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Bass Man
04-13-2008, 01:52 AM
Over a couple years, I've aquired a little knowledge about common car audio.

First point: Dimming headlights.


To make it clear for ANYONE with this problem; a capasitor is NEVER the best option, or for that matter, a good option.

A second battery isn't the best option, either. But!!! There is a "throw in" alternative... Look into Kinetik power cells. They take the place of cap's and do a much better job at handling power.

There are so many other factors that play a part in excessive dimming. A good rule of thumb is; never use a thinner ground. ALWAYS match or better your power wire at the amp.
Another thing to do is upgrade your cars' ground wires, otherwise known as the "Big 3". The stock wires are no more than 8awg (American Wire Gauge)... This should be upgraded at LEAST every 500watts.
500watts is fine for stock.
1000watts needs 4awg.
1500watts needs 2awg.
1500+watts, I advise running at least one "run" of 0/2 or 0/1awg ground straight to the battery.

Section 2: Amplifier power and ways to measure it.

1500watts MAX might power your Sony Xplods........... but a 1500wattMAX amplifier will only give 1500watts if struck by lightning.
The TRUE measure in wattage is RMS; ROOT MEAN SQUARED, as in 1000watts RMS.
My BX1000D puts out roughly 912 watts RMS under a 1ohm load.

Amplifer output is AC volts(and yes, I've been shocked with it). RMS = Vac^2 in short. Clean, my amplifier measured 32.*Vac. 32.*^2 = 912.

Common amplifier classes.
The most common class is the A/B class. On a need-to-know basis, A/B is less efficient, (gets really hot under accesive use) but is usually a lot clean signal. They can be used on anything from tweeters to subwoofers.
D class I would say is strictly a bass amplifier. Aside from a little less clean, a D class amp will always run cooler than an A/B class (properly tuned) and in most cases, allow you to run a lower ohm load.

I've ran my BX1000D at ~.80 ohms after box rise for close to an hour straight, and the hottest it got was around 100 degrees... I've felt Audiobahn amps being played at 2 ohms for a half hour and you can't put your hand on it.

Setting your gain correctly
This is the most important thing in your system!!
Gain, or "Level" is there simply to match your stereo's output voltage. The proper way to set your gain is to use a DMM. I set mine by ear, but if you are willing, here (http://www.bcae1.com/gaincon2.htm) is some awesome info...
Here is how I do it for customers who spend a lot on their equiptment and don't want to replace it soon.
I turn the volume up to the loudest the person ever wants to hear it, then turn the Bass Boost up all the way, then slowly turn up the gain untill it starts distorting, then put the bass boost down to about 80% (I have a knob that has the bass boost control on it, and I do it the same way)...

Section 3: Subwoofer enclosures
I design and build enclosure on the side. When I design a box, it's not just about your subs, infact, the vehicle it is going in is just as important. Granted, I am not the best (http://www.hexibase.com/), I do a good job for free... but if you want to spend $50, Pete is the ONLY one who does the absolute best enclosure.

There are 3 main enclosure types; Sealed, Ported, and Bandpass.
If you want light, tight bass, go sealed.
If you want deep, powerful bass, go ported.
ONLY buy a bandpass if it is designed for a certain subwoofer. If it is off by a little bit, it's gonna play like crap and blow your stuff FAST... Just be carefull...

There are also things like 6th and 8th order Bandpass, ABC, Transmission line, and Phaseboxes, and Pete can help you choose which way to go.

Section 4: Securing your Equipment'
I posted this in another forum:
Ok. Here is some usefull info.
I'm going from front to back.

Head Units:
ALWAYS use a back strap (comes with EVERY aftermarket head unit)
ALWAYS take your face plate off.

Front Speakers:
Your best bet would be to keep speakers behind your doors. If you have them outside the door, put black tape over the logo on the grill and secure with Tamper-Proof Torx Head screws. Tamper-proof Torx is the best anti-theft screw (Torx head with a little pin in the middle).

