hurdy - Edition 30

[Hurdy]

Boot Build Part 3

Step 6 - MDF front

For the purposes of this build I decided to make the front section (baffle) out of 18mm MDF. It is strong enough to take larger diameter subs too and so was a no brainer. B&Q stock this and costs less than a tenner for the size of board you will need.

Stick the fibre-glass mould over the MDF and copy the outline using a marker pen


Using the jigsaw cut out the shape for front baffle.


In the previous photo you will also see that I have drawn a circle in marker pen. This is for the cut out to put the speaker through. I measured across the inner rim of the speaker so that once the hole had been cut the speaker would sit flush on top of the rim of the hole.

To start the hole select a 1/2 inch wood hole cutter


Drill a hole as shown in the pic below, so that you can get the jigsaw blade a starting point


Cut the hole for the speaker using the jigsaw and then offer up the speaker to the hole to test that it sits correctly.


NOTE:- At this point you could use a router to cut the hole to the size you want AND recess the hole so that the speaker sits flush inside the MDF. I decided against this, deciding insted to mould on top of the MDF to give a less flat finish and still achieve a flush fit with the speaker.

The speaker I have has writing on it and therefore I want the writing to be the right way up when the install is complete. I pre-drilled small holes in the MDF through the mounting holes in the speaker to ensure that I would get the writing the correct way up on completion.


Step 7 - Enclosure Volume

Once the front was done I measured the volume inside the fibre-glass mould. I needed at least 17 litres of volume to give a decent response, but you can go larger if needed. The mould was very slightly under 17 litres and so I opeted to cut out a piece of MDF to fill out the volume a little. I copied the outline from the baffle and cut the piece out approx 20mm wide. I glued it using No More Nails Ultra for a good seal.


At this point I decided to round off the edges of the front baffle. This would give a softer edged finish to the install when covered in the fabric. To do this I used a manual plane, followed by a coarse sanding block.


Part 4 coming soon..........

[Hurdy]

Boot Build Part 4

Step 8 - Access for wiring

There are a couple of ways to do this:-
1. You can drill a hole in the rear of the moulding and feed the wire through...or..
2. You can fit a proper connector at the front.

I decided on option 2 as it meant that I could disconnect the sub box and remove it whenever I needed to. If you think you will not need to remove the box at any point then drilling into the rear would give a smoother finish at the front.

The connector I had came with the original sub box and so I used this. You can buy them from any audio dealer though.

The connector needed to have another hole made in the front baffle for it to sit flush. Again, I marked out the hole and piloted a start point for the jigsaw.



In the next photo you can see the back of the connector has a round section and so this was the size of the hole needed. I cut the hole slightly larger to allow for when the fabric was put on the baffle.


Once cut, offer up the connector to ensure it sits flush in the baffle.


Step 8 - Flush fitting the speaker

I wanted the face of the speaker to sit flush and so the way I decided to tackle this was to build up the front of the baffle with polymer. There are plenty of other ways to do this (polystyrene, another MDF layer, recessing in the original MDF layer etc), but using sandable polymer is reasonably quick.
I bought a 750ml tin of sandable polymer from Halfords, which needs mixing with hardener and sets in around 20mins - so speed is the word here.

Firstly, I took off the rubber surround to the speaker (if your speaker doesn't have a detachable edge, then use the full speaker) and covered the edge in around 8 layers of masking tape. The reason I used so many layers of tape is that you need to allow room for the fabric to fold over the edges of the polymer mould. Screw the rubber trim/speaker into place


Empty the entire contents onto a flat board and mix with the hardener.
Build the polymer up around the speaker adging until it is flush with it and has a decent slope running up to it. smoothing it off with the applicator as best you can.


Once dry, remove the speaker/edging and trim the top so that it is smooth. To trim the top I used a Stanley knife and medium sanding block.


Sand off the rough face of the polymer. The finish doesnt have to be super smooth as you will be covering it up with fabric which will cover minor blemishes.

Part 5 coming up soon..............

[Hurdy]

Boot Build Part 5

Step 9 - Fitting the front baffle to the rear mould.

This is probably the trickiest part of the build.

Tape the front to the rear of the box using masking tape. I found that the best way is to go around the perimiter twice with one strip of tape and then use strips of overlapping tape across the join to reinforce the seal. It needs to be leakproof as if it isn't the resin will find a way through.


