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Custom Car Audio Installation Kyle Buckner has been designing Car Audio installations for a while now. His drive is to create practical installations, designs that make sense. Many of Kyle's Car Audio installations have been mistakingly confused with an upgrade that would come from the factory, but that is where his level craftsmanship takes the credit. All of his installs are hand-made, consuming countless hours to get the job done the right way. Please take a moment to notice the extreme passion and detail Kyle has included on each vehicle.

bmw

ford

suburban

lotus

civic

lincoln

solstice

bmw

BMW 325i.

This is one of my more recent installs, in a BMW 325i. The vehicle is equipped with three Rockford Fosgate 10" P3 subwoofers, two pair of 5 1/4" component speakers, and a pair of 6 1/2" mid-bass drivers. .
All of this is powered by Rockford Fosgate amplifiers, specifically a P1000.1bd for the subwoofers,a p400.2 for the mid-bass and a p200.2 For the components. All connections and accessories were made possible by Rockford Fosgate. The dash was custom made to fit the double din Alpine Media Center.What makes this BMW different, is the tedious attention to detail in the installation. A completely hand-made fiberglass console was made to fit in-between the rear passengers, that holds the three 10" subwoofers. This allows for a highly convenient install, losing only the space that is hardly ever used. No one wants to sit on the middle hump! If you want more sound in your vehicle, why not use the unwanted space? I like to create a more practical installation that makes sense. The customer here, has not given up any of his trunk space, but has brought an impressive amount of sound, as well as sound quality to where they want it most. The console has all the matching factory colors to keep it flowing with the vehicle. I added the black finish to the top layer, tan, and wood-grain. I know BMW would more than likely never do this to one of their vehicles, but if they did, they would much like I did with the vehicle's factory accents throughout the install. Allowing for all Textures and colors to give it that "BMW look." I made plexiglass sides on the enclosure, which allows you to see the subwoofers, as well as the multi-layered interior. Again, keeping the factory colors in mind,the plexiglass window is outlined with a wood-grain trim. The Front door panels are made from fiberglass as well. I actually made a mold of the factory panels, and used the mold to recreate the same form out of fiberglass. Why? The customer now has new, custom door panels that fit his choice for the brand and number of speakers. The factory panels are not used, and since they were not modified the customer can put them back on with ease if he ever decides to trade or sell the BMW. Every existing feature on the factory panels are still used in the new fiberglass panels, Side Airbag (very important!), mirror controls and even the wood-grain pieces. On the new panels, there is a little more wood-grain added which wraps around the "Kyle Buckner Designs" signature logo. So what did we lose? Nothing. We gained sound quality without sacrificing wanted space and we did so without losing the small details that make a BMW what it is, quality.

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ford

Ford F-150

suburban

Chevy Suburban.
When I spoke to the customer about what he wanted, I became extremely excited to have the opportunity to do the installation. He seemed very picky about his truck, but I could also see some confidence in his eyes from seeing my previous installs. When i look at a car audio install, I like to see something that fits with the rest of the car. I want to see something that matches the style and scheme of the vehicle. I want to see an install that looked as if the factory had made this an audio option for that vehicle. Those are the kinds of installs that catch my eye. So I try to keep that mindset, as Im working on my installs everyday. I want something that is convenient for the customer. That makes sense. I also like to make everything to come out of the vehicle, if the customer ever decided to trade/sell the vehicle or installation. So with a few Hidden bolts removed, Herbs Suburban can be put back to the factory in the rear area of the truck. I have around 180 hours involved in the custom work I performed on the enclosure. I dyed all the fiberglass pieces that match the factory colors, but for the burgundy clear coated pieces, Harveys collision center of Chatham, VA was chosen.

