# 2018 Honda Accord - Simple Yet Effective



## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Hey guys, another build in the books. This one was pretty quick. Some of you may remember this thread..

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...se-equipment-my-car/384178-do-i-need-dsp.html

Thankfully, John put his faith in my and let me have a go at the install. He dropped his car off and hung out at the shop this past saturday with me and a few other customers of mine checking out their cars, talking, etc etc. It was fun. The goal for this build was make it as budget friendly as possible, while getting the most out of it in terms of SQ and leave room for possible upgrades. Equipment list as follows.

SB Acoustics SB17CRC35-4 Mids
SEAS Prestige 27TAFNC/G Tweeters
Zapco ST-6X SQ
ST-500XM II
Audiofrog G12 subwoofer
Helix DSP.2

For anyone wondering, this is the base model radio without a subwoofer or amplifier. The front left and right speaker level signal was grabbed and needed some input eq correction on the low end as there was a high pass filter applied. The rear speakers also had a high pass, so i didnt bother using those as the front speakers are what get bluetooth, chimes, and prompts. 


Heres John's new baby..























I'm always surprised every time i use the SB17's. Very good for their price. Although this was my first time using the carbon cone version. 















After routing out some baffles that matched the oem speaker brackets, the mids were installed and the doors were fully sealed and deadened. After that, closed cell foam was applied, along with closed cell foam rings around the mids to couple them to the cabin. 47uF caps were also installed to protect the tweeters.










































Main power wire and fuse holder.















All RCA's and speaker wire labeled. Its the small things in life.















Amp rack all wired up and ready to be installed. Unfortunately didnt have any carpet that matched the oem color on hand. Would have ordered it but this car was only here for a couple days.















Audiofrog G12 and amp rack all in place and wired up. Like all things Audiofrog, im very surprised with the G12's performance. Great sounding subwoofer for around the $200 or less price range.


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## Truthunter (Jun 15, 2015)

Trailblazing on the new Accord... Nice!


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## casey (Dec 4, 2006)

Nice setup, similar to what I am looking to achieve in my 06 accord

Using 4 ch on the 6 bridged to the mids?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

casey said:


> Nice setup, similar to what I am looking to achieve in my 06 accord
> 
> Using 4 ch on the 6 bridged to the mids?


yes sir.


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## Patriot83 (May 10, 2017)

Nice looking install.

Did he get the full benefits of the dsp with keeping the stock HU?


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

My goodness, I love this car!!!! 

Nice, simple build on this. 

You said you grabbed the signal off the OEM radio's front outputs and had to do some EQ to them thanks to the HPF used. What exactly did you do and how flat were you able to get the signal? Any graphics from when you measured the outputs showing before/after? And finally, given you had to increase the output via DSP did you have any issue getting enough clean voltage out to properly power the sub? (factoring in cabin gain will help the output, I know, but I'm asking from a signal-only perspective) 

I'm curious about this because I am legitimately planning on getting this car next year so having this kind of information would be useful info.


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## Salami (Oct 10, 2007)

ErinH said:


> My goodness, I love this car!!!!
> 
> Nice, simple build on this.
> 
> ...



/\/\/\/\/\
Yeah what Erin said. I was eyeballing one the same color pretty hard a couple of weeks ago.


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## Johnmazurek (Feb 5, 2018)

This is my car and I am really happy with the final product. Nick was great and spent a good amount of time with me on the phone and in person answering all my questions (and I had a lot of them). This is my first system and it exceeded my expectations. So happy I didn't go to all the local shops that were just looking to throw some speakers and amps in the car, not really worrying about sound quality. Most of the other shops told me i didnt need a dsp and didnt even mention sound deadening. All but 1 shop told me i could drop the car off in the morning and it would be completed the same day where Nick was upfront and told me it would take a few days. Nick was more interested in taking his time and doing the job right. In the end it was worth the 75 mile trip each way plus rental car.
THANKS NICK!!!!