It took 2 tins of 500ml resin and several strips of fibre-glass to seal the front to the back and make it air tight. I did this in four stages. as the box has basically four sides. I did the narrowest side first and pushed in a strip of fibreglass and then poured in around half the contents of one tin of resin (mixed with the herdener). The only way to do this is to lift the box and angle it so the resin runs into all the cracks and covers the fibreglass in the process. Lay the box down on the floor with the freshly resinned side to the floor and let it settle and set for around half an hour. Repeat this process for the other four sides until you have a good set seal. Once done. remove the tape, sand down lightly with a medium sanding block and offer up the box into the wheel arch to see if it fits okay. Remove and sand, offer up, remove and sand etc etc etc until it fits like this:-


Step 10 - Fitting the fabric

I managed to find some fabric that was a good match for the OEM fabric already in the boot and also bought some professional spray glue at the same time. I bought it from my local Audio dealer who was happy to give me some extra advice. The fabric I bought stretches in all directions if needed and is perfect for pulling into position. I cut the fabric with the front of the box laid on it and allowed about 150mm of overlap so that the fabric would go around the sides of the box. Once I'd done this I sprayed glue onto the bottom of the box and onto the inner side of the fabric which would overlap the base. I let the solvent in the glue evapourate and then pressed the fabric carefully against the box base.
Next I turned over the box and fabric so that the box front was facing upwards. I sprayed the glue onto the rest of the inner side of the fabric and all around the front and sides of the box.
When the solvent had evapourate i lifted the fabric over the box, stretched it ever so slightly and laid it down over the box. You have to be careful as the glue is contact adhesive and make sure that you lay it down level. Once this was done I pressed and stretche the fabric into the moulded section and worked my way around the edges.

Once the fabric is in place quickly cut holes where the speaker and the cable connector go, leaving around 15mm overlap so that you can fold the fabric into the hole edges.

Fit the connector and feed the cable through and out of the speaker hole and connect up the speaker (ensuring correct polarity!)

Screw the speaker and connector in place.

At this stage I fitted strips of velcro to the back of the sub box and to the wheel arch.

Fit the sub box in place and connect the amp at the connector point

Sit back and enjoy your handy work




I'm sorry about the slight lack of photo's at the end, but I got a little carried away as it was 6pm on Saturday, the wife wanted to go out and The Elsecar mega meet was the following day, so I was a bit rushed!!

Anyway, I hope this write-up helps

Cheers

Hurdy

Next up will most likely be the brakes

[Hurdy]

Ah well, the brakes still haven't arrived, so it will be a toss up as to whether it is the brakes or the suspension that gets sorted first.

Suspension is to be sorted on the 12th/13th May along with a suprise mod, which if it works out will boost the power substantially

[Hurdy]

Car is now booked in for 3 days!!   at JBS Autodesigns:-

Eibach Pro street S coilovers (lowering 25mm)
Autotech lightweight ARB's
APR Torque arm insert
Rear 10mm spacers
Autotech fuel pump
Custom remap to suit all my bolt on parts

and a Forge Twintercooler

All I need now are the TAROX brakes to arrive and she's just about there.

Still thinking about the LSD  and some uprated injectors

Power after the 14th should be somewhere north of 320bhp and 320lbft with a more robust torque and power curve

I'll let you all know how things go as the car progresses

[Hurdy]

Control

Suspension time. After all those power mods a little control appears in order. As per my previous post I've booked her into JBS Autodesigns and thought I'd expand on my reasoning behind the suspension mods I chose.


I've seen quite a few different types of suspension mods for the Golf and there are 4 set-ups which have impressed me so far:-

1. Bilstein PSS10's - These are IMO the most impressive and were the one's I'd originally decided to go for. They are pricey, but after speaking to some of the APR developers (who regularly thrash track cars) I was convinced by the quality and ease of adjustability. http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24492
2. Koni FSD's and H&R springs - I'd seen these on Neg's car at the last RR day and although they aren't adjustable, they gave a perfect drop and level on the car that looked spot on. Good price-wise too.
3. KW variant 3 - Again seen a few GTI's with this set-up and appealed to me as the last choice, but still a good set-up.
4. Eibach coilovers - Quite a few cars with this set-up again and really impressed with the quality and drop capability. They aren't quite as easy to adjust and set-up as Bilsteins, but a full set came my way for a paltry £350 that were for the DSG and it was too good an offer to resist.

If I hadn't come across the Eibach offer I would have bought the Bilstein's without a doubt. If you aren't necessarily in need of adjustability then I'd go for the FSD/H&R option.

With regards to the ARB's - I had been wavering as to whether or not to go for a rear only option or front and rears. I'd had a look at a few options:-

1. Eibach - an obvious choice considering the coilovers are the same make and were25mm front and 23mm rear.
2. Neuspeed - Initially not an option, but found out that the rear one is 25mm and substantially stiffer than the Eibach one.
3. Autotech - I hadn't heard of these in my initial search, but came across them after looking on the UKMKIV's site in the JBS Autodesigns section. They had just done a small feature on them and they were just as strong as solid ARB's, but a fraction of the weight. They aren't chaep as you can see from the link below, but they did appeal for the added weight reduction.
http://uk-mkivs.net/forums/t/183395.aspx

As you know I decided on the 3rd option due to the weight saving and after a conversation with Mike at JBS, who also recommended them over the other two.

The torque arm insert was basically decided for me as I was given the APR one free by the APR developers.
You may say that there cannot be much in the torque insert, but the guy I spoke to had been involved in developing theirs and said that they had trialed over 700 different variations including materials, shape etc, before deciding on the one he gave me. For those who don't know what the torque arm insert does - in a nutshell it helps control the movement between the transmission and the wheels, reducing wheel hop under hard acceleration.

Hubcentric wheel spacers - These were decided upon for as much looks as control. They will fill the rear arches a little better once the car is dropped and will also give a slightly wider rear footprint to the car, which will help with stability in cornering.

There are a few more options for me to decide upon yet for the suspension set-up, but these are for a little later

[Hurdy]

OMG, does this need bringing up to date!!! :embarassed:

The car has changed significantly since May 2008 and so I will start giving this the update treatment

[Hurdy]

Well, just to close this project thread out and bring it up to date, this is where my car stood at with the modifications just before I sold it.

Model: Golf GTI Edition 30 - UK model

Colour: Reflex Silver

Transmission: DSG

Interior seat/trim color: Special half leather/interlagos trim

Package Options:
Exterior Modifications

OSIR Carbon fibre hood
OSIR Carbon Fibre wing mirrors
OSIR Carbon Fibre rear spoiler
Carbondynamics Carbonfibre front badge
Carbondynamics Carbonfibre rear badge
Ultra headlights with LED's and angel eyes.
18 inch Team Dynamics BTCC wheels with VW centre caps - Vredestein Assym road tyres
Stubby aerial
Valeo LED rear light conversion.

Interior Modifications

CG-Lock seatbelt fasteners.
Kenwood DNX 7200.
Bluetooth prep.
IPOD video link.
Park reverse camera.
Hertz "Hi-energy" speakers front and rear.
Hertz "Hi-energy" 10" sub in custom wheel arch build.
Audiobahn 4 way Amp
Carbon Fiber DSG paddle shift extensions
Stainless "GTI" footrest
OSIR carbon fiber gearshift surround
Rear seat removal and custom rear seat plate

Performance/Handling Modifications

Wizards of NOS Nitrous injection kit
Nitrous race controller
100 shot jets.
Forge Diverter valve.
EVOMS intake
Autotech fuel pump.
REVO Stage 2+ (3 for the US guys!)
Milltek full turbo-back exhaust.
Forge Intercooler.
Autotech lightweight front and rear Anti-roll bars.
18 inch Team Dynamics 1.2 BTCC wheels - with TOYO R1R rubber for the track
TAROX 10 pot GT front brake kit
Audi S3 rear brake kit (310mm vented disks)
DOT 5.1 brake fluid
APR torque arm insert.
Bilstein B16 PSS10's
Whiteline anti-lift kit
REVO Stage 2 DSG remap
Quaife ATB diff
VF engineering engine mounts
Decat exhaust section - for track
Denso Iridium Spark plugs (cooler)
RS4 fuel return valve
Forge K04 actuator
Neuspeed K04 turbo to I/C discharge pipe

440bhp and 510lbft torque on nitrous

Won the MK5 class 1/4 mile sprint at GTI International in 2010. (even with Nitrous set-up issues)

GPS verified 12.4seconds 1/4 mile, 0-60mph in 4.4 seconds and 0-100mph in 8.8 seconds.

Excellent car and I'll soon be back in a VAG car again