One more MkV GTi - SQ install pics

[simplicityinsound]

hey guys...

well, i just finished of my second back-to-back MkV GTi SQ install. If you remember the last one, this one is another step up on budget, overall sq, and apperance. so here goes.

Goals:

1.Excellent SQ with the ability for rear fill surround (dictated by the customer)

2. Stealthy apperance in the back but clean and can be shown off if need be

3. fabricate better midbass mounting locations on the stock door

lets get started:

the signal starts wtih an alpine IWA-505 dvd/cd headunit. learning from the experiences wih the metra kit kit, this time i used the one kit that apparently fits well, a american international kit, and installed the HU. I bonded the two pieces of the kit together, molded it, and then painted flat back so its one seamless surround around the headunit:



here is a pic of the two pieces of kit being molded together:



the ipod adapter for the HU was lead out to the glovebox:



onto the front stage, whcih consists of a pair of Seas Lotus refernce 6.5" two way component et.

The tweeters, were molded into the stock A pillars, and the A pillare recovered with vinyl:

[simplicityinsound]

here are a coupla quick build pics of the A pillar, first, the molding process:



then, vinyled, and stock vent installed back into it, tweeters placed and ready to be installed into the vehicle:





now, moving onto one of the most challenging parts of the install. as you may or may not know, the mkv GTI has a rather unique stock speaker mounting. the stock midbass is at hte back of hte door, whcih sux, and there is a map pocket going to the front. in the last GTI, i molded kicks, but a requirement for this GTI was that the kicks are not to be touched. ther efor, the only real way to do this is via door pods.

here are two pics of what a stock GTI door looks like, i grabbed them off someoen else's post as i forgot to take pics of hte stock door:

here you can clearly see the stock midbass location



and the pocket upfront whcih obviously makes for an interesting mold for a pod



there wasnt budget really to do a fully molded door panel...

so anyway, here are hte first, finished result.

the door pod is molded so it slides into the pocket cavity, i also molded with a shape that i felt is well suited to the overall shape of the stock door panel...whcih is always a difficult thing to do when you cant follow the entire contour of the door.

the pods were finihsed off with dark vinyl, whcih acutlaly matches the grain really well and the upper portion of hte stock door, though the lighting and my camera makes it look a bit more off than it really is

here they are:

[simplicityinsound]

a coupla shots of them inside the car with the doors closed (sorry for the dark pics)

[simplicityinsound]

and finally the entire front end as a whole:



now, onto construction pics of hte pod.

first, the stock door pocket was trimmed to allow proper clearance for hte pod:



then the area to be glassed was taped off and roughly marked:



then 7 layers of 3/4oz cloth as applied, whcih was tricky due to the ledge of hte pocket. after that was dried, a layer of duraglass was applied, and the entire thing was allowed to dry for 48 hours, this ensures it is properly hardened and no warping occurs.



once they were cured, and removed, the moldes were removed from the door and trimmed to the desired shape, to make the portion that snaps into the door pocket ledge, a piece of MDF and ABS plastic was used, and then smoothed over with filler. there is also a back vent hole into the mold so its not a completely sealed pod, this lessens midbass coloration somehwat and allows hte wire to be passed through, obviously:



next, a layer of thick dampening went onto the mold for resonance killing:



and then the ring baffles were attached:



and then the entire piece was molded. first ht emold cloth, and then the shape was strengthed frm the inside with more layeres of glass and duraglass.



then it was test fitment time, and as you can see, they fit quite well even just sitting there:

[simplicityinsound]

then, a crap load of sound proofing went onto the back of hte door droo panel to kill buzzing and vibrations as much as we can. it prety much went onto any surface that i can dampened properly:





next, it was back to the pods...

they were sanded smooth, and in went a layer of modeling clay to kill resonance even more, its hard to see in this pic, but its the white stuff you sorta seen in the pod:



then, another layer of dampening went over the clay for more resonanace prevention and to jhold the clay in place, again, its hard to see unless you look close between the two hehe



finally, they are ready to receive vinyl:



and on goes the factory matching vinyl:

[simplicityinsound]

then, a layer of deadv4 thick foam went onto the stock metal door, this does its best at resisting road noise, new speaker wires were ran into the door via drilled out molex plugs:



then the door pod was attached to the door via speedclips and screw, and the entire door mounted back on:



and then finally, the seas midbass was installed into the pod:



the same goes for the other side:







so onto the rear speaker install. the customer provided me wth a set of Hertz HSK165 6.5" two way comps for rear fill and surround purposes.

first, the passiver xover was installed into the cavity and wires neatly organized:



then the hertz midbass was installed into the stock location, the panel was dampened a bit and wires from the xovers lead out:



and the hertz tweeter was iunstalled at the stock location via the bridge mounting option, MDF blocks were first epoxied to the location, the brige moutning screws into them, and then i put some dampened around the area for good measures

