# My MK4 Jetta SQ build log



## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Here goes my first attempt at an SQ oriented build! Feel free to comment or make suggestions as I work my way along as this will be a learning experience for me!

Right now I am just getting the ball rolling, just dont expect uber fast progress as money isnt as abundant as I would like and I have a lot to learn on certain processes. Currently just have my tweeters, mid ranges, and mid bass (in the mail).

Now for the pictures!

The car:

















Drivers I do have:

Vifa XT25SC (on temp mounts for aiming purposes, so far liking on axis the best, going in upper door location in front of A piller)









Scanspeak Discovery 18w-4434 (going in front doors)









What I still need to get:
-Scanspeak Discovery 22W-4534 (in the mail, plan to locate these in the rear doors to play in the 30-300hz range)
-Scanspeak Discovery 30W-4558
-Headunit (currently deciding, would like to stay double din for aesthetic reasons, looking at the Pioneer AVH-X5500BHS)
-DSP (looking at the rockford 3sixty.3 since it autotunes and can allow for manual tuning as I get the hang of fine tuning)
-Amps (looking at the JL XD 600.6 to power 3 way front and JL XD 600.1 to power sub)
-Sound deadner (not going overboard, looking at secondskin CLD throughout the car to bear down on vibrations, keeping factory jute on top)
-Power wires (Knu Konceptz CCA 1/0 running to the back to a distro and to upgrade factory power wiring

Overall goal is to keep the car looking as stock as possible while getting the best sound I can on a reasonable budget. Next week I will be putting in the mid ranges and mid basses when my circle jig for my router comes in.

As I have stated before, input is welcome for the things I am undecided on! Feedback is also wanted to see how I am doing and if I seem to be going in a proper direction!


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## Justin Zazzi (May 28, 2012)

I'm currently building my MKIV Golf, and our cars share essentially the same front half. I can recommend a light application of damping tiles on the floor pan in the wide, flat areas. The factory jute (or in my case foam padding) is plenty for an isolation layer if you want to add mass-loaded-vinyl on top of it, with the factory carpet resting on top of that. I had good success reducing much of the road rumble coming through the floor of the car into the cabin this way.

My Golf did not need much damping, but it did need a lot of sound barrier in the form of MLV. I have it covering the floor, a layer on each of the front doors, and also over the rear tire wells. It is a bit overkill, but the layer on the floor was the most effective for reducing cabin noise.

For amplifiers, you might be able to get a single 5-channel amplifier for about the same price as both of the amps you have listed. The Alpine PDX-5 was recently replaced with their newer V9 model, but the PDX-5 is fantastic and has ample power for what you are planning. You can likely get one of those for cheap, or the newer V9 or maybe a JL HD 5-channel for a bit more. Having one amp, one power lead, and a small footprint sure is nice.

If you go with a single amp, or keep your power requirements below roughly a thousand watts, a single 4ga power lead will be sufficient. I've run mine without problems for a year now. I've used the factory CD changed mounting bolts as a ground after cleaning off some of the paint, though your car may be different.

Good luck!


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

I recently installed the AVH-X3500BHS in my GF's Jeep and Love almost everything about it....except, so far when using the phone as navigation through advanced app mode we haven't seen a way to play music AND use apps. If you're on a 10 minute trip, not a big deal, but if you're going cross country, that ain't gonna do. 

All in all, I love the new user interface. The screen is sharp. The new satellite tuner is great. Kinda bummed it no longer has p-bus, tho.

Many apps work with Android (on my RAZR M running Jellybean), so you aren't limited to 
using an iPhone. My GF has an iPhone 4s and it works reasonable well...there have been a few glitches tho...when running Waze (user supported nav program) for some reason the keyboard to enter destinations and such doesn't work. I had to unplug her phone, program the destination, then plug it back in. Minor annoyance, but should probably be fixed. She's running iOS6.

Jay


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

If i wasnt going to run the 8" mid basses a 5 channel would be perfect, but since I am i would like them on their own channel for TA purposes.

Good to hear the mostly positive feedback on the headunit! Makes the choice a little easier now.

Thanks for the input so far guys!


