Aha, I sense another test drive coming up when we meet up this fall. You'll have to take H. for a spin.

C.

 

I had an x home as a loaner while mine was in for service a few weeks ago. I didn't make the mistake of taking her for a drive though, however she commented it was a very "sleek' looking car. That's a real compliment from my wife who doesn't notice cars too much!
Don't even think of tempting us with the M!
d

 

how much would it be if you do it for us lol !!!
well... i have a hard time to find a spot for me
to tear everything off and start B-quieting all the
floors, door panels, trunk, trunk lid....

but well, nice job !!

Btw, where did u get most of the material? did u buy that
off some shop in Canada ? or you ordered online?
i hate ordering stuff online lol..

 

I understand...... . Would be another headache that you don't need right now.

I've already got Wayne after me for tempting K. with the M when I visit them in Kincardine.

C.

 

C'mon Colin... I know you're secretly loving to tease and tempt anyone you can with that new M.


d

 

B-Quiet is a Canadian source; (not just a reseller)
You can order on line HERE or phone.
The other materials I picked up at Home Depot

 

Door Insulation
After installing B-Quiet on the inside door skins & inner panel;
sound insulation was installed on the door panels.

PIC-1
5/16" high density foam insulation, installed to replace OEM
- installed with hot glue gun.

PIC-2
Puny OEM insulation.

PIC-3
Naked door with everything installed ready for panel
- note the first inner door skin = PITA to re-install, (it carries the window track)
the second one was much easier.

 

My home made SUB Box
SUB box custom fit to fit into the side of the trunk;
Goal was to get enough volume for the sub
& still have enough trunk space to easily drop my golf clubs in.

The shape was first done with a cardboard mock-up.
This let me get all the fitting issues resolved before starting cabinet work.

There were lots of compound angles to deal with…. Not one 90 deg cut.
Really gave my radial arm saw a good workout.

PIC-1
Back of sub box, connect & ready for sound check

PIC-2
Sub tucked into the corner.

PIC-3
Gift wrapped & ready for final install.

 

Amp Installation
My goal for the AMP install was to avoid wasting trunk space.

Initially I installed the AMP under the rear parcel tray.
It used zero trunk space, BUT...
evan with added ventilation, I felt that there was too much heat build up.
- rule of thumb, avoid mounting heat producing electronics on a flat horizontal.

The alternative was a stealthy install behind the rear seat.
On the premium pkg. there is a healthy space behind the seat back.
The problem was that it looked like the recline function would be lost.

It took some seat mods & many trial fits but eventually I got it to fit with no loss of the recliner
& a vertical install to move the heat away.


PIC-1
Seat trim cut out for ventilation

PIC-2
My amp mock-up used to get the proper fit.
- note there was only a ½” at each end to play with,
it was fun getting it mounted in the right location

PIC-3
Seat back with modified support rods
- the rods were reshaped to provide a larger cavity for the amp.

PIC-4
Mesh trim installed.

PIC-5
AMP finally mounted & wired

 

HU Install

PIC-1
HU installed into DDIN finisher ready for connection
& wiring harness modified, ready for trial connection.

PIC-2
Final install.

PIC-3
AVIC-D1 door open clears shift **** by a wisker

Lighting conditions weren’t the best I’ll get a few pics of the navi screens later

 

Hat's off to you my friend. That is amazing work....a lot of it!

I also got a custom made box with a 12" sub tucked in the right corner of the trunk. The amp is mounted on the back of the rear seat. I was also worried about ventilation as I had a bad experience in the past.

I need to do sound proofing in the trunk as well. No rattles but I keep hearing I'd get better sound quality. The one place that's bothering me is the OEM lid that covers the stock amp in the truck. Do you know how to tighten (tighter) that thing? Any better clips out there we can use?

Congrats!

 

The screen looks great. Looks more OEM than the OEM navi setup.

 

Awesome work and fantastic results. Great pics of the job in progress too Ian.
very beautiful work .

 

Thanks guys it's been a lot of fun, a great diversion from looking at a PC all day.
The improvement in the sound system is beyond my expectations.

The addition of the pre-amp this weekend yielded spectacular results.
The one weakness of the AVIC-D1 is the 2V lineouts.
I actually metered them @1.7v.
The preamp will output upto 13v & can drive multiple amps.

Driving the amp at a full 5v gives a much cleaner signal & richer dynamics.
On the HU, I set the volume ctrl at about 1/3 the previous level.



Do you mean the trim under the pacel tray in the trunk?
or
The parcel tray under the rear window?

I had no issues with the trunk finisher;
On the '04 there are lots of pop-clips & they used double sided tape (carpet tape)
along the leading edge.
If yours is a problem you could add some foam tape under the pop-clips.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For the parcel shelf....
The answer is to remove the parcel tray (back shelf), then:
1. inject low expansion foam into the cavities
2. add B-Quiet or dynamat
3. add some adhesive backed foam tape (door & window weather strip)
to the contact areas.

Part of the problem is at the back of the shelf.
It is held by plastic fingers (part of shelf mold) that insert into slots &
at the C pillar trim.
I wrapped the B-Quiet into the slots which made them tighter.
& the foam tape provides more isolation between the hard plastic & metal support.

Note:
I removed the OEM amp & sub from the shelf.

 

Great job, Ian. Can't wait to see and hear it. Maybe this Saturday.
C.