Quote from Jakg :

The amp is rubbish - Sony's amps havent been any good for the last 10 years, and $200 for 600w RMS is rubbish.

what do you recommend, that will still not kill my budget, sound, or speakers? i prefer ordering from crutchfield; free shipping, lifetime support, 30 day guarantee, generally cheaper then other places, etc.

Quote :

Your speaker wire looks pretty expensive - I can get 10m (~33 feet) of 2.5mm² (13 AWG) speaker cable on eBay for around £5 (~$8).

i wasn't too woried about a few cents for a foot, but i guess i should check ebay for something as cheap as wire

how long should i need in total?

Quote :

DO NOT BUY A PREMADE PORTED BOX! I cannot stress this enough! A ported box has to be designed specifically for the sub your using - i.e. the main chamber must be the right size, and the port must be the right size (volume / length) for the particular sub you want to use, or it will sound rubbish. I would start with a sealed box, as it's the easiest to make (so if you buy a premade one chances are it's going to be ok), and if it's not quite the right size it won't sound shit. Also, a lot of people don't like the sound of ported boxes (me included - I spent several days making the perfect box only to find out I hate the things!)

this is where everything is going to get tricky. i heard a sealed box versus a ported box delivers cleaner, deeper bass. If im better off making a box, then good; im not too sure where to turn for a box though because of hearing mixed things.

Quote :

The subs look... ok, but nothing to write home about. Pioneers speakers are nothing special... for value bass, JBL GT5's get good reviews and can take a load of power.

the biggest thing is my budget. nothing is set in stone for anything. I want somthing that will be the best bang, and that will stay under 75-100$. I dont need anything brand new, or extra thin; just something that will sound good.

Quote :

No chance you could get some decent component speakers?

speakers are the least final thing im looking at. I need something that will fit with no modification; im not sure what the dsp radio has to do with this, but its confusing me.

Quote :

FWIW - you DONT need to match up the amp / speaker power perfectly. If your amp doesn't deliver enough power, when you drive it too hard you'll get distortion and then clipping which will kill the speakers. If you've got too much power, obviously you'll blow the speakers if you turn it up too much, but as long as your careful you'll get loads of headroom which means loads of clean power when your giving the speakers enough power. Most of my amps deliver 2x the rated power of the speakers.

how close do i have to get to the power ratings? obviously the closer the better, but i dont want to take chances with my volume knob; especially if i lend it out.


im probably going to create a seperate thread here, but not until i feel i have to.

thank you, guys.

overtaking through a blind corner... very very smart of you

its a 4 lane highway, the oncoming lane is to the right, you just cant see it through the grass/shrubbery

Dat white Subi!

Perth has an amazing car scene.

Quote from e2mustang :

check the air boot,and the air hose that goes to idle valve first if its torn.could be lots of things tho.

Been in there today and did not see anything that was out of the ordinary,, just a lot of dirt in that filter in the left front (driver side). I noticed that there was quite some smoke out of the exhaust (but it is pretty cold,, so ya) and that the was some vapor which was black as oil, is this normal?

Also, I turned on all the electrical stuff in the car and noticed that the car was running a little slower when I turned on my high beams. I only dropped once and climbed up right after that again.

maybe check your alternator/generator if it puts out around 14 volts with a volt meter.best if u check at the battery
with the smoke: could be a crankcase valve. lift your oil cap while running car,see if u hear sucking sound.

Quote from logitekg25 :

i wasn't too woried about a few cents for a foot, but i guess i should check ebay for something as cheap as wire

Thats a "how long is a peice of string" question, that only you can answer.... I've used ~20m for my door speakers, but then I've run dedicated wires from all the doors into the boot. It depends what your wiring up, from where to where, the route etc. But at the end of the day - cable is cheap. You will always find a use for the spare stuff.

I notice you've also not bought any power wire / accessories...

Quote from logitekg25 :

what do you recommend, that will still not kill my budget, sound, or speakers? i prefer ordering from crutchfield; free shipping, lifetime support, 30 day guarantee, generally cheaper then other places, etc.

Obviously you have different brands in the US, but looking through Crutchfield...

Alpine - ok,
Boston - older speakers were good, none of their new stuff is brilliant,
Diamond - good,
Focal - very good (although expensive),
Infinity - ok(ish),
JBL - good (...if your on a budget),
JL Audio - good (but quite expensive),
JVC - avoid,
Kenwood - ok(ish...),
Kicker - good
MTX - good,
Pioneer - nothing special,
Rockford Fosgate - good,
Sony - dont bother.

