Yes Im back!

Youve got another car audio nut around now! I had quite a bit of experience with my old 2007 and am having to start from scratch learning everything new with this '12. Not sure what Im going to do yet with it though. Got a beautiful P99 I invested in for my last ride but not sure I want to give up my LCD screen yet.

 

glad to have you back. your insight, lessons learned, and opinions are always welcome.

 

Install of components in an 02 accord is tedious.

Do it right and do it once:
1. Dampen both doors.
2. Use good equipment, HERTZ, FOCAL, AUDISON etc...
3. Knukonceptz wire, all zipped and shielded.

The baskets will inevitably be too large to clear the window, so you'll have to build a spacer to pull it out a bit.

 

the 98-02 accords are some of the easiest cars to work on, IMO. i can have the door panel off in about 45 seconds. I can have the HU out in about 90 seconds. You can easily run wire through the door boot (not so with later models using a molex plug).

you need a speaker adapter/space for almost every car, factory speakers have odd mounting points. at least the 98-02 used an actual metal basket speaker and not a plastic integrated speaker like later models. you could reuse the factory adapter if the new speaker is shallow enough - or cut out the rear portion.





a new mount can easily be made out of wood, then waterproofed (i used deadener here). you can gain 3/4" of depth with a baffle without needing to modify the door panel.
i used hurricane or t-nuts for driver mounting - MDF doesn't hold screws well.


I bolt the new baffle to the car.


then i cover everything (except mounting holes).

 

Agree with everything except the shielding part. Shielding will actually act like an antenna and can induce noise.

The 7th and 8th gen Accords are the ones that are the pain. Theyve got that oddball shaped opening and it almost guarantees you have to trim some sheet metal in order to get a 6.5" mid in there. Not a huge job as a Dremmel with a cut off wheel will do the job but still not as easy as some.

The 8th gen have the advantage in running wires into the door panel cause while theyve got a molex connector like the others, there is a lot of space in that connection so you can easily run speaker wire thru. My 7th gen, I had to drill holes.

 

as for pulling new wire through the door of a 1998-2002 Accord - see below

locate the single wire harness that feeds the passenger door


remove the harness. at this point you can pull it all the way out the factory opening, or just far enough to gain access for wire routing


keep track of it's location and orientation


pry the rubber boot from both bottom and top - pull the wire from the top enough to gain access to the cabin side of the rubber boot




route a metal rod through the wire bundle - make sure it is not sharp or it could compromise the wiring. you may need to make a slit in the rubber boot - the part that is inside the cabin


tape speaker wire to one side and pull it through - this is CL2 rated 12/2 wire



now you can feed the wire through the openings into the door and cabin. inside the door - use zip ties to secure the speaker wire to factory wire loom so it doesn't interfere with the window track. inside the cabin, route the wire so it is hidden in the dash - securing it to factory split loom every 12" or so.
make sure the rubber boots are fully seated - start on the back side and use a flat screwdriver to push in the rest. plug in the wire harness.