aftermarket or oem radio?? (pics)
 

Hi I just got this rx8 from an auction and it seems the previous owner had an aftermarket stereo on it, I want to put a stereo on but need an opinion if I should go aftermarket or OEM is there another kit for these cars?? Or is metra the only one? It seems this car had the metra kit but the previous owner broke the kit to make the stereo fit I honestly don't feel like spending $180 for another kit unless there's another cheaper kit out there we can use to put an aftermarket stereo



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WTF is it with that rear pass-through panel that makes people think they should stick speakers there????

Yeah it looks like the previous owner hacked up the faceplate something awful. A new one can be had from ~$140. one. There's a bunch on eBay too. Metra is the only kit for the RX8 anymore. Kinda sucks.

I would absolutely recommend going aftermarket versus OEM. Even if you decide to go with something cheap. There's no comparison.

I'd also check the wiring on those aftermarket speakers. Doesn't seem like the previous owner really cared about his/her car. Make sure it's not going to set your new car on fire at least...

Does the car have the Bose system?

How do I check if I have the Bose system? Also my a/c controls don't seem to be working the air coming from outside seems to be stuck like that could it be the metra kit installed previously not hooked up right?

Open the trunk. Look up by the rear passenger speaker. There will be a small ~ 6"x12" silver colored amp. That's the Bose amp.

The HVAC system is connected with the stock headunit. When you switch out the stock headunit, you need that little Axxess box to trick the car into thinking the stock headunit is still installed. It's probably no longer connected/not connected properly/broken/may need any headunit installed. Heck. Maybe even the fuse to the headunit is blown. Who knows. It looks like a mini-disaster back there. A new Metra kit and headunit should fix it either way.

Thanks ill look tomorrow and yes there is a disaster back there I may just buy a new kit and stereo what double din stereo fits the metra kit well or dose any double din fits? Ill post more pictures tomorrow

Any double din will fit. That's the idea behind the "DIN" standard.

How much you looking to spend not including the Metra kit? You want navigation? You plan on adding anything else aftermarket to the system? Amps? Subs?

i just want a nice stereo that will fit nicely into the dash and that will work with my a/c controls im not much of a system guy but seems the previous owner was there are all kinds of cables in the glove compartment, and trunk, and i did go to the back and check if it was a bose system and it was here are the pictures,

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what can u see wrong here on the wiring that can make the a/c controls not work i dont have a metra manual to see if the wires are hooked up correctly.

:uh:

What a disaster. I looks like the previous owner had a full blown system in it, but is very inexperienced and did the whole install himself in the driveway...using only the best equipment as of course.:cwm27:

Looks like you have two different speakers in the rear factory locations, one factory and one Pioneer. Next to the Pioneer speaker, that silver colored item with all the wires, is the factory Bose amp. It looks like the harness is chopped up something fierce though. Ugh. This is the type of the car I'd turn away from my shop. Wouldn't even want to get involved with what might be wrong here.:eyetwitch

I really don't even know where to start. I have no clue what equipment works and what doesn't. I also have no clue what speakers are installed in the doors (because aftermarket ones won't work with the Bose amp). I don't know how those two speakers in the center passthrough are powered. Are they off the Bose amp? Who knows. Ultimately, since I know you're not looking to spend big bucks, I'd tear out EVERYTHING aftermarket and then try to re-solder the Bose harnesses back together. Then get a new Metra kit and headunit. You can get a single DIN headunit if you wish, but some pretty decent double DINs start around $300 anyway.

The very best solution, cost aside, would be to tear out everything aftermarket and properly replace it with quality aftermarket equipment. The speakers installed are junk. I'd probably reuse the RCA and power cables, but that's about it. And in all actuality, I think you're going to end up doing that anyway. The mismatching rear speakers are junk and like I said, who knows what's in the doors. 4 new speakers, a 4-channel amp, Metra kit and headunit would solve all your problems and give you some quality sound for years to come. Probably between $750-900 total.

