My 2006 Civic Install

BrentMcGhee · March 2006

I just recently bought my self a new car (2006 civic) and have decided that this would be a good time to install my first car audio system.

I have decided to go with the polk sr6500's for my front speakers (i am not having rears) powered by the polk c300.2.

I have two jl 8w7's that will be housed in custome fiberglass enclosures in my trunk right next to each wheel well closest to the back of the trunk. Each of these will be powered by it's own polk c500.1.

As for my head unit, here is the great part. I am not going to have one. Since i like computers and work them alot i have decided to put a computer in my car that would handle everything a head unit normally would and a whole lot more. (MP3, DVD, Wi-fi, Gps Nav, Phone hands free, even things like nes and sega emulators courtesy of two wireless game pads in the glove box

) All of this will be controlled by a 7" touch screen monitor that will be put in my front dash along with a lite-on dvd-rom drive.

Well anyway i started my install over the weekend i knocked out all the dynamatting (wow! it was alot of dynamatting, I put two layers of dynamat extreme on everything) and running of wires (power, speaker, vga, usb etc etc) and thought i would put some pictures up of my progress so far. I had no idea that dynamatting was going to be the pain in the **** that it was but i got it done and i must say i was pretty proud of the job i did especially beacuse this is my first time doing anything with a car. I was really suprised in how quite the inside of the car is now after i finished all the dynamat. Driving to work on monday was awseome, pretty much zero road noise

!

I will post more pictures of my progress as it comes along. I am still waiting for my 6500's to come in that is why they are not installed yet. The next thing on my agenda is to get the work started on my screen and dvd-rom drive. As well as put the finishing touches on my carputer, i have it all assembled in a gutted amp case i am now just working with the software and tweaking it just how i want it before i put it in the car.

These are all before i started to gut everything out

These are after i got everything out

This is the completed trunk, including side walls, spare tire well and trunk lid. All three with two layers.

Here is my work on the floor of the car, again complete with two layers

This is my work on the doors (all four doors were done the same)

This is what was behind the door panel

This is my first layer on the door. Notice I also put a lot of dynamat on the inside of the door as well against the exterior panel, that really changed the sound of the door.

Then here is the finished product of what all the doors now look like

My 12volt and common ground distribution blocks are both located under the backseat. All wires are currently just hanging loose in my trunk waiting to be connected up.

What do you guys think, comments and kudos on a job well done welcome, criticism is not!. Haha I am just playing, I really want comments or suggestions on what I should do/ have done or things I might be doing wrong since I have never done anything like this before. I wanna make sure I do this right and end up being very pleased with my system..

Toxis · March 2006

damn brother. For a first timer with Dynamat, I'm VERY impressed. It seems everyone ends up with melted black goo all over. Great and clean job. Keep it up! How much did that end up costing you for all of it? I need to do it to my car... might soon!

BrentMcGhee · March 2006

Well i actually was able to buy it on accomodation pricing direct from dynamat through my work so i got it really cheap. I bought 1 bulk pack, 1 trunk kit and 4 door kits, all of that eneded up costing me just a little over 200 bucks.

If you have been thinking about dynamting you car i can now say with expereice DO IT! It makes a huge difference. I have not been able to attest to the sound quality difference yet becasue i do not have my speakers installed, but to just hear how quite the ride is now is really phenomanal.

Just dont expect it to be a one day job

all of that took me the better part of two days for the dynamatting part and then some of another day to take everything out and to put everything back in. Well worth it though

neomagus00 · March 2006

holy crap, dude... you decided to shred a brand-new car as a first project... that's bravery right there... and well worth it, too, by the looks of it... keep up the awesome work!

drew spelts · March 2006

I can say one thing with absolute certainty, You are going to do some pretty amazing car stereo projects in your time. With that said, WOW I love it and can understand how much it should quite the ride down. Take care of the car more than ever now because it is not easy to recycle dynamat into another vehicle. But then again it all only cost you $200 WOW. Just make sure you put real quality speakers in now because it would be a waste to hear MTX in that thing. Also if you are looking at polk subs make sure you read ALL reviews first beccause I almost made the mistake of purchasing a pair of the silver ones with yellow paint on them. ALL in all good luck with the honeys and always wear a condom.

