# 2016 Volkswagen Golf R Rebuild - Audiofrog, Brax, Helix, Illusion Audio



## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Here it is guys, my favorite (re) build to date, done in a 2016 VW Golf R. I say rebuild because the car came to me with an install done in it already. Problem is, it wasn't completely up to the owner, Mike, standards. Mike contacted me through DIYMA in the middle of last winter about doing the original install. Problem was, i had no time or space to do the install until the end of March. So, he took it to another shop who was able to do the install right away since he was sitting on gear. Mike is much like me. Perfection is everything, in all aspects. Sound, aesthetics, and integration. To most, the first install would have been more than enough. Not Mike though. Hes a whole different breed and wont settle. Hell, i'm sure he will even text me next week wanting to do more lol.

Equipment started off with an Audiofrog GB 3 way front stage, a Helix DSP Pro Mk2 with a Director, a Stereo Integrity BM mkiv sub, a pair of Alpine PDX F6 amps, and a JL Audio HD 750/1, with the OEM radio as a source. We kept a few things, and changed a few things. The final list is as follows.

. Fiio X5iii High-Res DAP coaxial out (sent right into the Helix) as source, with OEM radio as secondary source
. Helix DSP Pro Mk2 with a Director
. A pair of Brax MX4 amps
. Audiofrog GB10 tweeters
. Audiofrog GB25 midranges
. Audiofrog GB60 midbass
. A pair of Illusion Audio C10 subs

**NOTE**

All of the wiring, baffles, and other miscellaneous pieces that were previously done was re-used. Re-doing all of it just wasnt in the budget/time frame, and served almost no purpose.

***ANOTHER NOTE***

You guys are going to hate me, but ive been slacking really bad on getting photos. I guess when you get as busy as i have been the past 2 months, you kinda just forget. This is all i have.

































Here is the previous trunk install. Again, more than enough for the average person. Nothing crazy. Somewhat clean. Simple.































When i removed the subwoofer enclosure/amp rack, i noticed that the airspace given to the sub was extremely small. It measured out to only .2 cubic feet... yeah, Less than a quarter of a cubic foot of airspace, It was pretty much a fiberglass cup around the sub plus an inch deep 18 x 15 slot around the sub. It was also only two layers of fiberglass mat. I was able to step on it and put a hole through it.















Here are the pillars when they came to me. They were very basic. Again, fine for most. But considering Mike is an Audiophile reaching for perfection, the placement, and build as a whole just wasnt going to cut it. They were fully off axis (the driver side mid was a full 90 degrees off axis and both were slightly pointing at the windshield). I feel they also missed a great placement opportunity, which i did and you will see below. They were wrapped in grill cloth, which was falling off when it came to me. Im not sure what they used for adhesive at the previous shop, but everything that was wrapped was coming loose.























Helix Director before with a reverse mount panel which was also wrapped (and peeling) in grill cloth placed in a cubby under the factory radio.
















First things first was to clean up the director. I retained the reverse-mount panel, but i rewrapped it. Wrapping in grill cloth gets tricky. When you spray it with the usual DAP weldwood landau top contact adhesive, it soaks through and you can see it. What i did for this was i coated the panel in a black-dyed resin, and let it cure till it was tacky. I then wrapped it and pressed the grill cloth firmly into the tacky, yet not fully cured resin. It worked perfectly. For the rear, i dyed some DAP landau top adhesive black, and sprayed/wrapped it as i would any other panel. Unfortunately i forgot to get pics of it installed. 















After removing the pillars and taking the grill cloth off of the pillars, i found it was worse than i though. The pillars were made with the old "fleece stretching over the baffle" trick. Except they didn't use thick fleece (which for some cases is fine). They used a single layer of grill cloth and soaked it in resin. Thats it. I was able to poke through it with my fingers. This may explain the resonance Mike was complaining about that was coming from the pillars. After this i literally peeled them apart with my hands.































So first things first.. i took the previous pvc baffles that were topped with the Audiofrog steel baffle. As you can see in the "Before" pic of the pillars, they were huge and bulky. I grinded them down until the baffle was flush with the chrome trim ring.















Remember, not a lot of photos :/..

After ripping apart the pillars, i was left with the giant holes the previous installer(s) cut. Instead of making Mike order new pillars, i just made it work. I taped off the dash and windshield, put down plastic sheeting, and got to glassing the mold. pictured here is my original idea on mounting locations for the tweeters. You will see that this changed. But, behind the mids sunken into the small triangle window (which was tinted with 5%), was a .8 Liter enclosure. This is where i think the ball was previously dropped. I was able to install the mids partially sunken into this "hole", while having them almost fully on axis but also hardly protruding taking up any real estate from the windshield. All while having their own sealed enclosure.