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## AudioBob (May 21, 2007)

The 3Sixty.3 does not auto tune, at least not yet and I don't know what the future plans for it are. You really need an RTA to get the mot out of the 3Sixty.3. All the 3Sixty.3 does is signal sum and give you a nice output signal and all of the tuning is manual from there.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Hmm, well its not set in stone yet, thanks for the heads up! Currently using the rta app on my droid for basic tuning to get me in the ball park until I figure out a more formal setup. It has picked out a nasty peak in the 4-8khz range that my ears confirm that I cant tune out so a headunit may be the next thing I acquire after power wire.


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

What are you using for a sub? Depending on how much power your sub selection needs, you might want to go with a 600/6 and a 500/3. That way, you can bridge a pair of channels for your mid basses, leaving you with 75x4 for mids and tweets, and 300x1 for the sub.

I second Jay's findings on the "quirks" of the Pioneer advanced app mode. After all, he can tell you where he got the idea from . In all honesty, I never thought it was perfect and pretty much accepted the current state of the integration. I am hopeful for some updates and that other manufacturers realize this should be the trend with the proliferation of smart phones and need to think of the HU as an "extension" of the phone rather than the phone just as a storage device that the HU needs to be able to interface with.


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

JayinMI said:


> ....except, so far when using the phone as navigation through advanced app mode we haven't seen a way to play music AND use apps. If you're on a 10 minute trip, not a big deal, but if you're going cross country, that ain't gonna do.
> 
> My GF has an iPhone 4s and it works reasonable well...there have been a few glitches tho...when running Waze (user supported nav program) for some reason the keyboard to enter destinations and such doesn't work. I had to unplug her phone, program the destination, then plug it back in. Minor annoyance, but should probably be fixed. She's running iOS6.
> 
> Jay


On the 8400, I start Pandora or play something from the iPod first. Then, I go into Advanced app mode and music continues to play while using apps.

The Waze bug IME is not a Pioneer bug but rather a Waze or iOS 6 one perhaps (or some combination). It frustrates me to no end when I experience that bug on the phone directly standalone (iPhone 5 running iOS 6). Also, advanced app mode is now useless on an iPhone 5 with the lightning connector .


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

papasin said:


> What are you using for a sub? Depending on how much power your sub selection needs, you might want to go with a 600/6 and a 500/3. That way, you can bridge a pair of channels for your mid basses, leaving you with 75x4 for mids and tweets, and 300x1 for the sub.
> 
> I second ...with.


The subwoofer is a scanspeak discovery 30w-4558. The xd 600/6 is a 6 channel amp already (what is up on the list in parentheses), so not sure why I would need 2 more channels when the 600/6 would feed each speaker fine and the subwoofer would be fed from the 600/1. Unless the confusion stemmed from saying 3 way front and there was the assumption i was using more than the tweets, 6.5"s, and 8"s.

But I appreciate the info on the headunit thus far!

Update: 8" mid basses will be in today and the circle jig came in yesterday! Going to be picking up some materials after work, then this weekend I can start putting in some speakers.


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

looking forward to seeing what you do.

i have a 03GTi (build log in my signautre)

ill be watching


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

req said:


> looking forward to seeing what you do.
> 
> i have a 03GTi (build log in my signautre)
> 
> ill be watching


Been watching yours for a while as well, might not be as spectacular as yours but might help someone else out for their build haha.

Update: 8" scanspeaks are in! Hopefully i can get some work done tonight on them.


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

Brute71 said:


> The subwoofer is a scanspeak discovery 30w-4558. The xd 600/6 is a 6 channel amp already (what is up on the list in parentheses), so not sure why I would need 2 more channels when the 600/6 would feed each speaker fine and the subwoofer would be fed from the 600/1. Unless the confusion stemmed from saying 3 way front and there was the assumption i was using more than the tweets, 6.5"s, and 8"s.


What I was alluding to above was to bridge two pairs of channels on the 600/6 to your mid basses thus feeding them 200x2. I am using the 600/6 myself in my wife's Smart, so fairly familiar with the amp . You're right that you get 75Wx6 on the 600/6 and thus gives enough channels, but IME, bridging a couple pairs to the mid basses helps. Also, as I understand Scans aren't shy in taking power especially mid basses . Just some food for thought...

