who needs a stereo! not me! nixed the 10yo aftermarket that was humming with the alternator spent a little time fabricating a custom mount for my cell phone to dock in the double din opening. it will connect directly to the factory amp after i pick up a female to female headphone extender.
btw sounds incredible not going through that crappy old ass stereo anymore the factory amp actually performs quite well without a head unit.

tired of the poor fabrication i created i decided to install a 7in tablet in its place, love using android as a head unit




This post has been edited by b22ri22an: May 1, 2012 - 10:33 AM

updates to the audio system


replaced the factory amp with the alpine power pack


replaced speakers with 4 alpine 6 1/2 in coaxials


under the passenger seat a 250 watt kicker amp for the subs in the trunk


2 of these in the trunk not set up to thump the neighborhood just enough to fill the missing lowend the 6.5s cant produce


lastly replaced the aging acer a100 with a nexus 7

finally broke down and bought a replacement shift boot got one from bluecelicawife should have it by monday

lastly i will have a header and new downpipe sometime soon
i really should try to keep up to date on progress rather than waiting a year between updates lol

How did you replace the stock amp? Lot of splicing writing harness?

I took it to a shop and paid them to replace it.... i am assuming they spliced into the speaker wires but i know they ran a new power wire, ground wire and new remote wire as well as power, ground and remote for the sub amp under the seat.

This post has been edited by b22ri22an: Mar 31, 2013 - 3:43 AM

What are you doing with that old acer tablet if not in the car? Lol

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sold it to my brother for $100 he wanted a tablet to give to his kid for his birthday

Couple of recent pics









loving the new shift boot from bluecelicawife makes the whole interior look better

ok new update: suspension overhaul! Front and rear Monroe OESpectrum struts, Monroe Strut Mounts (front and rear) Eibach Sportline springs, left and right lower ball joints, tie rod ends (inner and outer), Sway bar links (front and back). poly bushings for the front lower control arms from paul in poland, front and rear sway bar bushings all ordered. after all the parts arrive its back into the shop and hopefully will ride and steer like a brand new car again... well i still need to get the rear poly bushes from paul but ran out of money. maybe next month when I have some car money available

Let me know what you think of the poly bushings...

looks good with the 7th gen GT-S wheels. tell me more about how you hooked up that tablet. that looks cool!

tablet install on the dash was the easiest part grab a black crystal hard case off of ebay and notch the top left and right corners out so its easy to drop the tablet in and pull it out. then grab some automotive grade double sided tape like used on exterior trim pieces and mount the crystal case over the double din opening. you now have a perfectly minimalistic nexus 7 dock.

inside the dash: pick up a lighter socket adapter with at least 2 usb power ports and 2 accessory 12v ports chop the plug in part and hardwire it to power and ground on an accessory switched hot. make sure you use a power noise filter on this. then pick up a usb bluetooth audio gateway, a nexus 7 charger, a usb extension that will reach to the center armrest (for phone charging), a 12v accessory extension to the center armrest , 2 stereo line noise filters and lastly a line level volume potentiometer to install where the cig lighter was for volume control.



sorry for the crude schematic but it was easer then trying to type how i hooked it up... and sorry for not putting power to the front amp in the schematic it obviously needs power too doh!

ui screenshot of how i have my tablet configured in the car





This post has been edited by b22ri22an: May 21, 2013 - 8:37 AM

all the suspension parts have arrived except my springs not even a shipping notice yet... i am worried i am going to get a discontinued or no stock email any day followed by a 5 business day wait for a refund

shop appointment for monday the 22nd to install my new suspension and the new header and downpipe I got from Antz5SFE. hope I can score my springs before then.

all the parts are finally in... springs arrived early evening friday, monday morning she goes into the shop and by tuesday afternoon it should have the almost full suspension rebuild done.

next project in que is changing my seats from vinyl leatherette to a suede like material, I've already contacted doggy on the material. probably be ordering them in a the next 2 weeks.

