# 2014 Honda Accord Front Stage Rebuild



## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Hello everyone, we're back again with another build log. This one is a front stage make over on a 2014 Honda Accord. Scott had the original install done a while ago, back when he lived in Boston by two different shops that are both very capable in the fabrication/install department. After he moved to Maryland, he visited multiple shops to try and get his car sounding right. 2 got to work on it and only seemed to make things worse, and others he didnt feel comfortable with. Thats when he found me. After a visit for just a tune and midbass swap to a pair of Audio Development MM6's, i showed him why his car wasnt sounding the way he wanted it to sound regardless of how good the gear is and how pretty the install is. First problem, which is common in this generation of Hondas (i have the same gen civic and its a nightmare), are door rattles. I'll pay a research team any dollar amount to find a way to make these doors produce solid midbass without any rattles or resonance. in all seriousness, its not feasible. No amount or kind of deadener has been able to calm these door panels down. I dont know what it is, or what causes it, but these doors are a nightmare for solid midbass. My suggestion was obviously kick panels to mitigate this issue. The next problem was the midrange/tweeter setup. He had some very capable ZR Labs 4" midranges and tweeters. Problem was, the midranges call for about a 3.5 liter enclosure for a .5 QTC. The enclosure they were in was about a quarter of a liter after displacement. The response didn't make that hidden. The driver side tweeter was also placed/aimed in a way that the gauge cluster some serious issues which effected staging in terms of height and width, as well as image smearing that pulled down and to the left. No good. Scott asked me what could be done, and i told him "To be honest, im not really sure. It seems as if these midrange drivers have no place in this car. They want a massive enclosure, have a massive footprint for a 4" (which is already big to begin with), and there's just no room to stick them anywhere that makes sense". Thats when he brought up the idea of going with the full Audio Development MM 3 way speakers. The 4" was super low profile and could take a much smaller enclosure, and the tweeter was also a much smaller footprint. I took some measurements, did some modeling, and told him "This can work, we're ready when you are".




Full setup after the install is as follows:


Clarion HX-D3, iBasso DAP, and OEM radio as sources.
Helix DSP Pro Mk2
Brax Nox4
Audison Thesis 4 channel amp
Helix SPLX1000
Audio Development MM1
Audio Development MM4
Audio Development MM6
Audio Development Vipera F12



















ZR Labs mids and tweeters in a very nice pod made by some very talented guys in boston. Unfortunately, it just didnt compliment the equipment.
























The subwoofer was also swapped from a Dynaudio Esotar 12" to the Audio Development Vipera F12. The enclosure had to be slightly modified to account for the width of the F12's magnet. Just some slight cutting and patching with fiberglass.















Acrylic baffles were made for the new midranges and tweeters















Glassing to make the mold for the new pods.
























Molds trimmed, baffles attached, and fabric stretched. The fabric came to close to the tweeters when stretched, so i made a plug that pushed the fabric out to give the tweeter space while also giving the pod some nice body lines















Glassed up and body filler applied to make the fitment tight.















Texture coated, then finished with Sem satin black and low luster clear coat.















Kevin did a majority of the fabrication on the kick panels. First he taped up the area and made some molds to work off of. While he made the molds, i made the baffles and grill trim rings. The grills/beauty panels were integrated with the oem kick panels for a seamless fit. The kick enclosures were vented into the rocker panel and bolted to the metal of the car.











































Since the hood release is built into the oem kick panel, we re-located it. Matei just so happened to stop by to hang out and broke out the welder without even telling me. This was the result. Good job i guess lol.















Pods installed and playing. What we did differently was..


1) gain more enclosure space that provided a proper QTC and low end roll off
2) located and aimed the tweeter so it wasnt firing into the bottom of the gauge cluster hood. As you can probably guess, yes, the soudstage is about as wide as it gets.


The only downside to this placement was the mids overall location moved in about an inch and a half. Not the end of the world though.
























































































The kick panels dont take up much room which is nice, and have no rattles and resonance like the door install. Much better. They also fit seamlessly with the weatherstripping and sill panels. you can see the hood release relocation in some of these photos.





























































Overall, the car sounds much better. These is no image smearing, the soundstage is much higher and wider, tonality is great (i think the A.D drivers sound better than the previously installed ones), there are no rattles/resonance like before, and the sub has much more output capability than before.


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## Mlarson67 (Jan 9, 2015)

Fantastic work! Am I crazy or is the position of the tweets and the midranges swapped from drivers to passenger side? Your fab skills are next level out this world!


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## Mlarson67 (Jan 9, 2015)

I mean on the before shots


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

Mlarson67 said:


> Fantastic work! Am I crazy or is the position of the tweets and the midranges swapped from drivers to passenger side? Your fab skills are next level out this world!





Mlarson67 said:


> I mean on the before shots


Nope, but the new look really nice.


