My ICE built

[Egg2]

Sharing my ICE built.

Presented my installer w some basic conditions for this built.

A>Wanted a 24 bit DAC source input yet dint wanna spoil the center console outlook

B>Retain working rear spkrs for blue tooth telephone / steering wheel functions / radio using oem setup. (just in case)

C>OEM / OEM+ being the main focus of this built (must look like a factory option)

D>No showoff boot w lots of lights + no hardware bling bling visable.Am in my late 30's not 18!

E>Min woodwork in boot, must not weigh down this baby elephant even more!

F>Front sub must allow for front pax to still stretch out legs.

Previous front sub built got lots of £&@#%^ from me better 1/2 for poor legroom egonomics!

Pardon the foto quality, iphone taken pics so dun expect much.

Meanwhile browse thru the pics 1st, will include a writeup when i can

Thks for looking.

Drivers:

My 1st non- silk dome tweet setup. A hybrid Focal W-rc actif 2 way with an additional 3W Be hi-mid combi. Woofer is a 8" Audio system HX 8SQ front mounted. Completing the spkr using the Be 21WX would have made it more uniformed but budget having exceeded, thus woofer change on hold.

HU:

A tricky decision here as head ruled over heart. Previous HU's include P90>9965>oem + 701>D2 (for the longest time) before the current P99. Prefer D2 sound but unit lacked playback options liked the P99. If not would have gotten a D2se set. 90 vs 99; did an A-B test in my bro-in-law's car. 99 slight edge over 90 (personal) but 90 saves $$$ on RCA runs. The 90 cant cancel face plate open/close cycle everytime engine s/down. 9965 needs a 700 or 800 to work magic & built quality (@ least for my unit) suspect thou.

A pillar stripped off OEM light grey fabric.

Tweeter & Hi-mid pod (Focal be mids mounted off-axis w charcoal black fabric test fitted)

Both spkrs installed, oem focal grille on mid removed for illustration purposes, A pillar wrapped in matching fabric.

Finished product. Any sponsor for 3 spoke steering wheel. Gen 1 w212 4 spoker fugly lei.

[peacefinder]

Cool

Camping here for ur write up

[Egg2]

Reserved for headunit & wiring part 2 (incomplete pending HU location shots)

Having decided early on this was not gonna be a half hearted attempt:

Use a decent HU as a source player yet not spoil the center console landscape; else forget about this built altogether. Exploring all means to integrate the HU onto the W212 console was exhausted. Planning to slot the HU into the aircon control area, with the a/c controls migrating down towards the ashtray recess was the original idea. Yanking out the a/c controls, decent space to install the HU was unavail. There was a structure brace deep into the console w a sensor connection! Damn, it would hv been an ease to splice & lengthen the a/c wiring controls as it was just sitting above the ashtray.

P99 below steering column. Not a fantastic angle, but will do for now; hence the later post reserved for future HU development. Tilt (face lower, backside higher) is also due to relative large feet i have. Dun wanna step on the HU cable connections while applying foot brakes. Wait till u try & load cd's. No way unless u get out of driver seat! If only i can get the faceplate detached from main body (installers hv done it on an ODR unit)problem solved.

Luckily my choice of HU had a USB input that accepts lossless music files playback (.wav). A lazy me has since ripped all my audiophile CD's into a harddrive for max portability. Had the USB connection piped into glove compt w/o drilling or making recess access hole. No mp3, wma files. Ripping off a same source, mp3/wma files for a same song 8~9MB. Wav file for same song is 40~50MB.

RCA's running from underdashboard thru towards boot area. PSI- hi & mid, Hisago- low, Tchernoaudio J- sub.

Seat, carpet liner & rear seat aircon ducts to leg removed to carefully avoid stray signal interference. Speaker cables running by the side nearest door sill recess areas.(top left corner of picture)

[Egg2]

Reserved for boot installation part 3 (incomplete)

After much discussion w installer over how much / thick protection vs additional weight penalty to lug around.

Backseat bench removed for amplifier & wiring installation. This is the 1/4" MDF main structure that the 2 Zero 3's are mounted onto. Removed & made as big a cutout on each amp backing end. This should prevent heatsoak on the amplifiers & minimise weight gain from carpentry work.

Covering both upright mounted Zero 3's deep into the boot area is a 1/4" MDF painted black on the hidden side & wrapped on visable boot end in speaker grille fabric. 2 cutouts shown were specifically made for both amplifier heatsink fan exhaust.

Traded-in my AS100.4 for these 2 beasts. Focals are quite reknown for their thirst, hence made sure enuf juice was avail on tap for them cones. 270W per tweeter & hi-mid.

Same MDF protection for the flat lying 200.4 directly in front of the Zero 3's. Similar cutout also employed for 200.4 fan.

