My New Audio Modifications

[Empty V]

Hey everyone, I'm still pretty new here and have learned a ton from everyone, thanks for being such a great source of info. I'd be a much poorer man without this forum! I used to have a really decent head unit in my 01 QX4(Pioneer DEH-BT9800) but being the electronics addict I am I had to upgrade to a Nav Unit a year later and re-do pretty much everything.

I had already put in a set of JL Audio component(mid range plus tweeter) speakers in the front a year ago but decided it's time for some new speakers in the back doors and subs. My old subs reached their 10th birthday last year and the box I built for them took up the entire trunk, and I'm too old for 12" subs now. So I was also forced to buy a new sub amp and an amp to power the door speakers. I built the sub box with 3/4" MDF with a partition in the middle and cut all the wood on a C&C router with respect to the air space required by subs. The great thing about C&C equipment is that the box is accurate down the the .001".

List of parts:

Pioneer AVIC-D3 Nav Unit with iPod CableXM Nav Traffic UnitPioneer Bluetooth InterfacePioneer Backup CameraJL Audio 10" Subs in the trunkJL Audio for the front doors Pioneer D-Series in the back doorsMTX Thunder Elite 400w amp for door speakersMTX 600w Thunder Amp for the subsRelay for amp triggersStinger 4AWG/8AWG Power Terminal Block and 150AMP Fuse

now for a few pics

My baby, you can see the backup camera right above the license plate





Sub Amp is in the little storage area under the carpet in the trunk







Modified by Empty V at 11:24 PM 2/17/2008

Modified by Empty V at 7:13 PM 2/18/2008
Modified by Empty V at 1:18 PM 2/19/2008

[Empty V]

Door Speaker amp in place of factory bose amp with relays remounted.



Power Terminal Block







Amp controls are easy to access through the vent with a small screwdriver



What it looks like through the vents



Subs



AVIC-D3 DeckThe knob on the bottom left is the sub gain control







Thanks for taking the time to check out my QX4!

Billy

Modified by Empty V at 11:29 PM 2/17/2008

Modified by Empty V at 11:41 PM 2/17/2008
Modified by Empty V at 4:47 PM 2/18/2008

[audtatious]

Nice, how does it sound?

What JL's are you running in the doors? I'm running the XR650 components and they seem to do a pretty good job.

[Empty V]

Nice, how does it sound?

What JL's are you running in the doors? I'm running the XR650 components and they seem to do a pretty good job.

I'm really happy with the way it sounds. I've got the VR650's in the front. BTW having the sub gain in the front is pretty slick, especially without that crappy looking metal case it came in with the overly bright LED.

Billy

[audtatious]

I have my sub amp directly off the headunits sub-out and do not adjust the gain during normal operation (tho I could if I bought the kit for the amp). Instead I have an in-dash PPI PAR-225 pre-amp for the front speakers and can simply turn down the gain of the front speakers for more bass. I'm only running a Kicker C10a right now anyway since my old JL 12w6v1 finally bit the big one.....

[Empty V]

My sub amp is wired the same way, this knob is wired to the amp and came with it for free. I've also got independent sub control through the head unit but this is so much easier. To do it through the deck I have to go through 3 menus and it's dangerous to do while driving because it's all touch screen and you have to take your eyes off the road to do it.

Billy

I have my sub amp directly off the headunits sub-out and do not adjust the gain during normal operation (tho I could if I bought the kit for the amp). Instead I have an in-dash PPI PAR-225 pre-amp for the front speakers and can simply turn down the gain of the front speakers for more bass. I'm only running a Kicker C10a right now anyway since my old JL 12w6v1 finally bit the big one.....

[audtatious]

I don't mess with mine after they are set altho I can sling through it quickly with the remote control. I simply adjust with the PPI gain knob

[Qxxx4]

give us the stats, total parts cost and hours of labour...thats such a clean install you obviously have been doing this for a while! very nice work

[KoukiS14]

Holy crap. . I'm very impressed. .

[WINNIPEGS_MOST_WANTED]

Clean install - Very nice!

