Newb tryin to install subs

[Limitless]

So...one of my freinds gave me (2) 12" subs and a 2000W amp for my X. Since i couldnt find any boxes i like that fit this i decided I am going to try and make my own fiberglass one. doing so i have a couple questions i hope some of you guru's may be able to answer.

First off, where should i have the signal wires enter the box at? The box is going to be about the same location as the SubXClosures (basically takes up the entire center section of the back seat) but i have never looked to see where the wires penetrate those. I was figuring they probably go through the center console and into the box such that they cant be seen.

Where is a good place to put the amp? I fits under the driver seat OK but sticks out a little in the back. Since i am making the box big enough to fit (2) 12's and still allow passengers back there i really dont have room to stick it on the box at all.

How hard is it to do all the wiring myself? I am an engineer by nature so i can probably figure it out but i was wondering if anyone had any type of schematic or knows of a link to step by step instructions to running the wire in our trucks. I have never installed a system in a car before so this will all be new to me. I was looking at just getting one of those kits at best buy that come with all the wiring (although the power wire in those was only 8G and i think i need at least 5G, but i have never done this before so what do i no). ...Or is it worth it to pay best buy $75 and just have them do it, that way if its F'd up they can deal with it.

 

[TRD-X]

Did you look in the Speakers / Subwoofers / Enclosures threads for any ideals?

http://www.xr-underground.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=37

 

[Limitless]

Yeah, the others helped me think of a couple things such as making sure the seats can sill recline/move, making the seatbelts usable, and other technical things involving the box. I havnt been able to find any pics of the SubXClosures (or other similar ones) out of the truck to see where the wires go into it. since the box is still in the process of being built i should proabably try to figure this out fairly soon. I also got a new head unit coming (thanks to X-Travagant) that i am going to attempt to install as well but i dont think that sould be as difficult since i have seen good write ups for that.

 

[TRD-X]

Crutchfield has all kind of parts to help you do a clean install.:top:

http://www.crutchfield.com/m_750/Car-Stereo-Installation.html?tp=1385

Look at this thread it's a nice sub box:http://www.xr-underground.com/vb3/showthread.php?t=10678&highlight=subs

 

[NHXRUNNER]

First off, where should i have the signal wires enter the box at? The box is going to be about the same location as the SubXClosures (basically takes up the entire center section of the back seat) but i have never looked to see where the wires penetrate those. I was figuring they probably go through the center console and into the box such that they cant be seen.

Sounds about right

Where is a good place to put the amp? I fits under the driver seat OK but sticks out a little in the back. Since i am making the box big enough to fit (2) 12's and still allow passengers back there i really dont have room to stick it on the box at all.

Have you looked into how much airspace each of those subs need? I find it hard to believe you're going to fit that much airspace between the rear seats. My twin 12 setup ate up my entire back seat, granted my amps are mounted between them. As for mounting the amp, either under the front seats or you could cut out some of the plastic containers under the rear seats. Are you powering any of the other speakers externally? 2-12s w/ 2,000 watts are going to either completely overpower your speakers or be running at only a small portion of what they're capable of so that you don't drown out the rest.

How hard is it to do all the wiring myself? I am an engineer by nature so i can probably figure it out but i was wondering if anyone had any type of schematic or knows of a link to step by step instructions to running the wire in our trucks. I have never installed a system in a car before so this will all be new to me. I was looking at just getting one of those kits at best buy that come with all the wiring (although the power wire in those was only 8G and i think i need at least 5G, but i have never done this before so what do i no). ...Or is it worth it to pay best buy $75 and just have them do it, that way if its F'd up they can deal with it.

I'd never done any car audio before I did mine. I ran 4g from the battery to the rear behind my amps to a distribution block. From there 8g for about 2 ft to the amps. Then all you need to run is RCA and remote from the head unit.

Good luck brother:top:

 

[XRnRElite77]

yeah i would def check the airspace requirement for the subs, cause 2 12's are going to need alot of space, of course what size (power wise) are the subs if were going off the amp then they are 500 rms in that range and prolly needing about 1 to 1.25 cubic feet of space per sub! wont fit where you would like to fit it. I have built 2 boxes to go there, on for a 10 and one for a 1000watt 12, and with just one 12 that box was huge lol.

as far as wiring goes, run the power wire on the left (drivers side) of the console and the rca/remote wires down the right side (passengers side) of console. dont want power and signal next to one another in a car, alt noise is heard.

Also be very careful about having the blue box do electical work on your truck, the ones around here have cause ALOT of problems with electrical issues to blown sound equipment cause they are not certified. Its pretty easy to do yourself and i would GET THE WIREING KIT OFF EBAY. go with stinger, tsunami, street series are the best kits ive seen, remember you can have the best subs and amp and head unit but if the connections between them are crappy or low quality they will sound low quality. I spent $480 on the wiring alone lol, a bit much but well worth every penny.

GL bro and if you need any help or more questions feel free to ask, also POST THEM PICS bro when done.

 

[Limitless]

Have you looked into how much airspace each of those subs need? I find it hard to believe you're going to fit that much airspace between the rear seats. My twin 12 setup ate up my entire back seat, granted my amps are mounted between them. As for mounting the amp, either under the front seats or you could cut out some of the plastic containers under the rear seats. Are you powering any of the other speakers externally? 2-12s w/ 2,000 watts are going to either completely overpower your speakers or be running at only a small portion of what they're capable of so that you don't drown out the rest.

