Bought 2 RE audio 18 SX's....... and....

[snfsh79077 10+ year member]

Sweet man, thanks for giving me that little boost of confidence to look into it, maybe i can pull it off. But i am very limited for tools, and i have no experiance hiding wire through a car.
But it seems, you guys are very nice (alot nicer than i expected ) and are willing to help, and guide me through this so maybe its worth giving a shot //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Could you give me maybe, a quick run-down of what tools would be needed to pull off such a job, and the complexety level of it for somebody who has done no installing before ?

Do you need special terminals for your battery to be able to hold another 0 gauge wire comming to the positive/negative with the connection points on it ? sorry i am having a hard time visualizing it in my head...

thanks man.

lets see...you would need the following:

new terminals for your batteries which can be bought online.

a drill and drill bits to drill through the fire wall

something to crimp the 0 gauge terminal rings (or you could take it to future shop and have them crimp them for you)

a screw driver and allen wrenches to tighten the terminals and screw down whatever you use to hold the back battery

and any necessary tools needed to route the wire through your car

I could be forgetting some stuff but it's really not that hard

 

[knowledgestick 10+ year member]

lets see...you would need the following:new terminals for your batteries which can be bought online.

a drill and drill bits to drill through the fire wall

something to crimp the 0 gauge terminal rings (or you could take it to future shop and have them crimp them for you)

a screw driver and allen wrenches to tighten the terminals and screw down whatever you use to hold the back battery

and any necessary tools needed to route the wire through your car

I could be forgetting some stuff but it's really not that hard

Thanks man, im gonna take a look at the firewall, see where they drilled through for the first hole and get an idea of how they hid the wire and start to think of how i could do it. As in new battery terminals do you mean ones that can support more than 1 connection point ? my batterys have screw-in tops and look like they are built to have more than 1 wire connecting to them, I will take video shortly.

I have been looking into propper electrical systems and found this and i quote :

"A capacitor is only good so far as the audio system isn't trying to pull too much from the electrical system. A cap doesn't provide more power, it's designed to 'stiffen' the voltage to the amp, nothing else. If the current isn't there, a cap won't help.

The alternator must have at least 20% more amperage power than the entire vehicle and sound system combined for a cap to be of benefit which is

ironically the same requirements for an amp to be efficient. "

Perhaps my system is pulling to much current from the electrical s ystem, and since i dont have enough power with the capacitor back there it is just choking the amplifier, And also that my kinetik HC 1800 is not enough for the entire system, but when i add my 2000 in it will be. So at this point, there will be the propper current, to back up the RMS. And maybe this will finally resolve the issue. I will be so nervous to turn the system on with the new battery, if it is louder and i dont even have to touch the gain i think i will jump out of my skin ill be so happy.

 

[snb778 5,000+ posts]

just make sure you get something that will deliver the quick release of energy.. seeming more and more like that was the problem with my electrical.. I had a Deka G31, and an Optima...was still dropping to 11.8 on 3000W, but it would go right back to 14.2-3 after the note... held fine @ 90% volume though... Kinetik and Batcap for me for now on

 

[snfsh79077 10+ year member]

Thanks man, im gonna take a look at the firewall, see where they drilled through for the first hole and get an idea of how they hid the wire and start to think of how i could do it. As in new battery terminals do you mean ones that can support more than 1 connection point ? my batterys have screw-in tops and look like they are built to have more than 1 wire connecting to them, I will take video shortly.
I have been looking into propper electrical systems and found this and i quote :

"A capacitor is only good so far as the audio system isn't trying to pull too much from the electrical system. A cap doesn't provide more power, it's designed to 'stiffen' the voltage to the amp, nothing else. If the current isn't there, a cap won't help.

The alternator must have at least 20% more amperage power than the entire vehicle and sound system combined for a cap to be of benefit which is

A capacitor is only good so far as the audio system isn't trying to pull too much from the electrical system. A cap doesn't provide more power, it's designed to 'stiffen' the voltage to the amp, nothing else. If the current isn't there, a cap won't help.

The alternator must have at least 20% more amperage power than the entire vehicle and sound system combined for a cap to be of benefit which is

ironically the same requirements for an amp to be efficient. "

Perhaps my system is pulling to much current from the electrical s ystem, and since i dont have enough power with the capacitor back there it is just choking the amplifier, And also that my kinetik HC 1800 is not enough for the entire system, but when i add my 2000 in it will be. So at this point, there will be the propper current, to back up the RMS. And maybe this will finally resolve the issue. I will be so nervous to turn the system on with the new battery, if it is louder and i dont even have to touch the gain i think i will jump out of my skin ill be so happy.

yes you are pulling to much current than your electrical can handle which is the reason for the upgrade.

As for your battery you can attach wires a few different ways. You can get battery posts and use battery terminals that support two or more 0 gauge wires or you can just use the bolts and ring terminals to attach the wires to the battery.

 

[Haunz 10+ year member]

Aluminum has a greater heat dispersion than copper.

huh?


