Loud and proud ... if not mobile

By SCOTT MACLEOD

Roger Cathro's rumpty old Vauxhall Viva is faster than a tall building, more valuable than a speeding bullet - and almost as loud as a jumbo jet.

The secret to the noise factor is a $6000 stereo system, which dominates most of the interior of the car and which hit an ear-splitting 142.9 decibels at the sixth national car audio sound-off finals yesterday in Penrose.

Mr Cathro's stereo proved itself the fifth-loudest in the country, but his vehicle fell somewhat short of the gleaming examples owned by other audio buffs at the show.

The 19-year-old Hawkes Bay baker splashed out just $300 six months ago for the car, which is faster than a tall building only when being pushed by the lads in his support crew.

Late yesterday he was asking $50 for the Viva, but was eventually forced to sell for just $5.

The drop in value occurred quite suddenly on Friday evening as Mr Cathro began his trek from Hastings to the finals, held at Turners Car Auctions.

The Viva's drive shaft deposited itself on the highway as its colleague, the differential, seized.

Fortunately, Mr Cathro was being escorted by a dozen of the lads in support vehicles.

They took turns towing the Viva to Auckland - a trip that took nearly 13 hours.

Many people wonder at the appeal of spending thousands of dollars on a car stereo that is too loud to listen to while actually sitting in the vehicle, but Mr Cathro has a revealing answer: he has no idea why he does it.

Others at the show seemed equally obsessed by their hobby, but for Wiremu Paipa, who smashed the Australasian loudness record with 163.9 decibels, the $30,000 spent on his Ford Escort van and sound system is a business.

He said he often hired the van to beach partygoers for up to $800 a night.

Mr Paipa was stoked at setting the record, and was sure he could crank even more noise out of the 16 sub-woofers, each measuring 30cm.

He has yet to match his vehicle against the grunty boom-box belonging to All Black winger Jonah Lomu, who was notably absent yesterday. He has claimed an unofficial 160 decibels from his vehicle's audio system.

Event organiser Stan Rivett said the number of car-audio hobbyists had exploded in the 1990s and he estimated yesterday's crowd at 3000.

Thirty finalists competed in six events for sound quality, while another 12 vied for loudness.

Some had spent $50,000 on their systems, and made the finals after tense regional competitions in Christchurch, Wellington and Dunedin.

They went to extreme levels to boost the volume in their cars. Mr Cathro equipped his Viva with a bucket of ice designed to cool the air, making it denser and therefore more conductive for soundwaves.

Most of the noise fanatics will return next year to challenge Mr Paipa for his coveted loudness trophy, the Wooden Bogan.