[bsbabcock]

Just noticed something:

Whatchu got hiding mounted behind that wheel well? Or is that something stock with your nav system? Looks like you found a nice spot to mount something. I looked and snooped around those areas around the wheel wells thinking there's potential there for stuff if it could fit in there.

 

[papasin]

NICE WORK! Your camera is a far cry from my Droid X. That interior strip-down shot is a great reference pic. Thanks for the updates!

The MLV pics are just from an iPhone, but yeah, everything else is from a DSLR - Canon 5D Mark II. Definitely overkill for these sort of pics, but I use it quite a bit for other things .

On carpet/floorboard:
So I guess it's kosher to just cut those short pieces across the console to get the carpet out? I was || that close to totally pulling it but wasn't so sure if I wanted to cut it to get it out of that console. Looks easy enough though.

I actually didn't cut them. I was tempted to cut, and was willing to do so if I couldn't get things to work. But I just lifted the carpet from each side when putting down the CCF/MLV combo.

Did you also CLD the floorboard area or just the trunk? I think the MLV is the biggie as I bet you might agree, for that area.

I did. I used a little bit of Dynamat Xtreme in certain locations where there wasn't factory deadener similar to the pic of the spare tire well I took. I also put Dynamat Xtreme along the B-pillars, and a few other places where I thought would benefit that exposed sheet metal.

On speaker wiring if you're diy'ing yourself... I went with some 16 guage Kicker for lack of better imagination. It runs easy, fed through door boots well, and I think is absolutely fine for performance. I wouldn't consider 12 guage for 6.5" mids or tweets, especially considering a short run from under the seats. From trunk to fronts it took all of the 75ft roll I got (two runs each side), so going to under the seats should be a nice savings on length.

Thanks for the tip, but for now, I'm going to just go with the Crutchfield harness I mentioned. I still have the amps and the MS-8 mounted behind the back seat. It's not the cleanest solution in terms of appearance, but it actually works pretty well since I never put the seats down (I have two car seats pretty much mounted permanently on each side).

I'm really starting to consider my floorboards and trunk now. Thanks.. More work for me! LOL!

Once you have the car taken apart, it actually goes pretty quickly, especially when using the CCF/MLV fused together. Just measure, cut, and lay flat. A little trickier in the rear area because of the spare tire section and its curvature, but overall, probably didn't take more than an hour once everything was taken out. As I mentioned, the PITA was with the backup camera install...and not the camera portion but the interface box to the stock NAV. I still think it was worth it though!

 

[papasin]

Just noticed something:

Whatchu got hiding mounted behind that wheel well? Or is that something stock with your nav system? Looks like you found a nice spot to mount something. I looked and snooped around those areas around the wheel wells thinking there's potential there for stuff if it could fit in there.

That's for XM...at least that's what I think it is according to this (see page 12):

http://www.hondapartsnow.com/installation/civic/2008-civic-hybrid-xm-radio-system.pdf

 

[fid3L]

Great stuff man!!!

 

[papasin]

Update (front stage)

Recall

What’s next?

5. Upgrade the speakers for my front stage.

Well, had some time last weekend. The mids will be upgraded with a set of Image Dynamics X65 and the tweeters to a set of Image Dynamics XS28.

First, some comparisons. The mids, from left to right: Stock, Infinity Kappas, Image Dynamics X65

Depth of the X65 mid as you can see is a bit deeper, not to mention won't fit in the stock door location without modifications. The hole needed to be enlarged by cutting into the sheet metal, and a half inch wood baffle was cut to offset the depth. To protect against the elements, the baffle was coated in truck bedliner. Here's the final result.

Driver's side:

Passenger side:

The door card needed a little trimming, and was treated with vibration dampener to prevent buzzing.

