The Car Thread: Mark III

[CMcK]

Any reasonably modern vehicle should be ok to enter the CAZ. It’s older stuff that will have to pay. Check your car here - https://www.gov.uk/clean-air-zones

[Anpanman]

Manc - from what I've read doesn't include personal vehicles.

[charlesr]

I've got all the speakers replaced (the original Clarion had self destructed with age). Pioneer at the front and Phoenix Gold in the back. Plus an underseat sub - perferated my ear drums immediately. And a double DIN Bluetooth DAB thing with android mirroring.

Chichester won't expect this nonsense.

[Brad]

Fantastic!!! I recommend a 1am cruise through the quietest neighbourhood

[fishbowlhead]

My Cupra has a full Bose system, speakers all 200w each and a 300w sub in the dash, the whole thing is crystal clear at any level. The first time I turned it right up I thought the engine had an issue as the car vibrates so much the mirror shakes up and down 😁

[Soundwave]

I've got all the speakers replaced (the original Clarion had self destructed with age). Pioneer at the front and Phoenix Gold in the back. Plus an underseat sub - perferated my ear drums immediately. And a double DIN Bluetooth DAB thing with android mirroring.

Chichester won't expect this nonsense.

Nice
I still miss the System I had in my old Cupra was amazing

Pioneer head unit
Phoenix Gold Ti Elite components up front running Active
Digital Designs Dual voice coil 12" Sub in a custom slot ported box tuned to 33hz
Genesis Profile 4 4 channel amp running the components
Genesis Profile Sub amp running the sub at 2ohm

It was beautiful
Really miss old school audio

Current Mazda 3 has the optional Bose system which is pretty good but certainly not at a level I'd be at if I built my own

Neil

[CMcK]

I’m already considering upgrading the audio in my ID.3. It’s soo quiet inside I reckon it would be a good foundation for a better system. Maybe go for a Focal under chair sub with an amplifier under the other chair powering better components up front. I don’t bother with rear speakers just fronts for a good stereo image.

[Soundwave]

I’m already considering upgrading the audio in my ID.3. It’s soo quiet inside I reckon it would be a good foundation for a better system. Maybe go for a Focal under chair sub with an amplifier under the other chair powering better components up front. I don’t bother with rear speakers just fronts for a good stereo image.

I'd say go for it
The ID.3 is full electric isn't it?
I wonder how that would affect the mileage you'd get

Everything I'm looking at to replace the Mazda 3 I'm checking for the factory uprated audio as one of the key features
I cannot live with basic audio lol

Neil

[CMcK]

Must admit I was surprised by the audio in the ID.3. Obviously it’s not amazing but it’s ok for boggo out the box stuff. I do miss the Alpine / Focal setup I had in my vRS though. I don’t imagine that adding a more demanding audio setup to the car will dent the mileage much. The 12v battery is topped up from the traction battery when required but the gulf in capacity between them is vast.

Factory upgrades are a bit hit and miss I’ve found in the past. In had a £3k Bose setup in my Boxster and it wasn’t worth the money. I actually thought the sub was knackered as it was so flabby sounding. And the Bose setup in my old A6 wasn’t great either. The Dynaudio gear in VWs these days is quite good. But I still feel you get a lot better value going aftermarket. Having to use high level inputs on an amp isn’t ideal but works surprisingly well.

[Soundwave]

Must admit I was surprised by the audio in the ID.3. Obviously it’s not amazing but it’s ok for boggo out the box stuff. I do miss the Alpine / Focal setup I had in my vRS though. I don’t imagine that adding a more demanding audio setup to the car will dent the mileage much. The 12v battery is topped up from the traction battery when required but the gulf in capacity between them is vast.

Factory upgrades are a bit hit and miss I’ve found in the past. In had a £3k Bose setup in my Boxster and it wasn’t worth the money. I actually thought the sub was knackered as it was so flabby sounding. And the Bose setup in my old A6 wasn’t great either. The Dynaudio gear in VWs these days is quite good. But I still feel you get a lot better value going aftermarket. Having to use high level inputs on an amp isn’t ideal but works surprisingly well.

Glad to hear it's not terrible but I do feel that manufacturers should make more allowance for good audio out the box, think one of the biggest failings is not having good enough Sound Deadening throughout, the panel shake & rattles in the Mazda is ridiculous

Funny I was looking at the new vRS myself the other day & looks like Canton is the new flavour of the month for the upgrade

Interesting on how the Batteries work, will admit I'm not really up on the full workings but I am doing some investigating as a full electric may well be on the cards for the replacement if I can make a few things work

Sorry to hear the Bose wasn't up to much on the Boxster & A6
When I was looking at getting a Golf R I was trying to find one that had already had the Dynaudio upgrade but certainly wouldn't have been a deal breaker...like you said the options for Aftermarket there are massive so probably would have gone down the route of building my own system again (same if I'd finally gotten the Cupra 290 but that would have been more difficult as finding 8" Components for the front does restrict matters lol)
Sadly though as I'm more than likely looking to Lease this time I'll have to live with whatever uprated option is available from the manufacturer...although I might seriously look at additional sound deadening as I doubt they'll ever notice if I fiddle with that when it's time to go back

Neil

[Soundwave]

Have been reconsidering my stance on Full Electric cars recently & they may be beginning to look a bit more like a viable option

I've been looking at leasing cars & what I have been looking at from a petrol perspective Golf GTi Clubsport / Cupra Leon / Cupra Formentor / Octavia vRS / BMW M135i are all looking at around £400+ once I tick a couple of options & the Maintenance packages but then I start thinking about the petrol costs & I genuinely think I'm going to be getting into mid to late £500 territory to run one

At this point though Full EV start coming into the equation & after the outlay each month I can charge it at work everyday for free (same as the boss with his Tesla does)
The main drawback as I mentioned is charging at home because I have to park in the street & have a green space & path before you get to the front of the house but I could probably find a way.

