# 2009 Audi TTS Coupe (Bose) - Subwoofer Upgrade



## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

If you ordered the Bose in your TT, and were disappointed, you're not alone.

Especially the subwoofer, I mean, really... a 13cm sub?
So I decided to replace it.

I'm keeping the standard head unit, Bose Amp, speakers, and just replacing the subwoofer (driven by a new amp).

*Specs*

Memphis 15-SC12D4 500w Shallow Subwoofer
Alpine PDX 1.600 Monoblock 600w Amplifier
MTX Re-Q5 (Head unit doesn't have sub pre outs, just 4 speaker channels)
Custom made sealed sub box.

*Installation*

Everything's on order, so in the meantime i'll create the box for the sub.

First step... Dynamat the whole boot area.










Then cut out a decent space from where the spare tyre would go (if you didn't have runflats), and mask it all up with tape.










Then put your mold release layer of foil (or glad wrap) on top of that.










Next step, fiberglassing! Start off by putting a couple of layers on, and let it harden overnight.
I made up my resin in 500ml lots. (1% MEKP, 5ml to 500ml resin) Make any bigger quantity, and you'll have to work really fast.










It was a real pain in the butt to get out, my release layer didn't exactly work. So I filled the box up with ice/water, (for shrinkage) and got a good grasp and PULLLLLL. It came away in one piece.

Trim up the edges, and use some 80 grit sandpaper to rough it up for the next session.










Clean up all the masking tape etc until your boot looks spotless again.










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That's as far as i've gotten so far, waiting for all the bits to turn up, but will do some more fiberglass layers in the meantime. Stay tuned!


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## thormxkid (Mar 30, 2009)

lookin very good


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## SSCustoms (Oct 16, 2008)

Interested to hear how you like the Memphis sub.


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## jorgegarcia (Mar 8, 2008)

This is relevant to my interests

======

How are you planning to attach the sub baffle to the fiberglass tub?


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Once I finish the layering, I have some dowel i'll glue in there to keep the MDF at the right height, then i'll insert the MDF, then fiberglass over the outside edge, then milkshake around the inside.


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## kota_sounds (Apr 21, 2008)

red glass?


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

kota_sounds said:


> red glass?


Looks better than 'natural' brown. The resin shop has it in little tubs.


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Ok, well I did a bit more fiberglassing;

Added another layer over top of my rope reinforcement.










And then another layer. How many layers is enough? I can do this now...










Oh and guess what turned up on Xmas Eve... yay! Thanks Santa!


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## kh971 (Oct 20, 2008)

I am interested in the sub's performance also.


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## rollininstyle2004 (Nov 30, 2009)

Looks great so far!


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Today, I did the final layer of fiberglassing; I thought.. what's one more? 

While waiting for that to dry, I started on the MDF.

I marked it out where I should cut, then went the hack with my router.










Because I indented the sub 8mm, I wanted to reinforce behind it, so I made a 6mm spacer and glued that on.










After that dried, I marked out my drill holes for the sub.










Then I drilled them, then put some T Nut cabinet fittings on the inside so it's easy to bolt the sub in (without stripping the MDF).










Then for a quick look-see, I whacked the sub in with a couple of screws. Yeah babyyy..


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## yellowcard (Mar 8, 2007)

Very nice!


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## orangelss (Dec 20, 2008)

That ReQ is a nice piece. Have used a couple and sold one on here a little while back.


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Ok well I made the most of my Xmas holidays, (all 3 of em) by cutting down the fiberglass enclosure to the proper height I needed, then hours of fiddly sanding to get the MDF to insert properly into the shape of the box.










Then I cut some dowel to size and glued them into the box, so the MDF will rest on those (as well as the rage/resin seal i'll put around the inside edge and the layer of fiberglass over top when I go to seal it up).










Now i'm waiting for the postie to deliver the rest of the crap I ordered so I can continue...!


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## Dave Holmes (Oct 26, 2009)

Excellent work so far. I'm very interested in the end result of adding a sub to a Bose system. Mine doesn't even have one, and the wife's has a little 8 inch one. I'd like a little more, yet not go overboard on a huge box in the trunk....