Finally, comparison of the tweeters to go into the stock location. From left to right: Stock, Infinity Kappas, Image Dynamics XS28

Spent time retuning the MS-8. At first, I had a center image that was off to the left. I tried various things, including adjusting the crossover frequency, moving the EQ curve around. I checked the speaker polarity and made sure things were wired correctly. I also played around with the tweeter locations just for the heck of it. Wow, everything sounds amazing with the tweeters off-axis just sitting at the little window. Maybe another upgrade for later? .

Anyway, I restored the tweeters to the stock location, and retuned with the MS-8. After about 5 days now, and a bit of a break-in, I can definitely say there is a significant improvement. Midrange/midbass is much crisper, and the highs are so much more detailed, without being harsh or bright compared with the Kappas. I was also able to get a better center image, but can't say exactly what I did to get there since I tried a variety of things and not sure which step got me to the final result. Overall, I'm quite happy with the outcome.

 

[bsbabcock]

Absolutely awesome!!! Those baffles kick my rear end on mine for sure. Nicely done. When you say "wood", what kind? I just ran MDF. I think you treated yours far better though. I never thought of bedliner. Nice!

I still have Bikinpunk's front window enclosures that were glassed to fill in those windows and hold a small mid and tweet (he ran scan-speaks in them), should you want them. I bought them from him but since I was scared of doing a 3-way front-stage just yet, they're just sitting on the shelf unutilized. They're definitely used, and need some doctoring up and cosmetic work but are well treated. They need a grill solution that would be fun but would give you an option for tweet location. They fire directly across from each other so being so off-axis might or might not float your boat.

 

[papasin]

Absolutely awesome!!! Those baffles kick my rear end on mine for sure. Nicely done. When you say "wood", what kind? I just ran MDF. I think you treated yours far better though. I never thought of bedliner. Nice!

I still have Bikinpunk's front window enclosures that were glassed to fill in those windows and hold a small mid and tweet (he ran scan-speaks in them), should you want them. I bought them from him but since I was scared of doing a 3-way front-stage just yet, they're just sitting on the shelf unutilized. They're definitely used, and need some doctoring up and cosmetic work but are well treated. They need a grill solution that would be fun but would give you an option for tweet location. They fire directly across from each other so being so off-axis might or might not float your boat.

Not sure what kind of wood. Had some out back that happened to be 1/2" in thickness. Can't take credit for the Bedliner idea, saw Bing do that on his installs.

I've PM you re: enclosures. I'm intrigued .

 

[bsbabcock]

Just showing all kinds of possibilities in those a-pillars. Bikinpunk I think paved the way for us on potential sonic coolness in that regard. I remember firing directly across off-axis he was able to tune the setup pretty spectacular. I think he competed "SQ class" with it with some great results. Keep in mind, there's some serious speakers there in those scan-speaks he was running.

I bet these covered in black instead of tan to match the Si would even look awesome without grills, just drivers flushed in.

 

[bsbabcock]

googling, I saw this on the web as well but I'm betting there's all kinds of reflection issues with this idea.

 

[LatinFG2]

Wow very nice work man. Love those pics with the interior tear down.

 

[Beckerson1]

Wow looks great. I'm looking to improve my system and am starting with the HU. Now with the amp bypass harness that will totally eliminate the stock amp? Reason I'm asking is because if possible I would like to retain the stock sub to tide me over till I get a better aftermarket setup in the trunk... similar to the OP's

 

[papasin]

googling, I saw this on the web as well but I'm betting there's all kinds of reflection issues with this idea.
image

I found this thread at DIYMA. Good info IMHO.

Unique System & Installation - 8th Gen. Civic EX Coupe - DIYMA.com - Scientific Car Audio - Truth in Sound Quality

I also checked to see how much kicks would cost in case I want to drill holes and not happy with them later, and it turns out that they are less than $10 to replace both if you get it from hondapartsnow.com...so might be another short weekend project .

In most situations, the tuning would take as long (if not longer) than putting the tweets in the kicks. But that's the beauty of the MS-8. I can mount the tweets in the kicks, retune and in 10 minutes see if I like it.

