# 2012 VW Touareg audio build



## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

OK. This build is for one of my customers. He drives a 2012 Touareg TDi (AdBlue Diesel).

He's out of town for about a week and a half.

Here's the list of equipment:

Factory 8" touchscreen HU
Mosconi 6to8 w/ Bluetooth dongle
Alpine PDX-V9 (mainly because it fits where I have room for it) w/ RUX-KNOB
Focal 165V30's for the front
Arc Audio Black 10
Stock rear speakers for fill (for now...may upgrade later)

The equipment hasn't all arrived yet, so mainly I've just been taking things apart and getting a feel for the stock system.

My impression of the factory system was that it had no real bass impact, but seemed to have quite alot of "bass." The sound was muddy, lacking highs and the image seems to be on the dash anchored toward the left about even with the steering wheel. Obviously, this won't do.

So, then I pulled out my mic, mobile pre and laptop and got some frequency response graphs...










As you can see, the bass drops of at about 45 Hz, with a slight bump at 20Hz, and the highs drop off sharply above 10k.

The customer has a home system consisting of Macintosh, Rotel, and B&W.
He told me he prefers to be able to listen to it with the EQ "flat." He would rather add/change/subtract speakers to get a flat frequency response. 
He typically tunes to flat with corrections for Fletcher Munson curves.

We recommended the 6to8 to adjust for the bad voodoo a car interior do. lol.

We are going to try to use the factory locations, but if moving the speakers makes a huge difference, we can cut holes. 

The front speakers, are low and forward in the door, with tweeters up high, near the door handles on the door.

I left my camera (and phone) at home yesterday so I don't have any pictures to post yet. Well, nothing significant.

I got the back end apart. Started running power wire from the battery under the front seat and a switched wire from the left side fusebox.

Getting ready to go to the movies, so I'll see what I have to post when I get back.

Jay


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## slowride (Jan 26, 2009)

Subbed. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## vwjmkv (Apr 23, 2011)

VERY interested, i own a VW Jetta MKV, and HATE the stock speaker loactions... cant wait to see how the Taureg goes

CC


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## Coupon (Mar 26, 2012)

Sub!


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

He's aiming to use the factory locations if possible.

Here's some pics I took before I got started.

Factory HU:










Brain in right rear quarter, in front of tail light.










Plastic trays above fender:










I plan to relocate the factory brain to the top spot, and hopefully will be able to put the Mosconi 6to8 in below it.

Can't use the space under the spare tire because of the AdBlue tank.










I plan to try to put the bass knob on one side of the center of this spot.










This HU has a drop down DVD player in the glovebox, with 2 SD car slots. It also has a proprietary iPod cable hookup in the glovebox...it does not have USB or 1/8" aux in. There is a blank knockout in the center console, so I'm wondering I we can order the aux jack and cabling from the dealer.










Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Here's the front door. There's a 7" in there now, with plenty of room above it. We could easily run a 3way setup in these doors.










Sub will be going here:










PDX-V9 will be going in the factory HU brain location in front of the tail light.

I started yesterday by Techflexing an 18ga wire with ATC fuse tab to run for switched power to the rear. I also threw some red Techflex on the 4ga power wire and attached it to the battery (under the seat). There is a duct under the seat, with a bunch of room under it. I plan to mount the fuse holder under it so it is semi-easily accessible. 

Jay


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## Noobdelux (Oct 20, 2011)

i would love to see a detailed description with lots of photos when you build the sub box
cause im going to put a 12" in the same spot. (one of the slim ones from dynaudio)


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## Notloudenuf (Sep 14, 2008)

That dash is begging for an iPad.

Also, whomever tuned that car for the factory should be forced to listen to Barney 24hours a day for 8 weeks as punishment.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Yeah. It sounds awful. 

On the up side, even if I tune it badly, it'll still sound loads better. lol

I'm REALLY debating on trying to see if we can go 3 way up front...

I'd make 'em listen to "menomenah" from the muppet show...over and over.

Jay


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## Noobdelux (Oct 20, 2011)

in my car even though i had the basic 2 way setup the car wad annyway the mounting bracets for a extra mid tone. so i cant see why they would suddenly change the doorcards
(09 golf stv)


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Huh?

I'm confused.

Are you saying that even though you had the basic system, it still had the midbass location at the back of the door, and the grill was still on the door?

Jay


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## Noobdelux (Oct 20, 2011)

yes, it was still no sweat to put in the midtone in my car even though it came with the 2 way system. i guess they have the same doorcard build for all models just in case the customer wants an upgraded audio pacage, if you want i can pull out the photos i have on the camera and update my build thread, im kinda lazy and the 8 month baby takes alot of time : ) btw i had to make an adapter cause the hertz midtone was smaller than what the original would be.

forgot what they used in those cars though for the upgraded equipment


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Got a little more done today.

I drilled out the driver's side molex plug and ran 2 runs of Dayton OFC 12ga speaker wire into the door. 

I built the speaker mounts for both doors...they need bedliner.
I built some small plates to fill in the factory (unused) 3" location...also need bedliner.

I relocated the brain for the factory HU into the plastic tray above it's original location.

I removed the factory speaker out plug from the harness assembly and replaced it with a Metra pigtail. This way I didn't have to cut any factory wiring.

The PDX-V9 arrived today, as well as the Focal speakers. The 6to8, Black 10 and RUX-KNOB will (hopefully) be here Thursday.

Got the power wire connections finalized at the battery. Ran the power wire to the rear of the truck.

I'd post pics, but I took them on my Olympus camera. And when I got home I couldn't find my transfer cable. I think future pics I'll either stick with my phone, or use my GF's Sony. I'll post 'em up if I get them off the camera.

Jay


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## Coupon (Mar 26, 2012)

nice work!!! I am in the process of building a similar system on the Cayenne. Looking forward to your photos and detailed installation procedures on the subwoofer enclosure.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I'm planning to take a lot of pics when I build the sub enclosure...It will probably be a few days yet.

I was told the rear of the Cayenne was different than the Touareg, so I don't know how much room there is in one of them.

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

OK. Some progress:

Speaker adapters:










I back cut the baffle to allow breathing room for the Focal woofer.
Then I coated them in truck bedliner.










I made these to fill in the factory 3" openings. Also sprayed with bedliner.










Cable for bass know techflexed and labeled. 










Passenger door:










Door pull covers off to reveal one of the screws that holds the door on.










This panel pops up and reveals some screws










There's a screw here, behind the woodgrain.