From the Customer:
"When it came to the sub enclosure, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out who I wanted to touch my truck. I attended many shows, and seen tons of different installations. But nothing really caught my eye of interest until I was at the Charlotte, NC DUB show and seen the Kyle Buckner Designs vehicles. I had heard about the kid and his installations from friends, but when I seen his work, it was a completely different story. His attention to detail is amazing, unlike I have ever seen, seriously. So there was no doubt as to who I would choose to put my trust in creating more than I expected. I was able to fit in his books soon after the show, and I waited anxiously for the day of pickup. It took around 3 weeks for him to finish the completely handmade enclosure, but well worth it. The enclosure design looked like Chevrolet would do it, and thats what I wanted. He added the matching wood-grain, paint, and all other finishes to the custom fiberglass to allow it to flow with the rest of the interior. I was extremely happy with the outcome of his ideas, creativity, and work on my truck. There is no doubt in my mind that this kid wont go far, His work speaks for himself." says "Herbert Walters, owner of Suburban."

lotus

Lotus Elise

As for the 2005 Lotus Elise's upholstery , we didn't want to add too much. So we decided to bring in a performance style by dealing with carbon fiber vinyl. We added silver in the inserts of the seats to break up all of the black on the inside of the vehicle, along with the "Showcase Magazine" embroidery in silver stitching on the headrest. The door panels were also striped and re-fabricated to flush-in a custom blue graphic outlined with an aluminum trim. This graphic was attached to the backside of 1/4" plexiglas. The insert was covered in silver carbon fiber vinyl as well.

One thing the customer pointed out to me was how un-comfortable the middle console was when you were driving. His complaint was of how his leg would rub up against the hard plastic, so therefore i listened carefully. Instantly a vision popped into my head of some flushed-in leg rest. The inserts were covered in 1/4" foam padding, then wrapped in silver carbon fiber vinyl. A section outside the insert was painted Nightfall blue to add a little color to the inside. In the trunk, I re-covered a factory panel in black carbon fiber vinyl as well as the custom floor piece that rolls up to the aluminum trimmed amp-rack. Being the car barely has enough room for the average person, Coming up with ideas for the Lotus took some time. We went with JL Audio on the subwoofer by adding 1 8" w3v3 between the two seats. With this woofer, I was able to keep the enclosure relatively small to stay out of the way of the motorized logo and ipod dock, while most important, giving an incredible bass response.The subwoofer enclosure was created behind the seats out of lots of fiberglas , body filler, plastic, and layered inside with some Extreme Dynamat. Around the sub is many different flushed-in layers. The first layer was the main enclosure, which was painted a black to match the interior.This also held the rear speakers ( 1 Pr. of Mb Quart Premium 5 1/4") . Second was the Nightfall blue painted layer which was bolted onto the enclosure. On this layer was a few pieces of plexiglas pieces which had the blue graphic attached from behind. also a few inserts were made that were covered in the vinyl. On the top of the enclosure was a plexiglas trim piece that was cut out just big enough for the motorized logo to move through. I Also wanted to promote his business by adding his logo on a fully motorized oval which lit up by blue LED's. With the push of a button, This logo comes up from behind the enclosure and stops in the center of the back window. On the inside of the car, the logo Displays a Sounds Unlimited logo. While from outside the vehicle, you will read the Showcase logo. Each logo was custom printed onto the same graphic i used in the rest of the car and attached behind 1/8" Plexiglas. I also routered out an aluminum trim on both sides of the logo. Ipod intergration is getting bigger by the minute, and it was no question as to would this lotus have it! I decided to make a custom dock for it as well. after the wheels started to find its exit in my head, i wanted to create a flushed-in, yet retractable dock. When completed, this ipod is able to look flush and impossible to get out, but with a slight push on the top, it folds out forward for you to easily slide out and carry it with you ! This entire piece in which the ipod is housed in was customized to fit in with the subwoofer enclosure as well. Up front was where everything was i control. With no regrets, We Went with the Alpine IDA-x001 for the source unit. Here you can control not just the ipod, but the sirius, usb device, and Alpine KCE-300bt bluetooth adapter to accept all calls handsfree. Push-button switches were mounted onto the front of the console for the blue lights and motorized logo. Also there is a USB port located near the switches as well. I also painted the trim around the air vents silver to bring enlighten the dash a little. On top, A pair of Mb quart Premium 5 1/4" were mounted in place in the dash with custom free-standing tweeter pods sitting beside them. Along the windshield set three pieces of Plexiglas which were routered with angled edges. The custom graphic was attached to the bottom of each piece and silver was painted around the edges. These three pieces flow with the windshield and the center piece shows off the "Showcase Magazine" logo again. The Trunk area was really tight to work with two amps , an interstate battery, while keeping enough room for the fold-up top to be placed in the back on a sunny day. Fortunately, Alpine's PDX amps helped out on the room a lot while performing beyond words. The amp rack included many different, time-consuming layers as well. the main rack was painted black, then the amps were wired and mounted. Next a blue painted layer rests on top with plexiglas inserts flushed in. This is where the JL Audio fuseholder sits near a Sounds Unlimited logo. The amp rack is outlined with a polished-aluminum rod. From the rod, the custom floor piece locks into place and fills up just enough to hold the fold-up top in place.

