Hey all, I just wrapped up another project on my 09 R56 JCW this past week. I really enjoy tearing into this little car, it seems much less intimidating than modding my S5.

The latest was the installation of the TMG a-15 Laser Defender: www.tmgamericas.com

The TMG is a laser VPR/ECCM (variable pulse rate electronic counter measure)...basically a laser jammer. The really interesting thing about this product is the features and performance that rivals (and in many cases beats) competitors like AntiLaser and Laser Interceptor at a fraction of the cost. It's completely capable of defeating the latest Dragon Eye guns and the others in active use in the US. It can support up to eight high-powered laser heads, has a bluetooth-enabled Android app with iOS currently under development and has excellent customer support and active engineering development. Pretty neat stuff.

I had been anticipating the product release for several weeks and while doing my recent lighting upgrades (https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post4416947) I tried to plan out the wire routing to make this easier. It was still a bear, but I'm very pleased with how everything turned out.

The first step was modifying the grille to accommodate the front heads. The a-15 install manual states the heads should be on a line level with the headlights and front license plate since those are the primary targets of law enforcement officers using LIDAR guns. It further states that three heads are recommended to defeat the most advanced VPR gun out there, the Dragon Eye. Taking inspiration from user Jag42 over at RDF (https://www.rdforum.org/index.php?forums/223/), I decided on the following arrangement. Using a small hand saw, Dremel and file, I carved out the appropriate bars and support structures then JB Weld'ed the top a-15 head mount in place. I then cut, aligned and JB Weld'ed small aluminum brackets to install the lower head mounts. Installing the mounts are crucial to a laser jammer's performance. The heads have to be perfectly aligned with each other and level and square to the vehicle in order to protect for off-axis hits (cops on the side of the road, overpasses, etc).

Front heads mounted.

Once the heads were mounted, I routed the wiring behind the grill, around the driver's side headlight and through the firewall. Many of you know that is easier said than done. It required removing (and in my case replacing since they were in poor condition) the windshield cowl to get access to the firewall grommet. This means carefully marking and removing the existing windshield wiper locations so you reinstall them correctly.

After I routed the wiring through the firewall, I moved on to the rear head installation. Unfortunately, this step required quite a bit of modification to the existing boot handle and also required I enlarge the hole in the boot to get the wiring into the car. I used a grinding wheel to enlarge the hole, wincing at every millimeter of steel removed. The things we do for love (of speed).

Boot handle modified.


Left rear head mounted.


Right rear head mounted.


Reverse camera installed.

One of the hardest parts was just getting the damned wires through the boot grommet. I was also feeding through two additional wires for a backup camera I installed during this process and it was TIGHT! After the wires were snaked through the grommet, running them to the front by tucking them under trim panels was straightforward.

Wiring through the boot.


Routing TMG wiring with factory harness.


F’ing boot grommet...


Finally!


Wiring to the left rear access panel.

I finally connected everything up and mounted the CPU in the lower console tray. It fits like it was made for it. Very cool.

Compact a-15 CPU.


CPU installed in console tray.


Android OS Laser Defender app.

Unfortunately, I ran by all of the known speed cameras and construction zone speed traps and all but one was shut down for the weekend. But at least the one that was operating triggered alerts from the TMG both front and back. I'd like to get a bit more testing in before I blow through these traps but can't wait. I feel a bit like James Bond running in stealth mode.