I Need Car Audio Advice

I have done a fair amount of car audio stuff in the past with many of my previous automobiles but its been like ten years since I have done an install and I haven't done an install this big before. with that said here is the rundown on what I plan to do...

- Big three upgrade (300 amp alternator, ground wires, power wires)
- Extra battery (starting battery is in rear hatch area and that's where i plan to have the extra battery also)
- Battery isolator (relay type)
- Capacitor
- 2000 watt RMS sub amp
- 1000 watt RMS mids and highs amp

NOTE: I will add heat shield to 1/0 G power wire under hood.

Here is how I think I need to run the power system (corrections welcomed). Upgrade the main power wire to a 1/0 welding cable. Run power wire from alternator and fuse under hood. Run power wire to hatch area to the isolator. Where the power cable from the alt connects to the isolator I will connect a short lead to the starter battery. Then, from the opposite positive post on the isolator i will run a lead to the positive on the extra battery. From the positive of the extra battery i will run a short lead to a power distribution block. From the power block i will run a short fused lead to a capacitor. From that capacitor I will run a lead to the sub amp. From the power block I will run a fused lead to the mids and highs amp.

All grounds in hatch area will be grounded to the starter battery ground location already in use from the factory where I will utilize a ground distribution block.










Do I have the fuses in the right place/enough fuses?
Is 1/0 gauge welding cable good enough for this system?
Do you see any issues or concerns?

Also, how can I regulate my sub amp ppwer to 14.4 volts continuous?

Looks great aside from in my case I run a circuit breaker (don’t run fuses for anything over 30amps or so) on my positive from the starting battery to the secondary, this is probably overkill but seeing as I’m running oversized 1/0(closer to 0/2awg) I’d much rather avoid having it dead short on that line and is a nice backup. Aside from that I say don’t bother with a cap at all you’ll have plenty of capacity with the two batteries caps are marketing wank IMO. You know what amps you’re gonna run yet? If not I highly recommend the Orion XTR series great Korean amps that are very underrated (CES2006 rated @12.4v) my XTR1500.1D put out 2,200wrms @1ohm 1%THD 14.4v on an amp dyno (factory birth sheet was 1641wrms 1ohm 12.4v but by the independent dyno numbers they were testing to lower than 1%THD best $250 I’ve ever spent on an amp things a beast!

ETA if the hot runs from the power distro are short and the amps have built in fuses I wouldn’t bother fusing them personally.

What mods and highs are you running on 1000wrms? I hope that’s over 4 channels and not two or your hearing would never forgive ya. I’m running 300wrms to my front components (back seat is too small to use and I don’t care about rear fill with my 2,000wrms to the substage and it’s plenty for me. What’s your game plan as far as what you’re going to run for speakers and amps?

a reply to: Alien Abduct

Jesus man! That is a massive audio system upgrade. But I imagine you should be just fine jumping right into it. Kinda like riding a bike right?

But man that is a lot of stereo bro! I’ve always been very pleased with my stock stereo on my Buick. But I don’t turn up the volume loud so I can pay attention to the other drivers here in Vegas. Lot of bad ones here.

a reply to: BigDave-AR

For mids and highs its going to be four Kicker 43CSC6934 6"x9" 3-ways. They are 150watt RMS so ill probably adjust the system to run them at 125 RMS or so. The amp for these will be the Skar RP-150.4AB | 1,000 Watt 4-Channel. Ive watched dyno runs and read lots and lots of reviews on Skar and they look good. I also checked out a ton of other brands that I already knew about and some that I dint know about. This seems to be my choice but im all ears!

Okay so the subs will be two Skar EVL 15". They are 2500 watts max and 1250 RMS each. Also really good reviews and great price. The subs amp will be the Skar RP 2001.D mono amp. Which is 2000 watts rms and I seen it dyno at 2300-2400 watts RMS clean certified.

a reply to: BigDave-AR

I was thinking about running a single Orion HCCA 15" in a custom box on that same RP 2001.D pushing around 2200 watts rms but i dont know, im thinking the Skars will be a little better for sound quality and that Orion would be just for SPL. Im thinking I can get the best of both worlds with the Skar EVLs

originally posted by: Allaroundyou
a reply to: Alien Abduct

Jesus man! That is a massive audio system upgrade. But I imagine you should be just fine jumping right into it. Kinda like riding a bike right?