But I have been looking & weighing up the idea of something like the Audi Q4 / Polestar 2 / Kia EV6
All seem pretty impressive & would suit me down to the ground

Have started watching the new series of Fifth Gear Recharged as well now to help with the research but genuinely reconsidering what I look at now

Neil

[CMcK]

I did test drives in the hybrid Leon, hybrid Golf, 308 and Focus before trying the ID.3. But the sheer difference in the powertrain and interior space made the ID.3 the clear winner for me. But I'm able to charge at home so that does remove a lot of the inconvenience you might encounter.

What kind of mileage are you doing on an average week?

[JU!]

Have been reconsidering my stance on Full Electric cars recently & they may be beginning to look a bit more like a viable option

I've been looking at leasing cars & what I have been looking at from a petrol perspective Golf GTi Clubsport / Cupra Leon / Cupra Formentor / Octavia vRS / BMW M135i are all looking at around £400+ once I tick a couple of options & the Maintenance packages but then I start thinking about the petrol costs & I genuinely think I'm going to be getting into mid to late £500 territory to run one

At this point though Full EV start coming into the equation & after the outlay each month I can charge it at work everyday for free (same as the boss with his Tesla does)
The main drawback as I mentioned is charging at home because I have to park in the street & have a green space & path before you get to the front of the house but I could probably find a way.

But I have been looking & weighing up the idea of something like the Audi Q4 / Polestar 2 / Kia EV6
All seem pretty impressive & would suit me down to the ground

Have started watching the new series of Fifth Gear Recharged as well now to help with the research but genuinely reconsidering what I look at now

Neil

You could save some money in servicing and fuel (prices work out about same at paid electric chargers), I think probably as well although charge Infrastructure could be a problem if you have to go anywhere further than hundred miles, Shmee150 on You Tube and his Porsche Taycan before got Home charger was nightmarish. With chargers broken/not working, not being able to find them and getting range anxiety, plus them not delivering enough charge as car next to you takes it too. Heard some people at work queue 5 deep for our two chargers. Interested to hear how it goes for you if you get one. I personally am going GR Supra 2024-2030 and see what government decides, but I think Porsche synthetic fuel and Hydrogen will be implemented, as well as electric cars and will create more balance.

[Soundwave]

I did test drives in the hybrid Leon, hybrid Golf, 308 and Focus before trying the ID.3. But the sheer difference in the powertrain and interior space made the ID.3 the clear winner for me. But I'm able to charge at home so that does remove a lot of the inconvenience you might encounter.

What kind of mileage are you doing on an average week?

I have looked into the Hybrids but the limited range of the Electric motor (around 30 miles for most) means I'm still going to spend more of my time on Petrol anyway & I'm sure because of that eventually I'll just end up not bothering to charge it at all

I actually meant to take a picture today outside the house to show you the issue I might have with charging an EV
I'll try again tomorrow lol

I don't do huge mileage a week.
Probably fill up every 2-3 weeks & average 320 miles from a tank in the Mazda

You could save some money in servicing and fuel (prices work out about same at paid electric chargers), I think probably as well although charge Infrastructure could be a problem if you have to go anywhere further than hundred miles, Shmee150 on You Tube and his Porsche Taycan before got Home charger was nightmarish. With chargers broken/not working, not being able to find them and getting range anxiety, plus them not delivering enough charge as car next to you takes it too. Heard some people at work queue 5 deep for our two chargers. Interested to hear how it goes for you if you get one. I personally am going GR Supra 2024-2030 and see what government decides, but I think Porsche synthetic fuel and Hydrogen will be implemented, as well as electric cars and will create more balance.

Yeah my boss was saying the Servicing is cheaper on the Tesla as there are less moving parts which is a nice bonus
Also similar comments on the charge thing...he's recently had a bereavement in the family & they live in Portsmouth so it takes a bit more planning based on available quick charge locations to ensure they get the charge & rushing off at the drop of a hat to go down there just isn't that possible because of the charge

Blimey that's quite a challenge
We have no infrastructure at work for charging so my boss currently drapes an extension lead out the door & plugs in to that
He gains around 10 miles per hour on the charge & when it's plugged in all day he soon grabs back about 80+ miles

Very nice on the Supra
I'd love one but just think sadly without lottery win so I could run more than one car I'd never be able to justify it.
Ideally I'd still get petrol but I do think it's well worth looking into the EV option from a cost perspective because once I add fuel price into the monthly outlay there really is precious little in it

Neil

[Soundwave]

[MENTION=8265]CMcK[/MENTION] I managed that picture I mentioned
This is the view from my street door to where my car is parked



As you can see quite a lot of area to run a cable across to charge anything I might get

Neil