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Patriot83 said:


> Nice looking install.
> 
> Did he get the full benefits of the dsp with keeping the stock HU?


regardless of the source, a dsp will always be a great tool to help make things sound much better than without one. In this case, it really helped because the helix has input eq which was needed to correct a high pass filter






ErinH said:


> My goodness, I love this car!!!!
> 
> Nice, simple build on this.
> 
> ...


was waiting for you lol. So this version of the car had the bare bones system in it. 2 pairs of "components" (mid ran full range, tweeter parallel with a cap in line). front and rear. unfortunately i didnt take any full measurements. I didnt bother since it was such a basic factory system that i figured at most, there would be a high pass filter. After checking with my DMM and some tones, i was correct. with X volume on the knob, i measured about 11.5 volts at 1khz. 100hz was about 9.5 volts if i remember correctly. 30hz was at 4.5 volts. both front and rear matched. I grabbed front because the rear didnt play bluetooth convos or chimes or prompts.


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## casey (Dec 4, 2006)

Im thinking(hoping) I get a good full range signal to the 6x9 in the rear deck of my accord for when I want to use CD's or radio. If not, I assume I may need to do something similar. Did you just do a shelf filter on the input eq to try and get the signal flat? If so did you have a rhyme/reason to how you arrived at the one you used or was it try it, measure at the lower freq and then readjust as needed?


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

SkizeR said:


> was waiting for you lol. So this version of the car had the bare bones system in it. 2 pairs of "components" (mid ran full range, tweeter parallel with a cap in line). front and rear. unfortunately i didnt take any full measurements. I didnt bother since it was such a basic factory system that i figured at most, there would be a high pass filter. After checking with my DMM and some tones, i was correct. with X volume on the knob, i measured about 11.5 volts at 1khz. 100hz was about 9.5 volts if i remember correctly. 30hz was at 4.5 volts. both front and rear matched. I grabbed front because the rear didnt play bluetooth convos or chimes or prompts.


Understood.

What model is this vehicle? Looks like the sport ... 1.5L?

Might be worth looking in to if this one has the ability to disable the DSP like the previous gen offered on some of their higher trim levels.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Johnmazurek said:


> This is my car and I am really happy with the final product. Nick was great and spent a good amount of time with me on the phone and in person answering all my questions (and I had a lot of them). This is my first system and it exceeded my expectations. So happy I didn't go to all the local shops that were just looking to throw some speakers and amps in the car, not really worrying about sound quality. Most of the other shops told me i didnt need a dsp and didnt even mention sound deadening. All but 1 shop told me i could drop the car off in the morning and it would be completed the same day where Nick was upfront and told me it would take a few days. Nick was more interested in taking his time and doing the job right. In the end it was worth the 75 mile trip each way plus rental car.
> THANKS NICK!!!!


Welcome to the addiction!... I mean... hobby. 

Looks like you have a really great 1st system. Just enough to wanting to upgrade again down the line. 

Nice car, btw! I love these new Accords. I came extremely close to buying one a couple months ago; down to the point of visiting the sales guy I did business with last time. But I decided to give myself another year and maybe pick up a 2018 at the end of this year/early next year. 

Not sure if you were aware, but there's a meet in North Carolina in a few weeks. If you're down for a drive you'd surely have a fun time. I think Nick is going as well. Here's a link:
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...q-meet-6-8-april-2018-near-greensboro-nc.html


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

casey said:


> Im thinking(hoping) I get a good full range signal to the 6x9 in the rear deck of my accord for when I want to use CD's or radio. If not, I assume I may need to do something similar. Did you just do a shelf filter on the input eq to try and get the signal flat? If so did you have a rhyme/reason to how you arrived at the one you used or was it try it, measure at the lower freq and then readjust as needed?


actually, another member here pointed out in another thread that when using shelf filters in the input eq on the helix, it crashes when adjusting q. so i just did a parametric band at 25 hz with a q of i think 1.5 and just boosted it 6db. when i go into the shop tomorrow i can post before/after of the subwoofer response. it wasnt even really that rolled off due to cabin gain. was a 5db rise from 25hz to 80hz. input eq got it flat, then some cutting to adjust tonality


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

ErinH said:


> Welcome to the addiction!... I think Nick is going as well.


stop peer pressuring me :laugh:


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## D34dl1fter (Jun 23, 2016)

Simple, nice look, and effective...great job nick...

