[nicedream]

Been lurking and posting a bit since I bought my Venue in February, and decided to share some of the mods I've done so far. I'll apologize in advance for being a bit short on pictures, but I have a bad habit of neglecting to document my work in process, because I'm usually just focused on getting the job done. That being said, I am more than happy to take additional pics if possible, or answer any questions.

First, here's where I'm coming from: I was big into VW since I was in high school. I had an 87 GTI, and then bought a new 2001 Golf 1.8 Turbo when I graduated from college. I drove it for 20 years (only ~150k miles) before I purchased the Venue.

This past winter, my wife was looking for a new car, which meant I was looking with her. Even though my 01 Golf was mechanically sound (literally everything worked), I knew it wouldn't last forever and I was concerned about being able to find a car with a manual transmission when I eventually did need one. I had already decided that another VW could be a possibility, but after their emissions cheating scandal I wouldn't be married to the brand anymore. When a 2020 Venue with ~9k miles on it showed up, I bought it.

More to come....

 

[nicedream]

OK - The first "mod" was to replace the factory speakers. I'm not someone who needs a big boomin' system w/ massive subwoofers, but I also don't like to my music to sound like it's coming out of an old clock radio. I had some Polk speakers in my GTI back in the day that sounded great, so I installed 4 Polk DB652 speakers in all 4 doors. I chose these because they were the only coaxial Polk 6.5 speaker that was available on Crutchfield, and since I have a Venue SE I don't have the separate tweeters up front.

 

[nicedream]

While I was taking off the door panels, I also applied ResoNix CLD to the insides of the doors. To be honest, I always felt that the Venue is a little bit noisy/buzzy while driving it so I started looking into ways to decrease that. ResoNix is a constrained layer damper that prevents vibration of large panels. Most people are familiar with Dynamat, and this is the same concept, same type of product But ResoNix seemed to be the best in terms of performance AND "longevity". By longevity, I mean that some of the cheaper brands of CLD are known to melt in hot temperatures, and the last thing I wanted was to have a gooey mess in my car when summer came around.

Here's one of the door panels.... I may have overdone it, but this is the first time I did anything like this. The doors sound and feel incredibly solid when you open/close them, or just tap them from the outside.

 

[nicedream]

Next up....More sound control. I decided to treat the entire car w/ mass loaded vinyl. MLV is basically just a heavy vinyl sheet (typically 1 lb per square ft) that blocks sound. A lot of people think that CLD will block sound, but it won't. The purpose of CLD is to stop vibrations, but it won't do anything for road or engine noise.

The MLV install was a major undertaking, mainly because you have to apply as much of an unbroken barrier as possible. "Spot treating" with MLV doesn't really work, in the same way that closing a window 90% doesn't really make a big difference at blocking a lawnmower running outside, but closing it 100% makes a big difference. Don't think that you can MLV a car in an afternoon, or even a few days. I worked on it off and on in my spare time (evenings and weekends, mainly) for around a month. Fortunately I work from home and I have access to a 2nd car if necessary. But at one point or another, I had almost every interior part out of the car. That includes the seats, carpet, trim panels, dashboard, etc. 😲

I definitely should have taken a picture of the car torn apart, but I didn't. This is the only MLV photo I have: The passenger footwell carpet+padding lifted up.

The MLV install wasn't the only thing I was doing at this time.. While I had the car apart, I also added ResoNix to the trunk and spare tire well. I also put a bit on the floor where needed, but most of the metal on the floor is pretty rigid and doesn't vibrate. I also took down the headliner, and put ResoNix on the ceiling.

Lessons learned:
As I said before, this was a big job. Looking back, I definitely should not have started by doing the interior firewall. Taking the dashboard and all associated pieces out takes a long time, and in the end I think there are just too many gaps in the MLV to be effective in that area. There I had to work around the holes in the firewall for the brake & clutch pedals, the steering column, the cabin air intake, and the heater core and A/C hoses. My recommendation would be to do the floor and as high up under the dash as you can go without taking it apart.

