted to do something a little bold, and a little classy, and within uniform as well. I don't quite think it's gonna work out that way. But we'll have to wait and see what happens when I get to that point. 

Here we go! 

Let's take a gander at the equipment. Hertz Mille ML700 3" mid range. Hertz Mille ML 280s Signature Series tweeters. 


















Damn it these are gorgeous! 




































So I started drawing out and measuring for the panel these are going to go on. Somewhat of an eight looking panel. Like I said I wanted it a little bit different. 









Then it was time for my little trim router.


----------



## scooter99

VIOLA! Little snow men! Party! 









Then it was time to start placing them. This was so extremely time consuming cause nothing seemed to look right. I bet I played with this for 2 hours. 









Had to remove some material.


















Time to turn these snowmen into some swiss cheese! 









Marked where the screw holes were at. This is material that needs to stay in here so the screws can go in, obviously. But the rest of it will be trimmed out and angled so that they can breath a bit better. 


















Then trimmed the back sides.


----------



## scooter99

Next I hot glued the panels in place! Mmmmm! 


















Test fitted!









They're not too bad, but I want them angled a little higher. I've got it out again, and had to take out some more material in the back of the a pillar, and now I can glue em back in with a higher angle.









From the driver perspective. 









I forgot to talk about the dilemma. So my design thought in adding the extra room around the mid range and tweeter was to add another layer on top of it. What I wanted to do was end up with a little strip around each driver and have that be orange carbon fiber vinyl. Hertz is black and orange, is why I wanted orange. It's bold, but it's not much and would end up a classy look I think. Not over bold. Now, I don't see how I'm going to be able to do that. So I'm a little stumped on this one. The whole pillar is planned to be wrapped in black suede. I'm sure I'll figure something out. Maybe i won't be able to do the orange cfv. Not sure! 

So that's about it today. I have to glue this pod back on tomorrow, and do the passenger side tomorrow. Then it's glass time! 

Thanks for tuning in! More tomorrow!


----------



## scooter99

I just tested the sub enclosure today and I must say I'm psyched. It's got so much output it's crazy, for me at least. I was NOT expecting what we got! I also found some other things out as well. Here's a quick video. 



So couple of things. First, I NEED MORE SOUND DEADENER! I have to do the roof also which is on the list. The second thing I found out is that the back seat component wall rattles like a mo fo! The door rattles, and I think that's it but it's a lot. I also have trunk rattle issues. So what I may do, is leave the box where it is. The pass through seems pretty worthless now, cause I only use about an inch of it. I may build a drawer rack on the other side of the enclosure, where a second enclosure should go, and make that my component area. Kind of like the amp rack I designed a while ago. I'll have to think about that. 

But that's where I'm at now. That video is from a stock head unit, on a Diamond Audio 600 Watt amp at 2 ohms. He has his amp tuned to about 80 hz, and at 23 volume it's about 600 watts. We were at volume 15 in the video so I'd say around 400 - 450 watts. So what I'm using, 550 watts, should be suffice. 

What do you guys think? Looks ok, sounds ok, at least what you can tell from a video anyway? I'm interested. 

I'm about to post a bunch of pictures. Stay tuned! Lot's coming to you, in mere minutes!


----------



## scooter99

So, day 3 of this vacation week! I'm very pleased with what I'm about to share with you guys! I pretty much left off where I was at yesterday with the A Pillars, but that took me quite a long time to get to where I am with them now. Pleased! I spent the better part of today on them and aiming, and gluing, and cutting and re gluing, and re aiming,and re gluing, and so on and so forth! I finally got a good overall aiming on them, and I'm pretty happy with the way they sit now. I'll go through the pics for you. 


If will recall when I left off last night I wasn't so sure about my design and whether or not I was going to be able to get the cfv in there or not. I decided on this as a finishing. 

I'm going to make a plate that will sit over the speaker rings, and yet be under the mid range and tweeters themselves. That panel will be made out of 1/8" ply, I have it laying around. Anyway, It's going to be just a touch bigger than the actual rings. That will be covered in cfv now. The suede will cover as normal, right down to the rings. Then the cfv plate will go over the top of it and finish it off. The mid range and tweeters will hold it in place when they attach to the panel and speaker ring. Here are the pics.


----------



## scooter99

Time for the passenger side, FINALLY! 









And a little more work on the driver side again! Like I said, PAIN IN MY ASS!


----------



## scooter99

Full view!









Together side by side!









Now it's time for some glassing. First they need to get covered. Some red grill cloth, spray glue, staples, and patience outta do it! 









Now I've tried this a couple other times, and failed miserably with it. We'll see how much I've learned over the last couple years.


----------



## scooter99

Covered, and ready to go! 









Time to glass! Well resin anyway! 









I had to make a little platform, what you see in the middle in the picture above, cause the pillars don't stand up, or do they stay any sort of upright. Would have made it a pain to brush. 


















First layer of resin on! Stayed tight for the most part, looks good, cloth is saturated. I'm calling this a success! 




































Gotta get those covers off, and then back out for a second layer.


----------



## AudioBob

Looking real good!!! Those are going to look great where you have them. I finally got started on finishing up my car today as I have a few days off this week also. I actually finally have sound as of 10:00 tonight!!! I am hoping to start a build log tomorrow.

Great work so far!!!


----------



## scooter99

They came out pretty damn clean I think. I'm extremely pleased with them. 









Not very good pics, but here's the second layer going on! 


















That's about it for the A Pillars tonight! I'll get some more work done with them tomorrow. Let's move on to the next project I worked on today! 

I'm very very excited about this one and very happy with where I ended up today! I was very taken back by the tablet project last night, cause by the time I called it a night, I was really stumped as to how it was going to work together. So after working with it today and really taking my time and concentrating on it, and what I was doing and what step was next etc, I ended up the night on a very very pleasing note! Let's get to it! 

So when I left off yesterday we had the pan with some extra on the sides and some trimming that was needed. Here's a little start off shot with the tablet in place. 









The black lines were what needed to be trimmed a bit. 









Got those done and as well, the top shaved off. I allowed about a half inch for the tablet to stick out, and after thinking about it now, I'm not 100% sure why. It's not like I'm going to be able to grab it from the top and pull it out. So I'm not sure yet if that was a good decision or not. We'll have to wait and find out a little later. 









But here it is with the sides shaved and the top off. 


















Next it was time to put the base in. Remember that I'm not using the whole docking station, but just the base with the connection on it. I outlined before glassing, on the tape, where it needed to go. That made things a bit easier when it came time to do this. 









Cut out and ready!


----------



## FrankstonCarAudio

I can't help but see some sort of similarity, Scooter :laugh:










Mark


----------



## scooter99

And there it is! IN! With hot glue for now, but it's in! 









From the front! 









Oh wait that was upside down! 









So then I got the sharpie out, and started drawing on the old dash bezel! 









Then I started cutting! I have to tell you this made me sad! Not the cutting, cause I'm ecstatic about that! No, I lost a good friend of mine right here! Mr. Dremel decided "EFF this" and up and quit on me mid cut! I was half way done and that was it! It shut off, never to restart again! Well thankfully, his brother was hanging out today, cause I quickly put him to work to complete the task! What a trooper his is! So much so that he's decided to stay now forever! 









Then I trimmed the outside of the pan.









And got it set in the bezel! Oh this was such an exciting moment! WOW! 









So I couldn't stand it! Had to get the tablet in right away! Right now! Oh and it sets it off! So happy! 









Then I got out the Bit One DRC, and put it into place. I didn't get pics I guess, but I had to cut some of the bezel out in order to center it.









Both together! 









As I said, very very happy!

So that's it for today! I think I got a lot done. Although maybe it doesn't show much, I really feel very good about todays work! 

So, what is on my list of things to do for tomorrow. Well, I have to;

Make a face for the tablet pan. 
Attach it to the pan and bezel. 
Start glassing it, or filling it, or something to start the molding process.
I need to pick up some ABS for it, to do something about the sides. The gaps need to be filled. 

Then;

I need to add some resin, or a milkshake something (I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO DO THIS) to the inside of the pillars.
Start body filling the outside
cut out the speaker holes,
cut out the holes on the cfv plate
wrap the cfv plate. 

I think that's gonna about do it. I have a feeling tomorrow is my last day to work on this this week. I want to get as much of the major work done with these things, so that I can jump out in the garage here and there from time to time for an hour, or half hour, or whatever and do little stuff to finish them off. 

I'm not going ot get to the other things I wanted to get to, which were the component wall re build (although I may be taking that out of the equation now), finishing and altering the rear deck drawer, and lastly make a how to on the tablet install with the different components. Oh well, only so much time in the day. 

Ok guys that's it. Thanks for tuning in, and I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds! Goodnight!


----------



## scooter99

FrankstonCarAudio said:


> I can't help but see some sort of similarity, Scooter :laugh:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Mark


That's funny, I completely forgot about your build! I was going to use it as a sort of guide! I guess mentally I did, but didn't know it. HA! Thanks!


----------



## scooter99

AudioBob said:


> Looking real good!!! Those are going to look great wher you have them. I finally got started on finishing up my car today as I have a few days off this week also. I actually finally have sound as of 10:00 tonight!!! I am hoping to start a build log tomorrow.
> 
> Great work so far!!!


Thank you sir! Can't wait to see yours!


----------



## FrankstonCarAudio

scooter99 said:


> That's funny, I completely forgot about your build! I was going to use it as a sort of guide! I guess mentally I did, but didn't know it. HA! Thanks!


You're welcome.. 

Your A-pillars are looking like they are turning out well.

I'm also liking the dash mods for the tablet.. I am about to start something similar to replace my Alpine 9965 h/unit.
I will be using a modified home Blu-Ray DVD player in the trunk as the source, with a 7" screen and extended controls upfront, where the h/unit is currently.
ThDVD player will feed the Bit-One.1 via the coaxial digital input and the DRC will be used for volume control.

Look forward to your next updates

Mark


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> I just tested the sub enclosure today and I must say I'm psyched. It's got so much output it's crazy, for me at least. I was NOT expecting what we got! I also found some other things out as well. Here's a quick video.
> 
> 
> 
> So couple of things. First, I NEED MORE SOUND DEADENER! I have to do the roof also which is on the list. The second thing I found out is that the back seat component wall rattles like a mo fo! The door rattles, and I think that's it but it's a lot. I also have trunk rattle issues. So what I may do, is leave the box where it is. The pass through seems pretty worthless now, cause I only use about an inch of it. I may build a drawer rack on the other side of the enclosure, where a second enclosure should go, and make that my component area. Kind of like the amp rack I designed a while ago. I'll have to think about that.
> 
> But that's where I'm at now. That video is from a stock head unit, on a Diamond Audio 600 Watt amp at 2 ohms. He has his amp tuned to about 80 hz, and at 23 volume it's about 600 watts. We were at volume 15 in the video so I'd say around 400 - 450 watts. So what I'm using, 550 watts, should be suffice.
> 
> What do you guys think? Looks ok, sounds ok, at least what you can tell from a video anyway? I'm interested.
> 
> I'm about to post a bunch of pictures. Stay tuned! Lot's coming to you, in mere minutes!


pretty impressive results. panel flex with 1/2kw


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> And there it is! IN! With hot glue for now, but it's in!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> From the front!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Oh wait that was upside down!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So then I got the sharpie out, and started drawing on the old dash bezel!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Then I started cutting! I have to tell you this made me sad! Not the cutting, cause I'm ecstatic about that! No, I lost a good friend of mine right here! Mr. Dremel decided "EFF this" and up and quit on me mid cut! I was half way done and that was it! It shut off, never to restart again! Well thankfully, his brother was hanging out today, cause I quickly put him to work to complete the task! What a trooper his is! So much so that he's decided to stay now forever!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Then I trimmed the outside of the pan.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And got it set in the bezel! Oh this was such an exciting moment! WOW!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So I couldn't stand it! Had to get the tablet in right away! Right now! Oh and it sets it off! So happy!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Then I got out the Bit One DRC, and put it into place. I didn't get pics I guess, but I had to cut some of the bezel out in order to center it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Both together!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As I said, very very happy!
> 
> So that's it for today! I think I got a lot done. Although maybe it doesn't show much, I really feel very good about todays work!
> 
> So, what is on my list of things to do for tomorrow. Well, I have to;
> 
> Make a face for the tablet pan.
> Attach it to the pan and bezel.
> Start glassing it, or filling it, or something to start the molding process.
> I need to pick up some ABS for it, to do something about the sides. The gaps need to be filled.
> 
> Then;
> 
> I need to add some resin, or a milkshake something (I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO DO THIS) to the inside of the pillars.
> Start body filling the outside
> cut out the speaker holes,
> cut out the holes on the cfv plate
> wrap the cfv plate.
> 
> I think that's gonna about do it. I have a feeling tomorrow is my last day to work on this this week. I want to get as much of the major work done with these things, so that I can jump out in the garage here and there from time to time for an hour, or half hour, or whatever and do little stuff to finish them off.
> 
> I'm not going ot get to the other things I wanted to get to, which were the component wall re build (although I may be taking that out of the equation now), finishing and altering the rear deck drawer, and lastly make a how to on the tablet install with the different components. Oh well, only so much time in the day.
> 
> Ok guys that's it. Thanks for tuning in, and I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds! Goodnight!


Put that drc in a bag or tape it up, yo!.....the screen is made of really cheap ass plastic that hazes when exposed to solvent fumes and it is a PITA to polish back up


i like where this is going, btw


----------



## IBcivic

FrankstonCarAudio said:


> ... to replace my Alpine 9965 h/unit.


Blasphemy!


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> Covered, and ready to go!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Time to glass! Well resin anyway!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I had to make a little platform, what you see in the middle in the picture above, cause the pillars don't stand up, or do they stay any sort of upright. Would have made it a pain to brush.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Gotta get those covers off, and then back out for a second layer.



speechless :thumbsup:


----------



## FrankstonCarAudio

amitaF said:


> Blasphemy!


LOL!
If the Alpine optical out was totally compatible with the Bit-One.1, I would be keeping it.. 

Mark


----------



## scooter99

Thanks for the info and the compliments guys! Especially from you two, it means a lot! 

Ya I'll be protecting that thing for sure. I just couldn't stand not putting it in there to see what it looked like. I was too excited and anxious. 

I'll get more done today, but right now I have to go get my truck smogged. Damn registration! Oh well! Then I'll be back here working!


----------



## scooter99

it was a non productive day for me. I was at the smog shop this morning, then ran around to get the registration done, EFFING AAA DOESN'T DO CARDS FOR REGISTRATION! CASH OR CHECK ONLY!! WTF IS THAT CRAP!!!! Does anyone even carry a check book anymore!?! And with cards, who the hell needs cash!?! 

Anyway, after that I found out I had no rear brakes in the truck. The smog guys said they tried to stop it on the rollers when they were testing it, and the brakes in the back didn't work at all. I knew I had a RAB valve going out, i just didn't know it was completely out! So after chasing that part for a couple hours, I had to install it. Then bleed the brakes 3 times, yes 3 times! By the time I took the core back and got home it was about 330 and so I decided to do some chores around the house. Stuff I was supposed to do tomorrow. 

Now come to find out, my wife still thought I was doing that stuff tomorrow so she told my mother in law I was going to be available to have my girls at home with me tomorrow instead of her watching them. So things are looking like they're going to come to a grinding halt. But we'll see if I can get some time to do something tomorrow or not. I'll do my best! 

I do have a question guys, it pertains to my actuator idea. Anyone know how to stop an actuator at a specific point? I'd really like to know that, and then I'll be ready for that part. I did go out there and play with my mock up of the tablet and look at the whole thing, and I think I can make it hinge. It should be fine where it is. But I won't know for sure till I get out there and do some work with it. 

Till tomorrow! Thanks guys for checking in!


----------



## oldturd

scooter99 said:


> Anyone know how to stop an actuator at a specific point? I'd really like to know that, and then I'll be ready for that part.


You can do it with relays, latching relays and micro switches but, Spal makes a handy dandy linear actuator controller. Search for Spal LA-Controller. It was originally designed for shaved doors but should work great for your application. Link to the install / operation manual http://www.surpluscenter.com/Instruct/I5-1577-C.pdf

Edit:
I almost forgot, Dakota Digital makes some as well. http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=results/Category_ID=402/home_id=-1/mode=cat/cat402.htm


----------



## scooter99

Man that's sweet! Thanks for the info. I was looking at this one, which isn't that long or big. 

Firgelli Technologies PQ12
Something like this would be perfect for what I need. Remember I'm only trying to move the top out about an inch. I guess if this has a throw of that amount or somewhere near it I can just use the end point for the stoppage. 

What do you guys think?


----------



## scooter99

So I got out today, and spent the better part of the afternoon getting some things done. Per the suggestions from another member, I went ahead and sealed off the a pillars. Let's go there now. 

Before I could get to any of that, I had to clean up the back side of the pillars first. I had overhang from the cloth, and I had staples poking through the back side too. I'll need to pick up an air stapler for the rest of the job. I used a hand stapler on this one, but it's a pain to deal with! Doesn't always work either. 









OUCH









Cleaned up









Holes cut out.









New toy. decided I needed one, so I finally just broke down and got one. What a god send! 









Next, in order to seal everything up, I needed to grid down a bunch of the ribs on the back of the pillar. Also the plastic needed to be roughed up a little bit so the resin would stick to it.


----------



## scooter99

Then it was time to wrap em up.































































Time to resin!



























That's as far as I got with those tonight. But they'll get at least two more coats on them.


----------



## scooter99

So the rest of my day was taken up brain storming and trying to figure out this tablet install. I worked at it for a while, and I think I'm finally on the verge of getting it perfectly fit. I had to drop it down more than I wanted to, and widen it out a little more than planned, but I think in the end, it's gonna work out just fine! Let's get onto the pics. 

Here's where I started. After looking at it for a while, I decided to move it over about a quarter inch. I was pretty close to the right side and it's pretty thin over there so I decided to give it some room. 









After that I was pretty satisfied, at the moment, with placement. I did not, however, like the waves on the edges. 


















So I got my new tool back out and went to work. This is what I ended up with. Much better I think!


















Then I started trying to mock up the sides. Used some construction paper I have sitting here, and was going to use that to make templates for cutting out wood. I was going to use ABS or something like that, but I have 1/8" ply already here, so why not just used that! 



























So after staring at that for another 10 minutes, I decided that the best thing for me to do, since I'm going to have the whole pan and tablet move, was to get that done, then build everything else around it. So, I got to work doing that.


----------



## scooter99

So this is the front cover up on the bezel. This gives me an idea of the overall size of the cover piece. Obviously this will get cut out in the middle and basically only reveal about an 1/8" of the black outer frame. So It will give me a full screen to look at. 



























Back on. If you look at the upper right corner this was my problem spot. It was just way to high for my liking! From a creative standpoint, it was just going to be way too difficult to mold in and make it look good. And from a visual standpoint, I was just not happy with the way it looked. So back to the drawing board I went. 


















So what I was running into, was how to drop it down, make it look good, and make the tablet and pan itself drop in behind the front of the bezel. The top cover of the tablet could sit on the front, that would be fine, cause I could mold the surroundings in and that would be fine. Then I looked at it again, and decided that little ridge there in the middle needed to go in order to get it lower. 









Gone!









After that it was a matter of how low do I need to go? So I test fitted a couple hundred more times, adjusting, dropping, raising, sliding, and decided more needed to come out. BUT, before I started cutting more out, I wanted to make sure the level in which I was happy with, holding it there, was going to be good. So the best way I could think of to do that, was to put in a ledge and see where we're at! So I used a piece of the 1/8" ply, a dowel, and some hot glue and built a ledge!


----------



## scooter99

So I set the tablet and pan on that ledge, and then put the face on it. As you can see, in the same right upper corner, it's definitely lower. This would be more manageable for sure! 


















This is where the tablet was sitting currently. Good, but not great! More brain storming! Remember I don't have much more room to the top to go, and while i have room toward the bottom to go, I also don't want to push the DRC right out of the whole bezel. So I had to get creative with this thing. I've only got about an 1/8" over the tablet right now, and I think that's a great length, that way the buttons don't get hit, and when it drops back in, retracts, then it would rest against the cover and not the tablet. 



















So what I did was go an 1/8" up, and an 1/8" down. We're there! Home free! I'm very very happy with this! Check it out! It's sunken in baby!! 


















Even was able to shave a bit more, and get the face cover to sink in as well! FOR THE WIN!!!! 









I know it doesn't look like it right there, but if you look down the line, the back side there is sunken in. This will be able to happen without having to build up anywhere around, for the most part. 









So next on the agenda is going to be doing the sides. What I plan on doing is making the sides a little bit bigger than they need to be, about a 1/4" ish. Then I can get the tablet in place, with the cover, and then I can sand down the sides to meet the cover. That way it all meets up. Then the right side will need filling. Trying to figure out the best way to do that. I think filler is pretty heavy for that, and there's going to be a pretty good amount of filler on this already. Maybe a little touch of spray foam will do the trick. Sand it down, filler over top to smooth it out. Not sure. Already had filler in there, holes are drilled for it, so maybe I'll just use filler and be done. 

Obviously I have other holes to fill as well. Going to have some forming and framing to do also. Lots more to do on this, but I'm feeling very on track and like things are going well with it. Not falling into place by any means. This has been mentally tough to figure out. But that's what customizing is all about. 

More to come soon! Thanks for checking in!


