khelawanb

Decided to change things around. Since the car is faster and performs better, I got rid of the heavy amp rack in the trunk and mounted my amps in the armrest/ ski bag port.





Trunk now has a sealed box with two Kicker L7 12 inch subs. The metal under the rear deck was cut out, and the subs are facing up toward the rear window.
Floor of the trunk was replaced with a huge infinity mirror.





Day :



Night :

khelawanb

Made a video:


http://youtu.be/bPkMw3jfZvg

djrabbi

Looks great! Is the S/C polished?

khelawanb

Thanks man! Yes , I polished it

RobbieRob

Sick,,, straight up, SICK. Nice job.

emericr

Impressive set up and finished product looks exceptional. Thanks for sharing

khelawanb

Thanks guys

hyperion667

my god!!!! thing is dripping with cash!!!

nice work brother!

khelawanb

Thank you!!!!

Just bought a wald black bison front bumper. Starting work on that next week. I will post pics

val69

Where did you get your dashkit form?
I'm thinking about upgrading my headunit. 2008 CLS63

khelawanb

You can get that dash kit at almost any stereo shop. Ask for a dash kit for the E class. It will fit because the command on the E class is the same.

This is one of my favorite upgrades! I hesitated on changing my head unit for a long time, but realized that most aftermarket units has double the technology of the OEM command.

I have the latest 7 inch Alpine unit, which is great, but changing it next month. Alpine released the first 8 inch unit this summer, but with its release they also announce that most buyers will need to customize their dash to install it.

http://www.alpine-usa.com/product/view/ine-z928hd/

So, I'm up to the task, lol! After analyzing the dash, I decided to remove the cd changer below the command, and possibly relocate the heat control buttons on the door of the cd changer. This will give me the extra room that I need for this install.

This unit will be a serious upgrade in technogy!!!!!

http://youtu.be/VuKViZhlBuY

http://youtu.be/iZ2hFRTL0qs

turbotom1

Clean install !

hyperion667

wow........I could never do things this cool...

top notch!

M1RAG3

your trunk set-up is amazing. I have never seen such an excellent execution of the infinity mirror; on the trunk floor and in the MB star on the trunk lid.

I love the small details on your ride, like the chromed out power seat controls, the silver (or is it white?) CF interior panels, and the diamond-stitched upholstery; your attention to detail is very apparent. I watched your video and I was GLUED to the screen, too bad I'm all the way up North because I would love to see your ride in real life.

khelawanb

Thank you Trini!!!!!

I really appreciate the kind words! I've been working on it for a few years now, and I still love this chassis. The carbon fiber in the interior is silver. Happy to hear that you enjoyed the video

khelawanb

Thanks Tom !!!!!

I though the same thing a few years ago , lol

EVELAMG

Holy hell, you're car is amazing!!!

Kevin M.

Looking great Brent, I can't wait to see the new bumper, and thanks for getting a little poll dancer in for us!

teamspb

GREAT work you have done with the install! If I do end up with a CLS55, I will be undergoing a serious audio upgrade myself and wondering if you can help with a few questions I have...

- How did you change the headunit? Did you have the standard COMMAND head unit with optical outputs to the OEM amp? If so, how did you by-pass the amp?

- I read in one of your replies that the E-class fascia kit fits? Is this correct? What year fascia?

- Do the rear seats fold down? Or do the rear seats have a center arm rest etc that can be folded down so you can see into the boot?

- Do the subs fire into the cabin of the vehicle? I can see they are firing up towards the back shelf, but do they fire into the cabin/have you cut the back shelf area?

- Are the front components 6.5"?

Thank you for ANY help...I really look forward to your reply!

teamSPB

SIN3

I also show respect where respect is due. But I used to do this on my Prelude back in 96 import show off. I just cant understand why you would do that to such a nice high end car. I can respect it because I have had 4 cars that where cover mag cars. including a few in FF movies. But after a while you just get "over it".

khelawanb

Hi there, and thanks for the feedback. The OEM head unit is really easy to bypass. You need a double din installation kit for an E class. There is none listed for CLS, but the e class kit works.
I am using 4 sets of Kicker QS 6.5 components ( 8 total ), and ran new wires to them from my amps, but you can use the OEM speaker.
If you use the OEM speakers you simply run RCAs from the new stereo, to the new amp. Then go to the OEM amp located on the left side of the trunk behind the panel. Cut the speaker wires and connect them to your amp. This works fine, and I used my OEM speakers for months using this method before upgrading. After locating each speaker wire on the CLS I documented the wire color. Here is the list :


Front right - brown and black
Front left - green and brown green
Rear left - pink and brown/pink
Rear right - white and brown and white
Center channel - blue and brown/white

A 5 chanel amp would be perfect. The power on the OEM amp needs to be disconnected because it will stay on and get really hot, even when the car is off. Weird but true.

My entire rear deck area was cut out, so my subs fire into the cabin. The rear armrest port needs to be cut as well to enter trunk area.

Hope I answered your question.

khelawanb

When you say "do that " not sure what you mean. The stereo in the trunk ? It's all personal preference. I hate the OEM stereo. Not adequate for me at all, so it had to go. Modding a Mercedes in this manner is tough. You need to maintain a level of style for it to be accepted. Was that not achieved
I post here knowing that the members here can be brutally honest, and I've posted work to the past that people were not in favor of, but this set up has given me the best feedback ever. It has been done before, but I brought new style and flare to a traditional set up.

I've heard this before , and older guys turn there noses to this kind of work on a Mercedes. But when the trunk is closed is it not the same car? Should not matter to anyone what's in the trunk when it's driving down the street. Just my thoughts.

I think people that " get over it" are not as passionate and competitive as they thought they were. I've taken up lots of hobbies in the past that I got over. But this is what I love to do. My sponsors know this, and that is why I continue to get support.

Thanks for the feedback

JEYVILLE

+1 Well said! Stereo does SUCK!!!
Nice Car Bro, I have the same car White / sunset red!

val69

Both of you are right!

I would not go to that extreme with my CLS but I would not say anything negative if someone else did. I don't understand why so many people on blogs, twitter and etc... want to say negative things about people.

Who cares!!!!

teamspb

Thank you for the reply mate! I have now looked at a few CLS' and have found one that I want and have devised an action plan for it (audio wise).

Ill be removing all the factory sat nag/bluetooth/amp/speakers etc etc and starting fresh.

I wont be using a headunit in my case, ill actually use an iPad mini! This will bluetooth stream its signal into a Mosconi 6to8 processor which will in turn do my EQing, Level control, time alignment and any phase shifting, active crossover points, and send the signal onto my Mosconi amps. Upfront will be a 2 or 3 way active set of Gladen components. In the back, I am hoping I can get a pair of Ascendant Audio Havoc 18s to run IB firing into/through the ski hatch area.

Everything will be behind panels in the boot to hide amps when not on show, and then when I want, remove necessary panels to show off amps, processor and my hydraulics setup!

Should make for fun times!!