upgrade time

[Brady]

Gotta get the system improved, not super educated on this. I've got an aftermarket Pioneer head unit, Its gotta go, sound is okay but you cant see the display at all and I just dont like it. Will probably go with a Sony from crutchfield. Question, I'm going to get an amp to drive 2 6x9 Polk's in the rear and 2 round Polk 5's in the doors. Can the head unit power some 3.5 Infinitys in the dash? And i want to put a 12 inch sub in the trunk, will I need an additional amp to power it or is there an amp that can do it all that wont break the bank?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[regal81455]

To me it sounds like you'd be best to go with a 4channel amp for your highs. Probably in the market of 50rms X 4. Then I reach for a single channel amp in the range of 250-400rms X 1. Then for the sub, if you dont mind me suggesting Id look into www.ficaraudio.com Very nice subs for the money and will allow you to go with more amp if you decide its not enough. ( They have alot of wiggle room )!!

Good luck!

 

[Brady]

will driving the dash speakers through the head unit cause any problems??

 

[regal81455]

will driving the dash speakers through the head unit cause any problems??

No, not at all - in fact thats how Id prefer to run them. Just turn down your bass, so you only get highs thru them. Just try to get a head unit that has at least one pre-amp output and one sub output or two pre-amp outputs will work too...

 

[camcclure]

will all due respect keep it with a pioneer as far as head units me and my dad have had 2 sonys and they both sucked but any pioneer will rock all day get a respectable pioneer head unit and use it to power your dash and front high speakers then use amps for your 6x9s and subs

 

[Brady]

update...got the equipment on the way.
Head unit, Sony CDX GT320
speaker amp, Sony XMZR704, 700 watts, 70 per channel
sub amp, Jensen power 400, 2 channel, 200 per
sub Pioneer 12 inch, 150 RMS, 800 max

Should I run the Polks in the doors with the amp or the infinitys. The polks are 5 inch componets with the tweets in the dash. I'm going to put the infinitys in the center console I built. I've read that Infinitys like more power, I dont know much about Polks?

My first sub install, I'll be making a custom box in the trunk, should I go enclosed, ported, add stuffing???

Any advise, tips or tricks whould be appreciated!!

 

[regal81455]

update...got the equipment on the way.
Head unit, Sony CDX GT320
speaker amp, Sony XMZR704, 700 watts, 70 per channel
sub amp, Jensen power 400, 2 channel, 200 per
sub Pioneer 12 inch, 150 RMS, 800 max

Should I run the Polks in the doors with the amp or the infinitys. The polks are 5 inch componets with the tweets in the dash. I'm going to put the infinitys in the center console I built. I've read that Infinitys like more power, I dont know much about Polks?

My first sub install, I'll be making a custom box in the trunk, should I go enclosed, ported, add stuffing???

Any advise, tips or tricks whould be appreciated!!

When building a sub box, make sure you build it according to the sub's CF requirement. Ive had good luck with sealed boxes in G bodies. Be sure when building your box that you glue the joints prior to screwing together and then I like to caulk the seams on the inside as well. If you can't build the box exactly to CF requirements due to space you can add polyfill to trick the box into thinking it's bigger than it is. I wouldn't use it otherwise.

Good luck!

 

[Brady]

Thanks!! I think I can get it to the required CF without a problem, for sure glue, I didnt think of the caulk though. Stupid question, how do you bridge a 2-channel amp?

Any thoughts on which fronts I should run through that amp, Polks or Infinitys? Are Polks pretty good speakers??

Thanks

 

[regal81455]

1. Ok, what is the RMS rating of the Polks and the Infinity's? What is the RMS of the Sony 4channel? You want to supply the most CLEAN power to one of the two sets as possible.

2. Polks are great speakers.

3. The post's will indicate which two of the four terminals it takes to bridge, usually channel 1 positive and channel 2 negative, but it varies just check the manual.

