Awesome!!!
Upgrading the Accord iCDTi ICE. Many Questions (& hopefully Answers too!)
- Thread starter DJ Wozza
- Start date
Had a quick calculation with the added weight of the install, including everything so that's all the sound deadening, power & speaker cables, conduit, terminals, 3 amplifiers, 1x subwoofer, 2x sets of components & crossovers, 2x tweeters & crossovers, MDF mounting rings, 2x F.A.S.T Rings, Fuse/ Ground Distribution Blocks, MDF Fuse Board, Amp rack & Subwoofer Box, plus a second AGM Battery the grand total is around 150-160kg.
Gulp
Ah well no wonder I have lost about 3mpg......
Ah well no wonder I have lost about 3mpg......
Blimey!!
Nice work bro and a great achievement. I'm a big fan of audio install and have previously done Installs.
I do miss my subwoofers if im honest
I do miss my subwoofers if im honest
Ok here is the main video shot on the night by Car Audio God journo Adam Rayner. The first car he is raving about is the Huets JL Audio Golf, which has the same C3-650 speakers as mine has in the front doors. Also George Jenkins from JL makes an appearance. Top night. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7d1_wLclehQ&a=&feature=youtu.be
Say hello to my ugly mug firstly with George Jenkins from JL Audio
and at the very end of the night with Peter Huet from Huets The In Car Specialists.
Also a big thanks to Car Audio royalty, Mr Adam Rayner for the pictures.
and at the very end of the night with Peter Huet from Huets The In Car Specialists.
Also a big thanks to Car Audio royalty, Mr Adam Rayner for the pictures.
OMG I think I'm obsessed, I just bought another amplifier & it's a beast.... I did get a bargain tho, it was originally for a good price but I resisted temptation, but then I got an email from eBay this morning offering me a 20% discount. Now bearing in mind it will replace an existing amplifier that I will sell for around £110-£130 (that I have owned for about 8 years), it will eventually only cost me £30-40 to have upgraded after my 20% is added in (£38). It will power literally ANY speaker upgrades I make to the front soundstage, plus it will give me visual symmetry in my amp rack as both amplifiers will be exactly the same size.....
JL Audio 450/4v2
Instead of just over £200 (secondhand) I got £38 off, and will sell the amp it replaces for £120 or so. £40 or so to upgrade?
Yep it probably sounds like I'm trying to justify the extra outlay (I am), & the fact I will most likely be going for more speakers in the front soundstage as this amp is 150w R.M.S 4ohm all the way down to a 1ohm load, so I can run pretty much as many speakers in the front as I want.....
The amp on the right is being replaced with one the same dimensions as the one on the left, which will be moved slightly towards the left so the symmetry is perfect.
My only real problem (other than a cash shortfall) is my ears being ridiculously hyper critical, with the desire of wanting to it to be absolutely perfect. The Stealth look will still be my aim, but custom door builds look like they will be the order of the day, with another set of JL Audio C3-650's getting slotted in, and that means I will still have 1x 150w R.M.S to play with, which could power a small subwoofer in the front passenger footwell......
OMG I think I really am obsessed :/
JL Audio 450/4v2
Instead of just over £200 (secondhand) I got £38 off, and will sell the amp it replaces for £120 or so. £40 or so to upgrade?
Yep it probably sounds like I'm trying to justify the extra outlay (I am), & the fact I will most likely be going for more speakers in the front soundstage as this amp is 150w R.M.S 4ohm all the way down to a 1ohm load, so I can run pretty much as many speakers in the front as I want.....
The amp on the right is being replaced with one the same dimensions as the one on the left, which will be moved slightly towards the left so the symmetry is perfect.
My only real problem (other than a cash shortfall) is my ears being ridiculously hyper critical, with the desire of wanting to it to be absolutely perfect. The Stealth look will still be my aim, but custom door builds look like they will be the order of the day, with another set of JL Audio C3-650's getting slotted in, and that means I will still have 1x 150w R.M.S to play with, which could power a small subwoofer in the front passenger footwell......
OMG I think I really am obsessed :/
Anyone who follows this thread and would like to have a demo of my system, this coming Saturday 4/7/15 from 11am
I will be at Wheels In-Motion (address below) meeting a few friends & WIM/LOC members for an unofficial mini meet.
