# 98 Honda Accord, from Aus!



## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

G'day DIY gang. Thought I'd share this build I started a while ago....
its a bit of a story so be patient with me ...

*sigh...
why sigh? well... told myself that I wouldn't do an install thread. However several people have asked, poked and pressured, so why not?

I'll "try" not to write too much and let the pics do most of the talking. However some things may need explaining as I haven't exactly followed the usual path for this build. As this is pretty much one giant experiment. Also that Im not a pro/paid installer, however this isn't my first system.

*Primary Goal:* Improve stereo over factory p.o.s.

Secondary:
Make car quieter to drive

Allow weight increase of car <5%

Semi stealth OEM look/feel: focus on dash & minimalist*
*reviewed and changed during beginning of section 2 after listening trials.
Instead allow for a full custom dash & make it seem like a car audio focused vehicle.

Allow cutting of metal & customizing as needed

SQ orientated front stage

Deep and low* subwoofer stage
*response

Use as much used/2nd hand equipment as possible
*
Vehicle:*
98 Honda Accord V6. Factory full optioned. This is the U.S built Accord but with Aus spec Right Hand Drive and JDM like lights all round.





































*Layout:*
3-way active front stage (aprox from 50Hz to 20Khz+ aprox)
Active Sub (from 50Hz down to roll off)

*Equipment:*

Source : CD/Tuner head unit(s) – choices & or combinations of 9887 Alpine or CD45z Nakamichi or Eclipse 7200MkII or Alpine 5903s; all used items (+ CD - stacker to suit 9887)

Amplification: Combination of "ol school" amplifiers (used) from brands as PPi, P.G, R.F, Earthquake, Orion etc









Drivers:
HAT L1V2 tweeters drivers (new)
HAT L3 mid range drivers (used)
no-name mid bass driver (new) *standing for HAT L8's or HAT L6's 
Subwoofer, either Acoustic Elagenace AE15IB or Mach5 IXL18, these are primarily IB focused (new)



Cabling: some custom & off shelf (used & new)
Power cable is KnuConcepts 0ga & 4ga
RCA cabling is custom made with stranded Cat6 cabling custom wired
Speaker cabling is 14ga for all except woofer, being 8ga.

Noise treatment:
External noise reduction & deadening as needed (used, borrowed & stolen)
Focus in minimal stick on deadning and liberal use of underlays, wadding fill and MLV's. Some brush on products and some silicone fillers.

*Installation*

Part one - Interior treatment & preparation/customisation

Remove sunroof & factory headliner. Cleanup guttering & service moving of sunroof whilst out









Clean metal roof


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Add Dynamat deadner, only one layer can be applied to clear small gap to factory sunroof. *note if you can have choice, car without the sunroof, better option for serious car audio


















Pull wadding into cavities. Wadding is packed in tight, idea is help reduce noise transfer and have a constant pressure to help reduce vibration (minimal on both counts) Rather than traditional fills that can break up or fall out over time.









Dynamat all other areas & more wadding in the front section too.










Cover roof-side of factory head lining with a carpet underlay, adds noise suppression and helps reflect heat (aussie sun)









Next remove all seating and dash board.

















*sorry jono...


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

-Next fabricate custom bracketing & mounting to equal if not better specs than factory, for front seats. Seats now 2"s each closer to the center of vehicle and travel back further ½ inch. This is to assist in tuning for 2-seat listening and PLD.




































Seats can be returned to normal position at any time, all original parts kept & no factory bolts/threads removed.
**see below for more description on this.

These photos show just how much closer the two seats are. All functions are retained, including full electronic adjustment of drivers seat, seat belt points etc.



















***Allow me to explain re the seats. The seat mounts on the front are made from cold rolled zinc plated steel and double bolted as the secondary bolts are tapped in to both the steel bar AND the factory truss, same load is now spread over twice the amount of clamping area. The rear is 6063 Al 4mm ANGLE, according to supplier its a high count T but I cant verify this... simply because I didn't manufacture it. It flexes less that the original folded sheet metal over the same area. Its similar to what race cars use for fixed-back race seat sub frames.
All bolts are new 8mm hi-tensile and used with large faced washers to load spread. All this is similar to race car bolt in cages/harness/seats I've used in the past race vehicles to exceed pre-2004 CAMS spec (dont bring up post 2004 ). Suffice to say (*my engineering background and) all this allows me to know this is VERY safe and exceeds OEM spec, plus all original seat-belt points are retained.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

