It can be done

First round of the install is done. It's a basic system tuned for sound quality: Kenwood DDX-8017, Kenwood HD Nav (ships in March), Morel Ovation Integra 6.5" coaxials, Eclipse 3422 4 channel amp (bridged 200Wx2), Eclipse 3222 2 channel amp(bridged 360Wx1), Audio Control EQL, Earthquake 1.5 cap, Orion 10" sub. I'll probably have an 8" JL W7 sub built into one of the corners of the trunk this summer. For now, the extra Orion gets the job done. The Morel's still need a little more break-in time and then I'll go another round with the RTA and tweak the EQ.

 

Here's the final result in the dash. It looks completely OEM. Couldn't reproduce the rubber finish, didn't want to actually. The original bezel had the cubby and trip display removed, sculpted with a little bondo and then was dyed and textured perfectly. I believe the color was Japanese Graphite (JDM yo!) I used the AVO display bracket. It went in well after some dremeling. It's made for RHD, big surprise... so I need one more little tweak to get rid of the gap below the passenger side temp control. Ultimately, I'd like to remove the factory radio (seperate it from the HVAC circuit board) and install defi gauges behind some type of panel or door. That will be a lot of work and is very low on the list.

http://www.photodump.org/stored3/booya.JPG

 

Mounting the double din headunit was pretty straight forward. I thought the structural cross beam would be in the way, be it cleared. The usual trim needs to be made to the existing plastic after the cubby is removed, same as the single din install. My installer just bent some basic brackets and anchored it into a solid surface. With the bezel in place, it's rock solid.

http://www.photodump.org/stored3/doubledin.jpg

My two requirements for the amp rack were to keep it hidden and not restrict access to the spare or jack. The rack just lifts off the spare and there's a post to prop it up and out of the way. My last install involved using tools to get things free and clear which was no fun on the side of the highway when all I had was a bag of cheeze-its.

http://www.photodump.org/stored3/amprack.jpg

 

This was a recycled sub from my last daily driver system (which explains the dust...). I'll eventually have a custom enclosure glassed into the passenger side corner.

http://www.photodump.org/stored3/sub.jpg

pretty...

Well done Weasel!

Looks like the efforts on the dash paid off nicely. It really does look OE- grade.

holy beauty

Just come in to our group and go all crazy... Now that's rude! You need to start small - seat belt chime disable, DRL lisable, etc... You can't join our group with all this fancy crap right off the bat! You making us look bad!

looks good, be nice tho, if you can program the steering wheel controls into that

Beautiful job!! This type of work is an inspiration for us all. Thanks for having the gumption to hack on a new car and make it better! It'll be years before I do something like this to my car (so says "She Who Must Be Obeyed"), but it's great to know it can be done. Kudos!!

looks good, be nice tho, if you can program the steering wheel controls into that

Yeah, it would be nice. Check out the 2006 Kenwood Excelon catalog online. "Steering Wheel Control Adapter Harness"... check. Oh and a bluetooth plug-in as well!

Just come in to our group and go all crazy... Now that's rude! You need to start small - seat belt chime disable, DRL lisable, etc... You can't join our group with all this fancy crap right off the bat! You making us look bad!

Bah! What took you guys over a year to research, wait for product to be designed/released, and check-out other cars first took me all of two evenings on this site the weekend before I bought the car. I had my aftermarket shopping list and mod path completed before I even took delivery! We MY06 guys have it easy.

Looks good man.

What's the black zig-zag under the carpet/over the amps and is there any ventilation for the amps?

What's the black zig-zag under the carpet/over the amps and is there any ventilation for the amps?

Thats the lug wrench/jack handle. It snaps into the cover and I had them cover it in cloth to avoid scratching/hitting the amps. No, there isn't any ventilation. I've used this amplifier combintation before in my Z with little ventilation. They do not run very hot. The final test will be in the summer here. I'll keep an eye on them and use some small perf screens if necessary.

So you have 2 stereos now?

So you have 2 stereos now?

I have a high quality system up and running with navigation in the dash and a design flaw, unplugged but still along for the ride above the HVAC controls.

Ok a couple of questions.....

 

First off looks amazing, but is that an OEM piece that you ordered from Subabru? Because I did for my avic-d1 and it doesn't fit.

First off looks amazing, but is that an OEM piece that you ordered from Subabru? Because I did for my avic-d1 and it doesn't fit.

"The original bezel had the cubby and trip display removed, sculpted with a little bondo and then was dyed and textured perfectly."

 

I assume you bought the AVO double din bezel. There are several old threads that said it was asymmetrical and would not fit in our LHD Legacy's.

http://www.avoturboworld.com/avoshop/images/300_doubledin001.jpg

It didn't take much work to get the original OEM bezel reshaped. I believe the skill involved took place in the sanding and refinishing to give the final OEM look that I got.

Cant you make the stock player a functional 6 disc changer? Wouldnt that clean up the stock cd players sound?

No I bought the piece that the Spec B uses.

how do the MY06 guys have it easier?

Cant you make the stock player a functional 6 disc changer? Wouldnt that clean up the stock cd players sound?

I suppose you might be able to get the line level outputs of the stock changer and hook them up to an AUX input on the aftermarket headunit, but that's the wrong way to be doing things, IMO. Any aftermarket CD changer would be a more integrated solution and have a better signal to noise ratio (sound quality). The only reason the stock radio and changer are still there is because they're too expensive to remove.

 

No I bought the piece that the Spec B uses.

I was considering the SpecB piece, but decided it would take more work to fill in the empty button holes than to simply remove the divider between the cubby and trip display on the regualr OEM piece. I think I paid $65 from subaruparts.com for it so I can keep my original one if I need to convert back in the future.

 

how do the MY06 guys have it easier?

I was referring to the fact that we've had our cars for less amount of time, but have well over a years worth of product research from the MY05 guys available on this website.

nice!

is it possible for you to provide a list of everything that you actually used minus the actual the screen unit, like what parts did you actually ahve to order

You don't need any parts, just custom fabrication abilities. The only part I bought, aside from the obvious hi-fi equipment, was the AVO trip computer relocation bracket co I could retain that functionality.

You don't need any parts, just custom fabrication abilities. The only part I bought, aside from the obvious hi-fi equipment, was the AVO trip computer relocation bracket co I could retain that functionality.

 

Thanks for the awesome write-up mate!

 

The wife is going to make me save up but I'm going to go Stock HU -> Cleansweep -> Alpine W200 w/ Navigation. I'm going to have my favorite local installer do it for me. When you got the AVO Trip Comp. relocation unit, how much did you pay? Is this one at RalliTEK a decent price? ($189)

When you got the AVO Trip Comp. relocation unit, how much did you pay? Is this one at RalliTEK a decent price? ($189)

I bought it directly from AVO. That price sounds about right.