 

[papasin]

Wow very nice work man. Love those pics with the interior tear down.

Thanks, but I have to thank the various folks on this forum and DIYMA. I've learned a ton through folks' posts, and may not have had the confidence to do what I've done. Glad to post and happy to reciprocate if I can help someone else out.

 

[papasin]

Wow looks great. I'm looking to improve my system and am starting with the HU. Now with the amp bypass harness that will totally eliminate the stock amp? Reason I'm asking is because if possible I would like to retain the stock sub to tide me over till I get a better aftermarket setup in the trunk... similar to the OP's

Short answer is yes, the harness eliminates the stock amp and you would need to go directly into an aftermarket amp, or in my case as others, it goes into a processor such as the MS-8.

But IMHO, it all depends on your priorities and your budget. If it were me to do over again (all the way to re-purchasing the car), I probably would have bought a ROP SI sedan without the NAV HU and saved the money and applied it to my build/install. Then, I would have purchased an aftermarket double-din NAV and no longer need the amp bypass harness.

Also, now that I know what I know, I probably could have built my own harness (lol). In fact all the info you need is in this forum! I'm also only using two RCA channels and remote turn on from the Mercman harness (the harness has 4 RCA channels). Since the harness goes into the MS-8 first, I only need the front two channels to get the full-range signal. Don't get me wrong though, the Mercman harness is excellent quality, and he is phenomenaly helpful.

Also, not sure what you have in mind for "improving your system", but my $0.02 is that the stock sub is inferior to a lot of good 6.5" component sets out there. For example, I would contend that the 7-10 year-old Infinity Kappas I previously had in there could hit almost at the same frequency range as the stock sub...and the Image Dynamics X65 definitely can and most likely go lower. Obviously, with my set-up, I cross the IDs and let the JL sub fill in the low-end, but I've played with crossing it as low as 63Hz (the ID specs say it can go as low as 55Hz).

Bottomline, I think if you decide to upgrade your front stage first, you can probably ditch the stock sub and won't miss it (it might even just muddy your system if you get a good front stage).

 

[kRaZy_SI]

LOoking good
Love the c

 

[kRaZy_SI]

Nice pics have the same color SI

 

[Beckerson1]

Short answer is yes, the harness eliminates the stock amp and you would need to go directly into an aftermarket amp, or in my case as others, it goes into a processor such as the MS-8.

But IMHO, it all depends on your priorities and your budget. If it were me to do over again (all the way to re-purchasing the car), I probably would have bought a ROP SI sedan without the NAV HU and saved the money and applied it to my build/install. Then, I would have purchased an aftermarket double-din NAV and no longer need the amp bypass harness.

Also, now that I know what I know, I probably could have built my own harness (lol). In fact all the info you need is in this forum! I'm also only using two RCA channels and remote turn on from the Mercman harness (the harness has 4 RCA channels). Since the harness goes into the MS-8 first, I only need the front two channels to get the full-range signal. Don't get me wrong though, the Mercman harness is excellent quality, and he is phenomenaly helpful.

Also, not sure what you have in mind for "improving your system", but my $0.02 is that the stock sub is inferior to a lot of good 6.5" component sets out there. For example, I would contend that the 7-10 year-old Infinity Kappas I previously had in there could hit almost at the same frequency range as the stock sub...and the Image Dynamics X65 definitely can and most likely go lower. Obviously, with my set-up, I cross the IDs and let the JL sub fill in the low-end, but I've played with crossing it as low as 63Hz (the ID specs say it can go as low as 55Hz).

Bottomline, I think if you decide to upgrade your front stage first, you can probably ditch the stock sub and won't miss it (it might even just muddy your system if you get a good front stage).

