GOLF R - Custom sound system upgrade (Not Dynaudio), APR stage 2

[R_BEAST]

Here's some info for those interested about the after market sound system that I had fitted to my R, along with a few other bits and pieces..

Sound system installed is as follows..

• Polk Audio MM6501 6.5" splits in front and rear
• Kicker 07vcvr124 12" subwoofer
• JL audio g4500 500w amp running all splits
• Coustic c400 400w amp running the sub
• Roadkill sound deadening in all doors







Firstly, I didn't install any of this myself, the guys at No Limit Electronics in South Melbourne did.. So I can't answer any serious tech install questions, all the following is simply my experience of researching the best audio system option for me, with practicality in mind, and having it all professionally installed.

I couldn't find any good info on the speakers that fit in the Golf R, but so you know, it takes 6.5" splits in the front and rear as standard. Apparently you could possible fit 6" splits with a bit of fiddling around, but I opted for the ones that fit perfectly. You can't fit 3 way components without some serious modding, and I was advised against them anyway as they cost a fortune and aren't really worth the extra money for the speakers, and car mods required to fit them in.

I also looked at Stealth subs from JL, and I think other brands offer similar options,, or a custom fitted box, or even a false floor to hide the amps,, and all of these options ended up leading to less boot space, and less flexibility. So instead I opted to go with the seperate subwoofer, that I can remove if necessary, and retain 99% of my boot space. A simple occy strap hooks onto a couple of existing loops in the boot, holding it firm in place.

I've left the factory headunit in and I'm glad I did, as everything ties in with it. I looked at a 3rd party headunit with a custom frame to fit flush in the same space, but it's way more hassle than it's worth. You can get headunits to tie in with the RVC etc, but the amount of F'ing around you'd have to do makes it pointless,, especially when the stock headunit is great and ties in with everything in the car. The factory headunit has no outputs necessary to tie up to the amps, but this is easily overcome with some kind of audio box with the correct outputs that sits behind the headunit, any audio techies will know what I'm talking about.



If I want to chuck something big in the back, I can simply unplug the sub, with this little plug I had fitted..



Because both amps fit perfectly mounted on the back seats, I can still fold both seats all the way down, or I can fold down one seat or the other seperately, with all cables running straight down the back of the seats so no messy wires everywhere.



Couple of other points,, I considered getting cheaper splits in the back, as they were $500 a pair, but I'm glad I didn't because in the drivers seat the rear splits are actually almost right beside your head unlike the front splits, so they are equally if not more important than the front!

Also, I looked at getting Focal speakers, but apparently the splits are a slightly odd shape, and have a bit of trouble fitting into the R,, Doesn't mean they don't fit, there just may need to be some slight modding to get them in properly.

Overall, the system sounds UNBELIEVABLE! The build quality on the R's is so solid, that you can literally turn the system up so loud the asphalt is vibrating, without a single rattle inside the car,, it's amazing how much of a part the car itself plays in the overall sound of a system. I can HIGHLY recommend the Polk splits too.. they are crystal clear and put out a heap of bass even without the sub, they're amazing..

Something else I got done while I was getting all this done was get my trusty old Tomtom hard wired to power.. No more cigarette lighter power with cables everywhere.



The Sat Nav option is a total rip off and 90% of the reason I use my sat nav, is to pop up the alert when I'm speeding on a certain street, which the Sat Nav option DOESN'T do,, So for $100 I have GPS in my car, that alerts me when I'm speeding,, and that I can use at the same time that a passenger is browsing through my ipod media library. Definitely recommend hard wiring a seperate GPS unit over the $2.5k sat nav option.

Also, have upgrade it to APR stage 2 at Volkspower in Burwood.

This post is long enough so I can't be bothered typing any more, but the stage 2 upgrade is CRAZY! I got it chipped, full exhaust and air box.. The thing absolutely rips off the line, and I love the sound of the exhaust,, it's expensive but f*** I love it!



Hope this helps some people out there looking to do some upgrades!

Ant.

[Lazarus7]

Nice one mate, thanks for posting it up.

[bwen]

Subwoofer box is huge, though that occy strap may feel and look secure it probably isn't as good as you think it would be especially if it's just wrapped around the top of the unit. You should get some velco at the bottom of the box and the boot floor, gives it a bit more grip and still able to remove it if you need to.

Neat little install with the GPS/USB cable by the way

[JLR]

Bloody awesome. ! Exactally what I will do to my r

[stephen8512]

sorry to be so blunt but that boot install looks horrible. It looks like something you'd find in the back of a red p platers piece of crap hatchback, not in a 60K + car such as the golf R?

Do yourself a favour and find a proper custom fabricator that can integrate the sub and amps with the lines of the car, and not have it take up 1/2 of the damn bootspace

something like what Marty at FHRX does








as you can see, bootspace isnt DRAMATICALLY reduced and it looks 200% better

[R_BEAST]

sorry to be so blunt but that boot install looks horrible. It looks like something you'd find in the back of a red p platers piece of crap hatchback, not in a 60K + car such as the golf R?

Do yourself a favour and find a proper custom fabricator that can integrate the sub and amps with the lines of the car, and not have it take up 1/2 of the damn bootspace

something like what Marty at FHRX does

as you can see, bootspace isnt DRAMATICALLY reduced and it looks 200% better

Yeah I had already seen those pics along with heaps of other options before getting mine done. Bootspace is reduced permanantly, and I think that's a 10" sub, not a 12". I'm not interested in how it looks. Only how it sounds. I've grown out of hanging out at the carpark shops with my boot open. lol. I agree that that fitout looks much better, but it doesn't serve MY purpose as well.

On the other hand, if you were filling your boot with stuff on a weekly basis that required folding down the seats, that would be a better option, because I wouldn't want to remove my sub all the time obviously,, but I barely use the boot as it is so it's the perfect setup for me,, Best sound quality and ALL the boot space when I need it..

Thanks for posting those pics tho, people can see the two options and decide which path they want to take!