Nick's Citroen Xsara

[n_olympios]

Well the administrator ordered we should post build threads so here I am.

The car is a 2003 french hatchback, called Citroen Xsara MkII VTS. VTS is short for ViTeSse=speed in french. In car terms it's not very fast, but it does turn really well which kind of compensates.



Here's a pic of my own car.



Some might recognize it in its WRC form, where it became multiple champion (2003, 2004, 2005).







This graphite grey is my third one in a row. She and her two predecessors (white and light blue) have been the test beds for practically every setup I've had over the years, even those in other cars I owned parallel to them (apart from the one in the Leon some might have seen in DIYMA or elsewhere) or the stuff I used to test for magazines/retailers back in the day.

They've also been tireless companions to everything I've had to do at work, at home, or in travels.









This is a picture of the stock interior.

[n_olympios]

Here a some pics from the older days, just to reminisce what these cars have been through in my hands.

















That sub box for my Phase Linear Aliante 12Si LTD (that's a mouthful, every time) is still what I use daily, almost 10 years later. You can check out its build here:

http://www.talkaudio.co.uk/ipb/index...pics/?p=800286

And here she is in all her glory, my long-time avatar in every forum.

[Hi-FiDelity]

You don't see any Citroen's state side, so I'm interested to see this.

[SublimeZ]

Very nice box ( hadn't been to t/a in forever) Neat little car, too. What's the story of the numbers on seat covers?

[captainobvious]

Glad to see your posting up some of this. Looking forward to seeing more as well as you continue to progress.

[n_olympios]

Thanks guys!

What's the story of the numbers on seat covers?

It was part of the last facelift they did, in mid 2003. I don't think there's a certain story behind it, apart from maybe the success the car had in races/rallies. The french do have a habit of doing wacky stuff with their interiors. My two previous ones had alcantara/velours upholstery which was much better than the normal fabric this one has, but this wears less.

Let's pass into some more recent work now. I had done no serious tuning for the past couple of years, what with the other car getting ready for competition use etc. Now that the Leon has been sold, the Xsara will get my full attention again, starting from trying to make it quieter. I must add at this point that it was a hybrid of commuter/track car, if there can be one. It had a loudish aftermarket exhaust, different cams and ecu tuning, and removed rear seats. The first step was to replace the exhaust in part with the stock one (I kept the aftermarket manifold and repositioned cat assembly). So from this



I went back to the one shown in the first post.



I also changed a couple of aftermarket engine/gearbox mounts that would bring vibrations into the cabin.





With the car fully naked of its plastics from the mid and back, I put wadding/deadening in some areas, starting from the rear wiper motor asembly.

[n_olympios]

Oh and, obviously I won't be using these any more.

[SublimeZ]

detuning cars makes baby Jesus cry

[n_olympios]

That's ok, it only got quieter, not slower.

Well actually it is going to get slower due to the sound deadening weight, but that's another issue.
On to more audio-oriented changes/updates.

This is the Audiosystem Twister F4-380 that I'm currently using for my front stage, until recently velcroed under the passenger's seat for the period I didn't have my rear seats in. Disclaimer: don't try this at home kids, velcro is NOT a safe way to install things.



Anyway, that amp now resides inside the right rear quarter panel, screwed to an mdf panel I'd made several years back.



And my Genesis SIII DM I use on the sub is in the other side.





That ground point has now been changed btw, that was just a test.

I also ran subless and hated it, although my midbass isn't bad, with those boys in the stock locations:





The tweeters were a trusty old pair of Audax (anyone remember those?), replaced by my HAT L1Pro SE's (#150 of 150 hehe, not that it means anything special) in the "current" setup. I also have the Brax HT1 ones from the Graphic pro set, but I don't think I'll be using them again in this car as they are massive.





Here are the HAT's right now, covered in acoustic cloth and on-axis to the driver. Talk about a ghetto install!

[n_olympios]

While I'm at it, I can't help but do a bit of showing-off. :o This is the Brax Graphic Pro set in all its glory, a magnificently engineered set and, although made by ze germanz, one with real sentiment in the way it sounds.

















They are big boxes, aren't they...