Double din done!
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 156
Likes: 21
From: Hertfordshire UK
Double din done!
I posted most of this in the C5 forum but thought I would share it here as well as I am so pleased with the finished result.
My first major round of mods to the car is almost complete, just waiting for the new wheels which should be here in a couple of weeks. Compared with some builds on here it may seen quite minor but sourcing everything and then importing it to the UK takes time and shipping, customs and taxes adds considerable cost. This is what was being done:
- Full sound and thermal proofing throughout
- Further sound proofing material inside the rear inner wheel wells
- Bezel altered
- Double din head unit fitted
- New shift and handbrake boots in carbon effect to match the carbon flashes on my seats
- Custom shift ****
- Replace door glass scrapers
- Replace door glass due to bad scratches
I've just got the car back and although I have only driven it for about 30 minutes the difference is astounding. The soundproofing has worked very well and has resulted in about an 9-10db reduction in cabin noise which has made a huge difference, the readings were taken from a sound meter app so maybe not highly accurate but it certainly gives a good indication of what can be achieved. Apparently this equates to around a 50% reduction in noise. I still have some drone from the exhaust but everything feels and sounds 'tighter' if that makes sense. When considering what materials to use for the soundproofing I had two choices - a pre-cut kit from the US or buying sheets or panels from the UK. The material available in the UK was only slightly less expensive than the pre-cut kit but more importantly would take a lot longer to cut and fit thereby increasing labour time. I also came across a couple of items about putting sound deadening material in between the rear inner wing and tub and everyone who had done this recommended it.
This round of mods was intended to modernise the car and to reduce road noise whilst at the same time making music and conversation in the car easier to hear. I also wanted to replace the radio/cassette unit as it was more or less redundant and install a head unit that will allow access to current media and hands free through Bluetooth. When looking for the head unit I also wanted built in satnav if possible in order to get rid of the external Garmin that sits on top of the dash and its associated wiring. I came across a manufacturer called Pumpkin that makes various double din head units that appeared to have good reviews for a 'no-name' brand with good functionality at a very reasonable price and this was sourced through Amazon.
So far the head unit has exceeded my expectations particularly as it is at the lower end of the price scale for double dins. It uses the Android operating system which I was not familiar with but it is quite intuitive and relatively simple to use. There was not much in the way of instructions with the unit but a quick Google search gave me all the info I needed with the added benefit of being able to watch the YouTube tutorials through the actual head unit (!). The radio and Bluetooth functions work exactly as expected and the satnav is fine, I haven't had the opportunity to test the satnav properly yet but initial impressions are good.
I also wanted to personalise the car with a few custom touches such as the shift **** and new boots for the shifter and handbrake. The shift **** came from a company called Lathe Werks Engineering in the US who were able to make the shift **** to my design and was the first this company had done. The boots came from Redline Goods who I believe are a European organisation, I could have gone for leather with many options for colour and stitching but in the end I decided on a carbon look vinyl finish as it matched the swatches on the Corbeau seats.
Finally, my painter helped me source some replacement door glass as mine was very badly scratched and as I intend to tint sometime this year, the scratches would have been even more visible. To try and prevent this happening again I sourced a couple of new window scrapers from Rock Auto.
For those interested here is a list of products and suppliers I used:
*Pre-cut insulation kit - Vette Nuts http://www.vettenuts.net/index.php?l...t_detail&p=753
*Wheel well insulation - Dodomat from Sound Deadening Shop (UK supplier)
*Head unit - Pumpkin KD-C0224 from Amazon
*PAC ROEM-VET1 harness adapter - eBay
*Shift **** - Lathe Werks Engineering (really good service)
*Auto shift adapter - eBay
*Shifter and handbrake boots - Redline Goods
*Door window scrapers - Rockauto
All work was done by Exotic Customs in the UK and as always their work was outstanding.