Rear Speakers:
Same as the front... If you don't want them stolen, don't show-case them.

Amplifier:
Secure all 4 mounting holes TO THE CAR itself with specialty screws...

Subwoofer Box:
Bolt the Subwoofer Box down through the floor, insert a bolt with a LOT of thread from the bottom, first through the floor, then through the box, and secure with Nyloc Lock-nuts.
They can try to unbolt the box, but even with an air-gun, no one can unbolt that.

Subwoofers into the box:
Again, those special Tamper-Proof Torx screws are the best for security.

If it is a professional thief, they will destroy everything in their way to get what they want. So take that into consideration.



OK... I am done for the night...
If there are any questions, I will gladly take a stab at it.

Bass Man
04-20-2008, 05:25 PM
No one has anything to say?? My work here is done!

ghettogeddy
04-20-2008, 05:48 PM
Kinetik power cells arent the only solution jus the ones you have ran into lol
check out thte xtact battcap same basic idea its a battery that acts liek a cap lol
up to 100 fareds

also ive alwas had great luck with caps they seem to work fine for me

Setting your gain correctly
This is the most important thing in your system!!
Gain, or "Level" is there simply to match your stereo's output voltage. The proper way to set your gain is to use a DMM. I set mine by ear, but if you are willing, here is some awesome info...
Here is how I do it for customers who spend a lot on their equiptment and don't want to replace it soon.
I turn the volume up to the loudest the person ever wants to hear it, then turn the Bass Boost up all the way, then slowly turn up the gain untill it starts distorting, then put the bass boost down to about 80% (I have a knob that has the bass boost control on it, and I do it the same way)...

that right there is the best bit of info in there
every install or reinstall i do this is key
all my friends think its cool to jack the gain all the way up and they wounder why there shit sounds bad lol and they think im a god cause i have a ear for this shit and know what im doing lol

Bass Man
04-20-2008, 06:18 PM
Yeah, you know what I'm talking about! It's hard to put in words how you need to set it, but I just do it by ear for everyone.

I was gonna say BattCap, but I forgot who made them and I didn't want to search... Kinetik is just who we use.

ghettogeddy
04-20-2008, 06:35 PM
i think on the 1800wattfosgate i had i never turned the gain up past maybe 10% maybe evn 5% that thing was awsome

Bass Man
04-20-2008, 06:42 PM
Must have had a nice HU with it.

Older Rockford rocked.

ghettogeddy
04-20-2008, 06:50 PM
Must have had a nice HU with it.

Older Rockford rocked.

ya a panasonic cq-c7301u
http://techronics.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_id=2752&aff=72182
http://techronics.com/images/products/2752.jpg

of course when my car was stolin they stole the faceplate so ive been looking for another ever sense
if you ever come across one hook a brother up

lostforawhile
04-20-2008, 09:06 PM
in other words don't stick your sub box in plain view on the back deck with giant stickers saying what kind of system you got lol. i see it all the time here especially the mexicans ,usually driving beat to shit camaros with giant sub boxes in plain view in the hatch. not a good idea.

Bass Man
04-20-2008, 10:52 PM
The #1 way to keep your system safe is keeping it to yourself... If no one knows about it, no one wants it.

In most small cities, you put a big "KICKER" sticker on your back window, and the window is gonna be shattered and your Kickers will be missing.

headbanger
04-30-2008, 08:17 PM
i had a huge system in a ford tempo once upon a time.Came out 1 morning to get in car and the doors were all open.I had left one window cracked lik a half of an inch.They got the subs both sets but left head unit alone which was kind of funny.Because the face was broke and wouldnt stay so i had duk taped it on but it was a real good pioneer.They didnt get the amp either which was also funny they tore the backseat loose to get it but i had it bolted to floor with lag bolts and from back seat and they couldnt get it loose.But all they had to do was hit trunk popper button.Anyways never saw my speakers again.Another good thing to do is write ur name inside box behind speakers i would think.:violin:

Bass Man
05-04-2008, 05:47 PM
I used to write my name in my boxes... Then I started making boxes for a living, lol!

