My Audio upgrade build: Stock HUD, Focal, Rainbow

[laextreme5]

Decided it was time to upgrade the stock audio system. Was getting tired of the distortion at the necessary higher levels when driving with the windows down.

Little bit of a break down of my game plan

-Factory head unit
-Bypass factory amp
-Hijack factory amp signal inpur for aftermarket amp
-Upgraded factory location speakers
-Little bit of sound deadening on the doors
-OEM looking as possible


So equipment wise i had a bit of a hickup on my order. It was in the wee hours of the morning when i made the purchase, and i had looked at so many compomnet sets, i accidently orderd a 2 way sytem that had dual 6.5" drivers, vs a 3 way 6.5'',4'', tweeter setup i wanted. So instead of returnign the product then waiting for the new stuff to arrive i decided to just order a set of 4'' mids and start work on getting everything else in order, as i got the mids 2 day air'ed.

The gear in question is

-Rainbow CSX465.20
-Focal 4'' A3 mids
-Focal Solid2 2 channel amp


Started out by laying everything out and making sure i wasnt missing anything. been a while sincei had done an audio install so took me a bit to get sorted with everything.

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Once i had confirmed i had everything i need (minus my ordering mishap) i started to runt the power wire. Normally using the factory amp wiring youd use its power source as well, however i was going to be running with a bit more power than that size wire could handle, so i ran my own. PS. a level makes a great extended hood prop when the factory one gets in the way while working. ALso not show is a used a bit of goop like stuff we have at work to seal the small slit in the boot, and i also wrapped the red power wire in some loom so as it is inconspicuous.

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Once the power wire was ran i focused on mamp mounting location. Again i wanted it hidden and out of sight, as factory as possible. So i took a hint from the factory moutign and mounted it opposite the factory amp just behind the rear seat. Only issue was there is a foam piece. Nothing a saw cant fix!

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After getting the mounting position of the amp figured out, it was time to start building the harness it would receive its signal from. I used the How to on using the OEM amp wiring and it worked quite nicely.


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I dont mind running wires, ill do it all day. But i HATE sautering and the actions in building a harness, so tedious and time consuming. I cant begin to tell you how many time i forgot to slip the shrink wrap on the wire before beginning the sauter.

Anyway, enough complaining. Once the harness was built i ran the speaker wires to the general locations id be mounting the crossover. the passenger crossover will be mounted in the glovebox. I have still yet to determine where to mount the driver side, but i have a few ideas.


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Once all the wires were ran, i made a small jumper to test the power and hooked up a mid for a test. Everything worked as planned. Next phase will be installing the front speakers, and i still have to make a mount panel for the rear 6.5's behind the qtr int. trim panels.

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[FX86]

nice!

[laextreme5]

I totally just realized i put this in the wrong section.... lol

[Chimera]

Originally Posted by laextreme5

I totally just realized i put this in the wrong section.... lol

These things happen

[laextreme5]

Over the last week or so i was able to finish up the audio install.

Started by removing there passenger door and putting it on my stand to make it easier to work on. It was such a nice morning out so the wife, baby, and dog came out to hang while i worked.

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While i was outside working the mail truck pulled up, and i had a lovely delivery. My prodrive steering wheel showed up. 330mm deep dish suede piece. It also came with a sweet origami hedgehog lol
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After playing with my steering wheel for a bit, i got back to work to start mounting the kids and tweeters. I didn't take too many shots as it was a tight space and i just got caught up in working.
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With all the speakers mounted, all that was really left was to remove the tock amp, grind and hook up the ground, and lastly reinstall all the interior trim.

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