Scion TC

It happens in every hobby from building model cars, to real car performance, to in-car entertainment. It starts out innocently enough: "Just a model of my Escalade." The next thing you know you're spending nights detailing and airbrushing your toy ride. Or: "I started out with a few bolt-ons," says the guy with a triple-turbocharged, nitro-burning Hyundai.

Peter Mikhailenok begins his saga with: "My other car, which is actually my main audio project, was always on display at the performance shop. I felt a little left out with all my friends competing. At first I built this system for daily driving; however, it turned out much better than I expected."

Mikhailenok's weapon of choice is a Scion tC. While the xB has been embraced by the ICE community for its enclosure-like design, the swoopy, sultry lines of the tC coupe haven't captured the imagination of the car audio community to the same extent. Nonetheless, we've been able to find some cool tCs that have run in the mag. This tC is a little different: It's not a shop demo-vehicle or show car. It's a performance car with a sound-competition-level install on the inside.

Mikhailenok added a carbon-fiber hood and hatch to the tC as well as Tein Type-S coil-overs outfitted with the company's EDFC (Electronic Damping Force Control) that allows the driver to make ride-quality adjustments on the fly - from the cockpit. Also on the performance checklist are 18" AME aluminum wheels wrapped by Cooper performance rubber, Hotchkis suspension pieces and a DC Sports strut-tower bar.

Ground Control"I had a Pioneer [DEX-P9 head unit and a DEQ-P9 processor] laying around my garage so I used that," Mikhailenok states. "It has everything I need built-in, including EQs and time alignment." Mikhailenok fabbed a custom harness and elected to reinforce the mounting kit with aluminum plating and fiberglass.

Speaker Of The HouseWhen it came to speaker placement Mikhailenok did not use the "path of least resistance" axiom as his guiding light. "For the doors I built baffles out of MDF board and bolted them into the metal part of the door. On top, I bolted Image Dynamics CX 62 midbass drivers. I like to use bolts where I can; for some reason I tend to avoid screws. The doors were reinforced with an extra metal beam going across the inner part of the door."

Setting The StageThe main player on the soundstage can be seen in the system's Image Dynamics CD2-COMP full-size horns. Mikhailenok modified the bodies of the CD2's to open up some room in the foot wells in the cabin as the horns are bolted to the metal part of the dash and the hull of the car. They are quite secure. "You can kick them all day and they won't budge," quips Mikhailenok. Further, the horns have been fitted with battle armor in the form of perforated steel and speaker cloth outer coverings.

Two Box Bass"I am using an Image Dynamics iDMAX12v.3 because I love dry and precise bass," says Mikhailenok. "The goal was to hit 135dB, which would get me full score by IASCA rules, but in the end it was pumping 140dB - a definite home run." The tricky two-part nature of the box is not discernable to the naked eye due to the carpet covering the enclosure.