So hear is my question. Im wondering if i wil need to upgrade my alternator, and what kind of battery?
My Cavy will have:
Big 3 done in 1/0 awg
70wrms x 4 amp, Run to trunk with 4 awg
1800wrms mono amp. ( been told it will only put out 1600w tops) run to trunk with 1/0 or 1 awg
160 amp alternator
The research I have done is saying i will need to upgrade to a 200 amp alt, however i have heard people here have 2000w systems on stock alt???
I have also heard that a second battery is only needed if you plan on running audio with car off. which i WONT be, my car will always be ON when stereo is on.
I will never have the volume maxed out, probably just be listenning with it not exceeding 50% volume/power. Every now and then im sure i would show off to friend but still not crank it all the way for more then 5 minutes
SO, what will I need for Alternator and Battery???
Help is greatly appreciated
Thanks Guys
you do not need to upgrade your alternator, i currently have two 1250w earthquake tremors and a 1800 watt amp going to them and all the components are upgraded as well, with a kenwood 7in in dash dvd player, occasionally when the bass drops really low the lights will dim a little, but nothing too serious. and i drive around with it blasting lol, yeah i would be the ass hole next to someone rattling their mirrors lol. you will be fine with the alt u have.
if it can't win a race it better win a show
Some of it depends on what amps youll be running. As some are more efficient than others.
Just run a main 1/0 wire and split it at the end with a distribution block.
Depending what motor you have id suggest an HO Gm large case alt swap. Most HO AD244 are doing like 220 amps which will be more than enough.
I run an Optima Yellow Top at the front. You can get Kinetik Power Cells but most of them are too large to fit in the engine bay. So you could run a large battery but just relocate it to the rear. Theres a lot of different ways to do the battery setup.
Will it be any different having seperate cables run to each amp?
or should I pull out the 4 awg and run a single 1/0 awg and split it at the end with a distribution block?
I Have a:
power akoustic A3000DB 1800wrms @ 2 ohms
Sony Xplod ZR 70wrms x4 @ 4 ohms
**( Yeah i know, nothing high qality, its my first car, system and build ) its a start
SOO, can i just keep the 160 amp alt I have and be alright with a yellow top battery upgrade?
Yes you can.
Your car may do 13 sec @ 103 mph, but my car does 146db @ 35 hz.
1fast 2point3 wrote:you do not need to upgrade your alternator, i currently have two 1250w earthquake tremors and a 1800 watt amp going to them and all the components are upgraded as well, with a kenwood 7in in dash dvd player, occasionally when the bass drops really low the lights will dim a little, but nothing too serious. and i drive around with it blasting lol, yeah i would be the ass hole next to someone rattling their mirrors lol. you will be fine with the alt u have.
Please never give audio advice again. Kthnxbi
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
In my family we teach that boys have a God-stick and girls have a Shame Cave. -John Stewart
Thanks Lanman.
one more question then
The car already has a 4 awg cable run to the trunk from a previous system. I was going to be running 1/0 awg to my PA and leaving the 4 awg for the sony.
Or should I remove the 4 awg and just run the 1/0 and split with distributer intot the 2 amps. Is one method more efficiant/better then the other?
It just keeps the amount of wire down. Id run a Dblock but leaving the 4 gauge wont hurt anything.
what is a DBlock? I looked it up on google and all im getting is some black rap thugs. (no joke) haha
And that sounds good because im not sure if the 1/0 will fit under the clipping on the driver side of the door with the 4 awg there.
distribution block...
"Hondas are like tampons, every pussy has one!!!"
Ha! You can get one run of 1/0 under your carpet and you wont notice it.
lovely, sounds like a plan then. Thanks
Is there a simple step-by-step way to run a cable though the firewall to the trunk under the carpet or Is ther is a thread somewhere here already how its done? Im sure i can figure alll the carpet business out but the firewall part is where im unsure.
