Rankins Radio

[LennyLexus]

Well well, i've was more then impress with the OEM IS200 system, thought I wasnt mod it, and main thing put me off was the 'sat nav wont work factor'. Anyways many thanks to Paul (Fargo) at the Curry Meet for presuading me get the head unit stripped down and build a system around it... which is now left me a bit skint :duh:

Anyways so heres the set up.

Lexus Sat Nav (running with Mr Fargos Magic Box)

Panasonic MP3/WMA Headunit, 4x50W, 3x5V preouts, sub controls, remote etc etc

Infinity Kappa 6.5" Components with uprated Infinity tweeters

Caliber 4 Channel Amplifier

4 Guage Power Kit

12/16 Guage Speaker wire

And my old JVC Subwoofer.

Head Unit was fitted Mr Fargo, however he hooked the earth to illumination.. so when the lights where on, i had no sound... I corrected this by earthing the head unit to bolt where the sat nav is earthed :)

Getting the door cards off where pretty easy peezy, the hardest part of it to me was getting the plastic trim off, which my friend managed to do without to much difficulty.

Rivets came out without too much problem (once we got the correct drill bit)

Used the old speakers as Spacers, they were made partially of MDF!!!

Getting the speaker wire throught the doors into the car was also as big *****!!

Had a bit of difficulty finding a suitable place to mount the crossovers, my door wasnt like the one in the IS300.net guide, so ended up mounting it under and behind the speaker on the outer door skin. The hardest part by part by far putting the door card back on properly. They still arent 100% more like 95. I may need someone at the next meet to see if they can do a better job of the refits.

Laying the amp wires was ***** when it came to getting behind the back seats. Luckily i already had route to Battery from my JDM brake mod, so it wasnt too difficult :)

For the time being the amp has being wired up, but not mounted...

After 4.5hours of hard work + babysitting my mates little twins... it was time for the moment of truth (bare in mind i hadnt heard the HU working before)... and it WORKED, loosley tuned it on the amp and

I am more then impressed without the results of the Kappas.

However sub sounds 'blown' more off a square wave sound instead sine, it has been sitting in my shed for 18months since my last car. i'll give it a few days and try to fine tune it or something.

Stage 2 which I am hoping to complete before JAE05 will be

Big Class D Amp

Twin 10s or 12s Subs

More Powerfull amp for the Kappas

and possibily adding MDF mounts and sound deadening the front doors, if i can be bothered to go through the hassale again.

Stage 3 a secret.

All in all, its great to have MP3 back agian and good to have a system that can take a bit of abuse

PS No thread is useless without pics comments, theres nothing to see...

Many thanks to Paul (Fargo) and Jason

for their time to help me and also to others for their advice

[LennyLexus]

Oh, one problem I have got is, with the Head Unit . When is adjust the eq or volume, it cuts out for about 1/4 of a sec... I think it may be something do with the ground cable extenstion i used? I will uprate this wire at a later date and fit the aerial lead too (which i forgot) :duh:

[Fargo]

Head Unit was fitted Mr Fargo, however he hooked the earth to illumination.. so when the lights where on, i had no sound... I corrected this by earthing the head unit to bolt where the sat nav is earthed :)

lol come on man, i had no wiring diagram, had never worked on the older style headunit..

the door cards, did you slide the top edge onto the door first. are your x/overs in the way.. give me a shout if your up this way again and ill fit them back on properly..

[LennyLexus]

only messing Paul. Read some HU install pages the following day, a few said if your testing for ground and power make sure u test it with the lights on....

on the second go, yes we did slide the top on first first.. there a close area on both side in the bottom corner by the foot area.

Nar crossovers are fine where they are, took ages to make sure it was ok there, as we had to reconnect the windows etc. I'll give a couple of months before deciding on if they need relocation. How did you get the wires from the crossover into the door? Once agian many thanks ;)

[Mr-Lex]

No pixies...get something up then, at least your HU :P :winky:

[MrADeveci]

Pix !!!

[Fargo]

only messing Paul. Read some HU install pages the following day, a few said if your testing for ground and power make sure u test it with the lights on....

on the second go, yes we did slide the top on first first.. there a close area on both side in the bottom corner by the foot area.

Nar crossovers are fine where they are, took ages to make sure it was ok there, as we had to reconnect the windows etc. I'll give a couple of months before deciding on if they need relocation. How did you get the wires from the crossover into the door? Once agian many thanks ;)

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test with lights onyou say,, well ive learned something new there, cool..

