mx5cartalk.com

did it all myself
so far it consists of Jaycar 6.5\" kevlar splits, 4x100W RMS digital amp and a kenwood KDC-MP6533 headunit

sounds good so far with the gains turned all the way down few issues with the install but it worked out in the end sort of

here u can see my dodgy speaker wiring since I didn't want to use the stock stuff


my amps, crossovers and circit breaker in the boot mounted on a sheet of mdf cut to fit into the boot cleanly


new headunit


another one of the headunit, note the aux input

couldn't find a loom for the factory plug so i ended up splicing into wires just behind it using a wire stripper then soldering new headunit wires there since when (if) I sell the car I can revert it back to stock

the headunit wouldn't go in with the 6 rca cables coming out the back so I had to mount it so it protruded a bit so they would fit

my RCA cables were too short to reach the boot so I had to take out the seat and run them diagonally under the passenger side carpet

Couldn't put new wires into the doors via the original rubber connector since it used a plug not a grommet so ended up making my own one that can be seen in the first pic

Crossovers wouldn't fit in the doors so ended up mounting them in the boot

edit:
more pics not really audio related but I did it at the same time



basically some white CCFL's mounted in the footwells of passenger and driver both operated by remote as well

Edit:
Rear speakers are in, and sound GREAT, added alot of bass to the system and no they do not sound like there is too much rear fill.


how it basically looks


quick connector so it can be removed easily


spare bag straps used to stop it all moving around, notice the clips so it can be taken out easily


don't loose that much seat recline either, test fitted before I installed them and I didn't even have to sacrifice anything as I didn't use that space anyway

Also added some illegal sheet metal flooring



Just kidding, got the checkerplate rubber and cut it to size using the original floor mats as a template they even use the stock floor mat anchor points so they don't move around at all I think they look great and only cost $26 for materials and about 10 minutes with a pair of scissors

they make the CCFL's look alot better at night without reflecting too much, originally I was going to use mirror finish checkerplate but they reflected too much, currently it's a nice glow, good when driving in resonably lit up area's although admittedly I turn them off when driving on roads with no streetlights

Looking good. I have a set of the Jaycar response 6.5 speakers in my NA. I have a Alpine 2 channel amp and the crossovers mounted behind the drivers seat. A benefit of shorter legs is that I had the room behind the seat. Also means that I don't give up andy boot space.


You might find that the wire for the door speakers will eventaully break due to wear and tear when opening and closing the door, as well as getting in your way?
J

Its a bit late but do you need the wiring diagrams for the car

And here I was thinking I'd ask how you got the speaker wires through the rubber parts leading into the doors...

One question though, how long are your RCA cables? I'm looking at mounting my amp on the left hand side of the boot too.

Juffa wrote:Looking good. I have a set of the Jaycar response 6.5 speakers in my NA. I have a Alpine 2 channel amp and the crossovers mounted behind the drivers seat. A benefit of shorter legs is that I had the room behind the seat. Also means that I don't give up andy boot space.


You might find that the wire for the door speakers will eventaully break due to wear and tear when opening and closing the door, as well as getting in your way?
J

hasn't gotten in the way yet I really hope it doesn't break but if it does i'll just redo it, I might have been able to fit the amp and crossovers behind my seat but I'm worried about people seeing it from the outside

Andrew wrote:Its a bit late but do you need the wiring diagrams for the car

I did have wiring diagrams but they didn't help me find the right dimmer wire so I left it out

NMX516 wrote:And here I was thinking I'd ask how you got the speaker wires through the rubber parts leading into the doors...

One question though, how long are your RCA cables? I'm looking at mounting my amp on the left hand side of the boot too.

I don't think it is possible to put the wires through the stock "rubber parts" take a look it only takes a few minutes it's hard to see from the passenger side so use the drivers, take off the sill covers then there is a small panel on the inside at the front it has one exterior clip like the ones holding the boot trim on and it has a metal clip underneath it as well, undo the first clip and pull, then look up, you can clearly see wires going into a white plastic plug before coming out the other side ie you have to run stock speaker wires to use this sleeve

I'll see if I can find my reciept to look up the length, a tip on cutting the mdf to size, use the carpet from the boot as a template then add on the plastic bucket thing as well and you will have a near perfect fit but make sure you have the mdf a reasonable size as my first one was too big and I couldn't fit it in the boot

Thanks for that SM. I did some trawling around the net last night and found someone who was trying to get the speaker wires through the rubber part in a '97 Mazda 323... The pics they had up looked the same as the MX5 rubber bits. Some interesting solutions were offered, as per here You might find that useful. I haven't had the chance to have a close look at the car yet....

I was thinking I would mount my amp to a board mounted vertically where the existing factory CD stacker is. I can use the existing bolts and make a bracket to hold the board with the amp on. Then put the amp on the left side so it doesn't get damaged by things sliding around in the boot. One problem I see though is rain getting in and falling onto the amp when opening the boot lid, but thinking I might be able to get some clear perspex to put across the top edge of the board to keep the water off.

I'll put some pics up when I eventually get it done!

