"taking Oval To Blue Horizon" Lenny's Build Thread 2010-2015

[Focus-Jonny]

They look very good mate! Cheers for the link think il purchase them! Have you got them through an mot/equivalent ?

Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC mobile app

[Lenny]

Next time the kids ask random questions at silly o'clock your answer should be- 'ask your mother' (then hide) ;)

And hide well your a brave man Clive,

Victoria was driving me to work at 06:35am last Monday morning,

She wss in the fast lane of the motorway,

A range rover comes quickly up behind and flashes the headlights for her to pull over in to left lane,

To my shock & aww Victoria rolls down window and puts her full length arm out displaying her two fingers towards the jeep passing us by,

All because the guy flashed his lights perhaps he was late for work or needed to poo!

While the kids in the back ask: "daddy what's mammy doing? "

she blames the hormones but i dunno man im not getting involved atall might lose an ear

[Hassen]

Lenny, sounds like an epic day! Mine was nearly the same as yours. My son woke up at 4am, screaming the house down looking for his mummy, who was working at night. Took me a while to try to calm him down and then he slept in my bed. He then decided to wake up at 7am! Had to distract him for a while then I advised him to go downstairs, get the tablet and I was going to put a movie on it for him. That worked for a while before I had to go make breakfast etc. Then it was the same as yours, asking me questions every 3-5min! But he is good fun as I was telling him today about the drivers moving teams in Formula One and he was happy that Daniel Ricardo was staying in Red Bull. Go figure :)

As for buggys and car seats, I think the trendy word is Travel Systems as I was advised by the lovely sales lady on Mothercare :P

Liking the parts and the ideas you have for the planned sound upgrade. You are well on the right track and I am sure it will be fun journey getting there.

Thanks a million for sending the module. I will have to download the software and mess about with it. Looking forward to it. Cheers :)

[Lenny]

They look very good mate! Cheers for the link think il purchase them! Have you got them through an mot/equivalent ?

Sent from my iPhone using Ford OC mobile app

Yep passed the NCT no problem,

Never attract a blue light.

[Hassen]

Lenny, if you ever thought about going for bigger wheels. 20" that came off a Mondeo :P

http://www.adverts.ie/alloys-wheels/5-x-20-inch-tsw-alloy-wheels/6410927

[Lenny]

Lenny, sounds like an epic day! Mine was nearly the same as yours. My son woke up at 4am, screaming the house down looking for his mummy, who was working at night. Took me a while to try to calm him down and then he slept in my bed. He then decided to wake up at 7am! Had to distract him for a while then I advised him to go downstairs, get the tablet and I was going to put a movie on it for him. That worked for a while before I had to go make breakfast etc. Then it was the same as yours, asking me questions every 3-5min! But he is good fun as I was telling him today about the drivers moving teams in Formula One and he was happy that Daniel Ricardo was staying in Red Bull. Go figure :)

As for buggys and car seats, I think the trendy word is Travel Systems as I was advised by the lovely sales lady on Mothercare :P

Liking the parts and the ideas you have for the planned sound upgrade. You are well on the right track and I am sure it will be fun journey getting there.

Thanks a million for sending the module. I will have to download the software and mess about with it. Looking forward to it. Cheers :)

lol I've lost touch with the formula one in recent years lost interest when the rules changed on limited boost etc.

Ow yes lol "travel system" and "isofix" was among the lingo spoken today, never noticed as many pregnant women and new born baby's saw four new born in two hours and that was in a retail park not a hospital

i didn't despatch the modified ELM327 mate i don't physically have it to hand, i was talking about the bluetooth module which i removed from the focus, it sold on eBay yesterday so i despatched it this morning.

But when it arrives back ill let you know and if you want me to despatch it to you im sure we can arrange something.

