# Mike's Pro Audio Passat 2.0T



## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

So, the time has come to start my build log. I've spent the last 5-6 months gathering gear, coming up with design ideas, and have finally broken ground on a very major part of it. I was accepted into the Concurrent Enrollment Nursing program and started Block 1 last month, so I have very little free time compared to what I'm used to! Hopefully I can get this wrapped up in the next month or so, between a few long weekends and Spring Break.

My goals, as with my previous vehicles, were to create a concert-like atmosphere using high efficiency large format drivers and HLCD, while also trying something uncommon/new and thinking outside the box a bit (pun intended?). Without a truck bed to shove bandpass enclosures and ported JBL midbass in, I had to get a bit creative. After some modeling in WinISD and kicking a bunch of ideas around, I decided I wanted to attempt to try something I've wanted to do for a long time: ported midbass. In the front doors. 

Due to a combination of a little extra discretionary income, lack of time, and doubting my ability to fabricate anything that would integrate the way I wanted it to, I commissioned Jon, owner of Handcrafted Car Audio here in Chandler. As a lot of you know, he is extremely talented and comes highly recommended. As you will see, my experience with him was without a doubt, no exception to that sentiment. After a professional consultation and some back and forth on ideas, we settled in on a game plan to have him build my doors.

So the gear I chose for the build:

Source: iPad mini with 1TB wifi external HD
Processing: Alpine H800/C800, fed through a Pure i20
Midbass: Ciare NDC 10-2.5, ported in the front doors
Midrange: PHL 1120 in the kicks
Horns: ES minis with Selenium D2500 drivers
Sub: Stereo Integrity HT18, IB in the trunk
Amps: AudioSystem X-ion (TBD)

So the goal was to end up with between 0.5-0.8cf with a tune of 70hz, and to integrate the new enclosures with the rest of the factory door panel so it looks as factory as possible. Here is what Jon and his crew came up with:











The factory door panel on the driver's side had the gas lid and trunk switches integrated close to where the factory speaker is. So one of the requirements was that this be relocated as the new enclosure resides there now. This worked out perfectly:



Now here are the progress pics during the build. I won't even attempt to narrate them but I will post them in chronological order, and I've invited Jon to come in here and share whatever he wants. 


Here is the factory door panel:



Jon took the panels off, and after removing the factory speakers and cutting a bit of sheet metal, taped off the areas and made negative molds with glass. The enclosure is about 1/4" thick on both front and back:











Then the perimeter was blocked off to prep for a 2-stage expanding foam:



Baffle/port propped up:



Foam started:



Once cured, the foam was shaped for an outer cast/mold for the front of the enclosure:













Then molded together (front and back) and primed):



Test fit:



In order to get it to blend with the remaining factory panel, Jon built a grill/cover combination that fits with a combination of pressure and neo magnets that line up with the 12 bolts securing the enclosure to the door around the perimeter (via a fiberglass flange):













The grill he made was rather painstaking, and consists of (I believe) 5 different layers and 3 different materials. There were a ton of curves and bends in the panel. It's unreal that he was able to make it blend and be practical at the same time.









The final layer of the grill has honeycomb mesh that is painted black, and everything is trimmed in black vinyl. I sourced some spare panels so he didn't have to cut my originals, and the ones I got were a bit dirty (and still dirty in these pics) but I got them cleaned up this morning and the grain and color is about as close to dead-on as it can be. It blends seamlessly. 








Again, an absolute testament to the extreme fabrication skills at Handcrafted. Jon and his crew labored tirelessly for the better part of two weeks on my car and really made something special for me. All the little nuances and subtleties with the lines of the grilles and panel following the factory curves really goes to show the artistic eye and foresight that went into making these a reality. A lot of the aesthetics were not part of the original estimate and Jon wanted them to really look good, and did quite a few little things that took a significant amount of time and effort, just to make sure I was happy with the results. Having done many DIY projects myself, I look through these pics and see months of wasted money and frustration in my back yard. These were incredibly complex and for a moment, we weren't sure the 10s would even fit, but he not only made it happen, but made them look fantastic. 

The enclosures are decoupled from the door via Stinger products, and once I get them fired up, I may do some additional deadening/decoupling as needed. They are wired up, with a roll of 12awg ran through the factory Nomex plugs and coiled behind my kicks, waiting to be run to the amp eventually.

I will hopefully get started on the iPad this weekend, and will be welding an amp rack that will suspend from the underside of the rear deck, between the IB wall and the rear seats. More to come!


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## 3cyltrbo (Apr 11, 2011)

looking forward to MOAR


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

Lord...

Btw, what made you choose those amps?


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## imjustjason (Jun 26, 2006)

Man I love seeing builds like this!


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Foam for the win.

Looks really good...really good.


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## knever3 (Mar 9, 2009)

Spectactutactular!!!!


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

edzyy said:


> Lord...
> 
> Btw, what made you choose those amps?


I really like the look of the heatsink and the terminal layout, plus they have built-in push/pull fans. I also happened to get a really good deal on a TON of them, so I've got a bunch sitting on the floor. I haven't decided exactly what I'm going to go with yet. I can do a combination of 100.2, 160.2, 70.4, 70.6, and 280.2s. I have multiples of each so I won't be starved for power. 

The sub only needs about 500w to reach xmax. The mids modeled very well with 100w a piece, although they don't reach xmax until about 300w. I plan on having 50-75w a piece available for the PHLs and the horns.


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

mikey7182 said:


> I really like the look of the heatsink and the terminal layout, plus they have built-in push/pull fans. I also happened to get a really good deal on a TON of them, so I've got a bunch sitting on the floor. I haven't decided exactly what I'm going to go with yet. I can do a combination of 100.2, 160.2, 70.4, 70.6, and 280.2s. I have multiples of each so I won't be starved for power.
> 
> The sub only needs about 500w to reach xmax. The mids modeled very well with 100w a piece, although they don't reach xmax until about 300w. I plan on having 50-75w a piece available for the PHLs and the horns.


280.2's bridged on each


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## djmekanix (Dec 30, 2013)

Hot damn those doors are crazy! Considering the woofer size, the panels don't really stick out too far at all. Can't wait to see what else you guys come up with!


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

WoW bad ass!


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## the.okie (Jan 12, 2015)

Those doors turned out extremely well! I'm liking the 10's and the amp choice as well. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Schweet! Tuned in for more.


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## claydo (Oct 1, 2012)

10s in the doors rock.......I am jealous that you have yours ported tho.....lol. Mine are ib........great progress, can't wait to see more!


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

you had me at phl..don't see much of that in the usa.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

claydo said:


> 10s in the doors rock.......I am jealous that you have yours ported tho.....lol. Mine are ib........great progress, can't wait to see more!


Clay, I think if yours were ported, people would get injured listening to drum tracks in your car. lol. 

Jay


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## claydo (Oct 1, 2012)

Lol......injured by midbass....wouldn't that be sweet!!

I've heard great things about yer old install in the s-10.....hope I might catch up with grayson and hear it one of these days......I know from that build that this should be epic as well.....


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## hot9dog (Mar 23, 2013)

First off , congrats on starting the nursing program and congrats on starting your build off with a BANG! Lol. Looks damn good so far! Your interior has alot of the same parts as mine, so this should be fun to see how these two siblings mature. If you ever need helping hand with your build, i dont mind breaking away for the afternoon and cruising up your way. The doors look good!


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Ran 2421s as midranges about 12 years a go...sweet sweet 98 dB 8" midranges. And ran Audax PR170M0s before that, which are the lower excursion cousin to the PHL before that. Probably my favorite midrange ever.

If I can figure out where to put some midbasses of decent size in my car, I am going to get a set of 1120s too. Which, horn loaded on a Unity/Synergy style horn will play to a little below 100.



Lycancatt said:


> you had me at phl..don't see much of that in the usa.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

claydo said:


> 10s in the doors rock.......I am jealous that you have yours ported tho.....lol. Mine are ib........great progress, can't wait to see more!


just so everyone is on the same page... his are pro-audio woofers, which are vastly different in low end response than the standard mid-sensitivity woofers most use. I'm not knocking this; Mike already is well aware of this trade-off. I'm just saying... apples/oranges. 



Mike, I'm sub'd. The panels turned out excellent! And I _totally _understand where you're coming from regarding paying a professional to do something in a few weeks what would otherwise take you months of doing and still never look near as good. Ain't no shame in that!


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## claydo (Oct 1, 2012)

Most pro woofers are super sensitive/low excursion designs......so I'm guessing these aren't designed to dig very low? What's the target range for these drivers.......maybe 100 thru 1k? Other than looking over their specs, I have no experience with the pro audio stuffs.....also, out of curiosity, where did the tuning end up on the door enclosures?


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

I think he said they were tuned to 70.

Proaudio with enough power will reach out and hurt you...something I haven't ever heard from conventional drivers.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Better watch out, Erin may become a convert to the dark side of car audio too.


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## claydo (Oct 1, 2012)

thehatedguy said:


> I think he said they were tuned to 70.


Oops....duh....now I see it...thanks!


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## claydo (Oct 1, 2012)

My only exposure is the doors full of pro audio drivers in spl systems.....well, and some horns.....but I've never played with them myself......I'd probably enjoy it, cos I play mine at the loud end of what most essque folks dig.....


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## damonryoung (Mar 23, 2012)

You know I'm in Mikey!


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

thehatedguy said:


> Better watch out, Erin may become a convert to the dark side of car audio too.


the home theater setup was the push before the fall.... 

I actually PM'd Mike earlier this week regarding his experience with a particular 8" woofer. 



Clay, just FWIW, my 15" JBL 2035's for the HT setup are tuned to ~55hz in 4ft^3 and I have them crossed at 70hz. That kind of gives you an idea of the tradeoff you get with HE drivers on the low end. 


Mike, you said you had them tuned to 70hz. Did you also mention your intended bandpass? I think that would help the others here get an understanding of the trade-off, because you obviously have experience with HE drivers based on your last build log.


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

claydo said:


> Most pro woofers are super sensitive/low excursion designs......so I'm guessing these aren't designed to dig very low? What's the target range for these drivers.......maybe 100 thru 1k? Other than looking over their specs, I have no experience with the pro audio stuffs.....also, out of curiosity, where did the tuning end up on the door enclosures?


You usually trade off low end extension for efficiency with the pro stuff 

But once you port them? You get to to have your cake and it eat it too.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

claydo said:


> I've heard great things about yer old install in the s-10.....hope I might catch up with grayson and hear it one of these days......I know from that Build that this should be epic as well.....


Thanks! I was really happy to see the S10 stick around in the community. I am eager to get this finished and see how it turns out. My hopes are high. 



hot9dog said:


> First off , congrats on starting the nursing program and congrats on starting your build off with a BANG! Lol. Looks damn good so far! Your interior has alot of the same parts as mine, so this should be fun to see how these two siblings mature. If you ever need helping hand with your build, i dont mind breaking away for the afternoon and cruising up your way. The doors look good!


Thanks John! I noticed how similar our interiors were. I may take you up on the offer. Might even be worth a drive down to Tucson. I'm still getting my new bench and tools organized. I better hurry if I'm going to start fabricating!



ErinH said:


> just so everyone is on the same page... his are pro-audio woofers, which are vastly different in low end response than the standard mid-sensitivity woofers most use. I'm not knocking this; Mike already is well aware of this trade-off. I'm just saying... apples/oranges.
> 
> Clay, just FWIW, my 15" JBL 2035's for the HT setup are tuned to ~55hz in 4ft^3 and I have them crossed at 70hz. That kind of gives you an idea of the tradeoff you get with HE drivers on the low end.
> 
> ...


Ok, my multi-quote skills are ****. Sorry this is scattered... just didn't want to leave anyone behind. 

As Erin said, pro drivers are different from conventional. In leaky door or sealed applications, they roll off pretty hard down low, compared to a conventional driver of the same Sd. This is why most guys who move to pro audio midbass jump up to 8" woofers. A 6" PA mid is typically going to be for midrange duty, due to higher Fs and low xmax. The tradeoff is increased sensitivity. As edzyy said though, when you port them, you get to have it both ways. Not only do you get a further increase in efficiency, you gain low end output and take advantage of a tuned port to minimize excursion, where a ton of xmax would usually be required out of a conventional driver in a leaky door. 

I've never been one to run a 6" driver down to 50hz and try to squeeze mid or sub bass out of it; that's a subwoofer's job. In a car, I understand that most guys do that for "up front bass" so their sub isn't pulling to the rear, but with advanced processors and some tuning tricks, I think more can be gotten from each driver if it plays within its sweet spot of the spectrum. So whereas most guys would run an 8" midbass full range in the doors, I'm going to run my 10" mids down to 60-80.

For reference, and to echo Erin's design, the 12" JBL 2206H midbass in my S10 were in 1.5cf tuned to 60hz. I used a 63hz HPF on them. For anyone who has never experienced large format ported midbass, I think you'd be surprised at just how much you thought was sub bass, that actually plays above 50hz. I could turn my W15GTis off, and still get absolutely destroyed in the kidneys and have my breath taken away.

So here is the midbass I'm using in this install:

http://www.toutlehautparleur.com/media/catalog/product/datasheet/ciare/NDC_10-2.5-8.pdf

They're 95db efficient, close to 8mm of xmax, and an Fs of 70hz. When I was deciding where to tune the enclosure, I modeled quite a few different ideas. Before cabin gain, the enclosure I ended up with is almost perfectly flat from 120-1khz. Below 120, it begins to gradually roll off and is about [email protected], which (120hz) is right about where cabin gain should start kicking in. Despite the 70hz tune, these don't exceed xmax with 150w of input until around 50hz, and before cabin gain, they will do [email protected] Needless to say they should get very loud off relatively little power.

The eventual plan for xover points is:

SI HT18- [email protected]
Ciare- bandpass from 63-250
PHL- bandpass from 250-1.2khz
Horns- [email protected]

Before I get the kicks finished, I do have the option of running the 10s in a 2-way with the horns. The placement isn't ideal through the midrange, but beats having the mids behind me.  And I won't have to go without tunes while I'm waiting for the kicks.


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## Lycancatt (Apr 11, 2010)

your crossover points are pretty much what I'd guessed they would be, I'd enjoy listening to this at some point if I make it over to as for a show.


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

Lycancatt said:


> your crossover points are pretty much what I'd guessed they would be, I'd enjoy listening to this at some point if I make it over to as for a show.


He's learning that traveling to CA is more fun than staying in AZ, hahaha.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Mikey is back! And nobody's grandma is safe! 

Nice to see the new build started and a great way to kick it off. I hope I have an opportunity to experience this build once it is completed.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

cobb2819 said:


> He's learning that traveling to CA is more fun than staying in AZ, hahaha.


True story! I'm sure Lycan and Dustin will both hear it before too long.


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

Mikey, I think there is Lobster Mac in your future, and I'm pretty sure if you don't bring Diane, she'll kill you.


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## TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL (Jan 31, 2011)

Very nice. Definitely let me know when you head over to ca, and I'll do everything I can to make it, with the cd's I owe you in hand.


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## handcrafted (Sep 22, 2009)

Thanks for the compliments on the doors guys! This was quite the challenging task, but very rewarding too. Thanks to Mikey being so patient, we were able to have some fun, get creative and learn a few things that we can use in the future. I really can't ask for much more than that right?


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

How can you not trust a guy with that many tats?


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## hot9dog (Mar 23, 2013)

Just more proof that there is something unique in the drinking water in Arizona. .... or is it the tequila? Lol


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

I'm pretty sure there is tequila in the drinking water. Only way to keep it sanitary!


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

I'm going to have to unsubscribe from this post. Why? Because you're killing me, man. 

A couple months back I started looking at going with an HE setup. I buried that notion because I saw no reason to change anything. I wound up ordering some new gear a few weeks ago just to try some new stuff out and now that you've brought this thread to fruition, I'm fighting the urge not to order some HE speakers to play around with. I have a feeling you're going to wind up costing me more money. LOL!


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Just go and get those 8BG51s and enjoy them.

Then you can swap out the KEFs for some B&C or BMS 5" coaxes.


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## JoshHefnerX (Jun 13, 2008)

Looking good Mikey! Like to see how this continues.

Josh


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

Now you're talkin'!

Those doors are beautiful. Glad you got started, I know it's been a long time coming. Looking forward to the following weeks ahead. 

Oh, congrats on nursing school!


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

A small update- I ended up taking the car back to Jon to have him build my kicks to house the PHL 1120s. We also decided to wrap the door grills in grill cloth, along with the kicks, and will be doing some matching grills for the horns when I get them installed. I don't have any build process pics, but it basically involved removing the dead pedal on the driver's side and cutting a small square hole in the carpet and foam of each corner (driver's and passenger's). They sunk them down beautifully, and they are minimally obtrusive and blend very well with the doors (and soon to come horns). Here are a few pics. Please pardon the dirty carpet:

With flash to illuminate everything: 



Without flash- they blend in with the car very well:





They are aimed at the opposite listener more or less. With these drivers, aiming isn't of particular import so we had some flexibility. There were a few small issues with accommodating for the horns and making sure I retained the hood latch release, and Jon did a wonderful job.

I also had a friend of mine weld an amp rack for me. I wanted it to have a 'pro audio rack'/industrial look to it. It is made of steel- flat strap for the frame, expanded metal for the surfaces, and angle on the front, back and sides to clean up the expanded metal edges. There are two levels, and then it is elevated off the ground about 1.5" and there are 4 feet which will secure it to the floor of the trunk via some threaded inserts. All the gear will be attached to the rack with threaded inserts as well. I had Jon powder coat it black. It will house a pair of X-ion 70.6 PLUS, a 160.2, a PXA-H800, and power/ground distribution. Here is the rack prior to powder coating- the layout changed slightly since:



Once I laid all the gear out on it, I decided I wanted the top level exposed rather than under the expanded metal, and I needed an area of sheet metal to attach the distribution blocks. I took it back to my friend for the modifications then gave it to Jon for powder coating. Here's what I ended up with:



I have a pretty slow 2 weeks ahead of me school-wise, and hope to have the install complete by then. More updates to come.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

Nice


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## hot9dog (Mar 23, 2013)

Heck yeah!


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

More nice looking stuff!

Are the mids sealed? IB? AP?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

fish said:


> More nice looking stuff!
> 
> Are the mids sealed? IB? AP?


The kicks are open out the back, so IB would be the closest description I guess. Going to try and get the horns hung tomorrow.


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## ben54b (May 30, 2014)

This is awesome. I loved your last build but couldn't wrap my head around the mids being behind you. Tens in ported doors, how could anyone not be following. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

ben54b said:


> This is awesome. I loved your last build but couldn't wrap my head around the mids being behind you. Tens in ported doors, how could anyone not be following.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


It's definitely outside the boundaries of what we've been conditioned to accept in terms of what's "normal." And that happens to be right where I like to explore.  Due to the non-localization of midbass frequencies, the S-10 actually did really well. I think it had more staging issues due to the shape and size of the cabin than the rear-mounted midbass. I think Grayson (Strakele) has been pretty happy with it since he bought the truck from me. 

