Lord09

Thanks!

No drone from the HFC, to be honest I haven't noticed any change in noise.

Lord09

Rick's Luxury One-Piece Floor Mats:











These mats are gorgeous. Not cheap, but in my opinion well worth it. Great construction, materials feel very substantial and very very high quality. I can't even imagine how the wool versions they use to offer would look or feel given the great quality of the nylon version. In addition, the mats are segmented to contour and shape themselves over the humps on the driver and passenger floors.

I think other than the ASM ones, which are just a bit too showy for me and just insanely expensive, there's no other real option for extended floor mats. Regardless, these are amazing and definitely recommended.

Nothing beats the look and feel of new floor mats! Too bad the rest of the carpeting looks older and worn in comparison...

Mats: http://ricks2k.com/products/carpets.php

Lord09

Audio Upgrade!

Polk DB651s:







With the Metra harness, completely plug and play. No splicing of wires required and fit perfectly in the stock speaker baskets. Painlessly simple and no fitment/vibration issues whatsoever.

JVC KDX250BT:





(I like the CR shift knob a lot, just prefer the weight of the Skunk2 knob)

Bluetooth mic mounted at the top of driver side A-pillar trim:





I really need to learn to solder!

Also used the Modifry wired DCI + harness. Great instructions and works perfectly. Buttons and their functionality take a bit of getting use to, but work very well. The button tap and combination of presses features are great as well as the speed control volume.

Overall very happy with this very inexpensive upgrade. Sound quality is light years better and Bluetooth voice and music is a very nice modern touch.

I had the previous model of JVCs media receiver in my old MR2 and loved it. A few gripes however:

1. Bluetooth takes about 20-30 seconds to connect when first starting the car, same as the previous generation.
2. The back lighting used to be adjustable in the previous model, fixed color in this one - bummer.
3. My AM/FM reception is about 20% worse.

Despite the gripes and for the how inexpensive it is, I can't complain and definitely recommend it.

Reference:

Remove door + speaker/etc install DIY
Head unit cover removal

Shopping List:

Polk Audio DB651s Slim-Mount 6.5 Coaxial Speakers (Pair)
Metra 72-7800 Honda and Acura Speaker Adapter Harness Connector - Pair
JVC KDX250BT Digital Media Receiver Bluetooth Front USB-AUX
Modifry Wired DCI + Harness

*EDIT*

So the JVC unit worked great except for the Bluetooth connectivity. It would cut out intermittently and while the phone would always connect via Bluetooth, the audio would take 20-30 seconds and would not auto-play, a functionality I've been use to on my other car and previous head units I've had.

I next tried a Kenwood KDC-BT555U and same behavior. Read good things about Alpine units and purchased a Alpine CDE-143BT. It's pretty much their most basic unit with Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, but the audio connection is almost instantaneous and auto-plays, winner!

Very happy with it overall, no complaints other than it looking super basic, not a big deal since I leave the door closed 95% of the time anyways. I definitely recommend it for a basic head unit with Bluetooth phone and audio.

I also added an UltraGauge, which I had on my old Miata. It's similar to a ScangaugeII and reads OBD2 parameters. I have it setup to display coolant temp, intake temp and some other misc parameters. It's an awesome unit that's highly configurable, displays a ton of information for the curious and also allows you to read and clear codes.





Alpine CDE-143BT Advanced Bluetooth CD Receive
UltraGauge OBDII Scan tool & Information Center

arsenal

I think it's the phone trying to connect via bluetooth as mine does the same thing. What phone do you have? My gf's Samsung connects almost instantly, but the Iphone takes a while

Lord09

I have an iPhone as well. I wonder if there's any settings that can be changed to improve connection speed. Other factory cars I've synced my phone to have connected almost instantaneously.

Lord09

Been very busy so haven't had time to update this thread, but after trying a couple head units, the Alpine CDE-143BT fits my needs perfectly and connects instantaneously and auto-plays as well.

Slow connection wasn't due to any iPhone settings, which I suspected. I updated my audio post above for more information.

Lord09

OEM Silverstone AP1 Lip!

I've always liked the look of the OEM lip and managed to find a new one complete with all mounting equipment from a local member. Wasn't cheap, but given the rarity, I thought it was well worth it.

Fitment is spot on and light years better than the old replica lip I had, which was basically attached with double sided tape. The OEM lip mounts securely with numerous bolts and the quality is outstanding.

Love it.

Lord09

I've had a few exhausts on my old cars and I've realized I enjoy a nice aggressive exhaust, but I can't stand any drone whatsoever or excessive volume.

After reading the forums I learned about the UK mod and found a local shop, which has performed the mod many times and has been recommended on the forums and has great yelp reviews as well.



Very friendly staff at Ace Muffler and they recommended 2'' diameter piping, which I was a bit reluctant since the general recommendation is 1.5'' or 38mm piping.

To be honest, I'm not sure if the piping used was 2'' OD or ID, but I was very happy with the results. No drone, and a much more aggressive tone. At the time, I had the Berk HFC cat installed and the overall volume was a little above what I'd prefer. I re-installed a completely intact stock cat in excellent shape and that took the volume level to a level I thought was perfect. The sound doesn't really change with the top and windows up, but with the top down, it's amazing. Very happy with it and most importantly no drone. Plus if you really really like volume, a HFC can be installed for additional volume and again no drone.

Ace Muffler
UK Mod Clips/Discussion

Lord09

Just some minor maintenance.

New PCV valve. Old one was fine, but it was cheap and I figure it would be good preventative maintenance.



Updated Honda holder/zip-tie for the MAP - again because it was cheap.



Rattle clip for my driver side window. I noticed my driver window would rattle quite a bit going over bumps compared to the passenger side. I looked inside the center of the door and noticed the rattle clip/pad was missing. Car is much more solid over bumps and uneven surfaces.

The WSM contains instructions to remove the rubber window guides and install the clip. Be warned it takes quite a bit of force to get the rubber guides off.



Part Numbers:

PCV valve: 17130-PV3-013
MAP holder: 32125-PCX-003
Door stabilizer clip: 91563-S2A-013

s2ka

OEM lip looks great!

I'll have to try the window rattle clip, my passenger door rattles over big bumps. Thanks for posting the part number.