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

Really nice work! The only thing I would worry about
would be that 5min epoxy and those dowels. I wonder
if its too brittle with not enough flex for this application.
Something like 3m 5200 is way strong enough with lots
of flex. But hey, only one way to find out. 

I REALLY do like your glass work though sir! Some of
the best I've seen on this forum.


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Thanks for the kind words, the 5 min epoxy will be fine, when I put the lid on i'll be liquid nails-ing it to the lid, not trusting the epoxy by itself.


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Seeing as I can't really do much more with the sub box, I decided to pull the crap subwoofer out, to see if my amp can fit in its place.

OH MY GOD, it's *PLASTIC*! Also, the speaker mount for the rear (and probably all) speakers is PLASTIC too! That really gives me the sh1ts... nasty stuff.










ANYWAY, out it goes! I took note of the mounting points, and cut out a piece of MDF so i'll have something to screw the amp into. The amp JUST fits when you put the trim back on, luckily I didn't get the JL I was contemplating.. lol.

I'll have to make up a couple of joining sleeves because the screws are mounted in the body, and they're not long enough. So i'll get some rod and bore it out, then tap a thread through it.. that should work.










At this point I noticed a pretty sturdy looking lug where the sub was mounted into the frame. GROUNDING POINT!










So I filed the paint off, ready. My ground wire is going to be all of about 6 inches.. lol!











Then it was on to the wiring. Bose systems are normally pretty weird.
I managed to get a wiring diagram, and from that, traced which wires were coming from the head units, and what they were for.










It was actually quite straightforward, surprisingly. Previous versions of the Bose system in Audis' have been quite the PITA.




























This version doesn't even look as if it's got common line-out ground! (another quirk they usually have)










So now I need to wait for the stuff from the postie, then I can do a whole lot more.


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## Topdown (Aug 12, 2009)

lookin good... love the red glass


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Tonight I made a little bracket so I can mount the ReQ5 onto the wheel arch, inside the rear quarter cavity (where the Bose amp lives).










The fun part was working out how to do the wheel arch curve. I bent some strips of metal around to make a bracket, which I mounted a couple of squares of MDF in the middle of to suit the standard ReQ mounting points.










I could have used MDF to fabricate a whole bracket and blah blah blah, but no one will see this anyway. And it'll work just as well, if not better (suspension, vs rigid)










I'll glue a couple of strips of velcro to the underside and to the wheel arch rubber/dampener, and it'll hold in fine.


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## danteg (Dec 30, 2009)

Nice build !!! I can't wait to hear you comments about the memphis sub !


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## CJtech323 (Jan 1, 2010)

Wow looks nice!


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Looks great! So are you putting RCAs on the end of those outputs from the Bose head to go into your amp? As I understood it (and in my experience), that Bose head unit is not sending a normal speaker-level signal.


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

94VG30DE said:


> Looks great! So are you putting RCAs on the end of those outputs from the Bose head to go into your amp? As I understood it (and in my experience), that Bose head unit is not sending a normal speaker-level signal.


You mean line level signal?


Nope, re-Q - Take control of your factory stereo! 

It has flyleads on the input which i'll splice directly into the wires in the pic up further.

I'm mainly doing it to get sub-out rca's, as i'm not replacing the speakers.. yet.

From the ReQ it goes to the amp.


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## gitmobass (Nov 7, 2009)

I'm loving the red glass! I'm going to try that on my next box if possible.


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

gitmobass said:


> I'm loving the red glass! I'm going to try that on my next box if possible.


A little blob (1/4 - 1/3 tsp?) of colour per 500ml of resin when you're mixing it will do that.

As a side benefit, it's easier to see which bits you haven't dabbed enough resin onto, colour difference is easier to see than with clear/murky/natural resin.

You'll see more of it in action soon, but I was hoping the outside of the enclosure would be smoother (ie the foil wouldn't have embedded itself) but i'll have (aka want, OCD) to fill and spray it.


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Last night I finished off the MDF mount for the amp;










The bolts mounted in the frame weren't long enough, so I made these up to extend the bolts.










Today I got an early start wiring in the Re-Q.

