Project EuroTrash

Project Euro Trash part 7

There have been rumors floating around that we're done with Project EuroTrash. Well, that isn't true. We took a short break from it to make space for the larger tests we've been running, but with those out of the way, we plan to head forward with EuroTrash until it either kills us or it's finished -- whichever comes first.

This month we decided the stereo was long overdue for a makeover, so we called Sony Electronics because they offer everything from head units to speakers and most things in between. We also got in touch with Monster Cable to secure all the wiring we needed.

One issue we were going to face from the get-go was that rear speakers in a Mk2 Jetta GL are 5", and not many stereo manufacturers make a quality speaker to fit that hole. We decided to trim the rear tray so 5.25" speakers would fit. Another concern we had was making sure the speakers were sealed against the tray once we had cut it up, so we measured twice and cut once with a cutoff wheel and Craftsman air compressor.

The first task on the laundry list was to remove the interior and take the dashboard down to where it would be easy to route the new wiring. The dash was brought down to the instrument cluster and free hanging HVAC controls. This was probably going a little overboard, but it meant the routing of the speaker wires wouldn't involve so much swearing and knuckle-cutting.

Next on the list was to remove all seats and peel back the carpet. In order to get the carpet out from under the door sills, you have to remove the lower piece of the B-pillar cover. Once the interior is gone, you can strip out all the old speaker wire and begin routing the new stuff.

The first of the wires to be routed was the power cable from the battery to the amp, as well as the remote power wire from the head unit. The beautiful thing about all this is you can run your power wires right where VW runs the tail-light harness and even use the factory clips. The power cable should run on the driver's side of the car and the speaker wires on the passenger's side. By keeping the signal and power wires separate, you should avoid interference. If you've ever heard alternator whine through your speakers, you'll know why this needs to be done.

Using an existing hole in the firewall, the power wire was run into the engine bay and around the shock tower where it was connected to the battery. It was then routed to the trunk where it was left with slack for the time being. The remote power wire met up with the main power feed at the dashboard and dropped down to the floor under the carpeting. The speaker wires were a bit more involved, but only because there were more of them. We started with reels of wire at the dash and pulled the longest runs of wire first. To keep track of them, the pairs were marked with electrical tape and the end of one wire in the pair was taped to differentiate between left and right channels. The rear deck speaker wire and amp RCA cables were pulled in the same location as the factory wiring and clipped down. Wiring for the front-door speakers was routed through the rubber boots in the doors and pulled down to the mounting location. Finally, we used a couple of 2-ft pieces for the dash speakers. Once all the preliminary wiring was done, the interior was reinstalled, the speaker wires were terminated and the speakers were mounted in their respective locations. Now all that remained was to connect the head unit, assemble the speaker box and mount the amp as well as the fuse and distribution block.

Knowing this car would be used on the track, we wanted to be able to remove the heavy parts of the stereo system when necessary. So the subwoofers were mount-ed and wired into a sealed box, and the amp was mounted to the back of the box, along with the inline fuse and distribution block. Admittedly, the fuse would've been best wired in before the amp distribution block, but the size of wiring that the fuse accepted left our giant four-gauge wire off the options list. Instead, the main power was routed to the block, then the smaller power wire out of the block was fused and connected to the amp. This method would require you to hook up a fuse for every amp you ran, instead of just fusing the main feed.

After the box assembly was complete, the wiring was trimmed and connected, then the box was mounted to the floor using L brackets and self-tapping screws (verify where your gas tank is before doing this!). We then tested the system before buttoning up the dash. Once the car was reassembled, we found some music that bumped before cruising the local strip to try and pick up women. Apparently they aren't interested in 30-year-old guys in a dilapidated Mk2 Jetta. But hey, the stereo sounds great now!

TECH FACTS:
Sony Xplod CDXM9905X CD/MP3 head unit, XMD500X 1100W one-channel amplifier, two XSLD105P5 10" aluminum subwoofers, two pairs of XSV1335X 5.25" three-way speakers, one pair of XSW3521 3.5" two-way speakers