Civic Accord Honda
05-04-2008, 07:07 PM
hmm would ya know why my deck lights dim and my dash lights when the bass hits lol i have OEM replacement speakers and a prelude deck rated at 25watts max a chanel so i cant figger out why its making my lights dim

Bass Man
05-04-2008, 07:29 PM
My brothers Samurai did that when his alternator went out, but all I can think about is a dead short (through your speaker wires(Like if you didn't use your rear outputs and didn't protect the ends, or one of your speaker terminals are grounding to the chassis)) or you grounded the HU to something you shouldn't have (like the stock ground or a loose ground.)

All I can say about that... My amp draws 60 amps at full tilt, and hardly dims my lights, so I doubt "25 watts" will draw enough to do that...
For future purchases, don't look at "Max watts"... I think I made myself clear above^^

Civic Accord Honda
05-04-2008, 07:47 PM
i got all the speaker wired up and the deck is wired to the stock radio plug so it could be a bad ground somewere else time for a ground kit i guise

ghettogeddy
05-04-2008, 07:58 PM
My brothers Samurai did that when his alternator went out, but all I can think about is a dead short (through your speaker wires(Like if you didn't use your rear outputs and didn't protect the ends, or one of your speaker terminals are grounding to the chassis)) or you grounded the HU to something you shouldn't have (like the stock ground or a loose ground.)

All I can say about that... My amp draws 60 amps at full tilt, and hardly dims my lights, so I doubt "25 watts" will draw enough to do that...
For future purchases, don't look at "Max watts"... I think I made myself clear above^^

ive never had a prob using the stock radio ground but in cahs car you never know lol his alt is prolly going bad

Bass Man
05-04-2008, 08:15 PM
Lol^^

Yeah, I have never had a problem there, but I've seen enough cars with bad grounds...

I grounded my front left speaker in my 87 DX, so that's somewhere to start...

Are you sure your rear wires aren't grounding somewhere?

MessyHonda
05-04-2008, 10:39 PM
m lights dont dim....napa alternator for the win

Civic Accord Honda
05-05-2008, 01:23 AM
Lol^^

Yeah, I have never had a problem there, but I've seen enough cars with bad grounds...

I grounded my front left speaker in my 87 DX, so that's somewhere to start...

Are you sure your rear wires aren't grounding somewhere?
yep unless the wire is cut somewhere and touching the body
and i know the front aren't since i replaced the front speaker wire
im pretty sure the alt is good it was replaced in jan 2006 by the old owner
maybe its the battery? i just have the cheapest walmart battery in there lol

GraniteLXI
05-05-2008, 06:49 AM
Yes, do NOT show off your system in cities.... I had a good setup with a 1000 watt volfenhag (hooked to a 1.5 farad volfenhag cap) divided among 2 alphasonics in a sealed box, and 2 pioneer 6x9's hooked up to a 500 watt rockford fosgate. Audio came from a decent VR3 deck, but all and all i loved that system, it made my cavi a very happy dd..

The Damage: They smashed the small window to get in and unlock the car, (2 door) and they couldn't get into my trunk so they drilled out the rear lock and that didn't work yet.... so they ripped my back seat off the rear trunk wall (it was SOLID it was never meant to fold down) and there were metal beams in the way to hold the seat, but my amps could fit through them. Then to get my subs they must have taken a crow bar or some shit and just popped the fucker open because my trunk refused to stay closed. They did this all unnoticed within a 3 hour window when my buddy and I were away. The lesson? ONLY person who should know about your system when you park your car in a big city is you and only you. My only thing i am happy for is that i didn't have this system in my 3gee!