One question though (unless I am misunderstanding) with the midbass drivers behind you, aren't you a little worried about stage getting pulled back?


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

papasin said:


> What I was alluding to above was to bridge two pairs of channels on the 600/6 to your mid basses thus feeding them 200x2. I am using the 600/6 myself in my wife's Smart, so fairly familiar with the amp . You're right that you get 75Wx6 on the 600/6 and thus gives enough channels, but IME, bridging a couple pairs to the mid basses helps. Also, as I understand Scans aren't shy in taking power especially mid basses . Just some food for thought...
> 
> One question though (unless I am misunderstanding) with the midbass drivers behind you, aren't you a little worried about stage getting pulled back?


I gotcha now, might have to consider that as an option. The power wire setup would let me add an amp to change that if need be tho.

I plan on crossing them below 300hz so they cant be localized in theory so it shouldnt pull it back.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Well, this build just turned interesting. To run the 8"s in the rear doors i will either have to delete the rear power windows (convert to manual or just leave them inoperable) or modify the door card. I feel deleting the power windows will be less of a set back in this case and can be easily reversed.


















The fronts however will be quite simple and straight forward.










Edit: after diggin into the door more im going to have to work around the window reg.


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

i fit a pair of vifa 8's in my front door under the stock panel.

i dont have rear doors, so i can not comment on those.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

If i had manual windows there would be plenty of room for them, the fronts could fit them no problem either.


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## trumpet (Nov 14, 2010)

Where in ND are you?


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Broke in my circle jig and made a few of my 1/2" mdf rings, after making the ring for my 8" i figured out how to mount it to the panel!  going to bolt it to the door with some studs then fill in the gap with clay.









.
Monday i should have the rear doors done with deadener since I dont want to pull them apart again XD


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Well, wound up being sick this weekend so really didnt get any further than gluing the mounting rings for the 7" mids and picking up some sound deadner and hardware.










Hopefully will chip away at some more of it this week.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

My sickness is finally coming to an end! Sound deadened the doors on the drivers side so now I just need to bolt down some speakers. Also got some of the trunk done, will do more of it when I do the amps. Going to try and keep it minimal to keep weight down but take care of the problem areas.










Makes quite the difference in how they sound! Cant wait to drive down the road.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Just picked up a RF 360.3 dsp off the classifieds  now I need some xover components so I can run my 4 channel amp until I get the amps I want. Should have the door speakers done this weekend though 

Also speaker rings are ready to have speakers bolted to them! Just need to make some more holes for the bolts that will go into the doors and trim the extra thread off the bolts.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Ohhh man, the 8" will just fit  also have all of my speaker wires ran to the trunk on the drivers side (kinda workin half by half, lol.


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Looks great.  Did you waterproof your MDF baffles/rings before mounting the speakers?


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Thanks! And no, it doesnt get all that humid or wet here so im not too worried about it. And I will probably make new ones for new speakers by the time I have to worry about it LOL


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

if it rains, then water will enter the door cavity by leaking past the felt window boot. the water runs down the inside of the door then collects at the bottom as it leaks through rain drip holes. 

if it rains where you are, water will get on those rings and they will absorb the moisture like sponges.

i recommend using marine grade plywood, or plastic. if you can not use those, i would at least coat them with something to waterproof them.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

After a long weekend, I finally got to test out my speakers! Got some tuning to do but over all its a very good start. Midbasses blend into the front stage very well, still some EQ tuning to do there to make it seamless. DSP comes in tomorrow so I will have my tweeters and midbasses on my 4 channel amp (need to get another so I can ditch that damn factory amp, grrr). Also have some rattles in the rear door cards to take care of (passenger side has the lock plunger hinge rattling and the door card itself on the drivers side)

As for coating the MDF rings, I will wind up doing that this spring when it's warmer, too damn cold right now! LOL

Now for some pics 










































Interior parts










Temp rack for 4ch amp, sub amp, and 360.3


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

I am now contemplating putting some 3" midranges on the dash next to the tweeters on axis, thoughts?


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## Justin Zazzi (May 28, 2012)

Excellent idea. My Golf MKIV is getting a 3" wideband driver in the corners of the dash with great results. The trick is to make it look good though, it's kinda big.


