2012 Passat TDI Audio Upgrade

eprater1

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2011
Location
Spartanburg SC
TDI
2012 Jetta TDI w/DSG(transmission failed w/800 miles on it) 2012 Passat SE w/Sunroof -65k traded in on 2013 Passat TDI SE w/Sunroof 2006 Ford F350 on 37's, few things deleted, little methanol injection, few things modded, few more filters added :)
are they going tobe pulling back the front carpet and installing dynamat on the firewall/front floorboards?
 

Texas Realtor

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Location
DFW, Texas
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6MT, 2006 Jeep Rubicon 6MT & 2002 F250 7.3 Diesel 4x4
im glad to see the front door speakers dont actually fire downwards as the door pannel lines lead you to believe. i was wondering why they would have done this, glad they didnt. looks like the woofers are mounted on about a 3/8" thick ring, where they too deep and hit the inside of the door causing the need for the spacer? do they expect any clearance issues with the insides of the door pannels? i had a hell of a time with my hertz millie mids in my 350, not bc of them being too deep but rather during higher outputs the cones hitting the door pannels. ended up having to heat and mold the pannels for final fitment.....sucked. looks good man and they are doing a hell of a job with the dynamat. may i be rude and ask what they are charging for the install? looks like you have around 4-500 in dynamat alone.
Everything was measured to the tenth of an inch. spacers were needed for the front not not in the rear. They did 3/8th inch spacer and some more I think to make sure the speakers don't sit too back from the panels. Their reasoning they did not want the sound to get lost inside the panel. They wanted the maximum output. Everything has been tested, no issue with inside the door with the glass or outside with the panels. They work on cars that cost ten times more than mine and have been in business for 32 years. They have solid reputation in DFW area. All the Dallas Cowboys, Stars and Mavs visit that store for their rides.
Even with my hook up the install is more than I have ever paid for any labor job. PM sent on actual cost.

No Dynamat will be installed on the floors or the firewall as it was not something I requested. Thus it was not included in the price. After listening to the system for few weeks I will see it is really necessary. My whole thing is I don't want to add unnecessary wait to the car. The car is very quite to begin with.
 
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eprater1

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2011
Location
Spartanburg SC
TDI
2012 Jetta TDI w/DSG(transmission failed w/800 miles on it) 2012 Passat SE w/Sunroof -65k traded in on 2013 Passat TDI SE w/Sunroof 2006 Ford F350 on 37's, few things deleted, little methanol injection, few things modded, few more filters added :)
i certainly hope none of my comments have lent to the idea that they were doing a poor job as that was not the intent and appologize if it came accross that way. i ask all the questoins mainly for my own knowledge so that i have more to go on when i start mine. they make a good point about not filling the opening with sound. looks sharp and most of all it will all disappear once they button it back up. noone will be the wiser to what you have. on a side note CONTACT YOUR INSURANCE AND GET ADDED COVERAGE FOR BOTH THE WORK AND EQUIPMENT!!!!!!!!! typically your insurance will not cover the parts or work over a very small ammount of what it would cost to replace with stock components (i speak from experience) also in the event of a total loss all the money spent on the install would be a complete loss. i got an extra 5 grand of coverage for my equipment for less than 60 bucks a year. GET THE INSURANCE!!!
 

Texas Realtor

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Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Location
DFW, Texas
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6MT, 2006 Jeep Rubicon 6MT & 2002 F250 7.3 Diesel 4x4
Very nice work! Any pics of the finished product?
The finished product is just a factory look, you cannot tell there is anything in there as everything is hidden. The only thing you can see is the sub-woofer in the trunk, I will take a picture of it and put it here.
I did use Audison Bit Ten for the LOC and EQ. AudioControl LCQ-1 has a design flaw and it will not work with RCD-510.

 

minghi

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 20, 2012
Location
Central NJ
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE 6MT since 10/20/12
Hi Tx Realtor, I have a few questions I'd about my "potential" install regarding rcd-510 & audison bit processors:

I've a 2013 TDI SE w/ 8channel premium audio which sounds like crap that we all know. I'm thinking of either Audison Bit One or Bit Ten D + JBL Amp. My questions are

(1) Will I be able to code the RCD-510 headunit to output line level audio instead of speaker level audio using vagcom
(2) If I end up getting the audison bit processor and connect it to line level audio (if step 1 is a success), will I be able to control the volume using the steering wheel/head unit
(3) Since the car has 8 speakers, should I get the audison bit one and connect each speaker wire to one channel on the bit one. I'm a bit confused here whether I can fully utilize speakers in all 8 locations with the bit ten d. sorry if my questions sound silly.
 

tdibigd

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2003
Location
Dallas, TX
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE w/DSG, black on black
Have a 2013 SE DSG as well. The Monsoon in my 2001 Jetta was far superior!
 