Yeah I actually planned it out in AutoCAD to see what volumes i can get and its looking like about 1.1 for the lower sub and 1.2 for the upper one. I am also planning on using some polyfill to make up a little extra space. As for the speakers, i have not considered it yet. To make the speakers match the subs could i just run them through the amp, and will the stock speakers last very long that way? I am already planning on only using about 50% of the systems potential as i would prefer 10's but you can't argue with free Sub's. I am just hoping that all this doesnt kill my batery/alternator.

I'd never done any car audio before I did mine. I ran 4g from the battery to the rear behind my amps to a distribution block. From there 8g for about 2 ft to the amps. Then all you need to run is RCA and remote from the head unit.

Hmmm, distribution block? I dont have one of those i think. I though you just ran the 4G directly to the amp (with a fuse some where along the wire of course)

 

[XRnRElite77]

the ideal way to run the component speakers off there own amp, a good 400 watt 4 channel is perfect.

Also you can run a single 4g power wire with a fuse no more then 12" from the battery.

if you want the best sound you will need to upgrade the component speakers the stocks are lacking in the sound dynamics department to put in nicely. memphis, Rockford fostgate, diamond audio, and several others have some good speakers.

 

[Limitless]

yeah i would def check the airspace requirement for the subs, cause 2 12's are going to need alot of space, of course what size (power wise) are the subs if were going off the amp then they are 500 rms in that range and prolly needing about 1 to 1.25 cubic feet of space per sub! wont fit where you would like to fit it. I have built 2 boxes to go there, on for a 10 and one for a 1000watt 12, and with just one 12 that box was huge lol.

as far as wiring goes, run the power wire on the left (drivers side) of the console and the rca/remote wires down the right side (passengers side) of console. dont want power and signal next to one another in a car, alt noise is heard.

Also be very careful about having the blue box do electical work on your truck, the ones around here have cause ALOT of problems with electrical issues to blown sound equipment cause they are not certified. Its pretty easy to do yourself and i would GET THE WIREING KIT OFF EBAY. go with stinger, tsunami, street series are the best kits ive seen, remember you can have the best subs and amp and head unit but if the connections between them are crappy or low quality they will sound low quality. I spent $480 on the wiring alone lol, a bit much but well worth every penny.

GL bro and if you need any help or more questions feel free to ask, also POST THEM PICS bro when done.

So the wiring will be avobe the carpet from the Head unit to the amp? Or do i need to take the center console off and stick it under there. Simpler is better so if I can get away with not taking stuff apart and drilling then I'm happy. So this is what i would be looking at correct?

http://www.stingerelectronics.com/productDetails.aspx?ProductId=5&CategoryID=1

That doesnt look too much different then the Kicker ones at best buy but i am assuming it is much better quality then, and it comes with this distribution block thing NHX mentioned

 

[NHXRUNNER]

The distro box is only if you have multiple amps. It's basically a splitter. You run 4g to the rear, split it at the distro box to 2-8g and run to the amps. As for running the your RCAs and remote wires if your amps are going under the seat then I'd run the wires down behind the HU toward the passenger side then under the center console to conceal them. If you're mounting them under the rear seats it' continue them under the passenger side behind the glove box. Then down the kick panel under the door sills. Everything comes apart very easily. The hardest part is getting the HU out. If you have any more questions shoot me a PM. I'll be happy to shoot you my cell and we can chat about it if you feel the need.

As for the kit, it's a little more than you need if you're only running one amp.
http://www.stingerelectronics.com/productDetails.aspx?ProductId=7&CategoryID=1
This will do.

 

[Limitless]

Frame thus far. have to run to radioshack to get the boxes for the penetrations and off the the fabric store to start the fiberglass work.

 

[Sproulesxrunner]

Are you going to make it ported?

 

[Limitless]

Na, Ported requires too much thinking and more volume.

 

[X-Caliber]

for 2000 watts he would need to go to a speaker shop or car audio shop and get some 0 or 00 gauge wire i think.

 

[NHXRUNNER]

for 2000 watts he would need to go to a speaker shop or car audio shop and get some 0 or 00 gauge wire i think.

He makes a good point. Make sure 4g is enough to handle 2000.

 

[STONER-X]

Frame thus far. have to run to radioshack to get the boxes for the penetrations and off the the fabric store to start the fiberglass work.

looks great...... make sure is you get a flat tire you can still access under the seat to get the jack out:biggrin:

keep the pics coming :top::top:

 

[Limitless]

looks great...... make sure is you get a flat tire you can still access under the seat to get the jack out:biggrin:

keep the pics coming :top::top:

If all goes as planned the whole box should be able to be disconnected by two wires and will slide out the side giving full access to the rear seat storage. works fine as a frame now so as long as i dont go overboard on the fiberglass/bondo i should be good.

 

[STONER-X]

as long as i dont go overboard on the fiberglass/bondo i should be good.

lol, ya that would suck if you had to get it and had to remove a 90lbs speaker box.... TOW TRUCK haha.... good to hear you have a removal plan..... it looks like you know what you are doing.. :top:

 

[Limitless]

Quick question on the component speaker wire. If i upgraded my speakers would the wiring thats there be sufficient or would i have to run new wire for that as well. Also, am i going to have to get a new battery to support all this and what would be the recomendations.

layed the fabric for the box last night and if all goes well i should have the resin/fiberglass done tonight.

 

[NHXRUNNER]

You'll need to re-wire for the aftermarket speakers, provided you're going to amplify them. If you don't plan to amplify the stock wiring is fine but don't try to run a component setup off a head unit.