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2018 golf R - upgrading "Premium" fender audio system


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some photo's of my tweeters and the brackets installed;

 

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Comparison between old and new tweeter - silk dome (old) versus titanium dome (new) - funny enough the new tweeter is quite a bit smaller. Just shows size doesn't matter image.gif.de3124aa68eb8ae0a5614f1397821de3.gif image.gif.78ebe56733f3288ce019a470cbd42d6f.gif

 

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2018 Golf R - Stealth SQ system build - C508GTI front (active), 2x Pioneer Z10LS4, Zapco DSPZ8, Clarion DPX11551 (Mono amp), Pioneer GM-D8604 (front stage amp), Pioneer GM-A3702 (rear fill amp)

SOLD! 2011 Subaru STI - 'modest' passive sq system - JBL p660c component (front) JBL P662 (rear) JBL W10GTI (sealed enclosure) 4ch JBL GO1004 (150RMSx4), Clarion DPX11551 mono amp (+-1200RMS@3ohms)

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This morning, finished up passenger side tweeter (easier than the first!) and got to work on finishing up my subwoofer box. Added the threaded inserts for the subs, then added the carpeting. Keep in mind, the carpeting is more to protect the interior and make a nice tight fit as well - there will be a beauty panel on top of this sub box to finish things off nicely.

 

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2018 Golf R - Stealth SQ system build - C508GTI front (active), 2x Pioneer Z10LS4, Zapco DSPZ8, Clarion DPX11551 (Mono amp), Pioneer GM-D8604 (front stage amp), Pioneer GM-A3702 (rear fill amp)

SOLD! 2011 Subaru STI - 'modest' passive sq system - JBL p660c component (front) JBL P662 (rear) JBL W10GTI (sealed enclosure) 4ch JBL GO1004 (150RMSx4), Clarion DPX11551 mono amp (+-1200RMS@3ohms)

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Thought I would finish up the car today and get some sound but boy was I wrong! Installing the Zen-V and running speaker wires I made to the driver seat took longer than expected. Took the front seat out to make things easier.  Here is where I stopped for the day;

 

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speaker wires and power for zen-V ran under the rear seat;

 

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2018 Golf R - Stealth SQ system build - C508GTI front (active), 2x Pioneer Z10LS4, Zapco DSPZ8, Clarion DPX11551 (Mono amp), Pioneer GM-D8604 (front stage amp), Pioneer GM-A3702 (rear fill amp)

SOLD! 2011 Subaru STI - 'modest' passive sq system - JBL p660c component (front) JBL P662 (rear) JBL W10GTI (sealed enclosure) 4ch JBL GO1004 (150RMSx4), Clarion DPX11551 mono amp (+-1200RMS@3ohms)

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I have to say, I always forget how good and clear aftermarket speakers sound - even when I was testing off the factory amp!

 

2018 Golf R - Stealth SQ system build - C508GTI front (active), 2x Pioneer Z10LS4, Zapco DSPZ8, Clarion DPX11551 (Mono amp), Pioneer GM-D8604 (front stage amp), Pioneer GM-A3702 (rear fill amp)

SOLD! 2011 Subaru STI - 'modest' passive sq system - JBL p660c component (front) JBL P662 (rear) JBL W10GTI (sealed enclosure) 4ch JBL GO1004 (150RMSx4), Clarion DPX11551 mono amp (+-1200RMS@3ohms)

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I’m at the home stretch - ran the wire for the DSP remote and aux extension while I had the door sill panel off. Installed lower amp rack permanently and finished wiring main power and ground to it. Put back all panels. Next is plugging in the speaker wires to the OEM harness under the driver seat and putting driver seat back in. I can’t seem to get the wires out of the OEM amplifier harness through the release hole. Tried a sewing needle from wife’s kit and pushed into the release ports and the sewing needle bent. Wtf. If I can’t get it I’ll be temporarily connecting the wires into OEM harness to get everything working and see if I can’t order a specialized tool that fits and is more rigid.
Once my seat is back on, just need to connect the wiring to top amplifier rack and put sub box in and ready to fire her up. Hopefully today, possibly tomorrow morning.