neomagus00 · March 2006

drew spelts wrote:

I can say one thing with absolute certainty, You are going to do some pretty amazing car stereo projects in your time. With that said, WOW I love it and can understand how much it should quite the ride down. Take care of the car more than ever now because it is not easy to recycle dynamat into another vehicle. But then again it all only cost you $200 WOW. Just make sure you put real quality speakers in now because it would be a waste to hear MTX in that thing. Also if you are looking at polk subs make sure you read ALL reviews first beccause I almost made the mistake of purchasing a pair of the silver ones with yellow paint on them. ALL in all good luck with the honeys and always wear a condom.

who drinks on a wednesday night??

BrentMcGhee · March 2006

drew spelts wrote:

Take care of the car more than ever now because it is not easy to recycle dynamat into another vehicle.

O i definatley will. This is actually my second one. I got this one i january but i got a black one in december but rolled it over a few times 10days after i got it. Luckily i had not put anything into it yet. let's hope i have better luck with this one

drew spelts wrote:

Just make sure you put real quality speakers in now because it would be a waste to hear MTX in that thing.

O no... MTX will not see this vehicle. This is strictly sq i am not into the whole spl thing. I am getting a pair of Polk SR6500's and two JL 8w7's.

neomagus00 · March 2006

BrentMcGhee wrote:

am getting a pair of Polk SR6500's and two JL 8w7's.

i think cody will have something to say here, too, but have you done a direct comparision between the w6v2 and the w7? i've heard both, though admittedly in unequal conditions, and i liked the 6v2 better... something to think about...

and i'll say it before anyone else does... ahem... "there are better subs for the money than the w7, like the adire tumult, blah blah blah"... there, you get it from me, minus the brand-bashing and cursing you'll probably get from cody

BrentMcGhee · March 2006

wow, i can def tell that i am not into car audio as much i have never even heard of those other names, i will have to check them out. I was originanly attracted to jl becasue i could get them on accomadation pricing as well.

Thanks neo

aaharvel · March 2006

great car, great job.
those are wonderful looking cars. So much so that when I graduate in May I was hoping for an IS250 within the next year. After seeing the new Civic SI, I changed my mind and will end it up saving $15,000 in the process.

neomagus00 · March 2006

if you can get jl on accom., that's awesome... here is a list of almost all the car audio companies i know of... if i've built this properly, you should be able to figure out which sell subs... a few good names to look at:
adire audio tumult
cdt hd series
diamond t9 series
eclipse (yay eclipse!) (i own a titanium

)
image dynamics idmax
polk SR series (coming in may!)

there are others with which i am less familiar... take a look, learn, drool, have fun

Toxis · March 2006

BrentMcGhee wrote:

wow, i can def tell that i am not into car audio as much i have never even heard of those other names, i will have to check them out. I was originanly attracted to jl becasue i could get them on accomadation pricing as well.

Thanks neo

it's not that you're not into car audio, it's that you haven't been introduced to all the internet only companies. This can be a very good thing at times. Stick with your w7's... no need to sway from a great thing.

But I'm sure some on here will tell you to sell your civic for a cobalt. I on the other hand favor the H.

neomagus00 · March 2006

Toxis wrote:

But I'm sure some on here will tell you to sell your civic for a cobalt. I on the other hand favor the H.

of course you'll always find someone who will bash a product they don't like, but where's the harm in looking around before making a many-hundreds-of-dollars decision?

notice i didn't reccommend any particular company, just that there were others that might suit his needs better...

BrentMcGhee · March 2006

Well today I got around to installing my speakers and kind of doing a dry fit on all the amps in the trunk. I dont think i have ever had to use my drimmel as much as i did today.

First off the speaker holes in the door were suposed to 6 1/2 but umm that was not the case. They used this special bracket that was 6 1/2 but the speaker itself was a lot smaller. I had to cut out alot of the door panel to get my sr6500's in place.

Also for the tweeters what i thought was going to be a blank hole where they would put the tweeter for the upgraded sound system just turned out to be a solid peice of dash under a pretty usless plate. I had to drimmel that boy up as well to mount my tweeters in the dash. All in all though i think it looks pretty good.