Nothing else going on other that a pal has his Ferrari having some Geometry stuff done, but if you want a demo of my Accord
& are close by then pop along from 11am.
Wheels In-Motion is located at:-
33 Chess Business Park
Moor Road
Chesham
Buckinghamshire HP5 1SD
I will be at Wheels In-Motion (address below) meeting a few friends & WIM/LOC members for an unofficial mini meet.
Nothing else going on other that a pal has his Ferrari having some Geometry stuff done, but if you want a demo of my Accord
& are close by then pop along from 11am.
Wheels In-Motion is located at:-
33 Chess Business Park
Moor Road
Chesham
Buckinghamshire HP5 1SD
So with the arrival of the new amplifier, I'm now scouring breakers yards for two cheap as possible front door cards to modify with MDF/Fibreglass/Filler etc & a second set of C3-650's either new or secondhand once I can find some funds from somewhere. When I install the 450/4 amplifier I will need to rewire the amp rack (which will require a somewhat removal, then I will be able to order the perspex cover to finish it all off. The sale of the 300/4 amp which I have now owned some 7-8 faultless years & currently sounds so good powering all my front end set up, will help pay for the perspex & the door build fabrication materials.
If you think it's sounding awesome now, you just wait......
If you think it's sounding awesome now, you just wait......
Yaaaaay just won these 2 sets of used JL Audio C3-650's for around half the retail price of one!! Get in!! I may well sell 1 pair later, but with the upgraded amplifier & the fact it can pump out 150watts R.M.S at 1.5-4ohms & I have 2 spare channels on the amplifier as well, I can easily run this 2 sets PLUS the existing set. The only thing holding me back now is cash, but soon I will hopefully be able to get 2 unmarked front door cards to modify. Might take a month or two to get sorted, but so long as this is all done including the last few jobs I already have to do by the end of the year I will be happy.
So here is the plan
Install the 450/4 to replace the 300/4 amplifier & adjust amp rack to suit
Construct the rear battery box & trim
Order a Perspex panel for the amp rack
Finish the last of sound deadening
Construct new custom front door builds
Sit back, relax, upset a few neighbours
So here is the plan
Install the 450/4 to replace the 300/4 amplifier & adjust amp rack to suit
Construct the rear battery box & trim
Order a Perspex panel for the amp rack
Finish the last of sound deadening
Construct new custom front door builds
Sit back, relax, upset a few neighbours
Lovely stuff!
One set of these C3's in the doors plus the C5 tweeters in the dash sound pretty amazing, but I am pushing them hard, with another set fitted they will have so much more in reserve, if I end up fitting all 3 sets, I think I may need seriously medical help, but I know the new amplifier can drive them all. It's sooooooo tempting.....
I'm off to pick up the speakers I won on eBay today, gotta beg the cash for some front door cards, then I can get the door builds underway. They will be my first, & I am buying the door cards so it doesn't effect the car until I am ready to fit them. I've never worked with fibreglass before, so not sure how my first attempts will go, but as you have seen from the modified fascia, fabrication is something I can usually do well.
I could give them to a shop to do, but I wouldn't feel like they were "mine", plus I'm not learning anything if I let someone else do it. It might take 4x - 10x longer as I have no workshop or even a garage, but if I'm patient, I'm pretty sure I can do a decent job that will be stealthy & functional. If I didn't think I could do a decent job (eventually), then I would hand the job off to a specialist.
I can see many fibreglass DIY plus custom door build videos on YouTube in my near future......
I could give them to a shop to do, but I wouldn't feel like they were "mine", plus I'm not learning anything if I let someone else do it. It might take 4x - 10x longer as I have no workshop or even a garage, but if I'm patient, I'm pretty sure I can do a decent job that will be stealthy & functional. If I didn't think I could do a decent job (eventually), then I would hand the job off to a specialist.
I can see many fibreglass DIY plus custom door build videos on YouTube in my near future......
-Rich-
Members
Thanks for the demo mate and it was good seeing you again on Saturday 
All I can say it WOW, this install is so impressive and it's so stealth you wouldn't know any of it was there, the HU looks factory fit! Even standing outside you can barely hear the music for all the sound deadening that has been used.
