'Bout time to join and say hello

[AppleBonker]

Well, I've been lurking for a bit on these forums. I found the other forums before buying my car and joined there looking for advice on a bunch of things. At this point in my ownership (I've nearly finished my AV mods), I'm planning on getting into some more performance and appearance mods, so it seems joining here is a necessity.

About me:I'm from the greater Chicago-land area. This is my first Nissan and the first car I've purchased new. I'm coming from a Honda Civic Si, and I could not be happier with the improvement this car is over that. I do happen to work in the automotive coatings industry (on the customer support side of the paint manufacturing process), so feel free to ask me any and all questions about the paint on our cars and I'll do my best to answer them.

My car:'08 Altima Coupe Radiant SilverLoaded without factory navigation or VDCTints (20% front, 5% rear)

AV Mods (pretty much the only thing not stock at this point):HU - Alpine IVA-W205HU Accs - iPod connector, steering wheel interface, HD Radio, blackbird nav, backup cameraProcessor - Alpine H701Sound Deadener - Second Skin Audio Damplifier throughout carFront Tweets - ScanSpeak D2904/6000Front Mids - Rainbow Audio Profi 6.5sRear Fill (used <2% of the time) - Rainbow Audio Dream Line 6x9'sSubwoofer - Critical Mass UL12Sub Enclosure - Custom built fiberglassFront Amp - Alpine PDX-4.150Rear Amp - Alpine PDX-2.150Sub Amp - Sundown Audio SAZ-3000DExtras - Kinetik HC2400 in the trunk, complete custom trunk install

Few Pics (only of the trunk, interior looks essentially stock):

[Scandinavian Flick]

hey welcome to nico, thats a mean looking sub ya got there

[Marisha]

welcome!

[AppleBonker]

hey welcome to nico, thats a mean looking sub ya got there

It's far meaner sounding than looking. I was originally looking at the RE XXX 12", but for only a couple hundred bucks more I got this. Same performance, but about 16lb. versus about 75lb. Definitely better considering how much weight the sound deadener/extra battery added to my car.

Also, forgot to mention. 6 speed, ftw.

[LongBeachCoupe]

and it looks like hes got full access to the spare too!

Welcome, you shoulda joined a long time ago man!

Glad to have you here!

[Scandinavian Flick]

i want a six speed too....damn cvt

[SHIFT_COUPE]

Applebonker eh? haha nice

Welcome aboard! Glad you joined. Very clean install in the trunk you have there!

[AppleBonker]

and it looks like hes got full access to the spare too!

Welcome, you shoulda joined a long time ago man!

Glad to have you here!

I know I should've joined a while ago. Just too lazy I guess. Definitely have access to the spare. Check out the pic below. It's wedged in there pretty good, and it may take a decent amount of force to get it out, but it is possible.

[AppleBonker]

Applebonker eh? haha nice

Welcome aboard! Glad you joined. Very clean install in the trunk you have there!

I get a lot of questions about that. Stole it right from The Beatles in Yellow Submarine...

Thanks for the compliments. I wasn't trying to spend too much time on the install, but once I got going I really wanted to do it right. Like I said, the rest of the car looks completely stock, save the head unit and dash trim piece. I don't like the trim piece, so I'm planning on making my own and potentially painting it silver (I can't use the OEM looking one due to the auto climate control, otherwise I would). I've got plenty of pics of the fabrication of everything if anyone wants to see anything. Also, on the sides of the spare tire compartment are two small storage areas with lids. Near the back seat is obviously the Sundown Amp compartment. Under the Alpines is the extra battery, if anyone was wondering.

[maxentropy]

Nice choice with the Critical Mass UL12. Big spender eh? Would love to hear how it sounds. Clean install too btw!

[LongBeachCoupe]

Post the pics of the install and fabrication!Is this your first install (id bet a dollar its not!)

[notaverage]

soo clean! you got performance AND fucntionality from your sound system. seems like you still have room for a few bags of groceries in the trunk.

I know the interior looks stock, but i still wanna see pics of the head unit!

Welcome to NICO, you'll like it here

[AppleBonker]

Nice choice with the Critical Mass UL12. Big spender eh? Would love to hear how it sounds. Clean install too btw!

More than I should've spent. I got a good deal on it though. Now that I've heard the thing, it was worth every penny. Also, this thing was basically pieced together over time, so it wasn't all money being spent in one day. Doubt my bank account could've handled that.

[AppleBonker]

Post the pics of the install and fabrication!Is this your first install (id bet a dollar its not!)

Definitely not my first install. This was, however, my first crazy install. I started with simple speakers, sub, HU and amp in an Accord. Did the same thing for numerous family members/friends. Then I moved on to my Civic (when I got it) and went nearly this far, but without the custom trunk work. Just used a MDF box and mounted amps to the rear seat. Nowhere near as clean looking. When I got this car (hoping to have it for a while), I wanted to do it right.

Couple pics you were looking for:

This is the left compartment I mentioned. Can keep small things in there. Not too useful, but better than the stock styrofoam wasting space.

