Adding aftermarket screen added to my RX8
 

Hey guys, I just wanted to tell you that I brought in my RX8 yesterday to the shop to get some work done. I bought the Eclipse AVN5435 screen and an alarm to get installed on my 8. Since our car is such a PITA to do an install on, he is going to create a custom fiberglass mold of where the stock deck is, all the way down to the ashtray where I am relocating the A/C controls down there. He said it'll take 3 days, and that he will have the paint match the glossy black of the stock piece the car comes with.

I am really excited because I did not get navigation with the car, and now I'll have my navigation along with the ability to play dvd's, cd's, mp3's, etc etc all in one unit and it'll look as if it came stock.

I am really hoping that this turns out like I pictured it, but we will see around Thurs. or Friday. He said he will be taking pictures during the construction, but I am going to stop by the shop every now and then and take some pictures and post them up to you.

He is also installing a brand new Shelby type alarm which is a pager type alarm with remote start and all that good stuff.

375 for the alarm? ouch! hope it turns out good, I'm working on a way to add dvd to mine, can't wait to have that capability :)

3 days to do this part of the install.....custom fabricate the new panel, repaint it a gloss black and relocate the factory head unit.... Either the guy has lots of help to speed the process along as they have done it before or they might not be aware of what the job actually entails.

You got away with only 550 for labor for all that. Post pics when you get it back.

Hey Rob did you ever get that 8 you were working on finished

You got a great deal for everything especially on the labor! The Avn5435 is a nice unit. I also have that unit.

I tend to agree w/ Rob. I had a shop quote me $200 to fabricate this piece and install a single DIN unit. They had never worked on an 8 before. After I explained why I couldn't do it myself and what they had to lookout for, the quote went to over $1000.

I sure hope this works out for you. That's an awesome deal. Good luck.

- Cesar -

Working on the door panels right now. Made the speakers baffles out of 1/4" clear lexan, painted the door structural member behind the speaker black, used 2 layers of deadening in the door...... all so that I could illuminate the Focal mid in a multi color led setup, I think there are about 24 led's per mid actually. The lower door panel I have cut out the factory grill and am in the process of insetting the Focal mid and baffle into it in the shape of a rotor like I did on the top center speaker. Should have that done by tonight and then I will use a good amount of black vinyl to recover the lower door. Lots and lots of work on a car like this that must be done.....juuuuust right.

Just to update you guys, after day 1 I called the guy and he said everything is great. He already started the fiberglassing and is extending the wires in order to relocated everything to keep the A/C readings and that stuff so I'm actually really excited that they already knew about this problem and they were already working on it and fiberglassing the mold. I am going in tomorrow afternoon to take some pictures and I will get back to you guys as soon as possible. I'm excited about how this will turn out, we will see how it looks about 1/2 way done tomorrow!

Great news! Hope everything comes out what you expected.

if i didnt have the nav screen i would have removed the stock stereo and kept the AC controls where they were, but fit the screen above those controls in a custom faceplate. im jealous. getting a carputer or does the alpine handle music/nav/movies? also, are u gettings a new amp if the alpine handles multimedia?

I just got back from the shop and everything seems to be fine. The guy was working on my car when I got there sanding the bondo from the frame. I was inside the garage and talking to him about the install and I watched him make the mold for the Nav/AC controllers together. Like I said, it's going to be all one big piece. He told me all he needs to do is just make the mold, sand it and then bring it in for painting. He already has the screen mounted and installed as you will see in the pictures, and then he has the A/C control wires all made longer so it will reach the trunk (need to relocate stock deck into the trunk in order to keep AC controls) and said that the stock deck won't even be seen in the trunk. So here are the pictures, nothing too special, just the main frame, and then him adding bondo in able to have the frame and the ac controlers as one piece. I watched him for about an hour work on the car. He didn't like how the mold looked so he took it off and was going to redo the mold between the frame and a/c controllers. I'm pretty excited, I'm supposed to pick it up tomorrow, I don't know if it will be done by then because they still need to install the alarm, but we will see.

Here are the pictures, enjoy!

Looks hot.

If they have not checked for resistance issues with moving that headunit to the trunk, do it like right now. IT is what I first did and low and behold, nothing worked properly at all. Move it back up front, shorten the wires up and bam, everything was working fine.

What do you mean resistance issues with moving the stock headunit to the trunk?