----------



## scooter99

Ya know, I don't think I mentioned it in the posts about that A-pillars, but I ended up with .06 cu ft on the pod. So that's right between the suggested .05 - .07 cu ft. So we'll see how it sounds when the time comes.


----------



## Mirage_Man

scooter99 said:


> New toy. decided I needed one, so I finally just broke down and got one. What a god send!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Next, in order to seal everything up, I needed to grid down a bunch of the ribs on the back of the pillar. Also the plastic needed to be roughed up a little bit so the resin would stick to it.


Hey, I've seen that die grinder somewhere before  

Your getting a lot done now! Looks really good too. :thumbsup:


----------



## scooter99

Happy new year folks!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

Ok so I got a little bit of work done today. Not much, but progress is progress right! 

First up are the A Pillars. I didn't do much on these, but I did get them sanded down and ready for the filler portion. Still need to fill the insides a bit, and do another resin coat on the back side, but otherwise, they're getting there! 




























Next I got started figuring out he hinging portion of the tablet. I decided to use a piano hinge to pivot from. Trying to figure out also how to do with without showing the actual spine of the hinge as well. I got it. 









I cut the hinge 1/8" short of the edges. That way I had some room. Room for what I don't know, but room anyway! 









Predrilled the holes for the screws. That helps to keep it straight when I screw it in. The screws will get ground off from the other side when it's done. 



























This is about the limit of the hinge forward, which is well more than enough for what I need. 









As you can see here there's plenty of clearance and it's going to sit flush just fine! Actually i could stand to cut another cover plate that's about 1/8" taller for it. I'll do that when I get this more dialed in.


----------



## scooter99

The next issue I faced was that when the pan was in there with the base, the hinge got in the way. So I had to simply alter that from one piece to two pieces. Not a problem and it works just fine! 









This is not with the pan and tablet connected, but just showing the two parts. 









I taped them together. There's some room for them to separate, but I think I have a solution for that. Matter of fact I know I do. I'm going to cut strips the size of the edge of the frame to beyond the current cover piece. Then glue the frame together. I'll then router the inside edge of the frame on the cover piece, and then the same on the outer portion so they match up. This will give me about 1/4" thickness and allow me to account for the suede that needs to go in. It'll make more sense when I get it done. 









You can see in this picture the slight gap that's there. That needs to get bigger and filled in order to allow for the suede on the back and front. It already slides in and out pretty damn well. But the suede will protect it also. 









Just a backside shot.









And this was the last thing I was able to do before I had to stop. I started mocking up the panel for the DRC. Gonna be a tight fit on this one! But I'll make it work. The DRC will be centered on the center of the tablet. 









Really I should probably get the sides done and in place, or at least temporarily in place, before I start the DRC panel, so I may go back and do those first. 

That's it for now. Hopefully more tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## scooter99

No love?

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


----------



## Salad Fingers

I can't wait to see the pillars!! Are you wrapping them with vinyl or what's the plan?


----------



## Salad Fingers

My wife's Prius has a little window there and I always wanted to do what you're doing with the pillars. Very cool, and damn man you are dedicated to this ****. I work around it all day and as much as I want my truck done, when the hour strikes I just want to go home and hang out with my family! Keep up the work, I look forward to your finished product.

Also, I got your email, and will respond to it when I get enough time to dedicate the response that such an email deserves.


----------



## scooter99

Thanks buddy. My plan for finishing is to do suede on the whole pillar, and on that little cover I made I'll be doing carbon fibber vinyl. I'm going to also instal them using allen head screws instead of the regular ones that came with the drivers.

The only reason I had so much work done this week was cause I was off. Otherwise I'm in the same boat. I'm also doing some more overtime coming up to pay off some debt, so time will get scarce again. But I want this thing done!

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

Ok guys, I need some help. Some advise! 

I want to do some thing a _*little*_ out of the box on the finishing materials. Everything is getting reupholstered in my car at some point. Seats, floor, doors, headliner, trunk, everything! 

So what I'm not sure of is my decision on materials. Not cause I don't like them, but I want to be a bit different. I was originally going to do suede for everything. 

Charcoal suede for the headliner, matching suede on the pillar pods, with light grey for the speaker grills for contrast. 

Re upholstering the doors, with suede two tone, charcoal on the top half, light grey on the bottom with opposite color contrasting inserts. 

The floor I'm probably going to just replace the oem carpet, it's light grey. 

The seats, my original thoughts are the outer parts of the seats I want charcoal, and then the middle inserts I want to do the light grey. 

Do you guys think that will be enough, or should I go out of the box even more with different materials, colors, etc?

What do you guys think or suggest. The current interior is basically what the two colors I just mentioned are. Basically Charcoal and light grey. I also have some really dark grey or even you could call it black in there as well. 

Interested in opinions and suggestions! Give em too me!


----------



## scooter99

Ok guys I have a new thought here. I was thinking the other day about being able to somehow get my girl's new Kindle Fire's to basically turn into monitors. Well I actually have a of thoughts on that. I was thinking today, cause my girls have had these for about a week and I'm finding some habits with them that are changing the way I think about this. Let's go through them and see where we get. 

So as I said I've been monitoring my girls with these tablets. I got them the Kindle Fires after a week or so with the Pantech Digital P.O.S. tablets that my parents got them for Christmas. No dig on my parents, but those were just crap tablets to deal with. I won't go into the specifics. So last week I got the new Kindle Fire's in and set them up and put music on them, which I couldn't do with the Pantech's, put Netflix on, which I couldn't do with the Pantech's, as well as put a couple of apps on them that we'd downloaded on our phones that they play with, which we couldn't do with the Pantech. Getting the jist of why we switched!? 

So what I've come up with, is that my girls are developing very different tastes. They no longer watch the same movies, or listen to the same music, and things like that. I've recently, to my pleasure, discovered an app that allows me to use my wifi on my phone as a hotspot. I've tried it now with my Galaxy tablet, as well as these Fire's and they all work! I'm very pleased about that. 

My original plan with the tablet install was to get dual video screens for the headrests to use with the HDMI set up I'm using with the tablet. That way I have the ability to use my tablet to play movies, and they can watch them in the back. Now I'm thinking this:

*Option 1:*
* Instead of dual headrest monitors, go to a single 7" monitor behind the center console, centering between both girls, for video direct from the Galaxy (main tablet). 
* Do a custom headrest mount for the Kindle Fire Tablets that would slide into the mini usb adapter which would be fixed into the mount. This would allow for charging while in the car. 
* Use a 3.5mm extension that leads to a port in the rear seat center console for headphones. They won't be able to listen to anything without headphones due to not watching the same thing. They already fight over it now. Turn it down, etc. 
* The 3.5mm would have to plug in manually as the tablet is slid into the mount due to the 3.5mm jack and the usb port being on opposite sides (what genius decided this crap I don't know but they should be fired, no pun intended). 

Here's my issues with Option 1 and what I need to do research on:
1 - I don't like that they have to manually input the 3.5 mm jack. I want it to be as easy as can be with the set up. Meaning I'd rather them be able to just slide it in and it works. Obviously they have to select what they want to watch, or do, and obviously when it's in the mount they can't really play games. That's besides the point. 
2 - I don't know if I can get sound through the usb port as well as charging at the same time. I have to check that out. If anyone has any info that they can pass on as far as suggestions, experience etc, I'm welcome to any of it! 
3 - I would like the ability to control volume on the headphones without having to do it through the Fire's. The Kindle Fire does not have an external volume control. You have to tap the screen, then you have to adjust the volume on it, and it's already very difficult and notchy for them to work. The ability to operate volume on the headphones externally would be great. 

That's pretty much it on issues for option 1. 

*Option 2:*
* Keep the dual head rest monitor idea. 
* Make the custom mounts for the tablets which will also house the monitors in the background so that when the tablets are out, you can see the monitors. When the tablets are put in the mounts, the monitors are behind them. 
* Use a 3.5mm extension that leads to a port in the rear seat center console for headphones. They won't be able to listen to anything without headphones due to not watching the same thing. They already fight over it now. Turn it down, etc. 
* The 3.5mm would have to plug in manually as the tablet is slid into the mount due to the 3.5mm jack and the usb port being on opposite sides (what genius decided this crap I don't know but they should be fired, no pun intended). 

This will do the same thing as Option 1 in general, but this will have the monitors at eye level for them vs looking down to the center console. I'm thinking "ergonomically" better than looking down. 

My issues with Option 2 are these:
1 - If their tablets need charging for some reason, they won't be able to charge them in the mounts while watching movies on the monitors, cause it would then cover the monitor and not allow for watching. 
2 - If they need to remove the kindle's to watch the monitors, it needs to be easy enough to be able to do so. Again, I need this to be easy and very simplistic for them to operate on their own. I can't do it for them, cause I'll be driving. 

The only other thing I can think of that would make this even better, would be the ability to have the HDMI outs that would go to the monitors, go to a USB and the Fires act as monitors. I'm not sure there's even a possible way to do that. But I'm going to research it all and see what I can come up with. 

What do you guys think, what are your suggestions, what else you got?


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## scooter99

Ok I've found this which I think would work well for what I need. I need two obviously, two tablets, two headphones, two amps. 

FIIO-E9 Headphone Amplifier

Manual

Now then here's my dilemma! I need to find out, if I can get the sound through the usb port. If I can then I have another issue I need to find out. If I can get the sound through usb port, then I can simply run the usb cable to this amp and it'll do direct sound through there, if I'm understanding correctly. However, if i do that, I have charging issues cause I only have one port out on the tablet. 

So what I'm wondering is, since the headphone amplifier has to be ran with power, it has it's own power supply, then would that power transfer through the usb cable and be able to charge the tablet? Or not? If not, can I use a powered usb hub, to charge the tablet and also pass the cable through to the usb port in on the headphone jack? 

What do you guys think? 

I may start a new thread on this, so that it will get more out there and i can get more feedback on it. If this works, I may save some money and not do headrest monitors and just go with option 1. They're going to use these tablets more than they would watch the monitors and frankly it'll be better for me cause I can still listen to music too while they do what they want on their tablets.


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## scooter99

Ok I made a mistake! I just went out and checked the tablets, and the power button, USB port, and the 3.5mm jack are all on the same end. The speakers are on the other end. So now that makes life way easier! 

Now I just need to figure out how to power the two tablet chargers, the two E9 amplifiers, the Octava splitter, and the Samsung tablet from one unit, if possible. 

I'll post up how i'm going to do all this when I get a chance to do some MS Paint drawings!


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## IBcivic

You could build a multiple voltage p-supply using these

http://www.mmtmachrone.com/pdf/2007070323494915W.pdf

and here is a simple 12volt to 9volt reg for the headphone amp

http://www.alpharubicon.com/elect/buildavoltageregulator2manytoyz.htm


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## eviling

tuned back in. great work, very well done.


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## scooter99

amitaF said:


> You could build a multiple voltage p-supply using these
> 
> http://www.mmtmachrone.com/pdf/2007070323494915W.pdf
> 
> and here is a simple 12volt to 9volt reg for the headphone amp
> 
> How To Build A Voltage Regulator Circuit


UMMM that may be a bit over my head! So I would need one of those regulators for each device? 

The multiple power supply thing looks interesting. Shat I wish I knew more about these. I'll do some checking, thanks!


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## IBcivic

I could build ya one.

All I need are the power requirements for all those devices , you listed.


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## scooter99

Really! You da man! Ok I'll get em for you now!


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## Khaotic

Been following this thread for a while now, inspiring stuff!


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## scooter99

Thanks buddy. Glad to have you aboard!


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## scooter99

Ok so I thought I'd just update a little bit on what's going on. I've been crazy busy again. Started working more overtime this week, and will be doing that for a while now. My wife's birthday is on the 23rd and I'm buying her a Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tablet, like mine. She's gone on and on about how she likes it better than the Ipad, her sister has one, and so I decided I'd get her one for her birthday from my daughters and I. 

That being said, I'm doing a couple things here. I'm still working on the tablet install. What's going on with that? Well it's not on hold, but it's on hold. I have to get the dash taken apart and do a dry fit to make sure it's fitting well. I know I'm tight on the right side, and I want to make sure I don't have to cut out any tabs that will hold the bezel in. It's pretty simple to take the dash apart, but it takes time, like everything else, and I don't have much of that right now. But, once I do that, maybe friday night, then I can start getting it finished up. I still have the following to do:

- test fit
- make the side walls
- make the drc panel
- combine the front panel with the pan
- glass the whole thing
- fill it and sand it procedure
- figure out the actuator situation
- suede the inside 
- paint it

So as you can see there's still some work to be done. 

The A-Pillars are also kind of on hold. These are a little simpler, and maybe I can get a couple of minutes tonight to go out and test fit em. I need to make sure they're going to sit in there nice and tight. I'm a little concerned about the driver side because of the dash. It was pretty close to begin with, and while I think I'm going to miss it, it's going to be close regardless. Once that's done I have the following to do:

- put a layer of glass on the front (or do I need to do this? Someone please chime in. There's the grill cloth and 2 layers of resin on it. Needs another layer of resin at least, then filler to smooth out.)
- do a second and third coat of resin on the back panel. 
- do a milkshake mixture for the interior
- fill, sand, and smooth procedure
- wire it up
- deadener
- make grill surround
- cover with suede
- install mid range and tweeter

So both of those, which are my major projects have quite a bit of work left on them. I'll start making some progress on this one for sure in the next couple of days. 

Both of these projects should be getting progress on them very soon. Believe me folks, I'm at the point right now, where I want to get this thing done. I'm happy with all my designs, I've got the equipment for the most part, for just about everything. I'm pressing to figure out where I'm going to fit time in for it. Usually I'd just crunch time at night, but with working over time and getting up at 5am the next morning, it's too hard to do that anymore. I will start showing progress very very soon. 

The newest project I eluded to the other day. I'm going to be putting the girl's kindle fires in the headrests for their enjoyment, as well as have them chargeable, and have the headphone ability via an external headphone amplifier on the arm rest. In order to have video from the front monitor, I'll be going with a single monitor in the center console area, custom mounted (SOMEHOW) for them to watch. The sound will be via the rear fill speakers. I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate the headphones for those too, but I don't see the point cause I can't really dual zone the tablet so whatever is on, we'll all have to listen too. 

Here is the list of things for the Kindle install:
- make a mold of the head rests
- make a pan insert off the mold using the tablet, charger, and 3.5mm headphone jack.
- insert a wooden piece to fill in the old monitor holes and for the new mount to screw onto. 
- make an external power button on the outside of the mount that will push the button on the tablet. 
- make a mold of the front of the center console (why front instead of top angled? It has cup holders they use all the time.)
- using the mold, make a mount for the dual headphone amplifiers to mount to. 
- cut out the center console front to accommodate the amplifiers.
- wire it all up

Snags and things I still have to decide:
- waiting on power solutions from a buddy of mine (but we're good on the power otherwise, for the kindles, the amplifiers, the converter for the HDMI signal, the main tablet up front, and a phone power jack.)
- How to do the headrest mounts that blend real well.
- Suede or paint the headphone amp mount

I can go through the monitor install, but I wont at the moment. There's lots of work to be done, and it's all gonna get going here very soon. The kindles are not a huge priority, however, now my kids know about them, and they're starting to bug me daily on them. So I'm going to have to bump that up, and get some money coming in and get the equipment (headphone amps, wires, etc). So that may jump up on the list. 

The amp rack will get started very soon. That shouldn't take too much more work. I'm going to use the same rack I built, and remove the front piece, and attach an 1/8" ply piece to follow the round on it. Then it's a matter of the top plate and design. Then covering! So it's pretty simple really, just need time. 

Sub box is fine, I need to make some alterations to get it to fit in there all the way, but right now it needs to be rebuilt out of birch. Then it's ready to be covered and installed! 

Ok enough rambling by me. Like I said, I dig the designs, I'm very happy with it, and I'm ready to get moving on it. Life just keeps getting in the way! But, that's they way it goes sometimes! 

Thanks for tuning in, reading, being patient, and all your comments! More to come very soon, I promise! 

BTW - THOSE LRx AMPS ARE STILL FOR SALE! I REALLY NEED TO GET THOSE SOLD. I HAVE THE LRx 4.1k and both 1.1k's LEFT! SEE THE CLASSIFIED SECTIONS FOR MY THREAD! THAT WILL HELP GET THIS STUFF ROLLING ALSO CAUSE I'LL HAVE MORE MONEY FOR SUPPLIES!


----------



## scooter99

My snag on the galaxy right now is the actuator. I don't need much as far as throw goes. I need like 2" max really. I was looking at this Firgelli Technologies PQ12 Miniature Actuator. It's the cheapest one I could find, not that that's why I chose it, but mainly cause it's size is very minute. The stroke is 20mm (.79"). The total size is 1.87" before stroke so 2.66" total. That's way small. The stroke is a little short too. I'm aiming for 2" of stroke, or at least 2" of space at the top. 

Now, in theory, my pivot point is on the bottom and if I put the actuator anchor point in the middle of the pan vs the top, that should double my opening at the top correct? So, if I put it at the top and I have .79" there, if I drop it down half way on the pan to the middle point, I should then get 1.58" of opening. Correct? 

The other one I'm looking at is a Firgelli Technologies L12 Actuator. It gives me 4 different stroke lengths, and with what's there I think the 50mm (1.96") would be my best bet. The whole unit, without the stroke length, is 103mm (4.05"). That's about perfect. I could mount that at the top and not worry about anything. Or get the 30mm (1.18") and mount it a little lower. The difference here is this one is about $30.00 - $35.00 more expensive. Not a big deal, but it's hard to wrap my head around 100.00 to make my tablet move in and out. 

The other thing to think about here is security. The actuator locks in place when off. So you can't just pull out the tablet door. You'd have to break it. If you're in my car already, I'm gonna know about it so you're not gonna have much time. And if I get there while you're still in it, getting the tablet out is the least of your worries! LMAO! 

Suggestions or thoughts?


----------



## scooter99

I emailed Firgelli Technologies and got all set up with what the best application was for me. I just need the money now and i'm all set. So the actuator situation is taken care of.

I got home tonight, and ran back out and test fitted the A-Pillars. That was unsuccessful. I think, judging by the looks of things, that it's only a few places in the back of the pod, where I resined it to seal it, that are hitting and preventing it from going all the way in. I can get it to go in and the clip to snap in place, but it pops right back out. Also, the lower part where the pillar meets the dash needs some sanding and work as well. 

So, I'll see what I can get taken care of this weekend or Friday night. OH I almost forgot, the one spot where I was worried about it hitting the dash, clears by plenty of room. It'll look tight when it gets finished and covered, but it'll be just fine! 

There it is. Now we're current! Thanks!


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## scooter99

MAJOR stuff in the works guys! Progress will show very soon! The details of the major stuff will be forthcoming as soon as it gets hammered out! I'm getting help from a friend of mine on the electronics part of it all, so I'm be patient and waiting for him and the designs.


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## scooter99

So, I've been chit chatting with someone pretty much all day. I think after the chats, the "Air Ride Suspension (BAGS)" just took a shove in the "GO" department! I think we've got it figured out. My only issue at the moment, is figuring out how to monitor pressure etc. I want a digital gauge to monitor all the pressures, but the problem is that's going to cost me an extra $500.00. For that, I might as well pay the extra $500.00 and get an all digital management system. So I have to decide what to do about it. I think I may just stay manual for now, maybe put the gauges in the glove box for now, then save up for the new digital system, and rebuild! But I went from a system about $3500.00 to about $1500.00. BIG BIG DIFFERENCE! 

Things are still in the works, but I have a list now of the bags and the stuff I'm going to need, that won't change regardless of the management system, and I can start working on picking that stuff up. 

I'm going to try and get some work done on the tablet bezel tonight. I swear!!! May not be much, but I'm going to get something done! 

Very exciting day today! Especially in the situation I've been in the last few! I needed this today! Now I just need more money! And yes folks, I've already designed it! It's gonna be sick!!!!!


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## DLO13

Everything in this thread that you have done has been awesome quality and I admire it and have respect for it all.

I own a civic myself, 2007 LX. 

I'm just having trouble understanding why you are putting SO MUCH MONEY/TIME into this thing...


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## IBcivic

DLO13 said:


> Everything in this thread that you have done has been awesome quality and I admire it and have respect for it all.
> 
> I own a civic myself, 2007 LX.
> 
> I'm just having trouble understanding why you are putting SO MUCH MONEY/TIME into this thing...


hob·by 1 (hb)
n. pl. hob·bies
An activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure.


Please explain to me the logic, behind stamp collecting, antiques, restoring old ****...

To each his own


----------



## scooter99

DLO13 said:


> Everything in this thread that you have done has been awesome quality and I admire it and have respect for it all.
> 
> I own a civic myself, 2007 LX.
> 
> I'm just having trouble understanding why you are putting SO MUCH MONEY/TIME into this thing...





amitaF said:


> hob·by 1 (hb)
> n. pl. hob·bies
> An activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure.
> 
> 
> Please explain to me the logic, behind stamp collecting, antiques, restoring old ****...
> 
> To each his own


Well Martin, in his own little way here, touched on the reasoning really. I'll just elaborate. 

My life is a crazy mess. I'm busy as can be all the time. I don't have time to do alot of it, and to regular life, that includes decompressing. I love great audio, great music, and mixing the two together. I spend the better part of 4 hours a day in my car, and that's a lot! I have my kids in the car with my every morning, my wife picks them up at night, and when they're in the car, it's better for them to be entertained. 