Tweeter in the dash

Hole where I drilled for the power cable (behind the glove box)

Where the power cable enters the engine bay

What the H701 looks like under the driver's seat

[AppleBonker]

More pics, of the fabrication stuff this time:

Sub enclosure base

First 3 layers of glass

Popped from trunk (I was in too much of a rush and didn't take any pics of the fleeced enclosure or when it was finished and bondoed and sanded)

Sound deadening:

[D-Roll]

Welcome to NICO! Nice set up

[AppleBonker]

More pics:

False floor in development:

Where I ran the cable for the camera

Inside the trunk where that wire comes in

[AppleBonker]

Guess I should apologize for all the pics on this page. Hopefully most of those cover the entire install. Amazing how one page if pics can sum up nearly 2 months worth of work on the weekends.

soo clean! you got performance AND fucntionality from your sound system. seems like you still have room for a few bags of groceries in the trunk.

I know the interior looks stock, but i still wanna see pics of the head unit!

Welcome to NICO, you'll like it here

I actually always fit my week's grocery run in the trunk still. I'm pretty happy I was able to save some space in this enormous trunk.

On to your request:

Head unit. iPod is in the cubby below. HD radio tuner is under the passenger seat.

This is the crappy part of the install (I hate the look of this dash kit) and why I want to fabricate my own trim panel. I've been too busy lately, but the time is coming...

[LongBeachCoupe]

WOW... it looks so SHINY!

Great job!

[notaverage]

VERY VERY impressive.

[adidas2go]

GREAT JOB!!! Welcome to the club

[notaverage]

Sound deadening:

I'm having trouble figuring out where on the car this is, is this the roof?

[AppleBonker]

Thanks for the compliments everyone. I was worried about how it was going to look throughout the process. However, once I was finished I was happy with how well everything turned out.

[AppleBonker]

I'm having trouble figuring out where on the car this is, is this the roof?

Yes, that is the sheet metal of the roof behind the sun roof. There are a few wires hot glued to the headliner which makes it difficult to completely remove. Therefore I left it attached and that's why the pic is at a bit of a crappy angle.

[notaverage]

Dude, you tore the car apart! I'm sure you were very confident in putting it back together tho

[AppleBonker]

Dude, you tore the car apart! I'm sure you were very confident in putting it back together tho

I guess I had some practice on my civic. Plus, this time I had the service manual to help me out. This car is far more difficult to take apart than the civic was. Once you get it apart, it's a bunch easier to put back together. Especially because you know how it is supposed to fit. The hard part is probably taking it apart without breaking anything. It is a little bit scary gutting a car that has less than 5k miles on the odometer, but I knew what I wanted to accomplish and this was the only way. At this point, I can say it was well worth the time and effort.

[maxentropy]

More than I should've spent. I got a good deal on it though. Now that I've heard the thing, it was worth every penny. Also, this thing was basically pieced together over time, so it wasn't all money being spent in one day. Doubt my bank account could've handled that.

Good deal bro. Looking over the last of the install pics now, and wow is that clean. Very nice work. If you don't mind me asking, where did you pick up the sub and how much did ya pay? I heard that baby will blow out windows... I'm all about quality, not quantity as I listen to rock as well as hiphop and electronic... would you consider this too much for rock? Again, I can't say this enough-- this is right up there with the doc's install!!

[FGFCacoupe]

welcome homie

[AppleBonker]

Good deal bro. Looking over the last of the install pics now, and wow is that clean. Very nice work. If you don't mind me asking, where did you pick up the sub and how much did ya pay? I heard that baby will blow out windows... I'm all about quality, not quantity as I listen to rock as well as hiphop and electronic... would you consider this too much for rock? Again, I can't say this enough-- this is right up there with the doc's install!!

I don't really know that I'm at liberty to discuss what I paid. All I can say is that I did get it new and I didn't pay suggested retail. I bought it from a member on a number of other forums who is an authorized retailer for a number of high-end mobile audio companies. I have seen the sub for as little as about $700 shipped used.

I certainly haven't tried to blow out my windows, but it will pound hard. It hits super deep and clean. I listen to just about everything (except country) and I can say that this thing sounds awesome with any music. It rattles the whole car nicely with rap/r&b, but I really love the sound with rock/metal. I'm impressed with it listening to everything from Metallica (double bass), Disturbed, Godsmack, Alice in Chains and even Jack Johnson (definitely not too much sub - more headroom is always a good thing). I would highly recommend it, if it is within budget obviously. This sub offers both quality and quantity, at a very minimal impact on the cars weight. I'm obviously running it on the SAZ-3000D (which can put out 3000 Watts RMS - if I had the gain turned up that high), but I've heard it runs well at much lower power (down to about 600 watts RMS).

Thanks again for the compliments. It's always good to hear appreciation for one's work. If anyone is looking for advice or has questions about anything I did, please let me know and I'll try to help as best I can.

[AltiCoupeFan]

Welcome and hubba, hubba on the A/V setup. The sweetest I have seen in an Alti Coupe. Hope ya got some real high tech security in that baby. Thanks for all the pics.