civic

Honda Civic

lincoln

Lincoln LS

The customer came to me after seeing the BMW. His request was a console to house two JL Audio 10" W6's. We also went with the Alpine IVA w505 head unit, and two pair of JL Audio Vr 5x7 component speakers. The next piece of equipment is what blew everyone's mind. The entire system is powered by one JL Audio HD900/5 channel amplifier. Yes, one amplifier. You wouldn't believe the sound, it's incredible.

I completely stripped the factory console, and rebuilt everything from scratch. Everything from the shifter back is actually hand-made, even though it matches the factory trim, color and lines perfectly. Sitting down with the customer, I knew he wanted to be able to put his car back to the factory look if necessary, so I made a new console in order to accommodate this request, should it ever come up. I wanted to do something different than the consoles I have previously done. So I sat down and sketched out a few different ideas. I wanted factory matching wood-grain involved, a phone-dock, cup-holder and iPod dock - the whole nine yards. I liked the idea of the clear sides from the last console I did, but I still wanted something different. So I ended up doing the entire top of the enclosure with curved plexi-glass as well. Behind all of the plexi-glass are aluminum brackets molded in for each window to bolt to. The bolts are hidden behind a few finished panels. I knew a major focal point of this project was going to be the wiring of the subs. Since they would be visible with the inverted subs I spent a great deal of time planning this part. I figured I shouldn't have used all this plexi-glass to make the enclosure see through, and not add any details to the interior part you can see. So I focused in on the visual concepts of the wiring. I added more polished and curved plexi-glass in this application. The wires actually travel through a couple of plexi-glass tubes as well, which guide the wires to a KB Designs logo custom made to match JL Audio's logo on the back of each woofer. The console floats over the rear seat, rather than sitting in the back like in the BMW. So from the dash to the third brake light is a well designed and balanced flow. Each rear seat passenger can sit comfortably in the back, buckle up, and enjoy the sound as well as anyone else in the car. The customer has plenty of space in the trunk, since we only needed to put the tiny, incredibly efficient HD amplifier. So essentially he still has every inch of usable trunk space he originally had. At his fingertips he now has access to not only the Alpine touch screen, but he can use his phone easier than ever with the comfortable armrest and Blackberry dock. When your arm is laying on the floating armrest it is angled towards the phone, which is stylishly charging. There is also an iPod touch dock, directly connected to the Alpine w505. The dock has a plexi quick disconnect feature that allows the iPod to stay connected when needed, but gives you the opportunity to un-dock easily to add more songs. The cup-holder has a KB Designs logo engraved at the bottom and a rubber coaster that fits inside as well. When in use, your drink is hugged by a custom wood-grain trim ring in which it sits through. All plexi-glass can be lit up blue with the turn of a factory located switch.

solstice

Pontiac Solstice

"When it came to creating the subwoofer enclosure I wanted, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out who I wanted to trust with touching my truck, said Walters. I attended many shows and had seen tons of different installations. But nothing really caught my eye until I saw a few Kyle Buckner Designs vehicles at an event. Buckner's attention to detail is amazing, unlike anything I have ever seen. There was no doubt as to who I'd trust and I ended up with an install even better than I had expected." - Herbert Walters/ Customer/ Owner of Featured Chevy Suburban

Click to read the article!

New!

Intricately detailed Custom Install By Kyle Buckner,
featured In the February / March 2010 issue of Performance Auto & Sound Magazine

Kyle Buckner Designs, INC. 2011 1+ 434-489-2160 812 Cahill Court Danville, VA 24541 USA www.kylebucknerdesigns.com
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