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

I have the coupe and I learned long ago never try and go big midbass in a door. Some are a little better than others but solid kicks are a must if you want to do it right. I have gotten around the rattles and buzzes which I cannot have even a bit of or it kills the experience. I did it by not requiring big midbass out of the doors- and using a hybrid pro audio/raw driver unit that acoustically crosses higher and not sending all that below 90hz energy into the door. I also spend enough time on the door panels with industrial adhesive, elsolite, mlv and butyl where no professional could possible make a profit.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Mlarson67 said:


> Fantastic work! Am I crazy or is the position of the tweets and the midranges swapped from drivers to passenger side? Your fab skills are next level out this world!


Thanks, and you crazy. Well, kinda. Tweeters are on the outside

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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

Looks fantastic Nick!! Those pods came out on fire !


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

dcfis said:


> I have the coupe and I learned long ago never try and go big midbass in a door. Some are a little better than others but solid kicks are a must if you want to do it right. I have gotten around the rattles and buzzes which I cannot have even a bit of or it kills the experience. I did it by not requiring big midbass out of the doors- and using a hybrid pro audio/raw driver unit that acoustically crosses higher and not sending all that below 90hz energy into the door. I also spend enough time on the door panels with industrial adhesive, elsolite, mlv and butyl where no professional could possible make a profit.


A few have been able to do midbass in the doors without rattle issues....Kirk Profitt's TL, Jon Whitledge's Magic Bus, and Gary Summers Mercedes all come to mind. But I know 2 of 3 of those have enclosures built. Kicks are much more predictable in that regard.


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## Mullings (Jan 31, 2016)

The tl doors are much more solid vs this generation of accords, even the Camry doors are superior in this regard. Remember the oem speaker is a little plastic crap that plays next to no midbass. On the other hand, this car sounds amazing, the stage width has me mocking up new ways to redo my dash, it’s a shame this guy isn’t gonna compete.


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

Niebur3 said:


> A few have been able to do midbass in the doors without rattle issues....Kirk Profitt's TL, Jon Whitledge's Magic Bub, and Gary Summers Mercedes all come to mind. But I know 2 of 3 of those have enclosures built. Kicks are much more predictable in that regard.


Yeah, those are pinnacle top of the heap exceptions. I dont have that expertise to reinforce like they would. The welder would certainly be involved. Too much for me


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

Did you guys have to relocate the fuse box to build the kicks?

Also, I love how minimally invasive to the feet space they are. Really good job and great design!!!!


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Niebur3 said:


> Did you guys have to relocate the fuse box to build the kicks?
> 
> Also, I love how minimally invasive to the feet space they are. Really good job and great design!!!!


Thanks. and no fuse boxes were touched in the making of this car


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

SkizeR said:


> Thanks. and no fuse boxes were touched in the making of this car


Really? Thats incredible man. You get any molds of these? I have a manual and these are the only I have seen that Might work. Cant imagine more 9th geners wouldnt want these


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

dcfis said:


> Really? Thats incredible man. You get any molds of these? I have a manual and these are the only I have seen that Might work. Cant imagine more 9th geners wouldnt want these


Nope. But I may be offering pillars starting soon 

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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

bookmarked


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## Mlarson67 (Jan 9, 2015)

SkizeR said:


> Thanks, and you crazy. Well, kinda. Tweeters are on the outside
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk


I was spraying lacquer most of the day (with a respirator) must of been stoned


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## Patrick Bateman (Sep 11, 2006)

Beautiful work.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Patrick Bateman said:


> Beautiful work.


Thanks. Gunna try a 3d printed 7th order quasi folded horn next time lol.

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## Theslaking (Oct 8, 2013)

SkizeR said:


> Thanks. Gunna try a 3d printed 7th order quasi folded horn next time lol.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U1 using Tapatalk


That's funny. :laugh:


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## LBaudio (Jan 9, 2009)

Nice work Nick!


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## preston (Dec 10, 2007)

How are those pods attached to the car ? I assume they are just bolted into the A-pillar plastic ? Any pics ?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

preston said:


> How are those pods attached to the car ? I assume they are just bolted into the A-pillar plastic ? Any pics ?


I dont have any pics but you are correct, along with some very strong double sided tape. If you were wondering, they arent going anywhere if theres an accident 

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## BigGeorge (Sep 25, 2010)

Great work! Ultimately I would like to have my system on this level. Unfortunately for me I don't have the skills and there aren't any shops near me that I would trust to do that kind of work. I'm way down south in Alabama. For curiosity sake, what would an install like this generally cost?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

BigGeorge said:


> Great work! Ultimately I would like to have my system on this level. Unfortunately for me I don't have the skills and there aren't any shops near me that I would trust to do that kind of work. I'm way down south in Alabama. For curiosity sake, what would an install like this generally cost?


Alabama? you have one of the best right in your backyard. Hit up Steve Cook at Audio X. They are in Florence. Price really depends on all of the little things when it comes to custom fabrication.


