DynamicDynaudio System 360's run the front stage in the RUF. The system consists of an 8" woofer, a 3" soft-dome midrange, and a 1" soft-dome tweeter. The midrange and tweeter went into the factory dash location after some heavy modification to the grill and some sound deadening. Finished, there are no visible signs of modification.
One of the major goals for the system was not to build an external subwoofer enclosure. Ellis did not want to take up any extra precious space if he didn't have to. In order to do this he made some guidelines of his own. He needed to fit a high power-handling woofer in the door, make the door as rigid as possible, and put enough clean power to the speaker to have an effective impact.
Fitting the woofer in the door was no easy procedure, especially because Ellis wanted to maintain the integrity of the vehicle. The OEM plastic woofer cabinet was removed, three layers of sound deadening material was added, and a new baffle was constructed to keep the woofer in place. After installing the woofer, only one extra hole was made other than the one provided by the factory. Even the new baffle had sound deadening material applied to it. The inner skin of the door panel was carved out to accommodate the larger woofer and, with the panel installed into place, there is no trace of any alterations. For integrity purposes, all of the fasteners used in the door were stainless.
To add some rear presence in the RUF, Eclipse 82341 3.5" two-ways were mounted into the factory locations. Two speakers reside on each side with one tweeter on each side disconnected to reduce the output coming from the rear.
ZappedThe power under the hood gets an admirable counterpart in this group of three Zapco amplifiers that provide more than enough juice for the system. A pair of Zapco C2K-3.0X handles the Dynaudio three-ways up front. Each amplifier is bridged and provides 300 watts of power to each side of the car. The last amplifier is a Zapco C2K-1.0X. It plays stereo and feeds 100 watts to the rear speakers. The three amplifiers are in the front of the vehicle under the hood. They are mounted on a tubular amplifier rack fabricated by Bryan Fuller, "Fabricateur of All Things Metal". The tubes are made of .060 4130 chromoloy sprayed in Lapis Blue to match the vehicle's exterior. The amplifiers are secured with polished stainless cap head allen bolts with stainless lock nuts. Total power is 700 watts, giving the little ride big power. To keep the sound as pure as possible, Symbilink fully balanced cables are used on the amplifiers.
ProtectedWith an audio system like this and the vehicle's attractive looks, it should have armed guards to watch it wherever it goes. That guard comes in the form of the Clifford Intelliguard 9000. It handles your basic functions such as arm and disarm, lock and unlock the doors. Other features include window roll up and down, trunk and hood pop, dual zone proximity sensor, dual zone impact sensor, anti-car jack, starter disable, and RPM-controlled door locks. The entire installation was stealth and Ellis ensured that the security wires would be difficult to trace.
The system and installation added another 12,000 bucks to the price tag of the vehicle. We figure with a name like Lotz he has more where that came from. Looking beyond the dollar value - or rather, because of it, the result is excellent. Given the parameters and limitations of interior space, Ellis has created a powerful system with a lot of diligent hard work. The finished product has made for another completely satisfied customer. And after seeing the RUF in these pages other Porsche owners will likely line up to have their systems upgraded as well. Of course, Lotz is extremely pleased and the excellent service he received also made it easier to foot the bill. As they say, you get what you pay for.