*Part 2: Front stage & custom dash*

First, commence measuring and calculations. Focus is on PLD and maximise distance of listener to drivers. Secondary focus on unobstructed path, reflections (hard/soft) and distance to ears from axis/off axis on either seating position.
Lots of listening trials with borrowed small bose life-style speaker & my own home hifi speakers to trial and listen for hard reflections etc. trial different materials for effect on reflections and also different angles, locations and path differences. Also trialling and making note of different seat positions.
Found (like all car audio, compromised to a degree) most efficient position the critical front mid range driver is just below and slightly forward of A-pillar. Preferred this slightly lower height so as not to protrude above factory dash height and keeps PLD under 30cm for each seat 
(27cm for mid. Difference calculated from dummy head ears, placed in centre of head rest, difference is even less for tweet with only 25cm) Higher then dash means PLD is effected and reflection of wind screen can colour the sound more so.
Seats are best as far back, with a reasonable tilt on the backs, not uncomfortable to sit in. But vehicle is hard to drive, as pedals and steering wheel is just on limit of reach for owner (5' 11"). This will be the competition position, with allowed compromise on everyday driving and listening, 
sacrificing a small loss in staging. A second tuning setting (T/A, balance etc) will be stored for the everyday driving position.

Take final measurements and begin construction of front pods.
Take some angle PVC pipe. Heat & mould it to reduce depth so pod can place furthest distance possible from listener and allow place for IB piping*(more later)









Compare to L3 driver (flush fit!)









Make mount from Nylon (kitchen chopping board) and rebate out section to allow maximum air clearance from the back of the cone.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

- This is the custom made mount on the L3 pod; this type of mount will allow the pod to be forever adjustable, so that optimizing position/axis angle can be adjusted (always) to allow for changes in the system and tuning refinements, as time passes. Something that for me needs time and re-adjusting.


















Take a motorcycle mirror, (I sourced K5 GSX-R 1K mirrors so apologies to all gixxer heads for the destruction) brake mirror, cut most of mount off, leave enough to mount to pod. Heat gun & mould to shape. Screw together & hot glue for seal and bond.













































Seal inside & deaden inside pod with brush on deadner. Ruff finish also minimises possibilities of internal reflection.










Finish with flexible hose that will plumb pod to external of vehicle, simulating I.B. and total volume of pod & hose is close to Vas x3 if not more.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Next; commenced fabrication of custom dash. This is experimental for me, inspired by the likes of a few off the top end competition cars.
Idea is to have tweet/mid hidden from view behind speaker cloth. Ideal is to encourage listener/judge to concentrate on sound rather than visual cues/speaker position.
Hence specific position for pods and using the pretrialed positions as described in earlier post. The beauty of these pods is that they aren't fixed in position and can move on axis and forth/back as needed.


















Much of the factory wirring harness is rerouted and additional cable ties used. Extra parts were sourced from a wrecked vehicle to use as moulds or mounting pieces.


















Also from a presentation point & the swing to car audio; the head units are the visual focus pieces. Clearance & ease of access is a focus point.
All a/c & control instrumentation is later moved & rewired to a custom center console.
Factory gauge cluster is ditched, in favour for a removable mini unit, usually used on motorbikes. Again this also had to be custom wired and mounted using the factory harness. More on that later.

During the dash work, custom mounting for the head units (yes more than one) commenced.
Began with trial fit x2 old Din H/Us (from the usual single din in this vehicle)
Customised a pair of steel draw runners and custom mounted them using both the factory & some fabricated mounts.This allows quick exchange of head units as needed. 
It has also cleared as much space as possible behind units with enough room for both hands of a person. 
Both units slide in & out together in one piece and are held by a total of 12 M5 bolts. Also a Nylon substrate was built and bolted with more M5 bolts to the factory sheet metal, to add strength & minimize movement of the factory dash. 
This area isn’t exactly flimsy from factory, but I wanted to minimize chance of it weakening from constant fiddling from the inevitable head unit changes.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

To add something to the looks, a custom bezel was built. An original was sourced from a wrecked Honda, cut down and pieced together with plasti-bond, wood, glue and some steel reinforcement to make a new trim piece the clips into place and then screws in from below. Again focus on the H/U’s. 
The mounting depth is specific so the units sit as flush as possible but still allow proper operation when changing discs. This is a particular concern with the Eclipse 7200MKII and its motorised face.





































