New Double Din / Nav Pod System Finished

MANIACura

MANIACura

Experienced Member
Joined
19 June 2004
Messages
346
Location
VAIL
Finished my stereo install this week. Tried to make it look as clean as possible and NSX worthy. Also tried to save as much money as possible as I am hemmoraging money raising two teenagers that are driving and wrecking my cars (not the NSX's). Came up with what I think is a good compromise between performance and cost. The system sounds very clean with clear crisp highs and musical bass. Vast improvement over stock.

Components:
Alpine IVA-W200 DVD Player $405 on Ebay
Alpine TME-M760 Monitor $125 on Ebay
R3 Black Box Video Bypass (IVA-W200) $40 on Ebay
PAC TR-7 Video Bypass (TME-M760) $20 online
PAC CSS-40 4 AMP Filter $9 online
Kenwood KFC-X1710 Speakers $89 on sale at Crutchfield (normally $199)
Kenwood KFC- SW10 Subwoofer $137 on Ebay
SOS Double Din Mounting Kit $49 at SOS
Nav Pod $299 at SOS
Everything including various supplies, paint, putty and whatever for around $1350 and countless hours of labor.

Capabilities:
1) Can display any video source with RCA outputs on either monitor.
2) Hidden switch that disables video bypass in case you get pulled over.
3) Controls IPOD through the IVA-W200.
4) Passenger can watch a movie or play video games on TME-M760 with headphones while driver listens to music with IVA-W200 (Ipod).
5) Ash tray door works. This took a lot of modifications. If you use the SOS Double Din Mount your ash tray will not work without the mods.
6) Really impressed with the TME-M760. Even with the sun shining directly on the monitor you can see the video clear as day. Great monitor!
7) A note for installers: I had an issue with the video bypasses on the TME-M760. The R3 Black Box works beautifully on the IVA-W200 but I had issues with the TME-M760. The TME-M760 is an older monitor and seems to like the PAC TR-7 better. The R3 was designed for the newer stuff and would work on the TME-M760 with the engine off but after you started the car, ignition noise would eventually load down one leg of the bypass and then the "Video Off For Your Saftey" would display. The PAC CSS-40 filter and the TR-7 fixed this issue.

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Ash tray door closed.......
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Ash tray door open.......did this mainly because I'm too stubborn to give up.
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Center console after having electro-plating stripped, double-din hole fabricated and painted with Chromabase Gunmetal B8012K. Don't undertake peeling the electro-plate unless you have the patience of a patron saint and enjoy millions of tiny razor blade cuts all over your hands. If HCA peels the center console.....300 bucks is a bargain.
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Ash tray cover shaved down to half its original thickness and top edge reshaped.
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Nav pod disassembled with monitor mount installed.
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Door switch panels peeled and painted.
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Reassembling door switch panels and applying new felt tape.
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Kenwood KFC-SW10 powered sub. It fits perfectly behind the seat and is surprisingly powerful. I have mine crossed over at 80 cycles and only turned up 40% of the volume.
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Fits perfectly between the seat rails with no loss of leg room. (I'm 6' tall)
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Arm rest with the garage door opener, Ipod and Subwoofer controls hidden inside.
 
Last edited:
None of the Pics worked for me
 
rbirling said:
Did you have to mod the SOS bracket or the ashtray door itself?
Click to expand...

Had to modify both. Shaved about 1/8" off the top bracket of the SOS mount (so I could mount the IVA-W200 as high as possible without hitting the CCU.) Also shaved the ash tray door cover to half of it's original thickness and beveled the top edge (after peeling the electro-plating off of course). Removed about 1/8" off the top of the ash tray door (the black part the cover screws to) and had to shorten the black metal housing that goes around the back of the ash tray assembly by about 3/16". Then I had to elongate the mounting holes for the ashtray so I could mount it just a little lower on the back of the center console. The ash tray door still barely touches the bottom of the IVA-W200 when you open it but I put some felt tape on the bottom of the Alpine so the ash tray cover won't get scratched.
 
Hi,

looks very nice...congrats :cool: :cool:

can you tell me how did you did the peeling of the electro-plating ???

i'm starting a quick project with my center console, and i need to know how to do that without damage it for good...

thanks,
Nuno
 
UnhuZ said:
Hi,

looks very nice...congrats :cool: :cool:

can you tell me how did you did the peeling of the electro-plating ???

i'm starting a quick project with my center console, and i need to know how to do that without damage it for good...

thanks,
Nuno
Click to expand...

I hope you have a lot of patience because its hard work......although once you do it for a while its gets a little easier. I used a single sided razor blade to peel up the electro-plating. Try to get it started by peeling it up from the underside of the console and then peel it around to the front. It will tear into pieces no matter what you do and be careful because its nearly as sharp as the razor blade. Once you have an edge exposed, you can slide the razor blade under the electro-plating to get it started again. The curved inside corners are particularly challenging. Don't be too worried about scratching the console because you're going to have to fill it and sand it anyway. If you're going to do the door panel switches be super careful because they are really fragile. Good Luck.
 
Excellent work! Do you have experience doing mobile installs? I ask because this one looks like it was done by a professional with years of experience.
 
Man...that seems like a handfull.... mine is perfect, but i want to do paint it or/and cut it to a custom shape never seen before to work with stock radio, and i/m affraid that if i don't peel it off, it start to bubble up allover after a while....

let's see what i can do...

thanks a bunch,
Nuno
 
Hugh said:
Excellent work! Do you have experience doing mobile installs? I ask because this one looks like it was done by a professional with years of experience.
Click to expand...

No professional experience just three decades of private installs and the curse of being a perfectionist.
 
