[fourthmeal]

Like the subject says, I think we should build a master list of links, pics, support files, etc. to help out the E / M / T owners.

Obviously, I'm talking about audio, navi, etc here.

We'll need something we can edit constantly, and "sticky".

I nominate myself to head the process, which I can do on my off time or when bored at work.

We should catagorize:

speaker size, depth, how to's, important parts to buy, where to purchase, current hot deals, etc.

Its our forum, we can make it VERY successful and a hell of a benefit to all if we try hard.

 

[jpark]

Do you mean subforums under Audio Mods?

Anything that makes things easier to find is a good thing. Let's get a bunch of ideas here, and I can tell you what the forum software will and won't allow me to do.

:thumb:

 

[fourthmeal]

Not really a subforum, just a solid FAQ sticky that gives great advice and insight before anybody does anything to these vehicles. I know a lot of the 2008+, but there are a lot of guys/gals here that can provide solid advice and measurements for older ones, and we can put all that together.

It just needs to be editable at all times, to remove people asking questions by accident, to keep it up to date as things change and evolve.

I intend to make an faq that works like this one, built into this site:

http://www.acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=299065

Take a peek

 

[jpark]

We can do that.

Let me see what I need to do to give you privs for a sticky here. I can't do it tonight, but I'll dive into it tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the idea!

 

[fourthmeal]

you bet.

We've gone this long w/o it, so its no hurry.

 

[The J]

I really like the idea, but I wonder if we could expand it to include information about all aspects of the E/M/Ts rather than just audio. Is it possible to create an Escape Wiki for the site? For those who aren't familiar, a wiki is a type of website that allows users (who sign up) to edit the content of the pages within. That's where Wikipedia gets its name.

 

[YouKnowMyName]

This sounds great. I have a new escape I can't wait to dive into, I'd be more than willing to provide pictures.

 

[fourthmeal]

We need shots of the molex, the bare door, clearances to the glass/mechanicals behind the speaker, the holes in the door that need to be sealed/deadened, etc.

I tend to not take pics when my hands or body is dirty or I'm up to my neck in fiberglass or sawdust. So I lack some of the most critical pics of the process. But on the other hand my camera still works.

 

[TZona]

very good idea, i'm new to the escape and i've had a bunch of questions. also maybe divide by gen?

 

[fourthmeal]

very good idea, i'm new to the escape and i've had a bunch of questions. also maybe divide by gen?

There will be some similarities, some differences. It should be part of the FAQ / sticky system.

 

[fourthmeal]

First thing's first, here's the best place to run your power wire:

Here's my pics. This doesn't show my 1/0 gauge that I replaced this 4 gauge for later, but you might be happy to know that 1/0 fits just fine in the same spot.

The factory 2008+ NON HYBRID floor, with the plastic spacer removed:

 

[fourthmeal]

Life's not complete without dealing with a Molex. This Molex is on my Mazdaspeed3, but its functionally the same as the E/M/T:
(Will add more explanation to this later)

 

[sinister mob]

First thing's first, here's the best place to run your power wire:

I don't recall signing a waiver for my pictures to be used. Do my posts become general intellectual property of E-C once posted? :lol: I am torn. Glad I could help but not the dirty pictures of my engine compartment!!

In all seriousness this is a great idea.

Molex (2010):

 

[fourthmeal]

This is a solid ground point I've found. Unbolt the bracket, lift it out of the way (the seats will move just enough to give you room when you loosen this bolt), and grind down to bare metal under the bracket. Then grind down the bottom of the bracket and the top of the bracket, so its all bare and highly conductive. Then you use a soft wire-wheel on the bolt itself and take the paint off the threads and bolt bottom. That should do it. Alternately (and I did this before I added more grounds), you can sandwich the ground in between the bracket and the body. Pic:

This is a great place to drill a tweeter hole:
Door skins aren't super-cheap, but they will be as the car ages. Certainly replaceable.

This is a much larger tweeter, about as big as you would probably dare to install here:

This is a great place to install a bass control knob. This panel costs only a few bucks to replace:

 

[fourthmeal]

Hmmm.. we might need to set up an unlimited account somewhere for pictures...because if one of us removes pics somewhere then the chain of info will be damaged.

For now, I'm just copy-pasting useful stuff to this thread, then we can organize and clean it up.

 

[fourthmeal]

Found these. We'll put them in somewhere regarding navigation wiring:

To remove the door:

 

[fourthmeal]

LOL.. .Oh noes. I just realized we have a how-to repository already. Hmm... do we merge or do we create a duplicate of some of the info? Or redirect?

 

[fourthmeal]

Here's some pics that might help a bit when doing the doors:

Inside of the door skin:

And this is the door metal: