Hey guys,

So about a month ago, ChrisSTR approached me asking for help regarding upgrading his non NAV Alpine stereo in his 03 STR. We started E-mailing back and forth, and eventually it turned into a shopping list and I offered to do the install for him since he is reasonably local.

Let me say Chris is a really cool guy, and we had a lot of fun, even though Part 1 was a long 12 hour day... Beer Pizza and Wings always make things better.


So after gathering up all the equipment, we had the first install day yesterday.

Here is what we have planned for the system:

Head / Source Unit:

Kenwood Excelon DNX9960.

This is Kenwood's former top of the line head unit with all the bells and whistles. Bluetooth, Ipod, USB, Garmin Navigation etc... It's really a nice unit, once you get used to the touchscreen's lag. (Sorry Chris had to say it!)

Kenwood Excelon DNX9960 Navigation receiver at Crutchfield Signature

We also added the KCA-Ip302 Ipod Interface cable:

Kenwood KCA-IP302 iPodŽ cable

As well as the Kenwood CMOS-200 Rear view camera:

Kenwood CMOS-200 Rear-view camera at Crutchfield.com


Front stage:

JL Audio C5-650 6.5" Component set:

JL Audio C5-650 Evolution™ C5 Series 6-3/4" component speaker system at Crutchfield Signature

Rear fill will be handled by the Stock Alpine Speakers - More on that later.

Subwoofers:

Two JL Audio 10w3v4 10" Subs in a small sealed enclosure - The amount of space under the STR's Deck really limits your options here, but we found a good prefab enclosure that fit well, and we can work with.

JL Audio 10W3v3-4 W3v3 Series 10" 4-ohm subwoofer at Crutchfield Signature

This is the enclosure we used with these subs:

10" DUAL SMALL SEALED

Amplifiers:

For front / rear stage:

JL Audio XD-400/4

JL Audio XD400/4 4-channel car amplifier — 75 watts RMS x 4 at Crutchfield Signature

When I first saw this little amp, I was like this thing is a toy. It's seriously the size of a paperback book. BUT it really kicks butt. I was amazed. Sounds good and TONS of power.

Subwoofer Amp:

JL Audio JX-500/1

JL Audio JX500/1 Mono subwoofer amplifier — 500 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms at Crutchfield.com

This amp is tough as well, although it caused one complication. Since it's a Class D mono sub amp, there is NO way to turn off the internal crossover, so you can't use the Kenwood Deck's sub out (since there is no way to turn off the decks internal crossover and run the sub full range). This forces you to use one of the full range outputs to feed signal into the amp. What we ended up doing is that the XD400/4 has a "preamp out" where you can choose whether it's CH 1/2 or the summation of CH 1/2 and 3/4. We ran an RCA from that to the sub amp's input and it worked like a charm, but once again, no independent sub level control. ALTHOUGH you can use the JL Audio remote bass knob if you wish.

Installation accessories used:

PAC SWI-X Universal remote steering wheel adapter:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_127SWIX...X.html?tp=3405

Metra 99-9501b Jaguar S-Type Double din dash kit in black:

http://assets.sonicelectronix.com/ma.../met999501.pdf

Autoleads Pc2-81-4 Wiring Harness adapter.

Autoleads PC2-81-4 - Jaguar S Type, XJ6, XJ8, X Type Wiring Harness Adaptor

This adapter just allows you to pull power from the factory wiring without cutting it. In the alpine system, the speaker wires are all in the trunk at the amp harness, and the sound is transmitted between the amp and the head unit via the D2b fiber network.

Metra 40-eu10 Antenna Adapter:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...a-40-EU10.html

I actually forgot to mention this to Chris so he hadn't ordered it, but he will and when we finish the install it will be in there.

Stinger SPK5641R 4 AWG Pro Amp wiring kit:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...mpaign=froogle

Stinger 4 AWG power and ground distribution block. This thing is cool and allows for really neat wire runs:

http://www.amazon.com/Stinger-Shoc-K...ata/B001HC76DY

Dynamat 10435 Extreme front door kit:

http://www.amazon.com/Dynamat-10435-.../dp/B00020CAUG

Scosche Sa68 front 6x8 to 6.5" Speaker adapters:

http://www.amazon.com/Scosche-Adapte.../dp/B004YACJHY

Two Stinger SPI4317 4 Channel Pro 3 RCA Cables:

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...mpaign=froogle


Two Radio Shack 8 Position european terminal strips (to tie into the factory amp harness)

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2103231

A bunch of 14 AWG speaker wire (I had a 500ft spool)

Two sheets of 1/2" MDF for the trunk, speaker carpet etc...