I also love to create and build. I'm a contractor, although not doing it now, and I love to do that cause I am allowed to let my imagination run free. 

So basically I take all those things and apply them to my car. I continuously think of ways to improve things, and build things differently. At this point, I'm ready to just get it done and get it in and playing. The bottom line in all this is, it's a real way for me to decompress after a stressful day, or after a stressful week, or whatever. There's nothing much better for me that getting out in the garage, turning up the music, and getting out the tools and cutting wood or wiring my system up. It's so exhilarating. 

Now, if I could do it for work, then I'd be a happier person! However, with that comes the other side, I'd be divorced cause my wife wouldn't agree, I'd never see my girls, and there are some other things as well like consistent money coming in. 

I plan on having my car for a very very very long time. I may just give it to my, now 7 year old, when she can drive. But while I have it, I want it the way I want it. 

As far as money goes, it's just money. I save it up, spend it, sell for more, and spend some more. But my bills get paid first and family gets taken care of first. 

So there you have it. Hope that clears things up! Thanks for checking in!


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## DLO13

i hope it was clear that i had no bad intentions in my post, simply curiosity.

I understand everything ur saying. i just was curious because of the other things you have done to ur ride, headlights, side reflectors, that kinda stuff.


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## scooter99

No it's all good.


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## scooter99

Well as depressed as I am cause my Niners lost, I'm going to update anyway! Here we go!

I managed to get some work done today. I know I was working on the tablet and some other stuff a while back and I decided to try and switch gears a bit to get this thing moving along. I decided I needed to get the trunk done before I go any further in the front. So I went out today and got that started. 

I started to redo the rear deck amp rack. If you will recall I was building the old one already and that was before I switched from the LRx amps to the Hertz HDP amps. Basically I used the same rack I already started, but I removed the front panel, and put in a new one which I had to kerf so that it would go along the curve of the base. 

Next I had to make the cover panel, and some templates, etc. I'll let the pics do the talking. Here goes! 

Here we have the 3 amps (2 HDP4's and an HDP5), the birch precut from the last build, and some other tools.









Here you can see I had to lay out the amps.


















Then it was time to cover them up so I could start the process of making templates etc.


















Decided to change it up cause it really effected the outlining with the tape.


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## scooter99

Got my trusty rigid jigsaw out to cut the templates out. I was originally going to use a rabbeting bit with the router, but after looking at it, and thinking about it, it wasn't going to work. These amps step up in the middle and then there are some other reasons it just wasn't going to work. So, jigsaw it is!


















I thought these were going to be a problem. They angle out, the bottom or base is wider than the top of the amp. But as you will see later, it doesn't effect it at all. 









HDP5









HDP4


















Lets get the rack altered and built. This was the front piece I had to remove and replace to go out to the curved edge. Right now it's straight as a rectangle. The middle HDP5 amp won't fit this way! Need more room! 









Kerfs laid out









and cut


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## scooter99

Got it on, and now it's time to trim up the cover panel. First I needed to router trim it, but this won't matter much later. You'll see. 









Trim bit









Not really happy with that joint, but I know it this will need some finishing so I'll take care of that then. 









Trimmed up!









Now that I've got that done, it was time to do some templates.

Rabbeting bit









My jigsaw cut templates, these need to be smaller, which is where the rabbeting bit comes into play.









Cut out. New template on top, old on the bottom.









Now using those templates, I put a flush trim bit in, and cut my new final templates for the bottom layer of the cover. 









PERFECT FIT! Beautiful, I couldn't be happier! This is the HDP4


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## scooter99

HDP 5


















Had to obviously make two of the HDP4's but here are all 3 together.









Got them centered and mounted on the actual bottom layer cover plate.









Router with the trim bit!


















Set on top! 









So I took the rabbeting bit and did some handy work, forgot to take pics sorry, and got this plate cut down to sit inside the walls. I did this for a couple of reasons. First reason is, there are three layers going on here. This layer, there's an acrylic layer for the lighting, and then on top of that, there's a third layer. I don't want an inch and a quarter of height for this cover plate, so I need it to go inside. This will eventually sit down, 3/4". That will be the bottom layer (this one), the acrylic layer on top of it. Then the top layer will go on, and I'll only have a half inch of rise on the top of this rack. 









So here it is flushed, but i'll change that before I finish it off. 









Then I set in the amps where they needed to be. I like it. I love it actually! 









So that's about all I had time for today. What's left?

1 - I have to do some threaded inserts for the amps to be mounted
2 - I need to do a rabbeting on the acrylic layer and top layer of the cover board, they'll both be the same distance back.
3 - Fill the Kerfs for strenth
4 - Do some finish routering (most likely a 45 edge.
5 - Do some filling and sanding to prep it for finishing
6 - Cut holes and install fans
7 - Drill holes for power, ground, and remote wire pass throughs
8 - Drill holes for rca and speaker wire pass throughs
9 - Install leds
10 - Make an outer frame and install slides and outer frame
11 - Do finishing, covering and install wires and amps.

So as you can see there's still a good amount of work to be done. I'm getting there though. Thanks for checking in!


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## scooter99

By the way, I know the HDP5 (middle amp) has the logo facing the wrong way. I just haven't changed it yet. It'll face the same way as the HDP4's.


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## scooter99

I have a couple things to share. First the LED's. Some are maybe wondering which color I'm going with. Well I thin I'm going to go ahead and go with orange LED's around the amps, and I may also be doing something around the sub. Why orange, well the LED's on the amps themselves are orange, and if I go with a white or a blue like I had originally planned, I'm afraid it won't look right. 

I do have a couple of thoughts however. One being that the Bit One is going to basically be the only piece that doesn't have orange LED's. The logo on the bit one is blue. Now, for me, this is kind of a problem. I'm sure it will look ok in the end, but I'm not sure I want it to be blue with orange LED's surrounding it. Also, I can't just not put the Acrylic with LED's around the Bit One cause if I do the sub, it will not look right if the Bit One wasn't surrounded too. If I do it white, again, it won't look right. 

Now then I could go the easy route, and just surround everything with white LED's and maybe it'll look ok. However, that's just not my style! My mind is working, yes! My thinking is that I may take the Bit One apart, and switch the blue LED's to orange LED's. That would solve the problem for sure! Shouldn't really be too difficult to do. What do you guys think?

Next, I was thinking about other stuff as well. I'm leaving stuff the way it is for now, don't think it's changing. I know I have a history and a track record, but I'm serious right now, everything is staying the way it is. HOWEVER, I do still regret now, getting rid of that second sub. I know alot of people said don't sell it you're gonna want it again in the future, and no I didn't listen. It is what it is, I can't change it now. However, that's not going to stop me from seeing about it in the future. Like I said I'm leaving the single sub set up in there right now. I'm going to finish this build for sure, and I'm leaving it open for change or upgrade in the future. 

So in wondering about it, I looked online this morning and the HDP1 is the same size as the HDP5. Given the situation in the back seat with the girls and music and their kindles, headphone amps etc, I think I could really go without the rear fill and cut it out all together and I'd be fine. I also went out and measured the amp rack drawer, and I have more than enough room in there to add in two HDP1's, removing the HDP5. Still provides enough space in between for wires and air travel. So the only change in layout would be to re make the cover panel for the amp rack. 

Then of course I'd need to do the second sub in there. I was thinking about that and right now the Bit One is planned to go in that spot next to the existing sub. If I changed and went to two subs, then I'll build a separate enclosure the exact same as the first one. The bit one will move back to the trunk lid as originally designed. So not much in the way of layout is effected, but there will be some work. 

My wife would be happy cause the HDP5 would most likely get saved and put into her car. 

This is all the future if I decide to go there, but again, I'm sticking to the plan and finishing this current set up! Who knows maybe I'll just leave it and dump the extra money into the truck instead! 

Lastly, I ordered the two headphone amps last week, forgot to mention that. They probably won't be here for another week or so. BTW, how is it that we have one day for New Years, and China get's three! WHAT THE FUNK IS THAT!?!? Anyway, that's what I'm waiting for. It's coming from China but won't ship till today, MAYBE! 

The power is figured out, and I'm just waiting on the specs for the design so I can build that. I've got the ideas nailed down for the custom Kindle Fire mounts. And there's a lot more going on! I'm still going to do some final design diagrams so everyone can put all this together since it's such a confusing mess! But those won't be for a little bit! 

Things are moving! Stay tuned!


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## screamatamonkey

scooter99 said:


> I have a couple things to share. First the LED's. Some are maybe wondering which color I'm going with. Well I thin I'm going to go ahead and go with orange LED's around the amps, and I may also be doing something around the sub. Why orange, well the LED's on the amps themselves are orange, and if I go with a white or a blue like I had originally planned, I'm afraid it won't look right.
> 
> I do have a couple of thoughts however. One being that the Bit One is going to basically be the only piece that doesn't have orange LED's. The logo on the bit one is blue. Now, for me, this is kind of a problem. I'm sure it will look ok in the end, but I'm not sure I want it to be blue with orange LED's surrounding it. Also, I can't just not put the Acrylic with LED's around the Bit One cause if I do the sub, it will not look right if the Bit One wasn't surrounded too. If I do it white, again, it won't look right.
> 
> Now then I could go the easy route, and just surround everything with white LED's and maybe it'll look ok. However, that's just not my style! My mind is working, yes! My thinking is that I may take the Bit One apart, and switch the blue LED's to orange LED's. That would solve the problem for sure! Shouldn't really be too difficult to do. What do you guys think?


Why not change the color of the LEDs on the amps? You wanted to go with white/blue originally (two colors which I prefer to orange anyway) and if you've got to take stuff apart and change LEDs out, why not go after the original offenders instead of changing the color scheme of everything else?

Just my $0.02


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## scooter99

Well everything is now Hertz except for the Bit One so it makes more sense to change one piece of lighting then it does for three. I have to flip the middle amps logo so we'll see how hard it would be to do. Maybe I'll change em, but I don't know.


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## IBcivic

Not bad for an office worker oke:

Keep it coming, looks fantastic!


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## scooter99

Thanks! Ya I know, it's hard to figure out how to work with power tools after taking my skirt off from working in the office all day! LMAO!


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## Khaotic

Nice going on the amp rack.. Gave me some idea of how to go about making my cover aswell, as I was initially just going to jigsaw (was to thick to think of a better way ) but your way is going to give a much better fit for my HDP4/HDP1/mille filters!

Hertz nut that I am, I say go with orange LED's if possible on the BitOne and stay with the brand coloring. 

Keep it coming!


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## scooter99

Khaotic said:


> Nice going on the amp rack.. Gave me some idea of how to go about making my cover aswell, as I was initially just going to jigsaw (was to thick to think of a better way ) but your way is going to give a much better fit for my HDP4/HDP1/mille filters!
> 
> Hertz nut that I am, I say go with orange LED's if possible on the BitOne and stay with the brand coloring.
> 
> Keep it coming!


Thanks. I just love orange and along with that I love hertz too. I have some other tricks up my sleeve, I may reveal in a while. This thing is always evolving! More this weekend I hope!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## DLO13

CLEAN!

Any plans for cooling?


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## scooter99

Yes. On the back side of the drawer, I'm going to do fans between each amp. To the fans I'm planning on putting in some sort of flex piping or something like that to take the cool/warm air from the cabin, depending on the season, and the fans will put it in the drawer. I'm hoping to be working on it a bit more this weekend.


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## scooter99

Ok I thought I said something about this but maybe I didn't cause I can't seem to find it. I won't let the cat out of the bag just yet, but I just ordered some parts today for a custom project in this build. This will be something I can do inside, soldering etc, on those nights I cant get outside and cut wood or anything. 

I'll show you this much and let your imagination run wild! 


















Things are goin DOWN now!!!

BTW, only a couple people or maybe even one, already knows the plan here! DON'T FREAKING SPILL IT! Let's see who can guess what I've got up my sleeve! I'm sure it's not that hard to figure out! 

On another note, it sounds like the power supply design is nearly done. Just some final checks to make sure it's right, and I'll be ready to start building that too!!


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## IBcivic

amitaF told me what you were up to....









To keep my mouth shut


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## scooter99

You're funny!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

Alright guys, I've gotten some questions about where's the updates, what's going on etc. As I've said before i'm a busy guy, and that doesn't just mean work. I have a full plate at home as well. Anyway, I'm waiting on some parts, and some time, and things like that and I'll be getting back at it. But in the meantime I've been busy with some designs. I've officially completed my design of the trunk and what it "should" look like when I'm all done with it. I have some pictures here and I'll go through each one individually. Let me get started. 

First up let me just say that I've decided to compromise some things I originally said I didn't want to compromise on. One of those being the spare tire well. Wasn't going to loose the spare but after thinking and thinking some more about it, I decided that if I don't have a spare, it's not the end of the world. I have AAA, I have the smarts to keep my kids out of danger, and frankly with what was going in, I'm not sure I could have even gotten to it anyway. However by doing that, I was able to get a bigger battery in there and thus more power. 

I will say this, there is going to be some equipment changes, I know I know not again. Yes again! I tried to be conservative with this and it just didn't work for me. After testing some things out, I've decided on this as my final design and equipment build. Not much is changing, just a couple of things. I'll get into that as we go along. 

Let me just flash you the finished product here and then I'll go through it and explain each part! Get your glasses on and get ready to read! 

Finished Trunk Design Front View:









Top View:









Straight on Front View:









Side View:









Now that you have the overall appearance of the build, let me go through the individualized pieces. 

Rear View:









*Cubbies*

First up we have the side cubbies. These cubbies are the back of the trunk on both sides. My original plan was to put the Stinger Battery in there and basically throw some distribution blocks and stuff in there and be done. I've decided on a new plan of attack for these to utilize my space better and get more in. 

The current set up has a component rack behind the back seat. This is being removed to make more space for the sub enclosure. Well I couldn't exactly take all the equipment that I need to run the tablets, chargers, and other things, and just throw them under the seats or something. Nope that wouldn't be my style! So all the components are going to now reside in these cubbies! I did not fill them in these sketches, but soon you will understand what's going on with them. 

Driver Side Cubby:









Passenger Side Cubby:









*The Power*

So in order to run what I'm planning to run, I have to go back to either two smaller batteries, or a larger sized battery. While I think the stinger is a good battery, I've seen and heard nothing but great things from XS Power Batteries. My current plan is to remove the Stinger SPP1200 battery from the front, and replace it with an XS Power D5100. With that battery I need more power to run the amount of potential watts I'm going to have on tap. So for that I've decided to go with an XS Power D3100. 

This is where the spare tire well comes into place. I'll be building a rack to counter sink the battery into the spare tire well. The battery will stick up anywhere from a half inch to a full inch. This is ok cause I was already planning a shallow false floor. Here is a picture of the battery in it's place. 



















Looking at that picture you can see flanking the battery on the left and right, are two cubbies that are counter sunk into the false floor. These are the power cables that will go from the battery to the amps and power components in the side cubbies I spoke of earlier. There will be four amplifiers, so I will need power for all of them. These cubbies will house two 4 gauge positives and two 4 gauge negative cables, and one 8 gauge positive and one 8 gauge negative cable. The positives will pass through individual fuse holders. Take a closer look.










All this power will be supplied by a Mechman 220 amp high output alternator.


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## scooter99

*Amplifiers and Rack*

Speaking of power and amplifiers let's take a look at the design for these. Last we spoke I was getting the rear deck amp rack ready for three amplifiers. The two Hertz HDP4's and the Hertz HDP5. Since that time a little bit has changed as I said. I've decided that I want more bass and with that I need more power. I have the Hertz HX 300D in my trunk now and while it sounds great it's simply lacking for what I want. So I've decided to double it up again. I know, I should've just kept the other one. Hind sight is 20 20 ya know! It is what it is and it is done so let's move on! 

Well to operate those two subs, I need two amps. I thought one would be ok, but with the power requirements of the subs, vs the limitations on the amps, one amp would just simply not handle the two subs together. So I've decided to go with dual Hertz HDP1's. One mono amp to each sub capable of 1000 watts @ 2ohms. See why I needed the bigger battery! 

So the amp rack is basically staying the same! Only I'm having to squeeze that other amp in there. Thankfully the HDP5 and the HDP1 are the same size. So I can continue on with the rack build and use the templates I've already made to get them all ready to go. 

Here's a little peak at the amp rack.

Front:









Rear:









Side:









*Sub Enclosure:*

So I have to be honest here. I'm still not 100% about this yet, but I'll be doing a test box soon to make sure it's gonna be good. This enclosure as you will see, is a bandpass enclosure. We all know I've struggled with this for a while, and after walking away from it for a bit, then coming back to it, I came up with this design and checked with quite a few people and everyone seems to think it's gonna work. But, that's what test boxes are for. 

I have to make sure on this box, cause if it doesn't work it just throws the entire design off. Well not entirely, but it's pretty close! These subs will be the same as what I have currently, Hertz HX300D's running at a 2ohm load. The sealed side is facing the cabin and the port is actually passing through the sealed enclosure and ending at the rear seat armrest pass through. The subs cones will be facing the cabin. 

Here are the pics of the enclosure and I'm also going to include some of the pics of the building of it. 

Rear View From the Cabin:









Front View From the Trunk, view of the port from inside the enclosure:









Now I'll show you some of the build pics.

This is basically what I started with to do this trunk design. 













































*Bit One Processor:*

So the only thing changing about the Bit One is it's location once again. While you didn't see it on the sketches, I am keeping it in the system. My plan as of now is to put it on the trunk lid. If for some reason I don't need one of the two cubbies for components, I'll move it to there. But for now I'm back to the trunk lid and flanked with a hertz and audison logo under some plexi glass! 


So there it is guys and gals! That's what's going on up to date. I still have some secrets I've not divulged yet, although I think a few of you know what's going on. But they'll be seen soon enough. Like I said I'm waiting on parts to get here so I can start on that stuff. 

The tablet is still going forward, the kindle fire headrest mounts are still going forward, the monitor was shipped the other day along with the headphone amplifiers, and most everything except for what I mentioned is staying the same. The only other thing that's changing is I've decided to 86 the rear fill. So there won't be any rear fill at this time. Kids have their headphones, and I've been testing them with low music to make sure they can hear it ok in the back, thus not needing the rear fill. If I have to add it in later, I'll do that. But for now, it's out! 

So that's about it. Things are going to happen soon, I know I say that alot, but it's going to happen! As soon as these few things come in I'm waiting for I'll get back up and running and posting updates. I can't stand it anymore! I need this thing done! It's gone on far too long! 

So here's a list of things I need to get as far as equipment goes:

XS Power D5100 / D3100
1 - Hertz HX 300D
2 - Hertz HDP1's 

As far as finishing and things of that nature. What you're seeing in blue is all plexi glass. The enclosure has 3/4" plexi on it, and the floor and side cubbies are probably going to be either 1/2" or 1/4" or a combination of both. 

Due to the fact that I need this thing semi functional, I'll be also making small trim panels and with those, inserts that will cover all the glass. There will also be 3/4" plexi in the front of the box that faces the cabin, so that I can pull the seats down and show the faces as well. Those don't need covers cause the seat will cover them just fine. 

I've not decided on if I'm going to use LED's or not. I'll decided that some point down the line. I think I'm leaning toward yes, but we'll see. 


Stay tuned!


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## scooter99

Awww yeah! Things just got a little more real! 

I just designed my own distribution and fused distribution blocks I'm going to attempt to make myself! It's only on paper now and at some point I'll put them on Sketch up like the other stuff you've seen just recently. 

I'll be making them out of aluminum stock, and in the meantime I'm going to have to invest in a band saw and a drill press. I'm super excited about doing this. It's one more "custom" element of this project. 

Second thing is the secret project is about to reveal itself in a couple of days. I have all the parts that I "need" currently. I need a second faceplate for my CDA-9886 but if I can't get that it's not the end of the world as it's only for cosmetics. I just don't really want to pay for a full replacement ($128.00) or even as much as a used one on ebay is going for ($70.00). So I may just forgo it now, and pick up something a bit later if I feel it's necessary. 

I'm about to go out and start the tablet tutorial, but not sure when I'll get that uploaded or not. I've got a jam packed weekend and I don't have much time for work. Story of my life! 

Stay tuned!


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## n_olympios

I love the new Sketchup plans!


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## scooter99

So first let me say, i'm getting a little frustrated only cause I have so much to do with this thing, and I want so badly to get it done but every time I try to get stuff done, or go work, something comes up. It's life, it's what I have to do, but frustrating none the less. Life will go on and so will this build! 

Just got confirmation yesterday that I will be able to swap out the HDP5 for an HDP1 so now I only need a second HDP1 and a second HX300D sub. Everything else is here, and everything else is ready to go. To that point, I did manage to bench test my tablet set up this weekend and I have to say I'm very happy with those results. it works flawlessly, well almost flawlessly. There's a little issue with the base rise, but I'll explain that when I get there. I do have videos of the bench test and everything working, but I'm not going to be able to get those up until tonight most likely. I'm hoping and praying that it worked cause I used my old video camera to do it with instead of my regular camera, and I have to find the software to put it on the computer. So I do have a video, but I'll have to figure out how to get it on the computer, then onto either photobucket or youtube. 

Let me get to that first. As I said I took pictures and got a video, so at this point I'll get the pictures posted and explain in decent detail what's all going on and how it's all working. The one thing I don't have on here is the Power Supply for the items that need it (tablet charger, hdmi converter, etc). When I get that I'll post up on how it works! Let's get this party started!