A sneak peak into how i achieved the curves. (Featuring new tweeter mounting location)















Glass, more glass, more glass, more glass, milled glass fibers, grind, shave, fill, sand, fill, sand, fill, sand, fill, sand, fill, sand sand sand.... Wrap

You can kinda see the enclosures here.















All wires in this build were labeled for quick and easy identification.























Heres the start of the sub enclosure/amp rack. Once i built up the mold, i tried something new. I laid down some nylon rope and soaked it with resin. It worked very well for stiffening up the enclosure in the flat spots. In the end the enclosure came to about 1.4 cubic feet plus stuffing.















I copied a template that i made out of quarter inch MDF, and made two copies also out of quarter inch MDF, and one copy out of quarter inch acrylic. I then did a 45 degree chamfer with my new bit from 12vtools. I realized a big 45 chamfer bit is definitely a must have in any fabricators arsenal.























I then cut the top layer to a rectangle with some curves along the bottom. Then the cut out for the subs, which also got a chamfered edge. The bottom of this panel also got rabbeted edges to fit the vinyl 























The bottom pieces that are a copy of, and placed under the acrylic layers were painted, then wrapped in black grill cloth. Sorry, no pictures of the grill cloth wrapping.















Final product.. Edge lit acrylic, translucent logos, etc etc.































Here you can see the grill cloth's purpose under the acrylic. the sub enclosure was also wrapped in suede. Another great feature of this build, the stock floor cover was able to be retained and used without any issue. Unfortunately these the only pictures i got of it in daylight.























Final product of the pillars. wrapped in matching black vinyl. Excuse the dusty dash. This was before the car was detailed.







































Thanks for looking! When it was all said and done, the car sounded phenomenal.


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## makaman (Sep 13, 2016)

Clean!!!!


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## alex1002 (Aug 26, 2011)

Beautiful. How does it sound?

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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

alex1002 said:


> Beautiful. How does it sound?
> 
> Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk


incredible as it sits, i just cant wait to get it back and possibly do some more to take it to the next level


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## JimmyDee (Mar 8, 2014)

Nice work... and nice equipment.

Well done sir.


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## alex1002 (Aug 26, 2011)

alex1002 said:


> Beautiful. How does it sound?
> 
> Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk


Is this standard?

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## DavidRam (Nov 2, 2014)

****ing awesome!!


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

alex1002 said:


> Is this standard?
> 
> Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk


is what standard?


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## alex1002 (Aug 26, 2011)

SkizeR said:


> is what standard?


The car 

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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

alex1002 said:


> The car
> 
> Sent from my LG-H831 using Tapatalk


Nope. But holy hell is it fun to drive

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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

Amazing install!!!


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## strong*I*bumpin (Oct 3, 2005)

Dannnng!....excellent install yo.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Thanks everyone!


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## DPGstereo (Jan 16, 2013)

Damn son...

Very impressive.


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

OMG!


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## 555nova (Apr 12, 2014)

wow.


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## dmazyn (Apr 29, 2008)

Can you build me some of those pillars for my GTI running a Moral piccolo and more CDM-600 mid : )

I like the placement of that.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

dmazyn said:


> Can you build me some of those pillars for my GTI running a Moral piccolo and more CDM-600 mid : )
> 
> I like the placement of that.


Same year? Possibly.

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## dmazyn (Apr 29, 2008)

Mine is a 2017, should be exact same.

I might give it a try I have extra pillars already have the tweets/mids in but they are off axis just have not had the time to work on it much lately.


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## OCD66 (Apr 2, 2017)

Incredible build. It's really cool to see how the pros do it. 

I also have an MKVII. That top pillar clip is a *****. I had to buy new. From what I could tell, it releases only enough to let the curtain airbag come through. No way I was getting it out without destroying it. 

As far as your rope trick,I see where you're going. I work in composites and the material you want to use is Soric.

Lantor, non-woven , composites, cables

Soric is used primarily in resin infusion, but you can use it in a wet layup. Basically, it creates a honeycomb array with the resin as the "walls". The resin only travels around the hexagons without impeding into them. This results into a substantially stronger and stiffer part without the additional weight with less thickness. Less resin. Less fiber. Much stronger. 

Here's some pics of the Soric and some off cuts.







This is 5 and 3 layers of 6oz carbon. Here you can see where the resin transfers between the laminate and avoids the cells.





This is the perfect material for the kind of work you do. I can make a 1/8" part stiffer than 1/2" mdf, probably approaching 3/4"

Anyway, if you'd like some, PM your address and I'll send some to you. I'd love to see you run with it.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

OCD66 said:


> Incredible build. It's really cool to see how the pros do it.
> 
> I also have an MKVII. That top pillar clip is a *****. I had to buy new. From what I could tell, it releases only enough to let the curtain airbag come through. No way I was getting it out without destroying it.
> 
> ...