My god did that thing pound and my cap did a very nice job of keeping my lights from dimming unless under a very heavy load, but I was stupid and played it loud in green bay everywhere I went, not a good choice and i wish i had known or understood that sooner...

ONLY show it off if you have a nice garage to park it in, and even then turn the bass off when your on your way home!

Its been 2 years since that happened and I haven't seen anything from that system, they took everything and the police didn't do shit!...I haven't given up tho, i currently have 1 12 with a little 200 watt amp that its bridged to in my 3gee just for a little fun but I'm still very cautious with it. So far i have a Volfenhag ZX8400 as my next sub amp, its literally been sitting in my closet for about 2 years now awaiting subs that can handle it. Bought it to make myself feel better after getting everything ripped off...
http://cardiscountstereos.com/Images_For_Catalog/ZX8400.jpg
I was thinking of going all Volfenhag...they treat me very well it seems.

Bass Man
05-05-2008, 09:31 AM
Ahhh... Good Ol' "Hack 'n Gag", eh??

Alphasonics and Volfenhag... That just sounds loud... lol.

I knew someone with a pair of "Water-cooled" 12's in a sealed box... He also had a 3g DX... That thing was pretty loud and sounded nice.

88ctlxi
05-09-2008, 09:24 AM
in other words don't stick your sub box in plain view on the back deck with giant stickers saying what kind of system you got lol. i see it all the time here especially the mexicans ,usually driving beat to shit camaros with giant sub boxes in plain view in the hatch. not a good idea.

got to love the steal me stickers hahaha

88ctlxi
05-09-2008, 09:34 AM
i used to have a set of jl 15s with a lil 600 watt pheonix gold in my 3 gee that pounded pretty good but some one broke my rear window and stole the whole set right through my fold down back seat but the lesson i learned is yes bolt your box down and dont bolt your amp to the box either especially where everyone can see it as i did (it was mounted to the back right behind the folded down seat

Bass Man
05-09-2008, 10:41 AM
I like BIG boxes... And the one I have in my 3g right now is about 18" tall, and I DON'T have a fold down seat... So I took a sheetmetal shear to the rear and cut a lot of things out of the way...

You can't steal my subs with the box, cuz you gotta take the subs out to get the box to fit, lol... And my amp is now hidden under my seat... There is a LOT of room under them seats!

88ctlxi
05-09-2008, 11:14 AM
I like BIG boxes... And the one I have in my 3g right now is about 18" tall, and I DON'T have a fold down seat... So I took a sheetmetal shear to the rear and cut a lot of things out of the way...

You can't steal my subs with the box, cuz you gotta take the subs out to get the box to fit, lol... And my amp is now hidden under my seat... There is a LOT of room under them seats!

:rly: thats good to know ive never actually taken my seat out to look i just wanted a quick plug and play that was a mistake:uh:

88ctlxi
05-09-2008, 11:21 AM
the one i plan on getting unless you can make me one bassman is 12 inches high by 32 inches wide but there will be 72 lbs worth of 10in subs in it so i dont think theyll be pulling that one thru the back seat let alone im going to bolt it down and i think im going to mount the amp under the box where the spare goes cuz if i get a flat im usually close enought to home to get the truck and trsiler so who needs a spare hahaha but i think that what my plans are for the near future u think???

Bass Man
05-09-2008, 01:42 PM
I can design you a box that will absolutly SLAM in that thing with 2 10's...

With avaliable space taken into consideration, I would ONLY suggest 2 10's, 2 small 12's, or 1 15"...

What kinda of subs are you getting?? Sounds like either Atomic X's, RE audio, or those new Cervin Vega Max-X's...

Bass Man
05-09-2008, 01:51 PM
:rly: thats good to know ive never actually taken my seat out to look i just wanted a quick plug and play that was a mistake:uh:

A while ago, I was talking to a customer about making his system a "Quick release" type setup (we don't have any audio theft around here. Too small of a town) in his 89 CRX... Those CRX's get LOUD really easy, so I put a 12" Alpine Type R (1222D) and a Hifonics BX605...