So to start off here's all the components ready to be set up. 









Stinger SPP1200 Battery (this will be changed out, I'm going to be using an XS Power D3100 in the set up now)









Audison BIt One for processing, Hertz HDP5 (in the picture representing amps)









Samsung Galaxy 10.1, the new custom mount, 









Hertz Components (for the bench test only, these are going to be sold, no longer using rear fill)









Finally, a Samsung HDMI capable monitor, Octava 1x2 HDMI Distribution Amplifier, KnuKonceptz HDMI cable, KnuKonceptz Optical Cable.









Here's my stockpile of wire!









Next I got it all hooked up and ready to go. 

First up I connected a distribution block with the battery. I used this cause of the different sizes of wire and cable, and I had it on hand. Ran the power and ground to the barrier strip to distribute the power (yellow), ground (black), and create an ignition source (green) as well as sent an 8ga cable from the battery to the amp. Got the processor hooked up as well. In the fore ground you can see my "ignition source" or switch. The power constant was ran into the switch, then out of the switch creating an ignition source. Pretty simple. 









Turn on the ignition or in this case flip of the switch (lit up blue), and everything powers on. Audison Logo is lit blue, Hertz Logo on the amp is lit up orange. 









Now that we know those work, we'll go to the next step. We need to hook up all the signals. Let's go through that. This is kind of running backwards from the destination to the main source, but you'll get the gist of it. 

Starting at the Processor:


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## scooter99

We have the input from the main source, in this case the main source is the tablet, however we are getting the signal distributed and analyzed by the converter (HDMI distribution amplifier). So I have the RCA's for this going into the channel 1 & 2 input on the processor. This will be my "main" source input. The secondary input will be the Optical input. I did not have the processor set up for the optical input previously and I didn't have time to get it set up for that now, so I left that out. However, you can see on the right hand side in this picture, the optical cable will plug into the port second from the end where it says "optical" and is light grey in color. 









Here you see the power, ground, and ignition source for the bit one. On the right of that is where the USB cable plugs in for the computer to run your set up. 









Then here we have the outputs from the processor. I chose to use channels 3 and 4 for this application because from the previous set up, those were my mid range channels and for this it was the best application. These RCA's go out to the amplifiers. On the left side you see the phone cord looking wire, that is for the Bit One DRC or Digital Remote Control. That is what controls volume etc from the front of the car. 


















As stated before I ran power from the battery straight to the amp, then you also see the green remote wire. Also, pretty self explanatory, you see the speaker wires. 


















Here you see the RCA's from the outputs of the processor into the amplifier.









Now that we've covered that side of things, lets take a look at the other half of life in this set up! 

Here you see the RCA's that are running from the Distribution Amp to the processor. This is the Analog signal from the Distribution Amplifier which will be converted from the HDMI signal from the tablet. 









Getting it all hooked up, this is how the Distribution Amplifier works, or looks. Getting the signal from the tablet, it goes into the D.A. via the HDMI output, which is the second HDMI cable from the left (black). It then takes that signal, and distributes it (hence the name) into several different signals, analog audio, digital audio, and video. This was the major kink in this whole set up was getting the best signal out of the tablet and into the system. The HDMI figured in to be the best for my application simply because it was the only way I could get a video signal from the tablet. 

So for the Audio portion, it goes out via the RCA's into the processor, as well as optical. They are both active all the time. You'll see that in a few minutes. 

For Video there are two ports. I was originally going to install two head rest monitors in the car, but since that time my daughters got their own tablets and no longer seem to need the dual monitors back there. I have different "custom" plans for that, but I won't go into those now. Anyway, so I decided to only use one monitor for back there so that I can still have the ability for them to have video from the main source in back. This is in fact a mirrored monitor source as you will see later. So the HDMI Cable to the left (blue) is the video out and the open port is the second video out, should I decide to go with dual monitors anyway. 

The cable out on the far left is the power source. This is what will eventually have the 12v source which is converted down to 5v via my regulator which is being finalized now. 









Here you can see the whole set up pretty much ready to go. The tablet in front, the monitor is leaning against the box, and those simply get plugged into the HDMI ports, or the tablet into the dock.


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## scooter99

So now we'll turn it all on, and i'll show you the monitors etc. It all works! 

Ignition on, 









Processor on, here's the lit up DRC









Slide the tablet into the dock


















The distribution amplifier is auto on. The black button on the right hand side is the power button, however it senses power and turns on automatically. If you want to turn it off, you'd have to press that button to turn it off, or turn off the car/ignition/power source. To turn back on, you can either press the button, or turn the car/ignition/power source back on. Simple. Also has a pretty blue light! LOL So that's on









Turning the monitor on.









Here's where you see the mirrored image on the monitor. I have to adjust color etc, but you can plainly see it works! 









Here's a video I played off of Netflix, I think it was a Jeff Dunnam video. But the point is you can see it working on both screens. I don't have any videos downloaded onto the actual media center on the tablet, so I don't know if this will work the same way or not, but I like this alot better, being able to see up front on the tablet as well as on the monitor. I'll be downloading a video soon to see if it will work that way. 









I decided to see what it does with the volume by testing it with the DD1. I downloaded the DD1 cd onto the tablet for this reason alone. It all works great. So I got it all set up and as you'll see, it's at max volume and no clipping! SICK!! 

DD1 powered on and hooked up ready to go.









Track 1 - according to the DD1 instructions for headunit testing.


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## scooter99

Volume all the way Maxed out!









NO CLIPPING!!









Here's a little pandora radio for you, coming from the tablet as well as the monitor. 









And finally, a picture of the lit up optical cable! 









So now all that's left with this is to get some music and videos downloaded onto the media hub of the tablet and test that way and see how that works with the tablet being on or turning the screen off on only getting the video out of the rear monitor. 

Also I have to get the power source finalized and built so I know what I'm working with on size etc. But aside of that, everything is done and works. 

I previously mentioned that I had an issue with the dock. The problem is, and you'll hear me talk about this in the video when I get it up, but the dock is sitting about 1/16 - 1/8" too low and the connection is almost not touching and I had an issue with that in the video, where the signal doesn't go through. But that's an easy fix at the moment since I'm still getting the dock and the dash worked on. Aside of that it's working flawlessly and I could not be happier with the set up! 

I also was going to do a separate write up on the other cheaper module, or distribution amp, and I tried it and got the same results where the signal was not coming through, not even just audio. SO, I scrapped that one. I'm sure you can try others but I'm not going to take the time or money at this point to do so. 

So there's the tablet bench test version 2, a successful one! 

I'd be happy to hear any comments or suggestions if you have any. Otherwise, thanks for tuning in and happy building!


----------



## scooter99

Now then with that all done, and ready to go and working, I decided I'd go ahead and let you in a little secret with a teaser pic! I kicked around this idea a while back and I"m back to it. After realizing that I use the radio more times than not, I decided to bring back the separate head unit idea, but I didn't just bring it back, I brought it back with gusto! Here's some pics! 









Alpine Connectors bought from Pac Parts:









Alpine Nose Base, Alpine Base Plate, and Alpine CDA-9886 Face Plate:









Some Gepco 8 pair (16 total wires) cable:









Here's the plan, and it's already evolving from the original idea, as most of my ideas do. 

I have the Alpine CDA-9886 in my truck currently. That's coming out. I'll put the old Pioneer unit back in there until I decide to get something a little better for it. 

The Unit will go in the glove box by itself. I"ll build a panel for the glove box which will hold the frame as normal. NOTICE I said the unit itself will go in the glove box. The faceplate will not be with the unit! Yes you heard that correctly. 

I have two ways to go about doing this. The first way is to buy a shell of the face plate, I already have the back of it, I would only need the front and a volume knob, then I can put the connector in there, solder it up, and the face plate can go onto the unit and just be there for cosmetic purposes. It's about $47.00 for those two pieces. I can spend another $15.00 and pick up a full faceplate on ebay. But I already have the back nose piece part. Just seems to be a lot for cosmetics. What do you guys think?

Option two would be to not use a faceplate at all, leave it the black base part, open the unit up, and solder the Gepco wires onto the connectors of the base unit from the inside. Then they'll run out of the back like the main wires do. By the way, this gepco wire is about the size of a good 4ga cable. So out of the back of the unit, I'll terminate the wires with a molex cable so that I can make installation and removal easy if needed. 

The face plate: This is where I'm a little undecided. I was originally going to put my HVAC controls in the head liner, if you will recall, in a pod I'm going to make out of fiberglass, lowering the current lights and sunroof switches that are up there. The original idea for this head unit face plate, was to remove the HVAC controls and put the face plate up there instead, and then put the HVAC controls down in the cubby below the head unit and in front of the gear shifter. That was option one. 

Option two put the HVAC controls up in the headliner again, and the I drop the faceplate down, and move the Bit One DRC controls over and put the face plate side by side with the DRC right below the tablet. 

So, I guess at this point I could use some suggestions or thoughts between option one and option two. Option two is my current thought and I did that cause it puts all the audio component controls in one spot. Either way I think the "wow" factor will be there!! 

SO there you go, cat's out of the bag. I've got all the parts, I just need to get soldering and decide where I'm going to put this thing! 

So to recap here's what I need opinions on:

Cosmetic face plate with connector on the outside
No cosmetic face plate and solder wires from inside the unit

Face plate in the headliner
Face plate in the dash next to the DRC under the tablet

Lots of work left to do, stay tuned, cause I'm getting to some of the smaller stuff very very soon!


----------



## scooter99

So I thought I had made a diagram of what I was going to do with the power, but I guess I didn't. That's ok I'll explain this as best as I can. 

We'll start in the front of the car at the Main Battery. The current battery is a Stinger SPP1200 Power 2 battery. This has been serving me well, but I'm switching it out to an XS Power D5100 battery. When this will happen I'm not 100% sure, but it will happen. Off that battery there are a few things that will need to connect. 

Here's a list of those things:
4 ga - starter cable, non fused
4 ga - ECU cable, non fused
3 x 8ga - HID power cables 
1/0 ga - Alternator Cable (Mechman 220Amp High Output Alternator)
1/0 ga - Rear Power Run

Obviously that's a good amount of stuff to run off one post. So instead of trying to cram in all onto the single post, I decided it needed a distribution plan. So I designed my own. After looking at and buying the Audison Connection fuse holders and distribution blocks, in the end, I decided I was taking up a lot of room with those and I could make it look better and more organized with a better system. The Audison gear is stellar, don't get me wrong, but with the fact that alot of what I'm doing is custom anyway, I wanted to try and take this to the next level. This is what I came up with.

From the XS Power D5100 Positive terminal, I'll be connecting one of these dual output terminals I designed:









This will screw down right onto the terminal, only sitting at 1" tall, and as you can see, has two 1/0 gauge outputs on it. These will be made of aluminum block and drilled out, and will have stainless steel allen head screws to hold the cable in. 


















From there, the dual 1/0 Ga cables will run into a Fused Distribution Block, which will house all the slots needed for the things I mentioned above. Now with this I'm thinking I'm going to have to alter the design a little bit, and maybe go to a full fused distribution block, because I think the "L" shape that this has will be tricky to do on my own. Not so much the "L" shape, but more the recess that the fuses will sit down into. You'll see what I mean in the picture, take a look:


















Dual 1/0 ga inputs









2 - 4ga, 3 - 8ga, 2 - 1/0ga outputs









Outputs labeled









Now looking at that, as I said, it may be a problem, it may not be. Maybe I can sacrifice a router bit to get all that done. Not sure if I can even do it that way. We'll see. The starter and ECU cables don't need to be fused, they weren't fused when they were removed the first time. The ECU has it's own fuse, and the starter is pretty self explanatory I think. I could always do it where they're all fused and just but very very large fuses in these two. I'll decide what I'm going to do later, but I'm up for suggestions. However, this is the layout I like. Moving on! 

Back to the battery, a second dual 1/0 ga terminal will go on the negative post. 









I did not make a second distribution block like the fused one, but a block just like that, but non fused will be made as well. This will house the three HID grounds (cause I don't trust that they have a good ground now), and dual 1/0 ga grounds from the frame when doing the Big 3. There will also be dual 1/0 Ga inputs on this as well. 

Now let's go to the back of the car. In the back there is going to be a second battery, an XS Power D3100 battery which will help with the system duties. Starting with the positive side. The positive terminal will get the same Dual 1/0 Ga Terminal as the front battery did. In case you forgot what it looks like, here you go:


----------



## scooter99

This will send dual 1/0 ga power cables into a three way fused distribution block. But it's a little bit different in the way it's fused. This has one input from the front battery, remember the "Rear Power Run" cable? That is a separate fused cable that will run into the block, be fused at the block, and basically run into the battery, sort of. 

Then coming out of the block will be a dual fused, dual 1/0 ga output that will run into another block. Remember the sketchup drawings that I did a couple days ago. This will be what is in the floor next to the battery. In the sketch up drawings, I have the positive cable and negative cable in one cubby and 3 separate fuse holders. This will take it's place. Take a look at the sketch up drawing:









Here's the distribution block that will take it's place:


















Inputs from the rear battery









Input and Outputs:









Labeled:









This, as I said already, will go into a second distribution block which will power all the equipment. This distribution block will most likely go in the area next to the sub enclosure, and between it and the component rack on the driver side. Here's the sketch up again to show you where. 









This block has the dual 1/0 ga inputs, which come from the dual 1/0 ga outputs from the previous block. This block will power the four amplifiers, as well as run power to the component rack cubbies. Six outputs in all. Pretty self explanatory. Take a look:


















Dual Inputs


----------



## scooter99

4 - 4ga outputs, and 2 - 8ga outputs









Labeled









So that's pretty much the power side of the whole thing. Let's move onto the other side. 

The ground side is pretty much the same thing with exception of the no fuses. I'll save the explanation cause it's literally the same set up. I wanted it that way for balance. All dual inputs, and outputs for each block. 

Starting with the Dual Terminal









into a non fused distribution block. Same as the power, there is a single ground cable that will come into the block, this from the frame itself under the car not in the trunk. Then a dual output to the second block.


















Inputs 









Outputs









Outputs labeled









These then go into the second distribution block which will provide the ground cables to the amplifiers and the component racks.


----------



## scooter99

inputs









Outputs









Labeled









So in all, here's the final list of db's I need:

4 - Dual Output Terminal Blocks
1 - 7 Output / Dual Input Fused Distribution Block
1 - 6 Output / Dual Input Fused Distribution Block
1 - 3 Output / Dual Input Fused Distribution Block
1 - 5 Output / Dual Input Non Fused Distribution Block
1 - 6 Output / Dual Input Non Fused Distribution Block
1 - 3 Output / Dual Input Non Fused Distribution Block

So that's it, there you have it. All my custom distribution blocks in which I plan to build. I need to figure out how much stock I need to get, I need to get a band saw, and a drill press. Then, get started! Among my other 1500 projects that is! LOL! 

Comments and thoughts, let's hear them!


----------



## DLO13

what about something like this.... i get the feeling a DVD player for the kids might work out well. 

Best iPad 2 install into car, motorized. SBN 2011 Porsche Cayenne S by Underground auto styling - YouTube


----------



## scooter99

I don't need a dvd player. I have the netflix and can download videos on the tablet, and the girls have their kindle fires going in the rear headrests. So movies are plentiful in this ride! 


BTW, speaking of kindle's, I just got the headphone amplifiers in today! I'll take pics later!


----------



## DLO13

when did they get kindle fires?

NVIDIA and ASUS tease 7-inch Tegra 3 tablet with ICS and $249 price tag -- Engadget


----------



## scooter99

For Christmas. They were 199 each and i'm pretty impressed with them. They do everything a regular tablet would do, with the Kindle tag on it. PERFECT for them! They love em! I was going to get them a couple of samsung galaxy 7's but they were too pricey and my parents got em the fires for christmas.


----------



## DLO13

i have pretty much every technology known to man that i want except a tablet... and ur kids have them...

that asus one needs to hurry up!

take a look at that link...


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## scooter99

I did. looks nice!


----------



## screamatamonkey

Have you considered using ethernet cable instead of the gepco wire? I can't imagine that the face plate needs that thick of a cable for power and signal, and an ethernet cable would be much easier to run.


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## scooter99

The gepco cable is just thick cause it has all the wire in it. There are 16 connections to make on the connectors of the face plate and the base. So I do have to use that many and ethernet cable only comes in 8 pair, if I remember correctly. So I'd need two of those, which is still a pretty thick cable. This is ok, and running it won't be a problem really. I'm good with the gepco. Thanks.


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## scooter99

Ok Guys here:










Or here:










I kind of like the second one personally, and it's a shorter run for the wire, but it bunches all the components in one spot. But I like the separation of it up top as well. What does everyone think!?! Maybe I'll put up a poll and get everyones thought's!


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## FrankstonCarAudio

IIRC, you are limited in the length of cable between the face and main unit, when separating them as you are.
I think it was around a metre (3-3.5ft) as a maximum..

Long time since I have done it and working from memory (which is not what it used to be!)

Otherwise, I prefer the second pic with all the bits together in one place.

Mark


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## scooter99

FrankstonCarAudio said:


> IIRC, you are limited in the length of cable between the face and main unit, when separating them as you are.
> I think it was around a metre (3-3.5ft) as a maximum..
> 
> Long time since I have done it and working from memory (which is not what it used to be!)
> 
> Otherwise, I prefer the second pic with all the bits together in one place.
> 
> Mark


Just curious, but why would there be a max length? Obviously that would make a difference and I'll try it once I get the unit pulled from my truck, but I'm just wondering.


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## FrankstonCarAudio

I can't remember why the length was limited exactly..

It may have been voltage drop or data timing issues.. it's too long ago now. 

I'm sure there will be others who may well know or remember.. (or there is Google )

Mark


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## scooter99

You mean google like this! LOL! I found this on another forum and while I've not read all the way through it yet, there are guys on this link that are saying theirs is 7+ feet long and no issues. One guy had issues, but I've not seen what it ended up being. I'm trying to do this and take care of my kids at the same time. 

Link: Relocating headunit and extending faceplate somewhere else.

I'll read further a bit later and report back to you guys! BTW, on page 5, post #45, is a picture of a pioneer unit that is exactly the look I'm wanting, except a bit more finished and tucked in. 

Keep in mind, I'm not messing with these controls for the most part, only to set up. I'll be changing channels with the steering wheel controls, via the axxess swi, and volume with the same or the bit one DRC. I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not, but we'll see. 

Bottom line, I'll bench test it before I do anything to go into the car.


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## scooter99

Turns out they were using Cat 5 cable, and he had a coupler on it, and the coupler was bad! There was more than 90% voltage drop on it. So he did a straight run through and it worked.


----------



## scooter99

seems there's mixed reviews and experiences with the newer models of units with the LCD screens. What I'm just going to have to do is just bench test it. If it works with the length of wire I have, then great, it's a go and I'll go in the headliner. If it doesn't, then I may have to go down under the tablet. I'll report back when I can. 

The problem it seems, as you said, is that there's not much voltage between the face plate and the base and when that contact is extended too far, the voltage dissipates and goes away. The functions work, according to some, but the LCD screen doesn't. So we'll see what happens. I may try this this weekend if I get a chance.


----------



## RByers

Hope it works with the longer length. Having it on the headliner would definitely be neat.


----------



## FrankstonCarAudio

I also notice that the unit at 7ft was a Pioneer, not an Alpine.

As you said, try it!
If it works at the length you need, great!.. if not, go shorter until it does..

The Alpines were/are the more sensitive units to this modification.. I do remember that.

Good luck.. 

Mark


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## scooter99

Thanks Mark. I'll look into it and bench test it and report back. I'll do it at the longer length first, then the shorter if the longer doesn't work.


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## scooter99

I got a package today! I have to get some pics of some of the other stuff I've gotten in the last couple days too. But we'll start with this! 
Looks small enough right! But boy is this thing weighty! What's in it you ask? Well lets take a look see! 









Ooooooo purrrrdddddyyyyyyy!!!! shinnnnnnyy!!!!









Distribution and fuse block material is here! Now I need to get a couple things yet. I have a pretty steady hand and have been around tools all my life pretty much. But I think I need a drill press for this regardless. Just is a safer way to go. I'll also need to get a metal blade for my table saw. Once I've got those things, I'm good to go as far as tools go. I have the tap and die set, and I have some pretty damn good drill bits, although I may spend a little bit and get another good set cause these will need replacing once I'm done with this project. I'm also going to need to get some hardware. I'll need to get some acrylic cause all these blocks will be on top of acrylic panels. I'll also need some allen head screws and pins. NOt sure what the headless screws are called but that's what I mean by pins. 

So that's about locked and loaded and read to go! 

I'll get more pics of things that have come in the last couple weeks tonight as well. I'm also going to get the alpine deck out of my truck and start working on that harness for the bench test. SO lots going on and I'm going to press to get as much done as possible this weekend. 

THANK GOD IT"S FRIDAY!!!!


----------



## Mirage_Man

You need one of these:

Rong-Fu Mill/Drill


----------



## scooter99

JEEZZUS! And a second job to go with it! WOW! Nice piece of equipment, but the price tag isn't so nice! That what you have to work with?


----------



## Mirage_Man

scooter99 said:


> JEEZZUS! And a second job to go with it! WOW! Nice piece of equipment, but the price tag isn't so nice! That what you have to work with?


Yes, I have the same mill/drill. I had to make a taller stand though since I'm 6'5" . It's not a true mill though. A nice knee mill will set you back 6-10k. That's just the entry price though. Still have to buy tooling, vices fixtures etc...

