Hello all! My name is Ken. I found this site to be very helpful with my Element. A lot of good people in here. I purchased an 03 EX in SOP. I changed out the stock deck with a screen and dvd player. I have not yet tried to install the sub. I have been doing install for 11 years off and on but havent tried to tackle the sub part yet. Any quick ideas? or an easy way to do it? I tried reading a post from "Brandon" but I was a bit confused with the instructions, though I haven't tried it that way yet. Well, glad to meet everyone and here is a pic of the new install so far.

http://www.elementownersclub.com/uploads/files/Element%20003.jpg

I guess I did the HTML tag wrong or something. I thought I uploaded the image.... hmm....

[quote:3585b9e37b=" "]Hello all! My name is Ken. I found this site to be very helpful with my Element. A lot of good people in here. I purchased an 03 EX in SOP. I changed out the stock deck with a screen and dvd player. I have not yet tried to install the sub. I have been doing install for 11 years off and on but havent tried to tackle the sub part yet. Any quick ideas? or an easy way to do it? I tried reading a post from "Brandon" but I was a bit confused with the instructions, though I haven't tried it that way yet. Well, glad to meet everyone and here is a pic of the new install so far.

http://www.elementownersclub.com/uploads/files/Element%20003.jpg[/quote:3585b9e37b]
That is a great setup. I'd like something similar in the future. For now though I'm making do with my Sony HU which I had bought for my last car.

[quote:9d67dca7c4=" "]I guess I did the HTML tag wrong or something. I thought I uploaded the image.... hmm....[/quote:9d67dca7c4]
I got it to work in my reply...... I used url tags instead and put in a %20 where I think you have a space in your original filename. Finicky computers!

It's a pretty kool thing to watch tv but it certainly can be dangerous. I actually loved the stock set up. I was content with it but I was able to get a killer deal on the screen so I went for it. Sometimes it's good when your brothers the mgr at the local GoodGuys store!

Thanks for getting the picture to work..I wish I understood HTML..You're right there is a space between "Element" and "003". I would never have figured that one out! See! such a helpful site... Thanks again... Quick question, I see in your pic you have the cabana... does it rub against any of the paint surfaces?

[quote:b974bff862=" "]Thanks for getting the picture to work..I wish I understood HTML..You're right there is a space between "Element" and "003". I would never have figured that one out! See! such a helpful site... Thanks again... Quick question, I see in your pic you have the cabana... does it rub against any of the paint surfaces?[/quote:b974bff862]
You're very welcome.

The cabana does touch painted surfaces, along the sides and over the top, but I've never thought of it as an issue. It definitely isn't designed to be used if it's very windy, so I don't think it would ever be "rubbing" against the paint. And I have a good coating of Zaino polish on my E that protects the finish as well.

Thanks again HC... I traded in my car and the Honda Finace guy wanted it...I had a lot of stereo stuff in there (dvd n such) and he didnt want me to take it all out so he hooked me up with a bunch of accessories for the E incl. the Cabana..hadn't tried it out yet but my GF, whos more excited about the E than myself, is an avid surfer, kayaker, is waiting for the chance to use the Cabana

I hope you enjoy using your cabana. I found it a good idea to practice assembly at home a few times first. It gets much easier with a little practice. If you have any questions, let me know.

I also found it a good idea to have a good-size trash bag handy. On Christmas Eve, I ended up spending the night at Pismo Beach Campground, CA. At about 3 am I woke up and heard it raining pretty hard. Luckily, the lady at the entry booth had given me a large trash bag, and it took me only about 30 seconds to take off the cabana and stuff it into the plastic bag. I then tossed it inside the E without getting all my other gear wet, and I hung it out in the shower to dry the next night when I stopped at a motel. I now have a regular garden trash sack inside the cabana pouch....

Great looking HU, Ken. More details, please!!

Hey Jerry, Pismo Beach is very nice indeed, but a looong ways from Dallas! What took you that far from home? Just out having fun?

[quote:dbafead656=" "]Great looking HU, Ken. More details, please!!

Hey Jerry, Pismo Beach is very nice indeed, but a looong ways from Dallas! What took you that far from home? Just out having fun?[/quote:dbafead656]

Well, the main reason for my trip was to go Home for the Holidays. I grew up in Reno, and my brother still lives there. We lost both parents in '02, just 4 months apart, so I thought it would be an extra-good idea for us to get together for this holiday season. I'd had my share of flying during '02, so I decided to make this trip an E-adventure.