OMG my back is killing me... but it's done. I've wired the Re-Q5 into the Bose amp wiring.










The blue thing is a Posi-Tap, I didn't really want to cut the thick power wire, or the thick ground wire.

I just ran another ground wire from the nearby bolt, easier.










Then, the moment of truth! Does it work!? YES IT DOES.. haha (No my name's not Bob)










I still need to hook up the remote wire and RCA's to the amp, but that's a tiny task.










It'll hide in there, that velcro won't let it move far.


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## drocpsu (May 3, 2005)

MaXius said:


> If you ordered the Bose in your TT, and were disappointed, you're not alone.
> 
> Especially the subwoofer, I mean, really... a 13cm sub?


There's your problem...thinking its a sub. Bose probably just considers it a "bass module".


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Nope. they use the word 'subwoofer'


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

> Nope. they use the word 'subwoofer'


Oops, I mean 'woofer'.

Here's a diagram of the bose system;










The speakers are a decent size, and for the front tweeter/mids they're bi-wired off one amp front-xx-channel (with an inline capacitor for the tweeter), and the woofer runs off the other front-xx-channel.

They've got neodymium magnets, so surely they aren't that crap.. (I hope?)


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Well I spent most of last night and today in and out of the car, and i've progressed a bit further.

I'd installed the amp, but noticed a high pitched noise which modulated depending on engine revs (no sound when engine wasn't running) so thought i'd stuffed something. I ripped EVERYTHING out including the factory amp, and it was still there.

Long story short - put the back seat back in, noise goes away (muffled). AAGGHH!

So with version 2 of the install, I techflexed some of the cables and everything, hooked it all up and cable tied it everywhere.










So there we go. All wired in... and it works! (Testing with my old Kicker Impulse ported sub atm)

I also thought i'd pop those rear speakers out and put some sound deadener behind them. Hopefully it'll bring the stage up a bit better if they're surrounded by something more than a bit of sheet metal.










On with the dynamat.









And then on with the dynaliner.










I had a bit of dynamat left over, so I put some bits on the back seat - especially those plastic bits which would resonate like anything..


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Don't you hate when you order some binding posts off some ebay seller and they send you the wrong thing? Waiting another week for (hopefully) the correct thing to arrive....


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Well I bought some binding posts off a different ebay seller after the other idiots ("sidejobpros") sent the wrong thing. They said they'd realised they sent the wrong thing and had already sent the replacement package. Well funny how these other ones I ordered at that point arrive first... Someone's full of **** if you ask me.

Anyway... drill holes.










Make a couple of washers out of fiberglass, drill more holes, cover with Loctite, then pop em in!










That thin black layer is some Dynaliner which I put in for sealing/cushioning.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

methodical build... nicely done.


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

MaXius said:


> A little blob (1/4 - 1/3 tsp?) You'll see more of it in action soon, but I was hoping the outside of the enclosure would be smoother (ie the foil wouldn't have embedded itself) but i'll have (aka want, OCD) to fill and spray it.



I've said it already but your install is really cool to follow. I didn't
see the above before or I would have posted this before now. But
least next time you are wanting to do this you'll know. And it does
save tons of time in the end.

3 OZ POLYESTER RELEASE PLY from Aircraft Spruce


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> 3 OZ POLYESTER RELEASE PLY from Aircraft Spruce


Thanks for that, but unfortunately we seem to miss out on whole heap of good stuff over here in Australia, or if we can get these things they're cost prohibitive.


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

MaXius said:


> Thanks for that, but unfortunately we seem to miss out on whole heap of good stuff over here in Australia, or if we can get these things they're cost prohibitive.


My bad, I forgot you weren't in the states. You can however
use a medium thick plastic wrap, cling form, or even visqueen
3-5mil plastic polyethylene. I've used all the above, depending
on the part being glassed and thickness of the poly will vary 
your results.


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Well there's no turning back now... I just soldered the wires onto the posts, then blobbed liquid nails onto the dowels and popped the lid on.

Once that's dry tomorrow, then it's out with the milkshake and shake it.. shake it.. shake it like a polaroid pict.... ahem. Seal the edges.

