They gave me Hydrocodone. Every 4 hours. I am only taking it at night right now. Wipes me out if I take it during the day!

Hydrocodone + 1 foot + power tools = more hydrocodone...lol!

 

so does the infinite baffle sound as good as a sealed enclosure? ive never heard one in person so thats why im curious. im either debating on a corner enclosure or an ib and if an ib sounds good ill do that since its less work.

 

I got my stitches out today.

 

Ouch. Can you put weight on it yet?

 

I can when I wear the walking boot, pain being the only limitation. If feels like I am walking on needles when I put weight on it. I hope that goes away. Have to wait and see with nerve crap.

 

My Dad wants to know if you have the original 3.8 in the GN and what you have all done to it? You can pm me.

 

wow thats some amazing stuff thus far man.

 

Neibur3,

When you did your center channel, did you put the factory grill back? You have pics of the factory grill sitting on top of the speaker plate, but I was not sure if you maintained the grill or just covered with grill cloth. I'm copying your center channel, minus the $700 mid .

 

Sorry, I was crazy busy on the car and just recently got sick as a dog. Yes, I just recovered the factory grill with grill cloth after cutting it open. The $700 mid is what makes it sooooo fun .

 

Very cool, I see you are doing almost the same thing I have planned for my HVAC display. May I ask what gauge and type of wire you used to extend it? I was looking at some 22-24awg thin wall pvc to do it as I plan to remove and extend both displays from the board.

 

Its coming together

 

OMG your leg is fucked

 

Hope you feel better Jerry. I got the MS8 installed but spent most of my day sound deadening. Not going to turn anything on until tomorrow when I can check my work when I'm fresh.

 

Simply Amazing!
You do this sort of work often? Going through this thread just now, made me want to re-do the console.... Seeing as my CD player doesn't work anymore, it would be a perfect chance to.

Good work man, going to keep tabs on this project. Good luck with the foot also!

 

So whats the total cost of your system minus the labor? Got any idea?

Is the MS8 worth adding to the factory system? I was going to start small and work my way up. If you were not going to everything at once where would you start?

Thanks,

HFL954

 

Sweet kicks, what did you use for the texture coating?

 

Hey just wanted to pass by and pass some respect on this project is looking GREAT so far...and i hope you have a smooth recovery

Just a question, i have a basic system set up in my car using an mtx re-q feeding off of my factory sub...the signal quality is crap! i dont have the kind of funds at the moment to spend too much more on audio...but could anyone provide any insight on how I can find the factory amp/take a signal pre-amp..or if that would even help at all?

thanks guys!

 

I finished the car a couple of weeks ago and have been swamped catching up on other things, so here are the final build pics.

I believe I left off at the trunk.

I decided to build a 2 tier system in the trunk for mounting everything. On the very bottom I mounted all the fuse blocks, passive crossovers for the rear speakers, video components and the MS-8 (more on that later).





I did not want to have to raise the floor of the trunk for the finals panels, so I recessed the board the amps mount to so that there is 1/4 inch between the top of the ms-8 and bottom of the amps even though I used 1/2 inch wood...it is much more clear in the pic.



The amps were then mounted.



There is a hinge that allows you to get to the fuses and everything below the amps.



I then started working on the final trim pieces and plexi for the trunk.






More to come.....

 

Moar!

 

More trunk finishing......




I attached white LED strips to the edges of the plexi, but I can't get the light to show up in pics, so you will have to take my word for it...lol.

I made a finishing panel for the Dynaudio Esotar2 1200 Sub in IB. I made sure plenty of the back panel was cut out and then covered it with acoustically transparent carpet.



Under the hood, I finished by installing a topper on my battery and sealing the rubber grommet where I ran the power wire.





Also, I relocated the hood release and it is accessible through the plastic panel (which I covered in carpet for acoustic purposes) the goes under the steering wheel area, back to the firewall.



more to come....

 

Now for the silver trim pieces beside the radio!

For those not familiar, they have a 1/2 circle cut out due to the factory radio that needs to be filled in. They are covered in real aluminum from the factory, so here is what I did.

I used a little bit of plastic, then rage gold over the top and finally fiberglass resin.




When done, I covered in Di-Noc brushed aluminum finish. I thought it was important to use something aluminum looking to keep the factory look and feel.




Up Close...


So that is everything....all finished. Ok, Ok, here are the final pics (I hope I didn't forget anything)!

What you see when you open the trunk....


When you remove the center panel.....


Rear seat...


Front switches (I agreed about the comments with the switch I installed to turn on/off the headrest monitors, so I removed that and installed a fog lamp switch from a 2006 Honda Accord. I changed the light condoms to match the interior lighting and everything looks as it should and matches interior backlighting).