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

this may be of help. this is an audi A3 - not far off from the golf\jetta.


















http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...ocal-micro-precision-hifonics-9-channels.html

i have had ideas of putting some small midranges in some crazy places, and if it pans out i will come back. i just bought a house and i now have a garage to work out of for the first time ever - so i will be doing some stuff when the weather warms up - im guessing march time frame.


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## papasin (Jan 24, 2011)

req said:


> this may be of help. this is an audi A3 - not far off from the golf\jetta.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Looks really nice and stealthy. For those that compete in MECA though, doesn't that constitute as "cutting up your dash" or a "full dash rebuild" and push you to at least MODEX, maybe even Extreme?


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

That A3 is an interesting way to go about it. I will be digging a bit more into this, think i might use a zapco dc amp for the sub so that can remain active with the rest of the speakers on the 360.3. This spring im going to try aiming my 6.5s up a bit and get them closer to the door to get them to sound better.

In other news, 3sixty.3 is in!










Might just end up remaking the volume knob cable to length since its a standard RJ-45 end and pinout and I have all the stuff to make it


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## AudioBob (May 21, 2007)

Let us know what you think of the 3sixty.3 once you get it in and start to play with it. Maybe we can learn some things from each other. In have only had a couple of 1/2 hour sessions tuning by ear with it at this point, but I feel like I am making progress.


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## Justin Zazzi (May 28, 2012)

papasin said:


> Looks really nice and stealthy. For those that compete in MECA though, doesn't that constitute as "cutting up your dash" or a "full dash rebuild" and push you to at least MODEX, maybe even Extreme?


That's exactly why I didn't go that route with my Golf, even though it looks fantastic and others with similar installs sound amazing.

However, OP, if you're not building for any particular class in a competition, that would be very high on my list of stuff to try.


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## Justin Zazzi (May 28, 2012)

Brute71 said:


> That A3 is an interesting way to go about it. I will be digging a bit more into this, .......... This spring im going to try aiming my 6.5s up a bit and get them closer to the door to get them to sound better.


When changing my 6.5's in the door from firing straight across at eachother (factory mounting) to firing up at the sunroof, the difference was staggering. Keep in mind this was when I ran a 2-way and the 6.5 woofers were playing up to 2khz. If you run a midrange in your dash playing down to below 1khz (or better 500hz) then aiming the 6.5" drivers would not do much for you though.

This is what it looked like:


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

I saw that in your build thread jazzi, little bit more extreme than I want to go lol. I will redo the mounts in the doors to get them closer to on axis and not firing into the back of the door. Might just do a pod set that mounts to the door to avoid cutting up the dash. One goal I do have in mind is stock appearance for the most part. The DSP will also let me gear my car around my phone as the headunit for music/navi. Right now looking into a DAC that will play ball with my phone (pretty long list of them, gotta sort the good from the bad) to get the best sound out I can from it.

AudioBob, just stay tuned. I will post what I can from it when I start playing with it (going to finish putting it in tomorrow night hopefully). Overall really excited to see what it can do with my setup.

Temp amp rack setup again,

















Never thought i'd be running cat5e cable in a car LOL turns out the cable that runs from the unit to the volume dials is just a regular RJ-45 ethernet cable so I made one to length.

























Volume dial


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

good luck with the RF unit, i have heard mixed reviews on it.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

From the looks of the change log they did fix a lot of issues, also figured out that you need to have the unit unplugged from your computer for the software to start up XD


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Well, after a bit of research these 3 drivers catch my interest for the price im willing to spend for midrange duty, not sure what one to go for yet however.

Tang Band W4-1320
Dayton RS100
Vifa NE123

Any other suggestions welcome for the under $170 a pair category!


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Dsp is in! After beating my head against the wall for a while I finally got the software to work with the dsp, only to have my 4 channel slap me in the face and decide playing anything thru channel 1 would trip the internal safety XD so now i get to enjoy 3 channels until i work out the warranty situation.


