Just installed front and rear using Lucid Kits
Just put the Kenwood 3-ways in back and upgraded fronts to the Kenwood 1787's in a '01 model. I'm no slouch with hand tools, but taking a screwdriver to my baby was somehow extremely terrifying so I'm posting some tips to make it a little less unnerving for those considering doing this.
1. Before you start, make sure they sent you everything. I didn't figure out I was missing something until after I got a door panel off on Christmas day. Compare what you got with what is posted on Lucid's site as what you should have gotten; the packing list on the invoice does not have the level of detail necessary. To Jim's credit, he emailed me back very quickly and I was able to get the missing pieces from a hardware store the next day.
2. Follow the direction sent by Lucid VERBATIM. They are, with a couple of exceptions, the only way to do some of these things without wrecking your interior plastic.
3. Lay blankets down around your door area before you remove the door panel. You never know what you're going to scrap or drop, etc. Also, be very careful where you lay your tools when you are not using them - there are lots of spots that can be scratched if you put them in the wrong place.
4. The retaining clip in the door. This is the round clip on the inner part of the door that the directions say to remove with a clip remover or screwdriver. DO NOT use a screwdriver taped or not, its still scratch city. I found the easiest way was just to give the door a tug like the rest of the door clips and it pops the clip right out. Just make sure you see where it flies off to.
5. It is possible for the door clips to fall out. Make sure they're all in place before you button up.
6. The power window and door lock wires are a pain to remove - however, there is enough play on the wires where you can turn the panel up and prop up against the door and still have enough room to work in the door speaker (note blanket comment above.)
7. Rear panels - before you try the screwdriver to open the clip covers, try your thumb. Mine were loose enough to be able to open the covers with a thumbnail.
8. Running the rear speaker wires - directions suggested removing the carpet clips to run the wires under the carpet; they're tough to remove with a screwdriver and I didn't risk given those a tug. I just ran the wire with clips in place as carpet was tight enough to be able to tuck the wire and hold in place.
9. Its a tight fit on the head unit with the wiring harness in place. I pulled the wire so they tended to bunch more toward the passenger side and that seemed to help.
10. Putting the cover/head unit door back on - push straight back in place. Trying to put on the top or bottom ends in first won't work.
11. All the clips on all the plastic pieces go on alot easier than they came off so you don't need to whack the crap out of the panels - just a firm push will do it.
12. For the Kenwood 1787, I discovered that the connections on the speaker will actually make contact with lip of the speaker well in the door if mounted up and down (i.e. the "Kenwood" on the speaker reads horizontally) and short out. I turned the speaker 90 degress to the right (i.e. "Kenwood" reads vertically) and that takes care of it. I don't know if this is an issue with any other types of speakers.
13. The connectors provided to connect front speaker connections are very loose and will fall off very easily. Secure with electrical tape before you button that up.
My time to finish was about 3 hours.
For a reasonably priced, easy to do installation for folks just looking to do a basic upgrade to get more and better sound with the stock radio, this is the way to go. I am quite happy with it. If you're a REAL audiophile, this will fall short of what you are looking for.
1. Before you start, make sure they sent you everything. I didn't figure out I was missing something until after I got a door panel off on Christmas day. Compare what you got with what is posted on Lucid's site as what you should have gotten; the packing list on the invoice does not have the level of detail necessary. To Jim's credit, he emailed me back very quickly and I was able to get the missing pieces from a hardware store the next day.
2. Follow the direction sent by Lucid VERBATIM. They are, with a couple of exceptions, the only way to do some of these things without wrecking your interior plastic.
3. Lay blankets down around your door area before you remove the door panel. You never know what you're going to scrap or drop, etc. Also, be very careful where you lay your tools when you are not using them - there are lots of spots that can be scratched if you put them in the wrong place.
4. The retaining clip in the door. This is the round clip on the inner part of the door that the directions say to remove with a clip remover or screwdriver. DO NOT use a screwdriver taped or not, its still scratch city. I found the easiest way was just to give the door a tug like the rest of the door clips and it pops the clip right out. Just make sure you see where it flies off to.
5. It is possible for the door clips to fall out. Make sure they're all in place before you button up.
6. The power window and door lock wires are a pain to remove - however, there is enough play on the wires where you can turn the panel up and prop up against the door and still have enough room to work in the door speaker (note blanket comment above.)
7. Rear panels - before you try the screwdriver to open the clip covers, try your thumb. Mine were loose enough to be able to open the covers with a thumbnail.
8. Running the rear speaker wires - directions suggested removing the carpet clips to run the wires under the carpet; they're tough to remove with a screwdriver and I didn't risk given those a tug. I just ran the wire with clips in place as carpet was tight enough to be able to tuck the wire and hold in place.
9. Its a tight fit on the head unit with the wiring harness in place. I pulled the wire so they tended to bunch more toward the passenger side and that seemed to help.
10. Putting the cover/head unit door back on - push straight back in place. Trying to put on the top or bottom ends in first won't work.
11. All the clips on all the plastic pieces go on alot easier than they came off so you don't need to whack the crap out of the panels - just a firm push will do it.
12. For the Kenwood 1787, I discovered that the connections on the speaker will actually make contact with lip of the speaker well in the door if mounted up and down (i.e. the "Kenwood" on the speaker reads horizontally) and short out. I turned the speaker 90 degress to the right (i.e. "Kenwood" reads vertically) and that takes care of it. I don't know if this is an issue with any other types of speakers.
13. The connectors provided to connect front speaker connections are very loose and will fall off very easily. Secure with electrical tape before you button that up.
My time to finish was about 3 hours.
For a reasonably priced, easy to do installation for folks just looking to do a basic upgrade to get more and better sound with the stock radio, this is the way to go. I am quite happy with it. If you're a REAL audiophile, this will fall short of what you are looking for.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Moddiction
S2000 Under The Hood
6
Apr 9, 2012 01:08 PM