That said, I am eager to get this finished and fired up. I will be isolating the IB wall from the trunk, both with foam around the perimeter of the baffle and via the rubber pop nuts that will secure it to the rear deck and floor of the trunk. I learned long ago with large format drivers that it's much easier to stop the potential for vibration before it starts, rather than chase it down after the fact.


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## ben54b (May 30, 2014)

The thing I love about builds that are outside the nor is that we all get to learn from your wins and the fails. There's always something to learn around here. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## few35t (Dec 10, 2014)

subd


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## Offroader5 (Apr 8, 2011)

Well, if thinking outside the box means results like an incorrectly positioned 12" midbass in a standard cab S-10...then I'm in to see how this turns out. That truck literally punched you in the back


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

ben54b said:


> The thing I love about builds that are outside the nor is that we all get to learn from your wins and the fails. There's always something to learn around here.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


I don't think there will be much failure (if any at all) going on with this build. 

Mike's very thorough on his installs. Should be killer!


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

The only fail is having some tiny 10s up front and not 12s 


I kid I kid.


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## cubdenno (Nov 10, 2007)

Offroader5 said:


> Well, if thinking outside the box means results like an incorrectly positioned 12" midbass in a standard cab S-10...then I'm in to see how this turns out. That truck literally punched you in the back


With T/A available... No such thing as incorrectly positioned. Otherwise there have been a lot of award winning "SQ" cars with just such "incorrectness".


I take your meaning of positioned as located.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

It's not conventional by today's standards...but there were a few good cars in the early/mid 90s that were built like that. Well, pretty similar, they had 10s and 12s in the rear quarter panels.


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## Offroader5 (Apr 8, 2011)

mikey7182 said:


> It's definitely outside the boundaries of what we've been conditioned to accept in terms of what's "normal." And that happens to be right where I like to explore.  Due to the non-localization of midbass frequencies, the S-10 actually did really well. I think it had more staging issues due to the shape and size of the cabin than the rear-mounted midbass. I think Grayson (Strakele) has been pretty happy with it since he bought the truck from me.





cubdenno said:


> With T/A available... No such thing as incorrectly positioned. Otherwise there have been a lot of award winning "SQ" cars with just such "incorrectness".
> 
> 
> I take your meaning of positioned as located.


I was merely poking funny at the fact that his S-10 had the midbass "incorrectly" positioned/located behind the listener...which is supposed taboo, but yet worked wonderfully and kicked the hell out of you sitting in the seat.


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## nineball76 (Mar 13, 2010)

Very nice build. You've inspired me to try to get the beyma 10's massaged into my doors in such a way. I've got the 8's sealed in the factory location now, but I think ported 10's will bring everything to life. Love this build!!! Can't wait too see more. 


Ben


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## funkalicious (Oct 8, 2007)

Coming along very nicely indeed and am eager to see the finished product. Did you ever consider the Audax PR170M0 or was the PHL 1120 always your first choice? Why did you choose that mid in particular?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

funkalicious said:


> Coming along very nicely indeed and am eager to see the finished product. Did you ever consider the Audax PR170M0 or was the PHL 1120 always your first choice? Why did you choose that mid in particular?


The PHL 1120 is the Audax's mean cousin. It's essentially the same driver with 4x the xmax. I've used the Audax in several builds in the past and really loved them, so I wanted to give these a try since they have more excursion. But yeah, the baskets/frame/motors are identical, and the surround is very similar:


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

Stupid question 

The audax are 100db & the PHL are 95. Aren't you taking a huge efficiency hit for xmax you really won't be using since you won't be crossing low?


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## plushterry (Jan 22, 2015)

niiiice. they look mean


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

edzyy said:


> Stupid question
> 
> The audax are 100db & the PHL are 95. Aren't you taking a huge efficiency hit for xmax you really won't be using since you won't be crossing low?


The issue with the Audax that I ran into was being able to cross them low. They really started to lose output below 400hz, I think in part due to 0.5mm xmax. The real world measurements for the Audax show a sensitivity around 97db, and I've seen the PHL measure between 95-97. So there isn't as much of a discrepancy there as it seems. I just wanted the freedom to play with the Xover point between the doors and the kicks. Because they are virtually the same drivers though, I can always just drop a pair of Audax right in without having to change the kicks, and do an A/B.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

You sure the Audax will drop in? Those things have pretty major mounting flanges...I had to grind mine down to get them to fit into the same countersunk baffle that I had 7" Revelators in.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

thehatedguy said:


> You sure the Audax will drop in? Those things have pretty major mounting flanges...I had to grind mine down to get them to fit into the same countersunk baffle that I had 7" Revelators in.


I don't have the Audax to compare them to side by side, but from the looks of them, they should be very close. I remember the flange on the Audax was a bit tall, but these are recessed almost 3/4" in the kicks. I designed the setup for the PHLs though, so I'm not too worried about it. They are no slouches.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

The Audax is 190mm OD and the PHL is 187.5mm across the mounting tabs and 162.5mm across the narrow part of the frame.

Nah, I wouldn't worry about it...the PHLs rock.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Made some progress today on the IB wall. It is 4" thick- double 3/4" for the baffle, another double 3/4" to come flush with the surround at rest, and another 1" for the grill so it clears when the sub is at xmax. My trunk is fairly symmetrical and rectangular so there weren't a lot of obstacles in making the shape. It is pretty heavy and fits in there snug. I used 10-32 threaded inserts for the sub mount and will be using 1/4" Pop Nuts which are rubberized threaded inserts to isolate the baffle from the car. The visible surface will be wrapped in matching trunk liner carpet, with the grill insert wrapped in black grill cloth over mesh. 





First 4 layers test fit:



Grill construction:





Without grill insert:



With grill:


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Looking really good. That sub looks pretty beastly and so does the baffle. I can't wait to hear this thing.


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

rton20s said:


> Looking really good. That sub looks pretty beastly and so does the baffle. I can't wait to hear this thing.


Don't worry, he'll be out to visit as soon as it's done.


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## Offroader5 (Apr 8, 2011)

Good lord that's a thick baffle. :surprised:

Like the grille design.

Will you be beefing the rear suspension for the added weight?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

The sub is ridiculously large. It's 1.5" just from the mounting surface to the top of the surround. At rest. So the baffle had to be damn thick. 

Recently, I drove from SoCal to Phoenix with around 500lbs in my trunk/back seat and it tucked the rear tires a bit. I think between the amp rack and sub I will only have around 120lbs added in the trunk, so I'm not too worried about it. Not doing any batteries or anything. I think the sub weighs around 30lbs and the baffle is about 50.


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

mikey7182 said:


> The sub is ridiculously large. It's 1.5" just from the mounting surface to the top of the surround. At rest. So the baffle had to be damn thick.
> 
> Recently, I drove from SoCal to Phoenix with around 500lbs in my trunk/back seat and it tucked the rear tires a bit. I think between the amp rack and sub I will only have around 120lbs added in the trunk, so I'm not too worried about it. Not doing any batteries or anything. I think the sub weighs around 30lbs and the baffle is about 50.


and the amps and metal amp rack??


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

cobb2819 said:


> and the amps and metal amp rack??


The amps are about 33lbs, and rack weighs about 20. So closer to 135 I guess in total. Still nowhere close to the "Hey ICE, pull me over!" load I brought home from Thousand Oaks.


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

only 50# for the baffle?





I'm baffled that it's so low.....


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

danno14 said:


> only 50# for the baffle?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I see what you did there  

It comes out to essentially a full sheet of 3/4" MDF, which weighs 80lbs, minus all the material from the baffle cutouts. It might be 60 but I doubt it.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

mikey7182 said:


> I see what you did there
> 
> It comes out to essentially a full sheet of 3/4" MDF, which weighs 80lbs, minus all the material from the baffle cutouts. It might be 60 but I doubt it.


Well, now you're going to have to weigh it.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

rton20s said:


> Well, now you're going to have to weigh it.


We'll just measure its mass in Violated Grandma Units... VGUs. **** Violent Bass Air.


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## hot9dog (Mar 23, 2013)

Holy baffle-roni batman!!! Its like your building a hull for an ice breaker ship! Lol. It will look mean when you pop the trunk for sure!


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

Hey! Mikey! Nice to see you working on another punisher man!
You will have to stop by one of these time you are over @ HandCrafted. 
My shop is 1mile down AZ Ave.

I will keep my eyes/ears peeled for one loud-ass black Passat!


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

wheelieking71 said:


> Hey! Mikey! Nice to see you working on another punisher man!
> You will have to stop by one of these time you are over @ HandCrafted.
> My shop is 1mile down AZ Ave.
> 
> I will keep my eyes/ears peeled for one loud-ass black Passat!


Hopefully like the S10, you won't hear it at all outside the car  

And Dustin:


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Love the license plate/frame. I had that song stuck in my head after seeing it. lol

Jay


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

A little test fit. Pardon the water stain. I don't like wasting wood.  



I wanted to make absolute sure I had clearance for the amp rack before proceeding. Money:


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

Looks like you have space for another 18



.....cough


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

mikey7182 said:


> And Dustin:


So what is the conversion from lbs to VGUs?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

edzyy said:


> Looks like you have space for another 18
> 
> 
> 
> .....cough


That was my original plan  I think this will be more than plenty for me. I guess we'll see.

I made some more progress today. I got the IB wall finished, carpeted, and installed. I drilled some 1/2" holes- 2 in the floor and 4 in the rear deck- to hold the IB wall in place with some 1/4" Pop Nuts. Also drilled some locations for the amp rack, and cut my floor carpeting into two pieces with the seam under the IB wall, so I can still access my spare. 

