Hello.

TL;DR: I am looking to get help picking audio components. Do these components work together.

• Came with car:
  • Front speakers: CDT Audio speakers. 6.5in, 4 ohm, 80W RMS, 160W Max.
  • Tweeter: Haven’t pulled these, but they are there are two.
  • Head unit: Kenwood.
  • Amp: JBL p180.2. 90 watts RMS x 2 at 4 ohms, 360 watts x 1 in bridged mode.
  • Crossovers: SatNew456 60dB Phase Perfect 2-way. Installed in the doors for split signal between front speakers and tweeters.
• Looking to add:
  • Amp: JL Audio JD400/4. 75 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms.
  • Sub: JL Audio 10W3v3-4. 10" 4-ohm. power range: 100-500 watts RMS.
  • Behind seat speakers: TBD in another year probably.
• Plan:
  • I plan on using as much of the equipment that came with the car for financial reasons.
  • I plan on adding a sub in the trunk. Location TBD. The easiest option seems to be in the tool well, but I would prefer to add it behind the passenger seat in the location opposite the fuel pump.
  • Eventually I plan to add speakers behind the seats, but for financial reasons that will probably occur another year.
  • Run front and behind seat speakers off JL Audio JD400/4 amp.
  • Run sub off of JBL p180.2.

I have recently purchased a S2K that had a fair amount of aftermarket work completed on it. The previous owner had put in several aftermarket audio components. However, they did a rather poor job at installation (poor wire management, poor component-to-wire connection, etc.). I am currently in the process of going through and cleaning that up. As I am doing this, I was looking to add in some upgrades. As of right now, the plan is to add another amp and a subwoofer. I will eventually add two rear speakers as well behind the seats, but that will occur another year most likely.

I know there are obviously other options, and I don't want to turn this into a forum of which audio components are best. I am looking to hit something that is mid-range. I don’t plan on going crazy or trying to win audio competitions. This is meant to be enjoyed. I am also going to add a fair amount of audio deadening materials as well.

Questions:

• Are there obvious problems with any component selections?
• Will all of these components work together?
• Does anyone have any suggestions?

Bonus Question:

• When the soft top is up, I get a fair amount of wind noise. If I pull down on the soft top handle that is next to the rear view mirror, I get a good amount of wind noise reduction.
• Has anyone added some sort of clamp there to help pull the soft top down more into the rubber seal?
• Is the rubber seal bad? It seems good to me.
• Any suggestions on this problem will help.

 

I should have added, I have a fair amount of car building experience. I work in the automotive industry and have compete on automotive competition teams (EcoCAR). However, I have never done anything audio related. My work always pertained to the powertrain.

 

The top strikers are likely worn. Open the top and look at the place where the latches bite. Its aluminum and the latches wear them out so the become loose.

 

My experience with car audio, a good subwoofer(s) that blends seamlessly into the system, is the single best after-market improvement.

 

Your plan sounds good - your existing gear sounds fine. You might consider a trunk side subwoofer such as those from Darkside Subs.
Where is the existing amp mounted? Can be hard to squeeze multiple full-size class AB amps in the car. You might consider using a
physically smaller class D mono amp for the sub, and continuing to use the JBL for the fronts until you do decide to add rear speakers.
FWIW I have behind-the-seat speakers and don't find that they add much, but other people are quite happy with them

 

Funny you should ask how it was mounted. That is where you are wrong. It wasn't mounted...The previous owner has screwed it into a piece of MDF and that board was "attached" to an empty space behind the passenger seat, near the fuel pump. I have pulled the amp and I am waiting to make a final deicision on the setup before I select a location to mount the amps. They will be somewhere in the rear of the vehicle.

 

I'm a little confused - in a US car the spare tire is behind the passenger seat, while the fuel tank/pump is behind
the driver's seat. Some people ditch the spare tire to use the space for amp(s) - do you have a spare?
I personally have an amp above the gas tank, and another inside the spare tire, but you need to choose your
amps carefully to use these spaces due to space and heat management constraints.

 

Thanks for the reply. What you are saying is 100% in terms of the layout of this vehicle. This car didn't come with a spare though and I dont plan on purchasing one. I am just going to save that space and use it for these aftermarket components.

 

you can make a panel for the amps and/or crossovers and use the spare tire threaded spot for mounting the board.

 

That sounds like a good idea. I think I'm leaning towards going with this plan right now given the response that I've gotten. It doesn't seem like there are glaring red flags which is what i was hoping to avoid. I understand people will build to different preferences or specifications, but i just wanted to avoid glaring red flags.