[simplicityinsound]

NSX is a car we have a love/hate relationship with...we love how it looks, and from past experience, we think it actually sounds very good with the right kind of install, but our aging bodies hate it, as it is somewhat of a back breaker to work on and some of the parts in the dash are pretty darn fragile

This particular 96 model came to us initially in dire need of a dash rebuild, as the previous attempt at mounting a single din pioneer 80PRS and a mobile police scanner did not work out well. after some discussions, it is decided a very simple two way active system with be part of the deal as well, with processing provided by the already existent 80PRS.

goals:

1. repair broken stock dash panel and integrate already existing equipment

2. achieve a nice level of sonic performance with all equipment located in the cabin

3. keep all equipment and installation as hidden as possible

lets get started, first, three quick shots of the car, which came in a very unique color called midnight pearl, which actually is dark deep purple to my eyes, and as with any nsx, the car ages very well, and still looks great after all these years:

here is a quick pic of the original reason the owner came to us...to repair his broken dash...i dont think i need to say more other than it was for sure in need of some assistance

so after some work, here is what joey came up with. its hard to tell but the entire center portion of the console trim was rebuilt out of acrylic. now the 80PRS and the scanner are nicely flush mounted, and the customer wanted the bass knob, a switch his radar detection system and a usb ported mounted below the headunit, so thats where they went. note also the shape of the opening around the AC controls was modified

some build pics of the dash, first, the middle section of the dash was outline and transfered onto a piece of mdf. then, usning the sonus audio evol templates, joey was able to create an opening that matches the scanner and transfer that onto the wood:

then joey fabricated a new mounting bracket for the scanner:

and after the same has been done for the 80prs, everything was test fitted to the car using the mdf piece:

in the previous picture you will note the bottom portion of the console trim was stripped and prepped and is now ready for paint, the same procedure was done on the top portion of the panel:

and then, the mdf dash panel was transfered to acrylic, which is the actual piece that will be used in the car:

then it was time to test fit it once more:

after that, the brackets for the mounting was ready to go back in the car, jesse rigged up the wiring harnesses for the two units, and the units were bolted into the dash:

and a final look at the painted middle section before it went into the car:

moving onto the doors, first jesse ran new wires into the doors, two pair per door:

then he fabricated a pair of spacer baffles and coated them in truck bedliner to protect them against the elements:

then the outter door was sound proofed with blackhole tile, while the inner door received some stinger foam, and the spacer baffle was bolted in place:

the outter door skin also got some cld damper treatment to help with resonance:

the same procedure was performed on the passenger side:

 

[simplicityinsound]

moving on to the amp mounting. a single arc audio 1100.5 powers the entire system active. the customer wanted all the components in the cabin and directed us to mount the amp behind the passenger side seat. so here it is after jesse mounted and wired it up:

here are some quick shots of the amp mounting and the wires that are run to the area...first the fuse holder bolted to a oem brace next to the battery:

the power cable cam down the passenger side while the rca and speaker wires came down the middle of the car, ultimately meeting in the area around the amp mounting:

as for the amp rack itself, it is a piece of mdf that has been bolted via brackets to two mounting points at the top, and two rivetnuts at the bottom, the grounding point is also directly below the amp as close as possible, secured via a single bolt:

and finally, the amp mounted and wired up:

finally, the sub enclosure. as with the previous nsx install by us, we chose to do a front passenger foot well enclosure. it features an integrated grille so the normal view is pretty stealthy:

pull off the grille and a single audiomobile elite 2208 8" sub can be seen, it resides in a sealed enclosure of just below .5cubic foot:

some build pics of the enclosure, as performed by jesse.

first, he taped off the entire area:

and then the initial back mold was laid down:

once that cured, it was mated to a two piece front baffle and sealed with duraglass:

then the mold was extended to cover the wood forming a single piece enclosure:

then the enclosure was laid back into the car, the gaps backfilled with filler, and the result is what you see here:

then it was carpeted and bolted to the car, and finally, a shot of the press fit grille:

sonically, the car sounds pretty good, its tonality not to different than the previous nsx we did, which featured the same speakers, this one, being actively powered and controlled, offered a real sound stage and imaging...the stage height is really not bad at all consider the drivers are at the bottom of the door, i would say at or above dash level with some slightly rainbowing at the end. the audiomobile 8" driver provides a decent amount of bottom end reinforcement and works well with various types of music.

so overall, a cool car that is pleasing to drive is now also a pleasing place to enjoy music

cheers,

Bing

 

[bengl3rt]

sonically, the car sounds pretty good, its tonality not to different than the previous nsx we did, which featured the same speakers, this one, being actively powered and controlled, offered a real sound stage and imaging...the stage height is really not bad at all consider the drivers are at the bottom of the door, i would say at or above dash level with some slightly rainbowing at the end. the audiomobile 8" driver provides a decent amount of bottom end reinforcement and works well with various types of music.

Bing is being modest. Everyone who gets in the car says two things:

1) Did you add a rear stage? Because I definitely hear "surround sound" (answer: no)

2) After hearing what parts you had and where they were mounted I was not expecting it to sound anywhere near this good.

Thanks for the awesome build and build log Bing!! You are a true disco wizard of the EQ and the TA and squeeze the best possible sound out of every component. I look forward to driving this car even more now and feel lucky that I can go sit and listen to it any time I want

 

[mires]

I was hoping you would use those Morel's again. I don't think I could ever get tired of NSX builds. One of my all time favorite cars.

 

[bigbubba]

Incredible job as always guys. I have one question though about the dash bezel. If you already had it made out of mdf why do it again in acrylic?

 

[Coppertone]

I see someone's Legacy GT is in the shop. Hopefully the build is near completion and ready to share with us Subaru owners.

 

[simplicityinsound]

coppertone...wait about an hour and check again

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks!

The MDF was just a template. I use acrylic for things that I want an extra level of durability on. That dash, with the car being a T-top version, is exposed to the sun and possibly other elements. The acrylic will provide a very stable material in those adverse conditions. Acrylic also machines very well and the lines stay true over a long period of time (whereas MDF is soft and if it got bumped or knicked it would become compromised).
It is a more work, but produces a higher quality piece comparable or better than OEM...

Incredible job as always guys. I have one question though about the dash bezel. If you already had it made out of mdf why do it again in acrylic?

 

[REGULARCAB]

I want one whatever that Evol template thingy dealy bopper doohicky jig is.

 

[[email protected]]

This is the full set..

Available here. Lifetime replacement warranty on all the parts:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sonus-Car-Audio/133186830041128?sk=app_184367687735

I want one whatever that Evol template thingy dealy bopper doohicky jig is.

 

[REGULARCAB]

This is the full set..

Available here. Lifetime replacement warranty on all the parts:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sonus-Car-Audio/133186830041128?sk=app_184367687735

Yup, I like it, I like it a lot I have been searching for router templates for a while now, that looks right up my ally.

 

[JayinMI]

If you follow the CarAudioFabrication FB group, Mark who started the group and Brian from Mobile Solutions have a new "Covert" template set for a smoking deal. I believe they're on the MS website now. Might be a good starting point.

Jay

 

[REGULARCAB]

If you follow the CarAudioFabrication FB group, Mark who started the group and Brian from Mobile Solutions have a new "Covert" template set for a smoking deal. I believe they're on the MS website now. Might be a good starting point.

Jay

Jay, you did NOT just show my that website.

Oh btw that NSX is sick. I unfortunately was too young to drive when my mother had one.

 

[req]

it makes me so happy to see the NSX get repaired by the best!

 

[ReloadedSS]

Great job as always - that center console build is really nice and clean, befitting such a beautiful car.