So that's the parts list, now onto day 1 of the install in the next post...

Take care,

George

 

So the first day encompassed a full 12 hour day, with a few sanity / smoke / pizza / beer breaks....

From the start, Chris told me that he wanted a really low key, non flashy install. He wanted practical and functional. So I decided to build an amp rack that conceals all the gear in the spare tire well, while leaving the tire in tact, and then building a false floor over it to conceal everything. All you will see when you open the trunk is what seems like an empty trunk with a sub box in it...

We got ALOT of work done:

Headunit installed completely, GPS antenna mounted, bluetooth microphone ran. Ipod and USB connection cables ran to glove compartment.

RCA's (6 channels) run front to back, remote turn on and reverse camera trigger wire ran.

First floor (amp rack) made in the trunk

I tapped into all the car's speaker wires at the Alpine amp's harness using european terminal strips.

Then I wired up the crossovers from the JL component set for the front speakers.

Then I connected all the power wiring, and connected it to the battery and ground

I decided to test the amp with the stock alpine speakers, just to confirm the wiring was all correct and that everything worked...

First impresson:

This little JL Audio Amp rocks! And believe it or not, the Alpine speakers powered by a real JL amp with the JL crossovers sound DAMN good. Me and Chris were amazed.

So then I mounted the subs into the enclosure and connected up the sub amp.

The 10w3v3's in the little sealed box sound great, and hit harder than I thought they would.

Even with the stock alpine speakers, this car rocks.

Now next weekend is part 2, when the system will really come alive.

Here's what's left:

Install antenna adapter so Tuner works.

Install JL Audio front component speakers in the doors.

Mount and connect Rear View Camera (reverse trigger wire and RCA for video feed are already ran).

Finish trunk false floor with carpet etc. I have Chris's trunk liner here so I may do this during the week to save time...

Pics coming up in next post.

Take care,

George

 

What everyone really wants to see: Pictures!!

First laying all the equipment out:



Subwoofer Enclosure Test fit in trunk:



Starting to take the car apart:





Trunk Coming Apart:



Factory head unit / climate control out:



Running RCA's and other wires in the factory wire channel:



RCA's run into trunk:



Location of bluetooth Microphone:



RCA's run into center console:



Connecting the head unit's wiring Harnesses to the RCA's:



Steering Wheel Interface:



Cleaning all the extra wires out of the harnesses and attaching the Autoleads Harness to the Kenwood's main Harness:



First test, plugging the head unit in to see if we're live:



USB and Ipod connectors routed into the glove box:



Head unit Mounted in dash kit, and dash partially reassembled:



Moving onto the trunk, Tapping into all the factory speaker wires at the alpine amp harness. I left enough wire on the harness to reconnect it all if Chris every wants to go back to stock:



All speaker wires connected. Those terminal strips were wrapped in tape:



Time to make sense of the spaghetti dinner hanging out of the trunk:



Making a template for the amp rack out of an old foam lawn sign:



Template transfered to MDF and cut with a jigsaw - note this will never be seen, so it doesn't have to be perfect, that little thing sitting there is the JL Audio xd 400/4 - That Amp is TINY!



A couple hours later - all wired up except for the last passive crossover:



Subs mounted in Enclosure and installed:



That's all for now, I think Chris has a few pics as well.... Most of the "beauty" pics will come once it's all done and tuned.

Take care,

George

 

Making Room for part 2.

 

Holy cow George. I understood you know yer chit on stereos but yer more than def the "Music Man". Chris was lucky not to be far away. Anyhow, yesterday I went to Radio Shack to inquire on Sirius Satellite Radio. I told the sales rep that I first needed to consult with our forums stereo guru and bam! By coincidence an awesome thread on the subject pops up the next day. George, they have units that'll plug directly into the cigarette lighter receptcle in the center armrest but the sticking point is what route to lay the antenna wire leading to the antenna that sticks to the windshield?

 

That's easy enough. Pop out the cup holder, and the little tray under it.

There are two t20 torx screws that hold the insert into the center console. Pull that up and out (there is enough slack that you don't need to disconnect the center console power point.

Next, unscrew your shift knob, put it to the side.

Then open the ashtray, and pull up on the front edge of the wood that goes around the shifter. Four clips hold it in, two in the front one on each side about 2/3 of the way down.