Lenny, if you ever thought about going for bigger wheels. 20" that came off a Mondeo :P

http://www.adverts.ie/alloys-wheels/5-x-20-inch-tsw-alloy-wheels/6410927

no thanks,

The biggest focus will take is 19" with a 30mm super low profile tyre,

Would be like elastic bands on the rims almost no cushion,

Not to mention whats known as "unsprung mass"

The bigger and heavier the rim is,

The more it reduces the initial take off performance of the car,

Took some time to get used to the 18" taking away a bit of power but on the up side it handles better at speed when it gets up to it :)

In other news:

Reading the back of the vibe 4AWG amplifier wiring kit it recommends using Vibe flatflex audio cable between the amplifier and speakers/sub

So ive searched it on eBay,

Found its sold in rolls of 10 metres:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10M-Vibe-Flatflex-16-AWG-OFC-Car-Audio-Speaker-Wire-Cable-HIFI-Vibeflatcable/181432196619?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D25400%26meid%3Dcad06e31d99f4bfdb935361041536bce%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D10670%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D200620157761&rt=nc

Im sure one roll would be sufficient for running a feed from each door to the 4 channel amplifier in the boot compartment,

However if additional length is required I've found it can be bought per metre from this seller:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vibe-FlatFlex-16AWG-Speaker-Cable-Wire-16-Gauge-1M-100-OFC-High-Definition-HIFI-/271610787210?pt=UK_Computing_Sound_Vision_Audio_Cables_Adapters&hash=item3f3d43b58a

Also ideal for smaller lengths reqired between sub and mono amp in a boot compartment,

I am very aware that one vibe product promotes another vibe product on the back cover/page to keep you buying but reading the independent reviews regarding the flatflex cable it does seem to be a good upgrade over stock loom especially when the signal being sent to the Speakers is amplified,

I wouldn't just purchase because vibe say so

[Hassen]

Lenny, my bad. I thought it was the ELM cable :P

And yea, once you see a baby, they are just everywhere :)

The 20" rims was just for jokes. I always think of big american cars with DUBS for that. The Focus I think looks good with 17/18". Anything bigger would compromise ride quality too much for myself.

With regards to the Vibe flatflex audio cable, I think you might not need it. From what I recall, there is speaker cable wire, flat that is included in the Vibe wiring kit. Running it from the front speaker to the rear of the car, as you saw in mine, there was still some wire left over from it. I didn't cut mine off and just secured it under the rear seats. Same for the Right and Left cables running from the front Speakers. You might only need a short amount of wire to connect the subwoofer to the amplifier as they would be very close. In my setup, I just used some old speaker wire that I had from the previous install.

The 2nd link that you posted for the wire being sold by the metre is what comes in the kit that you bought.

[Lenny]

Lenny, my bad. I thought it was the ELM cable :P

And yea, once you see a baby, they are just everywhere :)

The 20" rims was just for jokes. I always think of big american cars with DUBS for that. The Focus I think looks good with 17/18". Anything bigger would compromise ride quality too much for myself.

With regards to the Vibe flatflex audio cable, I think you might not need it. From what I recall, there is speaker cable wire, flat that is included in the Vibe wiring kit. Running it from the front speaker to the rear of the car, as you saw in mine, there was still some wire left over from it. I didn't cut mine off and just secured it under the rear seats. Same for the Right and Left cables running from the front speakers. You might only need a short amount of wire to connect the subwoofer to the amplifier as they would be very close. In my setup, I just used some old speaker wire that I had from the previous install.

The 2nd link that you posted for the wire being sold by the metre is what comes in the kit that you bought.

I had considered 19s at first would have been 40 euro more per rim but after speaking to guys on here i settled for 18" even at that i sometimes wish 8 had 17s especially when it comes to buying Tyres

Thanks mate i see now each amp wiring kit comes supplied with 5m of vibe Flatflex audio cable so as you say it should be fine without purchasing more lol thanks for telling me that or id have bought a full roll in the coming weeks.