 

[Brady]

35 RMS on the infinitys, dont know on the polks, 70 rms on the Sony. What do you mean by CLEAN??

 

[regal81455]

Well if the amp is 70rms x 4 then you have to much power for the infinity's. Most likely your head unit might too, check this out. What is the model # on the polks? Im guessing they are more but by how much??? You need to check this too. As far as CLEAN goes, typically I recommend people supply about 90% of the rated rms if possible. This allows you to have enough power but not too much. Most people think they can just turn the GAIN up to get more volume but what happens is it actually distorts the sound, its not clean. Matching products for speaker setups is just like matching products for a motor. It takes some research and attention to the details.

 

[Brady]

Thanks for the info, I guess I'll need to do some research on the speakers at home. When everything arrives and I start the install I'm sure I'll have more questions.

Thanks alot!!!

 

[datant69]

my 02

you can run your dash and doors off your head unit, use a bass blocker to keep your mids from bottoming out or sub-ing. they'll last longer and give you a cleaner sound. you can run your rear speakers off a 4 channel amp and use 2 channels to run the deck and bridge the other 2 bridged to the sub. if you look at the amp it should say what your + and - is clearly. adjust your amp to the level when your driving your car. listen for distortion or anything that may damage the speakers. i've seen it over and over with people thinking they can turn up the gain or volume to make it sound better when it's distorting. hope this helps, and good luck with your install.

 

[Brady]

progress.....I'm starting to get stuff in. Tossed the idea of the extra 2 infinitys. yesterday I got the sub box built, went enclosed. Also got the other panels cut out and made a panel to cover the spare. Wire's should arrive tonight so I can start that, looks like getting past the back seat might be a PITA. Was going to ground straight off the frame?? Been studying, will I need a relay for the turn on lead for the 2 amps? I have a hell of a time posting pic's but I'll put up some of the finished project. Thanks for the input so far!!

 

[regal81455]

OK- Heres a few things.

1. Getting past the backseat is easy. Get an old wire hanger and unwind it ( make it straight ). At the lower corners of the seat you can slide that through from the trunk into the cab. Tape your wires to it and pull it back through. Simple.

2. Make sure you run your power wires ( hot and remote ) on one side of the car. I did mine on the passenger side due to battery location in engine compartment. Then run you RCA's and any speaker wires on the opposite side.

3. Ground can be done as close to amp as feasibly possible while still getting a good bare metal contact. I actually used a wingnut that was on the trunk hinge thingies.

4. For your power you'll want to run one wire ( 0ga. is the best but maybe overkill ) no less than 4ga. then when you make it to the trunk you will need a distrubution block. There you will hook up your main feed and then you can send out supplementary feeds to each amp ( 4-8ga depending on amperage ). You can actually link the remotes and grounds from one amp to other then run one main line there too.

5. Make sure you have a large inline fuse as close to the battery as possible ( no longer than 18" ) and then the distru block has seperate fuses for each amp.

Hope that helps!

 

[Brady]

Got it all installed this weekend. I'll try to get some pic's today. Had to run the power line under the door sill and the rca, speaker and remote lead up the a piller and over the door and back....rca's were not long enough to go across the other side and reach the amps, still barely made it.. Very happy with the way it all turned out, still need to adjust the sound some but glad I didnt go with the extra infinitys, sounds killer with just the polks and the sub. Was concerned about alternator supplying unough power but it seems okay, hard to tell???

 

[Brady]

Here's some pic's, I also have a few of the consol/cupholder I made.

 

[turbo39151]

Looks awesome! I'm inspired. Now lets talk about this cupholder....:biggrin: Where did you get that? It is exactly what this car needs...

 

[regal81455]

Looks good and if it sounds good misson accomplished!!

 

[Brady]

Thanks guys! I made the console/cupholder, $5 for a junkyard cupholder mechanism ( I think it was from a dodge caravan) and then made the console.