With the use of this harness, I was able to retain the factory backup camera and all of the other features of the vehicle.
The owner can now utilize her Apple Carplay or AndroidAuto to get Pandora, Spotify and much more!
So I'd just barely installed this system in a clients Toyota 4Runner.....but she needed to upgrade shortly after that...luckily her new Chevy Traverse could be upgraded as well....so I pulled the Kenwood unit and installed it in her new SUV.
With the use of this harness, I was able to retain the factory backup camera and all of the other features of the vehicle. The owner can now utilize her Apple Carplay or AndroidAuto to get Pandora, Spotify and much more!
0 Comments
A very nice client brought in her Mid 2000s Toyota 4Runner for an audio boost as well as a safety upgrade.
She'd already had a Flip-Out Pioneer AVIC-N1 Navigation unit....which, back in the day, was a great feature-packed unit. BUT......this is 2018....it was time to refresh it and bring it into today's tech greatness. We did the Kenwood DMX7704S touchscreen bluetooth unit with Apple CarPlay / Android Auto, Pandora, Spotify and HD Radio. With some minor tweaking, I was able to squeeze that DDIN unit in there where there was once a Single Din Pioneer....luckily she kept her stock radio or I would have been in a bit of trouble! Next up....a bit of piece of mind for her as she's driving and/or back up. I added the EchoMaster Microwave Blind Spot Sensor kit. This unit is a VERY nice addition to ANY vehicle. It'll visually alert you as you back up or generally drive around to what's behind you and to your sides / blind spots. It will audibly alert you when you activate your turn signals...which is VERY helpful for when you're messing with your phone via your new headunit upgrade and you attempt to change lanes without looking :-D Local client wanted to upgrade his existing Alpine stereo with the new hotness via a Kenwood Touchscreen Bluetooth Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatible headunit.
His Dodge had the classic Din.5 unit and in order to get a full Double DIN headunit in there, luckily all he had to get was a whole new dash faceplate....the next gen up you have to get an entire new dash piece that can run $300+ easily. So, after drilling out the old faceplate, I lined up the new one and securely mounted it up and ensured proper fitment/gaping. Then removed quite a bit of factory bracing inside the truck....as that massive DDIN unit won't just slide in there without doing so. The fitment looked SOO good on this unit....like it belonged. The Kenwood units are super nice and provide way more integration than one might think.....on this Dodge, however, since it's an older truck, it can't fully utilize most of those features...but it does look good in there! Had a customer swing in his Toyota Sequoia for a quick speaker install with a new headunit.
Little bit easier said than done....he didn't mention that he had the Factory Installed JBL System....which is a decent system to start with....but he wanted to get rid of a noticeable hiss in the passenger side....which was from the factory mid-bass woofer. So, after some router wizardry, I made a perfect ABS adapter to mount the new JBL component woofer into the factory bracket and fitted the new tweeter in the factory spot as well. Then I moved my attention to the new bluetooth headunit we got and had this thing bumpin! Wifey was happy, so dude was happy! NEXT!!! Return client brought in his Dodge Ram for a fix to an unexpected solution!
Someone broke into his truck and jacked his stereo he had.....so he used that as an excuse to splurge and get an even better unit! He went with the Kenwood Excelon DDS9903S touchscreen unit with full Android Auto and Apple Car play, as well as Bluetooth, Aux and USB inputs. He went the extra mile and added iDataLink's Maestro RR module so that he can monitor certain OEM inputs from his Ram....such as RPMs, Boost, Temperatures (multiple), MPH and even Door-Open Sensors....pretty gnarly. I also installed an Echo-Master Back-up Camera as well. Pretty neat to use the Maestro + Kenwood pairing....super slick! Have you ever wanted to cram sooooo many electronics into your vehicle...almost doubling the 'worth' of it?