[Hassen]

Thought that you had not seen it inside the wiring kit as it's all bundled together. The one thing that I think you will need, that's not on your list is connectors for the Speakers etc. This is what I am referring to:

http://www.halfords.ie/motoring/auto-parts/fixings-fuses-electricals/halfords-terminals-connectors

I got that one and all the little bits came in handy for wiring. Also, electrical tape (at least 2 rolls), a pair of wire strippers and crimper will be very helpful during the wiring process if you don't have it already in your toolbox. And a small roller for when you are installing the Silent coat down the line. You can borrow all of these from me anytime you want :)

As I remember more bits and pieces, I will write them down here.

[Lenny]

Thought that you had not seen it inside the wiring kit as it's all bundled together. The one thing that I think you will need, that's not on your list is connectors for the speakers etc. This is what I am referring to:

http://www.halfords.ie/motoring/auto-parts/fixings-fuses-electricals/halfords-terminals-connectors

I got that one and all the little bits came in handy for wiring. Also, electrical tape (at least 2 rolls), a pair of wire strippers and crimper will be very helpful during the wiring process if you don't have it already in your toolbox. And a small roller for when you are installing the Silent coat down the line. You can borrow all of these from me anytime you want :)

As I remember more bits and pieces, I will write them down here.

Thanks very much mate,

Ive not opened the amp wiring kits and no plans to open until im using it, as you said there all coiled inside each other difficult to physically see whats inside,

Just gotta read the pack lol

I will need a loan of the roller and panel removal tools when stripping out the car,

I have some red insulated female spade connectors for switches but no male,

That kit from Halfords will be handy,

I do also need to get myself two rolls of PVC tape and perhaps some black braided cable tidy sleeve if i can source a supplier,

Would keep cables together but never making them sticky or tatty,

Ideally i want to get all the wiring plans set out aswell as reverse camera and sound deadening to hand.

Prior to taking 2-3 days off and stripping out the car, routing all cables to there areas and applying the silent coat, .

Then it will just be a case of installing the hardware items as funds allow purchase,

Amps, sub and Speakers.

[Hassen]

I like your idea of routing all cables, tidying it up and sound deadening the car prior to fitting the equipment. I didn't do that and did it in steps, which made more work in the end.

You might not need the fish net cable tidy sleeve as the Vibe kit also contains a lot of cable ties. I am not sure if you going to go for the 2 amplifier setup as I have and whether you will want 2 power wires running to the 2 amps. In that case you will need 2 wiring kits and you will have plenty of cable for both front and rear Speakers. Also, more than enough of cable ties to make it all tidy. I was a slob and didn't bother with cable ties. It still works fine lol

[Lenny]

I like your idea of routing all cables, tidying it up and sound deadening the car prior to fitting the equipment. I didn't do that and did it in steps, which made more work in the end.

There's a few reasons why I'm trying to get it all prepared for a one time run at it,

First reason reason is that it will be pure therapy to route all cables seamlessly in to the car aswell as installing the Silent coat at the same time after spending months piecing it all together with no value for money until the day comes to install it. Would be like pimp my ride

Second reason is Vicki can't complain "ugh your spending loads of time on the car" i wont be touching it until i have enough items to go in then take that few days which i will have earned myself in the meantime lol

You might not need the fish net cable tidy sleeve as the Vibe kit also contains a lot of cable ties. I am not sure if you going to go for the 2 amplifier setup as I have and whether you will want 2 power wires running to the 2 amps. In that case you will need 2 wiring kits and you will have plenty of cable for both front and rear speakers. Also, more than enough of cable ties to make it all tidy. I was a slob and didn't bother with cable ties. It still works fine lol

I'm going for the same as yours mate two amplifiers

1ch mono for the sub,

4ch stereo for the doors,

I've purchased two vibe 4AWG kits yesterday and one vibe FastPlug they didn't have two in stock so I've got one of the FastPlug connectors on order, only 9.98 each and saved 13 quid yesterday with forum discount card.

I had considered fitting a 0 AWG wiring kit routing it to the boot then fitting a connector to split it in to two 4AWG outputs but that would be a lot of draw through a single feed from the battery there is risk that the sub amp would lose potential.

End result mate the way you have your system wired is best: each amp wiring comes directly from the battery rather than bridged in the boot.