So for the grill, I picked up some of the mesh from Handcrafted that Jon used initially on my doors. I rabbeted out a 1/2" lip around the opening, so I could flush-mount the mesh on the front side to maximize the clearance for the woofer. I used a Loctite adhesive for wood/metal and let it cure over night with the baffle cutouts on it for weight:



Test fit in place:



Helping daddy carpet: 



Here is the new seam in the floor, and you can also see the hats of the Pop Nuts sticking up:



Here's one of the brackets holding the IB wall to the rear deck. There are 1/4" threaded wood inserts in the wall that are about 1" deep, so they grab two layers of baffle, and then the 1/4" Pop Nuts in the sheet metal:



Woofer installed- Not sure why the carpet on the driver's side wall looks so much lighter than everything else, but the IB wall carpet is just about a dead on match to the trunk:



And grill installed. Pardon the heavenly dust particles. The lighting was terrible:



And some motor porn:



The bottom edge of the IB wall is tapered/angled so I could install it. 4" thick was pretty tough to slide into place! (that's what she said). So I took a circular saw and angled it, cutting off about 3/8" at the very most, and ended around the 3rd layer of wood, so the outermost 3 layers are flat still. I'll be adding some foam under here and up top to make sure everything is reasonably sealed off. I should be able to get the amp rack installed tomorrow, and will then spend next week hanging horns and running wires.


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## hot9dog (Mar 23, 2013)

HECK YEAH!!!!!! 
I like the pic with the little guy watching his mad scientist dad working! lol


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## JoshHefnerX (Jun 13, 2008)

Looking good Mike! Not sure what you're using to power that, but make sure it's enough. I know how you listen to your music and at least in my install, I need more power. My cones barely move.

Josh


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Mikey, that looks awesome! Makes me wish I still had a car that I could do an IB sub setup in. And I pictured Jr. saying, "I made that!" when I saw that pic, LOL. Looking forward to seeing the amp rack and horns go in. Killer!


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

JoshHefnerX said:


> Looking good Mike! Not sure what you're using to power that, but make sure it's enough. I know how you listen to your music and at least in my install, I need more power. My cones barely move.
> 
> Josh


Nick said it would reach xmax at around 500w in an IB config, so that's what I'm powering it with. I have an X-ion 160.2 that does [email protected] ohms. We'll see how it does. 



bbfoto said:


> Mikey, that looks awesome! Makes me wish I still had a car that I could do an IB sub setup in. And I pictured Jr. saying, "I made that!" when I saw that pic, LOL. Looking forward to seeing the amp rack and horns go in. Killer!


Thanks! It's officially his first install  Ran into a few small snags with the inserts placement on the amp rack- metal is SO much less forgiving than wood!  Like, none at all. But I'm making it work. Should be in tomorrow, then I can fab up some brackets and mounts for the horns. I really hope to have this buttoned up by this time next week. We'll see.


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## JoshHefnerX (Jun 13, 2008)

I'm running 500w to each of my brahmas and they hardly move. But I'll bet they're a lot more efficient.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

JoshHefnerX said:


> I'm running 500w to each of my brahmas and they hardly move. But I'll bet they're a lot more efficient.


I'm not sure why. I just looked up the Brahma 15s, and they have an efficiency of 87.6db and 29mm of xmax. Pretty similar specs to my 18. And ironically, the specs were some old cached spec sheet on Stereo Integrity's website.  Did Nick have something to do with Adire back in the day?  I guess I'll see how mine does. I'm wondering if yours not moving is frequency dependent... have you watched them respond down low?


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## JoshHefnerX (Jun 13, 2008)

If I really crank them, down low the move about 1/2in or so p-p. I ran one of these on 1200w in a ported box and just one moved much more air and cone movement than I have going now. With 2 of them they can still move some air but not as much as 2 15's should.

Josh


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Decided to tackle running some cable today! Both sides have speaker wire for 10s, 6s and horns, then the driver's side has 1/0 from the engine bay and a 12V ACC from the fuse panel behind the dash to turn on my FuzeBlocks FZ-1. The passenger side has +/- for the Pure i20 and the USB charger for the wifi hard drive, plus the TOSLINK linking the i20 to the H800. Quick pic of the passenger side bundle:



Now for the 1/0: This is seriously the EASIEST vehicle I've ever run power wire in! Ridiculous. It's like they anticipated it. There is a 2-3" diameter rubber grommet on the engine side, and a big piece of compressed foam that's molded around 3 bolts under the dash on the interior side. Both pieces are easily removable, so I notched small aligning holes in each and bam! 





Both materials are quite stout, so no risk of rubbing against any sharp metal edges, etc. 

I was trying to decide what to do under the hood for the fuse holder. The battery is in a big tray with a cover, and there aren't a lot of locations around to mount anything. I also wanted it to look as factory as possible, taking quite a few cues from Bing's several builds (including the fuse holder I went with!) So I made a mount from a piece of heavy gauge truss strap- I traced the outline and cut it out with a grinder then smoothed the edges over. I used crimped threaded inserts for the mounting locations on the block, and a 1/4" bolt/nut/lock washer using a factory bracket. I coated the mount in charcoal grey Plastidip and covered the cable in wire loom and heat shrink. The battery cable snakes under the battery cover and attaches to the terminal. Here's how it turned out:









New compression drivers will be here tomorrow, and I will work on getting the horns mounted. More to come!


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

Which ipad are you using with the i20?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

It's a 64GB Mini. V2 I think. All my music will be streaming from a 1TB wifi HD.


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

i don't know how I missed your build mikey, but damn you have a seriously cool install so far.

im really interested in how the horns go in


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

my gti had a pretty sizable wire channel down the side, made it easy to run wires without a carpet lump. passat have the same?

i'm happy to see someone else installing horns.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I saw this on a pro-touring forum I lurk on. Kinda surprised to see an audio build on it.

Project TechnoStang 66 Mustang Coupe - Page 31

This guy is doing some sick stuff in his car.

Jay


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

I don't know if I would take any build tips from him though...that sub enclosure is a hot mess.


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Yeah, I thought the same thing. I posted some suggestions to improve it. Looks like grille cloth and bondo...he didn't mention fiberglass cloth or mat. :surprised:

Jay


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

He didn't even attempt to get the grill cloth tight to get the wrinkles out. 

I wonder if all of those electronics are running on 12 volts of if he is using an inverter?


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

most of the home automation stuff i've seen is 24v, so he'll probably use a step-up transformer.

crestron makes me cry, but they're quite popular in the home automation realm.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

nadams5755 said:


> my gti had a pretty sizable wire channel down the side, made it easy to run wires without a carpet lump. passat have the same?
> 
> i'm happy to see someone else installing horns.


Indeed it does  I got a huge bundle down each side with no humps or issues. The more I work on this car the happier I am with it.


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## richiec77 (Sep 11, 2011)

Damn MIKEY! I love it!


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

nadams5755 said:


> crestron makes me cry, but they're quite popular in the home automation realm.


What's your take on them? Just curious. You can PM me.

Jay


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Success with the horns! So when I had Jon make the kicks, I had given him a horn to test fit/mold around to make sure everything fit together, but as is the nature of horns, it's always hard to tell exactly where they have to end up until you're actually putting them in, and I had slacked and not installed them yet. Because of that, both the compression drivers and flange were too large to fit with the kicks. I tossed around the idea of running some high efficiency Ciare tweeters in the A-pillars instead, but then I decided to get creative with the horns. With the compression drivers and screw-type adapters mounted to the flange, I drilled new mounting holes that were as close to the 1" opening as possible, then trimmed ALL the excess material off. I kind of feel like I molested them a bit (my apologies to Eric!!) but they work for my purposes now and nothing was really compromised. I purchased some new, smaller compression drivers- the JBL 2408H-2. So here's what I ended up with:



A closer shot:





Once everything was trimmed down, they fit just perfectly. I fab'd up some brackets, and the compression driver essentially rests on the top of the kick. They aren't very heavy either, so they don't pull the horn down in the back like I've had issues with in the past. Here is the driver's side horn during test fitment:



Sorry for the crappy pic, but here's the clearance (or lack thereof) between the compression driver and kick after trimming:



All installed with a shot of the 3-way front:



The passenger horn is an older one I had kicking around, so it's a bit faded/discolored. I'm going to be making some grills that span between the kick and the center console on each side that will match the kicks and doors:



And a bit dark, but a shot of the entire front:



The driver's side horn is about 1/2" closer than the passenger horn but they are otherwise dead level.


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## Offroader5 (Apr 8, 2011)

Is this thing going to be up and producing sound by the GTG in mid April? I'd love to hear it.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

I'm hoping to have it fired up by next weekend.


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## funkalicious (Oct 8, 2007)

What's your impression of the JBL 2408s? My thought is the top end extends higher than most others but I haven't heard them to really know.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

awesome! looks like the bottom of your dash is a little closer to the hood release. i was able to cut out a part of the kick to make room for the horn driver and let me push it all the way back next to sheet metal. you have mids in the kicks though. (link to my horn install)


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Your horns look great! Nice job. What drivers are you using?

Funk- I haven't heard them yet. They don't play as low as most (~1.7khz minimum HPF) but it is my understanding as well that they should sparkle up top where most roll off. Since I have a dedicated midrange, I don't need them to play as low so it worked out.


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## funkalicious (Oct 8, 2007)

Got it. Keep us posted with your impressions, likes, dislikes, etc. I added a pair of Audax PR170M0 for the rebuild and want to switch out my GPA 909Bs for drivers with a better top end since I no longer need something to dig so low to mate with the 2206s. Dealing with something with less mass and size when reinstalling the horns would be a welcome bonus and prevent some colorful language .


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

mikey7182 said:


> Your horns look great! Nice job. What drivers are you using?


thanks. selenium d2500ti.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

nadams5755 said:


> thanks. selenium d2500ti.


Nice, I just sold my pair because they were too big for my application. Great drivers.


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

Looks awesome!