And down here:










More...


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Factory "crossover"











Ran 2 runs of 12ga into the door through molex plugs.



















Techflexed










Woofer in the door.










I used some closed cell foam to decouple the adapters from the door.
Can't really see it in photos.

Speaker wires labeled.










Where I plan to (more permanently) mount the crossover on the passenger side.










Covered factory "mid" opening. Plate was covered in closed cell foam to avoid squeaking.










more...


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## rugdnit (Dec 24, 2007)

Very Cool Jay... I would love to have a TDI Touareg. Sweet Ride! I will watching this install for sure.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Doors hushmatted:










Backside of door panels hushmatted.










I love these fuse taps.










I'm using this to run switched to the rear of the vehicle, in case we need it. The Mosconi 6to8 is supposed to do signal sensing and then have a turn-on output, so it may not be necessary....but better safe than sorry.

Switched wire techflexed and labeled.










Started sub enclosure today:



















I removed the plastic piece that held the little "wall." I ground the plastic welds off, but it can easily be resinstalled with some short screws.










Taped the whole panel off.










Made a 3/4" mdf baffle for the box.










more...


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Cut out the mounting hole, and made a recessed ring so I can make a flush grille.










Together:










Sub on the baffle.










Nice view of the back of the Arc Black 10.










Got a couple of layers of glass down tonight.




























That's about it for now.

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

rugdnit said:


> Very Cool Jay... I would love to have a TDI Touareg. Sweet Ride! I will watching this install for sure.


It's not mine. But thanks!

Jay


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## Coupon (Mar 26, 2012)

JayinMI said:


> Cut out the mounting hole, and made a recessed ring so I can make a flush grille.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Beautiful job on the sub, can you tell us what's the volume for this enclosure?


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## vwjmkv (Apr 23, 2011)

awesome work man. keep it comin'!

CC


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Looking good, Jay! How are you going to secure the sub enclosure to the body?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Coupon said:


> Beautiful job on the sub, can you tell us what's the volume for this enclosure?


Right now? No.  I will check it before I seal it up. My best estimate is around .65 or so.

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

bbfoto said:


> Looking good, Jay! How are you going to secure the sub enclosure to the body?


Not 100% sure, yet. The car's owner sent me a link to another Touareg box build, and they just mounted it to the panel. I'd like to mount it more solidly than that. I believe installing a $500 sub like a $100 sub is going to make it sound like a $250 sub, and then what's the point.

Once I get the fiberglass done I can put the panel back in and see what I have to work with. I may fashion up some brackets to mount to the car, that attach in some of the original holes in the panel. 

There's a hole for the dome light, and a little access hole back by the taillight. We're trying to make it reversible, so no extra holes if possible....But if I have to make a couple of holes in the name of SQ, I have the go ahead. 

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

vwjmkv said:


> awesome work man. keep it comin'!
> 
> CC


Thanks!


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## Coupon (Mar 26, 2012)

Thanks Jay!

Looking forward to seeing your finish built.


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## tr0y_audi0 (Feb 13, 2007)

*Jay,
Try a nutsert tool.. I would mount into the fender I think this would be best*


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I've thought about it, Troy. Unfortunately, there isn't any metal right behind where the box is (close enough to bolt it to) and 2. I am broke as F* right now, and couldn't afford to buy the nutsert tool...Yes, even too broke for the Harbor Freight one. lol

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Made a little more progress today.

Laid down 4-6 more layers of glass on the box. Should be ready to go on Monday. I left it in the panel to make sure it didn't warp.










Relocated the factory HU brain to the plastic bracket above the fender.
If you look, you'll see that the slots in the side of the plastic mount line up perfect for the HU to lock in.










Mosconi 6 to 8 underneath it. 










Wired up the power harness for the 6to8...techflexed and labeled.





































I grabbed power and ground at the factory harness....I figured that should keep me from having ground differentials. Or maybe it will just work, cause it doesn't matter. lol. Soldered, btw.



















That's all for now.

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

OK. Pulled the 'glass out of the panel and trimmed it up.
Then I filled the tub with popcorn. (Yes, I was going to buy styrofoam balls, but my GF has a 30lb bag of popcorn at the house.)



















Deadened the inside, just to be safe. I can stand on the fiberglass tub (I weigh about 240lbs) and it didn't make a peep.










Ran all my wires to the back, and got the amp and 6to8 wired up.























































Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Today I was the only installer at the shop, so I didn't get as far as I wanted.
The "popcorn method" says that the tub was about .57 ft^3. A little smaller than required. I revised the box design and should be more like .63 when done.

The other thing I found out was that after buidling up the thickness of the 'glass tub, the sub didn't clear anymore. mean So I spaced it up to clear.
Then I fashioned a grill frame.



















Then I made an ABS ring around the mounting ring.



















Then I glassed all around it.










Tomorrow, I'm going to cut some holes in the wood baffle so I can use the additional airspace I'll get by stretching material over the front.

Once I get that more done, I can fire things up and play with tweeter locations.

Since we aren't running active fronts, I'm trying to get my PLD's between the mid and the tweet as close as possible...then hopefully I can time align the front stage.

It looks like the A-pillars are my best bet. With a quick measurement of the tape measure, it looks much closer than the factory location in front of the door handle.

Jay


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## tr0y_audi0 (Feb 13, 2007)

Nice work man, keep it up..
keep us posted for sure...


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Thanks!

Jay


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## blackknight87 (Jul 11, 2011)

Nice looking build you got going here!


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## funkalicious (Oct 8, 2007)

Looking good! Any plans for sound deadener materials?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

You mean like the three door kits of Hushmat I installed? lol
The truck is pretty quiet as it is, so we focused on the front doors and the area around the sub.

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

More box work...

Started here:










Then cut a hole to use the extra airspace:










Stretched an old work t-shirt:










Resined:










Several layers of mat and resin (forgot to take pics, oops) and trimming to close shape.

Then I taped off the car (again) put the enclosure in it's spot and blended the edges with duraglass for a perfect fit.




























And several applications of Easylight body filler and hours of hand sanding (to the point my fingers bled a little, lol)




























more...


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Started working on the grill:










Metal mesh stapled down.










Duraglass'd in to be flush and keep it from rattling.










sanded:



















On the down side, I have to poke all the plugged up holes out by hand. grrr. 
Probably shouldn't have used reinforced filler for that...

Bass knob:










Amp mounting board bolts in to 3 factory mounting points. 2 for the factory head unit brain mounts, and 1 unused factory ground.



















