So your stock Bose system has finally yee’d its last haw? Maybe you just want more bass. Whatever the reason, you don’t have many options for staying relatively “stock”.

To start, this upgrade works best if you have removed your spare tire. Therefore, I wouldn’t suggest doing this without roadside assistance on your insurance policy. Additionally, if you have replaced your Radio with an aftermarket head unit, you are good to go. If not, you will need some crossover adapters for the audio output.

Okay, the spare tire is removed…now what? You need an 8-inch low-profile subwoofer. The brand doesn’t really matter too much if you stick to those parameters. You also need to replace your factory amp with an aftermarket single channel.

Once you have your necessary components, its as easy as installing a standalone subwoofer.

1. Run your power wire from the battery, through the firewall, and to the trunk.
2. Run your audio output wires from the radio/crossover to the trunk.
3. If you have an aftermarket head unit, connect your remote amp turn-on wire to the blue wire on the radio harness. (If you are using a crossover, you can connect it to any ignition wire or fuse using an adapter).
4. Connect your ground to any solid metal point in your trunk.
5. Then pull your rear deck and subwoofer.
6. Swap the new subwoofer, and replace the rear deck.
7. Connect your amp to all appropriate wires and mount it in the spare tire location.
8. Run your speaker wire from the amp to the new subwoofer.
9. Finished.

That’s about it for keeping a stock looking system.

-Devan

The very first suspension modification we will be talking about in this 3 part saga is adjustable front upper control arms. This happens to be the only part I would recommend replacing even if you want to keep the car relatively stock. This is mainly due to the fact the B7 has no way of adjusting the camber from the factory. Therefore without adjustable control arms, if your camber is off and starts heavily wearing your tires unevenly, there is no way to fix it without replacing the upper control arms.

In terms of pricing, most adjustable upper controls arms will cost about $500 for all four with one exception; adjustable bushings. Most of these brands can be found on ECS Tuning as it’s pretty much a one-stop-shop for the B7 platform.

034 Motorsport makes two types of adjustable upper controls arms for the B7. Both are around $500 except one is made for lowered vehicles. The difference is the ones specific for lowered vehicles are spherical and smaller in diameter.

The only exception for getting full replacements is adjustable control arm bushings. They will essential allow for the same amount of adjustment, however, they use the factory arms. So if yours are blown this may not be a suitable option for you. But if your stock arms are fine, POWERFLEX makes a kit for $215.

At the end of the day, if you can find a reputable company with a lifetime warranty, buy them. These are just my recommendations for reputable companies.

-Devan