As for the half of Metra kit you have now, I really can't tell. And like I said, it may have to have a headunit installed to work anyway. Also check the fuses. Here's Metra's manual if it helps at all. Probably won't as their manuals are typically pretty bare bones.

Lastly, if you're located in central Florida, I'm always willing to help out a fellow RX8 owner.

Thanks that's what ill do the weekend take everything out that's aftermarket, ill even go to the junk yard and find a black rear panel to remove those speakers from there, and make it stock, i may just end up having to replace all speakers, new metra kit and a double din stereo, installation may look like will be a pain in the ass but oh well.

If you really wanted to cheap out, you could run new speaker wire from the headunit to each of the speakers and just use the headunit's internal amp. Pain in the ass to get through the doors though.

Donno how handy you are, but if you have a tone generator (or a 9V if you're ghetto :)), you can really make some headway in this install. Test each speaker at the output of the Bose amp. See what's connected and what's not. Or at least find which wires go through to the doors, then...cheat a little bit.... and cut into them to use for your new signal. I'm telling ya, running new speaker wires into the doors is a total pain in the ass in the RX8.

would the fit my car i was looking for a new kit and found this not sure if it fits though

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MAZDA-RX-8-H...item2eba93bb55

That's for 2009 +

w00t w00t - firebird to the rescue! :icon_tup:

+1 on the speaker system hack job. yuck -

Also recommendations on a headunit would be Pioneer. Decent quality and readily available for pretty cheap. The AVH-P2300DVD is a decent double-din and goes for ~$275 brand new online. If that's too much, you'll have to go single-din. The DEH-P8300UB goes for ~$165. Keep in mind you'll need a slightly different dash kit for the single din (same price).

EDIT: As a side note... jesus headunits are getting cheap! Back in ~2003 I paid over $500 for a Pioneer with less features than the P8300UB! And in ~2005 I paid over $800 for a flip out DVD player with no navigation and ZERO cool features. Now you can get a sweet double din with DVD, navigation, bluetooth, iPod, etc for under $500!

well decided to take the old metra kit out and bought a new one the metra single din kit, since the car was equipped with the bose system, ive read the front speakers wont work with the new head unit, since as u can see the bose amp is all cut up and caint use the harness because the wires are cut extremely short ill leave the bose amp out, and buy a 4 channel amp, what speakers can i buy for the front I looked in the sticky and read the size is 9" i already know what to buy for the rear which is 6x9 but not sure on the front, what size amp should be good to power a nice set of 6x9 and also the 2 center speakers on the center storage panel?

Does you A/C work now that you have a new Metra kit? Bought the headunit yet?

Yes, you're correct regarding the front speakers. Without the factory Bose amp, the front speakers are useless.

You'll need a 6.5" component set for the front. Here's plenty of choices. One of the better bangs for the buck would be Polk's db-series, Infinity's Reference series or CDT CL's. But there's plenty of good choices there depending how much you want to spend.

I would honestly just ditch the two speakers in that center passthrough. They're extremely low quality and their location is terrible for sound imaging. If you really want to hook them up, you can just wire them in parallel with the rear 6x9's (one with the left 6x9 on one channel and the other with the other 6x9 on another channel, 2 ohm load).

Have you thought about a 5-channel amp? This would give you 4-channels to power all your cabin speakers and a higher power 5th channel to power a subwoofer. Even if you are going to hold off on the sub right now, it'll be there when you can afford it. One amp. One power wire. Clean install. I used the Kicker ZX700.5 and loved it.

Let me know if you need anything else.

I have not yet received the new metra kit i just ordered it last night, so far thats all i have im now looking for a head unit, thanks for the advice on the amp as soon as i get the new kit ill try the a/c controls hopefully everything will work with the new kit, as far as speakers go best buy got a speacial right now "save 50% on a pair of Alpine car speakers when you buy them together with a second pair of speakers of equal or greater value

was looking at these


Alpine - 6-1/2" 2-Way Component Car Speakers with Poly-Mica Cones (Pair) Model: SPS-610C for $129.99


Alpine - 6" x 9" 2-Way Coaxial Car Speakers with Polypropylene Cones (Pair) Model: SPE-6090 for $89.99

Total after saving 174.99

And for the head unit i was looking at the

Kenwood - 50W x 4 MOSFET Apple® iPod®-Ready In-Dash CD Deck Model: KDC-248U
for $99.99

will that head unit work with the 5-channel amp u recommended me??