I was also considering those Ciare 1.26Nd TW's at one point.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

edzyy said:


> Looks awesome!
> 
> I was also considering those Ciare 1.26Nd TW's at one point.


I was actually kicking around the idea of doing still them along with the horns, and rigging up some sort of A/B switch and separate tune, so I could go back and forth and people could hear the difference between A-pillar tweeters and horns. I guess we'll see what happens.


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## quality_sound (Dec 25, 2005)

nadams5755 said:


> my gti had a pretty sizable wire channel down the side, made it easy to run wires without a carpet lump. passat have the same?
> 
> 
> 
> i'm happy to see someone else installing horns.



All VWs have that channel and all of the automatics have that grommet in the firewall. It's where the clutch would be on a manual car. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## jpeezy (Feb 5, 2012)

mikey7182 said:


> I see what you did there
> 
> It comes out to essentially a full sheet of 3/4" MDF, which weighs 80lbs, minus all the material from the baffle cutouts. It might be 60 but I doubt it.


damn didn't realize full sheet of mdf was 80lbs, i won't be pulling two sheets off the delivery truck by myself,anymore!


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

I had Handcrafted fab up some grills for my horns to match the doors and kicks:



And got the amp rack all wired up and installed:





I am using a Fuzeblocks FZ-1 for 12V and ACC distribution. It's a relay that's pretty handy and allows for 6 outputs that are selectable as either 12V constant or switched. I had originally intended to put it elsewhere, but that didn't work out and hadn't planned for it on my amp rack so I had to get a bit creative and elevate it over the ground distro:



Tomorrow I should have everything finished and begin to test and tune! I'll post pics of the iPad dash piece and C800 tomorrow as well.


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## funkalicious (Oct 8, 2007)

Looking great! Any build pics on those horn grills?


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## plushterry (Jan 22, 2015)

love it


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

funkalicious said:


> Looking great! Any build pics on those horn grills?


I don't... Handcrafted did them. They're pretty straightforward. 1/4" ABS, wrapped in black vinyl, and then mesh wrapped in black grill cloth is inserted from the back side. They're attached to the bottom of the horns with L brackets.


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

Wow! Nice job all around. I love those kick pods, they're so compact. Did you get a listening session in yet?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Not yet. Need to get the iPad and hard drive installed, as well as the C800, then I should be able to fire it up. Hopefully in the next few days.


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

mikey7182 said:


> Not yet. Need to get the iPad and hard drive installed, as well as the C800, then I should be able to fire it up. Hopefully in the next few days.


That's my bad. I read the post a few up where you said tomorrow. :blush:


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

fish said:


> That's my bad. I read the post a few up where you said tomorrow. :blush:


Yeah today kinda got away from me. I'm really gonna try to get it fired up tomorrow afternoon after clinicals.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Looking really good Mikey. I like the treatment of the horns. Much more understated. I can't wait to hear this one.


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## truckguy (Sep 2, 2013)

Very cool install. How much would you sell it for after it's completed? Kidding! Wish I had cash to throw down like that.


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## funkalicious (Oct 8, 2007)

Are the mids vented into the carpet or outside the vehicle?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

They are vented into the carpet/area behind the kicks.


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## funkalicious (Oct 8, 2007)

Wow. So basically the enclosures are just large enough to fit the baskets?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

They're a little deceiving because a lot of foam was trimmed out from behind the carpet to sink them down in as far as possible, but they are not extremely large, no.


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

Just got through the log. iPad into an H800, hmmm, now why does that sound familiar.  Can't wait to see and hear it.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

They say mimicking is the best form of flattery... Or something along those lines. 

Test fitting my modified dash piece this evening and its a bit more loose than I had hoped for, because it required trimming off a few of the mounting prongs in order to accommodate the Soundman kit, but I think I have it solved. One final coat of paint drying tonight, and I should hopefully have it fired up tomorrow after clinicals. No rest for the weary!! I'm tempted to plug in some initial settings into the H800 via my laptop but I really want to get used to the C800 for tuning. We'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow.


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## hot9dog (Mar 23, 2013)

your going to have yours up and running before mine....... DAMNIT!!!! lololol


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

mikey7182 said:


> I'm tempted to plug in some initial settings into the H800 via my laptop but I really want to get used to the C800 for tuning. We'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow.




I was more used to the laptop initially, but the C800 definitely grew on me and I can click through it pretty quickly now. 



I go back and forth. Long tuning sessions I still like having a laptop and have X-Over, TCR, and EQ screens as the ones that I have up at any given time. But for a quick tweak, C800 FTW!


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Ok, an update finally! It's been a hectic few weeks, and I ran into quite a few issues with the iPad install. After troubleshooting and trying to repair a few things, I opted to take advantage of a great deal on a Pioneer DEH-P01. I installed that yesterday and got everything fired up.

I ran the quick AutoEQ to get a decent baseline, after setting my Xover and slopes for all drivers. After making a few tweaks, I sat in the car for about 2 hours and listened to lots of different material.

Initial impressions are fantastic. My first reaction was "I can't believe that sub is IB and only getting 300-400w!" It has gobs of output, but is very well behaved and not overbearing. On many tracks, it disappears into the music, but still generates a ton of tactile response and energy. It's very impressive, to say the least. Great job, Nick at SI! 

The ported doors are perfect. Not quite as much brutal output as the ported 12s in the S10, for those who have heard it, but that may be a good thing. They are tight and have tons of output while grabbing the sub and pulling it forward. Jon did a phenomenal job on the enclosures. Not a single rattle yet. 

The midranges initially were a bit nasally and overbearing, so I adjusted their level down about 4db after the AutoEQ, and moved the HPF from 315 to 400hz (accompanied by the LPF on the 10s). That seemed to do the trick. They are incredibly detailed. I am hearing a ton of content on lots of tracks that I've never heard before.

The horns are great as well. Currently they pick up at 2khz. I'm not getting any of the typical sounds from them that horns are infamous for. They are very smooth and loud, and the tiny JBLs seem to do very well up top with more sparkle than I've heard with most of the bigger 1" compression drivers.

The stage is deep, sounding about halfway down the hood on most tracks, and is fairly wide for a horn install, with lots of height, above the dash. I don't hear a lot of wandering stage between tracks like I've heard a lot in my previous installs. The seating/listening position in this car is very beneficial compared to others I've done. The horns and kicks are a solid 18" further forward compared to the listening position than they were in my S10. Having the midbass up front really helps cohesion as well. It sounds surprisingly good from the passenger seat, too. I think the path length differences are pretty minimal between sides, and with the kicks on axis and the horns pushed far forward, that seems to have helped a lot.

I look forward to the meet this weekend and doing a few demos. I will continue to get it tweaked a bit more but overall, I am very happy with the outcome given how little time I've spent making adjustments.


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

I HEARD IT!!!!


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Happy to hear you got it up and running. Hopefully I get a chance to hear it soon myself.


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

PHL's>Audax?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

edzyy said:


> PHL's>Audax?


Well, my initial impressions were that the performance was solid but that something was missing. I discovered what that "something" was this afternoon! 

So I was playing around with the amp gains a few hours ago, because the levels at the P01 were significantly down (-10db or more) on most drivers. I was lowering the gains on the horns and didn't hear the cymbals fade... strange. So I turned the gain up, and I heard what sounded like midrange! After further inspection and troubleshooting at the headunit, somehow in all the mess of Saturday trying to hunt down the noise source and troubleshoot, I had SWAPPED the midrange and high outputs on the headunit, so the horns have been playing 400-2k, and the PHLs have been playing 2k up! That strange noise I was hearing when the midranges were crossed at 315 was actually the HORNS crossed at 315. Jesus F. Christ. I've been playing this thing wide open for the last 48 hours and those tiny little JBL compression drivers did not blow. Unbelievable. I swore I triple checked everything, but somehow, they got plugged in to the wrong outputs at the HU. I feel like the luckiest ******* in the world. What a bonehead mistake.

Annnnnnyway.......

I ran AutoEQ again after making sure the drivers were all connected properly, and adjusted the gains, and now it is quite the animal. :rimshot: :rockon: It sounds more like a horn car, but still has great staging and detail. I need to tweak a few things. I got some good height by bumping the xover point between the mids and horns to 2.5khz, so we'll see how that does. The midranges are (aside from being incredibly impressive as a large format tweeter!) really jamming now. I'll post more thoughts as I get some more listening time in. The audio gods were watching over me on this one. Yeesh.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

PHLs are awesome. The man who designed the Audax has the initials PHL...

But the only way to get them in the States right now seems to be buying them used or importing from Europe.

I had heard PHL was going out of business...but they finally put a new website up.


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

Dang that was a close call Mike! Glad everything's still functioning & you're enjoying the hell out of it.


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## ben54b (May 30, 2014)

Wow that was a near miss. Really enjoying this build. 

What's next?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

ben54b said:


> Wow that was a near miss. Really enjoying this build.
> 
> What's next?
> 
> ...


As the great George Carlin pointed out, it was a near hit  I still can't believe they clung to life at 400hz. I'm sure they're getting next to no power but damn.

What's next is to enjoy it for a long time and give as many demos as possible. I listened for about 3 hours last night. I can't say that I have ever experienced anything like this in a vehicle before. The level of detail and clarity, especially at really visceral output levels is blowing me away. With the 10s in the doors instead of behind me, the stage is dramatically improved. I'm hearing tons of content in tracks for the first time. It's about as close to putting on headphones as I've heard in a car, coupled with the high energy of PA drivers. I'm looking forward to others' impressions but thus far I am very pleased.


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

Are you skipping the ipad idea all together?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

edzyy said:


> Are you skipping the ipad idea all together?


