Thread: 2002 Honda Civic

i gave it a 4 because to be honest, the teardown looked more thorough than the build.

I'll will say this: It's difficult to get such a tight and functional fit around a screen like that when you're going freeform with fillers and such. The corners could probably use a little straightening, as well as the edges.

The choice of switches below the screen to the left of the cigarette lighter i think is appropriate, but the gap above it leaves a little something to be desired.

As for the AC plugs in the console... I like the idea, but again, the visible bolts, the location of the outlets... again, nothing obscenely bad about it, but nothing awe inspiring either.

I think the tweeter installation is probably the best looking part of this install so far... but unless that's hot glue, or it drops in from the front, it's a little too permanent for my tastes. But that's a purely subjective observation.
The woofers... That's a tough call, but just first impressions, I think there's a bit of an issue with isolation between the front and back of the driver. I don't think the door trim seals against the speaker frame and the door well enough to really consider it an acoustically sound installation (as cars go). An MDF ring here as a spacer might have been a better alternative.

As for the crossover... i don't know what I'm looking at... foam and packing tape?

I like the choice of hard drives, but i feel the implementation could have been better thought out. Having used a "My Book" hard disk before, i feel like a dock for this might be more appropriate than plugging in AC and USB each time... and not at all hard or time consuming to do.

Finally... the trunk. Don't get me wrong, the components he's chosen for his system are fine but it just seems like he ran out of gas on trying to get this done clean. The subwoofer enclosure looks thrown together at best... i question the integrity of that port...and the equipment panel behind it is very well... utilitarian.

I'll finish by saying this: Building a carPC is not something you just up and do. It takes alot of persistence to fine tune the system itself before you ever make it look "factory" or "custom". So if it works well, as he says it does,then i give it a 10 for that. Let's be honest... there are few systems out there that operate without compromise. Without seeing it in person or using it though, i just don't know. I think most who browse the "showoff" forum will agree that there seems to be a precedent set that places nearly equal value on the quality of the install in addition to the functionality. This just seems to be lacking in that department.

Please don't read this as a judgment on your character or your talents (or anybody's for that matter). As a designer/engineer myself, especially in school, I know what it's like to pour your best efforts into something, only to have it thoroughly panned by someone whom you may feel has no part in it. I however, placed the real value on those people who took time to explain and qualify their impressions and learned from what they had to say.

What I hope you get from this is a drive to take your install to the next level and just really polish it. Consider all the little details and be vigilant in seeing that they are taken care of.

I understand this is still a work in progress, even though the posts hold it out as complete. These things are never done.

So with that, I stand by my vote, and anxiously await the chance to give it a solid 10 when it's done. Thanks for taking the time to post what you've done so far!

Very well done, some things could be better but I'll give you an 8.

First, thank you GoHybrid for the positive criticizm. It was nice to get a different perspective on some things, especially since you gave alternative ideas for some aspects, rather than just "it sucks".

Originally Posted by GoHybrid

i gave it a 4 because to be honest, the teardown looked more thorough than the build.

In the beginning of the project, i was very ambitious. I took pics of everything....I have about another 50 pics of the teardown that i didn't include. However as the project moved along, I just wanted to finish it to see if it even worked. So you are right about two things: i should have taken more pics of the installs, especially things like construction of the sub box and the touchscreen; and that I rushed toward the end to finish the amp rack and threw that reset switch in the dash at the last second.

Originally Posted by GoHybrid

I'll will say this: It's difficult to get such a tight and functional fit around a screen like that when you're going freeform with fillers and such. The corners could probably use a little straightening, as well as the edges.

For the touchscreen, i welded up a 3 point bracket to support the screen from the back. It bolts in very solid to the bezel and the screen. The fillers around the screen comprise of cut pieces of plastic, superglued in to fill the big hole on the right top corner, then bondo to fill the rest in around the screen. This was my first attempt at bondo, so it's not perfect. I got bored with the sanding process and just moved on to painting. I think if i went back and put another thin layer of bondo over the whole bezel and really took some time sanding it smooth, it could come out great. When I get some time I will likey do that, and repost the new pics (with the old) for comparison.

Originally Posted by GoHybrid

The choice of switches below the screen to the left of the cigarette lighter i think is appropriate, but the gap above it leaves a little something to be desired. As for the AC plugs in the console... I like the idea, but again, the visible bolts, the location of the outlets... again, nothing obscenely bad about it, but nothing awe inspiring either.

Agreed, the switch works great to reset the computer, but I need to fill in and smooth that whole piece. I am waiting, because I am still considering putting in some usb ports there to charge and listen to music from my ipod.

Originally Posted by GoHybrid

I think the tweeter installation is probably the best looking part of this install so far... but unless that's hot glue, or it drops in from the front, it's a little too permanent for my tastes. But that's a purely subjective observation.
The woofers... That's a tough call, but just first impressions, I think there's a bit of an issue with isolation between the front and back of the driver. I don't think the door trim seals against the speaker frame and the door well enough to really consider it an acoustically sound installation (as cars go). An MDF ring here as a spacer might have been a better alternative.