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## AudioBob (May 21, 2007)

It looks like you had the same experience as me!!! However, since updating the software it has worked fine with no issues. I hope that you have the same luck.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Had to do the hotfix on the site and put the program in XP compatibility mode, but after that its been smooth sailing on the dsp side, just need to figure out the bluetooth.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Doing myself a favor and posting my current to-do list:

-Send in MRX-F30 for warranty
-Pick up shorter rca's and usb cable (want to be able to hook my laptop up to the DSP w/o sitting in the trunk or running a cable accross my car)
-Pick up power wire to feed amps and distro blocks
-Pick up an alpine MRX-F65 to power midbasses, although I may try out the PPI Phantoms
-Pick up Vifa NE123 mid ranges
-Build pods for tweets/mids
-Create V1.0 amp rack (better amps will be on the horizon when I have less items to purchase and more $$$ available, also going to experiment with some "flair" )
-Pick up subwoofer & build box
-TUNE!!!

After the system is put together I will concentrate on integrating my phone into it, hopefully the Jelly Bean OS will be out for my droid by then to make it easier to run a DAC off it!

Now to play the waiting game with my paycheck and try and take care of some of those misc rattles I have in the mean time as well as brain storm ways to integrate that button setup better from the dsp and USB ports for the DAC and tuning and possibly an AUX port. Might as well use all that I have available!


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

turns out my amp is fine, should have taken the extra step to check that door speaker XD the leads from the speaker were touching the door panel causing a short that my multimeter did not show (showed the speakers resistance, nothing lower -.-). Going to be playing around with the time alignment more tomorrow, see what kind of difference that makes (preliminary tuning seemed to show that it will make quite the difference!).

Decided how im going to mount my tweets and mids as well.










Going to run a pivot on them so I can adjust the aiming. Going to bolt those to the sail panel on the door so I dont have to touch the a-pillar or dash and can keep them as wide as possible. As soon as I get those midranges I will be in business 

This is what im thinking for a DAC for my phone:

http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10-USB-...e=UTF8&qid=1358482035&sr=8-1&keywords=usb+dac
-or-
http://www.amazon.com/HRT-Music-Str...e=UTF8&qid=1358482035&sr=8-5&keywords=usb+dac

Should give me the clean sound I want from my phone. New OS takes FLACS native so I can load up on a couple fav albums of those and the rest high bit MP3's (CD's are getting old to keep swapping out XD).

Also in the beginning stages of designing my amp rack! Will be the only thing that has some "flair" to it when out on display, and hidden away when not (gotta keep that trunk space open!). Next update I will have some photo's instead of these posts of text of my thoughts.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Well got a bunch of stuff ordered up today:
*Knu KCA 1/0awg power/ground wire
*Dayton RS125s
*1.5ft rca's to clean up the temp amp rack

Also picked up my distro blocks, battery terminals, and fuse holder from the local shop. They gave me some deals so why not!









Gonna be another dead weekend for this build, but next week/weekend I will be getting some things done!


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## hugmeharry (Oct 7, 2011)

Following this for sure! I have the same mk4 as you and never thought you could fit 8's in the door. Can't wait to see more!


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

hugmeharry said:


> Following this for sure! I have the same mk4 as you and never thought you could fit 8's in the door. Can't wait to see more!


Its a squeeze in the rear! Req has 8's in the front doors, fair amount of room for them there.


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## AudioBob (May 21, 2007)

Did you get any more tuning time in?


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

No not yet. Just did a little bit of listening on my reference system to get a feel for sound stage, lacking some depth right now that hopefully the mids can provide.


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## robolop (Mar 10, 2008)

Brute71 said:


> turns out my amp is fine, should have taken the extra step to check that door speaker XD the leads from the speaker were touching the door panel causing a short that my multimeter did not show (showed the speakers resistance, nothing lower -.-). Going to be playing around with the time alignment more tomorrow, see what kind of difference that makes (preliminary tuning seemed to show that it will make quite the difference!).
> 
> Decided how im going to mount my tweets and mids as well.
> 
> ...


GO 4 IT


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

robolop said:


> GO 4 IT


Robolop, your build is just simply incredible!


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Gonna be playing around with some box design for my old subs:










Rockford Fosgate Punch P1S4-8, its robust build suggests its power handling is much more than the 200 watts (however at the expense of distortion).










