I've had a PPI PCX480 now forever and I think I'm going to put it in w/ a Polk/Momo 12" boxed sub. But I have a few questions:

1. the sub handles 500W RMS. Lucid recommends 200W+ RMS. My amp is rated at 4 x 80W @ 4 Ohm or 4 x 160 @ 2 Ohm or 2 x 320 @ 4 Ohm MONO. How can I run my amp to power two front channels AND the single 12" sub? Is it possible? I can either run the amp in 4 channel mode and bridge two of them or run it in 2 channel mode and run the sub off of a mixed mono output. What should I do and how much power would the front channels and sub channel receive? Will I need a new amp?

2. the amp is 18.5 x 2.375 x 10. I figure I can either put it under the sub on the underside of the mounting board (probably bad for cooling) or where the spare tire is and get rid of the spare, OR possibly over the fuel filler. Will it fit over the fuel filler? Are there any cooling issues with having it where the spare tire is?

3. what cap do you recommend and do I need a cap?

Thanks!

 

...

 

run the front channels stereo
and the rear channels to the sub bridged mono.

 

What he said...

 

yep, bridge the rears into mono.

 

Sorry, I'm kinda slow...

Option #1: run amp in 2 channel mode for front speakers. Power the sub by using one wire of each channel (1 and 2).

Option #2: run amp in 4 channel mode but only use one wire of each channel (3 and 4).

Which option number do I do and how much power will this give me to the sub and to the fronts?

Thanks!!

 

None of the above ...

Use the amplifier in 3 channel mode. What this means is using your channel amplifier like this.

channel 1 = right front, 2 wires to the the speaker + and -
channel 2 = left front, 2 wires to the the speaker + and -
channel 3 & 4 = bridged and running the sub, out of the 4 wires (+ and - from both channels 3 & 4), you will only use 2 wires to the the speaker. Usually you use the + of one channel and the - of the other channel, BUT CHECK your manual to see the wiring for this application.

Hope this helps.

 

Matrix: then that would mean that I'm running in 4 channel mode which = 80W @ 4 Ohms. So the sub will only get 160W RMS which is a little lacking as mentioned in my original post. (BTW that was option 2)

 

If you could get the speaker in a two ohms model, you could bridge your rear channels to get 1x320. Just keep in mind that with subwoofers, the more power you push to them, the better they'll sound (especially if they're in the trunk). It might be time to look at using your amp to power your doors and add in rear speakers, then get another one dedicated to the sub (where you would use a cap rated properly for the watts of the amp). So I guess this is option #4

 

You will be running in 3 channel mode not 4 channel mode as the third and fourth channels will be bridged into a single channel. Like rstark said, get a Dual Voice Coil sub and wire it for 2 ohms, you will then have 320W to it. BTW, if you already have a Single Voice Coil sub, just try it...it may be enough for you...

Or if you really want thump get 2 svc subs and wire them for 2 ohms, you double your surface area and your power, just have to find room for the extra sub...