Here's a few more pictures if you want to check them out.


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## scooter99

WOW! Drooooolll! That's nice! If you didn't live on the other side of the country, I'd try and rent time from you. Nice set up! 

Yea like any other tool, there's more to it than just the tool itself! Always!


----------



## scooter99

First things first here's a little package I got earlier this week. These are the headphone amplifiers that are going to go in the back seat somewhere. Originally it was in the center console, but I'm rethinking that one at the moment. I'll get back to that. Here they are! 



















Front, volume knob, power button, and 3.5 mm jack.









Rear, has two sets of outputs for speakers, also a set of RCA jacks for the inputs. I'll have to make a 3.5mm to RCA cable. 









Side by Side









This is a crappy pic, but it's dark outside and I just took it. This was my original idea, however, counter sunk at an angle in the arm rest. But, looking at it from this point of view, or at least where I was standing, I can see how it could create a problem with reaching them. 









Then I thought about this spot. There, as you can see, is a little outlet in the seat there, and they almost fit perfectly. The problem would be, how to attach them to the seat. Fiberglass pod, with them seated inside it, but how would I attach the pod to the seat. 









Then I got to thinking, even that might become an issue, although not a big one, because they would have to reach kind of far forward to reach the knob on them. I'll have to get the girls in their seats and buckled in to see which one is better. 

I also liked the thought of removing the cup holders and putting them in there, standing so the front of them was facing up. However, that poses a problem cause they're about an inch to an inch and a half too tall. So that may not work. 

I'll have to do some more researching on it to see what the best fit is. It's not a real important project right now. I have another project going on now. Let me get to that!


----------



## RByers

How about in the door panels around the handles for the headphone amps? Would be in better reaching position for them maybe.


----------



## scooter99

So here's where I'm at with the Alpine Face Plate Extension Project. 

I got the head unit out of the truck tonight and just started looking at stuff and getting some ideas on how to tackle this project. 

My oldest daughter was a little jealous, bless her heart cause her sister got to be on a picture in the build. So she wanted in on one as well! 









So I got everything laid out, all my pieces to this puzzle. 









Put the face plate on the unit and examined the contacts a little bit. Here is the close up on them.









You can see on this one, that there is a little tab on either side of the contact connector. This is key cause the contacts really only go in one way smoothly. The other way it goes in, but it's kind of forced. So this is a good thing for orientation purposes! 









With this connector, you can see the top connectors extend down, and the bottom connectors aren't so extended. This is another helpful piece of info for orientation! 









This is just a view of back of the female connector and the top of the male connector. 









Showing them connected









Same basic thing, just roles reversed this time.









Connected









This just shows how the connector will go into it's spot


----------



## scooter99

Both of the base plates. The top one is the new piece and then you see the connector in front. After looking a bit at it, I may change out the one on the unit cause it's a little worn. The one for the faceplate to be held on, doesn't need to do anything but hold the faceplate. The base unit one, needs to be moved if I need to put in a cd. Anyway, moving on. 



























Now it's time to get our color chart and wires all situated so I have a guide to go off of. No reason to mess something up by guessing right. 




































Now that I have that going on, lets take a look at the wires and colors









I wrote down colors as I thought they should go. But then I discovered later that they had numbers on the wires. So I changed the color code later.


----------



## scooter99

Here's what's in each cable. Remember there's 8 cables in the main run. So each pair per cable equals 16 little wires. There's 16 contacts on each plug. Make sense now! 









So after looking at the female connector I wondered what it looked like in the unit. So I decided to take the front off and look for myself. 









To my surprise this is what I found. I don't know exactly what I was expecting but I thought I'd have a ribbon cable or something in there. It's a board that has another plug on it, that plugs into a female plug that's soldered on the main board. WOW. 









This is how it's soldered to the board. 









So I started stripping, wire that is! 









One down, one to go









Two down.


----------



## scooter99

Next to strip the ends and get em ready for soldering or tinning whatever you wanna call it.









Done and ready for solder.







.

That's as far as I got tonight. My eyes hurt, my head hurts, and it's time for bed. So I have to now solder the ends, solder the connectors, and then put them together. The connectors aren't very strong so this is a little intimidating. I wish I had a better solder tip, but I literally have no money in the bank right now, so i can go get one. But I think I have one that will work. I just don't want to ruin anything. 

I did find this out however. This is the picture from above, altered. What it's pointing at is a button. That button is pressed by the arm that goes down when the face plate opens up. I'm guessing it has something to do with the eject button. That's just a guess though. But if that button has to be depressed for the eject button to work, then I'm going to have no choice but to do a face plate of some sort on the base. I was planning on it really anyway. I'm probably just going to get the piece that goes on the front, then I'll have an empty face plate. But it'll look good still. 










So that's it for tonight. I'll see how much more I can get done this weekend.


----------



## scooter99

RByers said:


> How about in the door panels around the handles for the headphone amps? Would be in better reaching position for them maybe.


That's a really good idea! I think my only problem with that would be they have to remember to remove their headphones before they open the door. I don't mean from their head, but from the amp. Or I'll have to make some kind of cubby for them to put them in. I don't know. I can just see them forgetting and me dragging the headphones down the street cause they got shut in the door. 

They're 5 and 7 and I can't really expect them to remember something like that every time. But it's possible. I'll give that some thought. Thanks for the idea!


----------



## RByers

Use some springy type of headphone wire and a simple L shape bracket to hang them on when not in use. Simply hang me on the door. Chord shrinks to around 6-8inches and just stays on the door not being harmed.


----------



## scooter99

That's a good idea too. I'll look into those. Thanks


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## DLO13

how about putting a piece of plywood Under the seat, toss a few bolts in it to make it secure, and then attack the fiberglass pod to it that way.... you could run the wires inside the pod and directly under the seat.


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## scooter99

That wouldn't be too bad. I could actually us a bracket of some sort too. Piece of metal that's made into an "L" shape and bolted either to the seat bottom or the floor under the seat and extends up. Then the pod screws to it. I'm sure I'll figure something out. I'm still not sure they will be able to reach it all that well. 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> That wouldn't be too bad. I could actually us a bracket of some sort too. Piece of metal that's made into an "L" shape and bolted either to the seat bottom or the floor under the seat and extends up. Then the pod screws to it. I'm sure I'll figure something out. I'm still not sure they will be able to reach it all that well.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


If your rear seat is like a coupe, there is no under seat structure...the car's floor-pan pulls double duty.


----------



## scooter99

You're absolutely correct in that. I'll figure something out.


----------



## scooter99

Ok so last night I was able to fire up the soldering iron and get the head unit extension all finished up and working! Well, sort of! Here's how it went down! 

First I got everything out and started working on it, pretty much where I left off from last time. Recall that everything was stripped off and ready to solder on the wires. Now my original plan was to just solder from the outside in, meaning I was going to lay the wires on to the tabs and solder them on and then bend them and do the other side. After looking at them for a bit, I decided that these tabs were just not strong enough to really do that. I decided the up most care was needed in the soldering and handling of the connector tabs. So to solve that and get that result, I decided that the best thing to do, would be to bend the wires in an "L" shape and solder them that way, and then when they go on the tabs, they'll be resting on the strongest part of the tab, which is not the wing, but the body of each tab. So that's where I started. I needed to tin each little wire. 8 pairs, twice = 32 wires! Actually kind of went pretty quickly! Check it out! 

Before tinning









Just to see the plan, if it'll work better! 









Time to solder









Same here, pre tinning




































Now I started to solder the wires to the tabs. But I pulled these wires off. 









Rather than try to fight space all the way down, I'm blind already and I was wearing my glasses, but my head was killing me after looking at this stuff for a while in crappy light! So I tried to make it a little easier on myself by doing it from the bottom up instead of the top down.


----------



## scooter99

It's a little rough right now. 


















But I can clean that up! 









Now it's time to move on to the next connector. I actually found this one tougher than the first one. These tabs seemed thinner and more brittle than the other one. I decided to do the same thing with these. "L" shaped wire from the inside. Also from the bottom up.









Again a little rough and then cleaned up! BTW, I don't claim to be the best solderer in the world, I'm still learning. So if anyone thinks they can give any suggestions as to how to better my solder joints, I"m all ears! Thanks! Moving on! 


















Soldered up and ready for some support and connection.









Got out the hot glue gun and started filling the wires up and this will help support the weight of the wires and prevent the soldered tabs and bare wires from touching. 

Side one









Side two


----------



## scooter99

Now to move a little up the wires for more support. Once again, it's not the cleanest, which if you all know me by now is driving me nuts, but like I said a bit earlier my head was killing me, and I was getting impatient with these connectors. No excuse to let the details get away from me I know, but it's what I'm using for this now. 


















Ready to put it in it's home. 



























What you'd see if I took the face plate off. Looks factory! I compared it to the one from the factory, and it's the exact same distance, which is flush. I'm happy with it. 









Wires supporting themselves and the connector and base. 









Now, on to the next one! Same thing done here, I'll just post pics, you get the idea.


----------



## scooter99

Not the greatest picture but here you can see I filled in the sides of this one. The other one I wasn't able to fill in on the sides because the tabs in the center need to move in order to take on this connector. I didn't want to take the chance that it would be glued. But this one doesn't have that issue. 









Got it on the face plate back, the false one. 



























Now they're ready to go! 


















Next I got out all the equipment and a battery and it was time to test her out! Remember this was the full length cable. 10 feet long. I had really no expectations for this one to work based on what I'd heard and read about extending these newer alpine faces. But my hopes were positive and it would be nice if it did work! 









Now the false face plate base won't just sit in there. It needs the front in order to stay on, because the front is where the holes are for the bottom in order for those pins to go into and the plate to stay in place. So I did the next best thing, which was electrical tape it. So now it's in place. 









The false base, is a different story. The face plate will stay on it cause it has those holes. Here it's in place and open. Just to show the contacts. 









Up and in place.


----------



## scooter99

Power and ground hooked up, got a buzz from the unit loading up. We're powered! 









AAAANNNNNNNNNDDDDDD! NOTHING! Damn! 









So basically that pretty much eliminates the ability to put it in the headliner. I need at least 8 feet of cable to get it up there around the windshield. SO the headliner is out, and now it's the dash bezel under the tablet. But instead of just taking the option I HAD to make sure it was in fact going to work. It's like play golf, you have to hear the ball drop in the cup. Well here I had to see it work for myself. So I cut each one about 2' in length giving me 4' total. I figure this was plenty to work with. 









Now I didn't want to take the time to put crimp connectors on each one cause I wasn't going to leave them like this. I'll be making molex connectors for each end, and then making a harness cable in the end that way I can remove either end if i need to for whatever reason. However, for the bench testing, twisting and electrical tape will do. 









Round two ready................................................nothing! EFF!! 









At this point I was getting pissed. I figured 4 feet would work for sure. I can't imagine a run this short would not work. So I got out my DMM and checked each and every wire. I connected both plates together via electrical tape, and tested all the wires. Non touching, all connected correctly. NOW I'm stumped. But I couldn't stop so I did it again. Cut it down even more. I cut off 10" of the wire and reconnected. 

Tried it again! ITS ALIVE, ALLLLIIIIIIIVVVVVEEE!!!!! WOOHOO!! 


















However, now I may have a problem. I'm sitting at 32" now. Even though the glove box is right next to the dash bezel, I have to go all the way to the front of the glove box, not just to the back end of it. So it may be too short to work with. I need to get in the glove box, figure out where it's going to sit, and then take a string and take a measurement so I know exactly how long I need this to be. I'm also going to keep adding inches until I don't get the face plate on anymore. I'm hoping to get another 4" - 6" out of it, but I have a feeling that I may only get 2". 

But at this point, I know where it has to go, which is below the tablet. That will allow me to move forward with the tablet install and know where it's all going. Until then, I'll keep adding inches until I can't go any further. 

So there you have it, my work for the weekend! Thanks for tuning in!


----------



## subwoofery

Strange that a longer length doesn't work... Any explanation you could give me? 

Kelvin


----------



## scooter99

subwoofery said:


> Strange that a longer length doesn't work... Any explanation you could give me?
> 
> Kelvin


From what I've read on MP3.com, link is above somewhere from friday I think, it looks like the voltage isn't much and not meant to power long distances. Mark, was telling me this in the first place, and that's how I looked it up. But what it appears is that the voltage drops off and at longer distances, there just isn't enough to power the LCD screen for these newer models from that distance. It looks like the distance is 3 - 3.5 feet. I'm going to see if I can get that extra 4" out of mine and see how close that is. Remember I'm at 32 inches, so 4 more inches will put me at 3' 6". 

That's about the best I can do for you as far as explanation. Anything more technical is just over my head anyway. I'm sure someone else could help with the explanation of it if you need further. 

I'd love to see if there was a way to boost the signals to make it go further, cause I'd love nothing more than to put this in the headliner rather than the dash. But until someone other than me could come up with a way, then I'm gonna have to settle for the dash.


----------



## scooter99

MARTIN!!! 

Hey when you did your HVAC control extensions, what size wire did you use? Will the gepco wire I used for the alpine extension work for this or do I need bigger wire? Also do you think I'm gonna have the same issues with that as I do with this unit, in that it's going to be too far away from the original spot?


----------



## IBcivic

I used 16ga (the spool was at arms reach  )

I think your gepco would be fine...its all signals, no loads..IIRC


----------



## scooter99

Ok cool. Thanks!


----------



## scooter99

Ok guys, question. I found a thread on the12volt.com where a guy supplied his faceplate with it's own power source, and used cat 6 wire for data. His face plate is 35 feet away from the unit itself. Anyone have any thoughts on this?


----------



## ndinadis

yep that may work, what we need in a pinout of the data connection between the faceplate and the unit, its possible you may be lucky, the alternative is that you need to have each one trigger a transistor and then send the higher voltage to the headunit, it could also be sensing a resistive change in one of the pins which may be messing? (eg on our samsung phones a resistance between pin 5 and ground sets it into dock mode, car dock mode etc)


----------



## scooter99

You and I may get to know each other real well here! I'll see if i can get you the pin out. I'm curious on the samsung dock too. Can you elaborate on that?


----------



## ndinadis

Oh good more reasons to check this thread every day lol
Im really impressed with your work!

check these out this for the Samsungs 

Fun with resistors (home/car dock mode + more) - xda-developers

this one you may be interested in for another car.

[DIY] "Car Dock" Cable - USB audio out + charging - UPDATED! (11-9-11) - xda-developers

edit. 
This is what I will be using as the base of my car dock for my galaxy s2 
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10031


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## scooter99

Nice thanks.


----------



## MTopper

scooter99 said:


> From what I've read on MP3.com, link is above somewhere from friday I think, it looks like the voltage isn't much and not meant to power long distances. Mark, was telling me this in the first place, and that's how I looked it up. But what it appears is that the voltage drops off and at longer distances, there just isn't enough to power the LCD screen for these newer models from that distance. It looks like the distance is 3 - 3.5 feet. I'm going to see if I can get that extra 4" out of mine and see how close that is. *Remember I'm at 32 inches, so 4 more inches will put me at 3' 6"*.
> 
> That's about the best I can do for you as far as explanation. Anything more technical is just over my head anyway. I'm sure someone else could help with the explanation of it if you need further.
> 
> I'd love to see if there was a way to boost the signals to make it go further, cause I'd love nothing more than to put this in the headliner rather than the dash. But until someone other than me could come up with a way, then I'm gonna have to settle for the dash.




I'm just pointing out that if you're at 32 inches and add 4 inches, that will give you 36 inches (or 3 feet) which means you still have a plausible 6 inches to add in length and still stay in that 3-3.5 foot length. 


I've messed up numbers like that before and had to buy new sheets of wood because of it.


----------



## scooter99

I get that, and thanks, but I just cut off the 10" giving me the 3.5 cause it wasn't working. So I figure I have to be closer to 3' for it to work. 

However, that being said, I'm getting a lot of people, the majority, over at MP3.com saying that Cat 5, 6, 7 wire will be better and will probably give me better results. 

I think I'm going to go ahead and order another set of connectors so I can re solder using that stuff, as well as, making a 3rd harness to see about powering the face plate by itself. I shouldn't have an issue with data traveling the longer distances, but it's the limited power I think that's the problem. So I'm not done yet, I'm going to try a couple more things before I'm done and settle on the dash for this. I'll post more when I have more. 

Thanks guys!


----------



## ndinadis

scooter99 said:


> However, that being said, I'm getting a lot of people, the majority, over at MP3.com saying that Cat 5, 6, 7 wire will be better and will probably give me better results.


This is interesting, on one hand the networking cable is twisted/braided that will help reject noise but otherwise I cant think of an advantage? Did they specify why?

Can you measure the resistance off of the contacts on each end of your cable for me. I am thinking there may be some other forces at work lol


----------



## scooter99

I don't know how to do that, but I'll find out and see what I can do for you. Thanks.


----------



## RByers

My guess would be the wires are a little thicker so it would help with the voltage drop a little. Not sure what gauge wires they are. The kit you had looked pretty beefy to me. Can't wait to see. I'm just glad I don't have to do that much soldering. Lol


----------



## scooter99

I think it's 22 gauge. Let me go look! Yes it's 22gauge, and I have a big spool of cat 5 wire here and it's 24gauge. Not a ton of difference, but some. But the cat 5 wire is solid core, the gepco is strand core. Not sure if that makes a difference or not, I thought I read somewhere the solid core drops resistance faster. Not sure where though so I have nothing to back that up with.


----------



## scooter99

Here you go, from wikipedia. 

" ...Stranded wire is used when higher resistance to metal fatigue is required. Such situations include connections between circuit boards in multi-printed-circuit-board devices, where the rigidity of solid wire would produce too much stress as a result of movement during assembly or servicing; A.C. line cords for appliances; musical instrument cables; computer mouse cables; welding electrode cables; control cables connecting moving machine parts; mining machine cables; trailing machine cables; and numerous others.

At high frequencies, current travels near the surface of the wire because of the skin effect, resulting in increased power loss in the wire. Stranded wire might seem to reduce this effect, since the total surface area of the strands is greater than the surface area of the equivalent solid wire, but ordinary stranded wire does not reduce the skin effect because all the strands are short-circuited together and behave as a single conductor. A stranded wire will have higher resistance than a solid wire of the same diameter because the cross-section of the stranded wire is not all copper, there are unavoidable gaps between the strands (this is the circle packing problem for circles within a circle). A stranded wire with the same cross-section of conductor as a solid wire is said to have the same equivalent gauge and is always a larger diameter.

However, for many high-frequency applications, proximity effect is more severe than skin effect, and in some limited cases, simple stranded wire can reduce proximity effect. For better performance at high frequencies, litz wire, which has the individual strands insulated and twisted in special patterns, may be used."


----------



## ndinadis

I skimmed through that last post but your correct in that stranded wire is more efficient at carrying any kind of current. Hence my questioning of the recommendation for cat5.
In regards to what I had posted above; Take out the two plugs, grab one in each hand, with your multimeter in the Ω setting touch two corresponding pins, the value should be very low, to test that you do have the correct pins you can use the continuity check setting ->+ sysmbol (best try and drawing a diode lol) it will beep when your on the right pin.


----------



## scooter99

OK I'll look into it tomorrow. Thanks for the info.


----------



## scooter99

Sorry guys, things have been on hold. I've been battling a pretty bad flu bug for the last few days. Fever has been at about 102 for 3 days now, till today! I finally woke up without a fever today. So things are looking up! Anyway, I'm going to try and get some stuff figured out and test the resistance differences between the gepco cable and some cat 5 cable. Then I'm going to test the unit to find out what pins are the power and ground pins and do an isolated power on the faceplate. We'll see what happens. It's either going to work, or I'll have to buy a new faceplate. Either way, I should know by the end of the day. I do think, however, that the voltage on the faceplate is 9v not 12v. So I may not be able to test it today, cause I don't know how to do a voltage drop on it. But that's all I've got for now.


----------



## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> Sorry guys, things have been on hold. I've been battling a pretty bad flu bug for the last few days. Fever has been at about 102 for 3 days


Wuss!


J/K...Glad to here that ur back on your feet.


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## scooter99

Thanks. Not all the way back, but slowly getting energy back again.


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## scooter99

Just got out with the DMM, man am I in need of a new one! But I tested the resistance on the lines. First the gepco 22ga wire that I currently have soldered on. It's a little hard to see in the pic, but I have it set to 200. Don't know if this is right or not, but if not I'm sure someone will be happy to correct me on it, Please! But, as I said, a little hard to see in the pic, but it came to a .06.









Next I took some Cat5 wire at the same distance and tested it at the same 200 setting. I was surprised at a .07 result. By what everyone has said, I was expecting something different I guess. Not that I know what I"m doing anyway. 


















This is what I was shocked by. I decided what the hell and to test the whole roll, or what I had left of it. It's about 75 feet give or take. At the same 200 setting, I got a 3.2 result. So, now I'm very confused! Not having that much of the gepco cable to use I can't compare. 









So I'm gonna go rest for a bit, then I'll go out an see if i can identify the power and ground pins on the unit. If I can do that then I can figure out whether or not I can use an isolated power on the face plate and run data from the unit. 

Be back later!