John enjoy it...was nice meeting ya and getting to talk with ya for a bit at the shop and the short ride to enterprise to drop ya off...might as well schedule the next appoinment LOL...3 way....sub off to the side in that huge trunk space...nick can fully lay out in the trunk...I witnessed it....sweet looking car that now sounds infinitely better...win win!


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## D34dl1fter (Jun 23, 2016)

SkizeR said:


> stop peer pressuring me :laugh:


You're going.....


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

D34dl1fter said:


> 3 way....sub off to the side in that huge trunk space...nick can fully lay out in the trunk...I witnessed it.


the trunk in this car is a fabricators dream canvas :laugh:


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## Johnmazurek (Feb 5, 2018)

Nice meeting you too and thanks for the ride. Nick already ran some speaker wire for a 3 way set up. He must know something I dont.lol 
will probably enjoy the current set up for a while but I will probably be back


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Johnmazurek said:


> Nice meeting you too and thanks for the ride. Nick already ran some speaker wire for a 3 way set up. He must know something I dont.lol
> will probably enjoy the current set up for a while but I will probably be back


i'll give it 3 weeks before i get "that" text message. taking bets now. :laugh:


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## D34dl1fter (Jun 23, 2016)

SkizeR said:


> i'll give it 3 weeks before i get "that" text message. taking bets now. :laugh:


You lost the last bet, right Ben?


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## D34dl1fter (Jun 23, 2016)

Johnmazurek said:


> Nice meeting you too and thanks for the ride. Nick already ran some speaker wire for a 3 way set up. He must know something I dont.lol
> will probably enjoy the current set up for a while but I will probably be back


You're hooked brother....I know how this goes...repeat after me...Hi my name is John and im addicted to car audio...

Seriously though nice car brother...and you really did just jump down the rabbit hole lol


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## HeyWaj10 (Nov 14, 2011)

Awesome work, Nick - great to see that even the "simple/clean" installs can come out so well on a budget!


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## Jeffdachefz (Sep 14, 2016)

Glad to see Legit installs done with love and care are still alive and well nowadays. John will have LOADS of field days driving to work along with showing off to friends, family and coworkers. 

Heck, if you ever have free time John, go to those shops that said you dont need a dsp to sound good and give them a demo. Its pretty fun seeing their priceless faces.


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

Awesome, As mick knows I got an accord with the sb17s and dsp.2. Was the SB17 able to reach the Seas tweets?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

dcfis said:


> Awesome, As mick knows I got an accord with the sb17s and dsp.2. Was the SB17 able to reach the Seas tweets?


Yup. Wasn't an issue at all

Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

Awesome, How high did you take them?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

dcfis said:


> Awesome, How high did you take them?


2700hz

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## boe_d (Mar 10, 2018)

Thanks for the detailed photos - this is the first audio upgrade I've seen on the 2018 Accord.

1 Thing I'd love to know about the accord audio as I just got one -

1. Can I leave the subwoofer connected to the anc if I don't change it out even if I run the front speakers through an add in amp?


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## boe_d (Mar 10, 2018)

ErinH said:


> Might be worth looking in to if this one has the ability to disable the DSP like the previous gen offered on some of their higher trim levels.


Does anyone know if this is possible? I have the EX-L and this might make my upgrade easier.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

boe_d said:


> Thanks for the detailed photos - this is the first audio upgrade I've seen on the 2018 Accord.
> 
> 1 Thing I'd love to know about the accord audio as I just got one -
> 
> 1. Can I leave the subwoofer connected to the anc if I don't change it out even if I run the front speakers through an add in amp?


i dont see why not. but if you get some strange noises coming from them, you know what the issue is


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## boe_d (Mar 10, 2018)

SkizeR said:


> i dont see why not. but if you get some strange noises coming from them, you know what the issue is


Thanks - I'm a total noob but I thought I read the ANC only was tied to the subwoofer. I could be wrong.


