Preowner

Just installed my old JVC unit (pulled from my previous car) over the weekend. Hopefully this will be the tip of the iceburg.. I've already got new speakers , but need to fab up some door pods.

Side shot to show shallow mounting

I started out with the metra big-pocket dash kit (w/ the screw on HU mounting tabs). I didn't want an ugly HU trim seam so I glued/screwed in the flat one that came w/ the dash kit, and did a few coats of putty to smooth it out before painting.

Depth is limited in the cobalt radio location. Mounting this HU so deep meant I had to cut/drill out alot of the plastic panel in the back of the opening to get the connectors in. I ended up sailing through the center vent duct several times with the drill (quickly fixed by duct tape).

The good news is I found a close and easy to locate wire to tap for "illumination": Pin #2 of the small connector on the vent/fan control unit. It's a tan color wire if I remember correctly.

I've got an SWI-X installed to, but I couldn't program it... the HU remote battery was dead.

And that ends phase one for me. any thoughts?

chris88z24

I like it man.

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

looks damn good actually

cobaltguy88

dam that looks siiiiick man.. i like how the dash kit is color matched to the trim... nice!!

Preowner

Thanks guys.

I bought a few "colors" to test out. I think I ended up going with Rustolium spray. It had a chrome top but was labeled "silver". It's not as red/bronze as the car trim but it was too close to tell from my test pieces, a coat of redish brown before the silver might have fixed that a little.
I layed down a coat or two of plastic primer wich I didn't sand, per the primer instructions; then about 4 coats silver and finished it off with a few coats of non-gloss clear. Though the clear ended up crackling a little. It was cold in the house the day I painted it (a few months ago).. I may have temperature shocked it by putting it too close to the furnace vent. It's not as noticable since it isn't gloss and the silver fleck breaks up the surface a little.

I'm finding the pocket to be rather useless since there is no lip. Uppon the first mild acceleration I was assaulted by the CD cases I had in there. I suppose I could try some of that antislip drawer matting. Then atleast I could store my cellphones in there.

The head unit is annoying me though, it outputs a steady tick unless it's at 0 volume. And it gives a nice pop when transitioning from 0 to 1 volume and vice versa. I plan on using the internal HU amp for the new speakers anyway (4 ohm) and just using the sub preamp out to the stock amp for the sub. I'm more worried about SQ anymore vs volume, and I actually kind of like the subtle punchyness of the stock sub. I had an old muddy sounding MTX 15" in my previous car.

I feel a little geeky for the CSS supercharged logo pic I downloaded to it, Fun with photoshop...but I payed the extra $20 for the PICT feature so I might aswell try it out.

SuperSlow420

does your steering wheel controls work with an aftermarket cd player?

Preowner

Sorry, I was a bit vague. The SWI-X is the generic (not HU brand specific) wheel controll converter. It uses an IR led to mimic the remote that comes with the HU. but to program it you haveto hold down the button on the remote and the button on the wheel for it to "learn". The battery was dead in the HU remote so I couldn't program the converter.

I'm a lil worried the converter might not recognise this remote. There were a bunch of JVC remotes on the "not compatible" list, but not mine specificly.

Maybe I'll head out to Kroger on lunch break and pick up a battery.

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

and your going to use the sub preout for the stock amp how again?

Preowner

Connect the stock amp to the sub preamp outputs with some rca splitters and disconnect the rest of the speakers besides the sub from the amp. Then I will be using the HU internal amp for the new 4ohm speakers. Maybe not the best solution... The stock amp internal crossovers might not jive well with what the HU is telling it, but I will see if I like it enough. Otherwise getting a new sub amp I'm sure will make me want a new sub too. it's a slippery slope but something that may eventually happen. I like to split my installs up into managable chunks anyway.

cobaltL61

that looks sweet

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

u know u dont want to be ghetto and just get a new sub amp... go with a good 300w 2 chan and hook the stock sub to one channel 4 ohm until u upgrade. u know u will

Preowner

Well after being able to drive around for a while with this setup, I must say I'm actually impressed now with the stock speakers. Alot of the raspy distortion, and harsh peaky qualities have gone away. It's got surprisingly flat responce, though the sub doesn't get super low, I actually don't miss it. I like my bass to disappear into the music, not jackhammer my chest like most folks seem to prefir.

The HU may also be cutting off a little bass from the front/rear channels to "protect" the speakers.

