Adding amp using existing oem speaker wiring

[maylar 10+ year member]

On my last build, both my tweets and 3.5s had 150w. What am I doing wrong?

Maybe I'm behind the times with what's available today. Please show us what 3.5's you had that can handle 150 watts.

 

[ctker]

What I asked you was what the stock system was. 6 speakers, OK. How did you wire the center speaker in the dash? AFAIK a head unit won't accommodate that. And was the wiring already in place for the rear doors? I'm having trouble understanding how a factory head unit could power all those speakers.

Maybe I'm behind the times with what's available today. Please show us what 3.5's you had that can handle 150 watts.

What I asked you was what the stock system was. 6 speakers, OK. How did you wire the center speaker in the dash? AFAIK a head unit won't accommodate that. And was the wiring already in place for the rear doors? I'm having trouble understanding how a factory head unit could power all those speakers.

Okay so my factory head unit is the FCA unconnect 5.0, which wouldn’t be able to handle all these speakers, but before I even replaced any of these speakers, I upgraded to a Uconnect 8.4 which is the head unit they use in the upgraded sound package. I simply tapped into the other 3.5s in the dash for the dash speaker, and the rear doors are tapped into the rear deck. Don’t get me wrong they work, they obviously just don’t sound amazing, and I can tell the head unit is working harder than it should. This doesn’t bother me because I have a new headunit on the way, and plan on amplifying asap. The only reason I did it so early was to give me an excuse to ‘fabricate’ the speakers in place and get all my speaker locations deadened. Which i didn’t feel comfortable doing without the speakers already in place.
Wiring was not in place in the dash nor the rear doors.
Sorry for the confusion, and thanks for the input

 

[mahc 10+ year member]

Maybe I'm behind the times with what's available today. Please show us what 3.5's you had that can handle 150 watts.

About to pump 280w into these in my current build and no one can stop me.

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

About to pump 280w into these in my current build and no one can stop me.

I'm happy for you. But that's not a 3.5 inch car speaker.

 

[mahc 10+ year member]

I'm happy for you. But that's not a 3.5 inch car speaker.

What.. since when? I got scammed again.

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

What.. since when? I got scammed again.

View attachment 60129

Can you post a link to them please?

 

[mahc 10+ year member]

Can you post a link to them please?

pdf

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

pdf

Wow. Thanks. I see that Morel also has some 3.5's that'll handle 120 watts , for a paltry $900
They'll need some modifications to the standard mounting configuration but I'll bet that they sound nice.

When I dealt with 3.5's it was 10 years ago and the best available were Boston Acoustics FE3's, good for about 40 watts. I killed a few of them with just the head unit. OEM installs have power limit and hipass built into the factory systems to keep folks from hurting them.

Given that the OP is using Kicker's, I stand by my original suggestion of only amping his 6X9's.

BTW, what did those puppies cost?

 

[mahc 10+ year member]

Wow. Thanks. I see that Morel also has some 3.5's that'll handle 120 watts , for a paltry $900
They'll need some modifications to the standard mounting configuration but I'll bet that they sound nice.

When I dealt with 3.5's it was 10 years ago and the best available were Boston Acoustics FE3's, good for about 40 watts. I killed a few of them with just the head unit. OEM installs have power limit and hipass built into the factory systems to keep folks from hurting them.

Given that the OP is using Kicker's, I stand by my original suggestion of only amping his 6X9's.

BTW, what did those puppies cost?

Paid $900 iirc but my point is that I would never use dirty head unit full range power as a reference. Distortion is what kills speakers and you should always use as much power as you can (headroom) with the proper xo point.

 

[ctker]

Wow. Thanks. I see that Morel also has some 3.5's that'll handle 120 watts , for a paltry $900
They'll need some modifications to the standard mounting configuration but I'll bet that they sound nice.

When I dealt with 3.5's it was 10 years ago and the best available were Boston Acoustics FE3's, good for about 40 watts. I killed a few of them with just the head unit. OEM installs have power limit and hipass built into the factory systems to keep folks from hurting them.

Given that the OP is using Kicker's, I stand by my original suggestion of only amping his 6X9's.

BTW, what did those puppies cost?

I picked up the Kicker KSC40s, for all 5 3.5s, I believe they are 75 watt, 150 watt peak… I could be wrong but I’m sure they can handle some amplification

 

[mahc 10+ year member]

I picked up the Kicker KSC40s, for all 5 3.5s, I believe they are 75 watt, 150 watt peak… I could be wrong but I’m sure they can handle some amplification

Yes they can if you know what you are doing.

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

I picked up the Kicker KSC40s, for all 5 3.5s, I believe they are 75 watt, 150 watt peak… I could be wrong but I’m sure they can handle some amplification

OK, go for it. BTW I hate center channel dash speakers. They destroy the sound stage IMO. In my upcoming install I'm going to repurpose the dash center speaker to be the door chimes, instead of the left front speaker (which will be on an amp).

 

[mahc 10+ year member]

OK, go for it. BTW I hate center channel dash speakers. They destroy the sound stage IMO. In my upcoming install I'm going to repurpose the dash center speaker to be the door chimes, instead of the left front speaker (which will be on an amp).

Center channels are nice when you have no time delays. Some like it even with heavy processing.

 

[ctker]

Yes they can if you know what you are doing.

This is my first car audio install, but I’m quite cautious and do have a good knowledge of electricity(although I know that isn’t all of car audio) but like I said before I’m less going for super loud booming music, and more so trying to make a very clean crisp sound stage. To get to that point I’m sure things will need to be amplified, but not to a crazy extent, and I’m willing to take the risks. Thank you tho for your concerns and help. Could you elaborate on how the center dash tweeter ruins the sound stage? And if you’d recommend it go somewhere else, where would you put it?

 

[Cee]

Again, I would not bother amping any 3.5's. I've blown out the best of them with just HU power.

Really? I mean in this case the OP probably shouldn't, but I actively amplify every single driver including tweets and 3 1/2". Never blew a single driver except after years of use.