1.5 cuft tuned to 33.33hz seems to put it about as flat and low as it will get for the pair in the box. Figuring I will be doing a pair of round ports to keep port velocity low so I can avoid chuffing. Going to try and model my current choice of subwoofer and see what that will work best with with my ideal enclosure.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

well, gonna be making a change to my front stage. Going to be removing the 6.5's (re purposing them for some bookshelf speakers) and replacing them with the 8's in the front. Intention is to get the subwoofer to work off the dsp for EQ reasons. Gonna tackle into that this weekend as well as running the 1/0 awg. This pretty much means I have to scrap my previous amp choices (Zuki's were my top choice) and pick 2 amps that will deliver the wattage I need with the proper number of channels.

Oh boy! Here we go again. I think it's time for some fiberglass anyways 

Kinda thinking either the Arc KS 900.6 + 1000.1 combo or the Zed Leviathan III + Minotaur combo at this point.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Got my power wires ran, unfortunately my local shop didnt get my positive battery terminal in on time so I could have power this weekend to my amps. Still need to find a spot for the inline fuse but I think I have an idea.

Also got my mids/tweets setup mocked up and picked up some fiberglass, just gotta wait for a warmer day to start in on fiberglassing.


































Might end up flipping around the tweets and mids so my vision doesnt get impaired.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Well, ripped my door speakers back out, planning out how I'm going to mate the 8" midbasses to the front doors. Tomorrow I should have another T-block and my positive terminal so I should be able to finish up my engine bay and get back to using my car (although weather is saying use the truck for a bit!).










Thinking about adding a slight angle to be more on axis to be more aesthetically pleasing and to fit on the doors better (aesthetically).










Really digging the positioning of the mids/tweeters on that, really need to decide whether to mount them to the doors or to the dash now. Dash seems like the more structurally sound choice. Anyone want to chime in on this one?

Also got some light reading material to go through:

Designing, Building, and Testing Your Own Speaker System with Projects: David Weems: 9780070694293: Amazon.com: Books
Designing Audio Power Amplifiers: Bob Cordell: 9780071640244: Amazon.com: Books

The second book may bring a greater level of integration to the project


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

this is how i did my door pods when i put IDQ8's in there.

Door Pods V2 Photos by asranger | Photobucket

password is reqreq

but if you do it this way - just make them as flush with the door as you can. i did fit 8" vifas behind the door panel too.

in this album is when i sound deadend my doors - if you are putting 8's in there i would do the same. 

Deadening Doors Photos by asranger | Photobucket

password is reqreq


this is how i attached my door pods to the car









pic of the 8" vifa in the door

























































but i put too much power to them and folded one of the cones in half


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

req said:


> this is how i did my door pods when i put IDQ8's in there...
> 
> ...but i put too much power to them and folded one of the cones in half


How much trimming did you have to do on the back side of the door card to get those vifas in? Id have to remove that clip next to the speaker hole to get my scans behind the door.


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

that one clip and just the plastic crap in that corner. i basically removed every rib or otherwise behind that area. it was all smooth. without the clip it still attaches fine. and you can order new door clips here VVV

Volkswagen Golf IV 1.8T > Search > Door Clip > ES#2574957 Door Panel Clip - Set Of 12 - 3B0868243KT

and then i think i just removed the speaker grill by popping out the plastic welded rivets on the back. and it comes right out. you may have to trim (unrepairable) the hole a bit depending on the speaker.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

gonna have to trim the hole either way for those 8" scans, the 7" ones would fit right in lol. The only thing I would be worried about is the door panel vibrating in that corner, was that an issue with those vifas?

I'll have to check the price on some more of those clips, for OEM parts i've been using 1stvwparts.com, got my coil packs off the 2011 2.0T engine from there (awesome mod btw and very easy for the 1.8T, engine runs much smoother).

Tiny update while im posting: picked up some more fiberglass and resin and some fleece, got some MDF from my buddy as well so I will remake my mid/tweeter plates with the circle jig on the router. Going to be some serious work done this weekend!


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

cool beans.

any more info on the 2.0t coil pack thing?


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

pm inbound


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

First of a few things done for the weekend:


















still gotta remake those mid/tweeter mounts better and put some nuts in them for both sides then break out the fleece. Then it's on to putting those 8" scans in the doors!


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

rad


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Got sick again just in time for the weekend -.- so I didnt get done nearly what I wanted to today, hopefully tomorrow I can.