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## mumbles (Jul 26, 2010)

@Johnmazurek or @SkizeR

Curious as to what drove the decision on the aluminum Prestige tweets over the textile dome?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

mumbles said:


> @Johnmazurek or @SkizeR
> 
> Curious as to what drove the decision on the aluminum Prestige tweets over the textile dome?


Textile was on backorder. Other than that, the dome material and grill is the only difference. They sounded good

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## Sulley (Dec 8, 2008)

Amazing work. Love these kind of builds, Hope to see more of them.

What CCF do you use, is it adhesive backed?


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## jamesjones (Mar 8, 2007)

Are those custom made RCAs or?


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## adrianp89 (Oct 14, 2007)

How did you mount amp rack? I would be concerned with all the weight on the seat.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

adrianp89 said:


> How did you mount amp rack? I would be concerned with all the weight on the seat.


Thick sheet metal screws into the frame that goes all around the back of the seat.


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## TerryGreen5986 (Jun 23, 2017)

Wiring is so clean on this, makes me want to rip out mine and get it done all over. Nice work! 


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## adrianp89 (Oct 14, 2007)

SkizeR said:


> Thick sheet metal screws into the frame that goes all around the back of the seat.


I have my own concerns about this over time. I have seen single amplifiers come loose (this could be part of customer abuse with the car and slamming the seat though). That seems like a lot of weight, probably no concern if he keeps the seat up most 99% of the time. I am guilty of this at least once a week, however with how high-end your work is, I would want to ensure this could never happen. Of course, options are extremely limited here. Not bashing the job as it looks great, just some food for thought.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

adrianp89 said:


> I have my own concerns about this over time. I have seen single amplifiers come loose (this could be part of customer abuse with the car and slamming the seat though). That seems like a lot of weight, probably no concern if he keeps the seat up most 99% of the time. I am guilty of this at least once a week, however with how high-end your work is, I would want to ensure this could never happen. Of course, options are extremely limited here. Not bashing the job as it looks great, just some food for thought.


Trust me, it aint going anywhere. The frame of the seat in this car was extremely thick and getting the screws through was a job of its own. I also don't see any other options considering johns needs/wants. Any ideas?

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## Eskimo (Jan 13, 2008)

Maybe a dab of silicone on the screw threads as they're driven in?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Eskimo said:


> Maybe a dab of silicone on the screw threads as they're driven in?


Way ahead of you. Locktite 

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## falcon (Feb 3, 2016)

SkizeR said:


> Trust me, it aint going anywhere. The frame of the seat in this car was extremely thick and getting the screws through was a job of its own. I also don't see any other options considering johns needs/wants. Any ideas?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk


In my 2013 Accord, I screwed a piece of wood under the carpet on the left side of the trunk (in the indented part) to a piece of metal that supports the body. That metal is thinner than the seat frame. I then screwed my P-Six to that piece of wood. Three years and 35,000 miles later it hasn't budged.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

falcon said:


> In my 2013 Accord, I screwed a piece of wood under the carpet on the left side of the trunk (in the indented part) to a piece of metal that supports the body. That metal is thinner than the seat frame. I then screwed my P-Six to that piece of wood. Three years and 35,000 miles later it hasn't budged.


Yeah, with the right screws and red loctite, it aint going anywhere. 

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## txsound (Jan 22, 2014)

Very Nice Install!


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## adrianp89 (Oct 14, 2007)

Locktite, or something of that nature would have been my suggestion. If the carpet can be pulled up, as someone mentioned, wood would work well... but at that point you probably would be able to use a bolt/nut, which would be the ideal IMO. I imagine with LockTite it should be fine, good call!


