Audio upgrade

[nicowalker1]

My car is due an audio system upgrade. When I bought the car in 2008 I replaced the door speakers but for some reason did not replace the rubber domes within the doors . Since then I my situation has changed and I no longer have access to the location where they were kept...
Has anyone upgraded or changed the rubber surrounds within the door or have any ideas what I could use?

I also would like to upgrade the head unit to one that has a screen to utilise Car Play for music streaming and navigation. Have any of you used one of the larger screens in your Elan's? How do they look? Do they get in the way?

Another consideration is to modify the speaker housings behind the seats to take 6x9's for a tad more lower end.

I am just looking for inspiration/advice/experience.

[stevie-a]

I did my system this spring, 6.5” speakers all round with under seat sub on bulkhead behind the seat.
Firstly, like you I did not replace the rubber ring as it is only for 4” speakers, I don’t notice any difference, putting the sub behind the driver’s seat really makes the sound pop.
As for head unit, been there done that, got the T shirt. Did it on my Triumph, in my opinion not worth it, get a good Bluetooth head unit, I tried 3 different head units when the roof is down you can’t see the screen anyway. Also, I changed the wiring so the head unit works with the ignition.

This is what i did to my Triumph first



Then i tried this, you can even see the reflection, I even tried a none reflection film but it was rubbish/



This is what I done to my Elan.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6jZiC1s77MorSsfT6


.

[Tuga2112]

are you 100% set on getting a radio with a screen ? or are you open to other alternatives ?

I Have thought about the same for a while, and i have a flip up screen on my Celica which i know for a fact wont fit in the M100 adequately.

Its a shame you didnt go to Castle Combe. Tony showed me hes setup. which was effectively a phone holder on the radio. and looked rather nice
I have also designed something on the same idea but using a Dash blank instead.

the video is the first prototipe. but you can get an general idea of the goal.

and this other video is the instalation as it stands which i dont think i will be updating any further.

With a radio that automagically connects to the phone via bluetooth i find this to be more than adequate for my use.

[stevie-a]

Tuga I have seen the radio you are talking about and agree with you that Bluetooth from phone is good, I’m also looking at doing USB ports, but wand something very neat, so looking at USB C port.
This is what I have at the moment:

The port



The Power reducer



Although this one is 15w I’m trying to find a 25W to work with more modern phones as they will need more power to run and stay charged.

[dunnlor]

A feature I recommend considering is Automatic Sound Leveling. During driving, noise in the car changes according to the driving speed and road conditions. The automatic sound levelizer (ASL) monitors such varying noise and automatically increases the volume level, if this noise becomes greater. The sensitivity (variation of volume level to noise level) of ASL can be set to one of five levels. It eliminates the need to turn the volume down at stop lights. The receiver I have is a Pioneer DEH-80PRS.

Tom

[Tuga2112]

USB C is nice because is small. but its not widely available.

for phones made in the past 5 years and more recent it will work fine. but the usb3 plug is backwards compatible with older stuff. including charger bricks, led lights, cameras, and whatever other gadgets that you can find

What i used was this fast charger circuit. but being a "circuit" you dont get a neat package with it... not a problem when one is already modeling and 3d printing the whole shebang. but obviously not an option to everyone


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335700713601
with Output power: up to 24 w (5 v / 3.4A, 9 v / 2.5A, 12 v / 2A, etc.)

if you check my channel. i have a video showing the multiple iterations of the design. the very first one. is just the charger. and i used a AC switch to do it. im particularly proud of that one.

[dapinky]

Tuga I have seen the radio you are talking about and agree with you that Bluetooth from phone is good, I’m also looking at doing USB ports, but wand something very neat, so looking at USB C port.

Steve,
This is what I have just fitted (the day before Castle Combe) to Angies car - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D69SF2MM? ... asin_title

It has 2xUSB-A & 1xUSB-C.... the USB-C has plenty of power output for anything I need (It will charge the laptop).

Not as small as some other units, but I favour function over form (within reason).

I fitted it against the rear bulkhead, between the seats so it was very easy to wire to the electrics (I took the power feed from the Mobile Phone connection block, and earth to the Ground Pin black box).... both within 12" of the unit I fitted. The location may not suit everyone, but it works for me. I have one to go in my car, and it will go where the ashtray used to be - but in Angies car that space is taken by a reversing camera screen. I also have the bulkhead socket for the battery conditioner in that location, obviously wired directly to the battery.

Joao, I hear what you say about keeping USB-A for its compatibility, but when it comes to "mobile electronics" I think it is only going to be a short time before it becomes virtually obsolete - or at least, anything that currently uses it can be used from USB-C (as it is generally just a charging circuit, not a data-transfer protocol). I only got the unit I did (they do them with various combinations of ports) because I still have some stuff that uses USB-A charging cables, and can't be bothered to get a lead to plug into USB-C and then Micro USB the other end - but the reality is that it will be very rare that I use the Type C port for a laptop, and will use the Type A for my phone, torch, lantern, airbed inflator, bug-killer, jump pack, walkie-talkie and anything else needed during a trip ..... again, the reality is that the phone will be plugged in if I am using google maps or staying away overnight - anything else is unlikely to need it, but will be there if I do.

[Tuga2112]

i agree usb c is quickly becoming the defacto standard. im sure a future iteration of my unit will be using it.

[stevie-a]

First bit done.

[stevie-a]

All done for the slow charger, I will be fitting a fast charge USB C
to the door side of the dash at some point.
This one is permanent live so I can put my phone on charge when I am at a show or camping so I don't need to have the ignition on.
The fast charge will be through the ignition.

[Tuga2112]

This one is permanent live so I can...

my first instalation of a usb charger (back in 17-18) was like that.

i found it
1 - caused a parasitic drain
2 - had black connections when i removed it.

thats the reason why mine is switched. (with the butchered AC switch you may have came across before)

if I used a conditioner like some do, I Would never had found those issues.

my advise is to keep an eye on it just in case.

[stevie-a]

Yeah Tuga, I get what you are saying,
I will be keeping a eye on voltage drop, I have my battery conditioner disconnected for this reason.

[peteoddcar]

I’ve got a decent quality (Apple I think) ciggy lighter USB switched with ignition.
Sound is from a modern retro Blaupunkt, Pioneer inline amp Alpine front speakers and JBL 9” elliptical rears
Sometimes I think it sounds great, other times I turn it all off and listen to the car doing its job.