I'm a bit OCD when it comes to wires running around lol i know it will make no difference to the operation what way there situated and its by no means going to be a show car,

I will use the supplied cable ties to secure the cables from the battery to the boot compartment,

But i like the idea of around 12" of braided sleeve to go from under the rear seat to the plugs on the amp unifying the wires in to one black feed,

I reckon would go nicely with the carpet,

I've searched eBay last night and found a supplier of various sizes,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Braided-Sleeving-Cable-Harness-Sheathing-Expanding-Sleeve-in-Black-Many-sizes-/290814495525?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&var=590088799840&hash=item43b5e50b25

I've just gotta wait now until the looms are fitted and cable tied,

Then put the Vernier callipers on to the bulk loom and find out what size i require,

Only need 24" of the stuff max. Won't break the bank.

[Lenny]

Today i had plan to study this thread

Guide Retrofit factory Bluetooth:

http://dc379.4shared.com/doc/858qrNBX/preview.html

And

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/33301-retrofit-bluetooth-voice-control/

In an attempt to trace and remove the complete factory bluetooth module loom and microphone

Finis 1467152

and

Finis 1363463

However the sky is currently getting darker rather than brighter,

So ill be researching these two threads on complete stereo install aswell as sound proofing,

I have many questions to ask both authors of these threads in the future in regards to removing headlining and C pillar panels.

Guide Complete Stereo install Focus Mk2/Mk2.5

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/44150-guide-to-complete-stereo-installation-focus-mk2/

and

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/52338-2014-upgrades/

Overall basically the purpose of this post is really to document some links to good information in the event someone else reading via forum or google is seeking to do similar on there focus now or in the future.

Edit:

The weather cleared up a bit in the evening so i got out to the car managed to remove the factory fitted bluetooth microphone finis1467152 listed on eBay

Aswell as the steering stalk with voice control button,

Managed to pick up one without the voice button for 10 quid better not to have the voice control button when it doesn't work i suppose,

As for the module loom finis1363463 i cant remove that from my particular model because its been emalgimated in to the overall factory fitted loom of the car so its gotta stay.

[Hassen]

There's a few reasons why I'm trying to get it all prepared for a one time run at it,

First reason reason is that it will be pure therapy to route all cables seamlessly in to the car aswell as installing the Silent coat at the same time after spending months piecing it all together with no value for money until the day comes to install it. Would be like pimp my ride

Second reason is Vicki can't complain "ugh your spending loads of time on the car" i wont be touching it until i have enough items to go in then take that few days which i will have earned myself in the meantime lol

I'm going for the same as yours mate two amplifiers

1ch mono for the sub,

4ch stereo for the doors,

I've purchased two vibe 4AWG kits yesterday and one vibe FastPlug they didn't have two in stock so I've got one of the FastPlug connectors on order, only 9.98 each and saved 13 quid yesterday with forum discount card.

I had considered fitting a 0 AWG wiring kit routing it to the boot then fitting a connector to split it in to two 4AWG outputs but that would be a lot of draw through a single feed from the battery there is risk that the sub amp would lose potential.

End result mate the way you have your system wired is best: each amp wiring comes directly from the battery rather than bridged in the boot.

I'm a bit OCD when it comes to wires running around lol i know it will make no difference to the operation what way there situated and its by no means going to be a show car,

I will use the supplied cable ties to secure the cables from the battery to the boot compartment,

But i like the idea of around 12" of braided sleeve to go from under the rear seat to the plugs on the amp unifying the wires in to one black feed,

I reckon would go nicely with the carpet,

I've searched eBay last night and found a supplier of various sizes, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Braided-Sleeving-Cable-Harness-Sheathing-Expanding-Sleeve-in-Black-Many-sizes-/290814495525?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&var=590088799840&hash=item43b5e50b25

I've just gotta wait now until the looms are fitted and cable tied,

Then put the Vernier callipers on to the bulk loom and find out what size i require,

Only need 24" of the stuff max. Won't break the bank.

