One of our clients brought this clean 2008 Mazda RX-8 to Ocala Car Audio for a significant audio system upgrade. We had built a system for this client’s RAV4 several years ago. She had been looking for an RX-8 for more than a year and was excited to bring it in for a system and a few accessories once she finally found it.

As always, we ensured that we understood the client’s goals for the system and for the vehicle. She loves music and likes cars, so she wanted a system that sounds great and looks kind of cool at the same time.

Initial Steps A Foundation For Great Sound

We took delivery of the vehicle and removed the factory source unit, door and rear speakers. We ran Memphis Car Audio 17-ETP-21.6 6-channel interconnect cables, a T-Spec V10-RAK4 power wire kit and new speaker wire through the car. Then we treated the doors with a healthy dose of Roadkill sound deadening. The sound deadening not only blocks road and wind noise, but dramatically improves the performance of the door speakers by sealing off openings in the doors.

Kenwood Door Speaker Upgrade

The large Kenwood woofer was installed in the door using a custom adapter.

Plenty of sound deadening was applied to the door to maximize the speaker performance.

The factory door speakers are quite large, so we made a set of adapter rings out of expanded PVC foam for Kenwood eXcelon-series XR-1800P 7-inch components. We mounted the tweeters in the stock location at the top of the door. We replaced the rear speakers with a set of Kenwood KFC-X693 in the factory locations.

JL Audio Provides Awesome Bass

For bass, we fabricated a vented subwoofer enclosure to house a single JL Audio 12W1V3-2 subwoofer. The enclosure sits against the rear seats and the subwoofer fires down. We added a custom logo to the back of the cabinet: an intertwined bass and treble clef. We covered the logo in black vinyl for an embossed look.

Clean JL Audio Power

Both amplifiers were mounted in the floor of the trunk, protected by a removable cover.

There is still plenty of usable space available in the trunk of this RX-8

To power the system, we used a pair of JL Audio RD series amplifiers. An RD400/4 powers the front and rear speakers and we used an RD500/1 for the subwoofer. We located the amps in the bottom of the trunk floor. We created a false floor for the trunk and flushed the amps into it. A removable panel covers the amps so she can use the trunk for cargo without risking damage to the amplifiers. We finished the floor and the subwoofer enclosure trim panel in carpet. We used a Stinger SPD570 power distribution block to split the power wire from the battery to the pair of amplifiers.

Upgraded Technology With Pioneer NEX Radio

In the factory radio location, we installed a Pioneer AVH-4200NEX. She can use her smartphone for music, texting, phone calls and navigation, thanks to CarPlay and Android Auto. A PAC SWI-RC steering wheel control interface allows the factory steering wheel controls to control the new radio.

Add-On Remote Car Starter

The client requested a few other options while we had the car in the shop. We installed a Directed 5X10 security system with remote starter to protect the vehicle. To start the car, all she has to do is push the Lock button on the factory remote control three times in quick succession.

Katzkin Leather Kit Makes Interior Look New

The last step for the interior of the vehicle was to install a set of Katzkin leather seat upgrade kits. The new upholstery is a combination of a classic textured dark-gray leather with a matching carbon fiber textured center section. These kits fit the factory seat foam perfectly without wrinkling.

Lighting And Tint Round Out The Package

RGB footwell lighting adds to the interior enhancements.

RGB lighting was used to accent the custom-embossed music insert.

The seats, radio, tint and lighting all make a dramatic difference for this Mazda.

We installed a Memphis Car Audio LED kit to highlight the footwells and the trunk of the car.  This is an RGB lighting upgrade which allows her to select any color that she desires. We tinted the windows with a premium heat-rejecting Nano Ceramic tint. This window film blocks a majority of the heat from the sun and keeps the interior much cooler. To complete the blacked-out look of the car, we applied Oracle 8300 dark-gray film over the rear taillights.

Client Loved Her New Mazda RX-8 Audio System

The client returned to pick up her car and was blown away by the work we had done. She loved the clean look of the trunk and the custom music note on the back of the enclosure. She hopped in, had a listen to the new system and was smiling from ear to ear.

If you are looking for an upgrade to your audio system, drop by Ocala Car Audio. You can also e-mail us here for more information about any of our products or services.