The tweeter is installed from the front, and yes that is hot glue. The hot glue isn't structural, it was just something to guarantee that the tweeter wouldn't vibrate in the pod. I didn't want to have to remove it later because it was vibrating.

As for the woofers, i spent more time thinking about that then anything else. The problem is that the door panel seats completely around the speaker right to the metal on the door. So if i had used MDF, the circle would have been so thin around the bolt holes that it might have cracked and broken. So the solution I came up with is not perfect, because as you said they are not totally isolated, but after listening to it, it sounds good enough for me.

Originally Posted by GoHybrid

As for the crossover... i don't know what I'm looking at... foam and packing tape?

yep that's basically it. I ran out of space in the door frame, so i wraped the crossovers in foam and squished them into the doors. They are squished in pretty tight, so they won't move around. Again, not an ideal solution, but I also won't keep this car forever so they need to come back out someday.

Originally Posted by GoHybrid

I like the choice of hard drives, but i feel the implementation could have been better thought out. Having used a "My Book" hard disk before, i feel like a dock for this might be more appropriate than plugging in AC and USB each time... and not at all hard or time consuming to do.

I did not know such a thing existed.....i will be researching that right now. If you have a website or more info that you could share, it would be much appreciated. It would be really neat, if i understood what you meant by dock, to just plug the whole hard drive in and out of some sort of carrier. Right now plugging in the cords is a bit anoying, but I only use it for longer trips. The 40Gb internal drive has enough music for everyday driving.

Originally Posted by GoHybrid

Finally... the trunk. Don't get me wrong, the components he's chosen for his system are fine but it just seems like he ran out of gas on trying to get this done clean. The subwoofer enclosure looks thrown together at best... i question the integrity of that port...and the equipment panel behind it is very well... utilitarian.

yep, exactly right. at that point I just wanted to do some testing before I put anymore effort into aesthetics. The sub enclosure wasn't made of of extraordinary materials, but it's dimensions including the port size and location were calculated very accurately. I am currently a senior at the university of wisconsin, majoring in mechanical engineering. So everything was calculated to meet the design specs that Orion provided for that sub. And it sounds 10 times better than the ported enclosure that came with the sub. The port is simply an oval plastic tube, but it is reinforced quite a bit on the inside. The port runs into the box and leaves about a 1.5 inch clearance at the bottom the box. Note that the location of the box in the car was crooked at the time of the picture. I should update that because it fits nice and tight to the back of the passenger seats.

As for operation of the system as a whole: it's been successfully running in this car, exactly as you see it, since last october. The fans in the amp rack have been sufficient, and should be since they were calculated to move enough air at 90 deg F in the summer. Also the Plexi over the whole rack has protected it from numerous items that my girlfriend simply "threw" into the truck. It works flawlessly, of which I am very happy for. If i have time, I will post pics of the system running.


Again, GoHybrid, I appreciate your criticism and will definitely look into making those changes. That's half of the fun anyway; continually updating and making it better!

Looks like my dash!

Good work on the dash piece. And it is a great start.

I think Gohybrid had some very good suggestions. Have you thought about building a cover panel to hide all your amps and wiring? Your trunk setup is similar to what I went with.

Also, there are some plastic spacer rings you can purchase for 6.5" but I think yours are proably 6" speakers in a Civic? If they are 6.5's, they make a 1" spacer almost exactly the same diameter as the speaker. I fear that you might ruin your speakers wihout them.

I would use PVC pipe for your port.

I give it about a 6.5. Keep improving it and you'll be happier.

For a bit of "how-to" on docking things, i'd wander over to the MacCar forum and search for how some people (bugbyte comes to mind) are building docks for their mac minis. The process would be GREATLY simplified in the case of your MyBook hard disk because you only have 2 connectors to worry about, as opposed to the mini which has 4 very differently shaped and positioned connectors (at a minimum).

I'm on a bit of a time crunch right now, so I'll add links later if you're having trouble finding those resources...

i'm also happy to help you solve anything you're having trouble with on the fabrication end.

Originally Posted by durwood

Have you thought about building a cover panel to hide all your amps and wiring?

You mean completely covering the amp rack with carpet or something? ya I thought about it and actually that's what i did on my first one for my truck. But with it being vertical i thought it would look cool to see the stuff thru plexi. or do you just mean blocking out the plexi in some locations and leaving "windows" to the amps and computer? that might look cool.

Originally Posted by durwood

there are some plastic spacer rings you can purchase for 6.5" but I think yours are proably 6" speakers in a Civic? If they are 6.5's, they make a 1" spacer almost exactly the same diameter as the speaker. I fear that you might ruin your speakers wihout them.

ya the stock speakers for the civic were 6", but the ones in there now are 6.5. I will definitly look into getting those spacers. has anyone documented damage to speakers after running them in open air, or is that just a common fear?

Thanks for the critique!

good job, civics should all come with tvs b/c they look factory. we also have something in common, like the cigarette socket and switch. GO RADIOSHACK!

Originally Posted by AbsolutCarCrazy

good job, civics should all come with tvs b/c they look factory. we also have something in common, like the cigarette socket and switch. GO RADIOSHACK!

I'm not hip with the lingo, but what is a "tvs"?