----------



## scooter99

Well this was my other thought, similar to what this guy did in this set up. He pulled the front off the base unit, and in there is the little board that's attached to the front of the unit. This is a CDA117 unit, but the CDA9886 has that same board on the back of it. So my thinking is, which I stated somewhere a while go, if I did this, took that board off the base unit, then took the extra base plate that i'm going to use to hold the face plate itself, relocated, and put the board on that. Then make a harness that goes between the connector on the base unit, and connecting it to the board that's been relocated. It's basically what he did in this with the ribbon cable, but only longer. 

My thinking in this, is that the resistance or voltage drop comes in at that board attached to the base plate, not the main board itself. I of course have to test this theory before I go through all the trouble, but I'd like to do so. Not sure how to exactly, but I'd like to test it. Here's what I'm talking about.




hot36 said:


> I found a service manual for the Alpine CDA-117. When you completely remove the entire front of the head unit, all you see is the CD unit and a stationary 20 pin connector. By purchasing this service cable, it allowed me to retain the whole front of the CD unit as a whole. This way, I built a metal housing and placed the whole faceplate into it. This will still allow me to remove the faceplate and keep the factory look of the unit without a bunch of wires showing where others have done this with soldered wires showing.
> 
> The cable was purchased from: Hermanelectronics.com the part number of the cable is: 01V35647S01 It cost $64.00. It's about 12 inches long, but you can probable cut the cable and extend it with a computer ribbon cable if needed. I just didn't want to have anything to do with soldering on the radio itself. Here are some photos of the mods I did. Hope this will help others out. As this site gave me some ideas from everyone's previous postings.


Not giving up just yet. I need to find the guy who said he did a face plate relocation at 35 feet using an isolated power source for the face plate. Hopefully he can shed some light as well.


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## scooter99

Well I found where I saw the guy who posted about relocating to 35 foot extension by using a dedicated power source, but that was about it. It was back in January of 2011 so it wasn't that long ago. The thread was about an alpine unit. Gives me promise, so I don't know. We'll see what I find out in a moment with some testing. I'm going to open it up and test the power on it. not sure exactly how I'm going to determine all this. When I'm going to figure power, do I just ground the black wire on the DMM and then use the red probe to find the pin? Can someone help me with this?


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## scooter99

Ok guys I have some exciting news! I just got done with some testing and I've pretty much proven my theory correct. It's going to take me some time to get some details drawn up based on some stuff I drew on a picture I printed out. But the only way I'll be able to do it so you guys can follow along, is to do it picture by picture and edit in colored lines. So I'm going to work on that, and I'll hopefully be back in a couple hours with some stuff to show you. Very happy about this!


----------



## ndinadis

Hey 
So you DMM measurements were exactly what I suspected, like I said other then sheilding which at your frequency range for digital communication to the lcd dont matter, there is no advantage other then being smaller to use cat5.

My honest initial guess (not to second guess your workmanship because it happens to me ALLL the time) is that there may have been a loose connection in either the solder connection on the really finicky pins connecting to the display and main unit and it was a fluke that the shorter distance worked. 
I have had similar situations where I have redone and changed every aspect of an electronics project to find it was all caused by a single loose wire in a breadboard or bad component lol.

What did you find the voltage off the head-unit to be? 
Im assuming based on your last post you going ahead with an external power source?
Nick


----------



## scooter99

Ok here we go. I'll try and get through this as best as I can. Hopefully everyone can follow along ok. I'm trying to make this as easy as I can to follow along. 

So I just went through testing the resistance on the cables, the gepco and some cat 5 I had laying around. Next I told you I was going to try and test the pinouts on the inside connector to see if I could find some voltage and find out if I had a 12v pin in there or if it was already reduced down to 9v, which I was lead to believe the face plate is when it runs. 

So I started first to take the unit apart. I'll go through those pics again, and get to the good stuff. 









Top off, and you cannot see anything from this view, because the cd mechanism basically takes up the entire unit area. You cannot get to the board from the bottom because the bottom, sides and back of the cage are all one piece. The top is the only removable piece. 









So that being said, the other way to get a decent look at the connector without gutting the unit, is to remove the front. One screw on each side,


















A little love, and this is what you get.



























Now it was time to put some power to it and get some readings.


----------



## scooter99

Got out the ol DMM, and put the black probe in the cage to ground it, then started checking the connector for readings. 









Should've gotten a picture of the connector straight on, but I didn't sorry. There are still 16 connections, 8 top and 8 bottom. Starting at the top left, these were my readings:

Top
1 - 7.40
2 - 0.00
3 - 0.00
4 - 0.00
5 - 0.00
6 - 4.92
7 - 11.94 (MY POWER SOURCE)
8 - 0.00 (I can only guess this would be the ground source, but not sure.)

Bottom
9 - 0.00
10 - 0.00
11 - 0.00
12 - 0.00
13 - 0.00
14 - 4.72
15 - 4.70
16 - 0.00

So that was straight out of the unit, out of the connector at the bottom of the unit, you can see it in the lower middle of the unit in the picture above. 

Next I decided to remove the plate from the front piece, and connect that. Immediately this is what I saw.









Lit up like a Christmas Tree. This is what it looks like when you open the face plate to remove or insert a cd. 

I removed the plate and took a couple of close up pictures of it cause I knew I'd need them to write on and to do some numbers, tracking, etc. This first picture is the front of the plate, that goes into the front piece of the cage. This is the connector you see that the face plate connects to. The button you see there in the upper left hand side of the plate, that's the eject button. So the eject mechanism is triggered by this button, which sends data to the cd mechanism and tells it to eject, basically. Don't get all technical on me ok! It's over my head, I'm just trying to make it simple. I'll get back to this later. 









We'll call this the rear of the plate. This is the connector that connects to the other connector that I just tested on the unit itself. This brings all that data, power, etc, onto the plate and everywhere else after that. I'll get to that. That's where stuff gets REAL!!









Now on the bottom right had side of this plate, you can barely see a little black switch. Here's a more close up view of it. 









This switch is triggered by a little arm that is pushed in when the face plate is in the up position. When it's down, that switch is opened up and the board lights up as I showed before. Here's a little frozen demonstration. You can see my fingers there, my index finger is by the switch but not on it, demonstrating the face plate being opened up or down.









Now my index finger is pushing on the switch demonstrating the switch being pushed, would then be by the arm, and the lights are off. 









So after that my interest peaked and I had to dig deeper to see if I was correct truly or not. Correct about what? Correct about whether this plate on the back of the front panel was the place in which everything was changed, voltage drop etc. I'll go through it a little bit now for you. Here you can see I did some drawings on paper based on those pictures I took above, the close ups of the panel itself. 









Since you can't obviously read my chicken scratch and it was just too difficult to explain from those pictures alone, I did some editing in photobucket that will be easier to explain for me, and see for you. I'll be right back!


----------



## scooter99

Ok, now it's time to get real! I found my 11.94v pin on the connector on this panel by plugging it into the unit. I used the DMM and found where it showed 11.94, then removed the panel and traced it back to the connector. So here's picture number 1. This shows point 1 on the front side which has two holes through the panel from the connector. Then it goes to point 2 which you can see on the picture, which also has two holes through the panel transferring it back to the rear side. This is 11.94 between both of these points. Again, this is the front side of the connector showing. 









Now we go to the rear side, picking up on point 2 which was 11.94v. This goes into two different components, which I have to believe are reducers or resistors or something like that. We'll start with the furthest one, cause for whatever reason I numbered that one #3. That component has a number on it of 303. As you can see in the picture, the voltage goes from 11.94, down to 1.78v. Going back to number 4, the component there is labeled 472 on top, and the voltage drops to 3.70v. 









Flipping it back over to the front, this is where it gets a little crowded but I did as best as I could to keep it under control. 

Ok looking to the left side of the panel you can see #3 coming through. This is reading 1.78v. It goes up to another component up to the upper left of the panel, near the eject button. This is where it got a little tricky. I tested the opposite side of that component and got a 0.00v reading. I was like WTF?! So I decided to move on. On the middle right side of the panel, just under the connector there, is where #4 comes through, reading at 3.70v. This goes down, up to those two leds, and then back out and around to the middle there. I called this point #5. I put the meter on it and again got 0.00v. I was at this point stumped as hell. I could not figure out how I got voltage from a positive to nothing. Now you can look at the picture and see that these two points that I got a 0.00v reading on, points 5 and 6, are labeled as 0.00 / 9.98v. There's a reason for that.









Here let me show you the reason! Remember this little guy? Yep that's why i got a 0.00v reading. Cause the switch was open. I pushed the switch in, and did the reading again, and got my 9.98v reading, which would be my face plate power. Here's a little drawing I just did. I for whatever reason didn't go any further into it with my testing, maybe cause I'm exhausted, I don't know. But here you can see the yellow line, coming from the switch. It goes into a component, and splits out, one going to #5, and the other to #6. Both again, reading 9.98v when the switch is depressed, again indicating the face plate is up and in the closed position. 









The bottom line is this. From what I've gotten out of this little bit of research is that instead of making the connectors as I did on the last go round, I can eliminate those, and go this route. I'll take the panel board and the front panel that it's currently on. I'll move it from the cage to the spot where the face plate will be, hopefully once again in the headliner. Then I'll take the second one I bought, and I'll put it on the front of the cage itself. I'll make a harness that will connect the connector on the unit, and the connector on the panel where the face plate will be, and that should get me better results than the first attempt. In theory. I'm not going to be 100% surprised if this doesn't work. But this is the next attempt in this project. I just have to figure out how I'm going to go about doing it. I have two ways really. I can either solder directly on the board right by the connector, or i can solder directly onto the connector itself. The other way is to try and find these connectors, which I've already looked for at pac parts.com, and cannot find. So I'm most likely stuck with direct soldering them. 

I think if I decided to direct solder on the board, I'll have to take the cd mechanism out and get the board accessible. Those are pretty big tabs on that connector, but I'm not sure I want to take the chance. 

Here's how things change a bit by doing it this way. By moving the panel, I have to now use the face plate for other things. What do I mean? Well now the eject button is going to not work on the main unit, it will have to be pushed and operated by the panel at the face plate which will now have the board on it. To do this the face plate must be movable. That's not a problem cause it was going to be anyway. I don't however, have to have a face plate or a base or anything like that on the unit itself. Like before. Same thing goes up at the face plate. That switch on the back of the panel, will have to operate and will do so by the face plate opening and closing. The only thing I'll need at the unit, will be to insert a cd, or remove a cd. 

So things get a little different, maybe even a little more inconvenient, but if it works, it'll be worth it. I don't think I'll be using the cd player much anyway. So I think it'll be fine. 

I'm very happy about all this, so far. Hopefully I'll get to test more soon! 

Happy to hear any suggestions or thoughts. Thanks!


----------



## [email protected]

Nice job, but quite too elaborate story to be able to follow it all.

If you don't use the CD much, why do you work so much for relocating the facia? You can use and setup an sound processor, as audison bit one or bit ten (i remember that you have audison amplifiers), and supply to it sound inputs more easily (cd changer, docking station, etc). And the bit comes with remote control.

I have done something similar with the cables, in the mean that i have taken out the sensor for the remote control of the docking station for ipod (I have used an Onkyo ND-S1), and route the sensor to the front of the car (I used normal power wires, 1.5mm each section as far as i remember. It was a very thick cable, but the drop on it was about 0.7ohms at 5 meters, so i just used it by desoldering the sensor and resolder the cable in the place of were the sensor was; using such cable, i was just not interested about high frequency or voltage drop, because it would almost be none).

I powerd the onkyo with a 5$ phone ar charger (it needs 5v), and supply the sound to the audio processor through TOSLINK optical connection.
And the result is more than anyone could imagine. Best sound possible, with lots of adjustment from the soun processor, with the simplest and cleanest install i could achieve.



Relocating the front facia, is indeed a challenging thing to do, but my point is: why to do this? Are you really using all that stuff while driving? Or you just use the volume, maybe a different preset setting for the sound, and that's all? And where is the sound source comming from? I would work to find a way to feed it directly to the amplifiers, as clean and as simple as possible, and that should be all


----------



## ndinadis

really quick and dirty solution that I thought of before but questioned when it did work with the shorter cable is, wire it up the way you had it before and tape a eraser or something small to press the button indicating the head units is clipped in (I remember you pointed it out earlier)
Then you could avoid doing all this extra work.


----------



## ek9cv5

Mighty long list ya got there!


----------



## scooter99

It's a little shorter now. I've eliminated somethings, and retained some things. I guess I could give the latest list of what's going on. Hold on, I'll be right back!


----------



## scooter99

Final equipment list looks like this:

Main Signal:
Samsung Galaxy 10.1 32gb Tablet custom mounted
Octava 1x2 Distribution Amplifier and Splitter

Secondary Signal:
Alpine CDA-9886 Head Unit with Custom Face Plate Extension
Axxess Steering Wheel Interface

Processing:
Audison Bit One Processor

Rear Video Monitor:
Samsung 7" HDMI Input Monitor

Front Stage:
Hertz Mille ML 280s Tweeters
Hertz Mille ML 700 Mid Range
Hertz Mille ML 1600 Mid Bass

Subs:
Hertz High Energy HX 300D (12" Dual 4ohm) x 2

Amps:
Hertz HDP4 - Tweeters and Mid Range
Hertz HDP4 - Bridged Mid Bass
Hertz HDP1 x 2 - 1 per sub

Power:
Mechman 220 Amp H/O Alternator
XS Power D5100 Battery (Front)
XS Power D3100 Battery (Rear)
Custom Distribution and Fuse Blocks
Stinger 1/0ga, 4ga, 8ga, and primary wire

Miscellaneous:
Kindle Fire Tablets x 2 - Custom mounted in the headrests
SMSL SA-S2 Class T Headphone Amplifier x 2 - Custom mounted in the rear somewhere, still deciding on this.

Protection:
Zenesis Remote Start Alarm, with window modules, sunroof module and more.

I think that about covers it.

Things to do before this build seriously gets under way: Well there's only one thing left at the moment, and that's this face plate extension. If this latest test works, then I'll be golden and back to my original plan. If it doesn't work, then I'll be back to in the dash. I'll know more this week! Aside of that it's ready to go. Rear amp rack drawer is just in need of a new top cover, some finishing, and the slide frame, and it's done and ready for mounting. 

Gonna be a lot going on in the next couple weeks. I'm gonna push to get this trunk seriously under way!


----------



## scooter99

This sickness really kicked my ass guys! I was hoping to do some stuff this weekend, but never happened other than what I posted the other day. the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced I've got the face plate figured out. I just need to get the soldering iron out and get some cat 5 soldered on. 

This weekend was killer though. Drug my ass out to the autorama this Saturday for a few hours, and I swear I thought i ran a marathon where I really only stood around and listened to some seriously nice set ups. I think I spent 3 hours out there and then went home and was so out of energy I slept for 5. Then it was time for bed! Today is my first day back to work in a week, so we'll see how I feel later when I get home. But it's been a busy day already. 

My goal this week is to get that face plate extension figured out. If I get that done, I'll for sure start on the trunk in the next weekend of two depending on scheduling with the family. The extension will allow me to finally get started on the finish work of the dash piece as well. So it's kind of key for a lot of things right now. 

More when I have more. I'm excited about what's going to go down. Stay tuned, I know I always say that, but you're just gonna have to trust me, it's gonna go down very very soon!


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## jorona1

I have a 06 Civic as well. How do you decide what size alternator to use?


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## scooter99

I emailed Mechman. Told them what kind of system I was running, which at the time I think was more watts, and they said "we've got this for you". Basically!


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## jorona1

Sweet! Thanks


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## scooter99

Sure. Good luck!


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## scooter99

Ok guys, I'll be doing some work on the trunk this weekend. It's official, I've gotten approval from "the boss" to fire up the saws and other power tools. My helping consisted of doing laundry while I was working, and I just finished it all up last night. So I should be able to get some good work done this weekend. My goals for the weekend are this:

- Remove the old component wall, since it's not going to be used anymore
- Remove the rear deck trim panel
- Remove the trunk torsion spring rods
- Make a new panel for the amp rack to hold the 4 amps now instead of 3. 
- Cut finish top panel and acrylic for between.
- Install LED's.
- Make a frame to hold the drawer slides and mount the drawer to the rear deck.
- Attach the frame to the rear deck
- Deaden everything around and under the frame.
- Install new gas springs for the trunk
- Install rear deck amp rack, ready for finishing.

That's quite a list of things, but most of those things are going to take like 5 minutes each to do. The main work will go into the amp rack frame, mounting, and the new covers for the rack to accommodate the extra amp. 

Not sure on finishing still. I'm leaning toward suede, but carpet isn't out of the question either. I'll have to decide how nice I want this to be. So plenty of updates this weekend!!!


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## scooter99

Sorry guys! Long story but my weekend blew up on me. 

My family has been talking about an animal for a while now. We were gonna get a pair of kittens for my daughters and we've been gearing up for them. Doing research etc, for stuff for them. 

We ended up using Saturday for stuff for the house. That was gonna give me all day Sunday to work on the car. 


Saturday we were sitting there and somehow the animal conversation came up and we decided a dog would be better for us. Our concern was we didn't want to leave it home during the day. Well to shorten this up a bit, everything kind of rolled quickly. 


We were talking about golden retrievers and names and looking online etc Saturday, Sunday I came home from Bootcamp to my wife telling me her sisters neighbor, who we know well, was fostering a boxer puppy. We decided to go look at her. Her sister lives about 2 hours away. There went Sunday! But we got a puppy! 5 month old boxer female. Awesome awesome puppy for being, well, a puppy. Great mannerisms and we loved it. 


So she's got some shots and stuff this week, and then we bring her home next Sunday. 


Sorry this isn't a post telling everyone I finished the ride or great progress, but the fact of the matter is, life just happens!


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## Salad Fingers

Boxers are awesome dogs!!! You're going to love that little cutie. I know our Black Lab is a huge part of our family. Congrats!!!


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## scooter99

Thanks. Ya she's a cutie. I'll try and post a picture of her when I get to work. 

BTW, I should have the rest of the funds released in the next couple days, so I'll be sending money your way, plus the amp. I'll get in touch with you when it's cleared. Sorry it's taken so long. 

On another note folks, Martin has finished my Power Supply Plan and I'll be ordering components for that today as well! Wish I could build more than I can order. But right now it's all I've got. I can at least do small stuff in my living room during the week, like put the PS together, do the faceplate extension, things like that. Everything else takes power tools and is just too hard to tool out and cut and put it all away with our busy lives. 

Now we have to decide, yes I know we've been here before, if we're going to keep the civic now. With me taking our new girl to work every day, I may need a bigger vehicle. I'm pushing for a Tahoe, always wanted one, but gas mileage is gonna suck and may put a stop to that idea. Not changing anything, don't worry, just have to see what's going to be best for our family. 

Ok more when I have it!


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## MTopper

Dogs are always a great excuse for something taking a lot longer. Whenever i work on something and need to run to the store, i take my black lab and drive the long way by the lake just for her so it always slows work. 

With the Tahoe idea, that would be awesome and all but gas mileage would kill your wallet. why not look at the traverse or something similar?


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## scooter99

Yea I'm not sure a Tahoe is what we're gonna get. I agree with the gas mileage thing. I think I'm looking at a Nissan Armada right now, and maybe a Sequoia or something in the import area. It most likely needs to be bigger though. I think we may end up trading my truck and car in, truck is paid off but only worth 4-5k. But the car is under bluebook I believe. Should have some decent equity to play with on a down payment. Problem is, we HAVE to keep our payments at or around $330.00 a month. We just don't have the extra room monthly to play with. Gas is on me, comes out of my allowance, so better gas mileage the better off I'll be. 

So I'm not sure what's going on now. Maybe I'll go back to looking at an F150 again! Gives me a truck, decent sized cabin, and the crate could go in the back. We'll see!


----------



## quality_sound

FWIW, you don't need anything larger. I cat my GSD around in my Clubman and Felix is 33" at the top of his head and 90 pounds and still growing.


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## scooter99

Well I think we've been trying to find good excuses for a while, and now I think my wife is actually on board with the idea. She started sending me links this afternoon on Tahoes. I think she's in. Now I'm trying to weight the Tahoe vs an F150 with a shell. 

Audio wise, the F150 isn't gonna give me much room for subs. I was thinking about a box in the bed, not a blow through, but a ported box in the bed, with the rear window open, but that's probably not gonna sound very good in front. 

Tahoe, GREAT space in back and I still have room for the crate. So I think it's up to my wife, bottom line, but we're probably going to get something like a tahoe, with the third row option etc. We'll see. She's got stuff for me to look at when I get home. 

Things may be changing! I don't know yet!


----------



## quality_sound

I would do a truck with a shell over a Tahoe any day of the week. You'll have more room for subs than you think and having a box in the bed like you're thinking actually sounds really good. You could also do a new center console with the subs down firing. I used to do that 2-4 Solobaric 10s and it friggin' rocked. Plus, with a truck you won't have hair all over the place, drool all over the place, nail scratches everywhere, and it won't smell like dog in there. When get back stateside I'm going to get a pickup just to cart Felix around. 
Now, if you're using the dog as an excuse to get a new PRIMARY vehicle, then go with the Tahoe.


----------



## scooter99

quality_sound said:


> I would do a truck with a shell over a Tahoe any day of the week. You'll have more room for subs than you think and having a box in the bed like you're thinking actually sounds really good. You could also do a new center console with the subs down firing. I used to do that 2-4 Solobaric 10s and it friggin' rocked. Plus, with a truck you won't have hair all over the place, drool all over the place, nail scratches everywhere, and it won't smell like dog in there. When get back stateside I'm going to get a pickup just to cart Felix around.
> Now, if you're using the dog as an excuse to get a new PRIMARY vehicle, then go with the Tahoe.


