Getting Subwoofer's installed in my car

[Penisland]

Any of you guys have systems installed?? I need a bit help with mine that I am thinking of putting in

 

they are 2 12" FI Q's and tehy are running at 1 ohms each, and will be hooked up to a 1 ohm stable class D amp that runs about 3,000 watts RMS )

 

gonna be a banging system fo sho but I need help with a few things

 

 

anyone helps me?

[Antichrist]

That's a bit much lol. I'd help, but that's more power than I've ever dealt with.

 

What do you need help with? I'd be happy to help if I can..

[TulsaGeoff]

If they are 1 Ohm each single coil subs then you can only run them at .5 ohm or 2ohm when you wire them in either parallel or series?

 

Not sure but that does not look like the right setup at first glance. I had 2 Kicker L7 12's with a Kicker 1200w amp in a big ported box. It is loud enough to push snow off the roof of it after snow storms with the roof being sucked in and pushed out due to the pressure in the cab. So basically way too loud for me these days. I run it with the amp turned way down and really low on the receivers control.

 

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A RECEIVER WITH INDEPENDENT SUB CONTROL.

 

If that amp really puts out that much power you may want to reconsider unless you are doing it for competition or something.

[Penisland]

I think if they both are 1 ohm coils then you can wire them to a 1 ohm load...anyways my question is

 

do you think this might be too much ? I want a good sub that has nice sound quality as well as beats hard and this sub does both of those any recomendations?

 

if i get these subs I would have to get a high output alternator and 2 extra batteries lol dont want spend all that $

 

and what do you mean by have a independent sub control? like the equalzer?

 

thanks

[Antichrist]

If you're not going to compete, and you just want a solid bass boost, I'd look in the 300-500 watt RMS range. The quality of the sound will depend on the box used, subs you use, and how clean your amp signal is.

If you want a little more power, Try 500-750 watts RMS. For daily driving/personal use, I personally wouldn't suggest more than that.

 

Bascially, don't ever buy an amp by "OMG 50000 WATTS!" advertising.

Shop by RMS wattage. I always match my subs to an amp by buying subs that are rated a little higher than the amp's RMS output.

 

You get more bang for your buck when you use an amp that is 2, or 1 ohm stable, allowing you to wire 2 subs, but it depends on the number of voice coils, and their impedance.

 

If wired incorrectly, you'll present your amp with a load below its stable rating, it'll overheat, and it'll destroy the amp.

 

First, decide what you want this system to do:

 

How loud do you want it to go?

 

What music do you listen to mostly?

 

Do you like your bass to boom (like rap music), or do you like a nice tight bass response (like rock music)?

[Chuckun]

You already sound like you know enough to research what you buy and match things properly. So I wouldn't worry.

 

All I would suggest is, upgrade your car battery to AT LEAST a dual 60Ah (Amp-Hour) battery setup, if there's room under the hood, (have a second battery installed in parallel with the other) (I did this myself but that's because I have all the necessary industrial equipment to do pretty much anything to a vehicle).

 

Failing that, upgrade to a beefy 100ah+ battery.. Last setup I was involved in was in a van.. Super setup, with three 120Ah batteries.. But that was designed to be able to be used without the vehicle running for hours..

[TulsaGeoff]

I think if they both are 1 ohm coils then you can wire them to a 1 ohm load...anyways my question is

 

thanks

 

No. If you have single voice coil 1 ohm subs you will not want a class D single channel 1ohm sub amp. Your optimal wiring will be .5 (parallel) or 2 (series). If they are dual 1 ohm voice coil you will want a .25 or 4 ohm amp.

 

I found this nifty calculator: http://www.the12volt.com/caraudio/boxcalcs.asp

 

If you are going that big on the amp. My car did fine with big aftermarket alternator (the amp had 2 150amp fuses = huge power draw). I think it was 80-120 amps. Can't remember... That was 8 years ago when I bought it. If your alternator is big enough you will not have to worry about capacitors or anything like that. You will want bigger wiring for your amp power if you are using 1000 watts. I'd recommend at least 4 guage (You definitely do not want some crappy 10g or something that may come with some standard kit). Also research boxes. I think I had my ported box tuned to around 20-25hz (Not really sure, please research frequencies). It sounds good with metal and keep up with the fasts drummers. Different frequencies and sizes will sound different. A sealed box will be significantly more quiet than a ported, but some will arguee that it will have a more punchy/responsive/faster beat. I say a properly tuned ported box will do the same but be much for efficient. A pure competition box will be about 40-60hz and will sound terrible on music.

[TulsaGeoff]

No. If you have single voice coil 1 ohm subs you will not want a class D single channel 1ohm sub amp. Your optimal wiring will be .5 (parallel) or 2 (series). If they are dual 1 ohm voice coil you will want a .25 or 4 ohm amp.

