am i underpowered or overpowered?

[shaggy 10+ year member]

I have 2 RF P3 subs and a hifonics 1200w amp. When the amp is wired to 2 ohms it has 900w and wired to 4 ohms it has 450w. The subs are 400w rms each. But i have gone to two places to have it installed and one said he would wire it to 4 ohms and it will be underpowered and then best buy said they would wire it to 2 ohms and it will be overpowered so which one is it if you guys know? thanks for any help

Click to read more...

 

[05fronty 5,000+ posts]

what ohm are the subs? what model hifonics amp? those subs take 500 watts rms each, i think

 

[shaggy 10+ year member]

The amp is a hifonics brutus bxi 1208d

the rockford fosgate p3's are 4 ohm but im not sure if they are dual 4 ohm or not. Because i think if they are 4 ohm then they would be overpowered because u would wire them to 2 ohm and if they are dual 4 ohm then you would wire them to 4 ohms and then would be underpowered, am i right? im just not sure which one they are.

http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/products/product_details.asp?cat_id=4&series_id=31&family_id=11&item_id=108287&locale=en_US&p_status=

That is the website for the subs but i thin i have the older version because they are a more gray color and they say punch in the middle of the sub.

 

[ctt0002 10+ year member]

if you're 4ohm then you can either wire them 4ohms or 1ohms.

 

[shaggy 10+ year member]

whats the difference between the two is it clearer any way or what?

 

[99grandprixGT 5,000+ posts]

the difference is the amount of power the amp puts out. just because your amp puts out 1200 watts does not mean u have to use all of it.

 

[shaneb 10+ year member]

overpowering won't kill you.

Just watch your gains.

Underpowering won't kill you either.

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

overpowering won't kill you.Just watch your gains.

Underpowering won't kill you either.

False information... not completely false, but it's confusing to someone who doesn't know much of what they're doing.

Most drivers can take more than what their rated RMS is. Most of the time they can only take 100-200 RMS more than rated (I.E. My subs are rated at 250 RMS, but I'm giving them about 350 and they show no sign of wear and tear)

I recently got a pair of P3's for my friend's car, and if I remember correctly they were 500 RMS a piece.

We can't tell you much unless you tell us if they're single or dual voice coil.

If you can, just take your sub out and count how many terminals there are. (If it's one pair, it's single... if there's two pairs it's double)

 

[shaggy 10+ year member]

The P3's are 400 rms each and i just looked it up and they are dual voice coils.

 

[99grandprixGT 5,000+ posts]

The P3's are 400 rms each and i just looked it up and they are dual voice coils.

if they are dual 4 ohm wire them to 1 ohm. and set ur gain correctly and you will be fine with that amp.

 

[shaggy 10+ year member]

Ok i will do it, but i was wondering is there any difference in 4 ohm or 1 ohm? I no the power increases but what else changes like soundy quality or anything?