I have a big Ford F350 now, it's just a gas hog! It like litterally get's maybe 3 miles to the gallon. But having that, we don't need another truck. But really what we need is the 3 rows seating option, plus the cargo ability to have the crate back there. That's why we're looking at an SUV. I know that the crate isn't going to fit in these, when the rear seats are up, and at that point we'd have to have the dog in a lap or on the floor or wherever is the safest, but having that 3rd row option is key for the future. 

So that's why we're looking at an SUV instead of a truck. 

I like your reasons though, I'm with you!


----------



## quality_sound

What do you need a 3rd row for? And don't say kids. Unless you have 4 kids, you don't need a third row. The fact that the Big 3 convinced Americans that they need these big ass SUVs as soon as they want to have their first kid makes me sick. You want space and convenience? Get a minivan. Seriously. More space, better mileage and infinitely more flexible interiors. Unless I needed the "off-road" capability, I'd never own an SUV. There isn't anything it does that something else doesn't do better. 

That's the end of my rant. Sorry, but the subject of SUVs just cracks me up. You see almost no one in any other country in the world driving them even with 2 and 3 kids but Americans "need" them for their first. lolz


----------



## quality_sound

What do you need a 3rd row for? And don't say kids. Unless you have 4 kids, you don't need a third row. The fact that the Big 3 convinced Americans that they need these big ass SUVs as soon as they want to have their first kid makes me sick. You want space and convenience? Get a minivan. Seriously. More space, better mileage and infinitely more flexible interiors. Unless I needed the "off-road" capability, I'd never own an SUV. There isn't anything it does that something else doesn't do better. 

That's the end of my rant. Sorry, but the subject of SUVs just cracks me up. You see almost no one in any other country in the world driving them even with 2 and 3 kids but Americans "need" them for their first. lolz


----------



## sydmonster

*back ground watching*

hope your feelin better.


----------



## scooter99

quality_sound said:


> What do you need a 3rd row for? And don't say kids. Unless you have 4 kids, you don't need a third row. The fact that the Big 3 convinced Americans that they need these big ass SUVs as soon as they want to have their first kid makes me sick. You want space and convenience? Get a minivan. Seriously. More space, better mileage and infinitely more flexible interiors. Unless I needed the "off-road" capability, I'd never own an SUV. There isn't anything it does that something else doesn't do better.
> 
> That's the end of my rant. Sorry, but the subject of SUVs just cracks me up. You see almost no one in any other country in the world driving them even with 2 and 3 kids but Americans "need" them for their first. lolz


Well first of all YES as a matter of fact, KIDS! No I don't have 4 I have 2 but those two will have friends and those two will also have birthday parties that we may bring kids to, or have play dates, or things like that. Is it often, not it's not, but it's something we wanted to do, and have the option for. We do just about everything as a family, that means 4 people, and a dog, and if they each bring a friend, that's 6 people and a dog. 

However, since you started this, we also have family out of town, my sister in law as well as my brother in law (separate places), and my mother in law is in town. So when we go out of town to their events, most of the time she comes with us, and with us her dog comes, which means we're back to 6 bodies again, add our dog now, that makes 6 bodies and two dogs! 

We happen to go look at Christmas lights every year with our aunt, my mother in law, my kids, my wife, and my wifes friend who now has an infant of her own. Do the math, that's 8! 

So we are choosing to have that third row as an option for our vehicle. 

The fact that this is America and we're free to make our own choices and then get ridiculed for making them makes me sick. You want a mini van, pull up your black socks and sandals and go get one! As a 34 year old, I'd like to think of myself as a pretty cool guy, I hate the thought of even possibly getting a mini van! I would rather have an SUV. If I had my choice, I'd rather have my F350 Crew Cab Long Bed Diesel back! 

You attack the "gas guzzling" suv and say go mini van but what you should really be doing is attacking the government for raising gas prices! The fact that they've tripled in the last 10 years is absolutely ridiculous and you know as well as I do that it doesn't need to be this high and that's a part of why people are struggling in this country! Gas should be half the price it is right now! But greedy government wants their cut. It's supposed to be going into the roads and fixing them as well as other things, but roads continue to deteriorate and get worse! Ask me how I know! I have a civic on coilovers with 18's and 35 series tires! Tell me I'm wrong about the roads being bad!! I drive these pos roads every damn day, I know how bad they are! The government wants to charge us twice the rate (remember I said it should be half as much), then do what you're say you're gonna do with the money, and fix the damn roads! 

And I'd seriously love to hear your reasoning behind your last statement. Have you really explored the diffrences between a mini van and an SUV? Cause they're basically the same thing, but the SUV looks like a better car, doesn't have sliding doors, and really if you look at it, the suv's aren't much worse than a mini van on gas! Worse, yes, but not that much in retrospect. Hell I get 32 mpg in my civic! You think I want to give that up?! Hell no! But if I'm gonna drop it in half, I'm gonna make it worth my money! 

Tahoe - 15 city / 22 hwy
Expedition- 14 city / 21 Hwy

Odessy - 19 / 22
Sienna - 19 / 24

These are the two best rated min vans on the market according to consumer reports. They get approximately 4 - 5 miles per gallon better, which I know from experience is BULL! The oddessy gets at best 17 - 18 not the 19 advertised. Even the dealership will tell you this. Either way, does it get better, yes a little, but you're comparing a V6 to a V8. Of course the gas mileage is going to be different. Hell the Honda Pilot with a V6 only gets 16 - 22. Now explain to me how that makes it worth it?! It doesn't.

My personal preference is that if I'm going to spend the money for a vehicle I can do everything with, I want to do everything with it. If I want to hook up a travel trailer to this bish then I want to be able to pull it too! Try that with a V6! If I want to take my daughter and 8 of her friends around, I'm gonna do it cause I have the space to do it. When my kids and dog are older, and I want to put 6 12's back there and ground pound, I'm god damn sure gonna do it! 

If it pains you, or "cracks you up" so much that you have to rant about it, I suggest you go buy your mini van and go over to another country and drive it. Otherwise we live here in America where if I want to drive my "gas guzzling" AMERICAN SUV, I'm gonna do it and I'm gonna be happy with it. 

Thanks for your opinion, but obviously I don't agree!


----------



## scooter99

sydmonster said:


> *back ground watching*
> 
> hope your feelin better.


I am feeling great, thanks! This thing has stopped though. In case you didn't see, we're actively pursuing a vehicle change. So no sense in finishing this to tear it out again. I'll keep everyone updated as I get more info. But the vehicle change is going down for sure! 

Once a new vehicle is purchased I'll start a new build thread and get after it! Like I said, All equipemnt stays the same. I sent out the HDP5 today to get replaced with an HDP1. So that's the only change! I've got everything to do the install, whatever it will be, in the new vehicle, again whatever it will be. Either a Ford Expedition, currently what we're looking for, or a Cheverolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon.

That's all for now!


----------



## DLO13

scooter99 said:


> I am feeling great, thanks! This thing has stopped though. In case you didn't see, we're actively pursuing a vehicle change. So no sense in finishing this to tear it out again. I'll keep everyone updated as I get more info. But the vehicle change is going down for sure!
> 
> Once a new vehicle is purchased I'll start a new build thread and get after it! Like I said, All equipemnt stays the same. I sent out the HDP5 today to get replaced with an HDP1. So that's the only change! I've got everything to do the install, whatever it will be, in the new vehicle, again whatever it will be. Either a Ford Expedition, currently what we're looking for, or a Cheverolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon.
> 
> That's all for now!


OH COME ON. You have a civic, how can you go with ford or gmc? and why a gas guzzler?

Honda Pilot, Nissan Murano, Subaru Tribeca

unless you enjoy working on cars so much u dont mind one that always breaks down


----------



## ndinadis

DLO13 said:


> OH COME ON. You have a civic, how can you go with ford or gmc? and why a gas guzzler?
> 
> Honda Pilot, Nissan Murano, Subaru Tribeca
> 
> unless you enjoy working on cars so much u dont mind one that always breaks down


Bull ****!
Go look up cost of ownership on these vehicles, GM has improved their quality immensely over the last couple years, the imports are no more reliable and often more expensive to own and maintain.

I also support the SUV decision, based on owning both a mini van and a small SUV.

Minivans suck for getting in and out of the 3rd row is typically almost unusable, and like mentioned they are terrible on gas for what they are.

The expedition is what I wish we had bought it got pretty much the same fuel economy as our smaller V6 explorer would have pulled our camper better (getting better mpg at while doing so) was way roomier and more pleasant to load stuff into and out of and had a fully usable 3rd row.


----------



## quality_sound

He's already said the 3rd row would come out for the dog crate and he never said he was going to toe anything. If he was towing I'd agree with you, but he's not.


----------



## DLO13

ndinadis said:


> Bull ****!
> Go look up cost of ownership on these vehicles, GM has improved their quality immensely over the last couple years, the imports are no more reliable and often more expensive to own and maintain.
> 
> I also support the SUV decision, based on owning both a mini van and a small SUV.
> 
> Minivans suck for getting in and out of the 3rd row is typically almost unusable, and like mentioned they are terrible on gas for what they are.
> 
> The expedition is what I wish we had bought it got pretty much the same fuel economy as our smaller V6 explorer would have pulled our camper better (getting better mpg at while doing so) was way roomier and more pleasant to load stuff into and out of and had a fully usable 3rd row.



I don't know ANYONE who has actually NEEDED maintenance on a Honda or Toyota before 100k


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## scooter99

Ok this is getting out of hand I think. I don't want this to turn into an import vs domestic battle. We're looking into three vehicles at the moment. Chevy Tahoe/GMC Yukon (same basic vehicle), Ford Expedition, and a Honda Pilot. Right now the Expedition leads the way. But the bottom line is we have our reasons and we want what we want. So the final decision is ours to make. I appreciate everyone's opinion, even if I don't agree with them, but I don't want this to get too out of hand. 

We got Grace (our boxer) yesterday and today was my first day of bringing her to work. She's for sure too big, as a 5 month old, for my civic already. She cannot get comfortable in the seat and and really there isn't much room there for her. So this suv is going to happen for sure. Not right away cause there's too much to get done before it can happen financially, but it is going to happen. 

Hopefully when it does, you all can appreciate my reasons for getting it. If not, well that's not for me to worry about. I'll sleep fine at night knowing we're all comfortable and knowing that we made the right decision. 

Then, I'll start a new build log for the installation of the equipment I have in the new vehicle. 

Thanks everyone!


----------



## quality_sound

People are still on this? Let it go already. I'm as argumentative as it gets and even I dropped it. Sure, I gave him my opinion but in the end it's his car. I'm more concerned with what he installs in it that the car itself.


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## IBcivic

Dibs on sway bar, both camber kits and shifter kit


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## scooter99

quality_sound said:


> People are still on this? Let it go already. I'm as argumentative as it gets and even I dropped it. Sure, I gave him my opinion but in the end it's his car. I'm more concerned with what he installs in it that the car itself.


I guarantee another build log as soon as i get the new vehicle. Actually just found out some interesting info on the Tahoe that has swayed me back to its direction. But I'm going to go look at them in person before I make my decision. 

Thank you for your words btw. Glad we can agree to disagree, cause not everyone around the forums can do that. 

I appreciate your opinions. Thanks.






IBcivic said:


> Dibs on sway bar, both camber kits and shifter kit



Im about 99.9% sure that everything is getting sold on the car. There are only a few things not on it that are being sold separately and I'll make a fs thread for those. Sorry buddy! 






JsUltimateSounds said:


> insane... Awesome!


Thanks! Sorry it's ended before the finish but sometimes that happens. I'll link here the new build when it gets underway. That one won't be nearly as involved as this one. I think!?! Lol!

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

In case anyone is looking for a H/O alt for their civic, check this link out. Never used it, and now that I'm not keeping the car, I don't need it. I could use the money much more. Check it out.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/car-audio-classifieds/125377-06-up-honda-civic-mechman-220a-high-output-alternator.html


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## [email protected]

Damn, saw your deal too late

Do you think at selling anything else from/for the civic?


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## scooter99

No probably not. I take that back, I may sell the scan gauge pod I made with the scan gauge in it. But its being fixed right now so it won't be till it comes back if I post it. But it may get sold with the car. I haven't decided yet.

I've got a couple things to do yet before I can get it listed for sale. 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## scooter99

This was in response to my other forum. I thought i'd post it here and fill everyone in on what's going on! 



> Sucks. Lot of time in this already. But stuff happens. If you sell any audios let me know. Lol. Can't wait for a new build in the new truck/ suv.


Ya for sure. But you know what, I'm happy with the decision. I'll be ready to start fresh and be a little less complicated with this build. I already have a plan as a matter of fact. Things have gone from an Expedition or Tahoe to a Suburban. Wife is on board so that's where we're gonna go with it. We've found a couple we really like, but we need to sell the civic first. Should be ready to list it next week. 

So here's my plan. My wife's one concern with the audio portion is the bass if Grace, my boxer, is in the car. I can understand this. However, I don't want to give up low end all the time. So here's what I've come up with. Little diagram! Here, I'll explain and then show the diagram

Front stage still is going to get the 3 way active: Hertz Mille ML280s Tweeters, Hertz Mille ML700 Mid Range, and Hertz Mille ML1600 Mid Bass. Mid Range and Tweeters powered by a Hertz HDP4 (4 channel), and the Mid Bass powered by a Hertz HDP4 (4 channel) bridged. 

Rear doors are going to probably be a set of 6.5" Hertz High Energy Coaxials. The far back pillars, I'm not sure what size they are, but will be coaxials as well. I think they're 4's but may be 5.25's also. Those will be powered by a Hertz HDP5 (5 channel amp) on channels 1 & 2 for the rear doors, and 3 & 4 for the rear pillars. I'll get back to the 5th channel.

Sub stage is gonna go something like this. I'm planning the dual 12's in the back. Dual Hertz HX300D's, one on each side of the rear cargo in custom fiber glassed enclosures. I still don't know if I can get enough room for ported or not, so that remains to be determined. Ported is my preference, but we'll see. Those will be powered by 2 Hertz HDP1 Mono Amps. 1 amp per sub ran at a 2 ohm load for a nice 1000 watts each. The other option with this, if the 12's prove to not work, will be to run dual 10's back there. Same dual 4 ohm subs, so I can run a 2 ohm load. I'd prefer the 12's since I've already got one, but that's never stopped me before! 

So as I said before, my wife was worried about subs in the back. My way of fixing this is to do a secondary sub stage up front. My plan, of now, is to build a center console enclosure for a single 10" sub. Looking to put in a Hertz HX250D sub, same subs that will go in the back if the 12's don't work. Again I'd prefer ported, but I have to figure out if I can get enough air space or not. I also need it to look as stock as possible. I don't want some ungodly box up front. I want to basically mimic the original center console and when the enclosure goes in, it looks like it's original. This will be powered by the Hertz HDP5's 5th channel that I said I'd get back to. That will give me a nice 550 watts at 2 ohms for the sub up front. Should be more than plenty. 

So the idea is when Grace is in the back, the rear sub stage will be turned off, and the front sub stage will stay on. I'll this by putting a switch on the rear sub stage amps. 

Now the signals on this were a little tricky at first. I had a hard time with figuring out how to put 13 channels on a Bit One that only has 8 outputs. Well this is how I did it:

Channels 1 & 2 will go to the tweeters
Channels 3 & 4 will go to the mid range
Channels 5 & 6 will go to the mid bass
Channel 7 will go to the rear door coax as well as the rear pillar coax
Channel 8 will operate the sub stages. 

This will give me volume control over the entire system via the Bit One DRC. Now the only thing I've been thinking about that I may do, is change the 12's to 10's in the back anyway, just to make them all the same and simplify the tuning a bit. But I may not, I don't know yet. The Bit One has some setting abilities, and I'll be adjusting gains and matching the subs via the DD1 and the CC1 (I'll have this by the time I get going with this build) so I think I'll be ok ultimately. I'll also be running remote volume controls off the HDP1's and the HDP5 for the subs to I have independent volume control on them. I'd like to link the two HDP1's so they adjust the same, but I have to check on that. I think if I just splice them in together, I should be ok, but I have to research it a bit still. 

All the amps, 2 HDP4's, 2 HDP1's and the HDP5 will go under the rear seat as of now, I have no idea how much room is under there yet. The Bit One should go under there as well. If there's not enough room I'll figure something else out when I have the ride! 

So with all that said, here's the diagram, hopefully it shows up well enough. It's on MS Paint:










So that's the idea now. I have the front stage, the two HDP4's, one HX300D, and I should have the HDP1 on the way soon since they just got the HDP5 delivered for exchange. So the list of things I'll need to finish this would be the following:

1 - Hertz HX300D sub 
1 - Hertz HX250D sub
1 - Hertz HDP1 
1 - Hertz HDP5
2 - Hertz High Energy Coaxials
1 - H/O Alternator
2 - XS Power Batteries

The tablet plan is still ago. I found out I will have enough room to do it in a suburban, so I'm sticking with that plan. Not sure how much will be effected if I get an LTZ or LT, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I think the Alpine unit is a no go, but we'll have to wait and see on that. I also think the kindle custom project won't happen either. I'll most likely be getting a second HD monitor, and do head rest monitors with those off the tablet instead. 

So these are all plans and ideas I have, and no I don't even have the suv yet. However, you can't blame a guy for wanting to be ready right! LOL! I'm sure a lot of this might change once I have my hands on the vehicle and find whatever obstacles are in there. I'll deal with that when I have to. 

So that's all for this thread I think. I'll keep it as a soundboard now, but when the new vehicle is chosen, I'll start a new one and the building will be on! Thanks to all for supporting me, and for always checking this out. It's much appreciated as always. Thanks!


----------



## Yuck.

scooter99 said:


> This was in response to my other forum. I thought i'd post it here and fill everyone in on what's going on!
> 
> 
> 
> Ya for sure. But you know what, I'm happy with the decision. I'll be ready to start fresh and be a little less complicated with this build. I already have a plan as a matter of fact. Things have gone from an Expedition or Tahoe to a Suburban. Wife is on board so that's where we're gonna go with it. We've found a couple we really like, but we need to sell the civic first. Should be ready to list it next week.
> 
> So here's my plan. My wife's one concern with the audio portion is the bass if Grace, my boxer, is in the car. I can understand this. However, I don't want to give up low end all the time. So here's what I've come up with. Little diagram! Here, I'll explain and then show the diagram
> 
> Front stage still is going to get the 3 way active: Hertz Mille ML280s Tweeters, Hertz Mille ML700 Mid Range, and Hertz Mille ML1600 Mid Bass. Mid Range and Tweeters powered by a Hertz HDP4 (4 channel), and the Mid Bass powered by a Hertz HDP4 (4 channel) bridged.
> 
> Rear doors are going to probably be a set of 6.5" Hertz High Energy Coaxials. The far back pillars, I'm not sure what size they are, but will be coaxials as well. I think they're 4's but may be 5.25's also. Those will be powered by a Hertz HDP5 (5 channel amp) on channels 1 & 2 for the rear doors, and 3 & 4 for the rear pillars. I'll get back to the 5th channel.
> 
> Sub stage is gonna go something like this. I'm planning the dual 12's in the back. Dual Hertz HX300D's, one on each side of the rear cargo in custom fiber glassed enclosures. I still don't know if I can get enough room for ported or not, so that remains to be determined. Ported is my preference, but we'll see. Those will be powered by 2 Hertz HDP1 Mono Amps. 1 amp per sub ran at a 2 ohm load for a nice 1000 watts each. The other option with this, if the 12's prove to not work, will be to run dual 10's back there. Same dual 4 ohm subs, so I can run a 2 ohm load. I'd prefer the 12's since I've already got one, but that's never stopped me before!
> 
> So as I said before, my wife was worried about subs in the back. My way of fixing this is to do a secondary sub stage up front. My plan, of now, is to build a center console enclosure for a single 10" sub. Looking to put in a Hertz HX250D sub, same subs that will go in the back if the 12's don't work. Again I'd prefer ported, but I have to figure out if I can get enough air space or not. I also need it to look as stock as possible. I don't want some ungodly box up front. I want to basically mimic the original center console and when the enclosure goes in, it looks like it's original. This will be powered by the Hertz HDP5's 5th channel that I said I'd get back to. That will give me a nice 550 watts at 2 ohms for the sub up front. Should be more than plenty.
> 
> So the idea is when Grace is in the back, the rear sub stage will be turned off, and the front sub stage will stay on. I'll this by putting a switch on the rear sub stage amps.
> 
> Now the signals on this were a little tricky at first. I had a hard time with figuring out how to put 13 channels on a Bit One that only has 8 outputs. Well this is how I did it:
> 
> Channels 1 & 2 will go to the tweeters
> Channels 3 & 4 will go to the mid range
> Channels 5 & 6 will go to the mid bass
> Channel 7 will go to the rear door coax as well as the rear pillar coax
> Channel 8 will operate the sub stages.
> 
> This will give me volume control over the entire system via the Bit One DRC. Now the only thing I've been thinking about that I may do, is change the 12's to 10's in the back anyway, just to make them all the same and simplify the tuning a bit. But I may not, I don't know yet. The Bit One has some setting abilities, and I'll be adjusting gains and matching the subs via the DD1 and the CC1 (I'll have this by the time I get going with this build) so I think I'll be ok ultimately. I'll also be running remote volume controls off the HDP1's and the HDP5 for the subs to I have independent volume control on them. I'd like to link the two HDP1's so they adjust the same, but I have to check on that. I think if I just splice them in together, I should be ok, but I have to research it a bit still.
> 
> All the amps, 2 HDP4's, 2 HDP1's and the HDP5 will go under the rear seat as of now, I have no idea how much room is under there yet. The Bit One should go under there as well. If there's not enough room I'll figure something else out when I have the ride!
> 
> So with all that said, here's the diagram, hopefully it shows up well enough. It's on MS Paint:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So that's the idea now. I have the front stage, the two HDP4's, one HX300D, and I should have the HDP1 on the way soon since they just got the HDP5 delivered for exchange. So the list of things I'll need to finish this would be the following:
> 
> 1 - Hertz HX300D sub
> 1 - Hertz HX250D sub
> 1 - Hertz HDP1
> 1 - Hertz HDP5
> 2 - Hertz High Energy Coaxials
> 1 - H/O Alternator
> 2 - XS Power Batteries
> 
> The tablet plan is still ago. I found out I will have enough room to do it in a suburban, so I'm sticking with that plan. Not sure how much will be effected if I get an LTZ or LT, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I think the Alpine unit is a no go, but we'll have to wait and see on that. I also think the kindle custom project won't happen either. I'll most likely be getting a second HD monitor, and do head rest monitors with those off the tablet instead.
> 
> So these are all plans and ideas I have, and no I don't even have the suv yet. However, you can't blame a guy for wanting to be ready right! LOL! I'm sure a lot of this might change once I have my hands on the vehicle and find whatever obstacles are in there. I'll deal with that when I have to.
> 
> So that's all for this thread I think. I'll keep it as a soundboard now, but when the new vehicle is chosen, I'll start a new one and the building will be on! Thanks to all for supporting me, and for always checking this out. It's much appreciated as always. Thanks!