But I did cut out the baffles for my 8" scans and the mids tweets.


























got some sanding to do and some hardware to prep then they are ready for the fiberglass.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

well, got a little bit done today. Laid the fleece down on the mid/tweet pod.


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

right on! keep it up


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

resin laid down on the fleece, now I need to lay down the fiberglass on it then decide on the finish. Also got my reading material lined up for the time being 










project for the spring (both mech work and another audio project, going to be based around a 2 person build) is on the left, other 2 are to better understand whats going into the car and maybe bring up a project I have yet to see on the board 

Modeled up some more subs too, probably going throw in some daytons as well. They are modeled in a 1.25cu ft box @ their rated rms.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Got the passenger side mid/tweet pod started on today, going to finish it tomorrow and work on getting those 8" mb's into the doors.


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## cyrusthevirus23 (Feb 16, 2013)

Brute71 said:


> Got the passenger side mid/tweet pod started on today, going to finish it tomorrow and work on getting those 8" mb's into the doors.


very nice work so far


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Got the passenger tweet/mid pod fleeced and resin on it, going to fiberglass it tomorrow (sorry, no pics yet of that). Also got some progress on getting those 8's in the doors.


















Just gonna do it the way I did the rears with the studs and clay. Aluminum piece is the mount for that one side because of the way the panels are. Hopefully I will get that done tomorrow.

Thanks cyrusthevirus! It's me first time using fiberglass so it's been an experience thus far.


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## Derekj (Aug 11, 2011)

Those ATSG manuals are great reference! Is it your first tranny rebuild?


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Derekj said:


> Those ATSG manuals are great reference! Is it your first tranny rebuild?


yessir, seemed to be a good choice and after reading through it confirmed it! I plan on doing this car's transmission when the time comes so I figure I should do my trucks trans to get my feet wet.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

The weekend is almost here, im hoping to button up the doors and finish the passenger mid/tweeter pod then bondo up the surface of both (bought a new tool to help with that ).

Otherwise I just picked up some new distro blocks and have my midbass amp, sub amp, and sub in the mail  Going to be running the PPI phantom amps (1000.1 and 600.2 on the way, the alpine MRX will be fine for now doing mid/tweet duty) and a Dayton HO 12" sub.


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

dont use clay!

please dont use clay!

and, no CLAY! >_<

use DUCT SEAL










Duct Seal Compound Plugs (10-Pack)-DS-110 at The Home Depot

you can get it at any hardware store for like a dollar a pound. put as many pounds as you can on there. its waterproof, will never melt, and will never get brittle, and it super sticky!

i promise! get that!


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

never really looked into it and saw the price until now, would have got that first since it's cheaper than clay! Looks like a trip to lowes is in my future (or if they have it at my work ill get some there).


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

did a bit more sanding on the mid/tweet pods, decided to snap some pics of them!










Trying out the panorama on the phone


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

got a fair bit done this weekend!

Got the 8" scans in the doors:

























Need to figure out a grill for them or add a piece of trim around the opening.

Also got electricity flowing to everything:









And laid down fiberglass on the passenger speaker pod (sorry no pic on that).

Probably going to get a couple feet of OFC for the runs from the battery to the T-blocks. Also gotta get some 4awg to wire up my amps when they get in. Wednesday I will have my orders as well! Expect another update around then.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

got down the final layers of fiberglass down on the passenger speaker pod, now for some trimming then its time to break out the bondo. Also picked up some speaker wire for the sub and 4awg for the runs to the amps.










my IDQ 12" should also be here friday! Got some more fab work ahead of me, then on to the fun part of tuning.

I have decided these as x-overs as an initial starting point:

IDQ - 60hz and down @ 12db/oct
Scanspeak 8" MB - 60hz-400hz @ 12db/oct
Dayton RS125 - 400hz-3500hz @ 12db/oct
Vifa XT25 - 3500hz and up @ 12db/oct

Now to figure out how much power to send to everything. Thinking:

750w to the IDQ
150w to each Scan 8"
50w to each Dayton and tweet


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Well, been busy with work and have been chipping away at this project since so here's one condensed update!

