Picked up some LEDs to start the ambient lighting project for the kids. I tried out a lot of positions, and it seem like I will end up mounting them inside the dome light, to either side of the factory bulb.
Also picked up 2.1 amp 12V USB outlets and a 110 volt inverter. Not sure where these are going yet. I thought about replacing the 2nd row tray and mounting them there but it's too close to the cup holders and wet beverage spills. Next up was the back of the center console but it was too hard to see and too close to wet slushy feet in the winter. Best candidate seems to be the 3rd row cup holders.
Finally got around to working on quieting the MZ5. Laid down one layer of foil backed sound damping on the 3rd row floor and spare tire well and 3 layers on the rear wheel wells. Also used a cotton based insulation to fill all the cavities back there. Everything came apart easily which made things nice. 3rd row was heavier than I thought it was going to be. A lot of sharp metal for anyone thinking of doing this.
The rear speaker setup is terrible, looks to be a plate bolted in hanging in space with the speaker then bolted to it. no enclosure or baffle of any sort so I used the insulation to pack the area behind the speaker and around it. Small gain in midrange sound quality, no gain in bass region.
Took the car for a drive and from the driver's seat things seem a lot different. Some quick observations:
I cannot hear the exhaust at all now. This used to be a small braaap at startup, a light tone on accel, and a slight booming on the highway at torque converter lockup in 5th. Can't hear any of this now.
No tire noise from the rear makes it up front, which makes the front tires seem all that much louder. I will pull the fender liners and run 3-4 layers of damping on the backside of them tomorrow.
Without the white noise coming from the 3rd row, I hear wind whistle coming from the rear sliding doors.
That's it for now. I'll update this once I get a chance to ride in the 2nd or 3rd row.