Thanks... Ya right now I'm budgeted to $400... So I'm starting off with the HU (pioneer DEH-P7200HD) ($250 includes HU, dash kit, wiring harness, and antenna adapter)

I've listened to the lower end focals (components) which sound great ($300-$350 plus materials for running new wiring)... I've even been told that MB guarts PVL216 (or something like that, don't know off the top of my head) sound good for the money... haven't found a place that has them to listen to though... Thing is i'm not going to buy something that I can't listen to

 

[papasin]

Thanks... Ya right now I'm budgeted to $400... So I'm starting off with the HU (pioneer DEH-P7200HD) ($250 includes HU, dash kit, wiring harness, and antenna adapter)

I've listened to the lower end focals (components) which sound great ($300-$350 plus materials for running new wiring)... I've even been told that MB guarts PVL216 (or something like that, don't know off the top of my head) sound good for the money... haven't found a place that has them to listen to though... Thing is i'm not going to buy something that I can't listen to

If you like the way Focals sound, I'd suggest going a step above the entry-level line (I assume you are referring to the Access line when you say the entry-level). The Polyglass line often can be had at the same price range as you're looking at. In fact, looking at Pacific Stereo, you can get the 165VR in your price range. As you probably know, these are the previous model to the V30 (30th anniversary edition).

In general, Focals are a little "warmer" than I like, and the tweeters are definitely going to be brighter than the IDs I went with. Just a matter of taste.

 

[papasin]

Tweeter mounting

I found this thread at DIYMA. Good info IMHO.

Unique System & Installation - 8th Gen. Civic EX Coupe - DIYMA.com - Scientific Car Audio - Truth in Sound Quality

I also checked to see how much kicks would cost in case I want to drill holes and not happy with them later, and it turns out that they are less than $10 to replace both if you get it from hondapartsnow.com...so might be another short weekend project .

In most situations, the tuning would take as long (if not longer) than putting the tweets in the kicks. But that's the beauty of the MS-8. I can mount the tweets in the kicks, retune and in 10 minutes see if I like it.

After much debate as to how to permanently mount the tweeters in the stock location, I decided perhaps the stock location isn't the best place. For one, I could not come up with a good way to mount it. With the XS-28 grill cover on, it will sit flush in the stock location, but leaves very little clearance against the windshield (probably less than an inch). It's also impossible to aim it, not to mention I was getting nasty imaging issues as I mentioned previously. Often times, the stage was off to the left even after recalibration with the MS-8.

After looking at the various options I mentioned above, I decided to mount the XS-28s in the kicks. If for anything, if I change my mind later, I can replace both kick panels for less than $10!

With the right tools (a 2" hole saw for the case of the ID XS-28), the entire process took less than an hour.

See below.

Kick pulled out with tweeter mounted:

Driver's side:

Passenger's side:

I went ahead and retuned the MS-8. I was initially worried that the stage would be very low and it would be obvious to the listener that the tweeters were down at the kicks vs. up high in the stock location or the pillars for many others that mount tweets up there. Suffice it to say I was pleasantly shocked! It appears to me that there are tweeters actually in the dash, when there isn't. Stage isn't as high as when the tweets were in the stock location, but the stage is wider, the center is much better, and things aren't as bright as they were (no surprise since I'm not getting the on-axis reflections off the windshield).

Will spend some time listening more carefully and tweaking. My initial thought is that if I'm going to make another change on the front-stage, it will probably be considering getting the Audible Physics XR Duo set, and mounting the XR3M in the little windows on the sides .

 

[Beckerson1]

If you like the way Focals sound, I'd suggest going a step above the entry-level line (I assume you are referring to the Access line when you say the entry-level). The Polyglass line often can be had at the same price range as you're looking at. In fact, looking at Pacific Stereo, you can get the 165VR in your price range. As you probably know, these are the previous model to the V30 (30th anniversary edition).

In general, Focals are a little "warmer" than I like, and the tweeters are definitely going to be brighter than the IDs I went with. Just a matter of taste.

I also thought about going a step up as well... debating on what amp I want to use... I'd like to retain a stealth look and don't want to waste trunk space. If possible I'd like to either mount an amp under the passenger seat, or even where the stock sub is...