Then unclip the trim around the stereo (the big oval one - see the instructions to the dash kit I posted there, it has pics on how to get most of this off).

From there unscrew the little panel under the steering wheel - 4 screws there.

Then pull the rubber molding that goes around the door seal off. Start at about the floor and head up the A pillar. The A pillar attaches with 3 series of clips, but you really only need to pop the top two off. This should give you a route to the top of the windshield.

This is the basic description but it's really not that hard. It will make sense as you get into it. Hey, you're in NY, if you wanna take a ride down to Central Jersey I'll run it for ya..

I'm about to post some pics from yesterday

Take care,

George

 

Er, I got lost on the first part of your instruction. George, ya going to the June 4-5 meet? I'll pay ya to install it. Vance580 is fixin my CCM. Holy chit! I still haven't gotten over the friggin "spaghetti" comin out of Chris's trunk!

 

Cool write up. That's going to be a nice system when it's all finished up! I really like that head unit, matter of fact I just added a kenwood double din like that to my wish list right after some of my go fast mods are finished.

Looks good guys can't wait to see the final outcome.

 

I thought you said with an alpine car you cant add a 4-channel amp for the front + rear speakers?? If you can, i would LOVE to do it to my navi car!

 

Since they are doing a new head unit the RCA leads are off of that so its basically not using the Alpine system at all. Sort of by passing it. Not sure if they are running the rears off of the 4 channel or the Alpine I didn't catch that in the write up. You can in a Nav car but you would have to retro fit the A/C controls from a non Nav in there then run a different head unit and have all your speakers hooked up that way. Been a while since I've done car audio so hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong in some places.

 

Wow, what an amazing post
Great write up to date and the pics speak volumes about the whole thing.......really looking forward to seeing more on this.

This has to be made FAQ!!

 

Yeah the new head unit is feeding the amps. We currently have the stock alpine speakers (front and rear) hooked up in the car still, playing from the JL xd400/4 amp, but that will change when we do the JL Audio speakers in the front.

We just left the alpine amp and CD changer in there, but they serve no purpose right now, you could completely pull them out of the electronics rack.

Pretty much what Vance said, BUT possibly with a twist... I took a good look at Chris's head unit AND there's no external difference or marking between the Alpine hu and the stock one that came out of my car.

SO it got me thinking.... IT MAY BE POSSIBLE.

Even the speaker wires are still present in the factory harness in an Alpine car.

A UK member here mentioned his car had the stock, non amplified (non Alpine stereo, BUT with nav). I really have a feeling that the speaker wire outputs are still active in the head unit with the Alpine stereo, BUT when the d2b senses the alpine amp, it just directs the sound over the fiber network.

This cable:

Buy Autoleads Jaguar Parrot Car Kit SOT leads online at Nexxia

Designed to allow you to wire a parrot bluetooth kit, in between the head unit and the speakers will give you access to those speaker wires. With a line output converter connected as well, you could definitely add a 4ch amp downstream of the factory Navi.

But this depends on two things: first, that the speaker level outputs are still active, and second, that the head unit (and not the d2b fiber network) carries the audio for the nav voice.

(IF the HU is the same with nav and no alpine, then this has to be the case).

I need to study the wiring diagrams here...

To test this theory would require that harness and a navi equipped car that I could pull the head unit out of and see if the speaker wires are in fact active. (And connected to a "test" speaker) to see if it works.

Take care,

George

 

George awesome work!!!! Great write up as well.

Chris better be showing up at the meet, no excuses, I gotta here listen to that system. Now wheres my old Madonna cds?? HHhhmmmmm!!!!

 

Awesome pics and writeup George.

 

George, what ya say? R U gunna go June 4-5? Cause I'll pay ya to hide the wires for the Sirius Satellite. I'm buyin ya a beer even if ya don't.

 

Just RE-reviewing the photos, how old is that Jaguar battery?

 

Superb job, FAQed

 

Nice work, good job.

 

Rick, believe it or not it seems to be original, had a tiny bit of corrosion on the + terminal but nothing to write home about. The car has 50k on it, so I wouldn't be surprised if it were. Seemed to start the car and have a proper reserve, we played with the stereo on for a while and the car cranked right up afterwards....

No issues otherwise, so I guess it hasn't failed yet.

Take care,

George

 

As it sits now, I don't think I'm going to be able to make it, as a matter of fact, I might be on my way to Belgium for work that weekend... It's either that one or the next one... Where exactly are you BFS?

Take care,

George