peaty94 Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 (edited) Hello all, I've been on these forums for a couple of months and bought my first jeep back in April. Obviously I wasn't happy with the stock look after seeing many of your projects so I decided to go on a long project of my own. This is how it started out. Tank Green 4 Door, 2.8L CRD, Alpine Speakers and 18' Kahn Wheels. I thought this was a great spec for me to start out as it was pretty much standard; I wanted to have a blank canvas so I could learn about the car and empty my wallet even further haha. I'll try and be as chronological as possible! My first thing I did was to change the headlights to the the TruckerLite LED, very simple and easy swap. Whilst I was at it I changed the front bumper to the rugged ridge XHD Modular system and some smaller things like Hood catches and wheel covers. Then I sourced some incredible carbon fibre fenders. I love the Louvre style to these and the exposed carbon really give it a different look. I then decided to lift the suspension 2.25" with the OME kit; change the tyres to some 305/70/R18 Cooper Discovery's (I liked the aggressive tread which gave it a great look.) Whilst I was at it I changed the rear lights and front indicators to the JW Speaker; for me it was the only option. By now I really liked how my jeep was looking; I had a few issues with death wobble with my OEM tyres but haven't experienced any problems in the last 6 months with the Cooper Discovery's. Not sure why but maybe the thicker tyres gave more support to the axle? I played my hand at changing the grill a few times (below) but now I've ended up where I started; I didn't want the jeep looking too aftermarket and wanted to keep the staple look of the 7 slot. Im still figuring out how I can make this look better so open to suggestions! (I actually quite liked this grill but I think the top bit was a bit too big for me) The next step was to put on a winch; I wasn't too fussed with the brand as I don't think ill be using it much. I could've bought a WARN winch but would've been wasted so decided to go for something that still looked great and still had the functionality but was half the price; Rugged Ridge it was! Back to the OG grill (£40 off eBay and looked great again with a bit of TLC with a machine polisher) I decided it was time update the headhunt. I was on a road trip for a week or two in summer and this headunit was a nightmare; it crashed, froze, didn't connect and don't get me started on the maps. Im not sure what Jeep were thinking putting something from 2005 in a 2015 car. I wanted CarPlay so I updated it to the Kenwood DMX8019DABS which had wireless CarPlay. A massive improvement in UI and general usability but was let down by the sound quality. I believe that the OG headunit had a Harman Kardon amplifier and the Kenwood struggles to channel the signals it receives. I think this is due to the stock amp under glovebox which gives the headunit one signal so that the Highs, Mids and Lows go through all together so its impossible to operate the sub from the tweeters. I think I've lost 90% of the subwoofer power and I'm still looking at options to overpass this. Off topic I demo'd a R8 V10 for a week, a lot of difference between that and the GTR! Annnndddd, here we are. New 12x6 number plate holder on front and rear then Rugged Ridge rock sliders on the side and the XHD Rear Bumper. I would've preferred to have different rockslides but I wanted to a have a 'current' theme using the same materials all round, obviously the best way to do this is stick with the same brand all round! Great quality and it looks amazing! FYI I do all the work myself with the help of my neighbour except the suspension as I lacked the tools, skills and time to do it myself. My jeep is currently in the work shop getting fender liners fitted to there front arches and they're taking the rear ones out to give it a clean look but lining it with stone chip I believe. At the same time they're cleaning and spraying the whole underside of the jeep so it looks fresh and keeps its protected as day one. My next step after this is to get a new bonnet/hood as Ive found a chip of rust developing so instead of paying to get it all resprayed I might as well make it look more aggressive at the same time. The audio situation has me really baffled. I believe there's a stock amplifier somewhere in the car but do I rip it out and change amplifier so the headunit can understand it; but if I do this how do I keep the rear sub functional? Do I rip that out too? Ideas would be more than welcome and I hope you like my project! (I got rid of the GTR and got this beauty. Aston Martin Vantage V8. Easily the best car I've ever owned and would love to colour match my jeep this colour, China Grey!) Edited January 19, 2020 by peaty94 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peaty94 Posted January 19, 2020 Author Share Posted January 19, 2020 38 minutes ago, Jim said: Your JK is looking very nice and I do love your Vantage Thankyou! I'm looking forward to seeing where I can take it! Yes, the vantage is easily my favourite spec of the car and definitely one ion my favourite V8's. Im glad Aston Martin are shifting away from the usual form factor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Volant165 Posted January 19, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted January 19, 2020 Nice selection of rigs! Run over or outrun the Zombie Apocalypse -- good options to have. Slindon Safari on 1st of March would be ideal venue to test it out (the Wrangler that is) as the site has a perfect selection of varying difficulties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Volant165 Posted January 19, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted January 19, 2020 RE: sound system. Vibe audio did a prototype sound system on my 2013 JK. I can put you in touch with them if interested. They use all existing speaker slots and upgrade them in a