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Just to give an idea of what autodip looks like upon removal. I started picking at red rims last night and this is how it works.. comes off like a second skin.. wheel underneath is perfectly clean and incidentally, protected from chips and brake dust.
To me it's not the issue of easy removal, it's the cosmetic imperfections in the paint application and available polish level that deter from an otherwise concurs sports car.
To me it's not the issue of easy removal, it's the cosmetic imperfections in the paint application and available polish level that deter from an otherwise concurs sports car.
agreed, for sure. just want to point out though that this application I did was terrible. I wrote about it above, something went majorly wrong, as the spray bubbled and had all kinds of weird effects. Normally, (in other applications i've seen and in the previous 2 i did).. it goes on just like paint. I'm talking absolutely flawless. This poor result, coupled with the fact that red looked horrendous on this car, is why I'm removing it after just a few days. I just don't want to discourage anyone else from trying.
I will probably end up with some kind of silver or platinum autodip after this.. similar to original finish, but still with some kind of coating to protect the wheels.
so the part in the car for now I am just keeping in the glovebox, when I plug it in, it autoconnects to the unit on the rear plate. Sorry for the bad cell phone picture of the screen.
in the spyder its hard to see back. now I can see whats back there to back up. I was pretty pleased with how well it worked.
Last edited by blacksheepSpyder; 04-28-2017 at 06:21 PM.
I had the stereo upgraded. The car had been specced with the base system, which meant no phone or satnav, so I'd already changed the head unit to a Pioneer F-88.
This has Carplay, which I can frankly take or leave, but it does mean one can see the song that's playing, cover art etc, as well as adjusting EQ and listening position, as in focus the music on the driver only, or the whole front of the car. The built-in satnav is pretty hideous, though, so I still use Google Maps and a phone mount!
The next job was getting the stereo to sound good, so I went back to AutoAudio in NW London for an upgrade to the speakers and amp. The speakers we picked were the Morel Virtus 603. This is a 3-way system (tweeter, mid and woofer) and pretty much middle of the range for Morel, an Israeli company that makes only speakers, and some pretty extraordinary ones at the top end. The Virtus looks like this:
The things in that picture that aren't speakers are passive crossovers, which split the signal from the amp between the speakers.
AutoAudio thought the in-dash mounting of the tweeters in the Spyder would ruin their sound, so built me two tiny boxes in the doors, which they trimmed in matching alcantara (they're good like that)
The mids and woofers went in the doors as before. There is also a subwoofer, the evocatively named TS-WX120A by Pioneer. It looks like this
and lives in the passenger footwell, under a little deviatedly stitched leather cover.
The amplifier is a bit special. It's a limited edition anniversary model made by Sinfoni of Italy, and it's called the Ingot because it's, um, gold. AA had just received their allocation of these and were keen to get one fitted so gave me a good price. It comes in a swanky box
lives in the frunk under a sheet of perspex
and is normally covered by a new carpet that AA made, to protect the perspex cover from scratches.
And there we have it. There's no digital signal processor, because the Pioneer head unit's listening positions settings work well enough to create a soundstage (vocals sound like they're coming from the centre channel, even though it's been disconnected), as well as allowing for EQ adjustment.
Even though the speakers apparently require 40 hours of play to break in (!), the system sounds great out of the box - really crisp and musical, and in terms of volume my ears chicken out before there's any hint of distortion.
And I know the sound of the flat six is the main thing - the Spyder is the best sounding car I've driven - but flat six AND immaculately rendered Pink Floyd? Now we're talking. Happy days
04-17-2017, 06:09 PM
