I've had my 2005 S for a little over a month now. I've been lurking on the board for a while filling my head with all the banter that goes on around here. I've read and re-read the audio FAQ and some of the info is perhaps beginning to sink in.

I think I've gotten a pretty good idea of the gear I want to get. I'm still undecided about a sub, but I think I'll probably end up getting one. (Something I can disconnect and remove quickly if I need the trunk space)

I'll venture a guess my dilemma is one that many of you may have faced...

I went to my local mobile audio place (Not Best Buy or Circuit City, but another chain that's a little more high-end) and after talking for a little while with a salesman I tossed a couple questions at him he couldn't answer so he called their installer over. He said he's got about 8 years experience and has done quite a few installs on S2000s. He seemed knowledgeable and was basically a likeable guy. He was unfamiliar with the Modifry DCI but had installed DCIs before. I talked with him for about an hour and I left with a price quote for the gear and installation.

Prices quoted for the gear were basically MSRP as was to be expected at a retail store. To give you an idea, for the main parts of the system, HU, front speakers and amp, I'd pay $1248.97 + TN State tax at 9.25%, bringing the price of those items to $1364.50. If I bought the items online, I'd pay at most $900.00, plus shipping, but no tax. I'm not including all the cables, Dynamat, or the sub and enclosure, but obviously I'd save even more by buying those items online. I'd probably pay about $300 for labor if he made a cabinet for the sub, or about $200 if not.

Needless to say, the price difference is pretty large and I can't walk in there with armloads of gear I bought elsewhere and ask them to do the install for me. Well, I could... but they charge a 'bench charge' for gear bought elsewhere, and I couldn't do it in good conscience anyhow.

I'm not a moron, (usually) but I don't have any experience installing car stereo equipment, much less making subwoofer enclosures. I would hate to do any harm to my beautiful new steed because of my inexperience. On the other hand, if one includes the labor costs it could easily end up costing me $1000 for the relative peace of mind of letting a 'professional' do the job, with at least some sort of guarantee that they'll stand behind their work.

A couple of guys on the Music City board offered their help (thanks guys! ) in case I decide to do the work myself.

And so, I find myself in the throes of indecision. Any advice from those of you who have traveled this road before me?

 

I don't have experience installing a HU on the s2k, but I've done it several times on my civic, and it's a cake walk, so long as you get the correct harness. I'm pretty sure that installing the speakers would be cake too. The real question is how comfortable you are installing the amp. At that point, I would get a professional, but that's just me.

 

I had zero experience prior to my attempt. I thought it was pretty straight forward as long as you do your homework and can take your time. Nearly every issue I had trouble with I was able to get help from this board. Having a garage to work in would have helped. It would have been nice to be able to leave the project partially completed when I was getting frustrated or a step was taking too long.

 

By far the hardest part of the job is running new speaker wire through the door grommets. Beyond that it's all pretty easy. It will be time consuming because you have never done it before.

Plan for a week, using both weekends. I know a lot of guys on here could do an install like yours in a day, but plan for the worst.

It will be easier to remove a LOT of the interior. The seats, door panels, center console, and all the other panels/covers you can easily get at.

Decide where you want to mount things like the amp and the sub. This will help get you started.

Some simple tips to keep in mind. You want the main fuse for your amp/amps to be as close to the battery as possible. You want to keep all "power" lines (like the feed for the amps and the remote turn on wire) away from any "signal" lines like RCA and Speaker Wire. I ran the power down the passenger side door sill, and the speakers and RCAs down the center console.

For a sub, a 10" is WAY more than enough for the S2000, and WLAURENT has a great solution for a 10" sub in the "corner" of the trunk. No need to make a box, it is a fully finished box with a sub installed in it. In the FAQ sticky-ed at the top of this forum there are plans to make 3 different sub boxes for the toolwell if you want to go that route too.

 

Remember to mask(blue tape) everything you might touch (dash, bezel cover, shiftknob, etc) if you have a screwdriver or something with a edge (hu corners) otherwise you will definitely leave your mark. Tape is relatively cheap. You might want to put electical tape on the edge of your screwdriver as well.

 

I haven't done any kind of installation on my S, but I did a full system when I had a Prelude. Hondas pop apart like legos so getting it apart is a cake walk. The biggest PITA is running the speaker wire through the door grommets and also constructing a box for the sub (not too hard just rather time consuming).