plug and play fashion. Also they made a special Sub woofer and housing for me. Huge difference if you don't mind giving up a little of the boot space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member doodle Posted January 19, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted January 19, 2020 (edited) My tuppence- id always swap out the factory stereo in any car i had. The amps and subs now a days can be so small but pack a punch so as Jim ^ said they may take up a little boot space but it reality, say a 8" JL Audio box, it isnt a lot! https://www.jlaudio.com/collections/car-audio-subwoofer-systems-microsub/products/cp108lg-w3v3-car-audio-microsub-subwoofer-systems-93133 Or you can get the powered one so the amp is tucked nicely on the side of the sub! https://www.jlaudio.com/collections/car-audio-subwoofer-systems-microsub-1/products/acp108lg-w3v3-car-audio-microsub-amplified-subwoofer-systems-93330 Edited January 19, 2020 by doodle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member doodle Posted January 19, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted January 19, 2020 My tuppence- id always swap out the factory stereo in any car i had. The amps and subs now a days can be so small but pack a punch so as Jim ^ said they may take up a little boot space but it reality, say a 8" JL Audio box, it isnt a lot! https://www.jlaudio.com/collections/car-audio-subwoofer-systems-microsub/products/cp108lg-w3v3-car-audio-microsub-subwoofer-systems-93133 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member doodle Posted January 19, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted January 19, 2020 dont know why theres 3x! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peaty94 Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 12 hours ago, Volant165 said: RE: sound system. Vibe audio did a prototype sound system on my 2013 JK. I can put you in touch with them if interested. They use all existing speaker slots and upgrade them in a plug and play fashion. Also they made a special Sub woofer and housing for me. Huge difference if you don't mind giving up a little of the boot space. Thats great, would it work with a 2015 model too? Do they include and amp and if so, would it be a connection to the OEM headunit or normal co-axial connectors? My Kenwood I have now has Left, right for front and rear and sub but a good amp would be able to channel this better and process the sound a lot better too. Ive pretty much written off the sub that came with the jeep unfortunately as I can't see anyway for that to connect to my sub out or a mono amp. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peaty94 Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 6 hours ago, doodle said: My tuppence- id always swap out the factory stereo in any car i had. The amps and subs now a days can be so small but pack a punch so as Jim ^ said they may take up a little boot space but it reality, say a 8" JL Audio box, it isnt a lot! https://www.jlaudio.com/collections/car-audio-subwoofer-systems-microsub/products/cp108lg-w3v3-car-audio-microsub-subwoofer-systems-93133 Or you can get the powered one so the amp is tucked nicely on the side of the sub! https://www.jlaudio.com/collections/car-audio-subwoofer-systems-microsub-1/products/acp108lg-w3v3-car-audio-microsub-amplified-subwoofer-systems-93330 Yeh to be fair I had my whole A45 system ripped out, replaced all the speakers with JL Audio, Amp and cleansweep with 2 Subs in the rear! Sounded insane; I don't want to go half hearted into something as I like to make it right the first time so will need to do as much research as I can first. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peaty94 Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 Regarding 1st March I think I'm in Ireland unfortunately! Maybe the next one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Volant165 Posted January 20, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted January 20, 2020 8 hours ago, peaty94 said: Thats great, would it work with a 2015 model too? Do they include and amp and if so, would it be a connection to the OEM headunit or normal co-axial connectors? My Kenwood I have now has Left, right for front and rear and sub but a good amp would be able to channel this better and process the sound a lot better too. Ive pretty much written off the sub that came with the jeep unfortunately as I can't see anyway for that to connect to my sub out or a mono amp. Thanks! Yeah I’m sure they would be able to. That’s why they bypassed my stock subwoofer altogether and added the amp and a new sub. With a stock head unit the sound is great let alone with a Kenwood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peaty94 Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 16 minutes ago, Volant165 said: Yeah I’m sure they would be able to. That’s why they bypassed my stock subwoofer altogether and added the amp and a new sub. With a stock head unit the sound is great let alone with a Kenwood. Im definitely interested in getting more details as this could solve all my audio issues. Do you have any more details and photos of it in your jeep please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Volant165 Posted January 20, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted January 20, 2020 6 hours ago, peaty94 said: Im definitely interested in getting more details as this could solve all my audio issues. Do you have any more details and photos of it in your jeep please? Better than a photo, here is the install as it happened on my JK........I will ping you the contact details. https://www.dropbox.com/s/t0qrjuf3e7cy2e8/Jeep video.mp4?dl=0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member doodle Posted January 20, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted January 20, 2020 17 hours ago, peaty94 said: Yeh to be fair I had my whole A45 system ripped out, replaced all the speakers with JL Audio, Amp and cleansweep with 2 Subs in the rear! Sounded insane; I don't want to go half hearted into something as I like to make it right the first time so will need to do as much research as I can first. Sweet... Agree with the half hearted part- Its gotta sound great.. Im a JL fan so to me nothing comes close.