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I covered nearly the entire length of power cable in plastic loom/conduit which I didn't snap a picture of.
My intention was to originally run the RCAs, remote wire and remote bass knob wire through the center console. This was a big waste of time for me, because I realized that getting it from the shifter area to behind the headunit was nearly impossible. There is a small hole there where the airbag harness and other wires go through, and there simply wasn't really enough room in that hole for this group of wires. I didn't want to mess with the SRS airbag wires or computer so I abandoned it. I also didn't really want to run them along the side by the carpet, because I didn't want a weird bulge or any visible wires anywhere. So I ran them along the doorsill on the driver's side.
I ran them from the back where the spare tire is which is where I am mounting the amp.
Picked up an amp rack from PAS2KNut - This is a very quality piece. I thought it was overpriced at first, but after seeing the fit and finish I do not regret buying it one bit. It is a very sturdy and quality piece. It basically is press-fit into place and it has zero movement or play.
For the amp ground, I used the the cross brace bolt almost directly under the rack for the shortest length wire. I sanded down to bare metal on the bracket. I think only AP2 have these bolts here, where the AP1 only have the bolts on the ends of the brace.
You can see the ground here:
Ran the power around the back to keep it away from the speaker wires and RCAs
I like the stealthbox because it comes with this cover. It seems like JL used the same carpet as PAS2K Nut. Matches very close to OEM carper in person.
The only irreversible modification I did during this entire installation was drilling a hole through the carpet towards the bottom of the tool well for the subwoofer speaker wires.
Once I get the settings dialed in to my liking, I will be replacing the spare-tire cover to complete the stealthy install.
Installed the KTP-445A to add more juice to the components. I originally went with the KTP-445U which can be bridged to 90W per channel, but then canned that idea because I wanted a truly plug and play solution, which the 445U was not. If I had to do it again, I probably would have just stuck with the KTP-445U, because I don't notice much of a difference in sound with the KTP-445A, to be honest.
I installed it in the passenger side footwell/dash area. The hardest part of this was getting this panel off. I did it by pushing the clips through from the back side. Here is a picture to give you an idea of where the clips are on this panel.
I simply zip-tied the amp to the large metal bar that runs through the dash area.
My state requires a front license plate, unfortunately. After having no luck finding a metal license plate bracket for the front and not feeling the offset "tow-hook" style bracket, I got this cheap universal bracket from ebay which works surprisingly well.
I sold the Miata a while back. I thought I could daily the S2000, but stop-and-go rush hour commute really sucks in this car. It takes half the trip for the transmission fluid to get to temp and it doesn't want to shift smoothly at low RPM. It is just miserable to drive in that type of traffic. I feel like I'm doing the car a disservice by not letting it stretch its legs.
I picked up this near mint LS430 from an older woman with only 68K miles. It's so nice to have for a commuter and will keep miles off the S. Really is a great value car and would recommend it to anyone looking for a really solid luxury ride. Here is the build thread to that car if anyone is interested.
Well... what seems is par for the course around here, my street build turned into the occasional track toy. Couldn't resist the opportunity to take the S2K out on one of America's best tracks, Circuit of the Americas.
Went with Carbotech XP8 pads front and rear with their pre-bed option and some Centric Blank rotors. The pre-bed option was cool as I didn't have to worry about bedding them in on the street or during my first laps at the track.
Other than that, I flushed the clutch and brakes with ATE and used Pennzoil Ultra Platinum Full Synthetic 5W-30 oil. I also took the sub and amp out of the trunk for the track day.
I was told by Carbotech that these pads are okay to use on the street. Driving them on the street, they are a bit noisy and dusty, which is to be expected.
Just curious how much pad I would use in my couple sessions at the track.
Keep in mind that I'm a novice track driver and was on 340 UTG tires, but for me they were great. They had substantially more bite over stock and never faded on the track. I have yet to take them off to examine how much of the pad I actually used on that track day, but when I do that I will measure.
They are fine to use on the street if you don't mind a little squealing and dust, but if you put a lot of street miles on the car, I personally wouldn't recommend it due to the fact that they are not cheap.
I would definitely recommend the pre-bed option, as they were good to go right out of the box and didn't have to worry about bedding them properly on the street.
09-09-2018, 09:10 AM
