The Traccord - 2003 Honda Accord Coupe

klodkrawler05 said:

4 oz for $45 sounds like exactly the sort of OLOA radio we'll need too.

This popped up on another forum over the weekend, it probably weighs a bit more but it is cheaper! - Blaupunkt AM/FM Bluetooth Media Receiver - Toronto

Adam

In reply to adam525i :

Thank you for the heads up. I just ordered a couple to have on the Shelf.

In reply to adam525i :

And I just ordered one for the Subaru. Or maybe the Miata. We'l see who gets it. 

In reply to adam525i :

HOW can they possibly sell that for $11?

Well shoot, I don't know if I'll use it for the M3 or not but for that price, might as well pick one up and figure out the logistics later.

I just spent $27 on a Boss unit for the Saturn. This would have been useful to know before I did that.  

In reply to Daylan C :

it's like r-a-a-a-a-in, on your [convertible] day

at least you saved $15 on your shift boot

In reply to sleepyhead :

I didn't even click the link and that song is in my head now. Thanks.

In reply to Daylan C :

if it makes you feel any better... your comment made me realize I missed a golden opportunity, and now that song is stuck in my head

Ok, I'm stumped. Let me explain. 

The speakers came with nice trim rings but I decided they fit better without them. And lightness. I used some leftover floor padding to make a good seal with the door. 

And since that moved the speaker further from the door panel than the stock location I used some old air conditioner foam to extend the baffle and seal the speaker to the door grille. 

Since sleepyhead will ask, here are the weights of the stock speaker and the new speaker, four screws and the adapter harness. I did not weight the foam. 

Yes they're heavier, but they sound better and use less volume to get there. Sounds GREAT. Unless I plug power into the phone. If I do that then it's static hell. I tried four different chargers and all the cables and both my phone and an old ipod. It happens whether the car is running or not as long as the ignition is on. I'm thinking ground issue. It's always grounds, right? So I pull apart the socket, make a jumper for + and one to ground to the chassis by the shifter (since there is a ground there) and.......weirdness. The new ground changes tone, but doesn't make it quieter. Additionally, the power socket still works without the ground hooked up. That would mean that the system is grounding itself through the phone, through the aux cord and back through the radio? Or do I not understand how these things work? 

I went out and checked. The power socket is off until I complete the circuit from the stereo to the to power socket through the phone via the two cables. Plug it all in and the circuit is complete and it charges complete with incredible noise which isn't surprising. How do I fix this? 

Edit because I can't leave this alone even though I have other more important things to do: I hacked together some wires and built a jumper between the socket ground and the radio ground and that got rid of about 90% of the noise and all of the RPM dependent noise. Not perfect, but better. I'm thinking it's time to go through the car and hit all the grounds and maybe replace the problematic engine/chassis ones that get brittle over time. Like this one. 

They make noise filters for just this reason. Lots of the REALLY cheap radios have this issue, and a bouse filter generally makes it go away. 

The filter goes on the +12v line if i remember correctly. 

the static issue is super common for any AUX port. the AUX port is not properly grounded in phones, the solution i have always found is to use bluetooth if possible.

(this assumes you are using aux port and not bluetooth already)

The 4 cyl, do they have timing belt or are they chain? How difficult is the job?

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

chain, fairly involved. 

In reply to FunkyCricket :

No noise through the aux port until I plug in the power. It doesn't appear to be the aux itself, but the fact that power is feeding though the whole system. Bluetooth might actually fix that though. I have a dongle in the Subaru. I'll give it a try. 

spacecadet said:

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

chain, fairly involved. 

 

The only thing that makes it harder than a belt on a Miata is the fact that you have to reseal the chain case. It's not really hard, but you have to super clean it and then get the sealant laid down, the case back in place, and everything torqued within the timeframe of the sealant. 

yah, super common on all phone/audio systems. the 12V is not clean and the metal bodies on the phones leak the phone ground to the aux ports.

I haven't had a phone since my old palm treo's that didn't hum or buzz on AUX. You can try a QI charger if you have wireless charging, but it may be the same leak back. I haven't tested that yet personally... hmmm...  

mazdeuce - Seth said:

spacecadet said:

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

chain, fairly involved. 

 

The only thing that makes it harder than a belt on a Miata is the fact that you have to reseal the chain case. It's not really hard, but you have to super clean it and then get the sealant laid down, the case back in place, and everything torqued within the timeframe of the sealant. 

but the motor has to come out on the series to really do the chain on the K series right? Miata, you could in theory do without pulling the motor? 

In reply to spacecadet :

The motor stays in, but you do have to support the pan to pull the passenger side mount. Doing it in a driveway is just a matter of putting the car on jackstands, using a floor jack and a nice big board under the oil pan, and making it all happen. I guess that makes it more involved, but it's not like an Audi V8 or anything. The thing is, unlike a belt car, most K motors won't ever need the chain touched.  There is an inspection port for the tensioner to check and make sure it's not at full extension, and even under the worst circumstances the chain will outlast two or more belts. 

adam525i said:

This popped up on another forum over the weekend, it probably weighs a bit more but it is cheaper! - Blaupunkt AM/FM Bluetooth Media Receiver - Toronto

I'm intrigued.  Any reports on how it sounds, and how reliable/PITA the bluetooth connection is?

looks like we'll find out soon, since a number of people seemed to be picking them up via the Gastropods thread

Brake cooling. I need to think about this. The back of the caliper/knuckle interface looks like this. I did accomplish opening up space. Most of the space is full of the bracket, but it's a start and maybe I can get the bracket remade with more space if I can figure out the cooling. 

The problem comes when you turn all the way to lock on the other side. There isn't room for a three inch hose. I spent a LOT of time under the car poking and measuring and thinking and I've got nothing. One of the big issues is that you HAVE to stay away from the CV boot. Can't rub. At all. Still thinking. 

I decided that maybe having the splitter in place would make things more obvious. All the aero. 

Taking hints from the Honda Challenge cars I looked at when NASA was at COTA, the plan is to do two bolts to the subframe, a strap off each frame horn and a couple of cable stays of the front if needed. The plan is that the cable stays and the strap can move/bend if we run over something on the transits. One of my big fears is ripping the splitter off and having it flop under the car and properly break something in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere. 

you better double up that splitter material...

Looks like it may flex under load a little bit.

If you can stand on the splitter without signififcant delflection, you are good, otherwise more bracing.

stafford1500 said:

you better double up that splitter material...

Looks like it may flex under load a little bit.

If you can stand on the splitter without signififcant delflection, you are good, otherwise more carbon fiber.

FTFY

sleepyhead said:

stafford1500 said:

you better double up that splitter material...

Looks like it may flex under load a little bit.

If you can stand on the splitter without signififcant delflection, you are good, otherwise more carbon fiber.

FTFY

Or at least carbon fiber "look" vynil wrap