[Empty V]

Thanks for the compliments everyone. I really am not into showing off my amps and subs so I try to keep everything clean and very low profile. Just to clarify I did not do all of the work myself. I designed and pieced all of the components together because I knew what I wanted, and I also built and wired the sub woofer box.

Breakdown, and some of this stuff I got at dealer cost so if you don't have access to a wholesale distributor it would be a little more expensive.

AVIC-D3X Package (AVIC-D3, bluetooth unit, remote and iPod Cable) - $699 +$200 mail in rebateGEX-P10XMT XM Nav Traffic Tuner - $153NDBC2 Pioneer Backup Camera - $179SPK5241R Wiring Kit with 150amp Fuse - $47Power Connecting Block - $7TE-404 MTX Thunder Elite 4 Channel Amplifier - 207.00TSD-1602R Pioneer D-Series Speakers - $86600XD MTX Thunder Series 600w Subwoofer Amplifier - 180.00JL Audio 10w1V2.8 woofers - $200Sub Box materials - $45JL Audio Component Door Speakers - $3002 x 6meter Paired RCA's $38.00

Total ------------------- $1,943(rebate included)

Labor hours - 17

There's no way I would have spent this much money on my car audio video, so I sold my old system for about $700 in order to offset the cost. The majority of these products were purchased at cost so if it would be almost twice as much if I would have bought everything at retail, damn that's a lot of money, what a ripoff!

Billy

[fueler]

Nice JL's!! You have the older (97-99) 16" QX4 rims on your 2001

[Empty V]

Thanks Fueler! What do the 01 rims look like? I had no idea that mine were not the style intended for the vehicle.

Billy

Nice JL's!! You have the older (97-99) 16" QX4 rims on your 2001

[Empty V]

Well we ran into a little problem. I'm getting a little bit of engine noise so we rerouted the cables and it's still present at around 3000rpm. I'm going to try grounding my RCA's form my amps and hopefully that will solve it.

Billy

[fueler]

Thanks Fueler! What do the 01 rims look like? I had no idea that mine were not the style intended for the vehicle.

Billy

2001+ come from the factory with 17" wheels like this

97-00 qx4's came with slightly smaller 16",

[KoukiS14]

Sure the 17s weren't an option (very popular, but an option)? I've seen a Qx4 in town with 16" wheels that was 01+.

[Empty V]

How can you tell if yours is an 2001 or 2001.5? They had a stepchild in 01 right? At least my service repair manual has two sets of PDF's.

Billy

[pathfinder_top_gear5]

very nice set up!

[ubpsanity]

you can see the backup camera right above the license plate

Actually, I can't see it. Which is a good thing.

How did you run the wiring for your backup camera? Did you have to drill any holes, or was there a hole for you to use? I have one and I need to install it sometime, but the last time I checked, there was no way to easily get the wiring inside. Keep in mind, I have a Pathfinder, but I doubt there'd be much difference.

Also, the install looks really good.

[Empty V]

Well that one was a little difficult. We started from the outside in. We drilled a hole right above the license plate where we mounted the camera and fished the wire up the tailgate and through the rubber grommet on the right side(where top of tailgate meets car the roof of the car). From there we made our way down the left side of the car, up the kick plate on the drivers area and into the dash. Running it through the door was the biggest pain the rest is simple.

Hope this helps!

Billy

Actually, I can't see it. Which is a good thing.

How did you run the wiring for your backup camera? Did you have to drill any holes, or was there a hole for you to use? I have one and I need to install it sometime, but the last time I checked, there was no way to easily get the wiring inside. Keep in mind, I have a Pathfinder, but I doubt there'd be much difference.

Also, the install looks really good.

[mcfizzle]

Very cool set up.

I was looking to get mine set up with a pretty good one too for a while... Never came to fruition now I gotta sell the Pathy, lol.

I was looking for...

Pioneer AVIC-D3 w/ Bluetooth, iPod and backup camera options2x Infiniti Kappa Perfect componentsAlpine PLV-7 powered sub enclosure

[ubpsanity]

Well that one was a little difficult. We started from the outside in. We drilled a hole right above the license plate where we mounted the camera and fished the wire up the tailgate and through the rubber grommet on the right side(where top of tailgate meets car the roof of the car). From there we made our way down the left side of the car, up the kick plate on the drivers area and into the dash. Running it through the door was the biggest pain the rest is simple.

Hope this helps!

Billy

No, it doesn't help, I was hoping you'd found some magic way of doing it :-)

Looks like that's what I will be doing in the spring. But thanks.. At least it isn't anywhere near a hard job.

[99QX4]

Very nice...i've been trying to check out this post for a few days but the connection where i was at took too long to load all the pics, but now i'm home and finally get to see your work. Again, very nicely done.

[Chris92SE]

Stereo looks nice. I keep wanting to install a system in my QX4, but with the rising fuel costs, I am thinking about trading it in on a Rogue.

Do you have a cargo cover to conceal the subs? It seems like they are very visible and I would be worried about theft.

Those wheels are the standard wheels. According to information I have read, the 17s were an option with the premium package.

Premium Package = 17-inch wheels and tires, wood/leather steering wheel driver's memory seatsteering wheel-mounted audio controls

Sport Package = front and rear heated seatslimited-slip differential

[Empty V]

No, it doesn't help, I was hoping you'd found some magic way of doing it :-)

Looks like that's what I will be doing in the spring. But thanks.. At least it isn't anywhere near a hard job.

It's actually not as bad as it seems. Once you pop the plastic off that rear door it's pretty easy to fish the wire through. Good luck!

Billy

[Empty V]

Stereo looks nice. I keep wanting to install a system in my QX4, but with the rising fuel costs, I am thinking about trading it in on a Rogue.

Do you have a cargo cover to conceal the subs? It seems like they are very visible and I would be worried about theft.

Those wheels are the standard wheels. According to information I have read, the 17s were an option with the premium package.

Premium Package = 17-inch wheels and tires, wood/leather steering wheel driver's memory seatsteering wheel-mounted audio controls

Sport Package = front and rear heated seatslimited-slip differential

No cargo cover yet but my tint job is pretty dark, impossible to see through during the day unless you cup the window with your hands. when I bought the car used it didn't have the cover, such a bummer. I have to see if it will even clear the box, probably something I should have thought of before I designed it.

So I guess my cover is blown, now everyone knows I don't have the premium package I do have memory seats though!

Billy

[Empty V]

Holy crap. . I'm very impressed. .

Clean install - Very nice!

very nice set up!

Very cool set up.

I was looking to get mine set up with a pretty good one too for a while... Never came to fruition now I gotta sell the Pathy, lol.

I was looking for...

Pioneer AVIC-D3 w/ Bluetooth, iPod and backup camera options2x Infiniti Kappa Perfect componentsAlpine PLV-7 powered sub enclosure

Very nice...i've been trying to check out this post for a few days but the connection where i was at took too long to load all the pics, but now i'm home and finally get to see your work. Again, very nicely done.

Thanks again everyone for the compliments and support, unfortunately I'm still not done though. My next and hopefully last step is to install sound proofing material all throughout the car.

and

The first one will be used for the doors and the 2nd one will be used under the carpet and above the headliner. I'm doing it more for the reason to lower the amount of road noise than to improve the sound system, luckily this will accomplish both.

Billy

[SnowSurfLax]

Let me know how the soundproofing goes. I'd like to eliminate more road noise myself.

As for a cargo cover, I have the exact color scheme as your QX and would gladly sell you the one I never use. Let me know if you're interested.

[slickroger]

very nice install!

i had my friends mother make a quilt cover for my sub box ill snap a picture and let you guys and gals see it. its a checkered flag setup. I have some wires to run in from the outside aswell.

I bought a chrome tip for my tailpipe it has 2 sets of LEDs on it blue and red. i plan on hooking the red up to my brake lights and the blue to my reverse lights. just curious if there is a way in the trunk from under the vehicle.

holla back at me

[catsnet]

Billywhat did you use for the stereo kit (or did you fabricated one yourself)??everything that I see on the market is single din size.thanksAlex