 

2018 Golf R - Stealth SQ system build - C508GTI front (active), 2x Pioneer Z10LS4, Zapco DSPZ8, Clarion DPX11551 (Mono amp), Pioneer GM-D8604 (front stage amp), Pioneer GM-A3702 (rear fill amp)

SOLD! 2011 Subaru STI - 'modest' passive sq system - JBL p660c component (front) JBL P662 (rear) JBL W10GTI (sealed enclosure) 4ch JBL GO1004 (150RMSx4), Clarion DPX11551 mono amp (+-1200RMS@3ohms)

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FINALLY got to the point where I flipped the power on (well, put the fuses in the fuse holder under the hood).

 

MOSTLY GOOD! but would not be a project without issues.  One pretty minor issue and the other most likely major but I had expected trouble. 

 

First issue is my remote turn-on circuitry is not working. THe Zen-V works GREAT and turns on my Zapco. But the relay isn<t doing its job to turn everything else on. Not sure if it is the zapco not sending out a signal or if it is a bad relay. Anyways for basic setup and to get some sound, I bypassed the remote turn on directly and went from my small fuse bloxk power to the remote turn on terminals so constant power while I worked. 

 

That brings me to second problem. 4-channel and 2-channel amp fired up no problem. Mono amp no dice.

 

So I looked around, checked fuses and lo and behold they were blown (two 80A on the terminal block in trunk)

 

I replaced one and it blew again right away. 

 

I THINK the amp is toast. I had a feeling it may give me problems but I don't see how it would have a short circuit inside as when I took it out of my last vehicle it was working fine, I then put it in storage in a closed container. 

 

Anybody have any ideas for testing before I bite the bullet and start looking at new amps? Really liked this amp. I am hoping that there are still some sales on...  Any suggestions on good clean mono amps available in Canada that won't destroy my budget? subs are 400W RMS a piece and they're wired for 2 ohms, shouldn't be too hard to find something that fits the bill. 

 

2018 Golf R - Stealth SQ system build - C508GTI front (active), 2x Pioneer Z10LS4, Zapco DSPZ8, Clarion DPX11551 (Mono amp), Pioneer GM-D8604 (front stage amp), Pioneer GM-A3702 (rear fill amp)

SOLD! 2011 Subaru STI - 'modest' passive sq system - JBL p660c component (front) JBL P662 (rear) JBL W10GTI (sealed enclosure) 4ch JBL GO1004 (150RMSx4), Clarion DPX11551 mono amp (+-1200RMS@3ohms)

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Problem solved!

 

Indeed there was a connection mistake! My ground and power were swapped! Did a quick switch and all good. Didn’t have time to test or set gains - will have to do that tomorrow. Need to remake the ground wire since it’s a rad too short now. 

 

2018 Golf R - Stealth SQ system build - C508GTI front (active), 2x Pioneer Z10LS4, Zapco DSPZ8, Clarion DPX11551 (Mono amp), Pioneer GM-D8604 (front stage amp), Pioneer GM-A3702 (rear fill amp)

SOLD! 2011 Subaru STI - 'modest' passive sq system - JBL p660c component (front) JBL P662 (rear) JBL W10GTI (sealed enclosure) 4ch JBL GO1004 (150RMSx4), Clarion DPX11551 mono amp (+-1200RMS@3ohms)

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Both problems from yesterday were fixed once I swapped over the positive and negative - relay seems to now be doing its job and turning on all amps. Must have been affected by the positive/negative swap.

 

Now I have two other issues I am dealing with.

 

First is, the NAVTV zen-V seems to have retained my head unit EQ settings from before I swapped it over. Every time I put it back flat, and turn off car, when I turn it on again, EQ settings are back to old settings. Annoying since I can't really tune (mostly due to second problem)

 

Problem 2 is my car keeps telling me my battery is dead and after 20 seconds shuts down the infotainment. I have the car on a charger and it made it last a little longer but still shuts down the infotainment after 2-3 minutes and tells me 12v battery low. Weird because I just had my car in for a full inspection 2 months ago and battery checked out good. I know VW batteries are pure garbage, and I figured the pos-neg swap on mono amp might have drained the battery (have not started the car in a few days either due to it being in the garage). 

 

Other question - what is the best way to tune with SMD DD-1? I no longer have the disc as the friend who borrowed it like 7 years ago (and just gave it back last week FINALLY!) must still have it. I found some test tones on spotify but not sure if that will be optimal, or if I should just download the SMD tracks from their site and put it on a USB and play from there. I will be using apple carplay with spotify 90% of the time. 