I built the box to support the amp being mounted on the baffle, and one day I thought, welding leads are quick release and 0/1AWG, so why not have the ground and power wire with those welding leads, so all you have to do is disconnect the RCA's, remote wire, and pop those Leads off and there goes the box, ready to hit the drag strip!

lostforawhile
05-09-2008, 01:51 PM
what do think about the older bazookas? i gutted the amp out of a powered one,reinforced it to take out any rattles, i am runnig the signal through a pyramid active crossover network and using that to tune the tube properly then powering it with an EXM 510 the good sony,before they went to garbage. the original tube amp was a joke, and it was set up with the wrong crossover frequency. it actually was playing midbase out the tube when it was stock lol.

lostforawhile
05-09-2008, 01:59 PM
heres what the amp looks like, these are getting hard to find,they are a very clean sounding amp, why sony abandoned that design i don't know. i guess selling massive amounts of cheap amps to young ricers was more important then selling quality ones. the all mighty dollar,.http://audio.carsbg.net/images/SONY-EXM502-.jpg

Bass Man
05-09-2008, 02:08 PM
Quicker nickle...

Mobil ES is the only thing anyone should look at in a Sony... Xplod is total crap.

Civic Accord Honda
05-09-2008, 02:53 PM
i still really need to get 2 amps and a sub or 2
i want to keep useing the stock prelude cd deck just want to run speakers thu a amp and another amp for a sub (Would also need new speakers) lol

and i put a new battery in the accord and no more dash lights dimming (Y)
the lcd on the radio still does a lilttle but thats probley just from the speakers taking the power away or something idk lol

lostforawhile
05-09-2008, 05:30 PM
Quicker nickle...

Mobil ES is the only thing anyone should look at in a Sony... Xplod is total crap.well the exm series are pre explode. if you can find one in good shape grab it. they were some of the best amps sony ever made. just getting rare. paid 30 dollars used for this one, looks brand new,have been running it six years with no problem. it's 180 watts rms and can be bridged and is true stable into two ohms bridged. dam fine amps. then they started selling the chinese made bullshit.

Bass Man
05-09-2008, 06:16 PM
Holy crap! 2 ohms bridged stable on an A/B class amp?? That's something to be proud of.

I got a Profile amp sitting in my room, I just don't find the need to amplify my Mids/High's just yet!

lostforawhile
05-09-2008, 07:03 PM
Holy crap! 2 ohms bridged stable on an A/B class amp?? That's something to be proud of.

I got a Profile amp sitting in my room, I just don't find the need to amplify my Mids/High's just yet!
yea they were great amps,can somone explain why sony started selling garbage when they used to make good stuff?:thumbdn:

Bass Man
05-09-2008, 07:06 PM
Domestic>Import.

88ctlxi
05-10-2008, 07:35 AM
I can design you a box that will absolutly SLAM in that thing with 2 10's...

With avaliable space taken into consideration, I would ONLY suggest 2 10's, 2 small 12's, or 1 15"...

What kinda of subs are you getting?? Sounds like either Atomic X's, RE audio, or those new Cervin Vega Max-X's...
i have a set of orion hcca comps the first versions there freakin insane the magnent is the same size as the cone i love them just have to find the right god damn amp to push them cuz they are 600watts rms per voice coil and yes they are dvc wish i had a camera to post some pics of them but i dont :violin: hahahaha but the box would have to be 1.5 cuft per chamber ported and it has to be made of at least 3/4 mdf lemme know what you would do it for

88ctlxi
05-10-2008, 07:43 AM
A while ago, I was talking to a customer about making his system a "Quick release" type setup (we don't have any audio theft around here. Too small of a town) in his 89 CRX... Those CRX's get LOUD really easy, so I put a 12" Alpine Type R (1222D) and a Hifonics BX605...