Whilst work on the dash continues









and the bezel... close gaps is good.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

- Next bit on the install.
Rear parcel shelf was removed & recovered in gray grill cloth. 
Honda put a non functional 3rd tail light on the shelf up against the window. *wtf??* This was removed as 3rd light is in the factory spoiler.
Rear metal shelf was cleaned and 1 layer of dynamat was stuck down to it. Then a layer of underlay was glued to underside of factory shelf. With all this treatment it just goes on, just.
For bolting it all down, 3x factory 5/16th holes were used that usually hold the baby seat hooks. These bolts as well as the usual factory clips keep the shelf from rattling too much.
Factory speaker grills were reinstalled, this is were the factory (large 6x9) holes will allow bass waves to flow into the cabin with minimal restriction. Final install appearance is clean OEM like.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

-Next is the kick panel mounted mid-basses.
Firstly i had to check for clearances and fittment... Removing the carpet & factory underlay helps to make room.
Yes, that's a large 8" driver, but have made these large enough for the smaller & shallow 9" or eve 10's.




























There was also lots of things to change on the drivers side to clear pedals and bonnet release etc.
In the end the accelerator pedal was removed, pulled apart, heated with an oxy torch and bent as needed.
The car is natural and easy to drive, feet clear all pedals and it even passes roadworthy inspections with no issues. Nice! Was happy about that, many hours went into that alone but safety and usability was paramount.


















Note how both pedals now lie directly and clear the mid bass driver.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Next the kick panel pods!
Note, there is no MDF or wood used in their construction, basically nylon and about 4/5 layer of FG.
Each pod is screwed together, had speaker cloth stretched and resined, with 4/5 layers of FG to stiffen them up.
Then the hole-saw attack happened. This is for an IB like install.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Note, the etch primer, for metal anti rust. and something to decouple the FG from the cars metal.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Finally brushed Sound-Off deadening treatment on the inside, fitted cable terminals for easy physical phase adjustment,
glued some carpet for a little bit of looks. Pop on cheap grills, done!




































whalla...


















Each pod is bolted with into some factory M8 nuts that honda put there, thank you Honda!
You can grab a pod and roll the car!


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

- WIRING -

One of the things I like to do is my own RCA's. I've used twisted cable before, but this time I wanted to try data cable and in particular Cat6 stranded. These aren't magic of any sort, but found working with them rewarding. Cat6 of this kind carries a plastic spine to protect them from over flexing and the outersheath is quite strong. Its a considerable thickness & offers good mechanical protection. This runs inside the car.

RCA's... pretty much self explanatory. Cat6 stranded cable, ebay plugs and some heat-shrink.




































In the end one Cat6 cable carries 1 L/R pair of signal from the h/u out put. Deliberately using 4-cores per channel. In total 5 pairs made; 4 for signal, 5th pair is a spare.

Next is a simple terminal strip of speaker cables,... nothing tricky or new about that, but I wanted this flexiblity for future changes and quick phase changes in the cabin.

Here's the cabling side by side... with plenty of tail.









and then in the car...



























These cables will lay in a gap in the sound insulation.


These terminate in the boot, but more on that later...


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Ok, next up is a start on the power wiring.

A combination of new Knu-concepts & used Phoenix Gold, is used for main power wiring.

This includes a BIG-4 upgrade (instead of 3)
4 – because
1) Alternator to fuse box main link (as per OEM path) in 4guage
2) Fuse box main link to battery positive. in 4ga
3) Chassis to Negative terminal in 0ga
4) Engine to Negative terminal. All in 0 guage.

Plus also upgraded Engine to Chassis & Gearbox to Chassis earth straps in 4-guage.

The main 0guage feed runs under the car, no need to try and squeeze that big stuff in a already crowded cabin, plus reduces the chance of power wire causing noise issues.
There were several clearances and also had to make sure cable is kept from damage and a nice gland used when it entered into the boot.


















Gland into the boot, not silver etch primer to avoid rust issues


















Cable ready to go under.









Cable into boot









then runs towards the front, clearing all moving parts.


















...and next to the factory plastic cradle. Many modern cars have this, i took advantage of it and cable tied to it directly, unfortunately the conduited 0-guage was too big to go inside. However it clears exhausts from heat and the chassis rails are closer to the ground, so likely hood of damage out here is minimal.
**note for safety using stands to keep car up. I would never rely on a jack alone, nor is this recommended to some one who isn't trained on how to do this. 









and up into the engine bay.









Note how the cable is away from ALL moving parts, allows clearance to all serviceable items and is away from the exhaust. Heat and its affect on current capacity, i think sometimes is overlooked in some car audio installs. This is by no means perfect, but the best compromise I could provide for this install.

BTW, taking photos under a car with a top mount flash sucks.....


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

..continuing.

In the engine bay there is several upgrades.
Here is the new main earth, done by drilling a new 9mm hole directly to the main chassis rail under the battery. The it is tapped with a 10mm thread, then sand paper clean to metal, the same size area of the lug.


