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## JH1973 (Apr 21, 2017)

This is virtually the same gear I'll be installing in a 2011 Terrain.How does the front stage sound with the SB's and Seas?


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## mrichard89 (Sep 29, 2016)

Love the simplicity of this build. Hope to pick up a new accord for my wife very soon!

Matt


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## mrichard89 (Sep 29, 2016)

Nick, where do you plan to put the mids if you end up going with a 3-way front stage? I've given some thought to putting a 2-3" mid in the pillars and keeping the tweeter in the stock sail panel. Thanks in advance.

Matt


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

mrichard89 said:


> Nick, where do you plan to put the mids if you end up going with a 3-way front stage? I've given some thought to putting a 2-3" mid in the pillars and keeping the tweeter in the stock sail panel. Thanks in advance.
> 
> Matt


they would go in the pillars


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## mrichard89 (Sep 29, 2016)

Nick, was there plenty of room in the door for mounting that mid? The door itself doesn't look very deep, so I was wondering if you had any trouble mounting the mid in the door.

Mat


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

mrichard89 said:


> Nick, was there plenty of room in the door for mounting that mid? The door itself doesn't look very deep, so I was wondering if you had any trouble mounting the mid in the door.
> 
> Mat


we didnt have any trouble but from what i remember there wasnt much room left for a deeper driver.


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## Reyne (May 18, 2010)

Awesome job. What's your opinion of the SB CRC drivers for a 2 way setup ?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Reyne said:


> Awesome job. What's your opinion of the SB CRC drivers for a 2 way setup ?


i liked em


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## evli one (Dec 5, 2008)

Dang if only I was closer, I can't stand the sound of my 2018 2.0 sport. Great work


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## evli one (Dec 5, 2008)

Is a setup like this able to be loud while being clear or is it more of a sq system? excuse the possible stupid question. also did you get rid of the rear speakers?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

evli one said:


> Is a setup like this able to be loud while being clear or is it more of a sq system? excuse the possible stupid question. also did you get rid of the rear speakers?


loud or not is going to be subjective. But this setup was more than capable enough in the overall output department to satisfy almost anyone who hasnt stuck multiple bullet tweeters in their doors in the past lol. Rear speakers were disabled.


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## evli one (Dec 5, 2008)

Thanks for the response, im thinking about a setup like this for my accord. Was the underside of the rear deck a possible location for the amps?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

evli one said:


> Thanks for the response, im thinking about a setup like this for my accord. Was the underside of the rear deck a possible location for the amps?


Hmm, I didnt really look in that area since I didnt have to really do anything with the rear deck so it's hard to say

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## Bronson863 (Oct 3, 2014)

Where is the build and pictures? I only see like 5 posts


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## S6Per (May 22, 2016)

Bronson863 said:


> Where is the build and pictures? I only see like 5 posts




The site is all jacked up again...happening in many places.


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## Bronson863 (Oct 3, 2014)

Are you on FB or IG?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Bronson863 said:


> Are you on FB or IG?


Www.facebook.com/apicellaautosound

IG: @apicella.auto.sound

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## Mless5 (Aug 21, 2006)

Nice pics on Insta guy!


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Mless5 said:


> Nice pics on Insta guy!


Thanks Igor


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## Bronson863 (Oct 3, 2014)

????


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

SkizeR said:


> Trust me, it aint going anywhere. The frame of the seat in this car was extremely thick and getting the screws through was a job of its own. I also don't see any other options considering johns needs/wants. Any ideas?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk


Rivnuts and Machine bolts?

Jay


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

JayinMI said:


> Rivnuts and Machine bolts?
> 
> 
> 
> Jay


I dont rhink those are as strong as what we used. Speaking of which, this car cane back to the shop today to swap the sb17 mids for the Audiofrog GS60. 

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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

This build has since been updated 



http://imgur.com/a/mO1KZip


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## lucas569 (Apr 17, 2007)

this car came out incredible! Did you use the AX-DSP-HON2 AXXESS T-Harness? These are now impossible to find. Been discontinued....


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