# My 2012 Honda Civic Build Log.



## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Hey guys. So some of you may or may not have seen my cluster **** of a build log for my 300zx. That build was very on and off, and was started 4(?) years ago when i didnt have much install experience. I dove into it head first without a plan and kinda screwed myself. Last year when i started working in the city again, i got burnt out on the project and havent touched it since. Recently, someone who used to live in my neighborhood made me a pretty sweet offer on it to buy it to use as a drift car, so it may be going bye bye. It sucks, but i wouldnt take back the time and effort i put into that car. I learned A LOT. Without it, i wouldnt be where i am today, diving head first into another "project".... starting my own business. Back in April i decided that i do not want to work for a shop again and went out on my own. I'm currently saving up to have a full shop by next year. But, first order of business is to show your potential customers what you can do and what you can offer, right? So i figured i might as well do a small-ish(?) (for the time being until i can afford to do what i really want) build in my daily driver. I didnt do a build log on the first install because frankly there was no need. 2 way active up front using stock locations, a panasonic tube deck, amps and dsp installed hidden under the seats, and diyma r12 subs in IB. It sounds good, but so far almost every car i have built is on the same level or exceeds it. Time to put some real effort into it and show what i can offer as an installer. My plan with this iteration is to be competing in modified (maybe modex) and install next year. 

So heres 2 pics of the previous (and somewhat current) install. it now just has different speakers, subs, and updated helix and the head unit is bypassed with a fiio x5iii which sending a coax signal right to the dsp pro mkii.

























My Plan is to keep the current midbass and tweeters (Audiofrog GB60 and GB10) and add the GB25 midrange to pods on top of the doors, and maybe move the midbass to the kicks. For these, the black baffle that the gb25 attaches to was a little large on the outer diameter, so i decided to make my own baffles that flush mounted the mids, but still retained the use of the grill and chrome trim ring.















































































Once the baffle was made, I made a flush mount ring which was heat molded around the chrome trim rings mounting tabs. After it was stapled it, the trim ring fits nice and snug, but is easily removable .











































Since i am bypassing my head unit and sending a digital coaxial signal right to the helix, i had to install a volume control for it. Thankfully i had an extra Helix URC-2A sitting around. I eventually planned on going with the Director, but im not sure ill even need to. This is enough for my personal needs, but may still install one in the future just because 

And yes, i realize i could have made my own remote with the schematics that are on here, but like i said, i had one of these sitting around for a while and didnt want to wait around for a week for all parts to be delivered and to assemble. 







































Thats it for now. Had to wait a couple days for supplies to come in. Like i said, i am wanting to compete in install so nothing gets done until i have the right supplies to make everything 100%. Nothing is getting a bs temporary job (aside from the volume controller as that was necessary).


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Dude yeah!!!! This'll be killer!


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

SkizeR said:


> Thats it for now. Had to wait a couple days for supplies to come in. Like i said, i am wanting to compete in install so nothing gets done until i have the right supplies to make everything 100%. Nothing is getting a bs temporary job


I'm in the same boat, but also trying stay in Mod Street. So far, I got my head unit in, but that's because the factory unit's BT/Pandora functionality sucked. lol

I have a huge pile of equipment, techflex, wire, etc sitting in my living room. Waiting for my subs to (eventually) get built so I can build my IB wall.

Looking forward to more. Hope the business is going well.

Jay


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

JayinMI said:


> I'm in the same boat, but also trying stay in Mod Street. So far, I got my head unit in, but that's because the factory unit's BT/Pandora functionality sucked. lol
> 
> I have a huge pile of equipment, techflex, wire, etc sitting in my living room. Waiting for my subs to (eventually) get built so I can build my IB wall.
> 
> ...


yeah, currently waiting for the right sized nutserts for the security screws i ordered. i thought i had them already. apparently not. they will be here tomorrow. And thanks, business is ok right now. On and off, but thats to be expected considering i just started, and the niche that i fill which has a low demand in my area. But hey, im not in it for the money. I'm in it so i dont go crazy working somewhere or for someone i dont want to doing installs/jobs that i have zero interest in. I'm sure your all to familiar with that lol


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Ah cmon J. Go modified and let's have some fun. Hehehe. Then again I just assumed I was in modified. I guess I shoulda really asked Matt when he got in the car. 