Avoid the Chinese stuff like the plague.

Quote from logitekg25 :

this is where everything is going to get tricky. i heard a sealed box versus a ported box delivers cleaner, deeper bass

A ported box gives more output, but not at all volumes - it will be tuned to a specific frequency, and anything above or below that isn't going to be that loud.

I built a ported box, and it kicks like nothing else on the lows... but as you start to bring the frequency up, you start to lose alot of the output, and so you don't really get any bass.

Plus, a ported box is harder to build, has to be much closer to the right size to sound good, plus is always going to be larger etc... my next box will be sealed for sure.

At the end of the day it's personal preference - but you cant just slap a speaker in any old box and expect it to sound good.

Quote from logitekg25 :

im probably going to create a seperate thread here, but not until i feel i have to.

This is probably the last place I would ask for car-audio advice tbh...

Try somewhere like here - http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/

Quote from Töki (HUN) :

Dat white Subi!

indeed, dat scooby :0

Quote from Jakg :

Thats a "how long is a peice of string" question, that only you can answer.... I've used ~20m for my door speakers, but then I've run dedicated wires from all the doors into the boot. It depends what your wiring up, from where to where, the route etc. But at the end of the day - cable is cheap. You will always find a use for the spare stuff.

I notice you've also not bought any power wire / accessories...
Obviously you have different brands in the US, but looking through Crutchfield...

Alpine - ok,
Boston - older speakers were good, none of their new stuff is brilliant,
Diamond - good,
Focal - very good (although expensive),
Infinity - ok(ish),
JBL - good (...if your on a budget),
JL Audio - good (but quite expensive),
JVC - avoid,
Kenwood - ok(ish...),
Kicker - good
MTX - good,
Pioneer - nothing special,
Rockford Fosgate - good,
Sony - dont bother.

Avoid the Chinese stuff like the plague.

A ported box gives more output, but not at all volumes - it will be tuned to a specific frequency, and anything above or below that isn't going to be that loud.

I built a ported box, and it kicks like nothing else on the lows... but as you start to bring the frequency up, you start to lose alot of the output, and so you don't really get any bass.

Plus, a ported box is harder to build, has to be much closer to the right size to sound good, plus is always going to be larger etc... my next box will be sealed for sure.

At the end of the day it's personal preference - but you cant just slap a speaker in any old box and expect it to sound good.
This is probably the last place I would ask for car-audio advice tbh...

Try somewhere like here - http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/

ok, i think i got this...just a recap to make sure..

for the wire, just take my own measurements, and add a few feet for comfort room?

doesn't this cover the "power-wire/accessories"? http://www.crutchfield.com/S-P ... Amplifier-Wiring-Kit.html



half of those brands i dont even think i considered on crutchfield; shouldnt have a problem there. il revise my list to make sure anyways.

dont plan on buying anything that i dont know the name.



if i can fit it, i will get ported i think. i will measure to make sure, obviously. my dad is great with measurements and he can help me with that.



when i figure out the main issues i am having, with the dsp etc, i will be sure to check out that forum.

thank you guys for your knowledge

Well here is my 1983 MK1 Golf with a 1.8 16V KR (MK2 GTi) engine. Hydrolic an cable gearbox conversion, 4 branch exhaust manifold, 2" 3/4 exhaust straight through, k-jet injection. Very nippy weighing about 850kg

Quote from e2mustang :

maybe check your alternator/generator if it puts out around 14 volts with a volt meter.best if u check at the battery
with the smoke: could be a crankcase valve. lift your oil cap while running car,see if u hear sucking sound.

If I hear a sucking sound (haven't checked yet since it is dark outside) is that good or bad news?

About the 14V: my mechanic has checked all kinds of electrical stuff by hooking up to a computer and found no irregularities he says, does a check like that include this alternator?

Quote from logitekg25 :

doesn't this cover the "power-wire/accessories"? http://www.crutchfield.com/S-P ... Amplifier-Wiring-Kit.html

Yes BUT it's stupidly expensive!

You can get an 8AWG kit on eBay for ~£12, but I'd go for 4AWG - it's only a little more (~£18), but 2.5x the current capacity... trust me, you'll apreciate it when you decide to go for another or larger amp and DONT have to rip it all out.

one last hassle with you, i hope

this is the updated, and perhaps final list of whatever.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_1 ... lon-KDC-X395.html?tp=5684
http://outlet.crutchfield.com/ ... ;nvpair=FFBrand%7cKenwood
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_1 ... t.html?ssi=0&tp=21571
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_2 ... .html?search=speaker+wire
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_2 ... mpVR-07CVR124.html?tp=111
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_109GT65/JBL-GT6-5.html?tp=97

what do you recommend as a change? what do you recommend i go on ebay/amazon for to find cheaper.

