2001 Volkswagen Jetta

It's funny how in life a casual interest in something can lead to a lifelong endeavor that requires a dedication and devotion that the person didn't initially associate with it. But then life is all about chance. Back in 1992 Fred Lynch got into car audio because for the most part he thought it simply something fun to do. But there's a little more to this story than that. He had a friend whose parents could afford to buy him whatever he wanted. They spent $13,000 for an stereo system on his car. Fred wanted to prove that you didn't need to spend so much money on a system to make it sound good. Let's face it, if you have money you want to show it off; and if you aren't so richly blessed then you want to show them up. Fred was certain he could create a superior system without the aid of mom and dad's generous financial grant. And that's what he did. That was the start of his car audio obsession.

Fred has moved on to a successful career in car audio. Recently he purchased a 2001 Volkswagon Passat, and planned to use it as his daily driver. It was going to be simple: a basic stereo deck, separates, a single sub amp, and rear fill, but no performance upgrades or anything extravagant. So much for the best laid plans... Again, as chance would have it, the day after he purchased the car, Fred got a call from one of his sponsors (they had sponsored his old Honda) that needed a show vehicle for CES. That was December 16th. That left him a little less than three weeks to transform his new ride. Due to the limited time, and considering that it was about the busiest time of year in general, Fred turned to his install partner, Matt Borgardt of Image Dynamics, for help. The two of them would work on the sound system. As for the performance work, they turned to Arron Newman of Neuspeed.

Newman installed Neuspeed sport drop springs, front and rear sway bars, and lower control arms, as well as Bilstein shocks and struts. The engine received a Neuspeed P-chip and K04 Turbo. Also, Newman added custom-built fuel rail into the injectors. (Note: since the photo shoot for this story the Fred put in an Ackimoto custom-built intake, and upgraded the fuel injectors.) Given the short period of time they had to work with, they accomplished quite a lot.

The same can be said for the sound system. The main source is an Alpine CDA-7969, which was chosen because of the fiberoptic output needed for the Image Dynamics ID-ONE processor. Other sources include an Alpine IVAC-800 and a PlayStation 2. There's also an Alpine TV tuner that is integrated through with IVAC. The 7969 was mounted in the factory double DIN location. The ID-ONE is located on a fiberglass tub on the rear deck of the vehicle, and is visible through the rear window. The unit is a digital sound processor with a built-in 10-channel open architecture crossover, dual 30-band digital mono block equalizers, and digital time alignment. All the features are controlled via the Windows CE-based PDA in the front compartment of the car.

The signal from the source is sent to a pair of Image Dynamics CD1-PRO minihorns, mounted as far back and as high as possible under the front dash, and the CSX Chameleon 5-1/4" speakers in the kickpanels, which were constructed out of a frame made of two layers of Baltic Birch. Fleece was stretched over that to make the mold and then backed with two layers of 24 oz. woven rover matting. They were mounted to the bare metal floorboard with three tubes of silicon to each kickpanel so that the silicon would absorb all the resonance and prevent vibrations in the surrounding area. For upfront midbass the guys used the factory locations and rebuilt them with Baltic Birch plates. An aperiodic membrane on the back side of the Image Dynamics ID Q6 was sealed (along with the door) with dual layers of Dynamat extreme and a single layer of Dynamat plate on top.