Temptation to get another Zero 3 to power the midbass was great. Another AS 300.2 finally to power the sub in case i switch woofers was the ideal. But trying to keep to a budget which i still burst; an AS 200.4 would have to suffice for now. 320W to each M-bass (2 ohm load) & 640W to push my woofer (bridged)

Now u see it... Freshly cut MDF laid out w amps secured over.

Now u dont! Better pics of finished product later as last 2 images on this post was taken earlier when they were sizing up the amp location.

[Egg2]

Reserved for front subwoofer + midbass pics (maybe) part 4

A front seat leg-well 8" woofer mounted in a sealed ~15L box.

Ample leg room for front pax to stretch out on long journeys.

Sponser for the leg model none other than meself!

There's this black plastic secure bracket next to the inboard area of the pax leg-well. Its a real pain whenever i lean against the center console. During the removal of the carpet trim to lay cables, i diy the bracket removal by undoing the 2 star studs from behind. No more uncomfortable buldge when leg is leaning against console now!

[Egg2]

Reserved for future HU development

[kepiting1sg]

Well done!!

[Merceman]

A major iCE project going on! Would love to hear it !

[Egg2]

Well done!!

A major iCE project going on! Would love to hear it !

Cool

Camping here for ur write up

Thk u all for ur kind comments

[daffy]

Wow this is pretty extensive...whats the damage?

[rx8king]

Fantastic!

[Egg2]

Some posts updated. Thks for reading.

Hope to excite the "devil" in all those who are bout to ICE, already into ICE & thinking of upgrading!

Wow this is pretty extensive...whats the damage?

All in should b slightly >10k. Some items pre-owned, everything new might b closer to ~15k

Fantastic!

Thks

[blackmercs]

Nice mods on the open leg concept!!

[Egg2]

Nice mods on the open leg concept!!

Knew this was cumming!

Someone pls hook me up w a leggy racequeen & i promise better angle shot, sorry i meant picture!

[MarkCWQ]

Wow, fierce setup! Nice!

[blackmercs]

Knew this was cumming!

Someone pls hook me up w a leggy racequeen & i promise better angle shot, sorry i meant picture!

Ahem no hidden camera one hor!! Berrie told me some of her colleague refused to wear undies!! Make berrie yr best fren so that u can fetch her colleagues.

[Egg2]

Pics re-org for better flow.

Wow, fierce setup! Nice!

Thks.

[daffy]

Ahem no hidden camera one hor!! Berrie told me some of her colleague refused to wear undies!! Make berrie yr best fren so that u can fetch her colleagues.

oh man, get an additional blackvue 1000 super HD.

[Egg2]

Ahem no hidden camera one hor!! Berrie told me some of her colleague refused to wear undies!! Make berrie yr best fren so that u can fetch her colleagues.

Roger, my email is [email protected]

[g8crasher]

Hahahaha no wonder the facade of the store looks familar! That is CS's trademark wiring style with the zip tie cords. Really nice stealth install.

Note : Didn't realize you were Aaron! Thanks for recommending CS the last time!!

[Egg2]

oh man, get an additional blackvue 1000 super HD.

HD car cam no need la, only using norm blkvue for on road filming. Think those $0.20 pencil sharpener behind mirror angled correctly can liao la!

[Egg2]

Hahahaha no wonder the facade of the store looks familar! That is CS's trademark wiring style with the zip tie cords. Really nice stealth install.

Note : Didn't realize you were Aaron! Thanks for recommending CS the last time!!

Hi Leon, the scanspeak tweeters still serving u well? Finally retired my scans 5.25" aft 6 faithful yrs.

Left them intact on my CVR when i sold ride off late last yr!

Yup, CS it is.

[g8crasher]

Hi Leon, the scanspeak tweeters still serving u well? Finally retired my scans 5.25" aft 6 faithful yrs.

Left them intact on my CVR when i sold ride off late last yr!

Yup, CS it is.

Hey mate. I got a pair of Supremo Piccolos from Kenny not too long after! Dekitted more than a year plus ago but still have some equipment in the cupboard. Deliberating whether to do another install again! PSI interconnects currently being used for a home audio setup at a friends place. Am left with a Steg K4.01, Elate 6 midbass. Everytime I go past CS, keep getting tempted to install haha.

[Egg2]

Hey mate. I got a pair of Supremo Piccolos from Kenny not too long after! Dekitted more than a year plus ago but still have some equipment in the cupboard. Deliberating whether to do another install again! PSI interconnects currently being used for a home audio setup at a friends place. Am left with a Steg K4.01, Elate 6 midbass. Everytime I go past CS, keep getting tempted to install haha.

See if u can get matching tweets to partner the elate 6 mbass, else trade that in & go the micro p7 route. A simple 2 way setup running off the 401 & anything abv a P80 should take charge of the input signals. Let me know if u do drop by CS. I may be there say once a wk aft 6pm.

[Egg2]

Updated w writeup