Many of the show vehicles at the annual SEMA event held in Las Vegas are equipped with the latest and greatest aftermarket parts available. Massive rims and tires, performance upgrades, push bars, and mobile electronics are just the few products on these vehicles for everyone to ogle at. However, as outrageous as most of these vehicles are, they usually come with an enormous price tag when it comes to the audio system. Therefore after the initial ogling wears off, many could only dream about owning the vehicle and the electronics inside. Enter Borla Exhaust and Cerwin Vega. These two companies teamed up to build a demo vehicle based around a simple theme - "The Sound of Performance." They created an out-of-this-world vehicle that features sound - Borla does it through their exhaust system and Cerwin Vega through the 920 watts of mobile electronics inside. The design parameters for the stereo system were: make it simple, high class, and attainable by many consumers. In other words, you don't have to take out a 2nd mortgage to buy this project vehicle.
The vehicle was obtained directly from Ford as a 2002 Ford Mustang GT Convertible. Before the audio components were installed, some other modifications were made. First, a Vortech Supercharger was added with a Borla Power Set to ensure that there is instant power that flows freely through the exhaust system, while creating an unmistakable hum indicating that this is not just your ordinary Mustang. For aesthetics, the suspension received Razzi ground effects, GT styling light covers, Street Glow Neon lighting, Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks. It is finished off with the 18-inch Steeda wheels wrapped in Yokohama rubber. The Mustang received a paint job from Starbucks (Riverside, CA) that features a red, white, blue, and black color scheme. The paint job looks like glass! To tackle the stereo, the two companies turned to Audio Advice in La Cresenta, California. Here, Devin Oliver had the task of performing the installation with the parameters above in mind.
The radio installation required some minor modifications. The Mustang comes from the factory with a double-DIN opening. The source used in the Mustang is a Pioneer DEH-P520 CD Tuner (1-DIN size). Of course a dash kit would be the simple way out, but there was none available, so a custom kit was fabricated to accommodate the new radio. Once that was in, and the interior was ripped out, the vehicle was damped with Cascade Audio VB-1 damping material.
Cerwin VegaThe majority of the mobile audio equipment is from Cerwin Vega. In the passenger compartment, the stock locations in the Mustang were utilized using a Cerwin Vega HED-1602 6-1/2" component set. The factory tweeter was replaced with the HED component tweeter as a "drop in" replacement. No modifications were necessary. The 6-1/2" driver replaced the 6" x 8" OEM speaker in the door. To realize a perfect fit, a custom baffle made of aluminum was fabricated to hold the driver in place. The crossovers for the components were sealed and wired inside of the door. For the rear speakers, HED-162 6-1/2" coaxials were also a "drop in" fit into the factory locations.
Making sure that the vehicle had sufficient low end was somewhat of a task. Remember, the Mustang is a convertible, plus add the fact that there is a blower and Borla exhaust system, and you are presented with quite a challenge. The subwoofers were simply isolated from any trunk losses and were fired through the rear seat. This simple application was all it took to produce thunderous bass. Another humbling factor in creating bass is the use of the new High Efficiency Cerwin Vega HED subwoofers. Only two HED-10 DVC (10" dual voice coil) subwoofers are that's needed for the low end.