You got it all laid out and planned to a T there Lenny. I like how you thinking ahead and gonna do the whole job at one go. Definitely minimises your time working on the car in the end.

I also like the braiding you will be using. I reckon once I get my new amp, reroute my cables, I will be getting some myself. Unsure of what size I will need but reckon it will be a lot cleaner of an install and protect the cables as well. Good find there and I am saving that link :)

[Hassen]

Lenny, the sky is definitely getting darker and winter is coming soon. Light will be fading out earlier soon. Weather warning as well for the next few days :(

Mr_Spock thread Guide Complete Stereo install Focus Mk2/Mk2.5 is full of useful information and he did a terrific job with his sound system. I have asked him questions in the past and he has been very helpful. I am sure he will answer any questions you have. If you have any questions for myself, ask away and I will be happy to help out.

With all the parts that you will not be using out of the car, I reckon with their sale, you will have some money to put towards the new build. I kept all my old parts as I plan to put them back into the car when I do decide to sell it.

Keep us posted on the progress :)

[Lenny]

You got it all laid out and planned to a T there Lenny. I like how you thinking ahead and gonna do the whole job at one go. Definitely minimises your time working on the car in the end.

I also like the braiding you will be using. I reckon once I get my new amp, reroute my cables, I will be getting some myself. Unsure of what size I will need but reckon it will be a lot cleaner of an install and protect the cables as well. Good find there and I am saving that link :)

thanks very much, i like taking the time to plan things out before doing them for me that's 40% of the enjoyment, then its a fantastic feeling when it turns out just as you had planned it to,

Biggest let down ironically enough is when its all finished and done,

There's no more challenge or room for customisation its just "that's how it is" i mostly enjoy the planning and building of a project most allows room for expression.

Ya know its funny how i discovered that braided sleeve,

I was in a meeting room back in 2010 about pensions i was 25 at the time and as i remember i was very very Drunk!!

Nah no seriously i was at a meeting about pensions and the retirement age had just been increased to 70 so having

Heard enough "sure yeah" "absolutely" and the growingly popular "moving forward yeah" phrases

I began to study the ceiling in the room :)

In the centre of the ceiling was a projector with various cables feeding from the rear,

They were all contained inside this braided sleeve prior to entering a hole in the roof which led them back to a hub at the top of the room looked quite tidy,

The amp reminds me of the projector a rectangular unit with many cables,

Thankfully we have sourced a supplier :) and the way things are going i reckon the braided cable is the only life enhancing element I'm ever likely to get out of anything pension related lol

Lenny, the sky is definitely getting darker and winter is coming soon. Light will be fading out earlier soon. Weather warning as well for the next few days :(

Mr_Spock thread Guide Complete Stereo install Focus Mk2/Mk2.5 is full of useful information and he did a terrific job with his sound system. I have asked him questions in the past and he has been very helpful. I am sure he will answer any questions you have. If you have any questions for myself, ask away and I will be happy to help out.

With all the parts that you will not be using out of the car, I reckon with their sale, you will have some money to put towards the new build. I kept all my old parts as I plan to put them back into the car when I do decide to sell it.

Keep us posted on the progress :)

Today was freezing your completely right mate winters not really the best time to try get your car in to a stage where its looking somthing like this:

So ill spend the next 5-6 months piecing it all together ready to take 3-4 days run at it in March of next year.

Thanks mate the most comforting part of undertaking such a time consuming process such as this one is:

Having contacts whom have done it all before themselves,

This helps a lot because you guys have been there and done it,

You will know exactly what I'm talking about and how to conquer any issues that may arise,

By the end of it the three of us will be experienced in the process.

I especially like the idea Mr.spock used some grease spray to coat the earth terminal contacts after getting them down to the metal,

I must search for a supplier in Ireland as its almost impossible to ship any type of aerosol in to the country with all the DGS regulations.

I don't see myself ever selling the focus so i personality don't see reason in holding on to the parts when they can be of use to others out there and as you say sell to reinvest in to mods, thats what ive done with all parts that have fallen off alon) the way lol 16" alloys sold to buy RS tail lights, stock spoiler sold to buy scuff plates and mud flaps, 6000CD sold to pay for half of the Sony Island single CD.