Sounds hella comfortable

today's the day.... headed to the shop now with all the new suspension parts

picked my car up today suspension upgrades and repairs are now done pics of the drop after i wash the car... still has some mechanics greasy fingerprints i need to wash off.

man she feels great now, grabs the road instantly now instead of squatting in and taking off. I had no idea my suspension was in that bad of shape till i now know what it feels like in new shape. no more wheel shimmeys no more vibrations in the steering wheel. I highly recommend the poly bushings for the control arms the ride isn't too stiff like i was fearing but stiff enough to make the car feel very nimble

exhaust leak is finally gone now that i have changed the manifold, new manifold looks good and has improved throttle response... butt dyno says maybe a lil more power but not much. i think the suspension upgrade did more for acceleration then the header but my old manifold had a leak so it needed to be replaced anyway

total cost of this recent upgrade $2040.00 after all parts, labor, shipping, and taxes. well worth it for the way it rides now

This post has been edited by b22ri22an: Apr 24, 2013 - 12:48 PM

looking good!

was tired of my seats not feeling right and the drivers side new cover was all torn up so thanks to kimnieves i got a good set of cloth seats some new door panels and a spare convertible top at an awesome price thanks man i owe ya big time

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Man, what was wrong with those seats you had custom made? They were beautiful! I've got a 25th anniversary in black as well, had it a year but just now starting to pay it some attention. Yours is looking/sounding great!

No issues mixing the OESpectrum struts with the lowering springs? I thought you had to get performance struts that would support the shorter spring (I am NOT a strut expert - not even a novice! but I thought I read that somewhere)...

the vinyl didn't hold up to its heavy useage, it was trashed, and there was something wrong with the frame of driver seat that i always could feel the metal even though it was a new cushion. the suspension springs are made to go on regular struts and lower the vehicle as long as its a quality strut its fine. i drive a lot and hard for work which blows struts much faster then most people this is my 2nd full set in a little over 3 years.

just as a side note i'm still gonna get the suede covers for the seats, the new seats were more for repair of the seats themselves then as a permanent solution. I now no longer feel the seat frame pressing into my right butt cheek, don't have a damaged driver side foam upper that was destroying covers anymore, and both headrests are no longer leaking foam fuzzies and are actually attached to the posts rather then wobbling on them. the rear seats I changed just so the seats all match till I can get the money for the new covers and have them installed.

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Yeah, I've got those same seats currently in mine. Feel the frame on the LEFT butt cheek. :-] Ever figure out why the new foam didn't fix the issue? Is that foam easy to get? Would love to rebuild mine.

problem wasnt the foam... even tho the foam i replaced was bad, the frame itself was slightly bent upwards making the one side push up further so i felt the frame thru the foam...
getting new foam wasnt hard, call up partznet give them your vin and they will send you the right foam for your car... cant remember what i paid but it wasnt outrageous

ok i'm at a crossroads right now, looking for input from other members. after seeing a photoshopped pic of a vert with a curren nose, i'm really leaning towards getting a curren nose put on. To me it looks less flashy and more classy then the 4 round heads, also starting to consider the 1mzfe swap. what do you guys think of a 1mzfe curren convertible



photoshop courtesy of smkr3w

I say go for it!
It'd be the first 1mz curren convert on the forum i believe.
be unique and stand out from the rest of us. hahaha

Great job on the vert, looks really clean man. I also put in one of those Alpine Power Packs and removed the stock amplifier,, what a difference. I did notice that I'm getting light engine noise coming from the speakers, have you had the same issue with your unit? Its fairly low on my end, so I'm fairly certain a filter will take care of the problem, just curious thats all. thanks.

yeah filter the hot wire with a power filter and make sure your using a good ground and that noise will be gone

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Yeah that's what I'm thinking. Btw If you're going to go with a curren front, I agree with most, definately go for it.