Altima Coupe Interior Mods

[chosmo]

Hey Thanks Shift_2.5s. I really appreciate it!!!! :-)

As far as my subs and enclosures are concerned, I am using Image dynamics subs. They are custom made 10 inch drivers. I REALLY like the IDQ series, and I am about to switch over to them. The volume requirements are about 0.6 cubic feet for my subs, and even less for the IDQ's. My enclusures are about 0.5 cubic feet each.

There are things you could do to accomodate the enclosure volume you need, the main option being to make each enclosure deeper and thus intruding more toward the center of the trunk.

Can I ask, why those Kicker subs? Have you tried other subs? I am sure they are great for SPL, but I personally have never been much of a Kicker fan.

Well, I hope this was helpful. Let me know if you have any more questions!

[tsorenson]

I have had used several different brands though out my days of having systems from Pioneer, JBL, Apline, JL Audio, HiFonics and I am sure I have tried a few more brands but can't remember them. Why for the Kickers, well my buddy has 2 L7's in his Explorer and his g/f has an L5 in her Accord coupe and they sound good. I have never heard of your brand before, at least not that I know of. I like your set-up and I would not mind going with two 10's if they do not go to far into the trunk. I was just thinking about one 12, but I have still not made up my mind. Can you tell me the price range those subs run? And what type of power they require as well.

Troy

[rjdmmfl1]

Just wanted to add these pics to the interior mods thread also...

I got this Real Carbon Fiber Dash kit from here:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWDVW

I've heard folks say negative things about the longevity of dash kits, and having installed a few in my day, I can honestly say that DASH PREP MEANS EVERYTHING

if you plan to install a dash kit, use 3M prep solvent to clean your dash. It is available at most hardware stores... note, you may need to clean each piece 4-5 times, especially if you have used armor-all in the past. Here's a link to the PROPER way to prep a dash... http://www.superiordash.com/In...l.jpg

*nOTE* alcohol will NOT do the job

here's the pics...

[MadBlackCoupe]

Looks good man.

How satisfied are you with the final results on a scale of 1-10, 10 being Extremely Happy, 1 being Not Very Happy.

I see you installed the D3? You decided on the steering wheel control gizzmo instead of the PAC-SWI PS?

Mad

[rjdmmfl1]

Yeah, I got the D3 instead of the Z2... i have to buy my wife a Nav unit for her car also, just couldn't see paying 1400 for one whe i could get two D3's for the same price...

On a scale of 1 - 10, I'm at about an 11... couldn't be happier.... it completely changed the looks of the interior... the pics don't really do it justice, i love it... but it took a long time to clean the peices in order to get it right!

Also, I do have the PAC-SWI PS and the extra remote... the PAC-SWI PS only allows vlume, track and source... the extra remote allows control of bluetooth from the steering wheel!

[MadBlackCoupe]

Good stuff. I remember you talking about that. The D3 is nice man. I wish I could have done the install myself.

Wow, 11 on a scale of 1-10, that's great. I may go that route, but I'd get chrome or black.

Really? I thought the PS did more than that:

• Assign the buttons on the steering wheel to any of the 9 specific Pioneer functions.Volume Up, Volume Down, Mute, Track Up, Track Down, Source, Preset Up, Preset Down and Band.

http://www.pac-audio.com/produ...rface

You are right though, no bluetooth. Crap. Well, I'll order me one too bro.

Thanks man.

Yeah, I got the D3 instead of the Z2... i have to buy my wife a Nav unit for her car also, just couldn't see paying 1400 for one whe i could get two D3's for the same price...

On a scale of 1 - 10, I'm at about an 11... couldn't be happier.... it completely changed the looks of the interior... the pics don't really do it justice, i love it... but it took a long time to clean the peices in order to get it right!

Also, I do have the PAC-SWI PS and the extra remote... the PAC-SWI PS only allows vlume, track and source... the extra remote allows control of bluetooth from the steering wheel!