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peaty94 Posted March 22, 2020 Author Share Posted March 22, 2020 Hey guys, I hope you’re all staying safe in these hard times. Over the past few weeks I’ve changed quite a bit (again). We had bad floods around where we live early February so the jeep came in handy and didn’t affect me too much. It got send to the body shop to repaint the whole underside of the jeep matte black and at the same time I removed the rear inner arch liners as the stuck out like a sore thumb. They were painted with stone chip so they still protect but look so much cleaner. In the front I added some metal liners which look so much better than the OEM plastic, only cost around £150 off eBay too! I then replaced the rear diffuser cover with this ARB cover. Apparently they give a lot more support to the rear axle but I also think they look 1000x better than the original does. Whilst I was at it I relaxed the stock exhaust, purely because everything was matte black so again, the rusty steel colour stuck out and looked out of place. This rough county exhaust didn’t cost a lot and created more room in the rear as well again, looking better and more aggressive. You can narrowly make out the exhaust in this, you will hopefully agree that painting it underneath not only protects the car for another few years (very easy to add coats now) but also compliments the car. I’m really happy with the rear end now, just the off road tyre to be added soon with the tyre carrier which will fit into the rugged ridge bumper. So the question for the front end to be as good started, this was a much longer journey than I expected. I ordered the poison spyder Louvre from America, when it got to the UK “they lost it” and it never came; gutted because I shelled out around £250 for it incl shipping. I found a supplier in the UK that had them and it came a few days later, got that sent to the body shop with a brand new hood from eBay @ £75 then had that spray painted. I figured as my bonnet had stone chips and a few dents it would’ve been cheaper and easier to start it off with a brand new one in the long term. The old hood latches weren’t going to cut it as I needed something I could lock. Found these! I drilled out the front hood lock rivets and removed it so it looked much cleaner. And here we are! Really, really happy with where I’m at. Somewhere along the line I also added the rugged ridge wind deflectors which help the aesthetic. I want to take this beast properly off road once the virus situation calms down. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member fen01 Posted March 23, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted March 23, 2020 On 22/03/2020 at 08:00, peaty94 said: Hey guys, I hope you’re all staying safe in these hard times. Over the past few weeks I’ve changed quite a bit (again). We had bad floods around where we live early February so the jeep came in handy and didn’t affect me too much. It got send to the body shop to repaint the whole underside of the jeep matte black and at the same time I removed the rear inner arch liners as the stuck out like a sore thumb. They were painted with stone chip so they still protect but look so much cleaner. In the front I added some metal liners which look so much better than the OEM plastic, only cost around £150 off eBay too! I then replaced the rear diffuser cover with this ARB cover. Apparently they give a lot more support to the rear axle but I also think they look 1000x better than the original does. Whilst I was at it I relaxed the stock exhaust, purely because everything was matte black so again, the rusty steel colour stuck out and looked out of place. This rough county exhaust didn’t cost a lot and created more room in the rear as well again, looking better and more aggressive. You can narrowly make out the exhaust in this, you will hopefully agree that painting it underneath not only protects the car for another few years (very easy to add coats now) but also compliments the car. I’m really happy with the rear end now, just the off road tyre to be added soon with the tyre carrier which will fit into the rugged ridge bumper. So the question for the front end to be as good started, this was a much longer journey than I expected. I ordered the poison spyder Louvre from America, when it got to the UK “they lost it” and it never came; gutted because I shelled out around £250 for it incl shipping. I found a supplier in the UK that had them and it came a few days later, got that sent to the body shop with a brand new hood from eBay @ £75 then had that spray painted. I figured as my bonnet had stone chips and a few dents it would’ve been cheaper and easier to start it off with a brand new one in the long term. The old hood latches weren’t going to cut it as I needed something I could lock. Found these! I drilled out the front hood lock rivets and removed it so it looked much cleaner. And here we are! Really, really happy with where I’m at. Somewhere along the line I also added the rugged ridge wind deflectors which help the aesthetic. I want to take this beast properly off road once the virus situation calms down. I presume the Rough Country Back box is suitable for diesel JKs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peaty94 Posted April 2, 2020 Author Share Posted April 2, 2020 On 23/03/2020 at 11:26, fen01 said: I presume the Rough Country Back box is suitable for diesel JKs Yes they are, the fit axle-back so should fit any wrangler JK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peaty94 Posted April 2, 2020 Author Share Posted April 2, 2020 (edited) Another install done the last few days whilst locked down. Don’t even