Back of front seats....


more.....

 

Here is the finished center console, front stack and kick panels. Also notice the new black factory Acura carpet (I hate tan carpeting, especially with 2 kids).






Final thoughts and listening impressions. This is part of why it took so long to get these final pics posted. I configured the MS-8 following all tips/instructions given by various members. I can say the the center image was dean on amazing! The rest was meh! I was NOT impressed at all. It sounded very, well, processed. It sounded lifeless with all the emotion seeming to be removed from the music. The highs sounded a little odd, trying to be airy but not sounding natural. Overall I was very disappointed. I had my wife take a listen and she sat in there for less than a minute before telling me what I already knew about how it sounded. It almost seemed like something choking the amps and speakers from doing what they want to do. I played with it for 3-4 days and could not get it any better. I bypassed the MS-8 and used the potent internal processor in the P01 Head Unit, and it was like night/day. My RTA curve was within 5dB (highest peak to lowest dip) all across the board, without me using the eq. It sounds so natural and transparent and really really good. Everything is just seamless between the speakers and the upfront bass is just astounding. I had a friend (Mike) who dabbles in home audio listen and Mike said, "I am a little confused. I saw the sub in the back, but it sound like it is up in the dash somewhere...this is really neat"

I really have to hand it to the products I used in this install, the Dynaudio Speakers and Arc SE amps together, make beautiful music. I understand install is one of the most important aspects of a build, but using products that can really take advantage of good install practices is also important. I am honored to be a dealer for both of these fine brands!

I almost forgot...the car!!!

 

 

nice install and I love how that IB sub looks like in the trunk. Everything looks stealthy and I love that.

 

Nice work man!

When I post mine in a few weeks it will look like I pretty much copied yours.

On a side note, how did you set your factory clock after you took the stock deck out? I got my dash finished up this week and all is good except the clock is wrong and I don't know how to set it with the factory nav system removed.

 

Mine was non-navi and from what I have read, you wont be able to. Thanks for the kind words and I look forward to seeing yours.

 

That is what I was afraid of. Thanks.

 

i followed this thread all the way thru, almost like a good tv series, whats next...i dont know much about audio but i do know that this is an awesome set up as well as a well thought and executed process... congrats!!! do u have a store mayb i can come and visit, i would like to do my dash (non navi) over but want the factory look, i have not seen nor spoke to ne1 that can get a cleaner look #wackinstallers#....help lol

 

So many wires!!!!

But the car looks good probably sounds even better.
Love the black carpeting they should have made it like that in the first place.

 

They are needed to power all the goodness.

Thanks for the kind comments. That tan carpeting just drives me nuts!

 

Very, very nice! Can't wait till my kicks get here, they look amazing in the pictures you sent me. I will be able to have passengers again instead of protecting the domes that are velcroed to the floor lol.

I do have one question, what do you use for acoustically transparent material? I want my trunk to look stock when it's opened so I need to cover the rear of the sub and also the ski pass so you can't see it from the front either.

 

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL build!! If I had a lower mileage TL that I planned on keep for awhile, I'd be all over your kick panels and that IB setup. I Hate Cars is giving me some serious thought about IB and it doesn't look all too bad. Anyways, great looking setup and if I ever need a custom type install, I might just have to make a visit to see ya!

 

I got my carpet from Luxicor (IXOS and American Terminal Supply). I can give you a number, they will sell direct. They have acoustically transparent carpeting.

Norman is not that far away. My Uncle lives there, my sister-in-law lived there for a couple of years and my parents lived there for a year. So, if you ever need any help, 7 hours and you are here .....lol

 

I wanna know how the new backing is attached in there. The one that's covering the IB sub?

 

I could tell ya, but then I would have to kill ya.....

It's a little hard to explain and if I should just go out a take a pic, but I don't wanna right now...lol. It is pressure fit. I basically made 2 little boxes (about 8" x 4") and attached them to the baffle board, one on each side of the subs. On the face of the little boxes I cut an oval out...oh, hell.....here is a pic and it is self explanatory:



I had to get a little creative to not use any visible hardware for mounting.

 

thanks man that's perfect explanation, one picture that says it all

 

WOW im trying to find those headrest where did you get yours from.

 

he made them look at the rest of the thread

 

I'm super impressed. Very nice!

 

Lol really. You saw where he made the headrests but didn't see the 15 pictures of them getting cut up haha. It's ok, since your a noob...


Niebur3- One thing that keep amazes me besides all your work is how much the CF di-noc cleans up the tan/black interior. I found a black TL back when I was looking and didn't get it because it had this interior and the ugly wood trim. I really like the look now though! Looks different and very classy/sporty. Nice job

Also, those kick panels are to die for!! I WANT NOW