For what it's worth, I think the things that made the most difference were applying CLD to the ceiling, and the MLV added on the front floor (The engine buzzing from the area behind the shifter and USB port is much more muffled).

 

[nicedream]

Minor mod: While I had the interior parts torn apart, I added a USB charger to the little storage area in the center console. I wanted this so I had the option of charging my phone without triggering the stereo into starting Android auto, or changing the Android auto connection from wireless to USB. For power I just tapped into the 12v charger wires in the console.

The exact charger I got is here: Amazon.com: PD Type C USB Car Charger Socket and QC 3.0 Quick Charger 12V/24V Car Power Outlet Socket with ON/Off Switch Waterproof Power Delivery for Motorcycle Marine Boat RV ATV
There are whole bunch available on Amazon, but I chose this one because it has a button to control when it's turned on.

 

[nicedream]

MLV was just about done and the car was being put back together, and next I added a small amplifier to the sound system. Just adding the Polk speakers by themselves didn't give me enough improvement in sound, so an amp was the next upgrade.

I briefly considered replacing the factory head unit with a double DIN unit from a well-known brand, but I really didn't want to worry about ensuring that everything integrated properly (steering wheel controls, backup camera, etc). Plus I wasn't quite sure if I liked the way it looked with the dash kit and the way it created so much empty space.

I went with the Kicker Key 200.4 amp, because I liked the fact that it has an auto-tuning digital signal processor. It comes with a microphone that you put on the driver's headrest before you start the tuning process. Then you download and play a "pink noise" audio file from the Kicker website through the car's sound system. Close the doors and wait about 3 minutes, and the DSP tunes itself.

The install was pretty straightforward. I bought some flat metal bars at Home Depot, and used them to mount the amp under the passenger seat:

The amp is pretty small, so finding a spot for it was easy. For power, I ran a wire from the battery through the passenger side wheel well. There are two holes already there: One was being used by existing wires and the windshield washer hose. I used the other one, which just had a rubber plug in it. I think it would have been used for the sunroof drain hose if I had one, but obviously I don't.
For the ground wire I connected to one of the bolts that fastens the parking brake the the chassis.
And for the speaker wires, I ran those from the amp, under the center console, straight up and behind the dash.
(Buying pre-bundled speaker wire made it really easy Amazon.com: Recoil 20-Feet 9-Conductor Speaker Cable, 18AWG Pure OFC, Ultra-Flex and Easy Peel Jacket, 4-Channel Speaker Wire and Remote Wire: Electronics)

 

[nicedream]

A side note for anyone who may be adding an amp to their system: Amps of course need a way to know when to turn on/off so they don't drain your battery. This is done by either a 12v remote wire, or on some amps, they can sense a voltage change on one of the speaker wires to know when to turn on. The Kicker amp can be configured either way, so I just hooked the wire to the 12v outlet. Easy enough, I thought. What I didn't think about is that the 12v plug turns off as soon as the key is turned to the off position, but the stereo will continue to play for 3 more minute, or until the door is opened. (I think they call this "Retained Accessory Power") Anyways, what happened is the radio would still be playing, but the amp was turned off - so no sound.

I flipped the switch on the amp to use the speaker voltage sensing method to turn on, but I noticed that the amp would still stay on even after the stereo turned off. I got out my multimeter and confirmed that even after the Retained Accessory Power turned off, there was still ~6v coming through the speaker wires.

I must have tested every fuse in the entire fuse box 3 times, but I could not find a single power lead that was hot at exactly the same times when the stereo was on. Then I took out the stereo and checked every single pin in the back, even the ones that didn't connect to anything in the wire harness. Still nothing.

I was sitting there with the multimeter still connected to one of the speaker wires while I racked my brain for another place to check for a power lead.....And all of a sudden....the meter dropped to zero! Further testing showed that even though the stereo turns off after 3 minutes, it takes another 3 minutes before the power is cut to the speaker wires.