Every little helps as they say,

I didn't need to down grade the steering stalk to a non voice control support unit but when there's no voice control button it avoids a single question and life story answer of why it doesn't work on the pioneer stereo and how it came to be there Just easier if it wasn't there to be pointed at :)

[Hassen]

Great story about the braided sleeve. At least you got something productive out of the pension meeting. Lol :P

For the contact protect, maybe look into local motorfactors. They might have it as with anything with liquids, it's a nightmare to get it shipped here.

Like you said, collective wisdom is great to have. That's the beauty of the FOC online. Anyone has access to the Hive Mind as I call it, where all the collective wisdom is kept and if its not posted yet, someone will most probably have an answer :)

With regards to winter, you might have a bit of difficulty if the temperature drops when applying the Silent Coat. My suggestion would be to heat the metal you will be applying the Silent Coat to get optimum adhesion. Maybe with a hairdryer or heat gun if you have one. I can lend you my heat gun if you need it.

And yea, my voice control unit is redundant now. Not that I ever used it when I had the stock stereo lol

[Lenny]

For the contact protect, maybe look into local motor factors. They might have it as with anything with liquids, it's a nightmare to get it shipped here.

Checked Halfords today and couldn't find anything matching the description of grease in a can,

Just stuff with high zinc content,

I then went over to Woodie's DIY store and found this "3-IN-ONE Professional" "White Lithium Greece"

They wanted 9.99 for the can so figured id confirm its the right stuff prior to purchasing.

[

With regards to winter, you might have a bit of difficulty if the temperature drops when applying the Silent Coat.

My suggestion would be to heat the metal you will be applying the Silent Coat to get optimum adhesion. Maybe with a hairdryer or heat gun if you have one. I can lend you my heat gun if you need it.

Thanks for the offer mate but i wont be applying silent coat until march/April next year when the temperature becomes a bit more tolerable again.

[Lenny]

Got a phone call from Halfords this morning to say that second Vibe FastPlug had arrived in stock,

So i went down after work and saved 6.74 Euro today at Halfords using the FOC discount card :)

I've purchased another Vibe Slick amplifier wiring kit, but this one's got smaller 8AWG power cables,

I don't need the 8AWG power cables from the kit purchased today,

The only part i need from today's kit is the five metre RCA cable contained in the kit,

Yes vibe do sell the 5 metre RCA cable on its own but it's over 50 pounds cheaper to purchase a vibe slick 8 AWG wiring kit which contains a 5 metre male-male RCA cable among other parts,

Compared to logging on eBay and purchasing the vibe RCA cable on its own,

See links:

Vibe Slick 8 AWG wiring kit from Halfords containing the 5 metre RCA:

http://www.halfords.ie/sat-nav-audio/car-audio/stereo-fitting-accessories/vibe-slick-8-gauge-amplifier-wiring-kit

eBay listing Vibe 5 metre RCA cable on its own:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vibe-Flat-stereo-RCA-5m-5-meter-RCA-Cable-/260826314098?pt=UK_Cars_Parts_Vehicles_Terminals_Cabling_ET&hash=item3cba75b572

And here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vibe-Audio-FLATSTEREO-High-Definition-RCA-5-Metr-Car-Amplifier-Phono-Leads-Cable-/140508494323?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item20b6f579f3

Even here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vibe-5M-2-RCA-FLATSTEREO-Car-Amplifier-Amp-Phono-Lead-/270701560663?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item3f07120357

Its exactly the same cable

The 8AWG kit is the smallest size cable kit which vibe supply but the RCA cable contained inside is the same in both 4AWG and 8AWG wiring kits.

Since ill be installing a four channel amp it requires two separate RCA inputs from the stereo

One RCA feed for rear Speakers

One RCA feed for front Speakers

I then need a third RCA cable to feed the separate Mono amp powering the sub,

Cheapest way to get the third RCA cable was to purchase the third vibe slick amp wiring kit,

I'm now going to list the remaining parts from the 8AWG kit on eBay as its no use to my requirements.