Preowner

the rattles in the doors were realy getting to me. I slapped some deadener mat in and put some speaker gasket/foam tape around the edge of the door card that touches the door. The clips are held rather loosely and probably rattle on the plastic (card) side so I shoved little chunks of gasket foam in before sliding them back in place.

When I pulled the drivers side card off the tweeter fell out; both screw tabs broke off somehow. I'm sure it was like that for some time, as I was being rather careful. I just unplugged the tweeter and superglued it back in place.

I was working pretty fast since it was starting to get dark. I didn't get any pics yet before putting the cards back on... not like it's very exciting to look at.

Most of the rattles seem to be gone. There is still one that sounds deep in there like it's part of the window mechanism. But it is much quieter and hard to notice. I may go in later and put one more layer of matting.

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

what dampener did you decide to go with?

Preowner

It's some cheap noname vinyl stuff from parts express.. $25 for a 27"x40" sheet. I didn't want to go super cheap and smell asphalt all summer.

It probably would have done a better job if I had done it right, but I was lazy and just slapped it over the vapor barrier.

It's funny I have had good success with a layer of ducttape over the vapor barrier on other cars, but that was just to stop it from fluttering.

Next is to line the glovebox. maybe something as asimple as that grippy drawer mat stuff. Just to keep random items from rattling on the plastic. Alot of those rattles seem to be more from the poly engine/trans mounts than bass.

Preowner

I've let this project sit for a while. I have some rather unexciting updates though.. I got rid of the rattles in the glovebox by applying some peel n stick foam mat inside the compartment, and more vinyl on either side of the compartment. It seemed to do a pretty good job.

I also changed my radio-on signal tap to the unused fuse location #15 per This thread. It allowed me to retain the power features of the stock radio.. Most notably the radio will turn on from the first accessory position, so I don't haveto sit with the autolights on and my fuel pump sucking power if i'm at a drive-in or something. Also after the engine is shut off the radio will stay on for 10min or until a door is opened like the stock radio.

I've had the new speakers for quite a while just sitting around.. Here's what I've got. (keep in mind I'm a DIYer at heart I'd rather build a speaker set than buy one)
- Eminence 4ohm Alpha-6C mid/midbass drivers(door): It may not be ideal for car audio but I like the can't-bust-it quality and high efficiency of "pro audio" speakers. Plus the magnets on these things are massive!
- HiVi TN28 1.25" Fabric dome tweeter pods: I like fabric domes and I thought the pod idea was nice since they can be mounted about anywhere a screw hole can be drilled. Plus they are 6ohms to make up for efficiency differences. I've had luck with 4ohm mid and 6ohm tweet combinations in the past.
- Dual XNP693 6x9 "triaxials": Went for cheap rearfill. Only stipulation being a fabric dome tweeter. In previous projects I've been impressed with these for the price.
- Handbuild XO for the front component setup. Using film caps, heavy gauge wirewound coils, and big electrolytics for bassblocking roughly under 100 hz. I built them a while ago but I think it was all 1st order to keep everything simple. Can't recall the xo point either.

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

isnt that just the wiper fuse?

not to dis or anything but with some badass diy stuff why in hell would u get duals for rear fill. Id take a set of daytons pieced together over most car audio stuff plus i bet they are cheaper

Preowner

I think the fuse above it is the wiper because I was using it before. This spot seems to come from the factory vacant of a fuse on ss/sc cars atleast.

Ehehe no dis, It seems like you tried to complement me there a bit. My opinion of dual was that it is flashy crap, you don't need to go any farther than look at the box to see that. But that pair was only $45, and had I not heard them before (atleast in 6.5" form) I'd still hold that opinion. I think they are good bang for the buck. I'm willing to look past the fact that they have power terminals for LEDs LOL!

Plus coaxials arn't the end of the world for rear deck.. I hate them in doors though.

Preowner

Finally got my SWI-X working. I originally neglected to wire the 10v reference wire (from the car wiring harness) to +12v as the instructions show. I also had to relocate the IR LED from the original spot I put it, in center console, to poking out the bottom of the mirror. Sofar it works well; any delay I think is in the HU not the SWI-X, and the only time it won't work is when the HU is blinded by direct sun from the rear window (which isn't often at all).

I also got tired of having my cell charger lying around. So I did a semi-permanent install by adding an under the dash plug and routing the wire to the little dash compartment on the left. No rattles since I coated the cubby with sticky-back foam. It's a little cramped for 2 phones ("Igo" charger with a splitter for my 2 phones) but one should be peachy for anyone else attempting this.