2015

Honda Civic Stereo Upgrade for Repeat Lake City Client

July 29, 2022 By JOey Knapp

The owner of this 2015 Honda Civic previously had a stereo system installed by us in his old vehicle. We had removed that stereo system for him, and now he wanted his equipment installed in the Honda Civic. We came up with a plan for his Honda Civic stereo upgrade that would use a combination of his old gear and a few new parts.

Honda Civic Stereo Upgrade: Speakers

We mounted the Morel tweeters in the factory tweeter location.

The Morel Virtus speakers fit perfectly behind the door panel.

In addition to upgrading the rear speakers, we also removed the factory 8″ subwoofer to provide a vent for the bass upgrade.

The OEM radio was retained as the source unit.

The previous setup the client had used a pair of Morel Virtus component speakers. These are some of our favorite speakers, so we were happy to be using them again in the Civic. Adding to the Virtus components, we added a set of Morel Maximo coaxial speakers in the rear deck. Powering the speakers are the 8 channels from two Rockford Fosgate 5-channel amplifiers. Six of the channels are powering the Virtus speakers (4 channels powering the woofers, 2 powering the tweeters) and two of the channels power the rear speakers. This provides the client with an incredible amount of power on tap for a very dynamic sound. The client liked the functionality of his existing factory radio, so we integrated his amplifiers with the factory radio outputs. Our Mitchell1 software was used to look up the wiring charts for the Civic and integrate our convertors.

Honda Civic Stereo Upgrade: Subwoofers

The small enclosure left the client with plenty of trunk space.

The corners were rounded on the enclosure and the carpet was neatly wrapped.

The custom lasered insert gives this enclosure a unique look.

We lasered a custom remote bass level plate for the client.

Phase two of this installation was to add some bass. In the clients previous vehicle he had a single 10″ subwoofer. This time he had the trunk space, so he wanted more bass. Answering the call for more bass in this Civic was a pair of Rockford Fosgate 10″ P3 subwoofers. This subwoofers handle over 600 watts each and work in a very small enclosure. We designed and built the enclosure to fit up against the back seat of the Civic. It took up very little of the trunk’s usable space. To add a little bit of cosmetic flare to the enclosure we added an additional front plate that not only recessed in the woofers, but also gave us a mounting spot for a trim plate. The center trim plate featured a Honda emblem. We cut the plate on our laser and used a lower power setting to cut the acrylic paper and use it as a template for painting the design you see.

Honda Civic Stereo Upgrade: Result!

After all the installation work done, we setup the amplifiers to extract all of the potential output from the speakers and subwoofers. The result was a very dynamic audio system that played loudly and cleanly. The client loved this Honda Civic stereo even more than his last car! We would love to chat with you about your next stereo upgrade, stop by Pinnacle Autosound or contact us online to make an appointment.

Premium Stereo Upgrade for Lake City Ford F-250 Pickup Truck

June 11, 2021 By JOey Knapp

A previous client from here in Lake City brought his 2015 Ford F-250 pickup truck to Pinnacle Autosound for a stereo system upgrade. We’d worked on the client’s boat in the past, and he was very happy with the enhancements we installed. He wanted the stereo in the Ford to play louder, sound clearer and, of course, deliver much better bass response. After inspecting the vehicle and talking to the client about his listening preferences, our team put together a premium audio upgrade that would deliver on all his expectations.

Ford F-250 Pickup Truck Stereo Upgrade

We used our laser to cut the ABS adapters for the Morel tweeters to mount in the factory location.

The rear doors got upgraded with the Morel coaxials.

The speaker adapter plates were reinforced with sound deadener.

The Morel Virtus speakers were a huge upgrade over the stock speakers.

The front doors were retained their great stock look, but sound much better.

We started the project by removing the stock speakers to make way for new drivers from Morel. Our team used a set of ABS plastic adapters to mount the 6.5-inch woofers from a Virtus 602 component set in the OE speaker location in the front doors. The adapters are lined with sound deadening to make them more rigid. We mounted the tweeters from the Virtus 602 set in the stock locations at the top of the sail panels, and we made ABS brackets to hold the tweeters in place behind the grilles.

For rear speakers, we used a set of Morel Tempo Ultra Integra 602 two-way coaxial speakers in the doors. While the door trim panels were off, we treated the inner and outer door skins with sound deadening to make the interior of the vehicle quieter.

JL Audio Subwoofers Add Impact and Warmth

Our Thunder Laser was used to create the acrylic trim plate.

