midtowndesi

I am not a mod-aholic like most of the people on this board ;] but regardless, there were a couple of things i wanted done to my box and with the cold weather, i just planned and planned and the first couple of days we had with nice weather - BAM - here come the mods. ;]

Things I did from Jan til this past weekend, April 7 -
- Installation of 12" MTX Sub
- Installation of 280-Watt MTX amp
- Cold Cathode installation + Switch in center console
- LEDs in the cupholders

Pics Below:

Audio Setup
The Amp is in the right "storage compartment" in the trunk area. The sub is setup so I can remove it whenever I want to haul stuff!






Cold Cathodes
I installed 1 pair of Oznium cold cathodes under the drive/passenger footwell area. I installed an Oznium LED switch in the center console.






LED in the Cupholders

My favorite of the mods - because it was a piece of cake and the outcome was nice. A single oznium superbright LED is enough for each cup holder. having more will cause crazy glare on the windshield @ nite.





Afterthoughts:
The LED install was very easy. The switch I installed only controls the cathodes. The head lights control the LEDs int he cupholder. I grounded both the LEDs and cathode switch to the bolt on the emergency brake handle. very easy.

I sort of regret intsalling the cathodes only because, yeah they do provide light, but it's definitely not as bright as I expected it to be. I am debating on whether i should take them out or leave them in there for the hell of it.

The "system" - very nice addition to the stock scion system. The bass doesn't overpower the music in any way. I am running stock scion speakers/head unit, etc - the sub and amp were the only addition. I'm happy with the setup and am ready for this summers list of road trips!!!

After installing the LEDs and Cathodes this past weekend, I took a nice 120 mile round-trip drive from Manhattan to Long Branch, NJ. Awesome views!



- sh00k

snowromance

looks great! oznium is kinda expensive. but your lighting upgrades look nice man. plus PW is my favorite color box :-) How's the sound with just the one sub and amp? looks nice.

midtowndesi

the sound with just 1 sub and amp is great. I didnt want to over do it and get a system that 'overpowered' the stock scion audio system. I am a minimalist and don't really go overboard with sound mods. I really liked the sound of the stock scion audio setup but just felt that it needed some more bass to make it perfect (for me). with this sub and amp, i am very pleased and the sound is great!

i also didnt want to add a sub and amp that would require me to upgrade the power source/battery/alternator either. again, for these reasons, i went with something reasonable to compliment the stock audio comonents.
- sh00k

xBster

great job on the amp install! looks very clean. I think the stock system is fine too, I added two 10" subs and amp for the same reason, just needed a little more bass. Lights look great too.

UENVME

after reading your post i went to oznium and bought two green leds and two white leds-why? incase wife doesn't like the green ones.

midtowndesi

LOL - the LED mod is so simple that i'm thinking about getting different colors too. I did the cathode and LED mods together, but if i had just done the LED mod, the total time for the instal would have been like 20 minutes - seriously. it's so easy. ;]
- sh00k

Nozerider

Looks like it would be easy to knock those LEDs in the cupholders out by putting in a cup that fills the whole thing.

Dwatts5250

I'd kinda thought you'd mount a rack full of Hella in the back....
<rubs hands together>,,,,My next project. Im freaking addicted to them darn things.
How hard was it to run the amp thru the bottom storage box like that? The first time Ive seen anyone run it like that...I like it...its out of the way.
Looks good!

midtowndesi

I fished the wires from the leds through the cup holder area - so the LED is held there by the wider "base" of the LED - if that makes any sense. i only put taco bell cups (the huge ones) and bottles of water in there, never anything else, so im not worried about knocking them loose or anything. if it's ever a problem, i can file the tips on the LED to shave off a few milimeters. lol
- sh00k

midtowndesi

LOL! what's up dude! naw, no hellas in the back... yet.... l0l0l....

Fishing the wires into the "storage bin" area was a piece of cake. I used a drill and made something like a 1" hole in the bottom back side of the storage bin. the wires are run through the driver side all the way under the rear seat (where the rear seat folds down) and then through that hole in the bin. it is very very clean this way. to answer your Q, it wasnt hard at all.