This thread is full of fail...

OP PM me and I will send you some dustcaps that won't melt... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

 

[knowledgestick 10+ year member]

oh and also could there have been any other mistakes made when future shop installed this amplifier that could be causing it to seem so weak unless gain is cranked all the way up? anything related to the fuse ? i am just trying to cover all angles.

this has been a problem ever since i had the amplifier installed, it never truely sounded like 2600 RMS should sound, unless the gain was maxxed out and even then it probably should sound alot louder.

I have a good feeling they either messed up the installation of the amplifier someware along the way ( why im asking u guys ) and that the amplifier is reciving shitty power for some reason, perhaps bad connection points or somthing of that nature.

But i am almost 100% positive removing the capacitor and placing the kinetik hc 2000 in its place will be a night/day change. I would still like to look into the possibilitys of futureshop messing up along the way because i am taking them to small claims court for this install and any other errors they made that i can pin-point will only make my case stronger, and i may be able to get more money back if they did infact mess up the install for my amplifier.

Lets just hope dropping the new battery in clears up the issues, and gives the brutus the power it needs to feed the subs with some clean good power.

 

[knowledgestick 10+ year member]

yes you are pulling to much current than your electrical can handle which is the reason for the upgrade.
As for your battery you can attach wires a few different ways. You can get battery posts and use battery terminals that support two or more 0 gauge wires or you can just use the bolts and ring terminals to attach the wires to the battery.

you rule, thanks for all the help man. I will keep you all posted as this install develops and hopefully gets this issue resolved, i am shocked there has only been a few haters in this thread... i really do truely appreciate the help you all have given me.

I would be at a complete loss without this community, and i owe it a big one.

Thanks alot guys !

OH and i have read on some other forums that some hifonics amplifiers have faulty RCA out-puts, how could i test for this and could this be the problem ?

again, thanks //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[knowledgestick 10+ year member]

here is a little bit more information i thought i would share that i have come across that somewhat lends credability to my theory. And also will help me in court against future shop since they pushed the capacitor on me harder than a cocaine dealer and told me to keep it and that changing it out for my kinetik hc 2000 along time ago ( when i had my MA audio's still ) would do absolutely nothing to improve system preformance. HA.

Link :http://www.isyougeekedup.com/car-audio-capacitors-are-a-waste-of-money/

Article :

In my experiences, many newbies think they need a capacitor installed along with their amplifier and subwoofers because of the reason that a capacitor will provide power when the amp needs it. Here’s the problem: The amp always needs power, and whatever “extra” power it needs will be sucked out of your capacitor in milliseconds. After you have discharged the capacitor due to heavy power draw, the capacitor will need to recharge.

How does it recharge? Well, the capacitor sits in between your battery and your amplifier. Once the capacitor is discharged, it will attempt to charge itself by drawing power from your battery. Then, when the amp needs power, the capacitor will supply current from the battery as well as any “extra” current it has saved up. Once its discharged, the vicious cycle continues.

Most common car audio capacitors are rated at 1 farad, while I’ve seen some reach as high as 5, 10, 20, and higher. No matter how high the rating, a capacitor will still hamper performance. This is because capacitors cannot supply the needed current for any extended duration of time. When your amplifier needs current, it will **** the capacitor dry in less than one second, leaving your capacitor to use your battery to charge up again. Once the capacitor is charged, that extra current can then be transferred onto the amp.

See where I’m going now? If a capacitor can only hold a charge for less than one second, while drawing substantial amounts of current from your battery in an attempt to charge back up while delaying power the amp, then what is the point? There is none. Capacitors are known in the car audio community as a marketing ploy to make people think they need something, when in reality, they really don’t. Take your money and invest it in a second battery. A capacitor these days runs between $50-$80. Add a few more dollars and you can get a second battery, which will supply your amplifier with much more power than a capacitor ever could, while not straining your electrical system.

 

[brian84corvette 10+ year member]

that article is verry true.

did you ponder the idea of low rca voltage still ?

my local swap shop has a memphas line driver I could of bought the other day bnib.

for $40 was ajustable on its voltage, and had a red light that would come on if you ajusted the gain too high on it to cause clipping. thought that was a neat feature.

its proly still there at the shop.

thinking of getting it still. - even tho I got a 6 channel line driver eq

also - since we are running re sx 18's here ( yes ? I think thats the sub in question )

I have mine in a ported box, wich measures 7.2 cubes total displacment

minus the bracing + port + sub displacment - I have right about 5 cubes for my sub.

and it has lived a happy life off of a hifonics bxi1206d

now I put a bx1605d on it to try more power ( it was cheap so I bit - extra 400w = not much improvment )

but still I can play as loud as it getts and not smell coils cooking, or even feel the slightest amount of heat coming from the center of the sub ( I check every now and again just to see. )

just for fun, here is a pic of my current box in the vette with the 18"

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc279/brian84corvette/PICT0005_edited-1.jpg

altho I dont see this box staying in much longer, as it realley is too small for this sub.