I don't think it is possible to put the wires through the stock \"rubber parts\"

I just did it the other week for my central locking, Not to difficult. I just fed a bit of heavy wire through the original rubber boot in the door through to the cabin and then soldered the smaller wires to this to pull them through.
Your right though, that wire does look dodgy and probably will be damaged by the door eventually.

GP wrote:

I don't think it is possible to put the wires through the stock "rubber parts"

I just did it the other week for my central locking, Not to difficult. I just fed a bit of heavy wire through the original rubber boot in the door through to the cabin and then soldered the smaller wires to this to pull them through.
Your right though, that wire does look dodgy and probably will be damaged by the door eventually.

yea only thing is mine is an NB as stated in my sig line urs is a NA unless ur sig pic isn't ur car or u swapped all your panels for NA ones

the wires are really dodgy right now but i'm sure they will hold up fine as there is no pressure placed on them when I open or close the door and the black is just some headshrink so the wires don't come apart as there is 4 of them in there and it folds inwards not outwards

NMX516 wrote:Thanks for that SM. I did some trawling around the net last night and found someone who was trying to get the speaker wires through the rubber part in a '97 Mazda 323... The pics they had up looked the same as the MX5 rubber bits. Some interesting solutions were offered, as per here You might find that useful. I haven't had the chance to have a close look at the car yet....

I was thinking I would mount my amp to a board mounted vertically where the existing factory CD stacker is. I can use the existing bolts and make a bracket to hold the board with the amp on. Then put the amp on the left side so it doesn't get damaged by things sliding around in the boot. One problem I see though is rain getting in and falling onto the amp when opening the boot lid, but thinking I might be able to get some clear perspex to put across the top edge of the board to keep the water off.

I'll put some pics up when I eventually get it done!

sounds good, I was going to have my amp mounted vertical as well but it would be a tight fit then I needed to put my crossovers in the boot as well so I gave up on that, dammit I still can't find the reciept for the RCA's and i threw out the packaging as well


also I did install one other thing while I was doing all this, I'll take some pics tonight but I'm sure I'll get some negative feedback on it, well based on the replies others have got from doing it I will but I like it and that's all that really matters to me

that amp install is sexy ! but say you needed the spare tyre (shouldnt really call it a spare as it is a piece of sh*t space saver) how would all the wiring work with the amp i.e, tension along the wires because they were short?, i had the same problem with my neons around my speakers, i couldnt get the wiring through the rubber crap so i have a lil bodgy wire hanging there, but i zip tied it to make it stiff and now you cant notice it when the door is shut

Crocaine wrote:that amp install is sexy ! but say you needed the spare tyre (shouldnt really call it a spare as it is a piece of sh*t space saver) how would all the wiring work with the amp i.e, tension along the wires because they were short?, i had the same problem with my neons around my speakers, i couldnt get the wiring through the rubber crap so i have a lil bodgy wire hanging there, but i zip tied it to make it stiff and now you cant notice it when the door is shut

hehehe that's the thing about my install that makes it different to most
I still have a spare tyre, jack and tools underneath my install
so if i need the spare tyre I can simply lift the sheet of mdf with the amp and crossovers out of the way and all the wires bar the RCA's are more than long enough most having about an extra 20-30cm which is all inside the "bucket" on the left side of the boot. I have 4 wires running into the doors so I used some heatshrink to keep it tidy and when the door is shut they fold up so you can't see them

NMX516 wrote:And here I was thinking I'd ask how you got the speaker wires through the rubber parts leading into the doors...

One question though, how long are your RCA cables? I'm looking at mounting my amp on the left hand side of the boot too.

mine were 3m and they were too short, I can only just get the plug in, go for 3.5-4m you can always hide the extra but you can't make them longer

SM wrote:here u can see my dodgy speaker wiring since I didn't want to use the stock stuff

It's interesting that you said you couldn't run your speaker wiring through. I can't exactly remember but I think my 5 had a grommet with wires instead of a plug thing at the door. That's what I used when doing mine.

Your install looks good - I'm hanging out to buy an NB interior, partially so I can put the crossovers and tweeters from my Jaycar Kevlars!

The cold cathodes you have in the footwell is something that I've contemplated for a while - but does the light manage to reflect much? I need something that will effectively light up the cabin, short of doing what Mazda did with the NB.

mine is an nb isn't yours a NA? that would be why there is a difference in wiring
if you are thinking of putting the crossovers from the 6.5\" kevlar splits from jacar into the doors then they won't fit unless you cut out some of the foam underneath the armrest on the inside of the doors, that's why my crossovers are in the boot

Also I now have my 6x9\" kevlars installed and working, took a while to get the EQ settings right but now that's done it sounds good and I don't think i'll need a sub, even with the gains turned all the way down it's more than loud enough i'll get some pics up soon, I did lose some room behind the seats but I didn't need it anyway, if I find I do in the future that i need the extra room I can remove it in less than 10 seconds, also great for reducing weight u'll know what i mean when i get the pics up

So your 6x9's are installed behind the seats in the rear wall?

nope I have the BD rollbar so I couldn't install the way I wanted too, basically the speakers are directly behind the seat headrest facing forwards, the mounting is a piece of MDF going between the seatbelt towers and right up against the rollbar, then speakers are mounted on this