Don't mind the JL 8" box. That was there because I needed something to space out my hood prop in the earlier pics.

Jay


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

looking real good!

now they just need to lower the thing and make it look like a fat GTi


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## BakedCookies (Sep 6, 2011)

Wow, nice work on the sub enclosure! looking forward to more on this.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

Jay - Look for the S-Contact wire in the gauge cluster or in the ignition switch. It'll give you RAP. I haven't tried it while running an OEM HU but it may even allow you to not use the keys to turn acc power on, just press the HU power button and listen with the car off. 

Worst case, the signal sensing will do the same thing, just slower.


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## tr0y_audi0 (Feb 13, 2007)

VERY NICE BRO!


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## blackknight87 (Jul 11, 2011)

Love the sub enclosure!


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

More progress today:

Deadened the back of the panel the box mounts into.




























And the area of the quarter panel right behind it.










Then cleaned up the grill and got it ready for grille cloth. (sorry, no pics)

Wired the box and installed Deans connectors on the sub leads.










Taped off the opening of the box and sprayed it with Laundau Top glue.




























more...


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Applied vinyl to box and grille cloth to grille.





































For the grill cloth, I used a trick I saw in one of Bing's threads about spraying the glue on the surface of the grill and waiting a minute before adding fabric.

I also CA glued the back edge of the vinyl so I don't have to worry about it loosening up later.

Tomorrow I *WILL* fire it up and see if I think I need to move the tweeters to the a pillars or not.

Jay


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## damonryoung (Mar 23, 2012)

Excellent work!


Sent from my iPhone.... Beware of AutoCorrect.


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

Amazing workmanship


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

As the guys at work say..."Another over the top install by Jay."

But this is much more along the lines of what I'd like to be doing, instead of a deck and amp/sub in some old hooptie all the time. lol

Jay


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## bertholomey (Dec 27, 2007)

That sub enclosure does look fantastic.... like it belongs there.... Great job with the integration and the fit / finish!


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Well, fired it up today, and the Mosconi piece gave me some issues.
Then I tried to install the software on my computer (from the CD) and it gave me a couple of errors saying that a couple of components were "corrupt."
Then I spent a couple of hours trying to chase random clipping. The speakers would make some noise that almost sounded like wires were shorted (they weren't) and then the speakers would cut out and come back.
Then I took the Mosconi out of the signal path and hooked the Focals up directly off the factory radio and it still did it. Then I finally put it back in and it worked. No apparent reason why. smh.

Mounted the box to the panel, since there isn't any metal to mount it to without cutting holes in the panel. It works, tho. It's not making any real noises or anything and the sub sounds great.










Once I finally got it playing, I listened to some of the customer's discs (Clapton, and a jazz/blues disc) and it sounded pretty good considering I only set the crossovers on the amps and set levels by ear.

It gets plenty loud, too. I played with tweeter locations, and the a-pillars really helped move it up and forward vs. the factory locations. Up about a foot and forward about 6"...also, in the factory locations things seemed diffused, on the a pillars they sound much better.

I'll be fashioning some "bing-esque" tweeter/a-pillar pods.

Jay


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## posterChild (Jun 8, 2012)

Subscribed.


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## adamand (Apr 19, 2009)

Love how the sub enclosure flows with the factory space!

Sub'd.


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## AzzurriAudioworks (Dec 28, 2011)

adamand said:


> Love how the sub enclosure flows with the factory space!


x2 on that one. Looks really slick.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Thanks, guys. I'm pretty happy with it.

Yesterday was pretty much a waste, but today I made some progress.
I put back together what I could, and started molding the tweets into the a-pillars. 

Used some green painter's tape as a reference.



















Then I drilled the hole to fit a slightly modified Focal tweeter angle mount cup. I left the bottom lip in so the tweeter won't fall through, and it will still twist in and out with the little tool they give you. The open area behind the tweeter will make it much more easily serviceable with the 12ga speaker wire I'll be running up there. lol










Tacked the cups in with CA glue, and then stretched some more of the t-shirt I had leftover from the sub box.










Glassed them up.










Ground them down with a 36 grit Green Corp disc on the angle grinder.
Went over them with some Duraglass for strength....(no pics, it was messy.)

Then I ground some openings into the back of the pillar around the tweeter cup, and (taking a page from Bing's book) I filled them in with a milkshake of Duraglass and Resin. Worked like a champ, but was also messy, so I didn't get any pics of that either. Sorry.

Finally applied some filler and sanded them to shape.










Stuck them in the truck to see how they turned out.




























The customer would have preferred the factory locations, but they sounded SOOOO much better on the pillars and he told me if it would make a sound quality difference to do it.

Hopefully I can find some material that is pretty close on Monday. Honestly, a light gray speaker grill cloth would be about perfect....and maybe some paint for the Focal tweeter grille to help it blend in.

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Just ordered a new Windows 7 PC to run all my audio software and RTA stuff.
Should be here on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Jay


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## niceguy (Mar 12, 2006)

Beautiful work man....I still get skiddish removing panels from breaking clips when I was a teen and impatient lol...


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Thanks.

Just gotta go slow and feel it out carefully. This one actually made some sense and came apart pretty easily.

Jay


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

wow! looks awesome!!!!


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## unemployedconsumer (Sep 24, 2010)

Looking good, I honestly didn't think anyone in Michigan was professionally doing solid work like this with extreme attention to detail. Its a shame you don't get more cars in the shop like this where you can showcase the builds on here.


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## nigel1977 (Jan 13, 2009)

Thanks for taking the time to do the writeup.

Awesome work.


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## VW_GTI (Apr 23, 2012)

JayinMI said:


> I removed the factory speaker out plug from the harness assembly and replaced it with a Metra pigtail. This way I didn't have to cut any factory wiring.


apologies for the noob question - I'm planning a very similar build (MS-8 to PDX-V9) for my MkVI GTI and I was wondering if you could explain this process a little more. Where would I go about getting the necessary harness such that I wouldn't have to cut into my factory wiring?

Thanks,
Chris

Also, awesome build...


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

unemployedconsumer said:


> Looking good, I honestly didn't think anyone in Michigan was professionally doing solid work like this with extreme attention to detail. Its a shame you don't get more cars in the shop like this where you can showcase the builds on here.


It really is. I understand the economy is down in Michigan, but people who want this kind of work done will always have enough for it.