[rjdmmfl1]

MBC,the thing is, the PAC-SWI PS can only do commands that you have on your steering wheel... and on our steering wheel, all the A/C has is volume, track, and band (well bluetooth also, but the PAC doesn't do bluetooth)

Keep in mind the directions are for all pioneer and sony units, but for any car! You can only control what you have buttons for, ya dig!

[MadBlackCoupe]

I can dig it brother!

Thanks for the info.

-MBC

[chosmo]

Image Dynamics makes a very inexpensive sub, for the quality. It is one of the best SQ subs out there, and it is only $160 for a 10 inch IDQ DVC sub. Power requirements are around 350 watts rms each. I am running them both off of a Pioneer PDX-1.600 that has a manufacturer rating of 728X1. You can see more at the image dynamics retail website: http://www.imagedynamicsstore.com

Just for the sake of argument, I may suggest a few other subs to you. Perhaps the best compromise I have seen lately between SQ, SPL, and price would be Memphis audio. If you havent heard them, you may want to look into it. Focal makes a great sub, but typically they come in strange sizes. I personally prefer the work of Image Dynamics and Arc Audio. Although, at the end of the day, it is whatever YOUR ear likes best. I am just throwing out a few that I have come across in all of my research so that you might be able to really explore your options before you spend your money. Let me know what you end up getting. :-)

[surmanm]

Ok! I am pretty much finished at this point and I am pretty excited about it!

It sounds INCREDIBLE.

Here is a picture summary of everything I have done.

All that remains is the possibility of upgrading some existing equipment.

Here is what I started with when I bought the car:









The first step was to remove the foam, etc from the base of the trunk and build an amp rack:







Next I layed fiberglass mat and created a base for my enclosure:





Then I mounted wooden mounting rings on this base, tightly fastened felt around the entire piece, and coated the felt with fiberglass resin. Once this was done, I did a LOT I mean A LOOOT of sanding, so that when I painted I would have a smooth finish. Once painting was completed, I lined the interior with Hushmat and carpeted the rear and bottom of the piece.





At this point, I mounted everything in my car and waited until I figured out how to disassemble my dash and doors. I was too nervous to start pulling on things, and so I waited for Crutchfield to give me some tips on this over the phone. This stand still lasted 2 months...where I was not able to wire anything....this required GREAT patience.







Finally, I began wiring, which took nearly two weeks. I dont have many pictures as wiring is not that exciting.











Here is the sound deadening and speaker mounting results. I had to create an adapter plate to install my speakers in the 6X9 slot in the rear. I am thinking about getting the XS-69 speakers from Image dynamics to replace these. Speaking of Image Dynamics....they made my current sub...and I am also thinking of upgrading to an IDQ series. They make AWESOME equipment, and these are the only mods I am still considering for my stereo at this time.













I also installed the radio at this point, and what I do not have pictured is an ipod adapter chord that I ran through the rear of the compartment below the radio. I never put anything in that compartment, and it seemed like the cleanest place to hook in my ipod (lossless compression only of course)

Also pictured here is a view from my backup camera mounted on my bumper. This appears on screen whenever the car is in reverse. Oh...and I also have navigation with this unit.

This is the finished product for my radio....there will be o











Here are some final views of the finished trunk after wiring is complete. Aside from my Mcintosh amplifier (with illuminated analog power display), perhaps the most interesting thing is my Alpine surround sound processor (looks like another head unit in my trunk). This allows me to adjust time alignment, imaging, 31 band graphic eq on all channels, dolby 5.1 surround, not to mention quickly and easily turning up, down, on, or off of any individual speaker with a click of a button. The unit also does much more, I am just learning to use it. It is a sound system control dream come true.

Im also pretty happy with my digital distribution block that shows the real time voltage and current.

Here is my installation progress so far. I thought it might give you guys ideas for an install that does not affect the functionability of the car in any way (still full access to spare tire and no trunk room loss). I should be finished within a week and have the rest of my pictures up then.

Here is what the car had initially (6X9s on the rear deck-pictures later).



Here are some changes I made to my car:







The final trunk product with my Mcintosh amps and crossovers, as well as my fiberglass enclosures all mounted in the trunk.

