Can someone help out a car stereo illiterate person

TDEBass · Post by **TDEBass** » Mon May 30, 2005 1:17 pm

Hey everyone, first post.

Basically my story is....I love music, play bass guitar in a band...it rubs off onto my love of stereos and my LOVE of bass.

I'm driving around a '96 chevy corsica (just plain jane, no interior or exterior body mods). I've got a Pioneer 200w deck, and I've had my subs for the longest time, but no amplifier.

I'm rockin' Two 12" Kicker CompVRs, rated at 400w RMS. If I remember correctly, they're dual coils, so they're 8 ohm subs. I just recently bought an Audiofonics mono/2 channel (bridgeable) 800w amplifier for the two...I'm just lookin for a comfortable amount of bass, nothing competition worthy.

Now to my question: Can anybody clue me into the types of things I'm going to want to buy for installing this?? What type of wiring, will I need and/or what kind of a power capacitor will I want or need, ect.???

If anybody can help me out, it would be extremely helpful.
Thanks a lot.

Jonathan · Post by **Jonathan** » Mon May 30, 2005 6:41 pm

Capacitor isn't worth the time of day IMO. Alternator would be the thing to focus on if you have issues with drawing too much current.

For wiring, go over to http://www.knukonceptz.com and grab yourself a 4 guage kit. Best wiring kits for the money spent.

Ryan from Ohio · Post by **Ryan from Ohio** » Mon May 30, 2005 6:44 pm

Never heard of the amp...

Tell us what fuse size is in/on the amp and we cant tell you what size wire you will want.

Also the possibility of adding a second amp to amp the fronts??

Probably 8ga wire for this amp will be plenty. If you may add another amp later I would go with 4ga wiring.

NO CAPS!!!

lotas · Post by **lotas** » Mon May 30, 2005 8:06 pm

TDEBass wrote:Hey everyone, first post.

Basically my story is....I love music, play bass guitar in a band...it rubs off onto my love of stereos and my LOVE of bass.

I'm driving around a '96 chevy corsica (just plain jane, no interior or exterior body mods). I've got a Pioneer 200w deck, and I've had my subs for the longest time, but no amplifier.

I'm rockin' Two 12" Kicker CompVRs, rated at 400w RMS. If I remember correctly, they're dual coils, so they're 8 ohm subs. I just recently bought an Audiofonics mono/2 channel (bridgeable) 800w amplifier for the two...I'm just lookin for a comfortable amount of bass, nothing competition worthy.

Now to my question: Can anybody clue me into the types of things I'm going to want to buy for installing this?? What type of wiring, will I need and/or what kind of a power capacitor will I want or need, ect.???

If anybody can help me out, it would be extremely helpful.
Thanks a lot.

like jonathan and bass said, just get a kit, it will have everything you need to install your amp, RCA's, speaker wire, power wire, ground wire, remote turn-on wire, spade/ring terminals and wire ties, basically you should be set.

By the way your pioneer HU is not 200w, its probably around 18-24watts RMS x 4channels so more like 80w. Brands rate their units like that at max, so they will put 50x4 on there to make people think its 50watts, honestly who wants to buy a HU with only 18watts of power going to a speaker?!

just some useful info, do you already know about max power vs. RMS power and what the two mean?

TDEBass · Post by **TDEBass** » Tue May 31, 2005 1:53 pm

Yeah, I know the difference between RMS and Max...

I was planning on buying a wiring kit, so everything came together...I guess the big question I have is about the capacitor/alternator thing...I guess I'm just curious as to whether it's necessary to buy either/or, or if you can go without it?? Will I run the risk of shorting the amp out if I dont have it??

lotas · Post by **lotas** » Tue May 31, 2005 1:56 pm

I wouldnt even worry about a capacitor. Find out what your stock alternator's rating is, how many amps. Find out if its max or at idle too. Then goto the FAQ section and use the Charging Systems thread to calculate your systems max RMS. This will tell you if you need to upgrade your charging system.

Ryan from Ohio · Post by **Ryan from Ohio** » Tue May 31, 2005 3:56 pm

You still missed the key question:

How many amps will your system draw?

Nobody can help you for sure untill this has been answered :)

Darthness · Post by **Darthness** » Tue May 31, 2005 6:54 pm

lotas wrote:like jonathan and bass said, just get a kit, it will have everything you need to install your amp, RCA's, speaker wire, power wire, ground wire, remote turn-on wire, spade/ring terminals and wire ties, basically you should be set.

By the way your pioneer HU is not 200w, its probably around 18-24watts RMS x 4channels so more like 80w. Brands rate their units like that at max, so they will put 50x4 on there to make people think its 50watts, honestly who wants to buy a HU with only 18watts of power going to a speaker?!

just some useful info, do you already know about max power vs. RMS power and what the two mean?

this is off topic and derailing, but i'm quite satisified with what my system does, being under 25watts RMS to each spaker..

Of course, i have some kickass coaxils in the back, one day before i put my sub/s in im going to get it metered or what ever. i swear my basic system is better then most :P (just need new front speakers.. blaupunkt fronts = bad)

Justin from Detroit1 · Tue May 31, 2005 7:23 pm

Most meters won't read lower then 120dB, and without subs, I doubt you'll hit it.

audiobass10 · Post by **audiobass10** » Tue May 31, 2005 8:49 pm

Darthness wrote:this is off topic and derailing, but i'm quite satisified with what my system does, being under 25watts RMS to each spaker..

Of course, i have some kickass coaxils in the back, one day before i put my sub/s in im going to get it metered or what ever. i swear my basic system is better then most :P (just need new front speakers.. blaupunkt fronts = bad)

Blaupunkt coaxials aren't bad IMO. I compared the PC series to the Infinity References and couldn't tell a major difference in the two. The Blaupunkts didn't lack midbass nearly as much as the Infinities, but the infinities may have gotten slightly louder. It was really close. I chose Blaupunkt since they were like $30 cheaper per pair from my local shop.