Usually if you see a Porsche GT3 RS torn apart, it's for the track. For a car this worshipped, the usual mod is the addition of a rollcage. Rarely do you see an owner brave enough to take the knife to one for sound alone. Although he has owned 20 Porsches in 30 years, Don Salazar has gotten closest to automotive perfection with his GT3 RS. Why not take the "ultimate Porsche" to the next level in performance? After teaming up with Tim Wepprecht at Audiotistics in Apple Valley, CA, the result is a system so integrated that all the deserved respect is still left intact.
Salazar has known every 911 from 1974, every Porsche design from the 356 to the GT3 RS, and owned for five years his own body, paint and stereo shop in 1978. The RS, he says, is still a 911 at heart-the more you reach with it, the more it challenges you. After ordering the car, Salazar says, "Half the fun was waiting and wondering, 'Is it really going to be as good as it looks?' " So when it came to the challenge of a befitting audio system, he was patient. The project took almost six weeks, but preserving the original aesthetic design was worth the wait. All the carpet is still original, the box is removable and all the lines still flow.
The source unit is an Eclipse AVN5510 7-inch touchscreen with DVD and navigation, chosen for its myriad features. An iPod adapter was used in conjunction with the iPhone to add the latest tech trend to match the Porsche's standards. For signal processing, they used a Rockford Fosgate 3Sixty.2-around the shop, they call it the "super computer." Wepprecht says he took advantage of the 153 bands of equalization to eliminate any unpleasant frequencies, resulting in a natural, warm-sound. The 3Sixty.2 allowed them to precisely time align the system for a larger, more open feel in the tight confines of the GT3's cabin. It also improved the front stage without compromising the midbass from the Eclipse 6.5" woofers mounted in the lower doors.
The front channels of a Rockford Fosgate Power T600-4 power the Eclipse SC8365 3-way system up front with up to 100 watts to each set in the doors. The rear channels from the amp were bridged providing up to 300 watts to be sent downstream to a Rockford Fosgate P3 10" dual 4-ohm subwoofer. The 3-way system consists of 6.5" woofer, a 1.5" mid aluminum driver and 3/4" aluminum tweeter. Audiotistics fabricated a 3/4" MDF mounting plate for the three speakers, angled slightly toward the listening position. The inner and outer skin of the door is lined with three sheets of Dynamat Extreme, which makes quite a difference in the quality of midbass response. Dynamat Dynaxorb is behind each driver-a 6" x 6" rubber plate with grooves and slots to dissipate back waves and minimize distortion. Best of all, in their effort to preserve the interior design of the stock GT3, all this was arranged behind the factory door panel, without having to modify the panel in any way.