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## toneloc2 (Nov 29, 2015)

been waiting for your next build log SkizeR,,,,,, learn so much from you as well as all the other builders,,, clicking refresh every minute hurry lol,,,,,


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Nick, before you go any further: chamfer the back of gb25 mounting rings to give the driver more breathing room behind the cone. If this means a start over from scratch then so be it. You can take my word for it or you can make me explain... but you know that I wouldn't steer you wrong. Not intentionally, at least.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

ErinH said:


> Nick, before you go any further: chamfer the back of gb25 mounting rings to give the driver more breathing room behind the cone. If this means a start over from scratch then so be it. You can take my word for it or you can make me explain... but you know that I wouldn't steer you wrong. Not intentionally, at least.


on i know. im planning on doing that after i check for clearance of the threaded inserts. you should still explain though


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

If you know then I don't think I need to explain. 

Otherwise, I'll dig up one of my old posts and paste it here this weekend.

Onward and upward!


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

Skizer you became a dealer of AF??

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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

quickaudi07 said:


> Skizer you became a dealer of AF??
> 
> Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk


Yeah. I set up the shop i worked for with them, but since they didnt want to really use them, Andy was kind enough to pass it along to me. To be honest, i was very surprised and excited.


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

Well I agree.. and business for Andy and you both.. win win!

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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

quickaudi07 said:


> Well I agree.. and business for Andy and you both.. win win!
> 
> Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk


Im more concerned about getting a quality product that has good support and very easy installation for all sorts of installs as opposed to money. Before AF i was just suggesting raw drivers to customers but that doesnt come with the great support AF has, and the ease of install.


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

I agree with you 100%

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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

quickaudi07 said:


> I agree with you 100%
> 
> Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk



also picked up Audible Physics and Zapco


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

Nice  good for you. As long as the business is growing and you making a name for yourself.. all the best to you.

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## Blu (Nov 3, 2008)

Looking forward to seeing this build progress.
Best to you on your new venture! :thumbsup:


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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

Gonna be a sweet build ! I hear you on the not **** from work. I would love to be my own boss for once.


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## crfroese (Jul 16, 2017)

Also looking forward to seeing how this comes along!


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

M4 Nuterts Installed (and then removed before chamfering. reinstalled after)















M4 Button head torx security screws were used to secure the driver to the baffle.










































Threaded inserts removed and rabbet/chamfer added to the backside of the baffle. Unfortunately forgot to get proper pictures with my camera. Cell phone pic will have to suffice. Notice the slots for the GB25 chrome trim ring.















Quarter windows taped up and prepped with mold release.















I'm not wanting to take up the whole window for the midrange enclosure (theres no need, the GB25 works fine with very little airspace). But i did make this mold thick enough that im confident it could hold the weight of my car. 7 layers of 1.5oz chop strand mat minimum.















After the mold was removed it was built up even more with 1/4" chop strand filler mixed with resin. Average thickness of the area that will be used is about a centimeter thick. These things have no plans of resonating 















Baffle aimed to opposite head rest and secured with CA glue


































Not sure how much i'll be able to get done tomorrow. Have a Tesla coming in for a tune and im not sure what time that'll be done with. Im really wanting to have these done by Tuesday since after that i will be slammed with work for a bit.


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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

Looks slick as hell nick! I live to far from ya !


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## Weightless (May 5, 2005)

Hey Nick, what's the pigment or dye that you use to make the resin black? I think I have seen Bing use it before and never knew how he accomplished that. 