[simplicityinsound]

and the same for the other side:





finally, we arrive at the hatch area. first is the normal view, with the stock cargo mat in place, as you can see, not a lot has changed, the load floor was raised by about an inch or so at the maximum:



a layer of soft carpet was cutout to go in between the rubber underside of the cargo mat and the fake floor to prevent any cutting or slicing of hte vinyl:



and lift that out and you see a fake floor with removable panels, though its hard to see, the front panel has raised vinyl logo of GTI

[simplicityinsound]

pop all the panels off and the entire install is viewable.

upfront, TWO DLS reference RA50s power the entire system. one amp sends 75 watts each to the tweeters, and 75 watts to the rears, and powres one of hte subs with 200 watts or so, while the other RA50 is bridged to send well voer 200 watts to the mdibasses, and 200 watts to the other subwoofer. I installed a link so to give the appearance of one, very long amplifier. two Exile audio XT10 10" flat subs provide the bottom end, they sit in a .9 cubfeet sealed enclsoure. and the alpine H701 DSP processor is highlighted to the right of hte subs, and provides all the active processing for the entire system.

the equipment is trimmed by white suede, and the floor is in dark vinyl.







close up of the equipment:



and from further back in the car:



and a few quick build up pics of the trunk, was too busy and didnt get to take too many...





and all the wiring, as you can see, quite tight, not an ounce of room was spared



with the help of Leon, it sounds quite nice, stage is very very high, and its well centered with good widths and depths. midbass is also pretty darn good, just an overall nice tonality to it. the two XT10s, continue to impress me with their output, impact and transients, for how small and low powered they are

prolly one of my favorite installs in recent times...mainly due to overcoming the challenges of the door and the limited space in the hatch for all the gear

b

[edwelly]

WOW - just WOW... I think this is some of your best work yet. To me, this is a PERFECT install. I love stealth and how you incorporate your own style into everything you do. As always, thank you for sharing!!!

[UCF52]

Man, those pods are sexy. Nice work as always!

[capnxtreme]

Amazing work as always Bing.

I can't help but think how out of place that ED dampener is, though, in such high class installs.

[simplicityinsound]

thanks guys...as for the Ed dampener, i only use hte V1UE and V4, both has worked fantastic for me, very low failure rate if any, great performance...i am always loyal to things that work for me, and no need to jump on a bandwagon if there is no phyiscal issues from my own experineces

the UE bein thick, to me, has meant that one layer doe smore than some of hte other brand i have used, and the sell sticking foam V4 i think is a product that works well, cuase the glue that people often use to stick normal foam with, the red canned version, fails under heat and is much more messy to apply and is thinner

so

p.s. you can tell that that i really do only stay loyal to prodcuts i believe it based on my own expeinced based on the evolving brands and products i use on my installs, there are some brands i used to use a lot more, but little or no these days...and there is a reason for that...

[maxxis]

Excellent build Bing.

Quick question. How did you aim the door pods. Are the speakers firing straight across to each other or slightly forward into the dash?

[seddon]

Another amazing install.

[simplicityinsound]

they are aimed pretty much straight across at a very slight upward angle.

i know in some pics it looks like its aiming forward, not sure why htat is, cuase when the door is closed, the speaker prety much face outward directly. hehe

[falkenbd]

Pods are very nice.. Does that hole vent into the door? Does that make it IB?

[simplicityinsound]

i wpouldnt call it IB really, the metal was not cut behind there, i look at the door, and witn the close proximity of hte winddow motor, and not sure hwat exactly is behind the metal, i decided not to try and cut out hte metal behind there, so any airspace it has is in for the most part, in the space between the door panel and the metal.

[oneiztoomany]

amazing install, i wish you were a little closer, i would definately have you do my next install

would you reccomend also putting foam on the backside of plastic door card or just dampener?

[moosejuice]

Looks great Bing another first rate install....

B-

[simplicityinsound]

i personally think foamn should be on the metal, and dampening on the door card...to my experinces that works best...but its your call

[quakerroatmeal]

Nice looking work as always.

[BLACKonBLACK98]

very nice.

[Ianaconi]

Amazing work!

Are the steering wheel controls working for the alpine DVD?

[FrankstonCarAudio]

Once again, an amazing install!
The integration of the door pods looks like they came from the factory..
Great job, Bing!

Looking forward to your next one!...

Mark

[NismoV35]

Another Amazing job Bing! I guess I too am at a Loss for "German Engineering" Must Make speaker fire at my @$$...... Aw yes that is Vundabar! seriously that door pod looks Factory. Can't wait for my turn.