Stereo Upgrades

     The factory Audi stereo is fair at best. The Bose upgrade from the factory is marginally better than stock. It's an OK solution if you are not a serious audio enthusiast, but I desired something more. I have the 99 style head unit, so the radio head unit is normal Euro-din fit, not the weird huge unit that is found in '00 models.
     To remove the head unit is kind of tricky. You need a thin piece of metal, such as nail file. I used a Swiss army knife. You must stick it in the slots below the radio and once you catch the catch, slide it over. For more info on how to do it, check it out here, Removing the Radio at the audiworld.com FAQ section. When you pull it out, just unplug everything. You will lose the radio output on the trip computer display (if you have the trip computer).
     For installing the new head unit, you will need to get a face plate adapter. The factory head unit occupies a normal radio din slot, the front of it extends beyond the normal din opening. I purchased an adapter from LLTek for about $50. While probably over-priced, the funny thing is that they are factory OEM parts that just aren't available in the US yet. The fit and finish on them are excellent.   The other thing you will want to pick up is the Scosche wiring adapter. It should be part # VW01 unless they changed it. Just plug it into the factory wiring harness and wire it to the aftermarket unit. This will make your life REAL easy so you won't have to cut and splice wires. It will also make re-installing the factory unit very easy to do.

    The biggest obstacle I had initially was trying to figure out where I was going to run my 4 gauge wire from the battery to the amplifiers in the trunk. I looked for a hole from the engine bay through the fire wall but eventually resorted to running the wire through the grommet where the hood release cable runs through. I just ran some extra silicone around the grommet so no water would leak into the car.
     Instead of getting a fuse block mounted near the battery, I bought a breaker. This way I can shut off the power running to the amps if I need to. Make sure you run the power wire along the left side of the car as far away from speaker wires as possible so it doesn't pick up any alternator noise.
      When I got the wire to the trunk, I used a power block splitter to run the power to the 2 amplifiers. It is essential to keep the ground wire for the two amplifiers as short as possible. Since my amplifiers are mounted upside down on the rear deck, I used the seat belt mounting bolts for the ground point. Always use a separate ground for each amp to keep noise down as well.
      The wiring for the speakers I ran down the center of the car. I used a Monster Cable RCA wire for the amps. It was kind of tricky to get it fit underneath the carpet as it passes through the middle of the car under the arm rest, but it can be done. Once through the carpeting, I ran the wires up underneath the passenger side trim to the rear deck. I also ran Monster Cable speaker wire to all the speakers.

     The front speakers -- I replaced the front speakers with MB Quart's 5.25" separates. If you get the MB Quart adapter for the front speakers, it makes life real easy. The stock front speakers are only 4" big so the adapter is necessary to make it work. There is a crossover box included with the front speakers. I placed it between the door and the foam insulation right above the power window support bar. It will be obvious once you have the front door apart.
      The rear doors -- I added speakers to rear doors. The door panel is the same with a Bose setup or without a Bose setup, except on the non-Bose setup the speaker grille and hole for the speaker is not there. I ordered Bose speaker grilles and cut the whole for the speaker with a Dremel tool. To get a 6.5" speaker to work I had to get an adapter that extended the rim around the speaker so I could screw it into the speaker posts. The only problem I encountered is that an MB Quart speaker has a longer depth than a Bose speaker so it presses again the power window support bar.
    The rear deck -- I replaced the speakers in the rear deck with Kenwood 6x9s. I used an adapter from an Audi 200 with a Bose system to get them to fit right. It worked like a champ. For removing all the door panels and rear deck, check out the FAQ at audiworld.com. They have pictures and everything there. In the trunk I put a 12" Sony Mobile ES subwoofer in a sealed box. I don't like the boomy bass you get from band-pass boxes but I won't get into that discussion here. Check out other audio web sites for the difference between a sealed box and band-pass box. I bolted the box down with two metal straps that are bolted to the cargo net tie down bolts. I have the speaker facing away from the driver's cabin. It seemed to get the best bass response that way. I tried a few positions in the trunk before I settled on that.

I mounted the amps upside down on the rear deck lid. There is a big controversy out there over whether or not this will allow the amps to properly dissipate heat or cook them. I have been running this setup for over 3 years in the Texas heat without a problem. I like this setup, as it is easy to install, easy to wire, and out of the way for cargo space. Of course I don't drive that at full power constantly for hours on end as well. I do run them hot, but I have never had them shutdown from heat yet.