Sometimes I think about trying to find a job to work 4 10 hour days, and do audio on the side 3 days a week. It won't happen, but it's a nice dream. lol

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

VW_GTI said:


> apologies for the noob question - I'm planning a very similar build (MS-8 to PDX-V9) for my MkVI GTI and I was wondering if you could explain this process a little more. Where would I go about getting the necessary harness such that I wouldn't have to cut into my factory wiring?
> 
> Thanks,
> Chris
> ...


Thanks. I happened to have a Metra 71-9003 harness at the shop for a customer who ended up not needing it. It has the set of plugs that go into the radio directly. Then I removed the speaker harness from it. Just the part with the 8 wires.

Here's the factory wiring all plugged into the back of the HU brain: The tan/orange plug is the one I took out of the factory plug frame.










Here's the part of the Metra harness I removed. This gives me speaker outputs.










Then I took a Metra 70-9003 Harness and removed all the wires except for the rear speaker wires. I cut slots in some of the empty spots so that when I plugged the Metra harness into the factory wire harness I could zip tie them together to make sure they never come apart.

We kept the rear speakers stock for now, so there wasn't any real reason to upgrade the speaker wire at this time.

Another option to look into is a Parrot Hands-free kit wiring T-harness. It comes with both sides. I believe they should be available for the GTI, since I know a few people on the Touareg forums are using them.

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

simplicityinsound said:


> wow! looks awesome!!!!


Just tryin' to get to your level. lol

Thanks.

Jay


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> Just tryin' to get to your level. lol
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Jay


pssshh...you are already there bro, many moons ago haha


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

That was the first time I'd used "milkshake" in any form, and I got that from reading your builds. It worked very well. I will definitely use it again.

I recently traded in my 2010 Genesis Coupe for a 2012 Kia Rio Hatchback...a new build will be coming this summer. 

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

UPS guy teased me today. My new Netbook I ordered for audio work was listed as coming from Indiana and should be here today or tomorrow. There has been a hell of a delay on tracking updates and a UPS truck pulled up right in front of my house...and then the guy went across the street. Grrr.

Guess I'll have to wait.

Jay


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> I recently traded in my 2010 Genesis Coupe for a 2012 Kia Rio Hatchback...a new build will be coming this summer.
> 
> Jay


u what?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Yeah, gas started going back up, I needed something more practical. Over the course of the loan I will save something like $8k in gas, and with no money out of pocket my payment went down $73/mo. Plus I was running premium gas in the Genesis (cause it's a turbo) which I don't have to do. The Kia dealer I bought the car from does Mobil1 synthetic oil changes for $45, instead of the $75 I was paying at Valvoline. On a 10 gallon tank (kia) I get a range of about 350 miles, and it costs about $36 to fill it up. The Genesis had like a 17 gallon tank, cost $65 to fill up and I got about 320 miles to a tank.

I can also fit my table saw in the back of the Kia.

I didn't leave it stock. lol

Jay


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> Yeah, gas started going back up, I needed something more practical. Over the course of the loan I will save something like $8k in gas, and with no money out of pocket my payment went down $73/mo. Plus I was running premium gas in the Genesis (cause it's a turbo) which I don't have to do. The Kia dealer I bought the car from does Mobil1 synthetic oil changes for $45, instead of the $75 I was paying at Valvoline. On a 10 gallon tank (kia) I get a range of about 350 miles, and it costs about $36 to fill it up. The Genesis had like a 17 gallon tank, cost $65 to fill up and I got about 320 miles to a tank.
> 
> I can also fit my table saw in the back of the Kia.
> 
> ...


dang didnt know your genesis sucked that much gas from a 2.0T, my subby has a much bigger pump injectors and all the mods pushing 400/425, and on a 15.5 gallon tank i can go 350 on the hwy  u must drive enthusiastically


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## IBcivic (Jan 6, 2009)

simplicityinsound said:


> dang didnt know your genesis sucked that much gas from a 2.0T, my subby has a much bigger pump injectors and all the mods pushing 400/425, and on a 15.5 gallon tank i can go 350 on the hwy  *u must drive enthusiastically *


 Is there any other way to drive a turbo sport coupe???


Great job, Jay!


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## rugdnit (Dec 24, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> Yeah, gas started going back up, I needed something more practical. Over the course of the loan I will save something like $8k in gas, and with no money out of pocket my payment went down $73/mo. Plus I was running premium gas in the Genesis (cause it's a turbo) which I don't have to do. The Kia dealer I bought the car from does Mobil1 synthetic oil changes for $45, instead of the $75 I was paying at Valvoline. On a 10 gallon tank (kia) I get a range of about 350 miles, and it costs about $36 to fill it up. The Genesis had like a 17 gallon tank, cost $65 to fill up and I got about 320 miles to a tank.
> 
> I can also fit my table saw in the back of the Kia.
> 
> ...


When you actually start paying attention... It's amazing how much you can save. What I would really like to see is the 1.6 ltr TDI's that VW makes in America.... Actually for sale to AMERICANS. Guess our gov't doesn't want to lose the tax revenue, so they blame it on the EPA. What a bunch of $hit. In any case I would be watching your build closely as the Touareg TDI is likely to be my next ride. Thanx for posting this all up.


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## posterChild (Jun 8, 2012)

unemployedconsumer said:


> Looking good, I honestly didn't think anyone in Michigan was professionally doing solid work like this with extreme attention to detail. Its a shame you don't get more cars in the shop like this where you can showcase the builds on here.


Amen to this. I said the same thing to Jay in a PM. I don't know of any shop that I could take my vehicles to and get this level of quality/service. It's sad what we have to settle for living near The Motor City regarding vehicle modifications in general.

I did want to add some info regarding the glove box connector. The plug in the glove box *does* support iPod/iPhone, USB, and 1/8" aux-in. There are two iPod connectors though... one with "tagging", one without. The one that comes from the factory does not. Your client probably wants the one that does. The 1/8" jack also comes with the vehicle. The USB is optional to buy.

Here's a link to the actual products:

VW DriverGear - Official Volkswagen Parts & Accessories

Notice the hilarious pricing that VW charges. Sigh.


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## d5sc (Aug 14, 2007)

Very nice build and attention to detail! As others have pointed out, the sub enclosure looks really nice and looks like it was meant to be there.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

It *is* meant to be there. LOL

Thanks.


Having some issues with the Mosconi, and some noise issues.
Will work on tomorrow.