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## BigGeorge (Sep 25, 2010)

Steve Cook. Audio X. Havent heard of either one but I've been to Florence some years ago. I think it's maybe 3-4 hours from me. Thanks for letting me know. In the meantime im going to see if i can get some good sound out of my 8th Gen Accord's front doors.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

BigGeorge said:


> Steve Cook. Audio X. Havent heard of either one but I've been to Florence some years ago. I think it's maybe 3-4 hours from me. Thanks for letting me know. In the meantime im going to see if i can get some good sound out of my 8th Gen Accord's front doors.


Steve cook is the owner of audio x. Tell him I sent ya. And I'll save you some time on getting good sound out of those doors... you cant  lol

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## JCsAudio (Jun 16, 2014)

I wonder if that Boston shop that did the previous work was Sound in Motion. They do nice work and are right across the street from where I work. Friggin see 100k plus dollar Ferraris, porches, and high end vehicles in there all the time. 

Nice work on those pods. How the hell do you get the paint to match so exact?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

V8toilet said:


> I wonder if that Boston shop that did the previous work was Sound in Motion. They do nice work and are right across the street from where I work. Friggin see 100k plus dollar Ferraris, porches, and high end vehicles in there all the time.
> 
> 
> 
> Nice work on those pods. How the hell do you get the paint to match so exact?


It was. They did a great job. As far as the paint. It takes a ton of prep work, and some practice/experience. Certain paints, certain clear coats, certain spraying methods, etc. 

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## captainobvious (Mar 11, 2006)

Nice work Nick and Kevin.


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## daviddto (Feb 17, 2013)

Yes, very nice work. I have this same vehicle and I was not happy with my Focal Flax in my front doors.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

daviddto said:


> Yes, very nice work. I have this same vehicle and I was not happy with my Focal Flax in my front doors.


Thank you. What about them arent you happy with? We actually recently did another one of these cars and did GB60's in the doors and did a VERY thurough deadening job and we actually managed to get some nice midbass out of the doors. Here is what we did..

https://resonixsoundsolutions.com/vehicle-database/2013-2018-honda-accord-ninth-gen-doors-rear-deck/


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

captainobvious said:


> Nice work Nick and Kevin.


thanks daddy <3 :laugh:


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## SlvrDragon50 (Apr 10, 2017)

I'd love to be able to hear what your car sounds like! I'm quite happy with the midbass in my system though I acknowledge there could still be more midbass.


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## JCsAudio (Jun 16, 2014)

SkizeR said:


> Thank you. What about them arent you happy with? We actually recently did another one of these cars and did GB60's in the doors and did a VERY thurough deadening job and we actually managed to get some nice midbass out of the doors. Here is what we did..
> 
> https://resonixsoundsolutions.com/vehicle-database/2013-2018-honda-accord-ninth-gen-doors-rear-deck/


Awesome work Nick and loving that website already. I will be looking forward to that fiber mat in the future. 

Free bump.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

SlvrDragon50 said:


> I'd love to be able to hear what your car sounds like! I'm quite happy with the midbass in my system though I acknowledge there could still be more midbass.


It's not always about more. It's about better midbass 

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## SlvrDragon50 (Apr 10, 2017)

SkizeR said:


> It's not always about more. It's about better midbass
> 
> Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk


Yea, I hear ya! I'm all about SQ. I listen to my music pretty low. Unfortunately I hear all the problems with stock sound systems when I get in other cars now 

Hoping to install my DSP Pro this week. If I can't figure out the tuning I might have to bother you for a remote tune.


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## Chris12 (Sep 20, 2018)

Awesome build

Question: what’s wrapped around the perimeter on the baffle in this picture?:


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Probably low heat plastic/expanded pvc/etc. but it's all the same thing.


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## Chris12 (Sep 20, 2018)

JayinMI said:


> Probably low heat plastic/expanded pvc/etc. but it's all the same thing.


Thanks jay.

So if I’m understanding, it’s something like 1/8” expanded pvc, with ~3/4” wide strip cut from the sheet, then glued on end around the perimeter of the baffle.


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## porscheman (Jan 1, 2012)

basically, thickness and width what ever works for your baffle. i usually staple them on, faster and less likely to move on you


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## Chris12 (Sep 20, 2018)

porscheman said:


> basically, thickness and width what ever works for your baffle. i usually staple them on, faster and less likely to move on you


Makes sense. Thanks!


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## Splitf22 (Dec 22, 2010)

Can you make that custom mount to replace the center dash pocket for a single Din headunit? i have 2015 Accord Sport just in case...


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

Splitf22 said:


> Can you make that custom mount to replace the center dash pocket for a single Din headunit? i have 2015 Accord Sport just in case...


That would be cool, the stock radio in yours is horribad and guys either do a dap into DSP or buy a exl head unit. Your solution seems like a viable option too


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