a few general questions.

As of now I am installing an Alpine 9887 head unit with I-Pod Cable and Modifry DCI, but while I'm at it I am going to pull the interior and do the soundproofing so I thought I would run all my wires to the trunk to prepare for when I replace/add speakers and run amps later.

First question. Do you run the negative all the way back from the trunk to the batt or just to some point in the trunk? If just in the trunk where do you run to? I am going to be building an amp rack to go beside the spare if that has any bearing on where to run the neg wire to.

So where do you all like to get all your odds and ends from? I am going to need:
1. One 2 awg cable for power (batt to trunk)
2. Three 4 awg cables for grounds. (amp/s to frame in trunk)
3. A Breaker (around 160 amp I think will do it)
4. A positive terminal connector (that will allow for a 2 awg to connect as well as the stock connection).
5. Two 3 way distribution blocks (one 2awg in/ three 4awg out).
6. 3 sets of RCAs about 12 feet long? Speaking of do I need 12 footers or will 8 footers do the trick?
7. Also going to get some of the Dynamat stuff (probably go with the BQuiet line since it is about the same and cheaper)
8. As well as some of the sound deadening paint (going with the stuff from Quiet Car so I probably have to get it from them directly).

If anyone sees anything I have all together missed please let me know. Other than that I am looking for recommendations of where to get this stuff from.
Thanks for your help and comments in advance,

 

As for your parts and such try Parts Express. They are in Ohio...use them all the time. Partsexpress.com

For sound deadening...I used Dynamat Extreme....took about 1 1/2 bulk packs for the whole car. Got mine at etronics.com......

http://www.etronics.com/p-8930-dynamat-xtr...-pak-10455.aspx

$122.07 per bulk pack + freight form NY. I'm in CA and it still was reasonable to me.

Parts Express also has their own brand of sound deadener. Used it before and did not like it. They have the spray also and it's fine.

Don't think they have the 2 gauge wire though. You'll need to go with 0/1 if you use them. Might be easier to run dual 4 gauge in the S though....

Oh yeah...no ground from front to back...not required. I grounded my system on one of the bolts on the drivers side behind the trim panel in trunk...right behind the strut assembly. Just make sure you scrape off the body sealer...paint whatever it is for good contact.

 

Hey thanks for the tips , I will definitely check out parts express. I am thinking of going with RAAMmat BXT

 

WOW!!! OK well I priced it all out through parts express:

20' of 2 AWG power cable
4 pair of 2 AWG ring terminals
1 dual set (4 ch) of monster RCA cables (3m length)
1 set of (2 ch) monster RCA cables (3m length)
2 distribution blocks
1 positive battery terminal connector
1 high capacity breaker

total price $231.42

So not too bad, now tonight I will go on ebay and see if I can beat it.

Here is a diagram of the layout I am shooting for, let me know what you think:


I will still need a few odds and ends; wire for the "remote turn on" for the amps and fans, a relay or two, wood for the shelf, and the carpet, but overall that stuff is negligible as far as $ goes.

 

Hmm, probably should run the power down the door sill and the RCAs down the tunnel (otherwise they cross/shorter runs/etc)

Is that 3 amps? Why not just get a 4 chan amp and a sub amp?

Why 2ga? I suggest running 1/0 from the battery through the firewall to a distro block behind the driverside kick panel and then split to 2x4ga run through the door sill to your amps (1 run for each amp). This is plenty enough power for your amps. You could even split one of the runs if you were to have separate amps for your front/rear speakers.

Knowing what I know now, I've dropped the cash on the reusable terminals that Monster Cable makes. No more fighting to make sure the crimp is solid enough on a 1/0 or 4ga cable, etc. Comes in handy when you choose to rewire everything, or move it from one vehicle to the next, etc.

You'll need the negative battery terminal as well. Don't forget to reground the battery to the firewall using the same size cable you run off the positive side of the battery (in my suggestion, 1/0. Takes 1' or less to do)

Also keep in mind that any kind of dynamat is going to "melt" and ooze when it gets hot during the summer. Buy a roll of aluminum ducting tape from Home Depot or Lowe's (NOT duct tape, aluminum tape) and tape every single crack and all edges of the sound deadener. This will keep the sound deadener from oozing through the cracks and ruining your interior panels/carpet. Personally, I don't like sound deadener. Adds weight and the benefit is minimized in a convertible. It doesn't make that much of a difference b/c you've still only got a soft top between you and road noise (unless you have a hardtop). Use the money you save from purchasing the sound deadener, and invest in better speakers, a better HU, or a better amp, you'll probably get higher returns (but that's just my own opinion).