But man that is a lot of stereo bro! I’ve always been very pleased with my stock stereo on my Buick. But I don’t turn up the volume loud so I can pay attention to the other drivers here in Vegas. Lot of bad ones here.

Yeah I love me some huge sound but I just havent been into it like i used to. Been into other stuff. Well I'm about to go balls deep this time. I have to move out of state so I have to sell my Truck and boat and some other crap so I'm gonna have some extra cash. I figured I might as well do something I will really enjoy!

You wouldnt believe the house stereo I built hahaha it has gotten me into trouble at least a few times

a reply to: BigDave-AR

Hey Dave I was reading up on fuses the other day and the guy suggested not to use circuit breakers for car audio because they are too slow to pop. What do you think?

originally posted by: Alien Abduct
a reply to: BigDave-AR

Hey Dave I was reading up on fuses the other day and the guy suggested not to use circuit breakers for car audio because they are too slow to pop. What do you think?

The time difference wouldn’t be enough to matter IMHO most guys I know who compete in the state (ARSPL) run breakers especially in on main runs I also find infinently more convient being able to quickly isolate a circuit to work on it instead of having to open a fuse holder and pull the fuse. A good quality breaker won’t let ya down, keep in mind all fuses aren’t made the same either (fast blow, slow blow, sand filled, glass etc.) and when you start getting above 100amps without sand filled fuses they can cause a fair amount of havoc when they blow. To me it’s worth buying once and crying once for the ease of use and reusability. Mind if I ask why you’re going coax instead of component? Shoot me a PM I’ve got a connection with JBL/Infinity/Polk can probably get ya set up with some much better components for the same or less $$$ I love my Infinty Kappa Perfect 600 6.5comps and I got a sore dick deal on em, they have em in 6x9 as well
crutchfield

Some circuit breakers use a magnetic actuator to trip the circuit. In this type of breaker, the current flow through the electrical device (amp, fog lights...) passes through an electromagnetic actuator. When the current flow reaches a preset level (determined by the current rating of the breaker), the magnetic field in the electromagnet is strong enough to trip the breaker and allow the contacts to open. This type of breaker generally has to be manually reset. A well designed 'magnetically' actuated circuit breaker can operate very quickly (possibly as fast as or faster than a fuse of equal current rating).

a reply to: BigDave-AR

Yeah a breaker would be sweet, I'm gonna look into that for sure. If the pros are doing it then it should be fine.

As far as the speakers. I'm running coax because everyone sells round component speakers and my holes are 6x9s. So i figured I would just get some powerful 6x9s for now until I do the door build. Later I plan on doing a fiberglass door panel build and so I'll do components then.

I forgot to mention the dash speakers. Those are gonna be kicker too. 3.5s

You say you can het some 6x9 components?

These kickers are $99 a pair so about 200 for the foir of em. Whats the difference in sound between components and coax?

a reply to: BigDave-AR

I just read your Crutchfield piece. Yeah im definitely going to go with breakers, thanks!

originally posted by: Alien Abduct
a reply to: BigDave-AR

Yeah a breaker would be sweet, I'm gonna look into that for sure. If the pros are doing it then it should be fine.

As far as the speakers. I'm running coax because everyone sells round component speakers and my holes are 6x9s. So i figured I would just get some powerful 6x9s for now until I do the door build. Later I plan on doing a fiberglass door panel build and so I'll do components then.

I forgot to mention the dash speakers. Those are gonna be kicker too. 3.5s

You say you can het some 6x9 components?

These kickers are $99 a pair so about 200 for the foir of em. Whats the difference in sound between components and coax?

IMO comps are vastly superior the main difference is in the crossover coaxs have space constraints so the crossover over networks are much worse than a dedicated crossover like with comps. The link is for 6x9 2way comps and the crossover network is ready to accept a 3” mid as well which sounds like it’d be great for your setup.

originally posted by: Alien Abduct
a reply to: BigDave-AR

I just read your Crutchfield piece. Yeah im definitely going to go with breakers, thanks!

The quote wasn’t from crutchfield it was from a car audio forum the link is to some comps I think would be great for ya. High end car manufacturers are starting to use breakers instead of fuses due to higher load demand so they aren’t unheard of in the 12v OEM arena. Glad I could help! I know every time I work on my system I’m very glad to have breakers instead of fuses, makes life much easier.

a reply to: BigDave-AR

Holy moly those look badass. But they will break my budget. I might do those for stage two though, those look really friggin nice!

originally posted by: Alien Abduct

originally posted by: Allaroundyou
a reply to: Alien Abduct

Jesus man! That is a massive audio system upgrade. But I imagine you should be just fine jumping right into it. Kinda like riding a bike right?