Jay


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## polarized (Jun 15, 2012)

Great thread, any chance of anyone knowing of shops in upstate NY that are capable of doing as nice a job as shown here for a similar upgrade on a Touareg?
Love the car - hate the stock sound.

Thanks for any referrals and for posting all the great info.!


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## EriCCirE (Apr 14, 2010)

Great work


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

polarized said:


> Great thread, any chance of anyone knowing of shops in upstate NY that are capable of doing as nice a job as shown here for a similar upgrade on a Touareg?
> Love the car - hate the stock sound.
> 
> Thanks for any referrals and for posting all the great info.!


Is Jersey too far? Don (6spcoupe) runs Unexpected Creations in Edison, NJ.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Seems like the great untapped market for audiophiles who are willing to pay for quality is Touareg owners. This thread has been viewed like 1300 times in 3 days. lol

Jay


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## mrm1776 (Oct 30, 2010)

Absolutely awesome build... I'm not a huge VW fan... but you did a great job with it!


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Thanks! As many problems as I'm having right now, I'd MUCH rather install a nice setup like this is a 2012 VW than the huge system of customer owned crap in a beat-to-**** 1999 Tahoe (that I had to do some work on this week.)

LOL

Jay


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

i saw it today, just as pretty in real life.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Thanks, Nick...And for the help with the netbook too.

Jay


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Really beautiful work, Jay! You're definitely inspiring me to get started on a new build where I'd like to do something very similar. 

And welcome to DIYMA, Nick (nadams5755)!


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## estione (Jul 24, 2009)

I know it's been said before, But that really is a nice sub box, along with the rest of the build of course.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I was planning on working on it today, but since we had a recent death in the family, I now get to drive to Louisville and pick up my GF's nephews.

I was doing some searching, and I'm going to try a PAC can-bus adapter (which gives an accy output) and see if that helps at all....The accy dropping out during crank could avoid alot of the popping I'm getting, but probably not all.

I see a few posts on Google where (apparently) it is not uncommon for 2011-2012 Touaregs to develop a popping through the speakers. It's unclear to me if this is only in the amplified systems because people keep saying the dealer replaced the "amp," which could mean an amplifier or the factory HU brain because most people don't know the difference. I can only image what a pain it will be to deal with the dealer because I'm sure if this turns out to be the issue they will blame the audio install. I'm starting to remember why I vowed to never by a VW again. LOL

I wrapped the pillars yesterday (another local supplier had the cloth I was looking for)...color is good, texture is a little off.










It also showed a couple of little issues I need to fix. I'm going to send it out for "break-in" like it is. I want to make sure the glue is going to hold the fabric in place with the heat and sun and stuff. If it holds up I will redo them when it comes back for re-tuning.

I used landau top glue, and waited before applying it for the glue to tack up (as suggested by Bing in one of his threads), but it came out kind of bumpy. My gun I used for it has a 1.0mm tip, so I'm thinking I need a gun with like a 1.8 tip. What are you guys using? Does the glue lay out smooth? I've always seen it bumpy, but it really shows through in a couple of spots.

Open for suggestions.



















If I track the popping back to the factory radio, I swear I'm going to pull the Mosconi and install a P99RS and leave the factory screen in just for any controls it does for the car. LOL

Here it is, out of the dash...I believe it's an RNS 850, from what I can find on the net. It's made by Alpine.



















Plenty of room in the dash for a Double Din too. LOL

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

At one point, I was getting popping through the speakers hooked directly to the factory HU brain....then it stopped on it's own.

I tried putting in an Audiocontrol LC6i to see if their grounding jumpers would solve the problem, and it didn't. 

I've tried line out convertors...they kill the signal. It's like 1/2 of a balanced signal. 

Next thing might be trying my personal BitOne and see what happens. LOL

I don't think the problem is the Mosconi, btw. 

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Whoops. The installed pillar pics didn't load. Here they are.



















Jay


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

The HU doesn't need to stay in the car. It doesn't do anything special. I'd pull it and run anything other than the OEM HU and call it a day.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Good to know. Maybe I should try to get my hands on one of the new Alpine 8" Navis. lol.

It had a climate button, so maybe it just shows the settings on screen.

If I changed the radio, steering wheel controls become an issue. So far, on the new 2011-2012 Tregs, you can only control like volume up/down/mute.

I was hoping you'd chime in, since you seem to be pretty familiar with the VW/Audi radios. 

Thanks.

Jay


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## posterChild (Jun 8, 2012)

quality_sound said:


> The HU doesn't need to stay in the car. It doesn't do anything special. I'd pull it and run anything other than the OEM HU and call it a day.


Uhhhhhh...

Okay, off the top of my head, the stock HU does:

- Vehicle/Service information 
- Vehicle maintenance: wiper motor controls, window controls
- Oil Level - No dipstick comes with T3.
- MSD - Entire dashboard is reliant on HU functions

Things you'd have to re-integrate if you replaced it:

- Back up Camera
- Phone mic integration
- Navigation

I'm not sure what you'd gain from replacing it with something aftermarket unless you were going for pure SQ. It has its bugs, but the stock HU integration is one of the best I've seen. 

My personal feeling is that the core problem with the stock system is the modeling that's provided by the stock HU and crappy amplifier. Getting something to model the signal well and provide quality power is probably the best course of action (like Jay is doing). Replacing the HU would seem to be way more trouble than its worth. And, it seems that VW will certainly laugh at any warranty claims once you remove the factory method for checking oil levels and service intervals.

posterChild


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

posterChild said:


> Uhhhhhh...
> 
> Okay, off the top of my head, the stock HU does:
> 
> ...


^^^^^ I agree with him, my buddy works Audi and he said someone took out oem navi unit... well long story short, his electrical system warranty is gone because he took out the screen... I just hate the way new audis inter-grade the HU in to there cars. and the controls are stupid as hell.. 

I'm a Audi guy but I wouldn't buy another one


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

After battling noise for the past several days (short periods at a time, because of other things going on), we made progress [email protected]!2!

First, I wired in a Pioneer DEH-720 (circa 1990 CD player I had laying around).
Figured "Surely, taking the factory HU out of the equation will solve my problems, especially since it has a real turn on lead."

Nope. Even still, when I started the truck, it popped.

Hmmmmm.....

Ok, lets hook the factory HU to the factory rear speakers (still attached to factory wires)....No popping. Hmmmmm.....not coming out of the factory HU.

Since I thought having the switched lead drop out during crank might help, I found the starter wire out under the hood. Wired in a Relay to cause the ignition feed I was using to drop voltage during crank.