 

 

2018 Golf R - Stealth SQ system build - C508GTI front (active), 2x Pioneer Z10LS4, Zapco DSPZ8, Clarion DPX11551 (Mono amp), Pioneer GM-D8604 (front stage amp), Pioneer GM-A3702 (rear fill amp)

SOLD! 2011 Subaru STI - 'modest' passive sq system - JBL p660c component (front) JBL P662 (rear) JBL W10GTI (sealed enclosure) 4ch JBL GO1004 (150RMSx4), Clarion DPX11551 mono amp (+-1200RMS@3ohms)

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1 hour ago, BboyTaktix said:

Both problems from yesterday were fixed once I swapped over the positive and negative - relay seems to now be doing its job and turning on all amps. Must have been affected by the positive/negative swap.

 

Now I have two other issues I am dealing with.

 

First is, the NAVTV zen-V seems to have retained my head unit EQ settings from before I swapped it over. Every time I put it back flat, and turn off car, when I turn it on again, EQ settings are back to old settings. Annoying since I can't really tune (mostly due to second problem)

 

Problem 2 is my car keeps telling me my battery is dead and after 20 seconds shuts down the infotainment. I have the car on a charger and it made it last a little longer but still shuts down the infotainment after 2-3 minutes and tells me 12v battery low. Weird because I just had my car in for a full inspection 2 months ago and battery checked out good. I know VW batteries are pure garbage, and I figured the pos-neg swap on mono amp might have drained the battery (have not started the car in a few days either due to it being in the garage). 

 

Other question - what is the best way to tune with SMD DD-1? I no longer have the disc as the friend who borrowed it like 7 years ago (and just gave it back last week FINALLY!) must still have it. I found some test tones on spotify but not sure if that will be optimal, or if I should just download the SMD tracks from their site and put it on a USB and play from there. I will be using apple carplay with spotify 90% of the time. 

 

Use the spotify tones. I have before and they work great. Those will actually be more optimal that the CD considering that's your primary source for music. 

Battery issues are the worst! It could be anything from you just need a new one, to the system making the car think it's pulling too much, when it's really not. 

2011 Chevy Silverado under construction

My build log here. Check it out! 

 

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So, I was finally able to update the NavTV Zen-V using their cable as well as my Surface tablet. It fixed my problem with the head unit equalizer - all set to zero (flat) now.

 

Used spotify tones along with the SMD-DD1 distortion detector to set all my gains on the 4-channel and 2-channel speaker amps using 1khz test tone at 0db.  Gain was a little less than half for all, more or less. 

 

For the sub amp, I found it weird, because at max volume on the head unit, I turned the gain up to max, the DD-1 was showing that it detected the 40HZ signal but NO CLIPPING! Am I to assume that the signal is clean and amp gain is optimal even at full? I know this amp is a pretty good one made by a renound electrical engineer so maybe it is true. Anyways, I have detected no clipping in the subs during my initial setup of DSP.

 

I then set up the DSP and MAN is this thing powerful! I just set up some basic EQ points for all speakers, measured to each speaker and did the time alignment calculation (had to double check the manual again for this as it was not super clear in the software how to do it right). 

 

I am astonished on how clear the sound is - my wife sat with me in the car and we turned it up, you only realize how clear and loud it is when you try to speak and can't hear yourself. 

 

Still need to do proper tuning with the UMIK-1 and REW to get things dialed in, and I am pretty sure the subs need some breaking in, but as it stands I am very happy with the initial sound.

 

Here are my basic crossover settings so far, feel free to shoot some tips/advice if you see anything - The only thing I can't figure out, is that I keep trying to set the curves to 24dB slopes, but after I download to DSP, it doesn't retain that and they all get set back to 12dB. I'll have to read the manual again and see if there is something I have to do or if this is a glitch. 

 

 

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2018 Golf R - Stealth SQ system build - C508GTI front (active), 2x Pioneer Z10LS4, Zapco DSPZ8, Clarion DPX11551 (Mono amp), Pioneer GM-D8604 (front stage amp), Pioneer GM-A3702 (rear fill amp)

SOLD! 2011 Subaru STI - 'modest' passive sq system - JBL p660c component (front) JBL P662 (rear) JBL W10GTI (sealed enclosure) 4ch JBL GO1004 (150RMSx4), Clarion DPX11551 mono amp (+-1200RMS@3ohms)

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