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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Weightless said:


> Hey Nick, what's the pigment or dye that you use to make the resin black? I think I have seen Bing use it before and never knew how he accomplished that.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk


its just black pigment from uscomposites. you can see it in this photo


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## Weightless (May 5, 2005)

Ha, I completely overlooked that. Thanks. Even though it will likely never be seen, I just like the look of it over the natural color of resin and mat. 

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## gregerst22 (Dec 18, 2012)

haha it looks like we are both doing something similar with G25's in window / sail pods  and you are off to a good start. 

I started the 2nd iteration of the pods in my Lexus this weekend. I didn't care for how the first ones turned out, the speaker placement was off and the pods themselves didn't look as good as I wanted. This time they will be aimed and sound better in my car. I am also hoping to fit a small tweet in there but I don't have a lot of room to work with so my options are limited. 
Looking forward to your progress.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

gregerst22 said:


> haha it looks like we are both doing something similar with G25's in window / sail pods  and you are off to a good start.
> 
> I started the 2nd iteration of the pods in my Lexus this weekend. I didn't care for how the first ones turned out, the speaker placement was off and the pods themselves didn't look as good as I wanted. This time they will be aimed and sound better in my car. I am also hoping to fit a small tweet in there but I don't have a lot of room to work with so my options are limited.
> Looking forward to your progress.


Lookin good. I ended up having to add more glass to the passanger one since the too part didn't extend as far as I want. Just layed some mat down for that and got the driver side fully glassed and ready to be trimmed and hit with filler

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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

SkizeR said:


> yeah, currently waiting for the right sized nutserts for the security screws i ordered. i thought i had them already. apparently not. they will be here tomorrow. And thanks, business is ok right now. On and off, but thats to be expected considering i just started, and the niche that i fill which has a low demand in my area. But hey, *im not in it for the money. I'm in it so i dont go crazy working somewhere or for someone i dont want to doing installs/jobs that i have zero interest in.* I'm sure your all to familiar with that lol


YES I AM. lol



SkizeR said:


> M4 Button head torx security screws were used to secure the driver to the baffle.


Where did you get your security torx? Right now I'm just using screws from Home Depot and once I figure out quantities and sizes, I'm going to reorder all security screws.

Jay


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

JayinMI said:


> YES I AM. lol
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I forget the website (one of the first that came up on Google. Turns out they were only 40 miles from me. Down side is that they are NOT cheap. I got 3 bags of 50. One m4, one m5, and 1 m6. And 3 bits for each size. I think my order totaled to over 130. But, thats what you gotta do for those extra points in install

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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Yeah. Overkill is the name of the game.
Trying to decide if I'm going to ziptie my wiring to factory wiring, or do rivnuts with rubber isolated P clips. 

I was going to do printed heat shrink labels every 12 inches, but they're hella expensive. Then I looked at a heat shrink printer (pretty reasonable price) but the heat shrink cartridges were like $35 for 8 FEET!

So, I bought a new Brother P-touch label printer and some Ultra clear heat shrink to go over the labels. We'll see if that works.

Jay


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

managed to get some work done today in the sweltering heat..

first things first was cutting the molds to shape.















then the good ol' stretched fleece and glass mat technique















(not sure why the pod looks so weird in this photo, but) i installed them in their spots and duraglassed where they meet the panels so theres no gaps. i sanded one down to its finished state but didnt get a photo yet.


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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

Looks freaking awesome can't wait to see the rest .


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## abusiveDAD (Jan 7, 2009)

Liking this~ great job


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Looking good.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

Looking good. How will you fasten that little pod down to the door?

Also, I'm kinda interested in that IB wall, having done my 8th Civic.. just curious how you did it if you have anything you wanna share on it.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

abusiveDAD said:


> Liking this~ great job





ErinH said:


> Looking good.