I built the box to support the amp being mounted on the baffle, and one day I thought, welding leads are quick release and 0/1AWG, so why not have the ground and power wire with those welding leads, so all you have to do is disconnect the RCA's, remote wire, and pop those Leads off and there goes the box, ready to hit the drag strip!

thats a really good idea now that i found what i think i am going to run for an amp and thats the older hcca comp 2400 class d mono and that amp you have to run 1/0awg wire for popwer and ground and have to run 16awg for remote turn on its pretty beastly if i do say so myself but thats a good idea to have a totally removable setup just have to find a way to make it theft proof thats all............we need a trunk monkey!!!

Bass Man
12-14-2009, 11:52 PM
Bump...

Bass Man
12-15-2009, 12:38 AM
In the sub enclosure section, there is a hotlink "best" which goes to Pete's blog page, not his designing page (http://www.pwkdesigns.com/). He truly is a wiz with the wood...

89T
12-15-2009, 04:44 AM
call me old school or whatever, but why do you steer people away from multiple battery's?
The reason I ask is I have had in the past multiple systems ranging from 2500-4000 watts RMS with 1 to 4 extra battery's and never encountered dimming lights.. I never babied them either. I will admit I went through 1 alt a year, but i only had to buy the first one the rest were free.
Ya, I was installing way back when the caps first hit the market and i felt and always will feel that they are a waste of money.

I know alot has changed in the years i have been away from car audio, so would you mind enlightening me.

Bass Man
12-15-2009, 10:05 AM
Well, a long time ago (Probably when I was on CS.com 6 years ago) we were discussing the second battery and a member, who everyone respected as one of the best there, said if you're having a problem keeping one battery up, your gonna have a bigger problem trying to keep another one up.

89T
12-15-2009, 04:10 PM
hmm, I never had any problems keeping them up.

ghettogeddy
12-15-2009, 04:22 PM
i can agree with that if your alt cant keep one up it wont keep a 2nd lol

AccordB20A
12-15-2009, 09:20 PM
i have some pretty severe dimming lights in my car, ive tried everything apart from replacing my battery to fix the problem so a battery must be what i need. mine must be fucked. even tho it starts the car mintly and is a big 550cca

Bass Man
12-15-2009, 09:22 PM
You upgraded all your grounds and the ground on the amp is bigger than the power wire, right???

AccordB20A
12-15-2009, 09:37 PM
yeah ive upgraded all the wires pretty much. 1awg cables to the amp.

89T
12-16-2009, 05:08 AM
this is what i would recommend. If you have done all the necessary wire upgrades ect,ect...... remember all amp grounds should be shorter than 12".
First I'd get a minimum of 850CCA batt as it should be upgraded anyway. That alone should help tremendously. If that does not fully solve the problem which it probably wont add that 550cca batt with a battery isolator and a circuit breaker. keep the ground as short as possible..
You just nearly doubled the storage capacity.
You will also notice the system will sound cleaner....
Also with a second battery near the amplifiers you have effectively shortened the power wire by 10+ feet.

the down fall as i stated above in my personal experience. I am guessing you may know what i am talking about.
The alternator is taking a huge hit every time the bass hits. the more likely reason you're light's dim is because you are pulling more current than the alternator can readily deliver with a low amount of storage. Once the storage is diminished the electrical system souley relies on the alternator to keep up with its current needs.

In you're current situation i would guess you go through alternators frequently, you can do what i did and just replace it once a year or get a custom wound alternator that can handle 125-150+amps.

But hey what do i know, when i started all the made were class a and class a/b amplifiers.
Some may not agree, and i am fine with that. I'd like to hear their solution aswell.;)

89T
12-20-2009, 09:38 AM
accordb20a, have you repaired the issue?