I ran 2 pairs of cable though the each fo the doors,, i did this by first removing the door card and kick panel..

pulled the rubber between the door and car out of its secured location.

got a log screwdriver (a foot long) and feed this through from the door side into the kick panel.

then once through i taped the cable to the screwdriver then pulled it through, then i tapped the other cable to the cable i just pulled through and pulled the lot through.

job done.

[LennyLexus]

8) Pierce the wire with the VOM or light tester* probe. The light will go on if you have the correct wire. To assure the accuracy of your selection, turn on the headlights; the tester should continue to shine with the same intensity.

Paul your door method sounds like the method we used to get the audio leads through the back seat. The method we used at the doors where seperating the rubber with a largish screwdriver, and feed the wire through and same agian into the footwell, was a bit of a pain to pull into the footwell tho...

Right Guys Pics will come after the weekend Sanj i'll take them when I'm up there :P Just need a matching blue dash now

[Fargo]

back seat is easier,, there large enough holes to feed wires through,, just gota remove the back seat..

[necromax]

How many holes are there accessing the boot space? I know about the ones you can see by just pullling the seat back at the top, and there any more? Or did you have to drill some?

is it just me that thinks 'Rankins Radio' sounds like some dodgy car audio shop? no offence of course ;)

[Plex]

raaastafari... Raz a go for some serious ICE in da ride now..mm just starting to spec mine with ma boyz

Nice one Raz

[LennyLexus]

Damian, i 'pushed' them through bits of light i could see with the boot lid open and 'peeling back' the top of the back seat....

Rankins Radio? Dodgy Car shops nar Just bringing raggamuffin vibes on road ;)

Idren Plex Wha Gwaan? Good fe see a nex Raggamuffin Owner pon di broad. So what have you got in mind for your install? You nah live too far from mi, link up soon.

Bless'd

[Plex]

Yea Raz we affi link up dread.

Is a trini man doing my system so him understand di runnings just give him casa blanca riddim fi listen to so him know wah mi a deal wid.

we looking at Alpine head units and 6x9 at back Alpine.

The ski hatch coming out and him building sub box to fit flush acroos the boot. Amps going on a hinged floor which he gonna do. Door speakers gonna come out and we may change the pillar and footwell tweeters if necessary. we are fitting a kit to make the boot open differently and just sit flat when open rather than tilt up. so its just like the boot just ligt str8 up in the air

[LennyLexus]

Seen sounding criss, but not practical Alpine head units a go choice.

Just get a decent set of comps at the front.. should do the trick ;)

[necromax]

simon_matthew is selling a very nice set of comps. They are Focal 165s with tweets... maybe worth asking how much he wants? I'd consider them myself if I had not chosen the dark path that is Morel :)

[LennyLexus]

UPDATE

Right peeps, I thought its about time. i'll give ya all an update on the install.

1. The sub broke in after 10/15hours of use.. something must have happened to it while it was sitting in the shed for 18 months.

2. I've started developing a Battery problem :shutit: BUT its only on short journeys stuck in extreme traffic. Just aswell i no longer use my car for work then.

3. I will be ditching the 12" subs soldering up the wires OEM woofers, yes my amp is capable of 65Wrms per channel at 2Ohms. I think the woofers can handle 25w Peak?? This will be a temporary measure until I get a bit of spare cash for

4. Genesis 6*9 subs, the caliber amp will be bridged to give a nice 125wrms each woofer, which should be plenty for me.

5. I'll also be getting a more powerful 2 channel amp for Kappas in the front.

[necromax]

Mr Rankin, you still want those baffles? I will be making up mine in the next week or two. I have been busy dynamatting ;)

[MrADeveci]

any updates ..............

[LennyLexus]

UPDATE

3. I will be ditching the 12" subs soldering up the wires OEM woofers, yes my amp is capable of 65Wrms per channel at 2Ohms.  I think the woofers can handle 25w Peak?? This will be a temporary measure until I get a bit of spare cash for

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err, tired this and ended up blowing my amp .

So for a few months i was running with just HU powering the fronts.

Have borrowed a little Pioneer amp for the time being.

CHANGE OF PLAN

Infinity Kappa 6*9s (lo pass to act as subs)

and 2 x 2 channel Alpine V Series Amps

Dynamat (sitting in the shed waiting) to be applied to front doors and rear parcel shelf.

and then its FINITO!!!

Why? other plans for the next 12 months are Koni Dampers & Springs, and a set 18"s Brabus Style :winky: and possibly a bit of frontend styling..