New negative power harness done, terminals are by Audison.


















new earths at engine & gearbox... in 4ga...


















and the main earth in 0ga. Note the CABAC compression lug. Both crimped and end soldered, then coated in electrolytic grease, before being heat-shrink covered.









Still to come will be a 4ga alternator to main fuse link run, this is to follow the OEM path.

Whilst here and time allowed, upgraded the starter cable to new 4ga from the + terminal. I used new cable, lug and conduit, but kept the OEM rubber boot that goes over the terminal. I also filled the boot with electrolytic grease for protection of this crucial termination.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Lets have a look at equipment. Namely the 2 h/u's I plan to use for now.
Alpine's 9887 & Eclipse's 7200mkII
Here they are in the custom cradle









...and on the back









sorting the wires. Here you see the back of both units, their wiring harness's and a custom RCA for joining the two h/u's signal. Nothing new for the experienced.









the black plug is Alpine, the white Eclipse. All extra wires are removed (pulled out) from the plug for minimalising









both units powered up









and in the custom bezel trim for the custom dash








this is tight and not much room, but that's how I wanted it. Thats not the final colour or the final look.


...now, I cant leave much alone and tend to do this to alot.








...and...








So eventually I will tear down both faces and colour code them both to the bezel.

One thing I'm not happy with is the way the Eclipse's face protrudes so much further than the Alpine.








This will also be addressed. Due to clearance for the Eclipse's motorised face, the Alpine will have to move further out... bugger. 
That will all be at a later stage, Oct 25th deadline and much more to do means it can stay as is now.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

ok... tonight's update.

*Into the boot*

The spare was removed to make way for an IB like sub install... for this you need something to vent out off. Lots of time was spent looking for the right place to make these as they are more or less permanent. This is a non structural part of the car as is away from the tow hook and all other fixtures, which there was few here to begin with. There actually already is factory holes here, x3 drain holes Honda plugged with small rubber bungs.
... so no holding back.








holes are big enough to put both fists through.... don't ask how I know that.

vents in... 


















Then begin framing up, Using treated structural pine. This is stuck down on the flat folds in the metal that go right over the chassis rails. I've used a Bostik sealant adhesive, that has worked really well. Its paintable and stay permanently flexible. The same sealant was used on the vents to seal up the edges.
I had to raise it so the back of the woofer magnet clears by about 35mm... 









Plus some 6mm MDF to board it up...


























*heater to help cure/skin the adhesive.

...and a coat of paint on deadner to seal it and give it some chance against the obvious weathering.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

... With a solid ground in the engine bay, it pays to do the same in the boot. So hole was drilled so it catches the lip of the chassis rail. *yes... first hole is mistake.
Then with the drill on slow and plenty of Onix lube, begin tapping a 8mm thread into the metal...









The obvious sand to bare metal, and a nylock nut underneath to back that up.


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## khanhfat (Feb 4, 2008)

looking good man.. but why do you need 2 HU for?


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## ALL4SPL (Sep 30, 2009)

Very nice build and I love the pods you started for your front stage, very creative and hope to see you finish this build out!


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## kota_sounds (Apr 21, 2008)

this looks amazing man, but why the two headunits? never seen that done before


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## Echo42987 (Dec 25, 2008)

wow ....simply wow


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## jorona1 (Dec 6, 2008)

I have the same question. Looks good so far. would like to see it finished. Thumbs up bro!


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## pezdacandyboi (Aug 29, 2009)

amazing work!


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## 2167 (Dec 5, 2007)

You sir are THE MAN

good job


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## stereo_luver (Oct 30, 2007)

The only thing I see wrong is the steering wheel is on the wrong side.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Cheers gang!

Many Q's over the two H/U's.

I need 4way active filtering & budget didn't strech to something like a HX-D2 or P90 combo or BitOne. (Bought both these units for the $500mark Aus, which is cheap) and they will do for now. Were as used HXD2's or P90's go for much more than that here.

The 9887 will do
- HP to the tweets,
- BP to the mids,
- Aux out to the 7200mkII

The 7200mkII will do
- input via Aux in from 9887
- BP to the midbasses
- LP to the sub

All channels will have level, x-over freq, eq, t/a etc. for each channel that the h/u's offer.

I was asked why all the digi to analog, to digi and back to analog again,... well, considering that we sort of do this already with many outboard processors (as so many don;t take digital in)... i didn't see a difference and considering how many people prefer the analog input on the bitone....
Plus this lets me keep all processing at the front, gives me nearly as much flex as most hi end units and i like the 0-bit noise gate that the Alpine offers... and in my config so will the Eclipse. *note CD enters the Alpine.

