[kwil]

Thought I'd share some pics of an audio install I'm in the middle of. So far, I've spent well over a week on it, several hours a day, and still not done. But I'm slow, so there's that.
Equipment:

headunit- Kenwood DDX9906XR
amps: Kenwood Excelon 5 channel, 4 channel, and a cheap Soundstream mini amp (for rears and tactile transducers)
Speakers: Focal K2 Power 6.5 inch woofers, 1.5 inch tweeters; Audiofrog GB25 mids (2.5 inch)
Sub: Kicker 12 inch Shallow mount
Parts express mini tactile transducers, 8 total, 4 in each seat
DSP: Alpine PXE 0850S
Sound deadening: Dynamat extreme, and some left over (Fatmat?) from a prior install; closed cell foam decoupling, and mass loaded vinyl. Lots of it.
GMOS Lan 03, ASWC1 (to retain chimes, turn signal clicks, RAP, and steering wheel controls)
I also took this opportunity to paint the door panel inserts Cobalt red, to match the stitching. I used SEM Colorcoat sprayed w/ a Paasche airbrush/ compressor.

Building the A pillars was a first for me, and I think they turned out pretty dang good, better than I expected.
I hope to be done within a week or two (if I have time to work on it).

more pics to come

 

[TomatoSoup]

Wow! Excellent job. Very good work and finish.

I particularly like the back massagers you built into the seats! ?

 

[joybill44]

love the A pillars. Nice work!

 

[kwil]

Thanks, guys.

Few more:

These are my replacement rears, plastic "welded" into place. The rears are true surround (delayed, attenuated, bandpassed, L-R).

Focals dropped right in. Behind the speaker is a baffel with the bottom cut out, to protect from rain water. Dynamat/Fatmat was used to seal the door as much as possible

Homemade "stitching", pre-glue

Test fitting amp rack bottom, before carpet

Amp rack top

Next up, I'm looking for a local upholstery shop to cover my DDM center console in leather, and I need to decide what to do with the boomerang. Not sure how I did it, but I managed to scratch/ peel/ chip paint off the corner when I was taking it out. I'm thinking of getting it hydrodipped in cobalt red/ carbon fiber, spraying with cobalt red, or just spraying the original silver/grey color (whatever that is). If anyone has finished their boomerang in red (and/or carbon fiber), I'd love to see it. Not sure if it'll stand out too much (I'm really not going for an in your face look).
All the speaker, power, grounds, and rcas are run, just need to tap into constant and switched power, and hook up the Kenwood, GMOS Lan 3, and ASWC1 (which I'm dreading as it seems everyone has had problems with this part of the install because the instructions are garbage).
That's about it for now, I'll continue to update as I progress.

 

[kwil]

Bit of progress today; got the door panels, rear panel and A pillars mounted. Slowly but surely.

 

[Saveaux]

Great job!!! Looks fantastic~

 

[kwil]

Couple of minor hickups.

1- somehow managed to lose my keyless entry remote and key (only remote I had); ordered replacements on Ebay and hope I can get them programmed by a locksmith, rather than paying dealer prices.

2- Finshished all the headunit wiring to include the steering wheel controls (ASWC-1), but the steering wheel control still does not work. I'm thinking I should have used the iDatalink Maestro SW (the Kenwood head unit has an input specifically for the iDatalink), and from what I've read, everyone seemed to have a problem with the Axcess unit. The fact that the included wiring diagrams in the instructions did not match the wiring on the ASWC should have been a sign not to try to install it. Oh well, I'll call tech support to try to get the AWSC-1 to work, but if no luck, I'll probably order the iDatalink.

Glad I don't do this for a living

 

[JohnWR]

The RKE needs a Tech2 or equivalent to program, so you are more likely to find a repair shop than a locksmith with the capability.
Depending on where you are, there are forum members with Tech2s, so you could get lucky.

 

[joybill44]

Nice work! keep the pictures coming.