Babs said:


> Looking good. How will you fasten that little pod down to the door?
> 
> Also, I'm kinda interested in that IB wall, having done my 8th Civic.. just curious how you did it if you have anything you wanna share on it.


Thanks Guys. 

Scott, I'm going to use rivnuts and bolt them together. For the in wall, it's nothing special. I could have done a much better job but like I said, that install was thrown together in a couple late nights at the old workplace 

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## gregerst22 (Dec 18, 2012)

SkizeR said:


> (not sure why the pod looks so weird in this photo, but) i installed them in their spots and duraglassed where they meet the panels so theres no gaps. i sanded one down to its finished state but didnt get a photo yet.




Nice. I am learning something here.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

gregerst22 said:


> Nice. I am learning something here.


wait till tonight and you will learn of an interesting way to attach them without hacking up the door panels


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## gregerst22 (Dec 18, 2012)

SkizeR said:


> wait till tonight and you will learn of an interesting way to attach them without hacking up the door panels


I am looking forward to seeing this. Fortunately I've got sail panels in my car that I can attach them to. A lot cheaper to replace than door panels.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

gregerst22 said:


> I am looking forward to seeing this. Fortunately I've got sail panels in my car that I can attach them to. A lot cheaper to replace than door panels.


ahh.. just uploading the pics from my sd card now


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

So... i kinda hail mary'd this one. i was debating doing it in steves car, but wasnt 100% comfortable doing it in someone elses car first. And since a customer dropped off his car today that i'll be doing the same thing to, i thought i might as well get warmed up on my own car. 

what i did was put the pod in its place, figured out where i can drill through that would be in the right spot. lined everything up, yadi yadi ya... drilled a small pilot hole. then drilled it out to the right size to fit an M5 riv nut. did this in two spots. installed the riv nut, drilled the holes in the pod for the security torx screw to go through to the riv nut... and wallah. gotta get some washers and whatnot from the hardware store tomorrow but it works for now. i did get them (very ghettoly) wired up and playing. just wanted to have them playing before the customer got there. didnt really get to tune though. heres the pics

































heres with the screw on loose so you can see the concept


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## gregerst22 (Dec 18, 2012)

SkizeR said:


> So... i kinda hail mary'd this one. i was debating doing it in steves car, but wasnt 100% comfortable doing it in someone elses car first. And since a customer dropped off his car today that i'll be doing the same thing to, i thought i might as well get warmed up on my own car.
> 
> what i did was put the pod in its place, figured out where i can drill through that would be in the right spot. lined everything up, yadi yadi ya... drilled a small pilot hole. then drilled it out to the right size to fit an M5 riv nut. did this in two spots. installed the riv nut, drilled the holes in the pod for the security torx screw to go through to the riv nut... and wallah. gotta get some washers and whatnot from the hardware store tomorrow but it works for now. i did get them (very ghettoly) wired up and playing. just wanted to have them playing before the customer got there. didnt really get to tune though. heres the pics


That's a pretty good idea. I bet it will be nice and solid too and if you ever wanted to remove the pods you could probably make a fiberglass piece that would cover that part of the window frame to hide the holes.


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

Nice.. I got no frame around the window how will you attach it than ?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

quickaudi07 said:


> Nice.. I got no frame around the window how will you attach it than ?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


riv nuts on the top of the door panel


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

PS, updates on this will probably be a while now. customer brought a car in that will take a few weeks. Full scanspeak front stage rebuild, ODR transport and processor, zapco lx amps, etc etc. should be fun


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

Ha!! Seems like it 

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## BBOYSTEVIE (May 2, 2005)

Great work and pics as always. 

It'll be great to see what you do on your own ride. You were right, our installs (as far as speakers and location at least) are going to be real similar.

I've also been trying to find a way to make smaller baffles that allow me to still use the Audiofrog grille and trim ring. I didn't think to do it the way you did (and have wasted about an hour and a little scrap MDF trying). What is the white material you heat molded around the wood baffle to flush mount the trim ring? Is that just PVC tubing that you'd buy at Home Depot???