It started with stripping out the interior
The bezel taking shape
Some plastic welding, this is from behind the bezel:
Carbon finish on the shift boot to match the seat patches
The new interior
Reversing camera goodness
My first major round of mods to the car is almost complete, just waiting for the new wheels which should be here in a couple of weeks. Compared with some builds on here it may seen quite minor but sourcing everything and then importing it to the UK takes time and shipping, customs and taxes adds considerable cost. This is what was being done:
- Full sound and thermal proofing throughout
- Further sound proofing material inside the rear inner wheel wells
- Bezel altered
- Double din head unit fitted
- New shift and handbrake boots in carbon effect to match the carbon flashes on my seats
- Custom shift ****
- Replace door glass scrapers
- Replace door glass due to bad scratches
I've just got the car back and although I have only driven it for about 30 minutes the difference is astounding. The soundproofing has worked very well and has resulted in about an 9-10db reduction in cabin noise which has made a huge difference, the readings were taken from a sound meter app so maybe not highly accurate but it certainly gives a good indication of what can be achieved. Apparently this equates to around a 50% reduction in noise. I still have some drone from the exhaust but everything feels and sounds 'tighter' if that makes sense. When considering what materials to use for the soundproofing I had two choices - a pre-cut kit from the US or buying sheets or panels from the UK. The material available in the UK was only slightly less expensive than the pre-cut kit but more importantly would take a lot longer to cut and fit thereby increasing labour time. I also came across a couple of items about putting sound deadening material in between the rear inner wing and tub and everyone who had done this recommended it.
This round of mods was intended to modernise the car and to reduce road noise whilst at the same time making music and conversation in the car easier to hear. I also wanted to replace the radio/cassette unit as it was more or less redundant and install a head unit that will allow access to current media and hands free through Bluetooth. When looking for the head unit I also wanted built in satnav if possible in order to get rid of the external Garmin that sits on top of the dash and its associated wiring. I came across a manufacturer called Pumpkin that makes various double din head units that appeared to have good reviews for a 'no-name' brand with good functionality at a very reasonable price and this was sourced through Amazon.
So far the head unit has exceeded my expectations particularly as it is at the lower end of the price scale for double dins. It uses the Android operating system which I was not familiar with but it is quite intuitive and relatively simple to use. There was not much in the way of instructions with the unit but a quick Google search gave me all the info I needed with the added benefit of being able to watch the YouTube tutorials through the actual head unit (!). The radio and Bluetooth functions work exactly as expected and the satnav is fine, I haven't had the opportunity to test the satnav properly yet but initial impressions are good.
I also wanted to personalise the car with a few custom touches such as the shift **** and new boots for the shifter and handbrake. The shift **** came from a company called Lathe Werks Engineering in the US who were able to make the shift **** to my design and was the first this company had done. The boots came from Redline Goods who I believe are a European organisation, I could have gone for leather with many options for colour and stitching but in the end I decided on a carbon look vinyl finish as it matched the swatches on the Corbeau seats.
Finally, my painter helped me source some replacement door glass as mine was very badly scratched and as I intend to tint sometime this year, the scratches would have been even more visible. To try and prevent this happening again I sourced a couple of new window scrapers from Rock Auto.
For those interested here is a list of products and suppliers I used:
*Pre-cut insulation kit - Vette Nuts http://www.vettenuts.net/index.php?l...t_detail&p=753
*Wheel well insulation - Dodomat from Sound Deadening Shop (UK supplier)
*Head unit - Pumpkin KD-C0224 from Amazon
*PAC ROEM-VET1 harness adapter - eBay
*Shift **** - Lathe Werks Engineering (really good service)
*Auto shift adapter - eBay
*Shifter and handbrake boots - Redline Goods
*Door window scrapers - Rockauto
All work was done by Exotic Customs in the UK and as always their work was outstanding.
It started with stripping out the interior
The bezel taking shape
Some plastic welding, this is from behind the bezel:
Carbon finish on the shift boot to match the seat patches
The new interior
Reversing camera goodness