BUT, if it doesn't work and ends up sounding terrible then I have no issue in going to a single h/u and using amp filtering or saving up for a decent outboard processor. 
I wish my budget streched to SB's Pioneer group buy. But with the conversion & delivery its nearing $2k australian, x2 the cost of a BitOne....


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## FrankstonCarAudio (Feb 2, 2008)

Good God! It's turning up everywhere! 

And now I see you have taken a leaf out of "Davyhay's IB sub installation" book! 

Well done, Chris.
I can't wait to see/listen to it at Lakes Entrance!

Mark


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

yeah... its a whore of an install! Cheers Mark.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

...continuing with the boot.

That new ground was going to be covered by a beauty panel to hold both + and - distro blocks.
However I wanted it flush fitting and the fat 0-guage cable didn't allow room.
So I had my neighbour rebate a section out to allow for room.


















...and then a trial fit before some trim.









On the other side I wanted a distribution panel for the line-level and speaker level signals. So after some simple fab work and lots of soldering I came with a row of L & R female RCA's to terminate all 5 RCA Cat6 cables on, and a speaker terminal strip.



























A simple amp rack panel goes across the top of the box and then a trial photo, with one of my M44's...








...this is not a good photo and probably chose it such to make the later ones look better... this install really isn't too much about looks.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Moving forward:
Finishing off the top of the Woofer baffle/box.

18mm MDF cut to size with a make-shift marker.


















...topped off with 12mm MDF, all glued/screwed together and a larger hole to clear driver surround, driver in place test fitting.









Because I like to use sizable screws and know you can only screw to MDF so much, Nylon was cut to and screwed in place on the underside of the baffle. The nylon is only a certain size because it had to clear for the reinforcements timber pieces.









Then the whole panel was covered in several layers of watered-down wood glue.



























dry.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

next..
a generous layer of deadner.









then screwed down in place.









As the deadner was going off. I got on with the trim for the side distro panels.









Trimmed the box/baffle









looking from the inside.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Then installed both side panels, again its function over form.

Power side


















Audio side


















A couple of trial shots... hmm not so shure myself, but looks don't determine sound... (or do they??)


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## lloydh (Jun 19, 2009)

Super clean install. Really nice.


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## minibox (Mar 25, 2009)

I can already tell by your attention to detail that this is going to come together very nicely.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Cheers guys, Lots more coming and to do!


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## ryan s (Dec 19, 2006)

:surprised:  :surprised:

Wow, that's intense! Great work so far 

Full dash and everything...


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## lashlee (Aug 16, 2007)

Great work so far, and the mirror idea from the bike is awesome!! After working on bike for years I never thought of that!!! I'm excited to see how the custom dash turns out, since it's something I've wanted to do to mine for years!!! Keep it up!!


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

alright... an update so I don't fall behind.

All self explanatory...


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## bmoney9 (Oct 8, 2009)

nice work!


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## robolop (Mar 10, 2008)

GO 4 IT MATE


:rockon::rockon::rockon::rockon:


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## IBcivic (Jan 6, 2009)

^^nice rack ..i like how the curves flow naturally...

syd>>luv the attention to details


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## threeplumes (Aug 12, 2009)

****s good...


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

sydmonster said:


> ok... tonight's update.
> 
> *Into the boot*
> 
> ...


NIIIICE. I love IB installs like this


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

One more thing: Put a grill on that sub!


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Thank you for all the feedback guys. Appreciate it.
There has been MORE changes, a comp is on this w/end so we'll see how it all pans out.
Another update/pics will come after that.



> One more thing: Put a grill on that sub!


yeah,,, maybe. The rate I swap things out i should. but the boot isn't used to carry anything.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

The car currently doesn't look like this, I wanted to trial lots of set-ups, this is one of the early ones.

When last I showed you the dash it looked something like this...









At the time it developed like this.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Continued work on the frame work.


















Then some other bits got added, that green covering is to see how it will shape













































and looked something like this... 


















**You have to imagine & combine those pictures together, as it no longer looks like that. Alas though, the dash will return.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

OK.. update time. The "force" from another forum...

I caved in... BUT

a) This is NOT finished (are they ever?)

b) Is a on-going trial

c) Was a rush-night-before-comp-install


Here is the HAT L1V2 tweets in their 1.5" waveguides, i used these because the angle and long side/short side of the wave guide makes it somewhat tunable... eventually these changed and look almost nothing like this now.


























