2014 Accord Sport SQ Build keep_hope_alive

[keep_hope_alive]

Welcome, boys and girls, to another installment of KHA's build log. I've done several, and over the past 20 years I have learned a lot.

Starting with a new platform. A 2014 Accord Sport.

System will consist of the factory head unit (BT with Pandora and vehicle integration) that will feed an Alpine CDA-9887. The Imprint kit will be used with the HU.

An Audison LRx-5.1k will likely be the amp and will be ran active to the Hertz MLK-165 and a Hertz ML3000.

I will connect the factory HU output into a LOC with source equalization (like a JL Cleansweep or similar) and feed the 9887 AUX input.

The 9887 will act as a pre-amp in most situations. It will be interesting to see what I need to do to control noise.

The active noise cancelling mics (there are two) will be defeated using relays that also tie to the sub output. I want the ability to take advantage of noise cancelling when the music is low or off while driving clients and co-workers around.

Here are some pics of the car. I'm a huge fan of the cosmetics. I like the inside even more than the exterior.

I will pull the door panels soon to examine available space.

Step 1 will be to remove the interior panels and find a spot to hide the alarm system. A Viper 5706v is planned. Brain will not be under the dash in a standard location. I believe in security systems and hiding all components. You won't see pictures of this just as you didn't see pictures of the alarm in my 2001 Accord.

Step 2 will be to pull the door panels and build mounts for the Mille woofers. I need 3" for the Mille woofers. it will be tight. The tweeters will first be mounted using stock sail panel tweeter mounts from an EX sedan. $20 each.

Step 3 will be to build the mount for the 9887 in place of the silly pocket in the dash.

Step 4 will be to build the amp rack to mount the Audison LRx-5.1k. I have two locations planned, the preferred location is in place of the factory foam piece that holds the jack and spare tire accessories. I can build a mount that incorporates a hinged amp rack AND spare tire accessories.

Step 5 will be a sealed fiberglass enclosure in the trunk that holds the Mille sub. This enclosure will likely feature a locking quick release mount that will allow me to remove it for family trips. End result will be the ability to remove the sub enclosure and the trunk will be stock.

This will be built to compete in Stock class but maybe Modified if acoustical treatments push me into it.

I want T/A and independent level adjustment per channel and I want it adjustable from the dash. so it's either a processor or the plan above.

also, for competition, the 9887 is a CD source that is totally independent of the factory system. I can live with a reduction in SQ for daily listening but not critical listening.

another option is to add an optical output to the factory CD player and tie that into an optical input to a processor. but then I cannot use the volume control on the deck.

 

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time to open the door and see what i'm working with.

The black rubber covering is very thin. This will be quickly replaced (or covered) with Mass Loaded Vinyl (MLV) for improved noise isolation.

the factory 6.5" speaker has a plastic adapter that is 3/4" thick on the top and there is about 1/2" of thickness on the stock door panel where a thin plastic lip meets up with the speaker foam ring:

 

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the speaker opening has a mushroom shape because Honda thought using screws at three corners was time consuming. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

this limits available diameter and explains why most sites (like Crutchfield) recommend a 5-1/4" speaker for the front. a shallow mount and/or neo-magnet 6.5" speaker would probably fit fine with a standard adapter.

the good news is that the window stops before it gets too far into the opening

but depth is nearly unlimited

the depth from the metal opening to the window (at the top of the opening) is 2".

5-1-2014

Placed an order and noticed the front door panels had a price of $0. i guess we'll see what they say... it's the entire door assembly. i suspect one of two things: 1. they charge me an assload for the door panels without my authorization and I have to hassle with a return or 2. they inform me they are not available for free. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

HondaPartsDeals.com

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Order Number: 149423

Date Ordered: Friday 02 May, 2014

Products

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1 x LINING ASSY., L. FR. DOOR *NH167L* () = $0.00

1 x LINING ASSY., R. FR. DOOR *NH167L* () = $0.00

20 x CLIP, DOOR LINING (APPLE GREEN) () = $3.60

1 x GARNISH ASSY., L. DOOR MIRROR *NH167L* (TWEETER) () = $19.97

1 x GARNISH ASSY., R. DOOR MIRROR *NH167L* (TWEETER) () = $19.97

1 x Touch Up Paint () = $7.69

Color Modern Steel Metallic (NH-797M)

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Sub-Total: $51.23

UPS (Ground): $18.44

Handling Fee: $4.95

Total: $74.62

- - - Updated - - -

I've found this stuff to be cheap and effective:

Budget MLV and absorption at Home Depot

 

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gear for install

got the EX sail panel tweeter mounts in from HondaPartsDeals.

with the factory tweeter rings the opening is 1-7/16". without the opening is oddly cut and around 1-7/8".

The ML28 tweeters can fit in a number of ways. From behind using the factory rings or in place of the factory rings using Hertz mounts.

 

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just like it was meant to be, the ML28 fit in the factory mounts perfectly. i was concerned the depth of the ML28 would be an issue but there is a good 1/8" clear - enough for CCF on the sail metal behind the tweeter. these things don't even need adhesive.

I like the gauges on this model, more than the other cars I test drove.

I eeked 40 mpg out of the car on the long trip the other day, range was up to 600 miles on a full tank. 37+ mpg hwy was consistent on the 850 mile drive.

 

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pure ***

 

---------- Post added at 04:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:37 PM ----------

 

Been taking time to evaluate amp mounting locations. Because the amp uses the bottom and sides as the heat sink and uses active fan cooling, i am comfortable mounting the amp upside down. i will use a 1/4"-1/2" spacer to keep some airspace for the bottom.

the amp fits perfectly between the rear speakers. the rear speakers will remain and will remain connected to the factory radio. the HU fader will silence them for normal operation.

i will next cut a board that covers the rear deck. the first layer will have a cutout for the rear speaker magnets, then a shallow enclosure around them will allow for a surface for mounting/securing wires.

this is a cardboard template with the amp template paper.