I know right? So have I!! This 2016 Subaru Crosstrek owner felt the same way.....kinda. Here is how the e-mail read: "I want a WiFi Enabled Touchscreen stereo...witht he works." After a few back and forth emails, we determined that "The Works" literally means anything and everything Trax Customs can do Electronically. SO Here is what I installed in this otherwise incognito vehicle: Kenwood DNN992 Navigation, BT, WiFi, Touchscreen, DVD Multimedia Stereo Arc Audio XDi1100.1 5 Channel Amplifier Arc Audio XDI 6.2 Component Speakers (Front Doors) Arc Audio XDi 602 Coaxial Speakers (Rear Doors) Arc Audio Arc-10 10" Subwoofer Custom Fiberglass 10" Subwoofer Box Stinger Professional Noise Reduction Throughout K40 RL360i Professional Radar and Laser Defense Brandmotion 360 Degree Camera System EchoMaster Rear Side Collision Detection System AUDIO SYSTEM The biggest hurdle here was the owner wasn't 100% certain what she was getting into....mainly when she saw the subwoofer box I had gotten here....a small ported 10" wooden box. That wouldn't work because she needed the cargo room in the rear....so, I didn't want to NOT install a woofer, so I opted to custom fabricate her a fiberglass box in the rear passenger cargo area. Tape, Wood, Resin, and fabric helped construct this box and I was able to only take up 2" of actual usable cargo space while getting .67 cubic feet of airspace for this Arc sub to perform at optimal performance...and it sure does get down and dirty. It was covered in Black Carpet and secured to the OEM panel it covered up. I installed the 5 channel amplifier under the passenger front seat and this allowed plenty for room to fit all the necessary wires easily for future maintenance if needed....with plenty of clearance under the seat. Once the amp was installed, I ran new wires from there to each door, into the door jams and to the new speaker locations...which replaced the stock speakers. I then applied Noise Reduction material on the External layer of door then sealed up the 'service holes' on the inner door skins and sealed those up.....creating a box to product plenty of midbass front and rear. The front dash speakers were replaced with the ARc 602 component tweeters and I fabricated adapter plates to mount to the OEM location/bolts. The crossovers had a nice place to rest in the front footwell area...which allows for easy maintenance if needed. All wires were Tesa-taped for an OEM look and noise reduction as well. The Kenwood unit was a pretty extensive unit to install. It has built-in Navigation, so an external navigation antenna was ran. The WiFi dongle and an additional USB port was ran into the glove box. The OEM USB Input and Aux Input were Retained in the center console. The OEM Steering Wheel controls were all Retained and function as they did before. The Bluetooth Unit was installed in the upper driver pillar for hands-free operation. The 'Speak-to-Talk/Text' button was installed near the drivers Left Hand for ease of use. The Satellite Radio Module was ran and installed next to the GPS antenna. The Rear and Front camera inputs were utilized with the 360 degree system, later explained. REAR SIDE COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEM This was a fairly simple addition...since I was already removing the bumper for the rear radar system. This system uses 2 sensors that attach to the rear bumper and detect anything close once the vehicle is moving. I placed the 2 visual indicators in the front A Pillars where the side mirrors are located so they'll be visible when turning or changing lanes. They indicators will light up whenever it detects objects in the rear and the speaker will audibly beep if your turn signals are activated (turning or changing lanes)....very useful and can be added to any vehicle. 360 DEGREE CAMERA SYSTEM This was a fun one...I've wanted to do a system like this for years since I first saw it at SEMA. It utilizes a Front, Rear and 2 side cameras...then can 'stitch' them together to form a 'top' image for precise parking. The Rear camera will come on when the vehicle is placed in Reverse; but it will also show the 360 image as well. Then, at the press of a button on the Kenwood unit AND the wired controller in the center console, the driver can monitor each camera separately as needed, while driving. The most useful will be the Front camera while in motion so you don't hit curbs or anything.....but this can be very useful when parking. The main brain was installed under the driver seat along with all other sensors with this build. K40 Radar and Laser Defense This right here ladies and gents is ONE BAD Mamajama! This Subi has a Front and Rear Hidden Radar receiver that can detect X, K, KA and many other radar signals from miles away and alert you Audibly and Visually. The front recieved 2 Laser Jammers as well...that I Frenched-into the front grill. I placed the 2 Visual LED Indicators into the Rear-View Mirror, behind the mirror...so it's completely hidden out of sight. The RL360i controller was tucked into a nice OEM appearance next to the dimmer switch on the dash for easy use whilst driving; but looks OEM enough that you'd never suspect it as an aftermarket Radar/Laser defense mechanism. The speaker and brain was installed under the driver seat. All-in-All this was a massive project...not like a full-vehicle build...but with the amount of wires going into this and how much more tech is thrown into this Subi.....it makes for an interesting ride, that's for sure. The Noise Reduction makes you feel like your in a Caddy, the Sound...well that can't be replicated by ANY OEM Manufacturer...the 360 and Rear Collision Systems are something most newer vehicles come with...but the Radar system is something that will more than likely never be offered by OEM ever.....so this Subi will be incognito on the road...which was the point, but the owner will have a smile on her face for years to come!! This was a fun dual project for us here at Trax Customs.
A Local Military gentleman brought in his 2013 Dodge Ram pickup with product he previously purchased and needed help installing it. He purchased a new Kenwood headunit, a Pioneer Amplifier and Dual Ported Kicker Subwoofers. He also wanted his window tinted....so we both knocked out everything he needed and finished it just in time of him getting off duty at the end of the day. We'll hopefully be doing more to this truck in the near future! Had a repeat customer bring his RAV4 back in this weekend.
First round we did a Digital Media Deck with backup camera and new JL Components up front and coaxials in the rear. The sound was....MEH.....and the deck was a pretty horrid attempt at a digital media player...but it worked....for a bit. Round 2, customer wanted better sound, and fully amplified was the only way to go. We nuked the deck and went with a basic deck that gave him front access to the USB and Aux inputs. This did away with the backup camera screen, so we added and over-head screen to see when in reverse. We amplified the already good speakers with a Kenwood 4 channel amp and pumped up the bass with a JL Audio 500 watt mono amp powering a ported 8" JL woofer. All in all, the customer was happy, the highs were high and the lows were low.....a good install on labor day weekend! Customer brought his Hyundai XG350 in to get an audio and visual makeover.