Besides my brother in Reno, I have a niece in Fairfield CA and an aunt and some cousins in eastern Nevada and Las Vegas. So I set out for 18 days, managed to spend time with all of them, plus do a little sightseeing along the way. I hit Santa Fe, the Grand Canyon and Sedona, then over to Santa Monica, up the Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco, then over to Reno, and south through Nevada on "the loneliest road in the world" to Las Vegas and Hoover Dam, and then <whew> back to Dallas.

High on my to-do list is posting some of my pictures on my web page to share here in the forum.

One thing for now that I can report is that my E was FUN and FLAWLESS the entire 4500 mile journey.

More details..let's see...
When changing the deck, you can use your stock brackets on the side of your OEM radio. No need for a kit if you are doing a double din. There is a kit called BKHONK830 from best kits if you need a universal one. But you can also get the pocket from Handa online and it comes with the brackets you need for a dual din. I used a Scosche adpater plug but was informed that with the OEM radio set up with amp and sub, you would lose the sub. You must hook up the blue remote wire from your aftermarket deck to the blue wire on your scosche plug. That will turn on the amp. Scosche tech support told me to use the remote ant. wire (also blue), but when you switch from radio to cd(tv,aux,video..etc...) you will lose power to the amp and have no sound. I located a very small 100 watt Low Pass/High Pass amplifier from Mobile Authority that I will use to regain the use of the sub. It is literally the size of an average hand. It wont have the cleanliness of higher models but should be just fine if you are already satisfied with the stock sound. I changed the tweeters to a set of JL Audio's and followed the guidelines set from the Element.j website. That was a snap. The door speakers are extremely easy to change. You can take off the stock Honda plugs from behind the speakers just by undoing a couple of snaps on the gray plug itself; leaving behind the flat female connectors with which you can re use with your new speakers (should have those wires with your new speakers.) With an adapter from Scoshce or metra, putting in a deck should not take more than 30 minutes. It is very simple. If anyone needs step by step picks, I can post them if they are not already posted somewhere else. I used kicker 5 1/4 2 ways in the rears which added an independent tweeter (that alone cleaned up the sound), and Audiobahn 5 1/4 2 ways in the fronts, along with the JL tweets. There should be no issues with having the tweeter away from the mid range. With it in the pillar it will not need to be "cranked" up to reach your ear. Its all about direction. There is plenty of room underneath our dashes to put a small amp such as the Mobile Autority one... The last thing I wanted to do was to mount anything on my floor or run a mess of new wiring along my kick panels and sills and making holes for that... What good would it be to put amps under your back seats? You will lose all of that cargo area when the seats are against the walls. Unless you don't mind putting stuff over the amps and wiring. If you liek the stock set up, which I believe is pretty decent (untill you see the speakers) there is no need to lose the stock amp. Parts express carries the rubber baffles I used behind the door speakers. (those added a nice tighter sound to the mids) I think they wer around 6 bucks. You can find the Mobile Authority amp everywhere on the internet. Model number is 100ZXI. Even though my brother is a good guys mgr, I purchase my door speakers off ebay from a good ebay'r named baystereo based in San Jose, Ca. I paid 44 bucks shipped for the rears... The Sony Screen (XAV-7W) is an 03 model and if you see one at GoodGuys or Circuit City, they should be willing to get rid of them at cost. (floor tax on them for having older products) I purchased mine below cost for $216.47 (w/bro hookup) Cost should be around 350, and that's still a steal!

I wil post some more pics in a bit. Hope everyone had a good weekend.

http://www.elementownersclub.com/uploads/files/elementalken.jpg
2003 Element
Sunset Orange Pearl
Sony XAV-7W Head Unit
In Dash DVD MP3 VCD
JL Tweeters
Audiobahn 5 1/4's
Kicker 5 1/4's

Just in case anyone hasn't discovered the Mr. Clean No Touch wash system...I am absolutely sold on the product. I haven't touched my E with a towel yet!

http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?webpage_id=3&SO=2&DID=7&ObjectGroup_ID=572

Here is a link to parts express..these subs are 7 inch subs but most have a mounting width if around 5.5 inches... I might get one of these...I will let everyone know how that comes out.

Ken

carpet on dash? :?:

Nah. Just a dash mat from Ebay.... Big dash + California Summer = Possible crack!

victory is mine!