Few Stereo Questions for 96 Civic

HI everyone,

I am going to install a sound system in the Missus' car as a present and have a few questions that need answering. Normally I would suss the car out myself as I have a fair bit of experience with stereos, but as it is a surprise it is kinda hard to get anytime with the car.

Firstly the car is a 96 hatch (not real good with Hondas, think that is an EK?? ) and it is an Auto, ok so onto the questions:

1) Where is the best place to run power cable (4 gauge) through the firewall?
2) What size are the standard door and hatch speakers and what fits easily? (most likely only installing coax speakers)
3) Has anyone ever done a moulded fibreglass sub enclosure behind the tail light? how much room is there (volume wise) ?
4) is there room under one of the front seats for a small amp?

That is all the questions I have for now, thanks in advance for any help :thumbsup:

1) i think theres only 1 place to run it through the firewall and youll see it

2) 6-6.5" on the doors (you might need to modify/cut out depending on the speakers shape) and 6x9 on the rears

3) Theres not much space even if you remove the trims off.

4) Theres room under the seats for an medium to large amp. I had a pretty big pioneer one fit snuggly under the driver seat.

Cheers for the info mate.

are the standard rears 6x9s? I thought i remember them being round speakers and I don't really wanna deal with 6x9s

i opened my rear speaker covers, they are indeed 6x9's

1) Where is the best place to run power cable (4 gauge) through the firewall? Probably the best and most efficient is through the firewall,
2) What size are the standard door and hatch speakers and what fits easily? (most likely only installing coax speakers) for the ek doors its 6 inch, you can go 6.5 with a little modifications, on the rear hatches its 6by9s
3) Has anyone ever done a moulded fibreglass sub enclosure behind the tail light? how much room is there (volume wise) ? depends what sub you have or want to mould into the rear and it is possible with a bit of fabrication work
4) is there room under one of the front seats for a small amp? yes there is room have you considered mounting it on rear of back seats for ventilation?

delete

Quote:

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Originally Posted by na-118

1) Where is the best place to run power cable (4 gauge) through the firewall? Probably the best and most efficient is through the firewall,
2) What size are the standard door and hatch speakers and what fits easily? (most likely only installing coax speakers) for the ek doors its 6 inch, you can go 6.5 with a little modifications, on the rear hatches its 6by9s
3) Has anyone ever done a moulded fibreglass sub enclosure behind the tail light? how much room is there (volume wise) ? depends what sub you have or want to mould into the rear and it is possible with a bit of fabrication work
4) is there room under one of the front seats for a small amp? yes there is room have you considered mounting it on rear of back seats for ventilation?

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Should have been a little more specific, cheers for your response though na-118.

1) is there a preferred gromet that people have used in the firewall? being an Auto im assuming there is one where the clutch would go.
2) all good for this one (apart from having stupid 6x9s back there)
3) I was going to use a 10 inch but it looks like there isn't much room available so might have to go an 8. I was kinda hoping some one had done it and could give me a rough estimate of how many litres are available there.
4) I want the amp out of the way, if there is clearance under the seat then there will be plenty of ventilation to keep it cool.

1. any grommet will do. unless you mean which specific firewall hole people prefer, in that case theres only one.
2. all good here
3. how much volume depends how far out the baffle is from the rear wall, and the shape/contours of the front.. but in a ek hatch, i reckon you can get 1cuft in each rear corner well - which is perfect for most 10"s & 12"s subs, so no need to limit yourself to 8" ones.
4. dimensions of the amp would help. or just place the amp under there yourself to test & see if it can.

as for the hole in the firewall. me and a mate found one and it came out just behind the fuse box in the drivers footwell

Cheers lads,

Just checked out the missus car slightly (gotta be sneaky!). Everything is good for now, amp fits under the seat, speakers are easily sorted.

Just gotta work out how to fit a sub, if your right (averson) about being able to get a cubic foot then that is plenty of room.

thanks for all the responses, I can post a build thread if anyone is interested when i get around to it.

I'm also wanting to install some new speakers and a sub in my ek1!

Is it easy to pull out the side trims to run the wires?

What side did people run the power, and what side did you run the rca's,remote?

Where did you everyone earth their amp? Pics would be awesome.

Is this the prefered gromet for the power guage every one is refering to?

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/3928/enginebayw.jpg

Cheers fellas

Quote:

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Originally Posted by arghtype

I'm also wanting to install some new speakers and a sub in my ek1!

Is it easy to pull out the side trims to run the wires?

What side did people run the power, and what side did you run the rca's,remote?

Where did you everyone earth their amp? Pics would be awesome.

Is this the prefered gromet for the power guage every one is refering to?

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/3928/enginebayw.jpg

Cheers fellas

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yep thats the one we used, we ran the RCA's down the passenger side of the car and the power cable on the drivers side. and as for earthing just move back the carpet in the boot and find an easy point to attach it too and sandpaper it so its touching the metal

thanks for the reply mate. Could you please some up some pics of your ground/earth setup?

Also, I cant seem to pull out the side trim...did you completely take it off?..any tips?

cheers

Quote:

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Originally Posted by arghtype

thanks for the reply mate. Could you please some up some pics of your ground/earth setup?

Also, I cant seem to pull out the side trim...did you completely take it off?..any tips?

cheers

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yea man no probs, i'll take some pics of it tomorrow, and my earth set up will be different to yours as i have an EJ8 (the coupe version) but it will give you some idea.

Im having some trouble with uploading the picture, will get them up ASAP

There should be one right near the battery.
I've got all my engine bay wiring running through this grommet, including a 4g sub wire.
makes it easy for wiring to the battery, so theres less unnecessary wires running through the engine area.
it should come out in the passagers side, (bit fiddly to find, but it's never easy in any car) which you then just run down the side of the car under the door trims and panels.

The red wire attached with the fuse is the amp power wire. as you can see it runs behind the battery and fuse box to a big grommet there
http://i53.tinypic.com/a3leh0.jpg

i ran my power down the passenger side grommet where the car fuse wires go into the car.
i ran the rcas down the centre of the car and the power on the edge of the passenger side.
Best way to do this is to take off the passegner seat and lift the carpet, its easier
i mounted my amp under the passenger seat, and i mounted it using sticker sided velcro to the carpet 6 pieces and its stuck very very tough,.

grounding of the amp was made by sanding back some bare metal from a raised point where the passenger seat bolt is.or you can dril a new hole and do a bolt which i did.

this set up will ensure you the least amount of power cable hopefully save you some money since theyre expensive.

good luck hope that helps