If you are running a high power amp that makes a lotta heat, this isn't the place to mount it. my 280-watt amp is a baby and produces very little heat - so mounting it in the storage area was a good solution for me. also, for a little security, i "screwed" the amp down into that storage area - which is made outta foam. this is just so it doesn't slide around as i am driving/hittin' bumps.

i hope this answers your Q. the other cool thing is that the amp is small so i still have space to store things in it.

The hellas really are addictive.... i am smiling every time i take off my grill to be heard... this summer is gonna be great, especially when ppl in their cars have their windows open... l0l0l0l. again, i dont just bother people with my horns - i i simply let people know they're doing something wrong. IE - going to slow, wandering into other lanes, driving with high beams on, etc.
- sh00k

04xB0n19s

looks good.. i like the white LEDS.. I put 12 Blue ones troughout my interior.. I need better pics but here's one from the back...


There is 4 in each back window and then one in each door

Ill get better pics soon

Dwatts5250

I think we're all LED and HELLA happy.... <snicker> like thats a bad thing.
My New grille has a big cut out section, right where the Hellas stare out....Ive gotta update my pics....very vocal car. Between the Hellas in the front....and the Fireball exhaust humming in the rear.

04xB0n19s

LED'S were free haha I'm broke this stuff gets too pricey.. I want my car to be completly tricked out.. but I'd rather pay most of it off, especially if something were to happen to it. id be screwed out of all that money

midtowndesi

^^^ I am cheap as hell and do not go nuts on mods. Here is a list of my mods + prices:

- amp and sub = $300
- hells horns - ~$130
- cathodes/LEDs + random electrical connectors/parts - $30

I bought 3 pairs of cathodes but only installed 1 set... for now... ;] i am wondering how i can mount the cathodes under the driver + passenger seat without having to "legnthen" the wire that goes from each cathode to the inverter. they're only 11" long i believe and that does not leave enough slack in case you want to move your seat front/back...
- sh00k

oni424

What did you wire the leds in the cup holder to?

midtowndesi

^^^ the led's haev 2 wires that come out of them - one positive (red) and one negative (black). There is a blue connector that connects to the transmission/shifter when you remove the console, and there is a solid green wire on this connector. I connected the red wires on the led to this solid green wire. for negative, i connected the black wire from the leds' to a bolt that holds the emergency brake on.

by tapping the green wire on the blue plug, my leds now come on when my headlights are on. I didn't want the cathodes to be on when im driving, so i wired them to a switch - that way i can turn them on whenever i want.

lemme know if this helps. this site has some awesome resources for electrical mods - after reading a lot of how to's and descriptions of what other people did, i was much more confident about playing with the electrical system on my pristine box ^_^ hehe.

lemme know if that helps any,

BUT REMEMBER - NO MATTER WHAT ELECTRICAL CHANGE/MOD/WIRING YOU MAY BE DOING ON YOUR CAR ----- DISCONNECT THE NEGATIVE BATTERY TERMINAL SO YOU DON'T ACCIDENTALLY FRY ANYTHNIG

that's my only word of advice =]
- sh00k

oni424

I have neons that I ran off the fuse box by using a fuse tap. I didnt know there was a wire under my parking brake. I will rip things apart this weekend.... Thanks!

Ducox

the amp set up is cool. Looking good.

crubrico

i just got a couple pairs for my PW off onzium and what do you mean by tapping the green wire on the blue plug. i feel like such a dumbass. i dont know nuthin bout electricals.

midtowndesi

Each LED has 2 wires coming out of it, a red one and a black one. the black one is ground and should be connected to a bolt or something on the body that you know is a good grounding point.

when you remove the center console of an xB (this is the part where the ebrake is, the cupholders, the aux port for audio, etc), and you pull it off, you will see the shifter and at the base of the shifter, you should see a blue connector with 4 wires coming out of it. out of those four wires, you are going to connect the POSITIVE part of the LED to the solid GREEN colored wire on this blue plug.

if you need any more info, you can look around on this site - it has helped me immensely! use the search button! i didnt know anythign about electronics either but after reading a lot and planning a bit, i was able to do simple stuff like this.

hope this helps,
- sh00k