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I didn't see what he used, but I'd bet it was Expanded pvc or "Low Heat Plastic" as it is sometimes referred.

Plastic suppliers and some sign shops carry it. A little heat with a heat gun and you can curve it around your base material.

Bing (Simplicty in Sound) used to do this in just about all of his builds. If his pics still work, it's a good example. Check out some of his older builds.

Jay


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

BBOYSTEVIE said:


> What is the white material you heat molded around the wood baffle to flush mount the trim ring? Is that just PVC tubing that you'd buy at Home Depot???


expanded PVC sheet cut to size as Jay said. beware of using this method though when glassing. the slots that are molded in the plasstic can easily be filled with resin or filler and ruin the whole concept


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## carlr (Feb 27, 2011)

Looks really good so far, will follow this. Best of luck with your new business venture.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

carlr said:


> Looks really good so far, will follow this. Best of luck with your new business venture.


Thanks. Not much progress since the last pics, but I'm at SVR right now competing with it this weekend. Gunna be interesting to see how it stacks up

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## RRizz (Sep 4, 2012)

Indeed. waiting to hear the results. What class did you settle in? The build is looking good so far. I'm not happy about missing SVR, But the Z is in the body shop getting the front end re-painted. I stopped in yesterday and told him he HAS to have her done by next weekend so I can make the get together on the 3rd.
Work hasn't allowed me to hit a single show this year, and I haven't had time to complete my tune since adding the SI TM65 v2's.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

RRizz said:


> Indeed. waiting to hear the results. What class did you settle in? The build is looking good so far. I'm not happy about missing SVR, But the Z is in the body shop getting the front end re-painted. I stopped in yesterday and told him he HAS to have her done by next weekend so I can make the get together on the 3rd.
> Work hasn't allowed me to hit a single show this year, and I haven't had time to complete my tune since adding the SI TM65 v2's.


I'll find put what class I'm a couple hours. My install will be tricky to place but I think modified. And for bringing your freshly painted car to the meet.. Be careful. The road going to the pavilion is all rocks and gravel. You should be fine if your don't follow anyone in though

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## gumbeelee (Jan 3, 2011)

Sweet work as always nick!! 


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## Timelessr1 (Feb 12, 2010)

Cant believe i missed this...nice work! Love the use of the Helix remote ;-)


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

gumbeelee said:


> Sweet work as always nick!!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk





Timelessr1 said:


> Cant believe i missed this...nice work! Love the use of the Helix remote ;-)


Thanks guys

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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I got to listen to it during the day, and then after Nick made some tweaks after the show. Whatever the tweaks were made a huge difference and it sounded even better than the first time. 

Steve Head listened to it (and had good things to say) but said the vibration in the door was driving him nuts, then someone pointed out there was a USB cable in the pocket. I threw it on the passenger seat before I got to listen to it.
Lol.


"Children of the Sun" is pretty cool to listen to.

Who did the "Autobahn" song?

Jay


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

JayinMI said:


> I got to listen to it during the day, and then after Nick made some tweaks after the show. Whatever the tweaks were made a huge difference and it sounded even better than the first time.
> 
> Steve Head listened to it (and had good things to say) but said the vibration in the door was driving him nuts, then someone pointed out there was a USB cable in the pocket. I threw it on the passenger seat before I got to listen to it.
> Lol.
> ...


I forget. I think it was off some audiophile CD. I'll look it up later


Edit: apparently its Autobahn by GMGB

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## gregerst22 (Dec 18, 2012)

So did this project go on the back burner. I was looking for more pics of your build? I'm curious to see how those sail pods look in the finished state.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

gregerst22 said:


> So did this project go on the back burner. I was looking for more pics of your build? I'm curious to see how those sail pods look in the finished state.


they still look exactly as they did in the last photos here lol. havent had time to work on this car.


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