Thank you! 

that top clip.. hell, all of the clips came to me messed up from the previous installer except for two of them. the driver side still had the top clip fully in tact and you are not kidding. thought i had to break out the pry bar for a bit.

thanks for the tip on the soric. PM sent


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## OCD66 (Apr 2, 2017)

SkizeR said:


> Thank you!
> 
> that top clip.. hell, all of the clips came to me messed up from the previous installer except for two of them. the driver side still had the top clip fully in tact and you are not kidding. thought i had to break out the pry bar for a bit.
> 
> thanks for the tip on the soric. PM sent


Right on.. Keep the build pics flowing.


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## rob feature (Nov 15, 2015)

Well done Nick! Thanks for sharing.


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## toneloc2 (Nov 29, 2015)

just speechless,,,,, wow....... you need to come to vernon this winter for some snow boarding and work on my jeep...


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

toneloc2 said:


> just speechless,,,,, wow....... you need to come to vernon this winter for some snow boarding and work on my jeep...


Thanks!

For a second i thought you were going to say Vernon, NJ. Thats where my home "mountain" is lol


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## toneloc2 (Nov 29, 2015)

lol sorry we don't have bunny hills here...in canada...j k


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## dmazyn (Apr 29, 2008)

The pillar has 3 clips. The top two are two stage clips you pull out for stage one which gives you a little space to work. You then have to use something to slide the clip up towards the top to remove it from the pillar.

The two top clips stay in the car but when you have to get them out can be a *****. I got extra 25 clips cheap so next time I pull them off I am going to replace all of them.


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

Holy **** buddy amazing job !!!!!!


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## LBaudio (Jan 9, 2009)

Epic equipment list and nice install, I like A-pillars, very nice shapes


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

LBaudio said:


> Epic equipment list and nice install, I like A-pillars, very nice shapes


Thanks!


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## lashlee (Aug 16, 2007)

Damn fine work, Nick. I really dig the pillars.


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## funghi2 (Oct 3, 2017)

looks great nick!


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## gijoe (Mar 25, 2008)

Is it possible to change a setting so that I don't have to scroll a mile back and forth to just see the pictures? I know when you upload them that you can upload smaller photos, but I skip so many build logs because it's damn near impossible to look at the photos.


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## Babs (Jul 6, 2007)

You're getting better and better. Man this car I bet sounds incredible. It's making me think I want to seal my pillars.. Haven't quite figured that out yet. How you bring the back part in to the front for a full enclosure. Those pillars turned out awesome, but man the amp rack/enclosure is phenomenal.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Babs said:


> You're getting better and better. Man this car I bet sounds incredible. It's making me think I want to seal my pillars.. Haven't quite figured that out yet. How you bring the back part in to the front for a full enclosure. Those pillars turned out awesome, but man the amp rack/enclosure is phenomenal.


thanks Scott!

also, the GB25's hardly need any airspace. you can seal them in a PVC end cap if you wanted that was a bit larger than the driver itself and you would be good. you should try and see if theres a difference


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## Mullings (Jan 31, 2016)

Beautiful install bro, love the mid/tweeter placement 


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Mullings said:


> Beautiful install bro, love the mid/tweeter placement
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks!

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## DPGstereo (Jan 16, 2013)

.

View attachment 194850

View attachment 194858


Think that tweeters being off-axis is an issue? Mids are mostly on-axis.

I am having to boost tweeter level to compensate for being off-axis.

Think if they were on-axis that highs would be more focused? (ex. hi-hatts or ghost notes on snare drum..easier to hear in mix)

*ORCA* says to mount tweeter in _*No 7 kit*_, off-axis...why?



.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

DPGstereo said:


> .
> 
> View attachment 194850
> 
> ...


the tweeters in this build arent fully off axis. not anywhere near as off axis as in your car. i actually got a perfect response to them within pretty much no eq they way they are. come to think of it, the mids and tweeters hardly needed any eq (compared to all other cars ive tuned) due to how well i took aiming, placement, and enclosure into account


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## DPGstereo (Jan 16, 2013)

SkizeR said:


> the tweeters in this build arent fully off axis. not anywhere near as off axis as in your car. i actually got a perfect response to them within pretty much no eq they way they are. come to think of it, the mids and tweeters hardly needed any eq (compared to all other cars ive tuned) due to how well i took aiming, placement, and enclosure into account