Is this going to be a show car or a daily? I know you like to do a lot of different stuff, but do yourself a favor and ditch some of these coaxials, like the pillar idea, and the single 10" in the front. That's all just way too much going on at once IMO. I would also improve your choice in amplification. Unless you get crazy Hertz pricing, I would look to other brands, that stuff has taken such a nosedive in quality since they underwent corporate changes.

If your already going to run multiple batteries, why not just get some nice A/B amps and leave (2 wired for stereo sound would be dope) class D amps for the substage? And as for your front stage...maybe you could add some 6 or 8" subs up front, and have the big box on a kill switch? So now you've got your true SQ front stage when you want or need it, improved amplification, and a couple less channels to worry about.


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## scooter99

I'm not after "true sq", just as good as I can get up front and good in back. I have my daughters in my vehicle every day and they lime sound too so that's why the coaxials in the rear doors. While the way back aren't necessary, it would be nice for passengers who do ride back there. 

I already have 3 of the hertz hdp amps, the full front stage, and one sub for the back. I'm not changing equipment anymore, but I'm not gonna mix match it either. It drives me nuts to do that. 

No I think this is the way I'm gonna go. It solves my issues with signals and it makes everyone happy that's riding along. 

I do get what your saying though. Thanks for the suggestion. I am for sure out of the box with most of my stuff. Its not, and probably won't ever be, a show car. However I want it to be show worthy and that's just me being me. I don't want to show it to someone and have it be a bunch of loose wires and crap just placed here or there. It will sound good and it will look good. 

Sorry and let me just add to clarify, the 10 up front will be down firing and hidden. I don't think I said that. 



Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


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## JayinMI

I was just over on mp3car reading about some crazy guy with a Civic putting a Galaxy tab 10.1 in it. I was reading through it (starting on page 18) and suddenly I realized it was you! haha (Different user name over there.)

I am considering trading in the Genesis coupe I have and getting a small hatchback. I was thinking of a GT 8.9 or 10.1 in the dash and was looking at ways to get an optical signal out to my Bitone. 

Out of curiosity, why did you choose the Octava 1.2 piece? Did you look at anything else? I'd probably use the 1.1 piece since I don't need rear video outs.

Are you looking at new or used SUV's?

The inside of the dash on the 2003 and up Expos have a ton of dead open space in them. The newer (2006-up) Tahoes are a little more cramped in the HU cavity.

Bummer about the civic, but looking forward to the new build.

Jay


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## djjonnyb

Hahaaa Scott, haven't lurked this forum for awhile. Damn do this is where the SUV wars were going on?! I knew it ha to be somewhere that you posted about it, ...and knowing the interweb, some geeky noob would make their noobish comments about SUV's. Well here goes my 2¢ from yours truly. I'd say scrape the F-Trucks because there goes the idea of moving fambam from out of town around. Aunty is gonna be in the bed checking out Christmas lights in that Valley Winter, ...brrrrr! Toss her a keg of beer to keep warm if you go this route, ...hahahahaaaa! Interior size I'd go in this accending order, of your three, or actually four choices, ..Tahoe, Pilot (surprise!), [barely] Sequioa, and Expedition. Thyme Tahoe has almost no space behind that 3rd row. So when you pick aunty up, the kids can't come because there's no space behind the 3rd row for more than one suitcase. MPG's on Pilots city is going to see same as V8's conservative city driving. You have a smaller V6 vs the V8's pulling all that junk around. You know from the 8th Forum that when these J engines like any VTEC engine is in VTEC, mpg's drop like a sinking brick! Working at Kuni though, most of the owners say they get 12mpg city (you know how NorCal'ers drive) and usually get pretty decent hwy miles of 22mpg's. The Pilot has a little more at 24 true mpg's on the hwy. So driving conservatively, they're about the same, ...but nail it like a NorCal'er and the V8's gets real thirsty, ...but it's so much fun! Right?! Thinking of your love for sounds, I'd say stay away from a Tahoe. With the other 3 choices, it's possible to build a nice box and still use the 3rd row when needed. It's the Pilots trans mounted engine that gives more space for the interior as to why it's getting a large interior. As for driving, in these tight Valley lots, the Pilot is hands down the easiest to menuver with its tightest turning radius. Exterior looks-wise I'd say they all look great, but the Pilot is geeky unless you go with the '12 revised grill, ...but there goes that from your budget. Speaking of, because people are dumping their V8 SUV's (because they're barely seeing 15mpg (the way these folks drive)) and getting V6's mid-size SUV's, ...the Pilot being with the largest interior, is seeing price hikes. Tahoe looks okay, but with it's cousins the Yukon and Escalade, it quickly seems like the cheap ugly duckling. The Sequioa on our lot is nice, and the only Limited you're going to find in that year range (to fit your budget) with under 100,000 miles, ...and an '03 with 80k, that's awesome! The Expedition I love! I love the great looks and it has the most space of your choices. Obviously though it's going to see the worst mileage even with the most conservative driving. These extended full-size SUV's barely see averages of 13mpg, ...talking to people in service when I was at Kuni, most averaged under 10mpg, ...but you got great looks and all that space!!! Back to about interiors, and I'm not being bias because I'm a Honda nut, but this is because I've worked at Kuni, ...yes the GM's are reliable, but the interiors are still crap! They may look initially good, but I would sit in a $100,000 Escalade ESV Platnium edition and the fit and finish sucked donkey balls. I would adjust the A/C vents and the whole housing unit would joggle in its place. Tap on any of the plastics and they were very thinned gauged and hallow sounding. Not a good thing in this Valley heat. A $100,000 Caddy built crappier than a $15,000 Honda Fit, ...bogus. That's why I left. I just couldn't stand selling a product I saw worth crap. I love the looks of the GM's, but driving my Si to work everyday made me feel guilty taking these customers for a ride on a worthless piece of junk (there's other quirks about the GM's of the last 10yrs.). Ford, well there better interior-wise, but not by much. Reliability though I'd say GM is better, barely though. Sequioa and Pilot, ...you'll see 200,000+ miles without huge maintenance cost, ...well maybe just one or two, but that's about it. Everything is built to last a long time. GM and Ford wants you to hurry up and spend more money to get the economy going. Anyway, there's pro's and con's to all your choices, ...but as a personal friend, I'd say scrap the Tahoe idea. It's third string, not bigger than a Pilot for its uses, and if you're going to work on interior panels, removing them and reinstalling them will make an already shoody interior fit even shoodier.

Btw, Alooooohhaaaa and welcome back!


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## djjonnyb

Sorry don't mind any spelling errors. I'm on the mobile while feeding baby girl. Hahahaaa!


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## scooter99

Thanks for the insight Jonny! I appreciate it. I'll take that all into consideration before we buy anything!


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## IBcivic

He'z back... Aloha!!


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## scooter99

:beerchug: I'd rather be back in paradise! 75 - 84 every day we were there! Now I come home to the EFFING RAIN!! [email protected]!!!! But I'm home, back to the grind, and counting till the next one in July when I float down the river! :laugh:


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## DaCid

WOW........ I just read this thread. It took me two four hour sessions, and I skimmed. Lol.

I like some of these ideas you were coming up with, I'll probably try a few of them out in my car.  

BTW could you tell me where you get your CFV from? That stuff would look beautiful and some inserts I'm putting in my 5th generation civic!


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## DLO13

DaCid said:


> WOW........ I just read this thread. It took me two four hour sessions, and I skimmed. Lol.
> 
> I like some of these ideas you're coming up with, I'll be tuning in for the rest of it.
> 
> BTW could you tell me where you get your CFV from? That stuff would look beautiful and some inserts I'm putting in my 5th generation civic!


didnt u hear? he is done. he gave up, he had too many great thoughts and just decided it was easier to sell the car.


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## scooter99

DLO13 said:


> didnt u hear? he is done. he gave up, he had too many great thoughts and just decided it was easier to sell the car.


Thanks for your input, but that's not it at all actually. I'd love to keep it and go on with the build. Obviously a ton of time and effort and thought went into the build itself. 

However, the actual reason for selling the car is cause my family is growing and the need for a bigger vehicle is greater than the need for a great system. My car is worth more than my wife's car, therefore it's being sold. 

Another build will happen, just don't know when. Sorry to disappoint anyone, truly, but right now my life's needs out weigh my own wants and dreams. 

I'm actually planning a build in my truck right now, simply cause I don't know how long it will take to get another vehicle and what it is we're actually going to get. So I'm in the planning stages of the truck at the moment and when I get that decided I'll be starting a new build log for it. 

However, that all being said, look out for a major MAJOR Hertz/Audison for sale thread coming soon! 

That is all for now!


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## scooter99

DaCid said:


> WOW........ I just read this thread. It took me two four hour sessions, and I skimmed. Lol.
> 
> I like some of these ideas you were coming up with, I'll probably try a few of them out in my car.
> 
> BTW could you tell me where you get your CFV from? That stuff would look beautiful and some inserts I'm putting in my 5th generation civic!


I got my cfv from metro something on ebay. Just get on ebay, do a search for carbon fiber vinyl and look for the one that has Metro watermarked (so to speak) on the pictures.


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## DLO13

DLO13 said:


> didnt u hear? he is done. he gave up, he had too many great thoughts and just decided it was easier to sell the car.


DAMN! i didn't select that sarcasm font!


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## scooter99

DLO13 said:


> DAMN! i didn't select that sarcasm font!


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## trojan fan

What!!!!...the party is coming to an end


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## IBcivic




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## quality_sound

scooter99 said:


>


He was being sarcastic. He knows why the build stopped.


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## scooter99

Oh, ok. I guess I didn't read it right. I just don't want people to think I changed my mind again. It's just life making changes and I have to go with it. 

I am making a change though, BIG TIME. I'm not sure what vehicle we're getting, and I'm not sure what is even going to go in it at this point. So I'm needing the money to pay off cards, help with a down payment etc. I'm going to be selling everything at this point and just starting over fresh! All Hertz, Audison, Audison Connection, etc is going up for sale this weekend. 

I've thought about it over and over and over, and I'm happy with my decision. Clean slate for whatever we get, and fresh canvas for me to work on. 

Thanks for all your support guys!!!


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## scooter99

So it's not on the new vehicle, I thought I'd wait on that cause my wife may not let me get custom with it. I'm not even sure what i'm getting yet. So I decided to swing my focus to starting to restore my truck. Got a build plan started, and a build thread as well. It'll be slow but it'll be. 

I appreciate as always, everyone's support with this build. I know it was just starting to really get interesting, so you can understand my disappointment as well as I understand some of yours from what you've expressed. But don't fret, I'm not going anywhere. For those of you who were following me here, I'm posting up my newest build log for you to follow there as well, if you so desire. 

Again, thank you all for your support in this build, I hope to see you over on the other side soon! 

Scooter - aka Scott

1994 Ford F350 Crew Cab Build Log


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## scooter99

So where did we leave off? Ahh yes, page 70! My quest to get to 100!!! LMAO!

So it looks like we're just gonna sit on the civic for the rest of the loan. 3 more years at least. So what does that mean for the build, well, it continues! Somewhat! New equipment, new plan, but some of the old stuff integrated as well! 

I'm not going to get too far into it now, I need to complete the truck's temp install for the moment. After that, I'll get on this one and fill everyone in on what's going on. 

Some things are going to stay, like the tablet install, and possibly the face plate moving as well. But pretty much that's about it. 

Be patient, as always, I'll get some stuff going on this very very soon!


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## RByers

Can't wait. Lol. I thought the civic was long gone and traded in. Now get back to work on everything.


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## scooter99

Yea I was ready. We were gonna private sell it to get more money out of it, but we decided we could get buy without an suv. So we're gonna keep this at least until it's paid off. Then we'll decided what we wanna do. That'll be three years from now. So for now, I'll get it rollin again!


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## DaCid

The work you did with the carbon fiber vinyl on this ride was fantastic! So good, in fact, that I ended up wrapping some pieces in my car with it! hahah. I will have to stay tuned on here so I can borrow more of your brilliance.


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## scooter99

Thanks! I'm about 99% sure I'll be doing something like that on the dash when the tablet goes in. It'll depend on how it turns out as far as curves and dips and corners etc. I look at my CFV all the time in the car, and I like it more and more all the time!


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## DaCid

Yeah, I have a '95 Civic and I decided to try it on my door inserts. It was a little tricky with all the whoops and corners, but I think it looks really good! Here's a picture of one, and I'm sure I'll find other things to wrap in that stuff. haha


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## scooter99

Those turned out nice. They have actual vinyl too you can find on ebay. It's not a sticker like some of the stuff out there, it's basically vinyl with the CF look to it. Is that what you used there?


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## DaCid

No, I used the sticker style on the panels, but if they ever need to be redone, or if I do other panels where I would prefer the actual vinyl then I'll purchase some of that.

The sticky vinyl worked well on them though, and looks totally normal on them.


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## scooter99

Ya that's what I use, and I like it. I was thinking about using the glue on vinyl though on the rear deck and some other spots, but I may just use this stuff. I've already got the theme going, might as well stick with it.


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## scooter99

Ok so to kick this bish off, I got some new parts today. Nothing big, but lets see what the mailman delivered to me today! 

Not a very big package. 









What is this some kind of joke!?!









Well I have to say they were wrapped up really well! 









Mmmmmm volt meter candy!









Front and Back









So I got two cause I wasn't sure if I would get a difference in hooking them up one to the alternator, and one to the sub amp. I thought maybe I'd see different settings. Besides that, they were cheap enough, that if I can't run them that way, or won't see a difference, then I can use one for the truck! 

But this will help me in continuing the tablet install. 

That's all for now!


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## scooter99

So a couple people have asked me to fire up the meter so they can see how it looks! 

Here it is in action:









Obviously I need to dial it in, but you can see how it looks. I think it's very subtle. Not too bight and yet still very clear! I like it alot, and it was cheap which is even better!!


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## IBcivic

damn web - sense!


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## scooter99

For you, I'll email it!


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## IBcivic

scooter99 said:


> For you, I'll email it!


Thanx bro


Edit...Screw-you nazi I-T guy


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## IBcivic

Very nice, mang!


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## scooter99

Ya I don't know what I'd do if they ever blocked this stuff here. I'd probably have to actually work or something....nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!


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## RByers

Seen those meters in person before. Seem to work well. Plus it's nice having the extra .xx even though it's not needed. And one on your alt and one on the amps is great to have. You just never know.


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## scooter99

Ok guys, final design time! I decided to go 4th order, through the rear seat pass through. Check it out. 

First here's the Torres Numbers

Ported









Sealed









Front view









Rear view, what you'd see from the back seat









Driver side side view, nothing really to see here.









Passenger side view, with the sides hidden. See how the amp rack is set up, and the port in the rear section.









Obviously I have no batteries in there, and I don't have the rear fill amp in there either. My plan for those? 

Batteries, will go in the cubby on one side, and I'll go to two in the rear and a single larger one up front. The rear fill amp will go in the other side cubby. 

One other option would be to put the batteries in the spare well, which would still give me my space in the trunk, which I loose significantly by using the cubbies. Then the rear fill amp would go in the rear deck along with the components in a custom mount. The amp is only 10"L x 8'W x 2"D. So that won't be an issue. I could center it and it would look fine with the comps flanking it on either side. 

What do you guys think!?! I had a buddy of mine from another forum help me with the numbers! He thinks it could get really musical. If I want to get lower, then I'll do another port to get to between 12 - 14 cu in per foot, and tune to between 38 - 40hz. Right now I'll start with this. 

I'm excited to get this started!!


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## FrankstonCarAudio

I'm 53 years old.. am I going to see this build finished (or even started again!) in my lifetime?
Less discussion and sketching.. just get on with it!


Mark


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## IBcivic

GIT 'ER DONE!
C'mon man, quit teasing and start makin' some MDF dust.

I like the latest design, BTW


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## scooter99

I know guys! I know! It's killing me too. 

Probably going to be using birch though not MDF. Lighter and stronger! I'm hoping that I can go get some wood this weekend.


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## trojan fan

FrankstonCarAudio said:


> I'm 53 years old.. am I going to see this build finished (or even started again!) in my lifetime?
> Less discussion and sketching.. just get on with it!
> 
> 
> Mark





IBcivic said:


> GIT 'ER DONE!
> C'mon man, quit teasing and start makin' some MDF dust.
> 
> I like the latest design, BTW



EXACTLY!!!!!...x3.......:beerchug:

:snacks:


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## trojan fan

WOW!!!! ...This thread has been viewed over 100,000 times and we have yet to see the end results


C'mon Scooter we are pulling for you


Like IBcivic said "GET-R-DONE"!!!!


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## DaCid

I know you will be making this setup up perfect, and that you won't settle for less. Just give us the real project, lets stop playing around with "temp" setups.  

You can do it! You can do it all night long!


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## simplicityinsound

Bring it to the meet.on sat...we will finish it there for ya lol 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2


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## trojan fan

simplicityinsound said:


> Bring it to the meet.on sat...we will finish it there for ya lol
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2



:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:


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## DaCid

trojan fan said:


> :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:


x2! :idea:


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## scooter99

simplicityinsound said:


> Bring it to the meet.on sat...we will finish it there for ya lol
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2


I didn't know there was a meet this weekend. Thanks for stopping in Bing. I guess it serious when I have you offering to help! :blush: 

I'll be in the bay area this weekend but not for the meet unfortunately. I'm taking my daughters and a group of friends to Discovery Kingdom on Saturday and my nephew who's in the Navy is getting deployed or stationed in Japan for 4 years, so we're having a going away bbq in Livermore Sunday. But between there I'm hoping to get some ply wood and get some stuff laid out, or maybe even start cutting. 

Trust me, I want this done. It's not easy to plan a build, build it and go with it when you don't know if you're keeping the car or not. Especially a custom build. 

Again, thanks for stopping by Bing. I appreciate your offerings.


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## trojan fan

Are you putting the Ford truck build on hold


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## sydmonster

keeping it??


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## scooter99

At this point it looks like we're keeping it, but that can always change at a moments notice. 

The truck's full build is getting put on hold but the temporary build is going to get finished. Matter of fact I'm updating it right now. When that part gets done, I'll get back on the car and go full on till the car is done. When the car is done, the truck build will be on but I'll need to replace equipment I'm using for the car build. 

Clear as mud!? Ok.


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## trojan fan

scooter99 said:


> At this point it looks like we're keeping it, but that can always change at a moments notice.
> 
> The truck's full build is getting put on hold but the temporary build is going to get finished. Matter of fact I'm updating it right now. When that part gets done, I'll get back on the car and go full on till the car is done. When the car is done, the truck build will be on but I'll need to replace equipment I'm using for the car build.
> 
> Clear as mud!? Ok.


.....


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## scooter99

Ok well I'm sure I'm gonna get criticized for this, but that's life and that's the way it goes! My wife an I have decided to go ahead and go through with selling this. At least try. If after a month, we can't sell it, then we'll keep it and pay it off. But we've decided it's a good time for us to try and sell it at least. So it's good news and bad news. Bad being that this isn't going to happen, at least for a month or so if at all, and the good news is, I can move forward with the truck build. So there it is! This thread is officially done! If it starts up again, at that point, I'll do a new thread, but for now, I'm done. Thanks for following, thanks for supporting, and thanks in general. I hope you'll join me on the ride to getting the truck built! I should have more progress on that this Wednesday! 

Thanks for tuning in!


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## trojan fan

One day when i was a little kid, my father knocked on the bathroom door and told me to "**** or get off the pot"...I guess at the time i must of been constipated, but didn't know it


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## scooter99

:inout:


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