Yeah, I don't have any plans to change this out for now. I still have the dash piece that is molded with a Soundman kit, and most of the necessary hardware. When the AMAS 2 BT-Toslink module comes out, I may take a look at doing something. For now though this is doing everything I need.


----------



## BMWTUBED (Aug 25, 2007)

Great build man! I must say I've been enjoying the hell out of your S10 ever since I bought it from Grayson! About the only way I can locate the 12s behind me is from the impact on the seat. If I lean up slightly to get my back off the seat, they blend pretty well into the front stage surprisingly. Again, very nice build. I will likely try something like this in my next daily driver. Whatever that may be.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

That's awesome man! Glad you're enjoying it. That's why I built it... It's really cool to see it stay in the community. Someday in the very distant future, the Passat will hopefully have the same fate.


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

mikey7182 said:


> That's awesome man! Glad you're enjoying it. That's why I built it... It's really cool to see it stay in the community. Someday in the very distant future, the Passat will hopefully have the same fate.


MINE!


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

mikey7182 said:


> That's awesome man! Glad you're enjoying it. That's why I built it... It's really cool to see it stay in the community. Someday in the very distant future, the Passat will hopefully have the same fate.





cobb2819 said:


> MINE!


Now wait just a minute!  I'm pretty sure I can convince the wife to move up from wanting a Jetta to a Passat. I'm sure a demo would help.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

I think she'll want a car long before mine is for sale Dustin


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

We'll see. It seems we'll be driving these Scions until the wheels fall off.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Just a couple quick shots of the headunit. I found a METRA kit that had a really nice finish on it compared to most dash kits I've used in the past. Turned out well:


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## jpeezy (Feb 5, 2012)

Wow, pioneer makes such a beautifully simplistic head unit, I laugh to myself when trying to sell pioneer car audio to customers, and their response is like pioneer thats cheap stuff. At that very moment pictures like the above come to mind, and i just want to say"really?".I think part of the allure of this head unit,at least in my eyes, is how the simple industrial design (form) blends over into the great electrical design and performance of this piece.


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## hot9dog (Mar 23, 2013)

Looks great!!!!!!


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## JoshHefnerX (Jun 13, 2008)

Sounds exciting. Hopefully you'll be at gtg sat, would like to hear it.

Josh


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

It really is simple and that's what I love about it. I've always thought it was one of the best looking heads out there in recent years. Just wish I could somehow show off all that sexy copper behind the dash!



Josh, I will be there for sure. John- you still able to bring your VAGCOM so I can reset this stupid airbag light? I know Damon has one too.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Also, anyone coming on Saturday is welcome to bring their own material, either on CD or saved to USB/iPhone for a demo. As long as it isn't square waves, we'll jam to it!


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## truckguy (Sep 2, 2013)

I love the second pic with the Tool song on the hu! Some day I hope to hear a vehicle like yours around my area. Very nice setup. Either that or I'll have to do some major traveling.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

truckguy said:


> I love the second pic with the Tool song on the hu! Some day I hope to hear a vehicle like yours around my area. Very nice setup. Either that or I'll have to do some major traveling.


Thanks! My old S10 is in Oklahoma City.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

I think the Pioneer with the Metra kit looks great. Nice song selection as well!


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## brett (Apr 27, 2005)

mike i'm bummed i won't be able to make it this weekend, but i definitely want to hear this thing. hopefully by that time, you can hear mine as well. how is your stage height?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to Tool.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

brett said:


> mike i'm bummed i won't be able to make it this weekend, but i definitely want to hear this thing. hopefully by that time, you can hear mine as well. how is your stage height?


I thought about you when I was getting a session in last night! That's too bad you can't make it. Maybe we can meet up sometime. Stage height is really good, and I don't hear the "rainbow" effect like I have with so many of my horn installs. I think you'd find this one more to your liking than my truck was.


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## funkalicious (Oct 8, 2007)

How did you overcome the door mounted midbass pathlength difference to get your staging accurate (no rainbow effect)? Is tactile sensation a problem, particularly for the drivers' side?


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## truckguy (Sep 2, 2013)

Sweet plate! You need to play Flood off of Undertow and Pushit from the Salival album today as a request. They are supposed to have a new album out by the end of the year. Let's hope.


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## TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL (Jan 31, 2011)

If Dustin gets to hear this thing before I do, I'll send some cds with him. Tool and Epica rips from vinyl. I'll let Dustin explain how the vinyl version compares to the cds.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

I was going to mention the vinyl rips you were working on, but thought it better to let you bring it up. I'll certainly be in line for some vinyl rips from TooStubborn once he gets his system dialed in. And I still need to confirm with my brother which albums he has.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

funkalicious said:


> How did you overcome the door mounted midbass pathlength difference to get your staging accurate (no rainbow effect)? Is tactile sensation a problem, particularly for the drivers' side?


Well, the majority of the tuning (delay, EQ, phase) was set by the AutoEQ, so a lot of the work was done for me. A lot of the rainbow effect I've experienced in the past was in a 2-way front, where the mids are playing up to 800-1k. In this setup, the kicks are fairly on axis and picking up at 400hz, so a lot of the staging cues are solved that way. They really help to elevate the drum and guitar sounds, and really complement the doors nicely. The doors in turn are pulling the sub forward. 

I also have a pretty good listening position advantage over a lot of previous vehicles I've owned. The seat is quite far back in relation to all the drivers. I would say the horns and midrange are a solid 18-24" further away from me than they were in my S10, if not more. Even the 10s are significantly forward from the listening position. And that also lessens the sharp angle/height difference between my ears and the drivers. All 3 drivers are roughly on the same plane as well, which helps. As far as tactile response, the driver's door does rattle the pant legs pretty good on some tracks, but I don't think it really detracts from the staging that much, all things considered. 

It's definitely not perfect, and there are some tweaks to be done yet, but this is the most consistent, well-articulated stage I've had in a car. Vocals are dead center and above the dash on virtually every track I've listened to so far. The doors are also surprisingly flat. Bass/drums/guitar are very natural sounding, without the one-note wonder effect I've struggled with on the large ported mids in the past.

Truckguy- those were actually some of the first tracks I listened to! Flood is one of my favorites. I hope to see the new album this year as well.

Dustin and Toostubborn- I would LOVE copies of those. If you have made some already, shoot me a PM and we can figure out PP or something if you're willing to drop a couple in the mail. I have the double picture disc Lateralus on vinyl if you need it.


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## TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL (Jan 31, 2011)

I've got the same double picture disk, as well as Opiate, and Undertow. 10,000 days was never released on vinyl, just bootlegs. And Aenima, well, I WILL get it eventually. Legitimate copies, new, cost $400 right now. So I have to do some juggling to pic one up.

Of course, unless Dustin's brother has it. 

Mike, I'll shoot you a pm when they are done, I've been working on one more tweak to the turntable, that is ending up a little more finicky then I had hoped, and I have about 3 more weeks until I can pick up the click removal software.

This is a more extreme example, but 
This

vs This


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## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

Well, sorry to say guys... I heard Mike's car tonight after meeting up with him, and made an offer for his car on the spot. Looks like we'll be transferring ownership to my name shortly  

























j/k. 

So. Wow. Um. Where to start. Let me first say that I've know Mike for quite a while now, and have been lucky to have worked on or heard most of his builds in the past... all but his first couple early ones. Every iteration and transformation from one build to another has been nothing less than spectacular. The dynamicism (is that a word) of the horn/PA set up definitely has some strong advantages over traditional speakers. It's a whole 'nother experience sitting in these cars listening to all sorts of music and being able to place yourself, literally, in front of the concert stage. The impact. The dynamics. It's all unreal. 

All that to say that this car has elevated the game significantly. It's tremendously better than any of his other systems done in the past, and they were all fantastic. This car has a number of things going for it... the IB sub blends fantastically with the front stage, while retaining the impact and speed I've come to expect from a ported enclosure. The 10's in the doors, while close to your leg, don't draw the stage down at all. In fact, they reinforce a solid front stage quite well. The PHL's.... well... I'm speechless. Fantastico. I think the range Mike has them playing is in the sweet spot, because it sounded like pure sex. Everything mates well with the horns, and altogether provides a very spacious, high, and wide sound stage. We ran it through it's paces tonight, from hard rock/heavy metal to some gold oldies to some ben folds five and dave mathews band. I'm not sure how to quantify exactly how blown away I was... just trust me... if you get a chance to listen, do. Don't pass up the opportunity or you will be sorely disappointed. 

Props to Jon on his workmanship on the fabrication. Not a single rattle from the door. And it all blends together like you'd want it to, not drawing attention from the aesthetics of the car. 

I was converted many years ago to the Proaudio world, and this just reinforces that. I think I went OT Level 8 tonight. Well done, Mike.


----------



## brett (Apr 27, 2005)

mattyjman said:


> I think I went OT Level 8 tonight.


haha, 'after an extensive audit, your car is clear!'


----------



## mattyjman (Aug 6, 2009)

brett said:


> haha, 'after an extensive audit, your car is clear!'


hah, fantastic. I was wondering if anyone was going to get the reference. Well done sir, well done


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## trojan fan (Nov 4, 2007)

I thought you gave up this hobby? What was I thinking


----------



## brett (Apr 27, 2005)

mattyjman said:


> hah, fantastic. I was wondering if anyone was going to get the reference. Well done sir, well done



oh, i more than got it. i spent a few years employed by one of their branches. one of the reasons i left l.a. to come to phoenix


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

trojan fan said:


> I thought you gave up this hobby? What was I thinking


I figured you'd suffocated by now, what with your nose buried that far up Matt's ass for the last 5 years... 

You've made 10 posts to DIYMA in the last 18 months, and you come out of hiding to beat that horse again? Don't litter my thread with that tired, old, played out nonsense.


----------



## trojan fan (Nov 4, 2007)

Sorry to dump on your thread. 