Also - The speaker wires begin putting out power as soon as the car is unlocked. So if I stand outside the car and hit the unlock on my remote, the amp power turns on at that point before the stereo turns on, and before I even open the door.

 

[Chicago Jake]

Sweet! And it's nice to see another 2020 SE 6-speed manual owner on here.

 

[nicedream]

Small but subtle mod:

For whatever reason, the Venue is sold in the Australian market with a small "1.6" emblem on the lower right side of the hatch.

I wanted to add one of these to my Venue, but I was having a hard time finding it. I sent a message to a Hyundai dealer that sold parts on eBay Australia. Unfortunately, they didn't ship outside of the country, but the gentleman was nice enough to give me the part number: 86312K2000

After much searching, the only site I could find it was here: https://boodmo.com/catalog/part-86312k2000-53629582/ And they only shipped within India.
So I found a shipper in India via parcl.com who ordered the emblem for me, then shipped it to me in the US.

In the end I paid more than I should have, but I'm probably the only person in North America with an Australian-spec 1.6 badge. 😃👍

 

[Mochi]

Small but subtle mod:

View attachment 591

I need to do what you did here, but with the new Canadian front grille that we didn't get here!

 

[nicedream]

I need to do what you did here, but with the new Canadian front grille that we didn't get here!

Interesting, I didn't know about that grille, bit it looks like Canada gets it on their "Ultimate" trim line. I'll have to see if I can find the part number for that.

You have to wonder what makes them decide to make these little variations in different markets. Some things you can kind of understand: The 6 speed manual is still available in Canada (I'm jealous), but my guess is that's due to the pocket of demand for "Quebec Specials" https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2013/06/quebecs-obsession-with-no-frills-cars/

But what makes the Hyundai execs say "You know who would really like a special grille on their car? CANADIANS!"
Why is a 1.6 trunk badge determined to be necessary in Australia, but no other markets?
If I'm not mistaken, I think the Indian market Venue has rear climate vents that come out of the center console, whereas in the US we just have the vents that come out of the floor under the front seats.

This could probably be a whole thread in itself. Just documenting the variations in different markets.

 

[Mochi]

Yup, and India got the DCT transmission as well as sunglass holder near the map light. Just wish the LED DRL was universal across all model and not just an upgrade package. Even my SEL doesn't have it unless I get the Premium Package with the sun roof

 

[nicedream]

Yup, and India got the DCT transmission as well as sunglass holder near the map light. Just wish the LED DRL was universal across all model and not just an upgrade package. Even my SEL doesn't have it unless I get the Premium Package with the sun roof

Did India really get a DCT, or did you mean the IMT (the manual transmission without a clutch pedal)?

 

[ralph_venue]

India has the rear AC vents with power slot, rear center arm rest, auto-fold sideview mirrors, cooled glove box, fog lights, air purifier, wireless charging, and etc.

U.S. has a suite of safety features like Lane keeping Assist, Blind-Spot Monitoring, collision warning, collision mitigation and LED headlights beam etc.

Korea has knee warmers. LOL What?

Just give and take based on regional needs. I wished there was one venue that had them all. 😭

That's why we modify

 

[nicedream]

KNEE warmers?

 

[ralph_venue]

Can't neglect the knees!

 

[Chicago Jake]

KNEE warmers?

I know, right? I've had many complaints about many cars in my life, but never once have I thought, "Nice car, but damn, my knees are cold!"

 

[Mochi]

Did India really get a DCT, or did you mean the IMT (the manual transmission without a clutch pedal)?

 

[nicedream]

View attachment 598

Damn, I thought dual clutch transmissions were only for fast sports cars.

 

[nicedream]

For anyone interested, here's what the doors with ResoNix sound like compared to the hood without:

http://imgur.com/a/Ivngccx