But man that is a lot of stereo bro! I’ve always been very pleased with my stock stereo on my Buick. But I don’t turn up the volume loud so I can pay attention to the other drivers here in Vegas. Lot of bad ones here.

Yeah I love me some huge sound but I just havent been into it like i used to. Been into other stuff. Well I'm about to go balls deep this time. I have to move out of state so I have to sell my Truck and boat and some other crap so I'm gonna have some extra cash. I figured I might as well do something I will really enjoy!

You wouldnt believe the house stereo I built hahaha it has gotten me into trouble at least a few times

I definitely know how the super loud and amazing quality home surround system goes. Mine is my baby Got in trouble one time but no violation. Just a pissed neighbor on a Thursday night(they have a youngster). But in my defense I was watching Independence Day. The original damnit. I should get a pass for that man.

originally posted by: Alien Abduct
a reply to: BigDave-AR

Holy moly those look badass. But they will break my budget. I might do those for stage two though, those look really friggin nice!

I can get them for about half that cost...🤑😏

originally posted by: Allaroundyou

originally posted by: Alien Abduct

originally posted by: Allaroundyou
a reply to: Alien Abduct

Jesus man! That is a massive audio system upgrade. But I imagine you should be just fine jumping right into it. Kinda like riding a bike right?

But man that is a lot of stereo bro! I’ve always been very pleased with my stock stereo on my Buick. But I don’t turn up the volume loud so I can pay attention to the other drivers here in Vegas. Lot of bad ones here.

Yeah I love me some huge sound but I just havent been into it like i used to. Been into other stuff. Well I'm about to go balls deep this time. I have to move out of state so I have to sell my Truck and boat and some other crap so I'm gonna have some extra cash. I figured I might as well do something I will really enjoy!

You wouldnt believe the house stereo I built hahaha it has gotten me into trouble at least a few times

I definitely know how the super loud and amazing quality home surround system goes. Mine is my baby

Got in trouble one time but no violation. Just a pissed neighbor on a Thursday night(they have a youngster). But in my defense I was watching Independence Day. The original damnit. I should get a pass for that man.

I had to downgrade my home theater when I moved my substage was 2 12”s in 12cuft tuned @20hz and it was nutty low and loud would shake the house like crazy so I downsized on my substage quite a bit now “just” have my one tiny in comparison 1 15” Klipsch HT sub.

originally posted by: BigDave-AR

originally posted by: Alien Abduct
a reply to: BigDave-AR

Holy moly those look badass. But they will break my budget. I might do those for stage two though, those look really friggin nice!

I can get them for about half that cost...🤑😏

I think that would be doable. Boy that would be great, I bet those sound amazing! I'll hit you up when im ready to do the build. Thanks Dave!

originally posted by: Alien Abduct

originally posted by: BigDave-AR

originally posted by: Alien Abduct
a reply to: BigDave-AR

Holy moly those look badass. But they will break my budget. I might do those for stage two though, those look really friggin nice!

I can get them for about half that cost...🤑😏

I think that would be doable. Boy that would be great, I bet those sound amazing! I'll hit you up when im ready to do the build. Thanks Dave!

No problem brother, I think you’d be very happy with them when I got my Kappa 600s through my buddy they were $220 shipped direct from Harmon (not a off the back of the truck deal) if you want to run 3 way if memory serves my guy can get the 3” for $50 so you’d probably be looking at under $300 shipped for one hell of a setup or if you want to to keep the budget lower I’ll see what he’s got going on.

a reply to: BigDave-AR

I have a 1000 watt Boss receiver pushing four Pro studio 15", four 6.5s, two massive horns, then a 400 watt amp pushing two 15" Fisher boxes with mids and tweets and two 8"mids and tweets boxes, then a 12" Sony powered subwoofer, also five 6.5s for surround speakers. Ive had that same setup for about 17 years now. Its not as loud as it used to be but it still gets the job done!

a reply to: BigDave-AR

I can do 300. Can they take 125 watts rms all day every day? How long have you had your Kappas?

ETA: I'm not going to run any of my speakers over RMS but i will be running them for hours and hours at a time though.