 

I found this nifty calculator: http://www.the12volt.com/caraudio/boxcalcs.asp

 

If you are going that big on the amp. My car did fine with big aftermarket alternator (the amp had 2 150amp fuses = huge power draw). I think it was 80-120 amps. Can't remember... That was 8 years ago when I bought it. If your alternator is big enough you will not have to worry about capacitors or anything like that. You will want bigger wiring for your amp power if you are using 1000 watts. I'd recommend at least 4 guage (You definitely do not want some crappy 10g or something that may come with some standard kit). Also research boxes. I think I had my ported box tuned to around 20-25hz (Not really sure, please research frequencies). It sounds good with metal and keep up with the fasts drummers. Different frequencies and sizes will sound different. A sealed box will be significantly more quiet than a ported, but some will arguee that it will have a more punchy/responsive/faster beat. I say a properly tuned ported box will do the same but be much for efficient. A pure competition box will be about 40-60hz and will sound terrible on music.

 

Basically what I'm saying is go here and research before you spend money or kill your cars eletrical system.

http://www.caraudioforum.com/

[Penisland]

Basically what I'm saying is go here and research before you spend money or kill your cars eletrical system.

http://www.caraudioforum.com/

 

 

Thanks man

 

after doing some thinking and such I decided to go with 2 JL audio 12w6 running at 4 ohms They are rated at 600 rms each and I want to run a 1000 amp to power them..wich means less electrical work on my car and more money to spend on some decent component speakrs

 

should still sound pretty good though eh?

 

cant wait

[TulsaGeoff]

Thanks man

 

after doing some thinking and such I decided to go with 2 JL audio 12w6 running at 4 ohms They are rated at 600 rms each and I want to run a 1000 amp to power them..wich means less electrical work on my car and more money to spend on some decent component speakrs

 

should still sound pretty good though eh?

 

cant wait

 

It's been a long time since I researched all of this, but awhile back the JL w3's were pretty much as good as the w6's. I believe they can handle alot more than they are rated at. As long as you are not distorting the subs which will kill any sub, a QUALITY sub can easily exceed its RMS. JL is a good brand though. I believe their amps are good as well.

 

Box design is also important. Look into that. Getting two less expensive w3s and having someone build a nice ported box will beat having the w6's in a sealed environment.

 

Look into your alternator rating as mentioned several times earlier.

 

Definitely look into a seperate sub control adjustment so you can turn it down without trying to turn it down with bass. Sometimes I have to turn my sub control to 0 and bass to 0 eliminate most sub volume.

[Achiyan]

just to throw it out there so i can jump into the conversation ( ), i had 2 900 watt 12s and a 1500 watt amp to push em. i thought that that would work out cus i didnt do the proper research. turned out that the amp was only 65 watts RMS blew that to smithereens and had a BBQ in the trunk......

[TulsaGeoff]

just to throw it out there so i can jump into the conversation ( ), i had 2 900 watt 12s and a 1500 watt amp to push em. i thought that that would work out cus i didnt do the proper research. turned out that the amp was only 65 watts RMS blew that to smithereens and had a BBQ in the trunk......

 

Not all amps are created equal! Good point. Most amps do not perform what they are marketed as. JL, Rockford, Kicker, and the many competetition brands MMATS, etc will however. My kicker ZR-1000 was "only" guaranteed 1000w. It came with a birthsheet that said the amp did 1139watts actual. Do not go cheap on the amp. It will kill your system

[Penisland]

just to throw it out there so i can jump into the conversation ( ), i had 2 900 watt 12s and a 1500 watt amp to push em. i thought that that would work out cus i didnt do the proper research. turned out that the amp was only 65 watts RMS blew that to smithereens and had a BBQ in the trunk......

 

 

ouch man makes me sad on the inside hearing that lol...

 

but on a good note..there are a lot of good "not well known" companies now adays taht BLOW away all expectations, and are used constantly by people in competitions. They are even reviewed better than the most well know companies, JL, Rockford, kicker etc..

 

 

try soundown, cresecendo, audioque, all those are some of the best amps that put out more than their rated rms at 1 ohms

[TulsaGeoff]

Another thing to consider, an amp cannot give its raited power if the alternator is not giving it its full voltages.

[Penisland]

so i changed up my equipment decison again

 

 

for the subs: im getting 2 IDMAX eitehe 10 or 12"...they are one of the best sq subs

 

for components: (front) Focal 165 vr3..rear(alpine type x coaxials)

 

amp: sundown saz 1500 for subs and not decided yet for components

 

head unit: eclipse or alpine

 

external processor : jbl ms-8 ))))))

 

 

ad a whole lot of dynamat

 

 

will put up a vid once its all done and set up