Edit: Before I did all that, I just sat the sub in the hole, twitched the wires together and did a test run... OMG rumble rumble.. loving it. Tho it was acting like a ported box until I seal it all up


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

MaXius said:


> Once that's dry tomorrow, then it's out with the milkshake and shake it.. shake it.. shake it like a polaroid pict.... ahem. Seal the edges.


I HEAR YA!!! 

I gotta say watching your progress and the progress of all the
other builders really makes me want to work on mine. I'm months
behind schedule on my install, but I have no control over my health.

UNTIL THEN, keep up the killer work and updates. It does give those
of us disabled inspiration!

cheers


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> UNTIL THEN, keep up the killer work and updates. It does give those
> of us disabled inspiration!


Sounds like you get the better end of the deal.. instant gratification (via piccies) vs actually having to do the work.. 

Must say dynamatting was the hardest bit so far... my back said so


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

MaXius said:


> Must say dynamatting was the hardest bit so far... my back said so


I am SSSOOOOOOO not wanting to do that very thing but
my car has ZERO sound proofing/deadening. And I'll have
a bad back going into it, can only imagine how many days
I'll be laid up. 

OH AND YUP, I'm getting the better end of this deal!!!


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Well I got up early and mixed up some Rage which I ran around the inside to give it a bit of a seal. Then I mixed up some resin and dabbed/dribbled that into the groove from the outside, so it's well sealed.

Last bit.. I fiberglassed the MDF lid on... now waiting for it all to dry fully so I can give it a test.










Edit: Dad saw what i've created, and he said it looks like a portaloo! :freak:


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

I think I waited long enough.. I added some rope 'pull tabs' so I can get the thing out of the boot once it's in there, too.










Tweaked the HPF/LPF 70/15, and set the gains.










IT SOUNDS AWESOME!
(I need to get more petrol, been idling playing tunes for the past couple of hours... lol!)


It's not finished yet, need to do some cosmetic stuff, but waiting on a couple of things to do that.


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## jorgegarcia (Mar 8, 2008)

I feel envious.


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## sirsaechao (Jan 25, 2010)

Clean and awesome setup.


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Forgot to add.. the Sub gains on the Re-Q and also the PDX1.600 are both at approx 60%, so could go a lot louder if the normal speakers could keep up with it 

Polystyrene peanuts just buzz around on the sub surface like doped up flies, it's not working hard at all.. hehe


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Still waiting on a couple of little things, but I created a false floor out of some MDF in the meantime, so the proper floor can go back in (if I want) - and it doesn't sit on the sub. That would be baaaaad 

Lots of measuring, routing, filing and sanding later...

Then I sprayed it with 3M adhesive, and lined it with black felt.


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## shawndoggy (Nov 7, 2005)

wow, really clean! I wish I could do something in the spare well like that on my 01 roadster. Unfortunately I lack the skillZ


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

Nice. How thick of MDF did you use?


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

shawndoggy said:


> wow, really clean! I wish I could do something in the spare well like that on my 01 roadster. Unfortunately I lack the skillZ


Shawn: How do you know you lack the skills until you try? This was my first effort at fiberglassing. Just give it a go, what's the worst that can happen?

94VG30DE: I only needed 12mm MDF to raise the floor just a little bit. Add another mm for the felt, maybe.


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## shawndoggy (Nov 7, 2005)

Lol I know because I HAVE tried. Prolly something to do with cheap supplies too.


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## wicked-cricket (Jan 20, 2010)

Looking awesome!


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## SQCherokee (Mar 5, 2008)

looks good, I personaly would smooth the top and give it a fresh coat of red. The exposed glass is neat but looks alittle wavy.


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

SQCherokee said:


> looks good, I personaly would smooth the top and give it a fresh coat of red. The exposed glass is neat but looks alittle wavy.


As I said, still not finished yet... on holidays atm


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## remeolb (Nov 6, 2009)

Love it!


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Holy crap Batman!

The worst thing about installing something half finished in your car is doing without it while you take it out and finish it off...... but finally I got around to it. That and the warmer weather which is just starting now.

So I mentioned I was going to do something a little bit special, and it worked out reasonably well.