As for the amps in the back, well there is not much to say about them the only thing i need to do now is decided how i am going to fasten them in place, i was thinking of putting them on a shelf raised up just a tad but i dunno.

O, and in case you were wondering, that blue thing on that back of my seat that looks like another amp is actually the computer i built for the car.

ledhed · March 2006

Looks great. I know nothing about CA but, I have always toyed with the idea of using a comp in my car. What are the full specs of the comp?

audiobliss · March 2006

There's a sticky at the top of the car audio forum called something like SR6500 white sheet. Also here are the specs listed on Polk's site under the SR6500's.

BrentMcGhee · March 2006

ledhed wrote:

Looks great. I know nothing about CA but, I have always toyed with the idea of using a comp in my car. What are the full specs of the comp?

The computer is built off of one of via's mini ITX boards with an integrated Via C3 1.3Ghz processor on a 400Mhz fsb. Using 512Mb of DDR 2100 with timings of 3-4-4-5-t1. I am using the integrated via rage graphics on the motherboard. Sound blaster audigy 2 Nx in a pCMCIA slot. 60Gb western digital 5400rpm 16Mb cache 2.5" hard drive. The os i am using is a hacked copy of windows xp embeded running with the nlitexp patch.

It is plenty fast for the the applications that i am running off of it wich is mainly music playback and gps navigation. However some of the other software i have put on it is;

DVD playback
MP3 Playback
FM Radio
XM Radio
Custom web browser that is touch screen friendly
phone tools(turns my phone into hands free going over my car speaker via blutooth)
Sega and ninteno emulators (with many games

)

I keep adding more and more to it everyday.

neomagus00 · March 2006

audiobliss wrote:

There's a sticky at the top of the car audio forum called something like SR6500 white sheet. Also here are the specs listed on Polk's site under the SR6500's.

i was momentarily confused, then i realised... 'comp' vs. 'comps' (components)... now i see

audiobliss · March 2006

ROFL! Wow...gee...man. So that means my post was completely useless!

I need to take a reading comprehension test...no, wait...I think I already know how I'd do...

aaharvel · March 2006

gorgeous. a gorgeous 19k car.
i still can't believe this is a CIVIC! :eek:

audiobliss · March 2006

I can't believe you think it's so gorgeous.

CrBoy · March 2006

I think is a nice car, but Honda is not my cup of tea...

Tim Staudinger · April 2006

looks like a saturn

1996blackmax · April 2006

I think it looks nice, and nothing like a Saturn.

We have a 2000 Civic EX and it has been great, no issues at all.

Demiurge · April 2006

Looks really good. I wouldn't have the stones to pull my brand new car apart like that.

1996blackmax · April 2006

That is actually something I can't wait to do once I get my new car

.

BrentMcGhee · May 2006

Well, everything is almost done with my car. Here are some pictures to get yall up to speed to everything that has been done since.

BrentMcGhee · May 2006

And here are some more pics. Only a few more days, i hope, until i can drive around in my car with my new toys

basmoq · May 2006

Hey man, just wanted to let you know you inspired me to do the dynamat as well. I was already in the process of installing amps, sub, HU, all around speakers and the Hornet 727t factory alarm upgrade system with an extra sensor for breaking glass and remote start. The dynamat will be a nice addition while I've already got the car in pieces... Good job with the install, your doing a great job if your just a first timer. The Civic is my second car, but at least I got it with power locks so I didn't have to install them myself, now that wasn't fun with my last car... Now if I can just get the oil leak and the vent in the center console fixed by the dealership.

BrentMcGhee · May 2006

well yes i am a first timer..... but i can not take credit for the dash peices though, A friend of mine at work is doing all of that, I would have no idea how to do that.
you will not regret the dynamat basmoq, car will be a whole helluvalot quiter

basmoq · May 2006

sweet, that's what I'm shooting for. Now I just have to wait for my sister to graduate in 2 weeks so she can move in with me and watch my son while I do it. It's really really really hard to get anything done in the car when you have a 10mo old in the back wanting to play with you.

My 2006 Civic Install

Comments