Sound upgrades

[Josef86]

Currently I run a alpine 9886 HU, factory sub and all doors have kicker 6x8 coax (from last car) in my 03 xlt.

I am thinking of adding a 4 channel amp for the speakers. Since I use my rear seats from time to time whats a good place to put the amp?

This is the amp I am looking at.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500MRPF250/Alpine-MRP-F250.html?tp=115

Is this a decent amp, if not can you recommend one? I am trying to keep the rms down to 40rms x 4.

Now unto the factory sub. Its 8" and the amp is 85rms x 1. I may be replacing that as well. I just want to use the factory location so it does not take up space. Anyone done something like this before? Also should I keep the factory amp for now or replace that as well?

 

[JohnnyBoy1102]

Currently I run a alpine 9886 HU, factory sub and all doors have kicker 6x8 coax (from last car) in my 03 xlt.

I am thinking of adding a 4 channel amp for the speakers. Since I use my rear seats from time to time whats a good place to put the amp?

This is the amp I am looking at.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500MRPF250/Alpine-MRP-F250.html?tp=115

Is this a decent amp, if not can you recommend one? I am trying to keep the rms down to 40rms x 4.

Now unto the factory sub. Its 8" and the amp is 85rms x 1. I may be replacing that as well. I just want to use the factory location so it does not take up space. Anyone done something like this before? Also should I keep the factory amp for now or replace that as well?

I put my amp in the hatch portion of my car. just behind the back seats. you can ground it to the seat bolts and you can run all your speaker wires under the carpet. lot of wire running across the car but it will keep the amp hidden from plain site.

 

[Josef86]

Thanks, I think thats what I will do then.

 

[JohnnyBoy1102]

Yea the only thing is running the wires through from the cab to the doors. i would imagine you can just use the harnesses that run power to your door locks etc and run near those using the rubber protective boots in the doors already. just make sure you give the speaker wire some slack inside of that rubber sleeve so it doesnt end up tugging on it.

 

[Josef86]

I have done amps before, but they were always out where you could see them or in trunk. This will be the first time I am doing it differently.

 

[JohnnyBoy1102]

Oh, ive never run speakers off of an amp like this but i have done subs and i had to run my power wires in my truck under the carpet. it actually works out good. you can also run the wires under the center console and out to the back seat.

 

[Anime]

That's a pretty decent amp for the price. Should be fine and not suck power like higher wattage units.

For the sub, you might want to swap out the factory 8" for something aftermarket (RF makes some good 8" subs, Crutchfield sells those as well), and then a matching amp with the right wattage.

 

[toypaseo]

From my Budget Bass project...

Alpine MRP-T220 under rear driver side seat...

http://s24.photobucket.com/albums/c4/toypaseo/explorer sub/Alpine_MRP_T220.jpg

Alpine V12 MRV-100M (replaced above amp) under rear driver side seat...

http://s24.photobucket.com/albums/c4/toypaseo/explorer sub/V12_mounted.jpg

My back seat is up most of the time. If I need it down, I try to put only the passenger one down. If both need down, I cover it with a folded green bed sheet I have in my Explorer that is used to cover interior beneath dirty junk, or to cover items from prying eyes. The seat's spring supports come in contact with the top of the amp. Amp is off if the seat is down also.

I pry would have put the amps behind the rear passenger panel, but was unsure if they would bake to death during the summer.

 

[Josef86]

Oh good pictures.

Thanks for all the help. I was think RF as well, but was not sure if they made 8" or not.

 

[Josef86]

Has anyone just replaced the rear sub with a different 8"? I guess I am going to have to take it get some messurements to make sure I get the correct one.

I found something I am not to sure about. It would see alpine has released a so called power pack that hooks up to all the 05+ decks. It ups the power from 18rmsx4 to 45rmsx4. Anyone have any experiance with this device? Since I have a newer alpine deck I may go this route if I find out it will work okay.

EDIT: I don't think there is enoght room behind the dash in the 03 xlt to fit this device.

 

[Anime]

Plenty of members have swapped out the factory 8" for an aftermarket one. Certain subs require the use of a spacer to make up for the larger magnet and deeper depth of the sub overall, but some shallow subs won't need any modification. The RF 8" subs are almost 4 inches deep so you might need a spacer for those.

As for the power pack, it seems nice, especially with the high-pass crossover. For the same $120, though, you can get a seperate 50Wx4 amp. The power pack might be more practical for installations where theres a ton of room for the head unit and not much space for an external amp.

 

[Josef86]

I found a local Alpine dealer that sells the power pack. I will at least look at it for consideration. A 4 channel is more then likly the better option.

Edit: Amp it is. It would seem this power pack is only on pre order. I don't plan on waiting for something like that.

Okay, so for running a 4 channel amp. Is it best to send new wires to each speaker. I know some places use a sort of cable that brings all wires from the amp directly to the location in the dash where the factory harness is and then from there uses the stock wiring. I think it would be best to just run new wires but wanted to get a 2nd opinion.

 

[Josef86]

Okay, does anyone have pics of amps under the 2nd row of seats in a 3rd gen?

Yes I do have a 3rd row, factory sub, and the stupid rear av controls. (it was used and came with it)

 

[Josef86]

Okay, I ended up going with JL over rockford. I have the factory sub box out and I am modding it now. Looks like I got to run to stupid walmart and get some screws or something. I thought I could use the factory screws, but I need them to hold down the fiber board spacer I had made up for it.

Well after this is all said and done, I can get to the amps.

 

[Josef86]

Bump.

So here is my update. I have a 4 channel under the left middle seat and I have a jl monoblock under the right middle seat.

I ran the main wire in and ran a splitter box. At this time only the sub gets power (pulled the fuse from the disrubution box). I am going to take some pics for what I have done so far.

Okay question time.
I kind of stripped the head of the bolt on the neg battery. Any ideas how to fix this? When I add the 4 channel fuse I would assume I want the neg disconnected.

How would you guys go about wiring the 4 channels?
That is to say should I run them down the middle and branch out from there hugging the center console best I can?

I can turn off the internal amp in the head unit. Would it be okay to just leave the stock wiring where it is and just cap and stow the ends? Since the internal amp is off

 

[Anime]

Use vise grips (or go buy some) to hold the stripped head of the bolt and unscrew the nut. Go to the parts store and get new battery terminal bolts. O'Reilly Auto Parts has them cheap, 49 cents or so. It's best to have the battery disconnected anytime you're working on electrical stuff.

Running new wires is good if you can do it, since the stock wires are kind of wimpy for anything over 20-30 watts. Best bet is to figure out what the shortest but cleanest path is for the wires, avoiding anywhere the wire might get pinched, caught, etc. Running wires along corners/edges usually works best, even if it means an extra foot or two of wire instead of going right across the floor or something.

It's fine to leave the stock wiring, better to do that anyway in case you ever want to pull your stuff out and return it back to the stock system to sell it or something. Plus it's less headache and will keep you from messing up any other wires attached with the stereo stuff.

 

[Josef86]

Thanks, I will try that with the vice grips.