 

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got rear speakers installed in the side seat bolsters. these will replace the rear deck speakers.

Dayton RS100

removing the covering was simple - it's like they were made for this

finished and the addition is invisible.

the only thing i could add to this is a metal grill on the surface - but i'm not worried about damage given their location. i'll have them wired up for my trip this evening and see what i think about them.

behind the bolster will be a lot of acoustic fill and some XTC foam baffles behind the speakers.

got both in and wired up. and by themselves for music only i don't like it. too muted from the lack of a tweeter and despite those speakers having a rated response to 20k, it's muted by the fabric and foam. i want a coax in there and had i remembered that i had MB Quart 4" coax i would have installed those instead. they would be perfect for rear fill though.

so i swapped out the Dayton's for MB Quart 4" and i'm much happier. the rear seats sound much nicer and from the front they still aren't noticeable. the factory system has the front much louder than the rear - someone at Honda understands audio systems.

 

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amp rack is 3/4" MDF because I wanted to add rigidity and density to the rear deck to counteract the drum head effect that the large, thin factory deck has.

i started with a basic shape then modified it as needed to fit in the rear deck

i decided i wanted sides on the rack to not only hide the equipment from trunk views but to provide mounting points for the beauty panel

the ultra caps posed a challenge because it choked the space for wiring and a fuse block

so i chose to offset them

the amp ground will connect at the cap ground (where two empty ring terminals are shown). a 1/0 ground will continue from the cap to a suitable location. 1/0 power wire (sized for voltage drop, not current) will connect at the fuse block. 4 awg will run to the amp. The fuse holder uses MAXI fuses, both will be 100A.

some test fits showed the trunk lid supports in conflict, so i had to do some trimming to clear them. i also painted the rack because i avoid bare wood. i haven't decided how i want to cover this. the beauty panel will match the factory colors with vinyl and will have windows for the amp, caps (with plexi), and fuses. i have 3/4" spacers for the amp that not only help with cooling but provide a path for speaker wires. security screws are used where necessary.

passenger side with rack mounted (viewed from inside cabin with rear seat down) - RCA's and speaker wires will be here.

driver side - power and ground will be here.

view from outside trunk

 

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started yesterday thinking i was going to "rush" the install to get the amp and Mille's installed for a road trip. then i realized i cannot half *** anything because i had to route the speaker wiring to my standards. ah well. interior is reinstalled and ready for a 4-day trip on a stock system. at least the speaker wiring is done.

the new Accords have a plug in the door boot but it is removable and there is room for wire to pass through. finally!

only a matter of minutes to pull wire. i have 12 awg for the woofers and 16-4 for tweeters and to snag stock front output.

same on passenger. inside the door the wiring is in split loom and tied to factory wiring every 4" or so.

passenger side routing

driver side routing

also took the time to foam these plastic pieces that help form the carpet. they press against metal and i imagine they will make noise in time.

driver's side before

both done

passenger side

 

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4 hours of effort treating the passenger door. that's deadening, absorption, MLV barrier and CCF decoupler, and then terminating the speaker wires i had previously ran into the door. tomorrow i will repeat for the passenger door. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

the passenger door needed deadening, so a few sheets of BXT II did the trick.

then came the most important part of treating a door - adding absorption. this is a 1" thick compressed fiberglass ceiling tile (with the white cover removed). $6 per 2'x4' piece. this is easier to work with than the loose batt insulation and being compressed it offers more absorption with less hassle.

next came the barrier. the factory barrier is thin. i wanted to use MLV for the barrier but had the challenge of keeping water out. the factory setup has a slit where water can drain but it is flawed. so i added Ensolite (CCF( to the metal where the MLV will contact and also to the entire inside (one piece, sticky side out) to stick to the MLV and create a watertight barrier.

 

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now for the MLK-165 speakers.

i had previously ran wiring into the doors.

16-4 has two conductors for factory speaker output (until i get the 9887 in) and the other two for tweeters. 12 awg for woofers.

i soldered the connections here

got it loomed and tied and protected

soldered leads onto the Mille woofer

For the doors, i didn't want to cut metal and change classes. So i decided to make the Scosche adapters work. while i normally default to thick MDF rings - i've found they efficiently transfer vibration to the doors. so i deadened the hell out of the opening, added the adapters, foamed and deadened them, and installed the Mille woofers.

 

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the tweeter was previously mounted, just needed to be wired

i foamed those connectors so they would be quiet (no pic)

 

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drivers door done

The fiberglass absorption is Armstrong 404B, BTW.

CCF mounted to the inside of the panel for a moisture barrier (sticky side out will attach to the MLV)

wires soldered, loomed, and tied

both foam sheets installed - a bit tough reaching through the speaker opening to secure it

MLV added

 

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Mille wired up

and mounted

and foamed

tweeter wired

and foamed

done

front

dash pics lit up

custom clock background

 

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spent time with the family and didn't get as much done on Sunday, but did manage to get the Audison LRx5.1k mounted along with the ultracaps. working upside down is certainly adding a level of difficulty... good thing this is a big trunk that i fully fit in.

i have 1/2" nylon spacers between the amp and board and t-nuts in the board so the amp is quite rigid. security screws are used.

i covered the ends of the caps in CCF to lessen the chance of shorts. a plexi window in the beauty panel will reveal a section of the caps.

1/0 terminated into a reducer. it will be fused at 100A.

i use tie mounts on the board to hold wiring independent of connections