There are a whole crapload of wires to be relocated to the trunk. The longer a wire gets, the more resistance build in that wires ability to pass current. Meaning voltage and current drops to the point that what should work, does not. I tried this route first as it would be the logical thing to do, for me I had already informed the customer before hand that this was a potential problem that may pop up, the only way to know for sure was to try it. IIRC, I posted the issues that I found, do a search with my name in it and it should pop up for you to follow through on.

We did and the exact problem I thought would happen did, that many small wires over that distance in my case proved to be a fatality. So it was back to the dash cavity the sotck deck went.

Now I read on here some time ago that a successful relocation to the trunk had taken place, so you never know. Maybe my wires were a foot longer than needed to be, perhaps a different type of wire would have worked better, all in all though, we still got the outcome that we needed.

Alright, thanks for the heads up, I'll see if they run into the problem tomorrow. I have work until 4:30 tomorrow and then after that I'm going to go to the shop and check it out or hopefully they will be done by then. They are supposed to be done by tomorrow, but I really don't know if they will be done. They were at the point in those pictures mid-day today. They had all the wires ready to be ran to the trunk and they basically tore apart the stock deck in order to get the A/C controls and they will relocate in the trunk where it will no be seen, so I will see where that is going to happen.

I also don't know if he is going to keep the ash tray/cig lighter in there or not. The idea was the place the a/c controls down to where the ash tray and cig ligher were, but it seems like in those pictures, the a/c controls are going to be in the same spot, but I don't know. The mold is supposed to be finished by tomorrow morning for it to go to a body shop to get painted the glossy black the stock unit has.

Don't rush it. If they won't be done tomorrow, they will be done on Friday or a day later. The point is to get quality work.
Honestly, I don't believe that all that stuff can be done so quickly, especially since he was just doing the mold and there is still plenty of stuff left to do. To let it cure takes time usually. Getting that smooth, glossy surface isn't easy I reckon - although I have no experience in doing such a task.
Regarding the HVAC controls, it indeed appears they will stay where they were - and in my opinion, that's much better than putting them in place of the ashtray.

Gloss black and quick don't go hand in hand, this shows any little imperfection in the surface of the new panel like a hole or hill in the finished product, it is more evedent than a scantily clad woman leaning into your car. In other words, it draws your eyes really quick to the little nasty imperfection and it will haunt you until the wee hours of every morning until it is fixed. This, along with the nasty scratches and fingerprints is part of the reason why we painted the panels we did in a silver matte color to match the trim of the car and man did it turn out nice (finally).

So is it done???

Alright, I just came back from the shop today and I am happy but sad at the same time.

First things first, I do not have the car back and the job was not finish. They have the mold and everything basically hooked up for the screen to work. They need to hook up the GPS satillite for the navigation (it's going on the passanger side windshield on the dash, you basically can't see it) bring the mold into painting, and continue to relocate the stock dash. Andre and Cory have been working on my car for about 20hrs+ now and they are doing an amazing job. Thing is I actually feel bad for them because they had no idea what they were getting into with having to relocate the stock deck and having to run all the wires but they are great guys and arn't giving up and working night and day to get this done for me.

One issue that came up was with the alarm. He brought me into the shop and was telling me that in order for me to get an alarm installed, I had to buy some extra modules for the alarm, basically to make the doors lock and some other module, it would cost an extra $150 for them. I told them that for right now, just finish up the screen install and we will do the alarm some other time, he gave me my money back for the alarm right then and there, great business for that.

Anyways, here are all the pictures you have been waiting for. It is going into a body shop tomorrow to get painted glossy black and then they will finish up the install and he said it will be done tomorrow night. I will update you guys tomorrow with hopefully the finish product!

P.S. Any kind of suggestions for alarms would be great, looking for remote start, pager, good alarm, etc.

Thats going to be super clean when it gets finished. Too many wires imo, but not much you can do about that. Is there anything they can do with the steering wheel controls? Also manual, and remote start don't normally mix, but I've heard there is a way to do it.

I asked him about it, and he was saying that they by-pass the clutch engagment. Basically, I need to leave the car in neautral and just put the parking brake on (I leave car in 1st and put e-brake on so nothing new) and then he has to go in and by-pass the clutch engagment wire. There is nothing we can do about with the steering wheel controls, I think I lose them, but there is a module that I can by and get control of them again if I wanted.

I have been following on your thread for some time. It's been something that have interested me for a while. I congratulate you for being the first few to take the plunge! I hope you get the car back with everything in working order and don't run into any problems with the HVAC like most have encountered. Do you think that the shop would be interested in making the faceplate? I would be willing to give this mod a try if he can reproduce the faceplate. Keep us posted on the result.