Apart from the fact that youre about to buy shit you've never heard in person for a car thats not even in your driveway yet, dont you think a pair of subwoofers will be absolute overkill if the rest of the audio system isnt up to it?

Quote from mamoru :

If I hear a sucking sound (haven't checked yet since it is dark outside) is that good or bad news?

About the 14V: my mechanic has checked all kinds of electrical stuff by hooking up to a computer and found no irregularities he says, does a check like that include this alternator?

If u hear a sucking sound thats not bad,but not good. that means the cranccase vent valve or hoses have leak,and that causes the car run funny,or die out while driving and loose power.
Did ur mechanic put a charging system/battery machine on ,or a fault code computer? coz an ordinary computer does not check your charging system,but some of it has an option to show system voltage.

Quote from e2mustang :

If u hear a sucking sound thats not bad,but not good. that means the cranccase vent valve or hoses have leak,and that causes the car run funny,or die out while driving and loose power.
Did ur mechanic put a charging system/battery machine on ,or a fault code computer? coz an ordinary computer does not check your charging system,but some of it has an option to show system voltage.

I have no idea what he has put on it. I will check for noises tomorrow and let you know about it. I will bring the car to him next Thursday because my starter is acting funny so I am getting a new one installed.

Quote from logitekg25 :

one last hassle with you, i hope

this is the updated, and perhaps final list of whatever.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_1 ... lon-KDC-X395.html?tp=5684
http://outlet.crutchfield.com/ ... ;nvpair=FFBrand%7cKenwood
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_1 ... t.html?ssi=0&tp=21571
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_2 ... .html?search=speaker+wire
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_2 ... mpVR-07CVR124.html?tp=111
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_109GT65/JBL-GT6-5.html?tp=97

what do you recommend as a change? what do you recommend i go on ebay/amazon for to find cheaper.

On the unit make sure its at least 4x50W but most new units are that way,and with speakers make sure if its a 2 or 3 way that it has a built in crossover,coz if not than u gotta buy em too. Oh and check speaker RMS wattige too,higher the better.
Oh and dont put 2x12 sub. a good 10 is way enough in a car

Quote from lowrider181 :

Well here is my 1983 MK1 Golf with a 1.8 16V KR (MK2 GTi) engine. Hydrolic an cable gearbox conversion, 4 branch exhaust manifold, 2" 3/4 exhaust straight through, k-jet injection. Very nippy weighing about 850kg

like that mate just don't bother with the wheel lock eh? bet that goes quite well either way

couple of pics from this weekend with a buddy from ukmkivs.net

it has the 4x50W power outputs, but i cant find if it has the crossover...any idea jakg?


EDIT: and im rebuilding the whole audio system because i have to. the DSP radio it comes with wont allow it any other way without other modifying. so it isn't a question of the system being up to it, but a question of buying the right stuff.

I would imagine pretty much any co-ax speaker would have a crossover built in - but I would always go for a proper component set if possible.

Quote from logitekg25 :

one last hassle with you, i hope

this is the updated, and perhaps final list of whatever.

If you do buy two of those subs you will have to wire the two voice coils in series to bring the ohm load to 8ohm, and then wire both subs in series to bring it back down to 4ohm. So your power at 4ohms on your amplifier is 500w, meaning 250w to each sub.

Also ported box's tend to be for SPL, as in if you build a ported box its going to be mainly for car shaking.
Sealed boxes tend to be for quality, if you build a sealed box its going to not have as much rumble, but sound far far better.
So it depends on what you want exactly.

Edit:
Also, just wondering, why cant you use your current build in headunit? Why does this DSP radio mean you cant build upon that?

each description of a ported vs. sealed box i want to change what i want...il figure it out eventually

i cant just wire the sub's parallel? will that work?

also, the dsp basically just makes the amp that comes with the car incompatable with everything else; my head unit's display is not working, and i want to be able to use my ipod. for this combo, it is easiest to just replace everything.

Quote from logitekg25 :

i cant just wire the sub's parallel? will that work?

You have dual voice coil subs - it's got two separate +/- to get the impedance you want.

logitek you'll need to buy a new car which you can put ipod in. :hide:

oh yeah also say hello to my wittle fwend