Let's try bypassing the Mosconi. Y'd off the signal to feed the Alpine amp directly....and....


YAY! No popping. 

Then we got busy at work and I didn't get to touch it for a while.

Finally got back to it just before 6. Called Orca, talked to a very helpful guy who made some suggestions.

One of them worked, tho I think Bing had actually suggested it earlier, and I misunderstood what he meant.

So, now we had it working. So, I tried taking out the relay so we were back to ignition feed for turn on....popping came back. So it needed to drop out.


I ran a wire from the starter wire under the hood (fused) into the truck. Prettied it up a little. Wired in another relay to drop out during crank.

I feel pretty good about finally getting it going.

Here's what we had to do.

Mosconi, set to High Level Input. BTL/SE set to BTL. Ground to ground. Battery to switched accessory, turn on output left unused. switched accessory also turns the Alpine on and off directly.

It seems to have been some sort of timing issue.

The only downside is that the amp is only on when the key is on. If you turn off the key, the radio stays on but the amp shuts off. No real way around this that I can see. Nothing serious.

Anyway, it's an update. It's time for bed. I'm beat.

Jay


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

posterChild said:


> Uhhhhhh...
> 
> Okay, off the top of my head, the stock HU does:
> 
> ...




When did they start integrating all that stuff? The 510 doesn't do any of that. If it does do all that, none if it except the backup camera would be lost and even that can be wired into an aftermarket unit. VW's OEM navi is not good enough to lament losing. Aftermarket BT isn't a big deal either. I've integrated an OEM VW mic into an aftermarket unit as well. 

Now if the other dash functions do run through it and there's no redundancy that's something else, but the three things above are not reasons to keep it.


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

lol yeah i was wondering why you didnt respond to that wiring thing 

i acutually just have all my 6to8s on the 1 minute shut off, ensures absolutely zero pop or even clicks for competition as the amps remain on for a minute after you turn the system off


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

looks like you found a clever solution with gear laying around. 

i was poking through a mini-dsp review thread and there was discussion about turn-on pop. reviewer's solution was a DEI 528T timer module. Amazon.com: DEI 528T Pulse Timer Relay: Car Electronics


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Bing: 

When I originally tried your suggestion, I used the turn on output of the 6to8 to turn the amp on and off and still had popping. I also hadn't yet wired in the relay to drop out during crank.

I assume the 1 min delay you are talking about is a software setting? I haven't really played with the software much because a) the PC kept losing the connection, and 2) I was trying to get rid of the nose before I started trying to tune it.

The slight engine noise I was getting was radiating in through the Focal Crossovers. They were laying on the floor. Apparently there is a HUGE wiring harness right under them.

I moved them to the side of the dash and I don't hear it anymore. So, either it's fixed, or my sinus infection has my ears plugged. LOL

Also, do you thin your landau top glue? It spattered pretty bad and the bumpiness is showing through the grill cloth. I'm going to redo them, but I want to make sure the fabric stays put first. And on the next go round I need it to lay out smoother. 

I know the spray gun I was using has a 1.0mm tip, and from what I've read they suggest at least a 1.8mm tip. I also looked at a few sites that did not recommend thinning the adhesive, but they didn't say it wouldn't work. lol

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

quality_sound said:


> When did they start integrating all that stuff? The 510 doesn't do any of that. If it does do all that, none if it except the backup camera would be lost and even that can be wired into an aftermarket unit. VW's OEM navi is not good enough to lament losing. Aftermarket BT isn't a big deal either. I've integrated an OEM VW mic into an aftermarket unit as well.
> 
> Now if the other dash functions do run through it and there's no redundancy that's something else, but the three things above are not reasons to keep it.


In the pics I'm about to post, there is a little silver box above the HU brain. It is the BU cam brain. The connection between it and the HU brain uses a connector similar to an XM antenna. Not sure how easy it would be to integrate that. 

There is also some optical connection, but it isn't coming from the screen itself....I guess it could be an output, but I have no idea where it goes. BT brain somewhere, maybe?

Jay


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## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

JayinMI said:


> It really is. I understand the economy is down in Michigan, but people who want this kind of work done will always have enough for it.
> 
> Sometimes I think about trying to find a job to work 4 10 hour days, and do audio on the side 3 days a week. It won't happen, but it's a nice dream. lol
> 
> Jay


Funny you should say that, because that's exactly what I do. Careful what you wish for though, sometimes it's more of a nightmare than a dream.

BTW, that enclosure is beautiful.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Starter relay is in this fuse box under the cowl:










There is a black plug more toward the windshield with about a 10ga red/black wire. That is the starter wire. I ran it out through a grommet in the fuse box along an existing harness (which, btw also has the red/black wire in it and is much easier to get at) and through a grommet above the gas pedal.










Then I put everything back where it is supposed to go. Thankfully, everything fit. lol










I looked at several ways to mount the Mosconi. I finally settled on several strips of velcro. I suppose I could have over-complicated it, but in the end it was simple and effective and easily serviceable. Can't beat that.

The amp rack is quite solidly mounted. That made me happy. I figured it would be, but sometimes you never know until do it.

According to some sources, there should be a Black/Yellow wire that is listed as "Accessory (sense only)" that I could not find. All of the black/yellow wires that I found were small or did not test as accessory. In the end, I feel better about interrupting the ign with a relay like I did, because it allows me to safely have enough current on tap to turn on the amp and run the 6to8 without worrying about overdriving some tiny little wire in the car.

Jay


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## xylene (Jul 30, 2010)

The fiber optic cable is used for the multitude of video sources in the system. It goes to the back of the DVD/SD box in the glove box and back to the backup camera system. The ROW has the option of aerial 4 way cameras along with a TV tuner. 

The steering wheel controls on the right side of the wheel allows you to control the audio system as well; selecting the audio source to searching your albums and tracks….


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Chaos said:


> Funny you should say that, because that's exactly what I do. Careful what you wish for though, sometimes it's more of a nightmare than a dream.
> 
> BTW, that enclosure is beautiful.


Thanks.

Now that we beat the noise, I feel like I will be moving forward again.

