My 1996 Jellybean Zen got ICE'd: Details on the parts used and budget

So I thought, why not get a good early birthday present to myself and something that will make my fun drives in the car even more fun.

BHPian BeemerBug_06 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hello there everyone ! It's good to be back on the forum after an extremely long hiatus (I say that every time I write a new thread), anyway since I have a little time at hand, I thought of quickly penning down a thread to talk about my experience of trying my hand at getting a car ICEd with a full fleged audio system

The contender

My much loved and daily driven 1996 Maruti Zen, fondly referred to as 1513 will soon complete six years of ownership with me, coincidentally I had purchased the car a couple of days before my birthday. So I thought, why not get a good early birthday present to myself and something that will make my fun drives in the car even more fun.

Originally, my car did not come fitted with any music system. When I bought it, it retained the original blank panel. I had had a Pioneer DEH-P4650 midrange headunit from 2003, which was lying at home, fitted for it along with some cheap Pioneer speakers in the front. I suppose they were fake.

The audio output was terrible. I got a Bluetooth transmitter fitted later so that I Could play music off my phone and answer calls without having to change the HU, but that sounded awful too. Hence, getting a good audio system was always at the back of my mind. As someone who loves listening to music, it was a must. I clearly remember that several Zens and Esteems that dominated the roads decades ago, had killer audio systems. Now it was my turn. A couple of decades late, but well, better late than never !

My knowledge about car audio systems is pretty limited. Post some research I figured that a good audio system isn't necessarily cheap. Most systems I looked up cost nearly twice of what I paid for the car. So I decided to settle for a good system, which too wasn't cheap but still affordable at the same time. I did save up a lot to afford this system as I did not wish to settle for something mediocre and cheap.

None of which, would not have been possible without assistance and guidance from my dear friend and fellow car enthusiast Chetan, who is a veteran with regard to all things car-audio.

Chetan directed me to Motorogue, which is located at Andheri East in Mumbai and I was introduced to the owner Mr.Dipesh and the electrician Shafiq Bhai.
Dipesh was very prompt in understanding my requirements and budget. He immediately worked out an excel sheet along with Chetan's inputs and they gave me the list of items that would be required to make my car audio experience epic and fun along with the costing.

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