Even with the sale Best Buy is running, you're still over paying. They charge full blown MSRP, then run some sale to make you feel like you're getting a bargain. sonicelectronix.com has both those pairs for ~$135 shipped no tax. And they're an extremely reputable website. I've purchased from them several times over a period of several years. They also have an eBay account with something like 3,000,000+ positive feedback. With the money saved, you could step up to the Type-R line. Which brings me to my next question, did you go into Best Buy and listen to them? How did the Type-S's sounds against the Type-R's? How did they sound versus other brands they had? Whichever you personally liked best is what you should go with.

And sorry, but no. That headunit has only one 2V RCA preout. It's meant just for subwoofers. You can't even connect a 4-channel amp to it, let alone a 5 channel. You should look for something with 3 pairs of RCA preouts and ideally at least 4V on the RCAs. If you're into Kenwood, sonicelectronix also has the KDC-X395 for $129. It has the RCA preouts you would need. The KDC-BT648U has all that plus built-in bluetooth for $149. Either of those would be nice or the Pioneer P8300UB that I recommended above goes for $159 there. Keep in mind there are two different Metra kits for single about double-din headunits. 99-7510HG is the high gloss single-din kit. So if you ordered the 95-7510HG, you should be shopping for a double-din headunit. lol

The Kicker ZX700.5 is a solid amp. I beat the tar out of it and it's still working today. Goes for $299 new now or $250 refurbished on eBay. As for wiring, just double check what's in there. The main power wire from the battery should have its own inline fuse no more than 12" from the battery and be at least 4g in size. And there's 3 pair of RCA cables ran back to the trunk? If they all look decent...no cracks/slices or anything like that, I'd use em. If not, a whole new kit with 3 new RCAs would be like $50 online.

Maybe it's too early to talk about it, but have you thought about the sub?

The kit i bought is the Metra 99-7510HG Single DIN Installation Dash Kit for 2004-2008 Mazda RX-8, right now im on a really low budget the only thing i need is a wrorking a/c controls and a stereo with all cabin speakers working, the sub and the amp i can get in the long run, because ill be shipping the car to el salvador in the next few months and theres still a few things i need done before my shipping deadline,

:icon_tup:

You might want to shine a flashlight in the door panels and see if the factory speakers are even still installed.

Just went outside and yes it looks like the factory speakes are still installed, I guess thats why the previous owner had thos boss speakers installed in the center console,

If you are going to pick up a set of 6.5s for the doors I Highly recommend you pick up a set of these: http://car-speaker-adapters.com/items.php?id=SAK021

Firebirdude is giving you great advise. Ditch everything and start over. Personally I have had a few set of alpine speakers (both type r and s) and have not liked them at all.

Alpine speakers = expensive and WAY overrated.

To each their own. Some people may like them and others don't. In the end, it's their money and they're the ones listening to it everyday. I like to show people the good stuff, but if they honestly prefer something else, I don't argue. Ever.

I will however say the Alpine Type-R subwoofer is most certainly not over-priced or over-rated. Well under $200 for a subwoofer that plays extremely well in small boxes. I've beat the tar out of them without problems. Far more than I've seen from some other companies.

Let me also point out that years ago, my boss used to ask me to fry subwoofers on purpose so he could return them to the manufacturer as defected without getting any grief (because they came in with cosmetic blemishes or something similar). So I've put my share of subwoofers through stress. Some pop within a couple seconds, other take a serious beat down before giving up the ghost.

Yep my one bad experience with two sets could very well not be the norm and may have more to do with the set up and application.