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New (to me) Subs



Is 5 gauge good because a friend has a wiring kit that has 5 gauge power cable that he'll sell me for cheap. And also how many feet am I looking at his is 14 would that be enough.
 
depends on how you run it though the car.. how far back you mount your amp ect ect 5 itsn't bad but imo i'd shoot for 20ft+ range but i like having some slack...
 


i suggest grabbing like a 60 amp AGU fuse with an AGU fuse holder, i wouldn't get anything bigger or smaller just 60 amp, it runs like $8 or something idk it came with my amp and kit, it blows that fuse in the incident of a short circuit, it protects your wire connecting to your amp and sometimes equipment, some people say you lose power if you use it, but i say **** my subs still bump like a mother you can hear me coming down the road and id rather blow a $2 fuse than fry my wires and equipment. And if you do decide to get the fuse it's better to make sure you connect it to your power cable within 12 inches of the battery, closer it is to the battery, the better

make sure you disconnect the ground on your battery before you work on electrical things in your car, you dont need to get shocked, it's not bad but it doesn't need to happen and when you ground the amp make sure it's on bare metal, sand or even scrath the paint of the metal if needed but make sure you take enough off for the o ring to not touch painted metal and you can use something like petroleum jelly to cover the unpainted metal and the o ring to keep it from oxidizing or rusting

and when you run the wires through your car run the power cable down one side of the car and the stereo wires down the other side, this helps eliminate unwanted noise in the subs

idk if you needed to know all that, but it couldn't hurt i guess

and if you make a hole in the firewall, caulk it or something, no one needs water inside...

and you can use the subwoofer levels in your radio and turn all the way up if you want, that's what it's there for, if you do have a knob on your amp though that you can choose how much power the amp uses, dont set it too high, that'll make it blow

and when i mounted my amp i screwed it onto a piece of MDF wood for better ventilation of the amp and it also specified to not mount it any other way than flat, but that could just be for my amp, and it's also better not to mount it on the subs enclosure or too close to it for the magnets could possibly mess up the amp's components

hope i helped you at all and didn't just type all that if you already knew this all lol
 
Well I'm new to all this so any and every piece of info I get is very helpful. I also didn't know what size of fuse to use for the power cable so you helped me out there. And I was gonna run the power and RCA's next to each other but now I know not too so thanks for all the info.
 
ok and the rcas shouldn't be longer than 20 feet
for me i always disconect the + but hey just me......

you want to avoid "clipping" the signal and basically killing the subs faster use the gain on the amp on the HU put it in the middle let the amp get the cleanest it can get and work from there

when i had 5awg i had a 100A fuse work good for me until i tried pulling more that that from it...

and on the amp if it keeps getting hot you can also put spacers to lift the amp even more thus making even better air flow (how i have one of my amps atm)
 


where do you guys get 5 AWG wire?

seriously.... I cant get that **** anywhere around here.

strat guy... you're very misleading in a lot of the things you say FYI.
 
Ok then I think I'm gonna get the kit from my friend then. I could run the power cable through the middle if it turns out to be too short right, because I was thinking of putting it along the side of the car.
 
josemolina2008 said:
Ok then I think I'm gonna get the kit from my friend then. I could run the power cable through the middle if it turns out to be too short right, because I was thinking of putting it along the side of the car.
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mines on the side and i took my rear seats out so it enters my trunk in a far corner
 


Stratguymike said:
i suggest grabbing like a 60 amp AGU fuse with an AGU fuse holder, i wouldn't get anything bigger or smaller just 60 amp, it runs like $8 or something idk it came with my amp and kit, it blows that fuse in the incident of a short circuit, it protects your wire connecting to your amp and sometimes equipment,
Click to expand...

It protects your battery and alternator....

s
ome people say you lose power if you use it, but i say **** my subs still bump like a mother you can hear me coming down the road and id rather blow a $2 fuse than fry my wires and equipment. And if you do decide to get the fuse it's better to make sure you connect it to your power cable within 12 inches of the battery, closer it is to the battery, the better
Click to expand...

Any power you lose is negligible.

The closer to the battery idea is because thats where the current is coming from. In case of a short, you've gotta stop it ASAP.

If the short is halfway in the line and your fuse is at the end, the fuse wont blow because no current will be passing through it therefore it doesnt do its job.

make sure you disconnect the ground on your battery before you work on electrical things in your car, you dont need to get shocked,
Click to expand...

Or the positive.... then put a towel/rag over the cable so it can't short to anything else.

it's not bad but it doesn't need to happen
Click to expand...

0.5 A will stop your heart....


and when you ground the amp make sure it's on bare metal, sand or even scrath the paint of the metal if needed but make sure you take enough off for the o ring to not touch painted metal and you can use something like petroleum jelly to cover the unpainted metal and the o ring to keep it from oxidizing or rusting
Click to expand...

Good idea, also be sure you're not grounding to something that is poorly connected to the chassis.

Use dielectric grease, this is what its for.

and when you run the wires through your car run the power cable down one side of the car and the stereo wires down the other side, this helps eliminate unwanted noise in the subs
Click to expand...

This prevents unwanted interference between the DC current in the power cable and the AC current in the signal cables... But if you think about it, the power lines would attempt to induce a DC signal (0 Hz) which isn't reproduced by any car amp or even any modern home/pro audio amp, most roll off at 5 Hz or higher. This is only a concern in home audio where the power cable has AC current flowing through it at 60 Hz which can induce a 60 Hz signal in your signal cables.... THAT is audible and annoying.

and if you make a hole in the firewall, caulk it or something, no one needs water inside...
Click to expand...

Use the grommet for the wiring harness under the carpet on the passengers side of the firewall.

It'll seal nicely without caulking.

and you can use the subwoofer levels in your radio and turn all the way up if you want, that's what it's there for,
Click to expand...

Actually no.... you shouldnt have to do that. You should be able to set it to ZERO then adjust the gain on your sub so that its not clipping. That or adjust it so it matches the voltage output of your headunit. Proper way to do this is to use an oscilloscope, but no one has one of those.

if you do have a knob on your amp though that you can choose how much power the amp uses, dont set it too high, that'll make it blow
Click to expand...

That doesnt determine how much power the amp uses.... That controls the GAIN.

Thats all an amp does, amplifliy the signal coming into it. So set your gain to match the output of your HU else you will destroy your sub with a nice, dirty, clipped signal.

and when i mounted my amp i screwed it onto a piece of MDF wood for better ventilation of the amp and it also specified to not mount it any other way than flat, but that could just be for my amp, and it's also better not to mount it on the subs enclosure or too close to it for the magnets could possibly mess up the amp's components
Click to expand...

Most amps have TERRIBLE cooling solutions so mounting them on MDF boards then mounting the boards to the back of the seat is a good idea for a compact install. Then you've just gotta rig up some fans that run off of a relay thats triggered by your decks remote power signal. That or have a temp sensitive relay or a switch + relay. Your choice, but most people dont worry about cooling but they often forget that 10* C cooler = twice the life expectancy for the components.


Comments?
 
Ok I got the amp kit and I pretty much have everything except the speaker wire that will go to the subs. Does the gauge matter here?
 
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