The three of us probably wont come to a compramise, so I hate to leave you dead in the water. I gave you a soulution and i got no rebuttle on it. Wheather or not i am right or wrong. So it will be up to you to decide on the plan of action.
What i posted is from personal experiance, and not from what someone told me.

keep us posted!

Bass Man
12-20-2009, 06:50 PM
Yep, a second battery should only be a last resort. If you got all your t's crossed with the grounds, then you could look into secondary power supplies. XS Power batteries (http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&q=xs+power.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=rOEuS9isCI6mswPXl9HJBA&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CCYQrQQwAg[URL="http://[B") are what most the competition sound guy's use.

AccordB20A
12-22-2009, 12:46 AM
im guessing it HAS to be the battery or the ground wire from the amp to the chassis, ive been hard at work lately so ive had no time

when i replaced my alternator the other day cause it blew up when the car wasnt even runing the alt i replaced it with seems to have made the light dimming problem get smaller, i can now have my music louder before they will start to dim, so theres half the problem that alternator was/has been on its way out.

I should really upgrade to a legend alternator, what do they put out like 100 or so amps???

Bass Man
12-22-2009, 12:13 PM
Legend alt's are 100 amp?!?! I'll go get one right now.... lol

Most the times when your alt doesn't charge and your battery gets beat up, they don't come back most the time.

accordion89
12-22-2009, 01:55 PM
When you look in my car you cant tell I have anything, stock speaker covers and no wires showing

I like half the cars with iPod stickers in seattle, lol,

got a iPod, its wired from my dashbox to the back of my deck, cant see my 80gig

accordion89
12-22-2009, 01:56 PM
my car might look stock but it has 99 horsepower!

Xybris
12-22-2009, 02:31 PM
^ Oh shit, look out! I put 79hp down on the wheels, lol... I have the dyno sheet somewhere.

MessyHonda
12-24-2009, 12:42 AM
Legend alt's are 100 amp?!?! I'll go get one right now.... lol

Most the times when your alt doesn't charge and your battery gets beat up, they don't come back most the time.

i dont think it works with the carb only fuel injected but you can prob make it work or just get a high output one from ebay

Bass Man
12-24-2009, 12:44 AM
I might fall into an LX-i tomorrow. ;)

MessyHonda
12-24-2009, 03:56 PM
When you look in my car you cant tell I have anything, stock speaker covers and no wires showing

I like half the cars with iPod stickers in seattle, lol,

got a iPod, its wired from my dashbox to the back of my deck, cant see my 80gig

yeah i wanted to go stock but you really cant hide component speakers...i love my ipod set up...its really nice to listen to clear music

AccordB20A
12-25-2009, 12:01 PM
4 pin alternators can be made to work in carb cars you just need to lop the 3 pin plug of the carby loom and match the colours and use a 4 pin, the 4th wire ..well just ignore it. all the other times i have fucked alternators i did this the other way around, my engine loom has both now a 3 pin and 4 pin haha back when i had a shitty amp that used to make my alternators blow up all the time.

gtmst3
01-04-2010, 05:15 AM
can any one help me? i dont know what capacitor to use im running a 1200 watt amp and 2 12" kenwood 1200 watt peak subs

Bass Man
01-04-2010, 07:49 AM
Never use a capasitor. Your battery/grounds aren't up to par if your lights are dimming. A good battery is a little less $ than a crapasitor, so get a really good battery instead.

accordion89
01-04-2010, 02:40 PM
I thought capacitors lessen direct draw on the battery, of course you should have a good ground wire, not trying to argue with anyone, i got my cap for $25 new on ebay, its not a fosgate but i dont think it really matters because theres not alot to caps, there just over priced like computers

My lights dont dim, I do have a good ground and 4 awg wire, I also have a cap, because a friend recomended it because his lights dimmed, but maybe his shit wasn't grounded properly

I really shouldnt post because i have lost all interest in stereo stuff, never put sound deadiner like i had planned, I just let it slap

I forget the formula for capacitance charge, i beleive it takes 5 something to charge 1 farad, its been awhile since i dropped out of college, lol

ok just rip on my post now

gtmst3
01-04-2010, 05:30 PM
lol well i have a optima red top less than a year old 6 months maby and 0gauge wire as ground so idkk im going to try a cap but idk what size to get

Bass Man
01-04-2010, 05:34 PM
http://www.carstereo.com/forum/showthread.cfm?tid=15298

lessismorespl has been my source for hating capasitors. He's been doing audio for 20+ years.

