I just recently got into the car audio thing, and was wondering if anyone has any tips on tidying and fancying up the wiring for the sub/amp.
I can take pictures tonight. I'm on leave right now but I'll be back on base tonight. My camera and laptop are up there. It looks neat just nothing special.
without seeing any pictures, my suggestion would be to keep the wiring under the carpet for as long as you can. i'll assume youre already running the wires under the door sills, so you wont see them there. Amp mounted to the back seat seems to be the most popular method for keeping things unseen, and i would say use distribution blocks and tie downs to keep everything neat and tidy, post up some pics of your install
lots of little zip ties. cut all the wires down as short as possable. hide everything on the back of the box so it isnt seen but you can get to it via back seat. it all depends thow on how big everything is.
Ihave the amp on top of the box wouldnt fit on the back and if it was on the back of the seat it would be in the way, unless i turn the subs around to face towards the back, how would that sound?
Moosy wrote:Ihave the amp on top of the box wouldnt fit on the back and if it was on the back of the seat it would be in the way, unless i turn the subs around to face towards the back, how would that sound?
They should sound better firing towards the trunk, because the bass will resonate , as if your trunk was another box.
yup mine are facing out. i found they sounded better and it just fits better. there are allways ways to make it sound better too like adding insulation to the box if its too big.
ahh i resized it too small... anny way to give you an idea this is what you see:
and this is what you dont:
hope that helps
Three more questions.
1) When should you run a caoacitor
2) What gauge wire for how many watts.
3) I turned the subs to face the back and they're louder but tingy and makes the trunk rattle alot outside. Any remedies for these?
This looks much better i think any experts see anything else i may be able to do to take it to the next level.
1) you should use a cap if you are pushing 1000+ watts. people recommend using 1 farad per 1000 watts.
2) if you are pushing under 1000 watts you should be alright with 8 gauge wiring..but if you are pushing around 1000..and especially over 1000 you better be running 4 gauge. it doesn't really hurt to run bigger wire. 0 gauge is over kill unless you need it
3) you could go crazy and dynomate your trunk..but other than make sure the plastic and bolts..nuts etc is tight..thats about it
i'd say skip the caps they arnt all that great, upgrading your main power and ground wires to the battery will have more of an impact then a cap will. hide your wires as much as possible. and if their visable ziptie them nice and neat. they make clips that you can wrap around the wire and screw down to something to keep the wiring clean and neat. cut the wires to fit so their all the same size and not all over the place. you can also make a shroud to go around the amp the still shows off the amp but hides all the wires.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography
I like the shroud idea I think i may give that a try.
sndsgood wrote:i'd say skip the caps they arnt all that great, upgrading your main power and ground wires to the battery will have more of an impact then a cap will. hide your wires as much as possible. and if their visable ziptie them nice and neat. they make clips that you can wrap around the wire and screw down to something to keep the wiring clean and neat. cut the wires to fit so their all the same size and not all over the place. you can also make a shroud to go around the amp the still shows off the amp but hides all the wires.
in regards to caps not being that great are a slight understatement, however they are a cheaper solution to upgrading your alternator and so on.
however i recommend moving your AMP of your box IMMEDIATELY! the vibration's have some neg. affects on the box.
also you should use appropriate color wires. IE: your ground wire should be black or brown or clear. makes it easy to tell the difference. makes it look clearner.
ill post pics of a system i did.
CLick link
link bitch
GOT ECOTEC?
Just Dave (2 UNIQ) wrote:sndsgood wrote:i'd say skip the caps they arnt all that great, upgrading your main power and ground wires to the battery will have more of an impact then a cap will. hide your wires as much as possible. and if their visable ziptie them nice and neat. they make clips that you can wrap around the wire and screw down to something to keep the wiring clean and neat. cut the wires to fit so their all the same size and not all over the place. you can also make a shroud to go around the amp the still shows off the amp but hides all the wires.
in regards to caps not being that great are a slight understatement, however they are a cheaper solution to upgrading your alternator and so on.
however i recommend moving your AMP of your box IMMEDIATELY! the vibration's have some neg. affects on the box.
also you should use appropriate color wires. IE: your ground wire should be black or brown or clear. makes it easy to tell the difference. makes it look clearner.
ill post pics of a system i did.
CLick link
link bitch
i'll stand by my statement, ive seen in tests lowered spl scores by using caps. and seen just as good results in j-bodies by just upgrading the stock wiring.
as for the amp on the box. amps were built to be used in harsh envirements, they spend their days bouncing around in the trunk as you drive down the road. a sub box won't hurt it one bit. ive had an amp on a sub box in my daily driver for years and never had issues with it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography
Luckily I'm only running 760W. but I moved the amp anyways, alot easier to access on the back of the seat. This weekend I replaced the 6.x9's but turns out one of them was already messed up.
so my new question is, would coaxials be worth getting over reg speakers or should i just save for components.