Looking good so far. It is true that you need to get extra modules for an after market alarm for the power windows & all that good stuff. When I bought my Clifford Advantguard G5($300, retail is like $700+), I had to buy a module for power windows for like $50. Regarding remote start for a manuel car, I dont recommend it. I was offered the option to do the remote start for no addtional charge for the installation(flat fee of $300 labor for the alarm, I was told it usually take a whole day to install this alarm) but I was also advised not to do it because my installer said you can really f**k up your car if you leave it on 1st or reverse & use your remote start. My installer also have the same alarm for his Rousch Mustang & he did not install remote start for his car also simply because it's just not worth it to accidently mess up your own car with the remote start.

Use the Compustar 2wfm8000as alarm / remote starter for this vehicle. You will indeed need the immobilizer bypass module and as of yet, I have not tackled the doorlocks to know whether or not you need a locking module or just simple relays.

When I go there today, I will talk to them about making something for the 8. I really don't think they have the time to mass produce something like this because it's very hard work for them.

They told me that they will do custom installs on RX-8's again in the area, but they do not know about producing a frame like that did for mine to offer to people out of the area, however, when I go back in today to pick it up (they said it should be done this evening) then I will talk to them about it and I'll get back to you guys with info and pictures.

Hey guys, I got back from the audio shop tonight I was able to pickup my car. I didn't take any pictures because well, the mold is at the body shop still because he needed to sand a little more and wet sand it to get it really smooth before they paint it. They are closed Saturday and Sunday, so I will not be able to get the mold until Monday night. This is my only car so I couldn't go any longer without the car (4 days so far) but Andre and Cory made sure everything was working fine and they let me take the car out of the shop. Although it doesn't have the mold, everything works great. The screen is amazing. I tried the navigation and it works great, played a DVD, great, played music, etc etc everything is so nice I love the screen and can't wait to get the mold back and put on the car!

The only problems we are coming up with right now, is basically the heaters don't work because like someone said, the resistance in the wires is screwing everything up, so he is going to ask me to come in Sunday and he is going to try a few things to see if it fixes it, if not, then he has to mount it up by the passenger footwell, it is going to be hidden and will not ruin any kind of foot room, but he would like to have it still mounted in the trunk. If anyone has any advice, go ahead and post it.

But, I am really excited, the mold should be painted and at the audio shop Monday night and I am going to go there and all they need to do is mount it and we are set. I will get you guys pictures Monday night!

This is gonna be great. I can't wait to see how this works out for you. I've been researching this project for the past year and there's nothing more that I want for my 8 than to have a unit like yours. Congrats, Man!

exactly how i always wanted.........

from the picture you showed us there is a lot more that can be taken apart for the HU and thus you could fit it behind the dash or in the glove compartment

as for resistance you will not overcome it easly...most of the wiring is probably parallel as are most PCB cabling...this means for optimal use it should be no longer than 18inchs although it will go further (as evidenced by a few other installs)

someone with basic computer install knowledge should be able to take apart the hu core pcb board further and place them stacked on top of each other, eliminating the metal frame

good luck!

looks great. can't wait to see the finished product. i am actually thinking of doing something very similar except with the Alpine IVA-D310. again, that install looks spectacular.

What I did was to take the stock main board and casing and run new wires from the socket on that board to the socket on the board that plugs into it. The factory radio circuitry board that these wires attached to was next mounted to some 1/8" abs to keep it from shorting against anything. The main climate controls were then extended about 14" and plugged into this board as well, followed by the lengthened display and hazard light wires. Both units can then be mounted wherever you see fit.

forbidden...has this car grown on you? :D

based on your posts just on this forum, let along the 12volt one...I would be spending a LOT of money if your shop was in my area because your the only installer I trust

Thank you for the compliments, 20 years of hands on leads to one heck of a lot of knowledge. There is new things to be learned every day however. We can always come and pick your car up. :D It is presently 4:08am on Sunday morning, pulling an all nighter on this car so he can get it into a car show in the morning. We had his two Audison amplifiers stolen out of it right in the back of the store while we had our supper. So, in goes a couple of temporary Eclipse amps for now. Our door panels have turned out awesome, the lighting kit is totally wicked. The center channel, guage cluster and dvd / g meter also look great. I have much more work to do on this in the future (like taking out the dash to repaint it anfter a little excess resin found it's way onto it). That's OK though, it gives us a chance to finish the front end or maybe add some effects lighting like that in the door.