Here's the IDQ 12 and the Dayton HO 12 DVC:

















Amp rack comin along:
photobucket-5914-1362201051544_zps8d3e0f27.jpg Photo by Body_beater | Photobucket

















Looking into the trunk there are very few wires to be seen, save for the rca's (which have been tidied since that picture). Also just got in my white cold cathodes that will help illuminate the trunk.

Speaker pods done, need to figure out a better way to mount them than double sided tape:









Sub box built, need to carpet it, sounds awesome and fits perfectly for what I need. Still considering a fiberglass box off to the side of the trunk to open it up more.

















RCA's ran for the headunit I will be getting in the near future:









Doors also under way to mount the 8" midbasses, had clearance issues when rolling down the windows so they are being put on the outside of the doors:

















So far, the system has gone beyond what I was expecting but I can tell the midbasses arent there. Sound stage sits beautifully just above the dash without any time alignment, just a simple balance tweak on the current headunit (still need to level match on the dsp). Overall I am very excited to finish this build!


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## bbfoto (Aug 28, 2005)

Wow, man! Looking very nice. Loving those Scans in the doors. And the dash/pillar pods!


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## jcpahman77 (Mar 5, 2013)

I'm all kinds of jelly right now lol I'm doing a very mild (by comparison) build on my '01 GTI. For a while I was reading this for inspiration, but it's already so far and above where I'm going that I'm just going to sit back and live vicariously through your build. Good luck with it, I can't see anyway that will end up sounding bad.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Thanks for the compliments guys! Really has been a learning experience for me, glad it can make someone drool! Lol


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

well, got the 8's in the doors! Gonna wait for some warmer weather before I finish sanding and painting the rings. Gonna wire up those cold cathodes soon though!


























Those rings dont move a bit, I cant even force them to flex. Put them thru their paces a bit and I managed to get all the vibrations out of those front doors 8) Still have one in the rear door but it only shows in parts where only the sub is going. Still need to figure out that rear deck, its my biggest source of vibration.


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## LovesMusic (Mar 29, 2012)

Nice work! doors are coming out great too!


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

Having a change of heart on the dash pods, i think i will actually put them in the a pillars to clean up the dash and will be making the fiberglass sub box. Just not feeling the current integration of those dash pods.


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## glidn (Apr 21, 2007)

Good build thread, with some great info.

As for your front 8" mid bass in the doors. I honesly recommend you either build a spacer between the mid mounted spacer and door mounted spacer.

You will be loosing a lot of pressure between the door cavity and door skin panel.

At this I'm guessing you stated you have not installed the Mid Bass's permanently. I'm guessing you are still working on this thou?

So good work and keep it up.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

glidn said:


> Good build thread, with some great info.
> 
> As for your front 8" mid bass in the doors. I honesly recommend you either build a spacer between the mid mounted spacer and door mounted spacer.
> 
> ...


Im going to fill in that gap with duct seal to seal it and add some mass to that part of the door.

More than likely going to add in some more things i'm doing to the car in this thread. Plans for spring are this: R32 rep front bumper, recondition the factory wheels (one needs to be replaced since it's tweaked), and coil overs.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

weather is starting to warm up, so I will be doing the finishing touches on those doors soon!

Also have gotten in some good listening time, couldnt as for a better setup for me. Staging is wonderful, detail is excellent, sound is balanced, and I can crank the sub level up a bit when I'm in the mood.

I need to find a better way to hold down those dash pods though, one likes to rattle against the dash on rough roads.


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

I am thinking it is time to V2 this build, going to be moving amps around, better sub location, and changing the speaker locations of the mids and tweets on my dash. Hopefully I can post some more useful information the second time around!


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## austriuz (May 24, 2013)

great job, and I started a similar project with the Dayton RS100-4 + vifa xt-19 (Alpine spx) + infinity kappa perfect 6 ", car golf 4


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## austriuz (May 24, 2013)

what encloser tipe ant volume for dayton?


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## Brute71 (Jun 6, 2012)

I am using the image dynamics for my car, the dayton is being used for home theater use. The dayton does call for a 1 cuft sealed box.


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## austriuz (May 24, 2013)

thankyou for info 
I'll try a smaller volume for installation in pillars, but there is not enough space, but perhaps it will be ok


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## vwtoby (Oct 28, 2005)

did you finish this install?


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