David Ortlieb wrote:distribution block...
yeeeeaaaaah, Dblock - distribution block.... I really should have put 1 and 2 together, my mistake. dont judge me. haha
the firewall has a giant grommet. you can run it through there, or you can drill a hole (what i would suggest) and buy some grommets. its not that hard, just takes patience. and going under the carpet, IIRC you can just take the plastic piece off the door jam and peel the carpet up enough to put the wire under it and then just tuck the carpet back down there. just try to be creative when hiding wires.
click sig for my car audio videos
No Anton, you will have a hard ass time getting a 1/0 wire in the door sill. I would highly suggest taking at least the drivers seat out, and rear seat(the rear seat is easy as hell to get out). So you can lift more carpet up and get the wire way down in there.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
In my family we teach that boys have a God-stick and girls have a Shame Cave. -John Stewart
alright well, im planning on swapping the front seats with black sunfire ones and fabric dying the rear seat black. So in that process ill run that cable under the carbet. If i can ill squeaze it under the door sill but it is looking very tight with the other cables as it is. Ill be "creative"
will i need to take apart some of the dash to get to that gromit on the firewall?
and i imagine i start the cable from the trunk and work towards the battery?
I appreciate the help so far, thanks alot guys
No the grommet is under the drivers side of the dash. duck under there with a flashlight and you will see the big black rubber grommet where all the factory wires come in.
As for running it while the seats are out , great idea! It's not much extra work to remove the carpet.
I would personally start in the front. That way you know how much cable you have for your fuse and battery connections and all that, then work the length through the grommet into the cabin then you are pretty set to sail with the rest.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
In my family we teach that boys have a God-stick and girls have a Shame Cave. -John Stewart
JLAudioCavalier wrote:No Anton, you will have a hard ass time getting a 1/0 wire in the door sill. I would highly suggest taking at least the drivers seat out, and rear seat(the rear seat is easy as hell to get out). So you can lift more carpet up and get the wire way down in there.
i got 2/0 to fit under the carpet in my cav without taking the front seat out..... i did take the rear seat bottom cushion out tho. and i wasnt talking about putting the wire in the sill, i was talking about taking it off and peeling the carpet up to tuck the wire under the carpet, not the sill......
click sig for my car audio videos
if you do it that way, between the sill and seat, it pulls the capet away just enough to cause fitment issues when reinstalling the sill. It can be worked around and I'm sure you will say it wasn't a problem, but I have done audio on J's a few times.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
In my family we teach that boys have a God-stick and girls have a Shame Cave. -John Stewart
awesome. Thanks alot. and the seats will be out so ill just go with JL's advice.
I may be getting a whole bunch of 1/0 welding cable for free from a friend of mine that works at a plant, but if i Cant, any idea of where i can get in for a good price in CANADA? I dont really care on colour ( <-- canadian spelling of "color"
)
cheepest i could find locally was $3.50/ft cdn (black welders cable)
All the car audio shops i called were asking an average of $6.00/ft cdn (but that is with colours like red and blue ect..)
i thought knu concepts was having a sale on 1/0 for like 1.50 a foot. but not sure if its still going on and what the shipping would be up there. taking the seat out (whole 4 bolts) is what i always do when running wires. i genearlly run my biggest wire down the firewall/bulge in the center of the car. and leave the area around the door sill for smaller stuff.
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that firewall/bulge in the ceter you're talking about, is there a hole there already, or did you have to drill one?
As far as getting through the firewall, the easiest place is going to be the drivers side. Like said before, you can either punch it through the big grommet that is already there, or simply drill a hole and buy a rubber grommet fit to the wire diameter you are running. What Jason is talking about is running it from that spot, over to the center of the car along the firewall, then straight back under the carpet under the console. If you want more personal opinions on wire running, I prefer to run the power wire down the drivers side and then do the RCA's straight down the middle like Jason said. That way you can get away with shorter RCA cables if you need to, and keep them away from the power wire.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
In my family we teach that boys have a God-stick and girls have a Shame Cave. -John Stewart
Gotcha. Thanks alot guys, I think im set.