I plan to glass in the bottom + sides and use all the room avalable in my hatch for box

and use wood front and top. hopefully giving me around 7 cubes after port and disp.

a fiew pages back - that wall with 2 sx 18"s - looks amazing.

can any one who that belongs to chime in, id love to talk to them about how it plays

daily / vs music events / vs burping at comps. wondering how versitile it is.

 

[Bassman999 10+ year member]

If you are having voltage drop that bad below 12 volts that is the problem there most likely. You need to have good solid ground points solid connections to amps and batteries and enough alternator amperage. 1 weak point is all that is needed to cause weak voltage under a load. A 140 amp alternator can support a 100-120 amp current draw for extended periods. Your amp can pull as much as 260 amps or more at full tilt. No amount of batteries will help. They will drain and become an additional load on the alternator.There is no way around it, it takes power to make power. Extra batteries will keep up for a song or so only till they drain depending on how many of what size u have. After that they need to recharge for the next cranking session. Moderate listening wont tax the system and can allow for recharging.

Also on box size compared to driver size from Audioque:

How To Design Your High Output Sub Enclosure

We don’t believe in the tiny sub box theory. If you are looking for tiny sound, get a tiny sub and put it in a tiny box. Be happy. If you are looking for real bass, you need to have a real box.

In order to get true high performance, you have to make the most of the available airspace you have. To do otherwise is wasting your time, energy and money. Don’t try to fit a larger speaker in a box that is better suited for the next size down. Our subs all have the same amount of throw, the same force available, and the smaller sub in the right space will outperform the larger sub in too small an airspace.

The first step in getting major bass in your vehicle is to allocate the space for your enclosure. If you really want to flex some sheet metal, the old adage applies, “there is no substitute for cubic inches”. The more space you make available, the higher the potential spl.

 

[knowledgestick 10+ year member]

hey guys, what would you say if i told you that my fuse for my amplifier witch is supose to be 250 amp, is only a 150 amp fuse. I popped the hood, after i checked an article on the net, that said they are 250 amp external fuses, i double checked the instruction manual and darted outside with my camera in hand and recorded the hole thing, if this is true and this is infact a big big fault in the install, then they are going to get reemed in court for this....

Isnt this like my amplifier techinically playing with 100 amps less of fuse than it requires ? i am blown away by this... no wonder the neons on the amplifier are so **** dim, and that i have to crank gain and everything else up so high. for **** sakes,

This was done way back when future shop origonally replaced their amplifier with mine.... sooooo am i correct in getting the feeling that this could be why it is sooooo quiet unless the gain is cranked witch is also causing extreme thermal stress on the woofers ?

urgh this could be the prime suspect of the problem now, somthing easy to fix, but somthing that has been in there for along time like this, and i have always wondered why my gain settings had to be so high on my hifonics, now i know why.

This is probably what also contributed to my other woofers giving-way pre-maturely, if this is indeed somthing that causes a problem then this is huge.

When i replace the fuse with a 250 amp fuse i should notice a night/day differance shouldnt i ? i mean, this is still kinda rattling my brain so i dont get how bad this would effect my system, but my gut feeling says alot.

-andrew

*edit* video link will be up tomarow morning it is uploading/hosting tonight those who know my blip.tv channel can watch and see when its up !

 

[knowledgestick 10+ year member]

also bassman i am getting another H-O alt ASAP, a 160 amp hopefully. That will give me more than enough power, once i get this fuse issue fixed...

the 2 batterys, and 300 amps in alternator power should be more than enough in the end for this system.

Can somebody respond ASAP about the fuse issue please ? i am working on getting the video uploaded ASAP.

it will be on my blip.tv channel as soon as it uploads but i have to go to sleep now my GF works tomarow so check it out guys durring the night i wont have time to post the link and wait for it to upload.

gnite you guys, found out alot today...

-andrew

 

[Bassman999 10+ year member]

a weak fuse wont do anything except blow when its limit is surpassed. But do replace it with a 250 amp fuse regardless.

 

[Bassman999 10+ year member]

u r adding a 2nd alt right not replacing if i remember right from a previous conversation? If this is correct you are on the road to success. Did u read the text about enclosure size? Sometimes it is louder to go with a smaller sub to get louder if the enclosure isnt big enough. Seems like most ppl are suing 6-10 ft^3 per sx 18.

 

[knowledgestick 10+ year member]

a weak fuse wont do anything except blow when its limit is surpassed. But do replace it with a 250 amp fuse regardless.

so you dont think this was making the amplifier any weaker than if it had its full required fusing ? or any less able to produce the propper amount of current ?

i have a big feeling that this is why the thing sounds so quiet unless the gain is cranked, anybody blown a fuse b4 ? the amp still plays just sounds quiet and like shit...

well maybe since the fuse isnt blown, but is 100 amps less than required the amplifier is just extremely cut-back and not reciving the current it needs from that point back.

This combined with the capacitor cannot be helping at all.