Entry level system - suggestions ?

[DanielSan 10+ year member]

Hello,

I am planning to replace the speakers in my 94 Bmw 530i. I've already bought the speakers, amps and cables/fuses(thank you knukonceptz amazing quality cables). I still need to buy the subwoofer/box and Eq. Before starting to put everything in the car I thought I should ask the experts if the system is well put together and safe. I want to mention that the battery is located under the backseat. My experience in the audio world is limited to home audio so please, any advices are welcome.

To make it more simple I made this scheme :

Should I use a distribution block for the ground too ? Or should I ground them separately ? Planning to use the rear seat-belt nuts for ground. If you can recommend a better 10" SQ dual 4ohm or single 2 ohm Subwoofer in the 250-350w area that won't exceed $160 please let me know. Also I am using the eq because my HU doesn't have 3 pairs of outputs (f/r/sub) and I don't want to mess with y cables.

Thanks in advance .

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[azphat12 10+ year member]

It looks ok. I would probably do 4ga wire all the way to the amps. You might even have enough left over after your main power run.

Personally I do not use distro blocks for ground. I would recommend grounding each one.

If possible to separate grounds unless your seatbelt bolt is a very solid ground.

Also, you can use this calculator to determine what speaker wire gauge you need.

http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/speakerwireselectorassistant.swf

From what I have heard, the Infinity is decent. For $30 more you can get a Sundown Audio 10/12 that is good for SQ and SPL. Just a tip.

I would say the box will be most important based on what you want.

Ported for boomy bass, and takes up more space.

Sealed for tighter bass, and takes up less space

There are many debates and forum articles that go more in depth on Ported vs Sealed, but that is the barebones basics.

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

Thats about it ^^^ I am a ported 12's guy myself, its the perfect mix of deep and tight bass IMO

 

[DanielSan 10+ year member]

Thank you for your inputs ! I looked at the Sundown SA Series 10" , but the price is a little bit too steep for what I'm planning to spend on my subwoofer, also it has 600w rms...which I wouldn't be able to use since my amp is 300w rms only. If my budged would have been higher to afford an amp that suits the Sundown, I would definitely consider that sub.

About the box , I was thinking sealed....since I am looking for more accurate bass but I don't know what would work best with the Infinity.....I am going to do more research on that.

 

[lilboom 10+ year member]

+2 on the 4ga..

just because a sub is rated over desirable rms does not mean bad

under powering to much suggested rms is bad .. generally of course not a fact or anything like that . just some companies have a min rms and a max

 

[DanielSan 10+ year member]

+2 on the 4ga..just because a sub is rated over desirable rms does not mean bad

under powering to much suggested rms is bad .. generally of course not a fact or anything like that . just some companies have a min rms and a max

Thanks for the advice !

So you guys think I should run 4ga wires .Both amps require 8ga according to their manual and they are going to be very close to the battery .Also they require 40a and 50a fuses. Should I wire two separate cables for each amp ? And place an inline fuse on each one (40 and 50a)? I guess I'll order 4 ga.

 

[lilboom 10+ year member]

wel if amps only allow 8ga ok . also since you running a disribution block 4ga to disribution block and 8ga from disribution block would be ideal.

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

You'll be fine with the power wire as shown on your system diagram. This isn't a run of 8 ga wire from the battery under the hood. If you already had enough 4 ga wire leftover and your distribution block is 4 ga in > 2 4 ga out I would use 4 ga all the way to the amps. I would not order more 4 ga wire and more fuse blocks.

 

[azphat12 10+ year member]

If you run 4ga back, then 8ga for a short run to the amp then that should be fine. If you upgrade the amp you might have to upgrade that 8ga though.

Also, you could buy a fused distro block. They are not all that expensive. I think Knukonceptz has one for $20 plus shipping.

You could fuse your 4ga near the battery with say a 100 amp fuse, then use the 50amp/40amp fuse in the distro block for each 8ga run.

That would give you a little more protection on your power wires for a small amount of money.

Do you "have" to do that....no. But $20 give or take for more safety seems like a good deal to me.

 

[DanielSan 10+ year member]

Also, you could buy a fused distro block. They are not all that expensive. I think Knukonceptz has one for $20 plus shipping.

You could fuse your 4ga near the battery with say a 100 amp fuse, then use the 50amp/40amp fuse in the distro block for each 8ga run.

This is exactly what I am going to do.

Thank you everyone for your advices.