 

[easyryderca]

Great job & thanks for the pics. Sound wise were do you find the most improvement Kwil.

 

[kwil]

The RKE needs a Tech2 or equivalent to program, so you are more likely to find a repair shop than a locksmith with the capability.
Depending on where you are, there are forum members with Tech2s, so you could get lucky.

Ah. Thanks for the heads up. I'm in the San Antonio, TX area. Any nearby members with a Tech2 feel free to shoot me a PM.

Nice work! keep the pictures coming.

Thanks!

Great job & thanks for the pics. Sound wise were do you find the most improvement Kwil.

Thanks! I will have to get back to you on the sound improvements; I don't want to start tuning the system until I get the steering wheel controls sorted out and the interior buttoned back up. The Alpine DSP requires a laptop to tune (well it also has a phone app but I'm using the laptop), and is a bit involved w/ setting levels, polarity, crossovers, upmixing for rear channels, delay, etc. So I don't want to get ahead of myself.

 

[syjos]

Kwik

Great looking mod!

I really like the red panels on the doors. Did you do that? Or buy them?

 

[kwil]

Kwik

Great looking mod!

I really like the red panels on the doors. Did you do that? Or buy them?

Thanks,

I sprayed the door panel inserts with SEM Colorcoat Cobalt Red

 

[FocsleSwab]

Nice work.
I just installed a Kenwood DMX906S in my 2007 GXP. Love it... wireless CarPlay, HD Radio, and a capacitive screen.
I don't have the steering controls wired up. Let us know if you get the Maestro working.
My only remaining issue is the VSS wire. How did you wire yours up?

 

[kwil]

Nice work.
I just installed a Kenwood DMX906S in my 2007 GXP. Love it... wireless CarPlay, HD Radio, and a capacitive screen.
I don't have the steering controls wired up. Let us know if you get the Maestro working.
My only remaining issue is the VSS wire. How did you wire yours up?

Thanks.

I actually emailed Axcess tech support and they sent me a custom programming PDF, and I got the ASWC-1 to work. Didn't end up needing to buy the Maestro unit, so I didn't have to hook up a VSS wire.

 

[kwil]

Great job & thanks for the pics. Sound wise were do you find the most improvement Kwil.

The system is in and everything works. I've just done some basic tuning (gains, crossovers, delay), but have yet to EQ. For that I bought a mic and will use a PC app (REW). But for now, wow. It sounds amazing. I want to live in my car lol.
Everything is better; clearer, louder without distortion, deep tight bass. The sound proofing did it's job; no panel rattling despite serious bass output. It sounds damn near perfect, to me anyway.

 

[kwil]

Couple more pics

LEDs installed

Kenwood DDX9906XR, USB dual port charger (connected to switched power, because the factory plug was 12v constant)

 

[kwil]

I particularly like the back massagers you built into the seats! ?

I'd recommend the back massagers (tactile transducers) to anyone looking for some extra "oomph" in the low frequency area. They supplement the subwoofer perfectly. The 8 transducer's levels are controlled via the amp's bass knob, so the effects can go from subtle to bone tingling. They can't replace a sub though because they aren't audible, just tactile. IIRC, I paid under 100 for all 8 from Parts Express, and they are powered by one channel of a cheap, tiny amp (Soundstream Stealth 3 channel). The other two channels power the rear (surround) speakers.

 

[kwil]

Got the DDMworks console back from the upholstery shop. I think they did a fantastic job. LA Customs in San Antonio, TX.

 

[kwil]

Thought I'd update this thread w/ a few things I've been working on. First, just a simple theft deterrent cover for the Kenwood.
Below that is a phone mount/ wireless charger built into the sun visor. Still a work in progress, but looks like it'll work out great. Just needs a skim coat of body filler, lots of sanding, and paint.
In the planning stage is a rearview mirror monitor for front, rear, and side cameras, with the sides triggered by turn signals. Just need to figure out the best place to mount the side cameras. That's been a challenge.