We mounted out Focal door speakers on clear lexan and backlit them with 32 multi color leds and a controller kit for them. The crossover are also mounted in the door and lit up with blue led's that only illuminate when the door is opened. For a inventive speaker grill I copied my top grill on the new center channel. I made a Mazda rotor grill cutout on the top dash, it flows with the reverse rotor that you see on the hood if you look closely at it. The grills for now are not made but will be made out of 3/4 aluminum and will inset into this rotor cutout. The balance of the inside of the grill will be cut away except for the Mazda logo. So we have the Mazda logo inside of the Mazda rotor made out of aluminum and inset into the new dash panel. We have duplicated this idea into the doors.

The doors took an enormous amount of work. Cut out the factory speaker grill, glass the new mdf into place evenly, fibreglass reinforced bondo to keep it strong and another coat of bondo over that to smooth everything out. We then stretched black vinyl over the entire lower portion of the door to clean it up. The new grill area now shows the speaker and a clear plexi area in the shape of the Mazda rotor, way cool, especially with all the lights.

So, now the dash is going in and we hope to see a picture and sound for the first time, all should go well. Lots of hiccups along the way today but nothing that a little time and ingenuity could not solve.

If anyone asks me to do one of these cars again.....leave it here for 6 months and I will do it or I will hire a dedicated installer specifically for it. Big monster job that we will finish much later this fall. Trunk work and finesse to come.

^Why must you live on the opposite side of the country?! Argh!^

or in another country!

forbidden.. I too am on the 12volt...and I hope we get to see pictures of yours soon..I grow weary of all the verbal teasing you are doing to us.... :p

What is this "12volt" you all speak of? Is it the sticky thread started by forbidden? :confused:

12volt forums www.12volt.com :)

its one of those forums like here that contribute to me not getting any work done at work...damn these forums they are like crack

gulp

pass me some more of that Sub install info....ssssssssuuuuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aahhhhhhhhhhhh

dats sum good sheet :p

HEY --- where'd she go !!!

subscribed to see finished product :)

www.the12volt.com my user name is the same on that great site. It is much more industry related with many great industry people that "hang out" there. I kind of like hiding here right now though.

I hate to actually to steer this back onto topic, but how was the outcome?

Sorry for not updating in a while but here is the situation. A 3 day job turned into a 1 week+ job, but I don't mind, because it was a lot of work for them and although I really wanted it all done quick, I didn't want to rush anything. So like I was saying, I was supposed to be done Monday, however, the paint shop had to do a lot of work to prep the piece, and then started spraying it Monday night. Marin, the manager of the body shop, told me that the audio shop will get it back Tuesday because they let the piece dry over night.

So today, I thought was the day. The guys at the audio shop were still working on my stock deck in order to fix all the A/C and heat controls so I was basically driving around with no music for 2-3 days--my RP High-Flow Cat/Greddy exhaust was my music for those two days. I had a soccer game today at 5:55 and at 6:15 I get a call from Andre, I checked my messages after the game and Andre leaves a message saying he has the piece but he is only going to be in the shop a half an hour or so. I call him ASAP but he already had left the shop to do other work, soooo, I need to wait another day hah. He wanted to see if I could come in early, but I have a dentist appointment at 11, then straight from that, I need to go to work until 3.

So, after work tomorrow I am going to go to the shop and we are finally going to complete this! Sorry for the delays, but from what Andre was telling me about the finished product, it's well worth it.

Check back tomorrow for pictures of the finish product! And boy, my car is dirty, I can finally give it a wash once this job is finished.

we are honored you are hiding here :)

Hey guys, just to give you an update. I dropped the car off at the shop today for Andre to finish up the car. I was able to see the piece and man I am really impressed. The paint job on the piece looks great and its smooth. I'm really excited to see the car finally finished. I had a lot to do today and I needed a car, so Andre gave me his car for the day. A silver Audi TT. I drove it to my ortho appointment and then I am driving it to work and then I should be able to drive to the shop and pick up the car after work (3ish) Anyways, I decided just to take some pictures of his car cause it's pretty nice and I like the wheels hah, enjoy.

P.S. The rear bumper damage was already there, that wasn't me, he's looking to get a body kit anyways.

dude what did you do to that rear bumper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

j/k. TT"s dont do it for me, they are so slow i could probably push my rx8 faster to 60.