I was like a grinning cheshire when the tunes started playing and I found myself being drawn into the music rather than just hearing it. The clarity of the sound was fantastic, so much hard work has gone into setting this system up properly as well as the install itself.
If anybody gets the chance for a demo I highly recommend you do - it's a credit to you Wozza
All I can say it WOW, this install is so impressive and it's so stealth you wouldn't know any of it was there, the HU looks factory fit! Even standing outside you can barely hear the music for all the sound deadening that has been used.
I was like a grinning cheshire when the tunes started playing and I found myself being drawn into the music rather than just hearing it. The clarity of the sound was fantastic, so much hard work has gone into setting this system up properly as well as the install itself.
If anybody gets the chance for a demo I highly recommend you do - it's a credit to you Wozza
Cheers Rich, a pleasure seeing you as always mate. I think after you had the full 20 track sample 15+ minute demo you can really appreciate the system fully. Also you can see why I suggested a proper demo up front, as although it sounds nice in the back, to get a full idea of what the system can do with time alignment etc, you really do need to be in the front.
So next Wednesday is pencilled in (weather permitting) to do the amplifier swap & rewire the amp rack. Still looking for s donor set of front door cards to butcher tho, but that will be for later, & I'm not certain on wether I am mounting the speakers into a door build, or onto the door & just using the re fabricated door cards as covers as is the current set up. Much head scratching ahead.
But of a delay to the amplifier swap, due to me being pedantic, I needed to order some RCA "Y" leads to split the front soundstage into 4 channels (will give me loads more room for system tweaking/adjustment later). Should be back on one day next week & hopefully will have some spare door cards by then to modify.
Unsure now if I can get it all done by the Ace Cafe meet a month away, but that's the good thing about the spare door cards, my system is still up & running until it's time to swap them over, so I will still be attending & giving demos.
Unsure now if I can get it all done by the Ace Cafe meet a month away, but that's the good thing about the spare door cards, my system is still up & running until it's time to swap them over, so I will still be attending & giving demos.
New speaker cable ordered for the front soundstage. I need the cable for the other speakers to be tonally the same, and I will need to run new cables from the amplifier, into the doors, then from the crossovers to the drivers themselves. I need to buy over as I am not going to add bits or splice with the existing stuff, the cable is best bought in 1 complete length, then you cut off at exactly the point you need without wasting any, or coming up slightly short. As the cable I previously installed has gone up markedly in price, I have decided to shop around for the best stuff I can get for the same sort of price that around 12-14m of the existing stuff would cost me.
Without putting home HQ Hi-FI cable in, I have kept with a car Hi-FI brand I already know & trust, & have used before in my install. It's pretty chunky stuff, but it will ensure very little power is wasted along it's run of 4+m, and will ensure once these upgrades are done, I will be totally happy & no longer be burdening my flexible friend with any further debt.
KnuKonceptz Kord Speaker Wire Ultra Flex Blue OFC 12 Gauge
Core Material: 36 Gauge Bare Oxygen Free Copper - 294 Strands x 2
Dielectric: Ultra Flex PVC
A: 9mm
B: 4.5mm
This is the kind of Door Builds I am after, smart but still stealthy.
Wish me luck!!
Without putting home HQ Hi-FI cable in, I have kept with a car Hi-FI brand I already know & trust, & have used before in my install. It's pretty chunky stuff, but it will ensure very little power is wasted along it's run of 4+m, and will ensure once these upgrades are done, I will be totally happy & no longer be burdening my flexible friend with any further debt.
KnuKonceptz Kord Speaker Wire Ultra Flex Blue OFC 12 Gauge
Core Material: 36 Gauge Bare Oxygen Free Copper - 294 Strands x 2
Dielectric: Ultra Flex PVC
A: 9mm
B: 4.5mm
This is the kind of Door Builds I am after, smart but still stealthy.
Wish me luck!!
So the door cards have arrived, the speaker cable arrived from the USA this morning too, IU just need my pal that has an enormous amount of Fibreglass & Door Card fabrication to find time to give me an hours time. He is very busy completing another car install & his own big build in a VW Sharan with 12 Subwoofers etc, plus he gets married in a few weeks along with working his full time job.