Bass Man
01-04-2010, 05:35 PM
lol well i have a optima red top less than a year old 6 months maby
There's your problem...

accordion89
01-04-2010, 05:52 PM
oh good jesus, whats the problem?

Bass Man
01-04-2010, 06:00 PM
You didn't see the whole thread about Optima and how in the last couple years, the price went up and the quality went WAY down?

I'm running close to 1500watts rms to my setup and it doesn't dim much at all. It dimmed a little before I put a bigass ground from the battery to the strut tower.

accordion89
01-04-2010, 06:18 PM
no i didnt see the thread, nor did i see any post from gtmst about his lights dimming, but I'm sure an optima battery is better if not the same as my 40 dollar shucks battery, idk, I dont have any problems with my system or dimming, I do know at one point before i put in my subs a guy at the audio store tried to sell me a power cell for some redicuelus price

gtmst3
01-04-2010, 06:37 PM
my lights do dim and under high load the radio will actually turn off wen im idleing like at a light or somthing then turn back on wen i start driving and i appoligise my bttery is actually about 2 1/2 years old maby three and i started out with a yellow top but my system killed it within the week

accordion89
01-04-2010, 07:07 PM
sounds like you have a bad ground, and or your battery clamps are shot, if my car was doing that because of bass, I would take my subwoofers and amp out

you gave alot more info than before, when did you get your car? when did you get the subs? who put them in? how does your engine run?

take your car into an auto part store and have them run a free diognostic on the battery

gtmst3
01-04-2010, 07:13 PM
i work in an auto shop ive had the car for 3 1/2-4 years put the system in about a year later did a battery relocation the right way and changed all the grounds used 0 gauge new battery clamps etc. the only thing that i could be possibly needing other that a cap is maby my voltage regulator is bad

oh and it did the same thing before the relocation so that had no effect

accordion89
01-04-2010, 07:21 PM
my friend had a bad voltage regulator in his 200sx, and thats what his car did, he would have to rev his car up to keep the lights on, then would dim with anything on, winsheild wipers, if you work at a autoshop what do your coworkers say? your batery is old but it shouldnt do that, i had my battery clamp come off and my car still ran, my battery light came on at idle, and i put it back on

gtmst3
01-05-2010, 11:37 AM
thats what they said the voltage regulator ill have to test it dont want to spend the 90 to replace the alt though

accordion89
01-05-2010, 11:46 AM
if your car needs it, man up and buy it, you didnt get the amps and subs for less than $90

I dont like buying gas but my car needs it, i buy it

gtmst3
01-05-2010, 02:52 PM
im going to see how long it will last first or try a jy voltage regulator for cheap

accordion89
01-05-2010, 04:04 PM
when I'm low on gas, i dont see how long my car will go, I'm going to have to fill it up anyway

gtmst3
01-05-2010, 04:32 PM
lol

Bass Man
01-05-2010, 06:46 PM
I got a couple alternators here if you want one.

Ruths3g
01-15-2024, 08:39 PM
i think on the 1800wattfosgate i had i never turned the gain up past maybe 10% maybe evn 5% that thing was awsome

How did you get the power wire through the firewall I can't find any grommets on an lxi hatch

Oldblueaccord
01-16-2024, 05:29 PM
How did you get the power wire through the firewall I can't find any grommets on an lxi hatch

Middle of the fire wall there is a grommet covering a hole, thats a good spot.