Another "How do I run the Amp wire" thread

[ilz]

Hi all,

Been doing a stack of researching online regarding the best way to run an amp wire from the battery to inside the 9n3 cabin after picking up a JL 12" with box and a JL 4 chan amp that I intend on bridging to drive it.

I've found a stack of guides and can see four ways of doing this:

1, via the ABS grommet under the ECU
2, Vwthunders method - via the front left wing
3, Remove the front wipers and water tray to access grommets
4, go balls out and drill a fresh hole

none of the above mentioned methods are good for me 2 & 3 seem like far too much work and I dont want to have to pull out the glove box and pull of the wipers.. 4 is hardly OEM but with a fresh grommet it could be the best option..

My first preference would be the abs grommet but being a GTI theres far more in the engine compartment from any other polo i've seen a guide for and that grommet is very hard to get to - would I have to remove the air filter to get access to it for starters and if so what about the grommet itself - it seems to be moulded to the cable within the engine bay if I pull it out from the bay side theres no way it will go back in with the other cable i'd most likely have to re silicone the hole around the new cables.. again not an OEM looking job

I guess my question is how did you guys with aftermarket audio gear do it?

[vwthunder]

2, Vwthunders method - via the front left wing

I actually have the battery in the boot now, so i want all out and drilled a nice big hole in the passenger footwell

[ilz]

location & pics??

[noone]

If you feed the wire from the cabin into the engine bay, its not too hard to spot.

I'd remove the airbox regardless, its not much work (unless you have a strut brace, then you should do a pod-in-the-box so its accessible. I have a few trim removal tools if you want to borrow them, makes getting the panels off easier and less likely to damage / loose them.

Whilst you're at it, remove the battery container rubbish, you can get rid of all of it and use a few cable ties to stop things rattling around.

[ilz]

pod-in-the-box? what can of worms am I opening??

[ilz]

also, I take it its advisable to run audio cabling down the other side of the car from the power cabling?

Can anyone that has run both down one side comment on interference noise??

Ive read mixed options some people say its fine and have zero issues.. half the work seems like the better option to me

[noone]

I do AV for a living, IMO its not an issue. If you were going to do a high quality system, I would think more about it, but its just a sub. If you're not too fussy about the cable I can give you some that will do the job.

As for the theory side of things, the audio feed is a shielded design, signal shilded by an grounded cable. The power is DC
If it was domestic 50Hz AC, then you can get a 50Hz hum. interference relates to expanding and colapsing RF fields which again is more relevant with AC.

If you want good bass, make sure the box is rigid and its designed for the speaker, not just some box (esp if ported)

[ilz]

Cheers mate,

Yeah its just a sub, amp and headunit upgrade ATM, I'm hoping it sounds good enough with the 4x50w from the kenwood head unit driving the factory front and rear's but if not I'll be swapping those out asap.

The reason for doing this upgrade is to be able to check my beat mixes on a bass heavy system while commuting so I want to get it sounding solid.

Yes, the box and sub are matched thats the reason i went for this particular one, its a single 12" version of this: Car Audio - Subwoofer Systems - BassWedgeâ„¢ and stuck with a JL amp to keep it all matched

[flat6]

Mate I went through the grommet in the passenger door, so far my setup has worked great, if you like pain, stealth audio installs are for you lol

Polo GTI 9N Stealth Audio Upgrade Guide / Stealth Amp

[ilz]

I went to a local Installer today.. advise given was "drill it"