We need an hour or so to take the door cards off, take a look underneath & with the speakers on hand make some detailed measurements, then things will become clear as the plan going forward. I know what I want the finished custom builds to look like, but whether !). the speakers are mounted to the door directly, then the door car is used purely as a semi discrete cover, or 2). whether we reinforce the door cards and fit the speakers directly to it, and then add additional secure mountings for the door card to the door itself. At first glance I am thinking option 2 at this stage, as the metalwork behind where the speakers will be, houses part of the window mechanism. Nothing is ever easy with this ICE build, but it has been worth it so far with all the trails & tribulations, so when this is completed I think I will be happy with the results.
If not, I won't stop until the door cards are completed to my total aural & also visual satisfaction.
We need an hour or so to take the door cards off, take a look underneath & with the speakers on hand make some detailed measurements, then things will become clear as the plan going forward. I know what I want the finished custom builds to look like, but whether !). the speakers are mounted to the door directly, then the door car is used purely as a semi discrete cover, or 2). whether we reinforce the door cards and fit the speakers directly to it, and then add additional secure mountings for the door card to the door itself. At first glance I am thinking option 2 at this stage, as the metalwork behind where the speakers will be, houses part of the window mechanism. Nothing is ever easy with this ICE build, but it has been worth it so far with all the trails & tribulations, so when this is completed I think I will be happy with the results.
If not, I won't stop until the door cards are completed to my total aural & also visual satisfaction.
Just a quick bump for anyone wanting to listen to my install: I will be at Japfest 2 next Sunday daytime, the later that evening I will be at the legendary Ace Cafe in London for Faz'so Honda Meet. Please come & say "hi" at either meet if you would like a demo.
Just for you if attending Japfest 2 or the Ace Cafe on Sunday & would like to listen to my install, this is what I look like so just come & say hi
I also will have on a leg cast so should be fairly easy to spot. See you there!!
I also will have on a leg cast so should be fairly easy to spot. See you there!!
Dude! We have the same hair style. Awesome, we're clearly setting a trend. You wait, 6 months time, everyone will be doing it!
Thanks for all the great feedback on my install at Japfest 2 & Ace Cafe meets yesterday. It really makes all the time spent worthwhile.
OK I officially have an ICE addiction problem. I'm buying another Subwoofer to mount in the front passenger footwell firing straight at the front seat. As bass is mono & not really directional it will integrate fine into the system when set up correctly. It's cheap as chips on eBay plus I just sold my old 32gb iPhone 5 so it's already paid for & then some.
Everyone needs more bass right? Oh come on its only a small one but will kick hard where my large 12W7 Subwoofer starts to roll off at 80-120Hz. It does mean that my 3 driver door builds will now drop to 2 as I have no more room so cannot fit any more amplifiers, but as most people think 1x set of C3's in the front doors is enough already, it should still be sufficient upgrading to running 2x sets in the front doors & this additional 250w RMS Subwoofer
http://www.jlaudio.co.uk/8w3v3-4-car-audio-w3v3-subwoofer-drivers-92148
It will require a custom box similar in construction to this so as not to take up too much footwell space.
Once I have installed these planned speaker/amplifier upgrades, please refer me to medical staff if I EVER mention "upgrading my system" at ANY point in the future....
OK I officially have an ICE addiction problem. I'm buying another Subwoofer to mount in the front passenger footwell firing straight at the front seat. As bass is mono & not really directional it will integrate fine into the system when set up correctly. It's cheap as chips on eBay plus I just sold my old 32gb iPhone 5 so it's already paid for & then some.
Everyone needs more bass right? Oh come on its only a small one but will kick hard where my large 12W7 Subwoofer starts to roll off at 80-120Hz. It does mean that my 3 driver door builds will now drop to 2 as I have no more room so cannot fit any more amplifiers, but as most people think 1x set of C3's in the front doors is enough already, it should still be sufficient upgrading to running 2x sets in the front doors & this additional 250w RMS Subwoofer
http://www.jlaudio.co.uk/8w3v3-4-car-audio-w3v3-subwoofer-drivers-92148
It will require a custom box similar in construction to this so as not to take up too much footwell space.
Once I have installed these planned speaker/amplifier upgrades, please refer me to medical staff if I EVER mention "upgrading my system" at ANY point in the future....