Texas Realtor

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Location
DFW, Texas
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6MT, 2006 Jeep Rubicon 6MT & 2002 F250 7.3 Diesel 4x4
Hi Tx Realtor, I have a few questions I'd about my "potential" install regarding rcd-510 & audison bit processors:

I've a 2013 TDI SE w/ 8channel premium audio which sounds like crap that we all know. I'm thinking of either Audison Bit One or Bit Ten D + JBL Amp. My questions are

(1) Will I be able to code the RCD-510 headunit to output line level audio instead of speaker level audio using vagcom
(2) If I end up getting the audison bit processor and connect it to line level audio (if step 1 is a success), will I be able to control the volume using the steering wheel/head unit
(3) Since the car has 8 speakers, should I get the audison bit one and connect each speaker wire to one channel on the bit one. I'm a bit confused here whether I can fully utilize speakers in all 8 locations with the bit ten d. sorry if my questions sound silly.
Hi am just seeing this post. Sorry if this reply is too late. But you do not need a Bit ONe. For our set up Bit ten would be just fine.
The processor will take the speaker level output and clean it up for a flat feed to the amp.
Also you do not connect the speakers directly to the processor.
You have to add an amp in between the processor and the speakers.
Bit One would be required if you were running an active setup without installing the crossovers. I have a passive setup and it sounds just fine with my listing needs. Active setup would also require lot more tuning and potentially an extra amp if you install speakers in the back as well.
 

Papachristou

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2003
Location
Memphis, TN
TDI
2012 VW Passat SE DSG
that is going to be one quiet car! for as much money as you've sunk into that, why dont you have them pull the headliner and do that too?
 

Texas Realtor

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Location
DFW, Texas
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6MT, 2006 Jeep Rubicon 6MT & 2002 F250 7.3 Diesel 4x4
that is going to be one quiet car! for as much money as you've sunk into that, why dont you have them pull the headliner and do that too?
It is really not necessary. I did all the dynamat because I did not want any vibrations and rattles from the subwoofer. The doors help with the road noise. The tires we get on the cars are not very good even though I did not get hankooked.

I have 18K miles on the car now and I had installed the system almost a year and 16K miles ago. I am very happy with the out come so far and it is a system that I can live with for a long time.

I got caught up in small hail and car is going to have a PDR at my house this weekend so I will see once it is opened up to see if I want to install dynamat on the roof. I really did not want to take the liner apart if I did not have to.
 

Texas Realtor

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
Location
DFW, Texas
TDI
2012 Passat TDI 6MT, 2006 Jeep Rubicon 6MT & 2002 F250 7.3 Diesel 4x4
How did all that extra weight affect your mpgs?
There is no effect on the mileage. I get the same mileage as everyone else reporting here. I have gotten mileage any where between 42 mpg to 57 mpg depending on the highway or city driving, traffic, speeds, weather, distance etc. I have gotten car as fast as 105 mph and it drives great.
 

DeruDog

New member
Joined
Oct 18, 2015
Location
Cambridge, UK
TDI
2012 Passat CC
Any issues?

Texas. I just bought a 2012 Passat CC, and am considering a similar upgrade to yours. 75W per channel, speakers might be a bit cheaper for me and perhaps sound deadening on the floor. Anyway, I wonder if you would have done anything a little differently. Did the Audison DSP work out? How about the wattage, was it overkill, or do you think it was about right? Is the sub about right for the music you listen to? Anyway, I am considering my options.
 

jayu969

New member
Joined
Nov 6, 2015
Location
Wisconsin
TDI
2012 Passat SEL
Texas, where did you locate the Bit Ten? Under the front passengers seat? I missed that part. I did go the route of the Bit One and have a JL HD900/5 and a JL XD400/4 to "hide".
 

RonJitsu

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
Location
Central NJ
TDI
2005 Mercedes Benz E320 CDI, 1/2 of a 1985 Jetta 1.6 Diesel
I had a similar task, finding where to "hide" my JL HD600/4. I ended up mounting it in the trunk up under the deck. Its out of the way and hasn't been an issue since I installed it in 2012. It runs these Audison Voce components very nicely.



 
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