PS....The horse lives on!


(Hi Matt)


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## funkalicious (Oct 8, 2007)

Thanks for all of the info and transparency on this build. The bar has once again been raised and as John Stewart once said, "Please...............proceed!" :bowdown:


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## BMWTUBED (Aug 25, 2007)

mikey7182 said:


> I had Handcrafted fab up some grills for my horns to match the doors and kicks:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Mike, how did you attach the horn grill? Looks very nice.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Handcrafted made them. They are constructed from 2 pieces of ABS in an L shape: the front and the bottom. Two screws go in to the bottom of the horn body to hold the grill in place. Then there is mesh behind the cutout and grill cloth.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

So I'm bringing this back from the dead. It's been a rollercoaster of a year! As some of you know I had to dismantle this build last October. Thanks to a variety of things including great friends, I have been able to recover all the gear I sold and build the car virtually exactly how it was, with the exception of some small changes on the amplifiers. I am now running a pair of Gladen XL250c4, which provide 240x6+720x1 at 4 ohms. Headroom is my new best friend.  So not much to see that's new in terms of pics but I built a new amp rack and snapped a few shots of the re-install. Everything is in and tuned- I even had 35-40 screenshot pics of all my P99 settings from last year so tuning took all of 10 minutes. It's up and running just as badass as before and ready for our AZ get together in a few weeks. 







I coated the rack in dark grey Plastidip:











And another shot of the amazing ported 10" doors that Jon built:





Looking forward to seeing some of you in a few weeks!


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## damonryoung (Mar 23, 2012)

**** yeah!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## hot9dog (Mar 23, 2013)

Hell yeah! More Arizona mayhem!!


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

Can't tell you how glad I am to hear of/see this!

Right on pal!!!!


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

damonryoung said:


> **** yeah!!



This!


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

How much room is in your kicks?

If you ever want to borrow some AE TD6Ms, let a brother know.


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## wheelieking71 (Dec 20, 2006)

Hell yea Mikey!
Having just bought my first horns, I may have to hit you up for some pointers on tuning them. I just got my shipping notification from Eric yesterday. I should try and make it out to hear that beast!


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## TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL (Jan 31, 2011)

damonryoung said:


> **** yeah!!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


X3!!


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

Awesome.


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

nadams5755 said:


> Awesome.


DITTO!


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)




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## brett (Apr 27, 2005)

dude, right on! glad to hear you were able to recover most everything and make use of the fabrication. hopefully i'll be able to hear it someday


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Thanks guys! It's great to have it back up and running. It's a bit symbolic of the past year of my life in a lot of ways, so it's nice to have overcome some adversity.



thehatedguy said:


> How much room is in your kicks?
> 
> If you ever want to borrow some AE TD6Ms, let a brother know.


It's hard to say, but there's not a lot of extra room around the PHLs. You're familiar with their size... the motor is pretty big on them so I'm not sure what the AES look like but as long as the OD isn't bigger, I might be able to squeeze them down in there for a listen! Thanks man.

Bill- I'm definitely down to help with your horns! You should make it out to the meet for sure! This is quite a different animal from the S-10 when you heard it.


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## BMWTUBED (Aug 25, 2007)

Congrats Man! I know I'm going to miss the S10 once it's gone.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

This build alone has me seriously considering a trip out to the GTG in AZ. A little prodding by our local ginger mod at CA State Finals didn't help the matter. Convincing the wife to let me go is going to be the hard part.


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## TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL (Jan 31, 2011)

Dustin let me know if you (your wife) decide to go. I won't be able to make it, but I have some cds Mike might want.


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

rton20s said:


> This build alone has me seriously considering a trip out to the GTG in AZ. A little prodding by our local ginger mod at CA State Finals didn't help the matter. Convincing the wife to let me go is going to be the hard part.


If you go, your wife is going to kill me because I suggested you go. I don't wanna get killed.

However, I will be sitting in the Passat sending you pictures, hahahahahaha.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

It would be awesome if you could make it down Dustin!!



TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL said:


> Dustin let me know if you (your wife) decide to go. I won't be able to make it, but I have some cds Mike might want.


I would love whatever CDs you've got man! Maybe you can get them to Jacob if Dustin's wife doesn't untie his leash


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## jriggs (Jun 14, 2011)

Love the Gladen XL250c4's. I was very impressed when I ran one along with an XL275c2 awhile back. Very nice amps.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

This was pretty much my wife's reaction when I talked to her about going to AZ...









With a little Whitney attitude for good measure...


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

Waking this thread up..... just because


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

He's got a FS thread, so maybe he's about to be in the planning stage.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

You guys  

I'm actually going to be listing the Passat for sale soon, in all its current glory, with the full system, tune, suspension, etc. I graduated a few months ago and have received a pretty sweet job offer as an RN Supervisor, so I am looking to move up to an Audi Allroad. I figured I'd do the same as I did with the S10, as I would love to see this car stay within the community after such a labor-intensive build.

When I was in Vegas, I listened to Chet's Explorer again as well as a few other cars and they really cranked- louder than I had been driving mine by a good margin. I felt a little deflated, so I came home and tweaked the tune a little. One thing I noticed though is that I had been under the impression for some reason that the P99 volume maxes out at like 53-54, and so I usually kept most music around 45-46. Tinkering yesterday and wanting to jam out to some Rage Against the Machine, I caught a quiet moment in a track and cranked the volume knob quickly to see how high it went, and got up into the mid 60s  So I turned it back down but figured I had some more room to play with than I thought. I carefully turned it up a notch at a time, and got to 55 with absolutely zero breakup and my ears and entire body were buzzing. This thing is VICIOUS. It was almost like I'd installed a whole new setup all over again. I did smell coil for the first time during a particularly brutal drum and bass solo at the end of Freedom  So I turned the SW level down a bit and it still hammers.

Anyway, I know a few guys had expressed interest in buying the Passat if I ever sold it (Dan is one). So you guys are on notice. Look for a FS thread for this car in the very near future. I'm happy to ship it or drive it to you if you're in the States


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## BMWTUBED (Aug 25, 2007)

mikey7182 said:


> You guys
> 
> I'm actually going to be listing the Passat for sale soon, in all its current glory, with the full system, tune, suspension, etc. I graduated a few months ago and have received a pretty sweet job offer as an RN Supervisor, so I am looking to move up to an Audi Allroad. I figured I'd do the same as I did with the S10, as I would love to see this car stay within the community after such a labor-intensive build.
> 
> ...


Damn! Do I need the S10 and the Passat? Ive been toying with the idea of a proaudio system in my Audi, but why bother now!


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## BMWTUBED (Aug 25, 2007)

Mike,
Sending you a PM. Can you give me a call at your convenience? thanks


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)




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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

Oh ****...


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

Lmfao^^^^^

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk


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## Boostedrex (Apr 4, 2007)

And I just ran across this build log and was going to hit you up for an audition when I went to Phoenix for Thanksgiving. Way to break my heart Mike!!  LOL!!


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## Oldsforever (Apr 1, 2017)

Nice job on the build.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Thanks guys  Rex, I'm not sure it will be gone by then, and if it is, maybe you can track it down elsewhere in the community ? I hope to see it go to a good home. One of you pro audio guys needs to snatch it up! I'll probably post an official ad for it later in the week. Dustin, don't look ?


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## hot9dog (Mar 23, 2013)

I'm a big fan of Mikey's Passat...I've had several high volume listening sessions and several high speed runs in his car. It's a strong platform on several levels (mechanical, acoustical, vw cool factor, etc....). Someone's going to get a great car.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

mikey7182 said:


> Dustin, don't look ?


Ha ha. I actually would be interested to see the full specs on the car. I'll probably glance at the FS thread when you post it.


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

rton20s said:


> Ha ha. I actually would be interested to see the full specs on the car. I'll probably glance at the FS thread when you post it.


I've thought about trying to buy it...does that mean anything to you? HAHAHA.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

cobb2819 said:


> I've thought about trying to buy it...does that mean anything to you? HAHAHA.


I was surprised you hadn't said anything about trying to pick it up yourself. It could make a very happy birthday for _someone_ next week. :laugh:


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

rton20s said:


> I was surprised you hadn't said anything about trying to pick it up yourself. It could make a very happy birthday for _someone_ next week. :laugh:


But that person doesn't want car payments, since that person is building a new motor and fixing a borrowed daily.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

cobb2819 said:


> But that person doesn't want car payments, since that person is building a new motor and fixing a borrowed daily.


I know another someone with a birthday next week. Mikey's Passat may be slightly above my allotted gift budget.


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

rton20s said:


> I know another someone with a birthday next week. Mikey's Passat may be slightly above my allotted gift budget.


Oh yeah...I doubt she'd just buy this one for herself. Does that mean the GLi would be for sale?!? hahaha.


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## BMWTUBED (Aug 25, 2007)

Man, lots of bdays. Mine was yesterday and my wife didn't buy it for me either!


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

cobb2819 said:


> Oh yeah...I doubt she'd just buy this one for herself. Does that mean the GLi would be for sale?!? hahaha.


It would have to be.


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

rton20s said:


> It would have to be.


The Passat has a downpipe!!! hahahahaha


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

cobb2819 said:


> The Passat has a downpipe!!! hahahahaha


LoL     

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

cobb2819 said:


> The Passat has a downpipe!!! hahahahaha


Fueling up at the airport isn't really an option.


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

rton20s said:


> Fueling up at the airport isn't really an option.


Sure it is.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

I'm missing the Downpipe/airport refueling joke I guess.  It does have a 3" stainless DP. I also made it 540 miles from my place to Jacob's and around town before having to refuel, with the system and all current mods. It does pretty well on fuel economy.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

My wife's car has a stage 2 tune, but is rolled back to stage 1 because she doesn't have a downpipe. To realize the benefits of the downpipe we need 93 octane. Not something readily available in CA. 