In the end they worked, improved focus, but combined with the bright sound of the L1V2's means I had some imbalance in response. But that's easy to get around. They only play from about 3.2Khz

The car has 6.5" (well the L6 is really a 7") mid. This HAT L6 sits were the back half of the dash would be, against were the firewall meets the A-pillar. Playing from 180Hz to 3Khz or around that, they do a reasonable job of playing the mid range. Having such a powerfull and large mid up high and on reasonable axis (the far driver is less than 30' off axis compared to the listener on the direct listening plane, the near side is more than 80' off axis, and overall PLD is around the 25cm mark to both seats) means its just clear and really easy to listen to with very little power, compared to these days, ie ol school amps with a rated 45Wrms. The problem is they lack punch. MUCH more WRMS on use and less off-axis angling could change that. But, meh... experimental L3's and some wave guides are going back in. As Crosspug & Hakki know, for about the 10th time.
But right now they look more or less like this.









The kick panels have Polk DB 8"s. These have a high Qts and also are so called "Marine Approved" what ever that means...., so they do well with coping the harsh treatment i give them,. this car being used as a daily, and a rough one at that.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

OK moving on... the rest of the car as it is right now... but that won't be for long either.

Here is the dash, the grill cloth is there covering the speakers. So you don't see any of them or how their installed, both stealth and cheap!!





























Keen SQr's will note the new school 7200MkII Eclipse, and the real school CD45z Naka!! I lorv that Naka!









Here is more shots of the boot, Hakki from Crankin Car Audio (who I was working for at the time) made this look good! Thanks to him, otherwise I would not have these in there today. The Left M44 runs the Left side tweet, mid and bridged midbass, The right M44, does the right side The XTR800 Orion the IB sub.


















The engine bay has the coolest battery terminals, the + terminal has a built in fuse holder, so its all compact and neat looking. The blue is 3M tape to protect the plastic terminals... think of it a furniture in plastic covers!!!


















above the H/U's you would have noticed some faint writing... that's hakki 10:30pm on a Fri night sense of humor. The ledg is also a wise crack, what a champ ! You don't really notice it in reality, but meh... it adds to the character of this car. Besides, the man taught me so much, its best to leave it on there.
Also this was a large stray from what I originally planned... again time got away.


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## Samuel (Dec 22, 2008)

sydmonster said:


> OK.. update time. The "force" from another forum...
> 
> I caved in... BUT


Ill take the credit for that 

Any chance of some more detailed feedback on the IB? Are you happy with the subbass? Looking at making changes? How does it score for subbass?

Really love this build, something different, i really hope i get the chance to listen one day


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Cheers Samuel, yup you and those caks in MEA sure did...

As for IB, this is the 4th car I've done it in, but the first of my own. I always liked it and like it even more now. The best thing about IB is it sounds relatively flat and goes LOW... I've had seasoned competitor Cross Pug in the car before it was tuned and the music had such a low note that we really couldn't hear it, however certainly felt it. It felt like wind was buffeting the car about. This feedback has come from a few folks now.
In reality the Mach5 18" IXL probably isnt the best for it. But it does it mighty well, so I can only improve.
MEA score wise, unfortunately the two comps the car attended it shouldn't have... it sound poorly, but still scored an 8 (of 10) in first comp it went to.


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## jsun_g (Jun 12, 2008)

Nice work! I like seeing outside of the box (pun intended for IB, LOL) thinking.

What are your midbasses in the kickpods crossed at and where does that hole vent into? Is there another cavity in the car, or does it vent out to the wheel well or something? How is the midbass response and how much EQ was needed?

Cheers!


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

hi Jsun.
The mid-bass in the kick-panels roll down from 180Hz... to roll off. But sometimes band-pass them from around 75Hz. Pending on what I feel like that week.
That hole in kicks vent into a cavity then the chassis rails, which much later on are open to the outside. Mid-bass response is OK, but I'm picky, they actually kick quite hard.
I use almost no E.Q. on this set up. Other than a small boost at 250Hz.

The issue is there seems to be an optimum X-over chart & response tune (eq) for every different song I listen to. There is pro-audio products that remember different EQ settings etc... alas I would love something like this for our 12v world.
But this also makes me wonder if its the system that has downs sides, hence so much tuning needed for different tracks? the environment? or just I cant learn to live with the compromise that car audio is.


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## jsun_g (Jun 12, 2008)

sydmonster said:


> hi Jsun.
> The issue is there seems to be an optimum X-over chart & response tune (eq) for every different song I listen to. There is pro-audio products that remember different EQ settings etc... alas I would love something like this for our 12v world.
> But this also makes me wonder if its the system that has downs sides, hence so much tuning needed for different tracks? the environment? or just I cant learn to live with the compromise that car audio is.


