[shreehari]

I had always wished to do up a car with personalized ICE setup for a long time. I was introduced to the world of good sound quality while I was using my Getz 13 years back but I could not set up a decent ICE in that as there were bigger priorities in life than good music.
Later, I moved on to different cars but never managed to satisfy my quest for the right sound that moves my soul. However as mentioned in the below 10 commandments

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-e...ing-forum.html (STATUTORY WARNING - 10 Risks to know before entering this forum!)
I was converted a long time back & it was just matter of time.

Finally, after owning 4 cars and 13 years, last year I picked up my 5th car the BS6 Toyota Innova Crysta Z and something inside me started telling me that it’s now or never.
So, once we started getting back on our feet after the pandemic, I restarted my search on finalizing the first proper ICE upgrade project of my life. I choose EVO customs in Bangalore and its owner Satya as my partners in this.

After some long discussions with Satya and after listening to some of my playlists we both agreed that I was a bass junkie and then we started working on a setup that would satisfy my taste.
However, I had some pre-requisites
1) No splicing, cutting, and fiddling with stock wiring. The ask was very simple, if we can’t do something without fiddling with my stock wires then let’s not do it.
2) Android auto HU was a must and preferably something that can take a sim card since I wasn’t a big fan of relying on my Wi-Fi hotspot from the mobile and also I prefer a wireless life, the less wires over my dash or the windshield the better I feel.
3) The HU should be a capable setup since my usage on maps and music was going to be high and the last thing, I wanted was a system that hangs or lags during response.
4) Preferably the HU should have a DSP chip since I did not want to invest on a standalone DSP for now.
5) Dash needs to be clean, meaning the GPS chip, MIC, Antennas & any other thing that needs to be exposed from the HU should be away from my field of sight.
6) The fit and finish should be as stock as possible.
7) The setup should be something that could be ported & upgrade over.

After some deliberations and negotiations, I decided to take the leap of faith.

Finally, with help of Satya I decided the below setup for my car for now
1) Double Damping on 5 doors using ICE Audio- 2.2 mm
2) Infinity Primus – 880W, 9004A- 4 channel Amp
3) Brazo P660 - 4 Channel Amp
4) Infinity REF 1200S 12” subwoofer
5) Audible Physics Tandav 6MK II series components speakers in front
6) Infinity Reference REF 6520 CX components at the back door
7) Cerwin Vega – 8AWG-wiring kit
8) Acustika – 12GA wiring kit for subwoofer
9) Mojo 16GA wiring for speakers
10) Evo-Fit -4GB//64GB Android HU with DSP chip.

The job was estimated to be 7 to 8 hour long and we choose a Saturday to carry out the job.

Meanwhile I also decided to upgrade the lights on the Innova and decided to go for bi-xenon projector fog lamp and upgrade the headlight to LED's. This added a delay of 3 to 4 more hours to the above job.

Some Pictures

Audible Physics Tandav 6MK II series components speakers for the front. This will be configured as 2 way active




Brazo P660 - 4 Channel Amp which will power the front Tandav components as 2 way active







Infinity Reference REF 6520 CX components for the back door




Infinity Primus – 880W, 9004A- 4 channel Amp which will power the components in the back setup as passive and also will power the subwoofer.






Infinity REF 1200S 12” subwoofer






ICE Audio- 2.2 mm damping sheet


Cerwin Vega – 8AWG-wiring kit & Acustika – 12GA wiring kit for subwoofer


Mojo 16GA wiring for speakers


iPH CAR Bi-Xenon fog light projectors


GS 35W HID ballast


Precision Super Brighter 5500K hid xenon bulb


The HU: Evo-Fit -4GB//64GB Android HU with DSP chip


Some working pics

The stock damping on the right-side doors



The stock damping on the left side doors


Detaching the stock HU


Doors after the damping is completed


Water proofing of the speaker connections

This is done by using some rubber-based paste that does not allow water droplets from the window-panes to meet the speaker connections.

The Amp, Speaker and Subwoofer setup


The plug & play evo fit android player


The placements of twitters on the A-pillar


The DSP in action


Dashboards look in the night



Final Verdict
I was super impressed by the installation process at EVO customs. The folks here know what they are doing, they don’t over sell you things and also will explain all that they are doing if you are interested. This entire process was done in front of me and I was supervising the process not that there was a need but because I was genuinely interested.

And the end result of all this is that I have a car now whose audio sounds like a car from at least 2 segments above with a brilliant ICE setup compared to the stock,and I am enjoying each and every second of driving around in this car now. The head unit UI is not the best in intuitiveness but its response and touch sensitiveness are perfect, since this is a 4GB/64Gb setup it does not show any signs of lags or slowness and the DSP chip on this one is excellent and gives really good control on the music.
I am super happy about the way my car audio sounds now

I have recorded the entire process and put up a video. Have tried covering almost every part of the process. The video is a bit long, but I guess it’s a comprehensive one so maybe I will be pardoned for it.

https://youtu.be/T6q_bkRisX8

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the ICE section. Thanks for sharing!

Will go to our homepage today

[samm]

Hey Shreehari, Great work! Must be great sound effects now! Where did you keep the amplifier and subwoofer? I heard that its under the seat, but didn't see it in your video. And any indicators on the cost? Enjoyed the video, very well done!

[Turbo Head]

That's a very interesting and comprehensive install, really appreciate how you have summarised it in 15 mins video.

Can you please give the costs of the entire upgrade, component wise ?
That can help lot of people including me to budget their upgrades, also if possible show the installation of Subwoofer in the boot.

[cnu]

This is a great install, very professional. Thanks for capturing the details in the video. Please share the costs as well.

