End all, be all, Stereo upgrade thread

[usurbrain]

If everything looks the same, then all you have to tell us is what you put in...

I have a major update to post on this, by this weekend. I pulled the trigger and the system is 75% installed as of this moment. I will have a full run down posted by this weekend of what we did and what I went with. Unfortunately the before and after pictures are identical as EVERYTHING is completely hidden. My trip to VOI11 just got a whole lot more enjoyable. BTW I will post some of the 1000 pictures we took of the install. Definitely very, very cool.

 

[Black Mamba]

You can buy the install kit which has a harness adapter. Install is pretty straightforward. If you buy from Crutchfield they provide you with step by step instructions (not that you would need them). Most shops would charge about $50 - $75 to install a head unit plus parts. It's really up to you whether you want someone else messing with your car. But if you don't know what you are doing you could do more damage than they probably would. I did my 03 in about 45 minutes taking my time.

I have a Pioneer with Navigation, DVD, bluetooth and I love the sound quality.

Thanks for the info. Where can I get the install kit? I didn't see the SRT-10 listed on Crutchfield's site so I didn't know if they had instructions for it. I guess it doesn't hurt to give them a call.

 

[Coloviper]

Sorry guys but car will be done tomorrow as we have been waiting on the new Cerwin-Vega Prototype 3.5" 2-way speakers which are going to going inside the panel behind the seats. My Viper will be the first car to have those. They are not even on the market yet. UPS Man says this afternoon for delivery.

I wanted to post pictures before leaving for VOI11 but ther is just no time. I will post everything up after I get back.

Finally, the guys at the shop wanted to play around and tear up but work on the factory Sub Box enclosure with resin, other mods and with an 8" Kicker sub to see if they could get the sound quality out of the sub enclosure without the having to build a custom enclosure with the 12" Stealth Sub in it. There feeling was the 12" might be too much in that close proximity as the cabin is so small, it might overpower the mids. I have trusted them on all my other vehicles so we will see. If it works great then it is something they can do going forth where people send in their factory sub box and they make all the mods and mounts, then send it back for whoever to install. I like the idea.

Hang in there! I will say the entire interior, every panel, etc. has been sound deadened with Cache mat. It should be fairly quiet now to quiet down the Belanger Exhaust inside the car. Added a few pounds, but I have probably already lost that weight in the other mods for the car. If I feel it is too slow, then there is aways a Paxton huffer to add.

 

[White 04 Mamba]

Sounds great!!! Looking forward to the pictures.

 

[White 04 Mamba]

Did you ever get those pictures?

 

[Coloviper]

I am still waiting for the thumb drive with all the pictures he is suppose to send me. Believe me, I am even more anxious than you. The install turned out great, sound is awesome, cabin is very quiet now with all the Cache sound deander everywhere, though I am having him change out the installed 8" Kicker sub for a 8" Kenwood Excelon Sub as the Kenwood sub is black and not as noticeable from oustide. The Kicker Diamond sub has that silver face and it is amazing how you can see the silver behind the factory panels as you walk around the car. That is the only indication of any stereo work done.

I will still do a detailed account of everything with part numbers, though without the pictures, it may be hard to visualize for others.

Rick

 

[AbsolutHank]

I know this is an old thread bump, but some of us have been waiting for these pics

 

[Coloviper]

I will call the guy and get him to send me the memory stick I left for him. I agree it has been too long. Sorry!

 

[Black Moon]

I will call the guy and get him to send me the memory stick I left for him. I agree it has been too long. Sorry!

How about just taking some pictures

 

[Coloviper]

Black Moon;

The problem is taking pictures of it as it is completed now, you see nothing out of the ordinary but stock, which is what I wanted. It is everything that is behind the panels, carpets, etc. that is changed. The installer has those on his PC and has been just lazy in sending them. In fact, I will call him now since he did not respond to my e-mail this morning either.

Rick

 

[Black Moon]

Black Moon;

The problem is taking pictures of it as it is completed now, you see nothing out of the ordinary but stock, which is what I wanted. It is everything that is behind the panels, carpets, etc. that is changed. The installer has those on his PC and has been just lazy in sending them. In fact, I will call him now since he did not respond to my e-mail this morning either.

Rick

Cool, no big deal. I forgot you wanted it to look stock.
Thanks for the response.

 

[Coloviper]

Well, well;

I finally found some pictures I can share of what we did with the stereo, sound deadner and electronics in my 06'. I need to snap a few more pictures of the after (when I get it out of storage), but you will get the idea, as the look is still 100% stock, the interior is very quiet now and the sound system is full and crystal clear. So here is what we did in the end:

(1) Stock 2008 Viper NAV Unit (required to get Sirius SAT Radio AND to get iPOD Adapter to work)
(1) Stock 2006 Viper iPOD Adapter kit AND stock 2006 Jeep SRT8 IPOD Adapter Interface cable. (Cable required to get it to work properly in an 06 Viper.)
(2) Scosche SLC4 Car Stereo Amp Adapters (required to really clean up the sound from the factory unit AND for interface to the new amps. Key to the clean sound.)
(1) Cerwin Vega Stealth SX500.1 (500 Watt Mono Subwoofer Amp to drive sub. Mounted behind Driver's seat at bottom, can't even tell it is there.)
(1) Cerwin Vega Stealth SX440.4 (440 Watt 4-Channel Amp to run the doors dash and rear hatch 2-way speakers. Mounted behind Passenger's seat at bottom, can't even tell it is there.)
(2) Cervin Vega VMAX 65 (6.5" Component System which includes 6.5" door speaker, 1" dash tweeter and matched cross-overs. All mounted in factory locations.)
(2) Cerwin Vega VEGA "Prototype" Factory Hatch Area 2-Way Co-Axial Speakers (to replace factory ones under rear plastic hatch panel. Sorry there is no part number even yet. Mounted in factory location and working awesome)
(1) Kicker COMPVT 8" Shallow Mount Sub. (Basically we took the factory Viper sub assembly, diassembled it, hollowed it out, added resin inside to ensure it is solid and then mounted the 8" shallow sub in it. It worked great with NO vibration issues, etc. Awesome in the end.)
(Misc) Any Monster cables, grounding adapters, etc. to ensure clean sound with NO hum, etc.) Amps are wired off rear battery with required hardware to clean sound and control power to them from the front deck.)
ENTIRE interior is sound deadened with Cache Sound Deadner. (doors, roof, seat hulls, center hull, rear hatch area.

So now to the pictures. First the interior was pulled out leaving:

Then we went to work adding the the Cache Sound Deadner everywhere:

Finally we added in the new stereo components as stated above and buttoned everything up. The end result is as factory looking as when we started as such:

Again, sorry for dragging this out. The end result is near perfect and the sound is simply amazing. I know some will complain about adding weight, but I don't care. If I feel it is too slow, the Supercharger goes on.

Thanks and as soon as I get the car out of storage, I will take some pictures behind the seats to show the amps, a picture from the front to show the new sub and a picture by the battery area to show the new wiring to the amps.

The only thing it is missing is Bluetooth for connection to my cell phone, which is very easy to add to the system with another Scosche adapter. Not sure I need that yet though.

I really wish I could share the sound it is producing with everyone, as I can turn it up full blast if need be and there is ZERO distortion and it is a full and absolutely clear sound, as good as the high end BOSE system in my Cayenne Turbo S. We are very happy with the system and these mods. Cost? I can't tell you what I really paid as it is much, much less, but let's just say, I did not spend over $3,500 complete and installed. My stereo guy is extremely good.

Thanks
Rick

 

[Black Moon]

Nice insulation job. Where are the pics of the stereo equipment???

 

[Coloviper]

Black Moon;

Sorry, as I stated, I when I pull it out of storage, I will snap a few pictures of the amps, sub, and some of the wiring. The installer's pictures of those portions did not turn out unfortunately. I may pop the back panel off just to show everything behind it. The fourth to last picture shows the new 6.5" Cerwin Vega door speakers used.

I know, I know, but that is what I get for being out of town when it was installed. I take millions of pictures of everything, but other people unfortunately do not.

Thanks
Rick

 

[Black Moon]

That's cool. Just wanted to see how the amps are mounted.

 

[Coloviper]

Beautiful day here in Colorado today and I am just between jobs (start the new one on April 1st) so thought I would pull the 06' out of storage early this year. Okay some of the component pictures for you, Let's start with the remainder of the finished product:

Picture of the dash with the new 08' Nav Unit

New Cervin Vega Door Speakers (Remember that though the door shows a three screw attachment, the speaker is actually attached with four screws behind the factory speaker grill)

In the rear hatch area, the factory back has a small area on each side of the rear hatch where the fiberglass is exposed and shows through. We sound deadened the entire car, so it needed to be covered with some small fabric pieces (the final product does still look very factory and would need to be pointed out to the untrained eye anyway)

The IPOD attahment is located in the center console as such

As I stated before, we powered the amps off the rear battery then paralleled out so the rear battery area looks as follows (I also have my battery tender attachment bolted on here) There is zero hum or traditional issues.

Jumping behind the Driver's Seat, we see the amp for the sub, driver's door XFRs, etc.

Behind the Passenger's Seat is where the amp for the remaining speakers is located, passeneger door XFRs, and Scosche Amp Interface Adapters, etc.

The Sirius adapters, etc. are all located under the passenger's seat (completely hidden).

The only thing left is to show the finished Rear sub. (It is housing a Kicker Diamond Series sub temporarily) The Kicker CompVT is sitting in a box in my basement and will be swapping out the silver one soon. The CompVT is a black/carbon color and hence the rear sub will just fade away behind that factory sub grill panel. The sub is attached with six screws behind te grill not the four screws in front. At that point, no one will ever know I did anything to it. I guess no one but you guys and gals. I will provide an updated picture of the rear sub panel when we swap that sub out in a few weeks.

Like I expressed before, we are very happy with this system and the sound is amazing, full and clear. PS I also missed the Scosche FAI-3A component from my list. It is used to clean up and boost the factory deck signal prior to the amps.

Thanks
Rick

 

[Black Moon]

Great job. Thanks for the photos. Crank it up!

 

[Reloader15]

Hi, I'm looking for the original stereo unit that came in my 2006 coupe, anybody know of one, I thought a member steered me towards a guy named Michael last year when I was looking for exhaust parts, he has a salvage Viper yard?

Thanks,