LED lighting and chrome trim was used to accent the bottom of the enclosure.

Different layers of trim were used to accent the front of the enclosure

We were able to squeeze all of the electronics on the back wall.

The next step in upgrading the stereo in this pickup truck was to construct a custom enclosure for a pair of 13.5-inch JL Audio 13TW5 subwoofers. The enclosure fits under the rear seats with the subs pointed down at the floor. We added a custom trim piece to the face of the enclosure with a panel that bears Ford’s Platinum logo. We used our CNC laser to etch the logo into a sheet of cast acrylic. The trim is wrapped in gray vinyl, and the rest of the enclosure is finished in a gray carpet that matches the interior of the vehicle. Blue LED lighting under the enclosure and behind the accent piece gives the whole thing some extra style.

The subwoofers are powered by a JL Audio RD1000/1 monoblock amplifier that’s mounted to the back wall of the truck. A four-channel Morel MPS 4.400 amplifier that’s mounted beside the sub amp provides power for the front and rear speakers. The amplifiers, passive crossovers for the front speakers and the system’s signal processor are affixed to a carpeted panel to keep things tidy.

We used a PAC AmpPRO interface to connect the new audio equipment to the factory radio. This interface extracts the audio signal that’s normally fed to the factory-installed amplifier and provides a full-bandwidth, processing-free signal that we used to upgrade the sound system in this truck. The preamp outputs of the PAC interface are connected to a JL Audio TwK-88 digital signal processor.

Signal Processing Improves Car Audio System Accuracy

The TwK-88 processor handles frequency filtering for the sub and speakers in the truck. We also used it to equalize the output of each speaker to deliver a smooth and natural response that’s free from peaks and valleys. Finally, we set the signal delays and output level adjustments so that the system would create a very realistic soundstage that spans the width of the dash.

We upgraded the TwK-88 with a JL DRC-205 remote level control, which we mounted on the dash to the left of the steering column. We created a trim ring for the remote with our computer-controlled laser to identify the functions of the adjustments.

North Florida’s Best Car Audio Upgrades

With the audio system installation complete and the processor and level controls on the amplifiers dialed-in, it was time for the client to return to pick up his F-250. He was thrilled with the sound of the upgraded stereo in his truck and loved that everything was integrated so nicely.

If you are interested in upgrading the audio system in your vehicle, drop by Pinnacle Autosound in Lake City and speak with one of our Product Specialists. If you can’t come by the store, give us a call or send us an email using our online contact form.

Nissan Altima Android Auto Upgrade for Lake City Car Audio Client

February 15, 2018 By JOey Knapp Leave a Comment

A client recently came to us looking for a way to safely use his phone while driving his 2015 Nissan Altima. We talked with the client about the different ways that could be accomplished. After narrowing down the best radio for the client we scheduled the appointment for his Nissan Altima Android Auto upgrade.

Mitchell1 Software Saves The Day

Nissan Altima Android Auto — The factory radio had a small screen and no ability for Android Auto.

We have recently subscribed to the Mitchell1 ProDemand service for vehicle wiring and repair. This service gives us access to wiring diagrams and exploded views of 100’s of automobiles. For this Altima we were able to use the ProDemand service to determine the proper wiring for the steering wheel controls interface. Typically this wiring information is provided with the steering wheel interface, but this 2015 Altima was not listed. A quick look through the ProDemand software helped us verify the proper wiring.

Backup Camera Interfacing

The client’s small factory screen served as not only the radio for the car but also the display for the factory backup camera. The client had asked us about possibly retaining the factory backup camera. Thanks again to our ProDemand software, we were able to determine the correct wires to us for interfacing the new radio with the factory backup camera. The ProDemand software also alerted us to a changing in voltage for the camera system. The client would now be able to see the view from his camera on the new, larger screen.

Nissan Altima Android Auto Features

The component of this installation that the client was most concerned about was the smartphone integration. Thanks to the new Kenwood radio, the client would now had handsfree control of his phone. And exciting new feature too is the addition of Waze to the Android Auto suite. Now the best smartphone navigation software would be at the control of the client’s voice. In addition to navigation, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Spotify and hundreds of other apps are now available.

Find Out More About Android Auto

If you use and Android smartphone and would like to learn more about integrating it with your vehicle stop by today. We can plug your phone into one of the Android Auto radios on our display and you can see first hand the convenience it offers. If you need more information or would like to schedule an appointment, feel free to contact us using our online contact form.