Adding aftermarket screen added to my RX8
07-26-2005 | 11:29 AM
#1
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From: Los Gatos, CA
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.
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.
Last edited by HardHitter; 07-28-2005 at 11:27 PM.
07-26-2005 | 12:38 PM
#2
Originally Posted by HardHitter
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. All in all, he let me go for $2700 out the door. charged me $1775 for the screen, $375 for the alarm and $550 for the labor.
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. All in all, he let me go for $2700 out the door. charged me $1775 for the screen, $375 for the alarm and $550 for the labor.
07-26-2005 | 03:00 PM
#3
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From: CFB Comox, BC, Canada
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.
07-26-2005 | 05:34 PM
#6
IstanbulNotConstantinople
Joined: Jul 2004
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From: Fontana (but in the good part, by Rancho), CA
Originally Posted by forbidden
...or they might not be aware of what the job actually entails.
I sure hope this works out for you. That's an awesome deal. Good luck.
- Cesar -
07-26-2005 | 07:49 PM
#7
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From: CFB Comox, BC, Canada
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.
07-26-2005 | 11:53 PM
#8
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From: Los Gatos, CA
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!
07-27-2005 | 04:29 PM
#10
ElusiveSasquatch
Joined: Sep 2004
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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?
07-27-2005 | 06:02 PM
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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!
Here are the pictures, enjoy!
Last edited by HardHitter; 07-31-2005 at 09:51 PM.
07-27-2005 | 09:32 PM
#13
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From: CFB Comox, BC, Canada
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.
07-27-2005 | 10:25 PM
#15
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From: CFB Comox, BC, Canada
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.
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.
07-27-2005 | 10:58 PM
#16
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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.
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.
Last edited by HardHitter; 07-31-2005 at 09:54 PM.
07-28-2005 | 02:43 AM
#17
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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.
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.
07-28-2005 | 08:52 PM
#18
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From: CFB Comox, BC, Canada
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).
07-28-2005 | 11:48 PM
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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.
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.
Last edited by HardHitter; 07-31-2005 at 09:57 PM.
07-28-2005 | 11:55 PM
#21
Storm Trooper
Joined: May 2004
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From: Freakmont, CA
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.
07-29-2005 | 12:06 AM
#22
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From: Los Gatos, CA
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.
07-29-2005 | 12:07 PM
#23
Rotary eXperimental-8
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Gander, Newfoundland, Canada
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.
07-29-2005 | 02:30 PM
#24
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From: bay area,ca
Originally Posted by HardHitter
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 moduls for the alarm, basically to make the doors lock and some other modul, 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. and is it true that you need those moduls?
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 moduls for the alarm, basically to make the doors lock and some other modul, 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. and is it true that you need those moduls?
07-29-2005 | 02:31 PM
#25
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From: CFB Comox, BC, Canada
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.