I'm sure Cobb's logical solution to fixing that downpipe issue would be purchasing your Passat.


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

rton20s said:


> To realize the benefits of the downpipe we need 93 octane. Not something readily available in CA.


you'll have to stop next time you're around. 
3004 Andrade Rd, Sunol, CA 94586
3010 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, CA
14395 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, CA

according to the car nerds at work, the torco octane booster works well.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

nadams5755 said:


> you'll have to stop next time you're around.
> 3004 Andrade Rd, Sunol, CA 94586
> 3010 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, CA
> 14395 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, CA



There's an app for that.  ...Locations, with high-octane/"special" fuels.


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## BMWTUBED (Aug 25, 2007)

What octane do you typically use Mike? What happens if you use normal 91?


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

nadams5755 said:


> you'll have to stop next time you're around.
> 3004 Andrade Rd, Sunol, CA 94586
> 3010 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, CA
> 14395 Big Basin Way, Saratoga, CA
> ...





bbfoto said:


> There's an app for that.  ...Locations, with high-octane/"special" fuels.


I've looked locally and there are no stations. Several years ago there was one station about 25 miles away. Hence my comment to Cobb about going to the airport to fuel up. 

I know that with the APR tunes and a downpipe they will work fine on 91 octane, you just don't see much difference in horsepower or torque vs having 93 at your disposal.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

BMWTUBED said:


> What octane do you typically use Mike? What happens if you use normal 91?


I've always used 91 here. A few times I've used booster but that's been the exception. The guys at Tuning Gruppe that did the mods and install said 91 wouldn't be an issue, and it hasn't.


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

mikey7182 said:


> I've always used 91 here. A few times I've used booster but that's been the exception. The guys at Tuning Gruppe that did the mods and install said 91 wouldn't be an issue, and it hasn't.


And it's fun!!!


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

Mikey, you need to keep the car until at least June 24th so you can bring it out to Glen Helen Amphitheater! :guitarist::singer::drummer::guitarist:


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

rton20s said:


> Mikey, you need to keep the car until at least June 24th so you can bring it out to Glen Helen Amphitheater! :guitarist::singer::drummer::guitarist:


So that he can just leave it here?


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

cobb2819 said:


> So that he can just leave it here?


Maybe. If the wife goes and gets some seat time. :laugh:


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Haha! Let me know if I need to buy a one way flight home  

The damn thing either blew a hose or the radiator cracked last night on my way home from work, so I ended up having it towed. I'm going to pull the intake tomorrow and take a look at it. I'm hoping it's just a hose!


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

​


danno14 said:


> Waking this thread up..... just because


It's awake 



Hmmm... ?


----------



## LumbermanSVO (Nov 11, 2009)

mikey7182 said:


> ​
> It's awake
> 
> 
> ...


Is that I-86?


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

I-82, crossing the Columbia by Kennewick.


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## LumbermanSVO (Nov 11, 2009)

That's right, I-86 is in ID/UT. 82 is the short jump between 90 and 84, and a nightmare in the winter.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Well, after driving 1,500 miles over the last 36 hours, the Passat officially has a new home in the Pacific NW. As I avoid the droves of adults dressed up as cats and knights at the ComiCon-esque convention my hotel is apparently hosting, it's a bittersweet feeling for sure to be boarding a plane in the morning and leaving the car behind. It couldn't have gone to a better home, and I'm excited to see another car I built staying in our community.  Stay tuned for my next insane idea.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)




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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

rton20s said:


>


LMAO! ? And here I am searching the forums late at night for processors that include AutoEQ because I'm lazy but can't run a P99 in this beast... 

I bought this on Friday, as a late nursing school graduation gift to myself:










The factory interface is quite wonderful, but the sound suuuuuucks. My standards are high, what can I say? So I'll be keeping the factory MMI and doing an add-on processor, as well as some fairly substantial modifications to accommodate drivers capable of meeting my ridiculous demands.  I'll be starting a new thread for that, naturally.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Congrats on the new toy!


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Congratulations on achieving your nursing goals. I have several nurses as well as Physicians on my payroll to cover our one business needs. Definitely pays when well done correctly.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Coppertone said:


> Congratulations on achieving your nursing goals. I have several nurses as well as Physicians on my payroll to cover our one business needs. Definitely pays when well done correctly.


It's a very versatile field for sure. I've been interested in psych for a very long time. I was fortunate to land a job right out of school as an RN Supervisor at a Level 1 Crisis Recovery lockdown psych facility. I'm starting my Doctor of Nursing Practice next year to work as a Psych NP.


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

> LMAO! ? And here I am searching the forums late at night for processors that include AutoEQ because I'm lazy but can't run a P99 in this beast...


Let me know which you're thinking of... I might could maybe have a few processors in the garage....


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

danno14 said:


> Let me know which you're thinking of... I might could maybe have a few processors in the garage....


We could've done a partial trade for the car!  Will do. Thanks Dan.


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

Time to re-awaken this thread!
As the current caretaker of the Passat, I will be posting the build pics again shortly. They will obviously be a bit scattered, as I don’t know that there is any way to reassemble them in the order they originally appear in the thread. 
Yes, the underlying reason is that the car is preparing to go to a new home. Where and with whom has yet to be determined. Contact me via PM if you are interested.

Thanks again to Mikael for building such a toy!


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Oh wow that’s good to hear as I really want to see the prior pictures and all that’s been done with this car.


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

danno14 said:


> Time to re-awaken this thread!
> As the current caretaker of the Passat, I will be posting the build pics again shortly. They will obviously be a bit scattered, as I don’t know that there is any way to reassemble them in the order they originally appear in the thread.
> Yes, the underlying reason is that the car is preparing to go to a new home. Where and with whom has yet to be determined. *Contact me via PM if you are interested*.
> 
> Thanks again to Mikael for building such a toy!


Ugh...I Wish!!!


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

cobb2819 said:


> Ugh...I Wish!!!


^^^ lol! 


Mikey mentioned you..... ya never know! ?


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

danno14 said:


> ^^^ lol!
> 
> 
> Mikey mentioned you..... ya never know! ?


If I wasn't busy building a motor for my Civic, I'd try and find a way, but I need another car about as much as i need to cut off my leg.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

cobb2819 said:


> If I wasn't busy building a motor for my Civic, I'd try and find a way, but I need another car about as much as i need to cut off my leg.


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

Lmao! Leave it to rton for a suitable pic!

((Btw- it’s an automatic, so you only need one leg ?)


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

danno14 said:


> Lmao! Leave it to rton for a suitable pic!
> 
> ((Btw- it’s an automatic, so you only need one leg ?)


Civic is a 6 speed...so...i need both.


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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)

cobb2819 said:


> Civic is a 6 speed...so...i need both.


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

rton20s said:


>


yup, seems reasonable.


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

Sad I missed out on this!  Dan is a great guy to deal with. I drove the car up to him in Seattle. It’s an absolute blast for anyone considering buying, and the car is pretty fun to drive too! I’m happy to answer any questions as well for any potential buyers.


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

I want your door cards 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

Thanks Mikael, I appreciate it and will likely take you up on the offer.

Mario- you are welcome to them! They are really special, and absolutely pound! 
They would also have to be delivered along with the rest of the car ?


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## quickaudi07 (May 19, 2010)

danno14 said:


> Thanks Mikael, I appreciate it and will likely take you up on the offer.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I would love too... but I already have a CC. I can’t afford another one 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

Yeah, I’ve been slacking.....

Let’s see if this works for pics:

https://imgur.com/a/kgRUG

The car is actively for sale! I have another toy on the way to me later this evening. 
While playing with this has been an absolute BLAST!, I’m firmly in the RWD camp when it comes to powerful cars. IF this one was RWD or AWD, it would surely stay in my stable. FWD with 300+ hp just isn’t my cup of tea. More like Fireball, on fire 

Interested parties, LMK. IF we can cut a deal that I am comfortable with financially, I will consider flying you here on my dime so you can drive it home. In the meantime, I;m going to be driving it regularly, to get the most fun out of it I can while I am still the custodian.


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

It has roughly 85k on it at the moment, and is a 2010 turbo with various engine and suspension mods. I will be setting up a FS post with cross link to this one. I’m going to advertise it locally as well, but would love to see another of Mikey’s creations stay in the community.

Cheers!


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## mikey7182 (Jan 16, 2008)

For reference, the car has the following mods besides the stereo:

GIAC Stage 2 Tune
CTS Turbo cold air intake
3" Stainless downpipe
ST coilovers

It's a quick little car that still gets 30+ mpg on the highway. I'd also love to see it stay in the community! Someone will be very happy to have a fully built pro audio car with ported 10s in the doors!


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## nautic70 (Oct 20, 2010)

If somebody doesn't want the car as it sits and you part it out can I put dibs on the xl250? By the way sick car.


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

Sorry, I don’t have any inclination to part it out.


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

So...a bump and an update, the car now lives in Southern California. I don't know what happened. I woke up one morning, and 24.5 hours later it was in my driveway.


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

Aliens! Damn aliens must have done it!


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)




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## rton20s (Feb 14, 2011)




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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

HAHAHA...pretty much!!!


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## nadams5755 (Jun 8, 2012)

It’s still an impressive system, 10” midbasses are something else.


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## danno14 (Sep 1, 2009)

Yes, yes it is....


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

danno14 said:


> Yes, yes it is....


Now it has paddle shifters, because I'm an idiot, and as soon as it gets home it'll be a true stage 2 tune and DSG stage 3 software. What's traction?! 

Anywho, yeah, the audio package in it is quite amazing, and will only be getting better.


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