Jay


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> Bing:
> 
> When I originally tried your suggestion, I used the turn on output of the 6to8 to turn the amp on and off and still had popping. I also hadn't yet wired in the relay to drop out during crank.
> 
> ...


i am not sure if its a software setting or not, i guess i should check 

i have never had any popping issue though wtih any of the 6to8s...one thing to keep in mind that sometimes, impedance issue between the processor and the input of the amps can cause popping. but some amps seem to have turn on and off noise no matter what, virtually every zapco DC or dsp6 i did, had a soft turn on and turn off click.

i dont think that glue, but never had an issue with the bumps...but if you are having it, its more likely your gun spraying out too much globs...i am too lazy to clean guns so i get the one with the biggest nozen 2.0mm i think, from harbor frieght which is like 14 bucks, i buy like 6 at a time. when it starts to gobb up, i just switch to a new gun lol. i go through about 4 a year so it isnt too bad cost wise.

b


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

and yes, german cars tend to radiate noise out of the wazoo, and passives with their big coils acting as antennas, are really prone to it. next time you get one and you have to use passives, do a trick, wire up a tweeter to it, and then put the tweeter to your rear and stick the passive everywhere you may have room for it, and see if you notice any noise...generally, as far away from the harnesses and/or the battery is the best, but i tend to try and avoid doing passives as much as possible


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Yeah. Funny thing is, it was picking it up on the floor. I put them in the dash, within inches of the fuseboxes and there was LESS noise than on the floor.

Jay


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## PhotoGreg (Jun 19, 2012)

Jay, 

Awesome work.. That sub enclosure is amazing.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Thanks, Greg. Nick send you over? lol

Jay


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## PhotoGreg (Jun 19, 2012)

JayinMI said:


> Thanks, Greg. Nick send you over? lol
> 
> Jay


Yes he did..


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

PhotoGreg said:


> Yes he did..


i told him it was a dangerous site and that he probably shouldn't browse it or register an account.


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## PhotoGreg (Jun 19, 2012)

nadams5755 said:


> i told him it was a dangerous site and that he probably shouldn't browse it or register an account.


Well...  we see how well that worked. LOL :laugh::laugh:


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

It's been hacked a couple times, so watch out...maybe if we had a Network Security Officer around or something, that wouldn't happen. LOL

Jay


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## cksigmapi (Oct 6, 2010)

Nice build so far. Glad to see someone in MI actually doing quality work that doesn't involve 17 subs crammed into a crappy whoopty. I'm looking forward to seeing the final product!


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## 11blueGTI (Apr 24, 2011)

JayinMI said:


> Good to know. Maybe I should try to get my hands on one of the new Alpine 8" Navis. lol.
> 
> It had a climate button, so maybe it just shows the settings on screen.
> 
> ...


I was talking with Jim from Alpine and they are making a perfect fit dash kit for the 8" for the Golf/Passat dash. I am not sure if it would fit this so you may check with him. He is installing it in his wife's passat. Also, Alpine UK has a can adapter that interfaces witht he vehicle display connector on the 8" nav to relay some info to the MFD. I am buying the INE-S920HD, the other US head unit with this connector and ordered the Alpine adapter from the UK. As soon as I get it in I will post my findings.


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## jockhater2 (May 9, 2011)

That customer has excellent taste. I would love a touareg TDI


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

He came and picked it up on Friday, to take it for a week or so. That should give the speakers a chance to break in, and him to see what changes he thinks we need to make. It also gives me a chance to catch up on a couple of other projects we've had waiting.

He finally emailed me and told me he like it very much, and was happy with the balance. He said he's actually had about 2 hours in it so far.

I'm still trying to work through a way to mount the sub enclosure more solidly to the body. On one track by Paco de Lucia ("Rio de la Miel") there are 2 drum beats at the very beginning that sometimes cause a little vibration that is audible at higher volumes. If I put pressure on a couple of spots on the enclosure it went away, so I added some screws in those areas. It helped, but I think it needs a little more work. That was the only track I noticed it on. I have some ideas tho.

The a-pillar on the right side turned out a little lumpy (spray gun tip too small) and there was a spot where I blended the tweeter area that didn't show until I wrapped them, so I need to redo those but we already knew that and I will clear that up when it's back.

We've had a death in the family, and my GF's brother is in the Hospital with Pneumonia so we are waiting for him to get out so we can schedule the funeral. It's been a hectic week, so the short break I get from this will probably do me good. lol

Work will probably resume in a week and a half or so.

Arc Black 10 was VERY impressive in a .6 ft^3 enclosure. It was the minimum recommended and I was afraid it wouldn't get very low. On the contrary this thing digs deep. I can only imagine what it would do it the recommended max of 1.0 ft^3! It has impact like a ported enclosure.
I may run one of these in place of the Dayton I was going to reuse in my own car.

Jay


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## djbreal87 (Jun 24, 2012)

Im looking into upgrading my system as well and am seriously considering the Arc audio black series 12's running off the Arc Audio KS1200.1, but I cant find any reviews on it other than the arc audio website, anyone got some feedback for me on these subs?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

This was the first Black sub I've used, and it's impressed the hell out of me.
It goes in a small sealed enclosure, sounds great and has a great low end.
After hearing this one 10, I don't think I'd ever need more. 

Go for it, I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Jay


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

yeah i have been VERY impressed by the black subs.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

As much as I love my Dayton RSS265HO in a ported enclosure, tuned to 33 Hz, I may switch to one of these, just based on space savings and box simplicity.

Jay


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## Jurgenk (Jun 24, 2012)

Can't wait to see how this finishes, I'm going to ask my installer in Boston to do something similar... But it sounds like we'll have to sacrifice staging in order to keep everything looking stock. Beautiful work, please keep it coming!


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Honestly, it probably won't look much different. I just need to smooth out the pillars (tho, I may try to add the factory corner back in before I re-wrap them) and tune it. 

So far feedback from the owner has been pretty good. Obviously, it still needs a little work (he has some ideas for the other 3 presets), but the pillars are pretty low profile, and made a HUGE difference. I'd say it's worth it...if you're leasing, I might consider picking up a second set of pillars. 

I need to pick up a new spray gun, and upgrade my copy of TrueRTA before he comes back.

Jay


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## Jurgenk (Jun 24, 2012)

Jay, would you mind going over how you chose the Focal driver set for this application, and whether or not using a three way setup might be helpful in this situation? 

I am torn between doing exactly what you did with the front speakers and sub with a 5 channel amp and DSP, but I am worried about troubleshooting the glitches and going non stock.

Are there any replacement two way speaker sets with inline capacitors or crossovers one could install that could be driven adequately by the stock amp? Other peoples experiences would suggest not, but what about using very efficient drivers?