Looks awesome, like a mirror image of my set up. :biggrin:
 
The sub is Kenwoods new KSC SW-10. You can review the specs here :
http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?g=51000&i=113KSCSW10&tp=114

Don'y buy it there....its only $137 on Ebay.

I needed something to compliment my Kenwood KFC-x1710 6.75 speakers in the doors (that are being powered by the IVA-W200) which were just lacking in Low/Mid Bass.

How would I rate this sub?

I have built several systems in NSX's over the years and have done everything from just adding tweeters to the stock system to building systems that will make your ears bleed. I decided that I would just go for a system that would deliver clean, clear sound at resonable volumes. This sub is not going to win any high end audio competitions but I am really shocked at the great bass it delivers when crossed over correctly and not driven too hard. Some of the reviews on Crutchfield were not very good such as "bottoms out too easily" but he was using it in an SUV (moron). Probably asking way too much of this driver. This sub is for vehicles with limited space like an NSX and it has more than enough power for that. I found myself turning it down from my initial settings because the bass was overwelming. Again if you're running Focals and Phoenix Gold and want bass that everyone at the stop light can hear.......look elsewhere.....but if you just want clean musical bass this sub is more than up to the task. Plus the remote adjustable crossover and volume control is really handy, especially for the vast differences in todays digital music.
 
I already have a 4 channel amp all wired up behind the seat driving a pair of boston, would it be possible to use this amp to power this kenwood sub? I just want to save myself the hassle of wiring. How about using the same power line for the 4 channel amp to power this sub?

Thnx.

Henry.
 
nsxhk said:
I already have a 4 channel amp all wired up behind the seat driving a pair of boston, would it be possible to use this amp to power this kenwood sub? I just want to save myself the hassle of wiring. How about using the same power line for the 4 channel amp to power this sub?

Thnx.

Henry.
Click to expand...

It would definitly be possible. The sub has both preamp and line-level inputs but I would stay away from the line-level inputs. You could also use the same power and ground to run this sub but you'd have to run new leads from your head unit or amp depending where your crossover is. Depending on how much power you're running, I would also be careful about using this sub to keep up with amplified Boston's. The sub is a great match for my speakers because they're only running about 18 watts RMS and the sub is 38 watts RMS.
You said you have "a 4 channel amp running a pair of Bostons" so I'm assuming you have your amplifier bridged to two channels? If so, most of work is done....just bridge two channels for the sub and use the other two channels for the Bostons. Since you already have an amplifier, you don't need a powered sub....I would get one like the Z3 or this sub http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86494&highlight=John+Sylora
 
Thnx for the tips, buddy :)

I have a 4x50 slim Genesis amp, I wonder if 2x50 is enough to drive the John Sylora's 10inch sub?

Henry.
 
Don't undertake peeling the electro-plate unless you have the patience of a patron saint and enjoy millions of tiny razor blade cuts all over your hands. If HCA peels the center console.....300 bucks is a bargain.
Click to expand...

This is the single most difficult part of the whole bezel build. Initially, we thought some heat and good ol fashion peeling would do it, but its slow, annnddd it hurts.

Did you fully strip yours? Our method entails compressed air, fine sand, and 2 guns :)... err, dont try this at home. Unexperienced sandblasting will DESTROY your bezel in seconds. We strip em clean.

Bezel and pod look great! I have not heard of any issues with our bezels, the SoS bracket, and the ashtray door hitting. We get this question all the time. When the radio is adjusted correctly in the bracket, it will not hit. I assume the bracket itself fits without hitting but I guess it doesnt. Noone has mentioned to me of any fitment issues.

Thanks,

Rich @ HCA
 
Thanks for the compliments, Rich.

HighlineCA said:
Did you fully strip yours? Our method entails compressed air, fine sand, and 2 guns :)... err, dont try this at home. Unexperienced sandblasting will DESTROY your bezel in seconds. We strip em clean.
Click to expand...

Completely stripped front and back. Stripped the door switch panels as well. I didn't want any issues with bubbling up ever again.

HighlineCA said:
Bezel and pod look great! I have not heard of any issues with our bezels, the SoS bracket, and the ashtray door hitting. We get this question all the time. When the radio is adjusted correctly in the bracket, it will not hit. I assume the bracket itself fits without hitting but I guess it doesnt. Noone has mentioned to me of any fitment issues.

Thanks,

Rich @ HCA
Click to expand...

Sorry Rich but you're mistaken about the ash tray. Adjusting the radio in the bracket is not rocket science. I can absolutely tell you that on a 1991 NSX, with an SOS bracket and an Alpine IVA-W200, the ash tray door will hit. One possible explanation could be how tall the the Alpine is. As you already know the SOS bracket doesn't really have a "bottom" to it....just a concave bracket that follows the contour of the back of the mount area.....so the ash tray hits the bottom of the Alpine itself. If the Alpine is all the way flush into the top of the SOS mount (which mine is) and the SOS mount is all the way flush up against the upper mounting bulkhead (which mine is) and the ash tray hits......then it must come down to the height of the Alpine. Maybe your customers have used shorter units.

Mine hit so bad at first I couldn't even open the ash tray door enough to put the two mounting screws in.......which is what inspired me to get the door to work.
 
Hmm definately odd. All double dins are nearly exact in dimensions. It is possible its just the W200. It does feature a thick screen..

Let me send out a note to all our customers. Not one mentioned any fitment issues. All feedback welcome!

Thanks,

Rich @ HCA
 
HighlineCA said:
Hmm definately odd. All double dins are nearly exact in dimensions. It is possible its just the W200. It does feature a thick screen..

Let me send out a note to all our customers. Not one mentioned any fitment issues. All feedback welcome!

Thanks,

Rich @ HCA
Click to expand...

Rich,

Have you received any feedback yet? I would be amazed if your customers didn't have any issues with the ash tray door hitting....
 

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