First off, I got a bit of frosted plexi, and marked out a ring.










Then with the router, I cut out the ring to fit neatly around the sub.










Then I drilled 54 holes around the edge, and hotglued 3mm superbright LEDs in them.










I grouped the LEDs in threes.










Next step, add resistors to each group of 3 LEDs, then wire it up and test fit.










All went well, so I covered it in with a layer of Rage, and finally another layer of resin over top.

The finished product...










And when you turn on the lights.. there she glows!


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

that is awesome! I love the fact that it is covered so that everything matches, but when the lights come on they shine through. Super slick!


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## odj23 (Jul 13, 2010)

Damn impressive work.

When are you getting on to the rest of the car?


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

odj23 said:


> Damn impressive work.
> 
> When are you getting on to the rest of the car?


Soon.. need some warmer consistent weather (with no rain) in order to be able to rip the door trims off. Can't open the doors in a single garage so it'll be driveway work! (I so wish I had a double garage..)


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

I was wondering if anyone had gone about doing something like this.... 
VERY COOL... Bit too much work for me, I think I'll go the EL WIRE route
but I gotta hand it to ya.


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

That was my first port of call, except the red EL wire glows ORANGE... so it sucked, so I DIY'd.


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## Salad Fingers (Jun 14, 2009)

I really like that acrylic ring with LED's but painted over and built in to something larger so it doesn't look like it's even there. BUT, did I miss where you explained what the ring is mounted to and the steps taken between finished ring to finished product?


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

I just tacked it with hot glue then covered it with Rage (over the wires etc) and then resined over the lot. Kinda forgot to take step by step pics, but that's about it.


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## Salad Fingers (Jun 14, 2009)

Well, but I mean the entire red piece that the ring is attached to is... other acrylic? MDF?


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

Salad Fingers said:


> Well, but I mean the entire red piece that the ring is attached to is... other acrylic? MDF?


Have a look at page 2?


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

VERY good to hear you say this before I ordered my dash kit for my car. Though no one that I know of has tested red that was going to be the color of choice for me. I'm glad I didn't get a kit for 80-90 bucks to have them turn out to be orange. 

NOT meant to derail, this link gives you an idea of what I was trying to do. Going with a light blue wouldn't be a great loss because that is the display color of my XES-P1. I just like red/green for night driving. Just no one has a review of red in this app.
911 EL Wire Gauge Kits - Pelican Parts Technical BBS

THANKS AGAIN!:beerchug:


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

No worries... I bought 2 types of EL wire from 2 different places, both turned out orange - think 1/2 - 2/3 ripe tomato.. Not what I was wanting.

That pic in the link.. red is halfway between that orange and that red, but definitely not red red like they claim.

I'll dig it out of the cupboard and take a piccy for you later when it gets dark.


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

MaXius said:


> No worries... I bought 2 types of EL wire from 2 different places, both turned out orange - think 1/2 - 2/3 ripe tomato.. Not what I was wanting.
> 
> That pic in the link.. red is halfway between that orange and that red, but definitely not red red like they claim.
> 
> I'll dig it out of the cupboard and take a piccy for you later when it gets dark.


GREAT INFO, you have saved me LOADS of time and most of all money! really appreciate it.


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

First wire: Some Ebay guy - "virtualvillage-au-alpha"

Me: _Received the wire today, and the packet is ticked 'Red' but the wire seems very orange. Is this how it's supposed to be? Even the red wire on the power cord for it is way more red than the actual EL wire itself._

Reply: _Thank you for your email though I was concerned to hear of the comments regarding your purchase. I can confirm that this item is bright fire red just like we state in the copy of the listing page, bright red may be a little similar to orange but it's red._

Second wire: Coolneon.com
High Bright Long Life Standard (2.5mm) Cool Neon wire: Base Price: $1.40 High Bright 2.5mm Color: Red 



















Both look orangey to me. Especially amongst random red things I found in the shed. I'll glow em up later.


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## MaXius (Dec 18, 2009)

This one looks redder in the pic than it is with your eye.










The core of this one is thicker so it shows up better on the camera.. sadly not red.


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