... or maybe you are compensating for downfalls in the recordings themselves


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

jsun_g said:


> ... or maybe you are compensating for downfalls in the recordings themselves


hmm.. perhaps, but I don't think so. I listen to just about every disc I own/buy on my home HiFi & Sennheiser cans first. Particularly the test discs that I make tuning calls with. 
True, ears aren't the best judge, but other fellow judges who I have converted (specially onto cans) concur about this hifi/cans Vs auto comparison.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

been stuffing around now for quite a few months building stufff...














































a pair fo 2" full range drivers in a custom pod, sound??... meh. enough for the flatmate to complain, that she could hear the music from her room!
They dont like anyting under 150Hz or above 10Khz, but their delibrately made for everything in between.

**edit the cofee cups dont come standard fare with the Energy's


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## Mako312 (May 10, 2010)

Looks good. Hopeully I'm doing mine in a 97' Accord SE.

Is that a v6?


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Oh 2 updates within a 24hr period.





































as above playing 200Hz to 5Khz, with L1SE's "tennisballed" 5Khz and up to something silly. 30min of tuning and soundstage is on the wipers, however, only "at" the pillars... hmm some work to do. But oh so easy to listen to.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Mako312 said:


> Looks good. Hopeully I'm doing mine in a 97' Accord SE.
> 
> Is that a v6?


cheers, yep V6 3Lt. Its ok, just wish it was manual, RWD, flikable like an Arrow Kart, responsive like a 3Lt Ilmor and...


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## jsun_g (Jun 12, 2008)

Looking "sporty" 
I'd be interested to know when you find a solution to the narrow soundstage problem...I have the same with my mids in the A-pillars.



sydmonster said:


> Oh 2 updates within a 24hr period.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

...just wanting to have some closure to this install. As its probably/likely reached its end.

Below 2 is the current boot lay out..., since the last update there's been about 10 different combos in here.
Orion XTR800 for subbass, Earthquake 4080 for treble, PPI TB275 for mids, Earthquake 4030 for Midbass's



















Here is the Left Side of the "Front Stage"...
Midbass by Polk Audio, same as previous posts, mids are Peerles 2"s (more on that later) and highs are HAT L1SE's ballin...




























Drivers side is pretty much the above, mirrored...



















...


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

... and here is the dash. Its more or less back to stock on the outside, but plenty different under the skins. I didn't want this compramise, but due to a fight with the law, passsenger air bag had to go back in. I faught the law and the law won... some one should write a song about that one day.

You can see that main command is still the 7200MkII. Sharing the 2din space is a wicked ol' school Alpine single CD player, its connected and works! I plugs into the AUX input of the Eclipse and is supprisingly easy to listen too... +10 points if you can tell me what it is! Hint - its a 5903S

Please note tha the A pillars are covered in carpet - this is for two reasons. 1. I could remove the plastic cover and gain a full 1" in physical with for the L1SE's. 2" reduced early reflections from this area.










and continued...

sex shot of L1SE










With Peerles 8309702 2" in the back ground....

These little 2"'s are waveguided using a plastic wave guide at first then smoothly flow onto the windscreen... its not perfect but it works. The transition angle from plastic guide to windscreen is quite obtuse. Regardless... with 75Wrms of tube shaped sound they keep up plenty loud with all other speakers!! Curent tune they cover from 200Hz (HP @ 24db) to 5Khz ([email protected]), the L1SE takes over from about 6Khz ([email protected] . They stay loud & clear until you push the 7200MkII past 68 on the dial... then it apperently starts to put out some distortion.

Here is another set of shots of this combo...



















No EQ other than a boost at 20Hz.... (one step on the 7200MkII PEQ) and minimal TA used...
Hows it sound... meh. Alright... not the best its sounded, but probably 2nd best. The imaging though for the driver at least is great... better than most cars I've compared too. Tonality... well its kinda clinical... almost flat...
It was sounding terrible just after nationals... found out a amp was blown and was inducing much noise into the system.
So thorough re-wire of the front stage and some basic tuning has it at this stage.



SO! it this finished??

Well I think it is... car audio wise anyway.... as I now have my new project.










props if you can guess what it is?


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

sydmonster said:


> Well I think it is... car audio wise anyway.... as I now have my new project.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Looks like a late-80s/early-90s BMW


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## oldturd (Oct 31, 2009)

it's an e30


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

HondAudio said:


> Looks like a late-80s/early-90s BMW





oldturd said:


> it's an e30


Ya got it! e30 itis!...


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

I don't know about the various 'e' generations and number systems. I do, however, know that if it's pronounced "beam-er", it should be spelled "Beamer" or "Beemer", but not "Bimmer".