Thanks for any help you can provide

J


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I didn't really have much to do with choosing the Focal drivers. We carry Focal, and Arc and he had already heard the Focals at another shop. I basically told him they were very good, the Arc Blacks are supposed to sound amazing, and had more flexible crossovers, and he decided to go with the Focals.

Also, this vehicle didn't have a factory amp, so I can't really say anything about that. From what I've read over at ClubTouareg, the factory amped system does it's crossing over inside the amp, and I doubt that the points would coincide very well with any aftermarket speakers.

The customer hasn't brought the truck back to me yet, so I haven't made any more headway since he took it. He seemed to be pretty happy with it, but he works out of town a fair bit, so he may not have been around.

Jay


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## rugdnit (Dec 24, 2007)

Jay-- Sorry in advance if I missed this, but how were the doors? Just curious what the doors looked like without the skins. Also what trim was it? I might be closer to purchasing one than I though. Then again... With my schedule I would probably be better off trying to book an appointment with Bing. I have ZERO time for this stuff anymore.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Starts around post 19 on the first page:

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/1643117-post19.html

I think it was a lux. But I could be wrong, it seemed to have "lux" equipment.

Jay


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## rugdnit (Dec 24, 2007)

I hang my head and feel shame. Sorry I missed that. Yeah the LUX model is what I am looking at. Can't justify the extra $ for the Executive.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

No problem. I had to go back and look and it took me a little while to find the pics. He didn't have the Dynaudio system, which I believe comes standard in the Exec. 

Jay


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## rugdnit (Dec 24, 2007)

JayinMI said:


> OK. This build is for one of my customers. He drives a 2012 Touareg TDi (AdBlue Diesel).
> 
> He's out of town for about a week and a half.
> 
> ...


I spent some time in this car yesterday... That line totally registered when I gave the sound system a listen. Love the way these things drive. We should have way more TDI options over here.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

We spent a couple of hours playing with the tuning, and it sounds VERY good. There's a little heaviness in female vocals, and neither of use had all of our tuning material we'd like. 

Stage runs outside mirror to outside mirror, and is about halfway between the top of the dash and the bottom of the rearview mirror, height wise.

I'd say depth is about where the windshield meets the dash. 

Depending on the bass knob, the bass stays up front pretty good, and it has very good midbass output. 

Frankly, it sounds better than just about any car I've ever owned, but then again, I don't have quite the budget this guy did. lol

On a side note, I got to see (in person) my first HAT speakers today. Hat L3SE's. VERY pretty. I like 'em....too bad I couldn't hear them.

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Customer came and picked it up for a trip for the holiday weekend. He races bicycles. Shortly after picking it up he sent me an email saying "It sounds even better than before, something I didn't think was possible." 

The SD card source is EXTREMELY bright. Moreso than the other sources. He listens to primarily lossless stuff on SD and Sirius.

We tuned it mainly for SD cards, but so it still sounded good with CD/DVD's.

Looks like it's getting there. 

Jay


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## chanthing (Jan 21, 2013)

JayinMI said:


> Another option to look into is a Parrot Hands-free kit wiring T-harness. It comes with both sides. I believe they should be available for the GTI, since I know a few people on the Touareg forums are using them.
> 
> Jay


Thanks for the info. The "Parrot" connector you refer to I believe is the SOT-976. I've got one on order and will be reporting on my success (or lack thereof).


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

The customer recently returned to have us see if we could find out why one side would cut out over bumps. I soldered/heat shrunk all of my connections, so I was pretty sure it wasn't anything I did. Turns out the Metra reverse harness (radio brain side) had loose connections, which is what I used to get my signal into the Mosconi 6to8. It turns out that there was enough tension (not much, but enough) to keep the connections adequate on one side, but the other side was loose. I removed the Metra connector and custom made a new section of cable using some Gepco 61801EZ, some JL Audio ends (from a set of "Blue" RCA's) and .110" female quick disconnects...the same as most aftermarket speakers use on the negative terminals. They were quite snug and completely solved the problem. The Metra part was 71-9003, and I removed the speaker output connector and replaced it in the factory connector frame, originally. I don't know if the Parrot connector would have the same problem (or ability to come apart), but I would avoid the Metra piece. Good luck and thanks for the info on the Parrot connector.

Jay


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## Alipor (Sep 9, 2012)

polarized said:


> Great thread, any chance of anyone knowing of shops in upstate NY that are capable of doing as nice a job as shown here for a similar upgrade on a Touareg?
> Love the car - hate the stock sound.
> 
> Thanks for any referrals and for posting all the great info.!


 Audio obsession in Albany, they do great work, if you haven't already had a system put in. Your PM's are full.


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## Noobdelux (Oct 20, 2011)

turned out good there,


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Thanks, I was pretty happy with it, but I can see some changes I'd make for the next one. (component locations, connections, etc.) but they're pretty minor. The one Bing and JOey just did blows this one away, but I'd bet it cost twice as much. lol

Jay


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## James Cole (Dec 6, 2016)

Wrong thread...


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## fordriver1 (Jul 11, 2012)

why dont the pics show any more?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Because Photobucket sucks. Apparently they've initiated a new policy where free accounts are no longer allowed to share pics to third party sites. I'm told it costs about $400/yr, which I'm sure not paying. Their service has become almost unusable lately with all the ads, so I was looking for options. Now I'll look harder. Wish they did hosting of images on the Forum, so we never ran into that.

Jay


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

rugdnit said:


> I spent some time in this car yesterday... That line totally registered when I gave the sound system a listen. Love the way these things drive. *We should have way more TDI options over here.*


Ah, if only we knew then what we know now. lol

Jay


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

What's to know? VW wasn't doing anything literally every other maker of diesel passenger cars on the planet was doing. Most even polluted a LOT more than VW. And they were STILL cleaner than most cars and far cleaner than diesel trucks. If the EPA "fix" didn't neuter the cars, I'd buy another one tomorrow. They were, and still are, fantastic cars.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

agreed on all points, it was more the whole "scandal" of it. 

Jay


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## fordriver1 (Jul 11, 2012)

JayinMI said:


> Because Photobucket sucks. Apparently they've initiated a new policy where free accounts are no longer allowed to share pics to third party sites. I'm told it costs about $400/yr, which I'm sure not paying. Their service has become almost unusable lately with all the ads, so I was looking for options. Now I'll look harder. Wish they did hosting of images on the Forum, so we never ran into that.
> 
> Jay


i usually use imgur


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I used Photobucket for YEARS. They just changed their TOS recently.


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