BUMP, bit of an older thread of mine but since winter is coming soon and I can't buy any wheels yet I might just focus on the interior. The stock speakers are really starting to sound like crap especially when the volume is a bit louder.

Still trying to gauge what an entire system would cost installed. Seems like it would be 2-3K which is a hell of a lot to drop on audio. Most of that would be the head unit as the new avic120 seems nice.

I'd really like more clarity from my music. Any other recommendations? Either parts recommendations or what the cost would be?

 

$3k is about right if you are going for a sound quality install and includign the z120. That's what I budgeted (and can in under budget) and got the following:
Pioneer Z120BT
JDM Trim
JL 500/1v2
JL 10w6v2
4080 enclosure
JL 300/4v2
BA Pro60se
BA SC65
about 60 sq ft of sound deadening tiles from www.sounddeadenershowdown.com
Amp wiring kit
3x RCA cable pairs
50 ft of 12ga speaker wire

It turned out fantastic.

You could probably turn out a system that sounds nearly as good for less if you can listen to parts and compare them. I didn't really have that opportunity, so I went with what everybody was comparing stuff to in terms of quality. Of course, I did the install myself, I don't know how much it would cost to have somebody install it for you.

 

How have those JL amps been? I'll probably have it installed professionally. I'm confident that I could do the head unit but messing with the molex, running wires and possibly doing a rear camera is a bit over my head. I really don't like the idea of spending a lot of cash towards labor but I should be able to get a bit of a discount at a high rated shop.

Maybe I'll drop down to the 3200bt or the 4200 and use the difference for the install. I mean I have the navi already and while it's no garmin, it's alright especially when I get my hands on the map update. I love the pop up feature of it as well.

How do you like the JL sub? I thought about an Alpine R 10" but wasn't sure if that would be too much. Do you have a portable bass control?

I'm just trying to think of the best places to have the amps installed because I don't want to lose my spare.

 

JL amps are clean and definitely aren't detracting from the sound one bit. That's all you can really ask of an amp, besides not overheating.

Nobody who's done the molex ever recommended doing it, so I decided against it, and really, rear view visibility isn't bad, so I haven't done any rearview cam yet, but if you're running RCAs to the trunk, it's not much more to run another couple wires to a camera.

The JL sub is fantastic for sound quality, but if you're only after maximum bump, there's cheaper alternatives.

Here's how I did my amps:

 

I meant having to drill through the molex door connectors to replace the speaker wire. That seems like a tricky job that I would screw up.

I haven't searched too many build threads which I will be doing but how is the wire actually run from the headunit/speakers to the amp/sub? Is it run underneath the seats or is it run through the kick panels or? A noob question but I've never messed with audio besides a simple headunit replacement. Just curious if I tried doing this myself, how much of the interior would be ripped apart.

 

You can re-use the stock speaker wire. Honestly, at how clean the sound I've got with the factory wiring, I don't really see how it could make it sound any better, so I'll leave the molex for people who think they'll hear the difference.

The factory speaker wires with bose go along the driver's side of the car to the bose amp, from there the four channels are amplified and fed into 5/6 channels and sent back through the car. In my setup, I ran my own RCAs along the center hump, under the rear seat, and then they come up from behind the seat, similar to the stock SAT connector. From there I just ran speaker wire from the amps to the stock speaker wire that used to come from the Bose amp out to the four door speakers.

If you're mounting your amps like mine, you'll end up completely removing the rear seats (about 30min process), the interior panels of the trunk (10min), trim along the passenger side for power wires (15min) and a few screws along the console along the center hump (10min).

Trying to do the install by working around some of the pieces in will take much, much more time than just removing the pieces.

 

That's great! One of the biggest things deterring me was having to drill through the molex and deal with feeding wire and all that crap. How thick is the factory wire anyhow?

I mean it will still be a tough job for my level of expertise and considering it's my first time but I think I should be okay for more of it now.

I'll just have to take a look at your shopping list. I'm still a couple months out of when I want to do this but hopefully when I can do I can document pictures.

Any other things you can think of that might be a bit difficult for someone doing it for the first time?

 

Nope, others have made it their first install, so long as you follow instructions, or can find somebody to help, it's not bad.