 

 

OK I edited the other post, I like it better that way too, thanks for the tip.

[QUOTE=Neutered Sputniks,Nov 27 2007, 02:55 PM]
Is that 3 amps?

 

The suggestion about running 1/0 to 4ga also has to do with the ability to hide the wiring. Running through the driver side door sill is a large bundle of the auto wiring, there's not much room for 2 2ga cables. Barely enough for the auto harness and 2 4ga.

It also cleans up the engine compartment. I don't know which positive terminal you're specifically using, but the Monster Cable one I have has 3 attachment points - 2 of which go to the stock wiring harness and 1 goes to the 1/0 for my HU & amps. Which is another reason to have a split somewhere - my HU is powered from the same distro that splits the 1/0 into 4ga.

Little known fact is that power actually flows from the negative terminal of the battery - it's easier to comprehend it flowing from the positive, so that's how it's usually presented. (Electrons are negatively charged, they are attracted to the positive charge ). Without a proper ground, you're restricting the flow of power to your amps. Technically, the converse is true as well. A small positive cable will also restrict the flow. The amount of power able to be flowed is determined by every bit of wiring in the system - splicing a piece of 10ga into your 4ga would restrict the amount of power flowed to what that 10ga stretch can handle.

For my system, I have a single piece of 1/0 running to where the stock ground was. Even though I have 1/0 running off the positive side + the stock harness, the 1/0 for the audio is really equivalent to the 2 4ga and 1 10ga I have split to run to the amps and HU. It was just easier to run a single 1/0 through the engine compartment and firewall than 2 4ga. I've done it the other way before, and it was more of a PIA than it was worth.

My amps are mounted behind the seats, the ground points are behind the plastic trim below the roll hoops. There are a number of points that a screw can be driven into for the ground attachment. My only complaint with where most people say to attach the ground cables is that they're bolting the ground to a nut welded to the frame. Welds aren't exactly electrically sound so these points can provide poor grounds. I highly suggest finding a point you can drill a hole into. Dremel all the way down to the bare metal (lots of layers of paint and rust inhibitor). Use a screw to hold down the ground point, not a bolt - the ground comes through the threads of the screw into the middle of the sheet metal where there is little chance for rust inhibitor to inhibit the flow of power.

Buy yourself a decent multimeter from Fry's or Lowe's or Sears. Make sure your ground points are <4ohms between the amp and your battery.

My biggest concern with sound deadener is that it's not something that can be easily removed. If I could lay it down and pull it up a week later, I wouldn't have an issue with putting it down. However, such is not the case, and it permanently modifies the characteristics of the car.

As for mid-bass, my Hexes have enough midbass that I don't need midbass speakers. However, depending on the range of the components you choose, you might need components. Most of the higher end speaker manufacturers have options to add a midbass. My crossovers have an output for a run to the optional midbass, most others have the same. I'll probably never use it in the S because the freq range of the component woofers is low enough that I don't need extra midbass.

 

OK so replace the stock "-" cable with a bigger one, don't add to it, got it. I see your rational about the power cable size, I will have to give that some more thought. Are "Hexes" the brand of speakers? It would be great to not have to mess with the mid basses behind the seats.

I'm not planning on going too nuts with the sound mat stuff. I am thinking 1 50 ft roll and 1 gallon of the paint on stuff. So I am planning on doing it but not overdoing it.

When you say:
Buy yourself a decent multimeter from Fry's or Lowe's or Sears. Make sure your ground points are <4ohms between the amp and your battery.

What do you mean, I have a multimeter already, but exactly how do I do that?

Thanks again for your input,

 

The Hexes are made by Diamond Audio. I have the Diamond Audio Hex S600s components. Ebay for them, should be 250-300. They're rated 40Hz to 25KHz. While I don't run 150W to them at 40Hz, I do have my HU crossover set for -6dB/oct @ 63Hz at approx 85W output from the amp. Low enough response for my 12 to cross with minimal loss of response (cross over @ HU is -24dB/oct @ 63Hz). I hope that all this discussion isn't just helping you pick out your system, but also teaching you how everything interacts and relates - i.e. the importance of research and proper planning.

With everything wired up, put one lead on the negative terminal and the other on the negative screw of the amp. That should give you less than 4 ohms of resistance. Anything more and you're likely to start seeing noise in your system.

Looks like you're pretty well set. I'd offer my assistance on the install, but I don't know where you live