The issue was not a whole lot of companies make things for this car. Especially not a ddin conversion faceplate....or an Infinity retention module....so all of that had to be custom done. Clarion headunit went in without an issue, the only problem was the trim plate...which I did a mix of plastic and body filler to make the tight lines fit. The Clarion then sent it's signal to a Kenwood 1800 watt amp that then pushed a 10" Kicker L7 subwoofer in a slot ported box. This system sounded really good in this car, very little vibrations....there were some in the rear trunk lid and license plate; which I quickly took care of with some sound deadener. The last part was to get rid of the red on the back end....so we smoked his taillights and side marker lights; also removed the dealership fake chrome badge that was on it....this is one good lookin' XG now! Had a returning client come back with this new car.
His old car was the Saturn DD Build I did a while back......motor blew....so he got a Mazda 3. Great little car, accepted everything without too much trouble and it sounded great. Kenwood X996 Headunit with Bluetooth, USB, Aux input and HD Radio DD Audio 5.25" High End Components Up Front DD Audio 5.25" Components in the Rear DD Audio 4 channel amp to push those DD Audio CM600 Mono to push the two DD Audio 12" 500 Series Subwoofers in a ported box There wasn't any room to mount the amps out of the way without getting crazy custom, so I did a false floor and mounted the amps and box flush. Turned out great and tuning is a breeze with this one. Busted out this quick install for a customer from up in the Sun Valley area that came all the way down for some Trax Customs assistance.
Simple install; wire up his Kenwood Mono Block Amp and he'll hook up the woofer when the custom JL box and Pioneer Premier Woofer show up in the mail. Mounted it in his hidden parcel shelf that the Dodge Magnums come with. Stealthy, out of the way, perfect what a family wagon install. Had a customer come in with an 83 Mustang Foxbody.
Basic stock turn knob radio....my favorite! This wasn't too bad...just had to get the radio out of the dash....worse shaft radio one yet. It's like the manufacturer puts in the radio first...then builds the car. In order to get this bad boy out you have to dismantle the enture center console, then start undoing the dash.....79.5 screws and bolts later, you're able to strong arm that radio outta there. The other issue with this car is that it's got a common ground speaker system...which is usually fun. This one was easy, sometimes they can be a realy pain. Made a simple trim piece to match the existing trim piece and we're good to go now. Cheers! Adding to last years upgrade:
Installed a Mono Block Alpine amplifier to push a JL woofer in a ported box. Rewired the rear speakers to be on the 4 channel Alpine as well. Cheers Had a good friend of mine come in for some audio upgrades to her Jeep Liberty.
New deck with iPod, HD Radio, Bluetooth, and Auxillary input. Kenwoods lineup fit her needs perfectly. For sound, I hooked her up with a 400 watt Digital Designs 2 channel amp pushing two 12" Memphis Street Reference Subwoofers in a slot ported box. Amp is mounted under the seat so it's hidden and out of the way....and the subwoofer box can be unplugged so the full rear can be used for storage/hauling. Overall, I'm impressed with the output of the Memphis Street Reference subs and the simplistic design that the DD Audio amps have. So this build has been an on-going project.
Customer had a local shop do most of the work, but after many failed attempts, the system still isn't working 100%. Horrible alternator whine and another whine that's not caused by the engine. Possibly the DVD players fault, but that'll be gone here soon (why i'm turning this into a projet). Today's bill: Sound deaden the doors to the MAX and install some grounding straps to attempt to supress the noise. These doors are SOLID! Cheers Had a veteran bring in his newly purchased Chevrolet Impala for an amp/sub/deck install.
Deck was easy, amp and subs were a bit different. Needed to make room for a cap as well, so the cap went down low and the amp went up on the rear deck. Subs were bolted to the floor and the customer was stoked! Cheers Had a Nissan Frontier in tonight...busted out a deck and sub/amp install. Whomever sold the customer the amp/sub combo sold them the wrong Sub/Amp combo, but still, with the sub only seeing 200 watts, it still pounded...customer was happy, so that's all the matter.
Yet another reason why Trax Customs is your place to go for all your vehicle needs.....we'll do it right the first time! Cheers! Busted out a quick install last night for a client. Pretty cool, as this was probably the first 'Pawn Shop' install I've done where it wasn't JUNK product. Owner picked up an Alpine M5D M500 amp, had all digital controls with temperature, voltage and amperage displays....pretty neat.
Quick and dirty install, sounded pretty damn good, and customer was happy. Cheers |
Trax CustomsWe're your one stop shop for all your car audio stereo, iPod, Bluetooth, Navigation sales and installation needs in Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Eagle, Garden City, Mt Home, Caldwell, Emmett, Kuna and the surrounding areas. Diesel and Gas performance and suspension and custom fabrication all in one location. Boat audio and visual as well as home theater sales and installation. We've got the Archives
July 2018
Categories
All
|