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## oldturd (Oct 31, 2009)

Yes, the English language is a strange and mysterious beast.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

...then there's all the german variations.... *sigh*


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## Jhemi80 (Jul 18, 2008)

HondAudio said:


> I don't know about the various 'e' generations and number systems. I do, however, know that if it's pronounced "beam-er", it should be spelled "Beamer" or "Beemer", but not "Bimmer".


100% wrong. "Beamer" or "Beemer" refers to BMW motorcycles. "Bimmer" refers to BMW automobiles.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

yeah.... couldn't leave well enough alone could I?

So whilst searching for seats for my BMW, i couldn't NOT do car audio... and didn't want to rush anything on the BM, so I played with the Honda.
Searching for dynamics,... I thought lets rip the dash out again, put in my lorved L6's on the fkn dash!! Yes, thats a full size 6.5" midrange driver on the dash of my car...

So, bring the people pics I hear?

Sorry, whipped out the camera after the install, but you get the idea right??




































and back together again...


















Got axis?








...got a little more work on here, like covering the pillars and also going to remove the L1SE's for my L1V2's.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

I also whipped up a new boot layout a little while back!!


Still my idea of IB, but x2 12" Fi subs in a push-pull config on a common baffle and o'school RF's!



























yes, the Mach5 18" made way and so did a few other amps...


















poor little car... doesn't even get washed. But I do put petrol in it!


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## co_leonard (Aug 14, 2009)

sydmonster said:


> Got axis?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow! Amazing! You made them fit! 

Just curious, how much internal volume do you have behind those speakers?


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

co_leonard said:


> Wow! Amazing! You made them fit!
> 
> Just curious, how much internal volume do you have behind those speakers?


Thats the beauty, they're not sealed at all!!
They play into several open cavaties, all much larger than VasX3 and even less when you conside the -24dB point is 200Hz... 
So still IB, what Scott & the Hybrid team intends from this driver. It actually makes the install easier! Lorv my HAT speakers.


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## co_leonard (Aug 14, 2009)

sydmonster said:


> Thats the beauty, they're not sealed at all!!
> They play into several open cavaties, all much larger than VasX3 and even less when you conside the -24dB point is 200Hz...
> So still IB, what Scott & the Hybrid team intends from this driver. It actually makes the install easier! Lorv my HAT speakers.


I see!!!  

So you isolate the speaker's back wave with the carpet?


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

co_leonard said:


> I see!!!
> 
> So you isolate the speaker's back wave with the carpet?


With several layers of Dynamat... and the carpet.


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## co_leonard (Aug 14, 2009)

sydmonster said:


> With several layers of Dynamat... and the carpet.


Oh ok. That'll work! 

I bet even at a 200Hz -24dB/octave cutoff, they still play cleanly down to 160Hz.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

co_leonard said:


> Oh ok. That'll work!
> 
> I bet even at a 200Hz -24dB/octave cutoff, they still play cleanly down to 160Hz.


For everyday listening, I sometimes turn off the subs and the midbass's and just let the L6's play from 4khz down to roll off and the L1SE's take care of the hi end... so easy to listen to....


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## co_leonard (Aug 14, 2009)

sydmonster said:


> For everyday listening, I sometimes turn off the subs and the midbass's and just let the L6's play from 4khz down to roll off and the L1SE's take care of the hi end... so easy to listen to....


Wow. I envy you. 

I've got 4.5-inch midbasses (that I'm using as a midrange) on my A-pillars. Even if the volume behind it is roughly 1.6 liters (measured with styrofoam pellets), I get a nasty +6dB Q=3 peak at around 180Hz. So I had to high-pass it at 250Hz, 12dB/octave. 

A friend of mine has a Honda Fit with big quarter windows in the A-pillars that he's willing to cover up with a fiberglass speaker enclosure. I'll suggest a big speaker in an aperiodic enclosure and maybe he won't need midbasses in the doors. Haha...


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

Nice one!! Letting the equipment do it what it does best, is often overlooked!


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## silver6 (Nov 11, 2008)

This has been one crazy build! Any updates?


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

silver6 said:


> This has been one crazy build! Any updates?


ah, yes about that. I updated my local Aussie forum, but not this one... stay tuned.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

so.... this project currently looks like this mheere









and mheere...









Why??
Well because timing belt, broken rear bank rocker cover o-ring seal and gasket, thats why...


















Project Finished...

1. Needs dual head rebuild, idlers, pulleys (on a V6 Vtec motor)
2. Needs radiator, upper & lower support, bonnet and front bumper
3. Roath Worthiness inspection (Called a Blue Slip in NSW Aus)

1+2+3 = not $$ worth it....

Ciao' "_Bad Deed's_"

Look out for another "daily driver" project.


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