What I notice is...if I lean forward, more _on-axis_ with tweeters...and I can more clearly heard high frequencies. In particular, ride cymbal, hi-hatts, ghost notes on snare drum.
Imaging and soundstage are awesome with current setup, before boosting tweeter level. EQ mix is good. Seems I'm having to boost level of tweeters to clearly hear hi-hatts and ride cymbal patterns or ghost notes on snare. I can hear and it's plenty loud enough, just not as focused or pronounced as my reference home system (of a good set of headphones). So I don't think it's an EQ issue. Raising tweeter level is a simple turn of a knob on the _Crossblock_. But this, of course, can make overall front stage a little bright.
Wonder if tweeters were on-axis, if this would help? I don't think the reason I hear better when leaning forward, is because I'm closer to tweeters? Maybe some of the difference?
It's just a very expensive..what if?

If I did move tweeters to _on-axis_, I'd want them up by 3" mids to keep them as far forward and as far away from me as possible. That may mean they would located just inside of each 3". Down side could be narrowing of sound stage?


Don't mean to hi-jack your post. Curious as to your thoughts given your current build, with more of an _on-axis_ approach.


.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Easy answer, on axis > off axis for me.

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## DPGstereo (Jan 16, 2013)

SkizeR said:


> Easy answer, on axis > off axis for me.
> 
> Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk




I think I agree with you.
This is my first set-up with deliberate off-axis tweeter placement.
ORCA was adamant about, when using a _*No. 7 kit*_, to not position tweeters _on-axis_. Said they are designed to be installed _off-axis_?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

DPGstereo said:


> I think I agree with you.
> This is my first set-up with deliberate off-axis tweeter placement.
> ORCA was adamant about, when using a _*No. 7 kit*_, to not position tweeters _on-axis_. Said they are designed to be installed _off-axis_?


Pretty sure because they design their drivers to have a flat response while off axis. But, who knows. Try fixing your issue with tuning

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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

Wow nick just wow that amp rack and pillars are just freaking awesome! Well done sir.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

optimaprime said:


> Wow nick just wow that amp rack and pillars are just freaking awesome! Well done sir.


thanks!


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## Projektmkvii (Oct 3, 2012)

Very nice... interested in doing my pillars? Same car different gear. 

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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

maresgti12 said:


> Very nice... interested in doing my pillars? Same car different gear.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


possibly, since i am doing some more work on this car soon


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## alex1002 (Aug 26, 2011)

I really dream some day to have a golf r. And also a kick ass sound system. 

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## gijoe (Mar 25, 2008)

Hey Nick, I realized that I'm an idiot and could change the photo size in my settings all along. The build looks great!


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

gijoe said:


> Hey Nick, I realized that I'm an idiot and could change the photo size in my settings all along. The build looks great!


how do i do that? ive been looking at other build logs and even with my computer/internet they take a while to load because the photos are massive. 

And thank you! 

Side note.. this car may be going under the knife again soon


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## vette_werks (Oct 31, 2014)

What kind of vinyl did you use for the pillars? My local fabric store closed and the Joann's stuff is pretty lame.


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

vette_werks said:


> What kind of vinyl did you use for the pillars? My local fabric store closed and the Joann's stuff is pretty lame.


It's from your auto trim. You can get samples from there for a few bucks

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## YellowC4S (Nov 25, 2008)

How do you connect the factory head to the DSP? Were you able to retain steering wheel controls and balance/fader/volume from head unit?

Thanks in advance and great job.


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## alex1002 (Aug 26, 2011)

This is the car if my dreams. But that sounds system makes me drool even more .great job. 

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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

alex1002 said:


> This is the car if my dreams. But that sounds system makes me drool even more .great job.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk


Funny, this car may be for sale 

side note, you should check out the other thread i have on this car. This is the first iteration. There was a second, and a third lol


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

Ok, we have thought about it long and hard. Price is $35k firm. Thats an extra 5.5k of what the bluebook of this car is. You are getting the car, the 15k in performance parts, the 20k or so in audio equipment, along with a top notch install and tune. Take it or leave it. If no one buys it within 3 weeks, the system is being gutted and the car will be sold elsewhere.


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## Strokelessone (Oct 13, 2018)

$35K is definitely a smoking deal for this car as it sits. I’ve read through the builds done on it, it truly turned out great in the end. Unfortunately, most if not all of the installers in my area are about at the fabrication level of the original “build”. Good luck with the sale.


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## mrichard89 (Sep 29, 2016)

My favorite pillars and sails to date. Do you think there is enough room in the kick for a SW800?


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## SkizeR (Apr 19, 2011)

mrichard89 said:


> My favorite pillars and sails to date. Do you think there is enough room in the kick for a SW800?


Nope. Only w800 neo. You definitely dont need the sw800 unless you dont want subs for some reason

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