I did it all myself, and I picked up most of my equipment on ebay to make my money stretch a bit further. It's a hobby of mine I guess. The sound deadening material I use is HushMat. I think this is a far superior product to dynamat or any other competitors in my experience.

I will try to break down a few prices:

Mcintosh Mc431m amplifier: 550Alpine PDX-1.600 amplifier: 250Image Dynamics subs: 140Power distribution block: 402 pair Mcintosh speakers: 500materials for fiberglass enclosures: 100-150?materials for amp rack: 80-100hushmat bulk kit: 100Eclipse AVN5500 with rear view camera and ipod adapter: 700speaker wire: 0 (free 100 ft 12 gauge stinger pack)PXA-H701 surround sound processor with RUX control unit: 380Monster power RCA's: 100power wire kits: 150

wow.....that is about $3000 ha....not sure I realized how much money I spent until now....I have accumulated a lot of these items over a fairly long period of time.

Also, some of the items I listed above are not pictured....YET....but they will be soon when I finish.

Modified by chosmo at 8:44 AM 10/15/2007

Ok! I am pretty much finished at this point and I am pretty excited about it!

It sounds INCREDIBLE.

Here is a picture summary of everything I have done.

All that remains is the possibility of upgrading some existing equipment.

Here is what I started with when I bought the car:









The first step was to remove the foam, etc from the base of the trunk and build an amp rack:







Next I layed fiberglass mat and created a base for my enclosure:





Then I mounted wooden mounting rings on this base, tightly fastened felt around the entire piece, and coated the felt with fiberglass resin. Once this was done, I did a LOT I mean A LOOOT of sanding, so that when I painted I would have a smooth finish. Once painting was completed, I lined the interior with Hushmat and carpeted the rear and bottom of the piece.





At this point, I mounted everything in my car and waited until I figured out how to disassemble my dash and doors. I was too nervous to start pulling on things, and so I waited for Crutchfield to give me some tips on this over the phone. This stand still lasted 2 months...where I was not able to wire anything....this required GREAT patience.







Finally, I began wiring, which took nearly two weeks. I dont have many pictures as wiring is not that exciting.











Here is the sound deadening and speaker mounting results. I had to create an adapter plate to install my speakers in the 6X9 slot in the rear. I am thinking about getting the XS-69 speakers from Image dynamics to replace these. Speaking of Image Dynamics....they made my current sub...and I am also thinking of upgrading to an IDQ series. They make AWESOME equipment, and these are the only mods I am still considering for my stereo at this time.













I also installed the radio at this point, and what I do not have pictured is an ipod adapter chord that I ran through the rear of the compartment below the radio. I never put anything in that compartment, and it seemed like the cleanest place to hook in my ipod (lossless compression only of course)

Also pictured here is a view from my backup camera mounted on my bumper. This appears on screen whenever the car is in reverse. Oh...and I also have navigation with this unit.

This is the finished product for my radio....there will be o











Here are some final views of the finished trunk after wiring is complete. Aside from my Mcintosh amplifier (with illuminated analog power display), perhaps the most interesting thing is my Alpine surround sound processor (looks like another head unit in my trunk). This allows me to adjust time alignment, imaging, 31 band graphic eq on all channels, dolby 5.1 surround, not to mention quickly and easily turning up, down, on, or off of any individual speaker with a click of a button. The unit also does much more, I am just learning to use it. It is a sound system control dream come true.

Im also pretty happy with my digital distribution block that shows the real time voltage and current.

ok i found this old thread never saw it before i think this is an amazing job and this should be stickyed come on article manger dangeris make this a wright up..

makes me wanna put a sound system in my car just seeing this amazing setup

[khanhieinc]

i cant believe ur in austin!!! i would love to check out ur car. i spent the last hour researching on how to build a custom box.

i am very impressed with what you did with urs. great job! hit me up sometime!

[Blackmobile]

wow this is a really old thread, i like reading posts on the first page where some of the veteran guys are asking about what sized bulbs to buy