[shreehari]

Originally Posted by samm

Hey Shreehari, Great work! Must be great sound effects now! Where did you keep the amplifier and subwoofer? I heard that its under the seat, but didn't see it in your video. And any indicators on the cost? Enjoyed the video, very well done!

Thanks Samm for your comments.

The below pic should show you the placements of the amp's and the sub woofer
The top two pics are of the amp's, one is placed under the driver seat & the 2nd one is placed under teh co-driver seat.
The subwoofer is kept in the boot (Bottom right pic)

[v1p3r]

Looks pretty cool! Do you have details of the HU? I'm interested in the video ins, considering an Innova might need a reverse cam.

Satya of Evo is a pro. Have met random strangers who swear by his work and attitude. Very to-the-point with costs and timelines.

I wonder where the blue raven is flying these days.

[adi_sun]

Interesting choice of components, I am sure its a rocking setup like you said.
Would you have more details / pictures of the fog lamp installation ?

Form the video the HU looks responsive enough, how's it when multiple apps are open ? Also if you dont mind please share the cost.

[shreehari]

Originally Posted by adi_sun

Interesting choice of components, I am sure its a rocking setup like you said.
Would you have more details / pictures of the fog lamp installation ?

Form the video the HU looks responsive enough, how's it when multiple apps are open ? Also if you dont mind please share the cost.

Thanks adi_sun

The HU as I said is not the best in intuitiveness but then multiple apps working together is not at all a problem.

Attaching two pics of the most used combinations by me to depict the seamless working of the same
Spotify + Google Maps


YT + Google Maps


However below are some things that are not very great
1) If you power off the system while using any of the music apps like Spotify or YT then next time when the system powers on it goes to its default music player.
2) Spotify(premium subscription) doesnt play in the background while using Google Maps in full screen. Only way to use this in parallel is to have it in split screen as dispalyed above. I have not tried this with other music apps like Amazon Prime, Jio, Saavan etc but I guess the behaviour would be the same.
3) I can install whatsapp but cant use it as a standalone whatsapp number
4) Can install dialer app but cant make calls from the HU (This has a dedicated SIM )
5) There are some GPS apps like HERE & Waze. Havent tried it though.

Now coming to the bi-xenon fog lamps:


The projectors up close:



These projectors are meant to complement that headlights and with this setup the car looses on the fog lamp.

The headlight here again is upgraded and is a blaupunkt LED

[FaizanShakeel]

Hi,
That’s lovely that you upgraded the Audio system and the Head Unit!
Stock music system in Innova Crysta is really bad. A few cars costing half or less than half of what Crysta costs have much better Audio.
Even the head unit feels outdated. So good job there upgrading that too!

Good luck with the upgrades!
Cheers!!

[Acelerar]

Originally Posted by shreehari

I had always wished to do up a car with personalized ICE setup for a long time....

Thanks for the detailed summary. I am getting my Innova Crysta Z this week and thinking of similar Audio upgrade to Infinity Kappa but retaining the original ICE.

1) How is your upgrade performing after a year? Are you happy with it?
2) My dealer offered to get the update done for a Higher speaker profile of Infinity Kappa but quoted whopping 1.32 lakh. Would you mind sharing the cost details of your upgrade?

[shreehari]

Originally Posted by Acelerar

Thanks for the detailed summary. I am getting my Innova Crysta Z this week and thinking of similar Audio upgrade to Infinity Kappa but retaining the original ICE.

1) How is your upgrade performing after a year? Are you happy with it?
2) My dealer offered to get the update done for a Higher speaker profile of Infinity Kappa but quoted whopping 1.32 lakh. Would you mind sharing the cost details of your upgrade?

Hi Acelerar,
Congratulations on your new car. The audio setup has been performing very well so far.
On the costing I would recommend you to directly have a word with EVO customs shop. In my case, some of the components were shifted from my old car and hence the cost that incurred by me would be not be the right indication.

[tweakpun]

That is one great setup, Kudos!

I would really appreciate some inputs regarding the current predicament I seem to have gotten into.

I need to figure out loop-holes in my current ICE set-up installed in a 2019 Hyundai Verna. I had sourced components, amplifier and the subwoofer from Harmonixx (Kochi), and had subsequently gotten them installed at Motor Concepts, Delhi. Damping done was of CTK and wiring was the standard affair.

The original set-up:
*Front Components: Helix P-62C (offers 4 ohm at 100W RMS)
*Sub: Audiofrog G12D4 (potential->dual 4 ohm upto 600W RMS)
*Standalone 5 channel Amp: Helix G-Five (sub running in bridged mode)
*Stock HU

I had high expectations, particularly in regard to bass side of the spectrum (into R&B, Hip/Hop, Techno of late), coupled with a warm/neutral sound signature. However, for a seemingly long period of ~6-7 months, I kept on deliberating and eventually got in touch with Subhaan from Driven, Delhi who had earlier installed the previous set-ups in my other car, a 2020 Swift (Read: Infinity kappa sub+ Rainbow Dreamline comps). He advised me to get the HU bypassed via a 4/6 channel DSP, if I compulsorily want to retain the stock HU and its functionalities.

To summarise, I got the Mosconi 4-6 Atomo DSP installed and the sound got better, yes, albeit with the odd times issue of parcel tray going bonkers along with the sub, in addition to pinchy vocals/highs in higher volumes.

I feel somewhat disconnected with the sound on offer most of the times, and have been suggested to move on towards upgrading the front components to either those from Morel's premium lines, and/or upgrade to an active setup powered by a more powerful amp.

How do you guys think I should be proceeding further to get me out of this quagmire?!? Kindly note that I might not be able to audition good premium set-ups as I'm currently in my hometown Bhopal, and such options are hard to seek.

Thanks for reading this through.
Godspeed!