[Hassen]

Good call there with the other kit Lenny. Worked out to be cheaper.

Not sure about the grease in a can thing. Maybe someone else might be of help with that.

Good idea with fitting the Silent coat in warmer temperatures. It's damn difficult to get it done in the cold and rain. I did mine in the summer and one day it started raining and the temperature dropped. It was such a pain to get it done. If you can get the car in a dry garage to do the work, that would be much better.

How does the Vibe fast plug work btw and where will you be using it?

In Ireland, when I was gathering my parts, I phone a bunch of places to do the fitting. Most of them turned me down as I had not bought the parts from them. I really wonder if there is a big enough market for Car Audio in Ireland such as in England. Maybe myself and Lenny could start a Car Audio shop like Soundman CA :)

[VickiW]

Most Honda Civic boy racers can't afford insurance never mind a trip to car audio wanna be specialists & they usually grow up by the time they are 21/22yrs old & there dance nation CDs are well scratched by then if the car is not a right off altogether!

[Lenny]

Good call there with the other kit Lenny. Worked out to be cheaper.

How does the Vibe fast plug work btw and where will you be using it?

The vibe FastPlug fits close to the amplifier,

It takes positive, negative and the blue switched live feed from the stereo in to its ports creating a plug and socket connection making it easy and safe to unplug the sound system in the event you need more boot compartment space,

With the socket end remaining in the car insulating the live cables from harm,

Here's some pictures of one installed,

I had one on my last sub box system aswell worth every penny quick and easy.

Just gotta source some good quality connectors for the audio cables feeding from amp to Speakers then the system will be plug & play

when I was gathering my parts, I phone a bunch of places to do the fitting. Most of them turned me down as I had not bought the parts from them. I really wonder if there is a big enough market for Car Audio in Ireland such as in England. Maybe myself and Lenny could start a Car Audio shop like Soundman CA :)

i owe a big thanks to the local automotive electronic engineer whom installed the alarm i supplied him with to my car,

Took him two days and charged me 550 euro just for labour, i supplied all the parts and wiring schematic,

It was that fleecing that give me the motivation to get educated on automotive electronics and create all the guides to prevent others from getting fleeced aswell.

I have to agree somewhat with vicki on this occasion in regards to the modified scene in Ireland most enthusiast's prefer to run the cables loose and visible with the intention of removing it all again when it comes to selling the car or abandoning it when buried in a field or wall,

I don't really see a market there for business since most people do it themselves and the market is tarnished with quote "professional installers" whom fleece people for installing accessories.

Plus there's not a huge number of enthusiast's like ourselves that take the time to ensure it is aesthetically pleasing aswell as performing,

Most enthusiasts in Ireland just want the noise and don't care how it looks,

Overall our attention to detail would be wasted on the common enthusiast

However i sincerely disagree with the stereotypical statement from vicki implying that only quote "boy racers" use sub's,

I would be more inclined to say "boy racers" abuse sub's having them droned out even the noise from the engine. Aswell as purchasing brands such as Fusion, kicker and edge which are illuminated colours appealing to the youths,

However the more modest enthusiast in search of a quality sound system chooses the correct equipment such brands like JL audio, Clarion and JBL, aswell as taking the time to sound proof the body creating a permanent quality system,

Completely different styles of enthusiast's and goals again the "boy racer" scene tarnishing the interests of a true enthusiast.

[VickiW]

Pmsl ... Tarnish your reputation ... Dearest hubbie you listen to scooter!!!!

[jeebowhite]

Pmsl ... Tarnish your reputation ... Dearest hubbie you listen to scooter!!!!

Oh dear Lenny if this is true I suggest you start earning your street cred back and return scooter for his refund. I have to admit, I would rather listen to a single gear scooter all day, any day of the week, over that interesting attempt at music he otherwise makes...

[VickiW]

^^^^see & jeebs is only young whipper snapper he knows what's hip & cool