want to know how much I’ve spent on rugged ridge alone but it’s decent gear. I hate import taxes. I love the sharp edges, really gives the jeep a look it should of had when it left the factory. Obviously with the new spare tyre on the back I was worried about the weight, I think it might of torn the tailgate off if I didn’t add the new heavy duty tyre carrier onto it. Fairly simple to install and very heavy but impressed and happy with the new look. Front skid plate and rear hi lift jack mount will soon be fitted in the next few days hopefully. As you may read from my posts above I'm still struggling with the audio, I’m in two minds currently. These are the speaker connectors to the current amp (hid to the right of the steering column). All the speakers go through these I believe. The right (top) connector the tweeter sound only comes out and if I take the left one out then none of the speakers work. I want to upgrade the amp as it’s simply not powerful/clean enough for what I want. Does any one know anything about how to wire this up to a multi channel amplifier? Can’t find anything on the internet unfortunately but surely there must be people who have done this? I know @Volant165 has an option and would like to know more if possible please! I hope you’re all keeping safe! Edited April 2, 2020 by peaty94 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member doodle Posted April 2, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted April 2, 2020 try this site? https://pac-audio.com/ Im not sure on your year... Im interested in the similar for audio= i have the alpine premium but will be upgrading the headunit soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member Volant165 Posted April 2, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted April 2, 2020 @peaty94 just sent you a pm apologies the one sent in Jan never made it out of quarantine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peaty94 Posted April 2, 2020 Author Share Posted April 2, 2020 3 hours ago, doodle said: try this site? https://pac-audio.com/ Im not sure on your year... Im interested in the similar for audio= i have the alpine premium but will be upgrading the headunit soon I think the alpine premium is great, don't get me wrong. For the cost I think you would struggle to get anything better imo. The problems come when you start to change the stereo as it affects the amplifier and in turn, the speakers. Ive found a harness (thanks!) which will most likely rectify the problem - https://catalog.pac-audio.com/catalog/amplifier-integration-harness/aph-ch01 as I believe you plug this in to the amplifier, then the speakers plugs into this, then you put those wire into a multi-channel amplifier. Just not sure how to get a hold of it in the UK. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peaty94 Posted April 2, 2020 Author Share Posted April 2, 2020 1 hour ago, Volant165 said: @peaty94 just sent you a pm apologies the one sent in Jan never made it out of quarantine! No worries, will get in touch. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member doodle Posted April 2, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted April 2, 2020 38 minutes ago, peaty94 said: I think the alpine premium is great, don't get me wrong. For the cost I think you would struggle to get anything better imo. The problems come when you start to change the stereo as it affects the amplifier and in turn, the speakers. Ive found a harness (thanks!) which will most likely rectify the problem - https://catalog.pac-audio.com/catalog/amplifier-integration-harness/aph-ch01 as I believe you plug this in to the amplifier, then the speakers plugs into this, then you put those wire into a multi-channel amplifier. Just not sure how to get a hold of it in the UK. I don't mind the speakers etc as much as i love my JL Audio... I can live with them for a time. The stereo - touchscreen and bluetooth etc is okay but just cumbersome.. It will have to go.. The local stereo shop to me can seemily get hold of the pac stuff. if not ill just import what i need at the time.. Yes there is lots of leads ie bypass for the existing amplifier etc so you can use a seperate system... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peaty94 Posted April 2, 2020 Author Share Posted April 2, 2020 2 hours ago, doodle said: I don't mind the speakers etc as much as i love my JL Audio... I can live with them for a time. The stereo - touchscreen and bluetooth etc is okay but just cumbersome.. It will have to go.. The local stereo shop to me can seemily get hold of the pac stuff. if not ill just import what i need at the time.. Yes there is lots of leads ie bypass for the existing amplifier etc so you can use a seperate system... Im almost thinking to hell with it and replace my whole system Head unit to speaker including 8 channel amp for the speakers, mono block for the sub and then all the wiring. It’ll be a pretty hefty job, but at-least I’ve got time for it at the moment! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum Member doodle Posted April 2, 2020 Platinum Member Share Posted April 2, 2020 39 minutes ago, peaty94 said: Im almost thinking to hell with it and replace my whole system Head unit to speaker including 8 channel amp for the speakers, mono block for the sub and then all the wiring. It’ll be a pretty hefty job, but at-least I’ve got time for it at the moment! I'd love to do it. Was talking to the local guys about the possibility of reusing the OEM sub box in the floor but they recommended just repurposing the space and build a new one to a JL sub spec. I had decided on a pioneer avic 930. But lockdown happened. I would love the alpine unit from the US with the ability to control aux switches etc. But that's silly money and in this country parts of it that will never get used. Be interesting hearing what you decide to do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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