JBB88
CarAudio.com Newbie
Hi all, I am a complete audio beginner and want to thank you in advance for any support offered! I also apologize for my long post.
I have a 1995 Nissan 240sx that I am planning to install a complete system in......in maybe a year or so. BUT, in the next month I am going to be installing sound deadening material and new carpet so I thought that it would be an opportune time to run any cables now that I would need when it comes time for the audio equipment. This way I won't have to go through the work of removing my seats and pulling up the carpet for a clean install later down the road.
After a ton of research and cost consideration, I've decided to run dynamat xtreme throughout the entire car (cheaper per sq. ft. versus damplifier pro and almost equivalent performance), and second skin luxury liner pro on top of it (i) in the door cards, (ii) under the front seats and floor area, (iii) under the rear "foot" area, and (iv) in the trunk, under a piece of mdf that I will be cutting to the shape of the trunk floor.
I do have a bunch of questions and my thoughts are a little jumbled so I will do my best to organize this logically and in a linear manner..
I have previously relocated my battery to the trunk. Its running a 4ga power cable from the trunk to a 150 amp fusible switch (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ITN38XG/?tag=caraudiocom-20) and then to the fuse box in the engine bay, where it goes to the alternator, etc. The switch was installed as part of an anti-theft measure so I can flip the switch in the trunk and there would be no power. I think when I did my engine swap I also had a power draw somewhere that I ran out of time to chase down so I used the switch to keep my battery from getting drained.
As a side note, my car comes from the factory with either an 80 or 90 amp alternator. I have already "upgraded" to a Nissan Quest (minivan) alternator which is rated at 125 amps. It's a common upgrade for people with my engine swap.
I have narrowed down the components for my system to be the following, but I am open to other suggestions:
4x Alpine SPE-6000 Speakers (1 for each front door and 2 for the rear shelf)
1x Alpine R-W12D2 12" Subwoofer
1x Alpine X-A90M Mono Amp
1x Alpine S-A32F 4-Channel Amp
1x Alpine iLX-W650 Head Unit
1. Is this too much "system" for my single battery and 125amp alternator? Should I look into lesser powered equipment? Is it too much for my size vehicle?
2. Do the door speakers and rear shelf speakers require new wiring?...I think this is an obvious yes since they have to go to the amp and not to the head unit and the factory wire is super small (like 22 or 24 ga). I would have to run new wire from the doors to the dash area and then to the trunk where the amp is located? The rear shelf is already right near the amp's [future] location. If so, what gauge should I get here?
3. If each amp will require a signal wire from the head unit, am I able to splice 2 wires together (i.e. a "Y") from each amp together into 1 wire to the head unit for the signal/remote? What gauge wire should I use here?
4. This is a multi-part question. I want to get maybe 10-15 ft. of both red and black 1/0 gauge OFC cable for my trunk battery setup. I can re-do the ground cable in 1/0 and that should leave enough length for both amps' ground cables. (A) Can the amp ground cables go to the same chassis ground location as the battery?. I also want to run the 1/0 power cable from the battery to the fused switch, and then 1/0 to some sort of a power distribution block. The 4ga from the front of the car can go to the power block and both amps can run 1/0 power cables to the distribution block. (B) Do I need an inline fuse for each 1/0 power cable going from an amp to the distribution block? (this is in addition to the fused switch feeding the power distribution block)
So my shopping list should be....
3x RCA cable pairs? 1 for sub amp, 2 for 4 channel amp?
1x 100 ft. ...14ga red/black speaker wire?
~15 ft. 1/0 cable
1x 50 ft 14ga single wire for remote/signal
Various terminal ends, heat shrink, etc.
So that's all that I can think of now. Thank you for making it to the end and any advice you can offer!
I have a 1995 Nissan 240sx that I am planning to install a complete system in......in maybe a year or so. BUT, in the next month I am going to be installing sound deadening material and new carpet so I thought that it would be an opportune time to run any cables now that I would need when it comes time for the audio equipment. This way I won't have to go through the work of removing my seats and pulling up the carpet for a clean install later down the road.
After a ton of research and cost consideration, I've decided to run dynamat xtreme throughout the entire car (cheaper per sq. ft. versus damplifier pro and almost equivalent performance), and second skin luxury liner pro on top of it (i) in the door cards, (ii) under the front seats and floor area, (iii) under the rear "foot" area, and (iv) in the trunk, under a piece of mdf that I will be cutting to the shape of the trunk floor.
I do have a bunch of questions and my thoughts are a little jumbled so I will do my best to organize this logically and in a linear manner..
I have previously relocated my battery to the trunk. Its running a 4ga power cable from the trunk to a 150 amp fusible switch (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ITN38XG/?tag=caraudiocom-20) and then to the fuse box in the engine bay, where it goes to the alternator, etc. The switch was installed as part of an anti-theft measure so I can flip the switch in the trunk and there would be no power. I think when I did my engine swap I also had a power draw somewhere that I ran out of time to chase down so I used the switch to keep my battery from getting drained.
As a side note, my car comes from the factory with either an 80 or 90 amp alternator. I have already "upgraded" to a Nissan Quest (minivan) alternator which is rated at 125 amps. It's a common upgrade for people with my engine swap.
I have narrowed down the components for my system to be the following, but I am open to other suggestions:
4x Alpine SPE-6000 Speakers (1 for each front door and 2 for the rear shelf)
1x Alpine R-W12D2 12" Subwoofer
1x Alpine X-A90M Mono Amp
1x Alpine S-A32F 4-Channel Amp
1x Alpine iLX-W650 Head Unit
1. Is this too much "system" for my single battery and 125amp alternator? Should I look into lesser powered equipment? Is it too much for my size vehicle?
2. Do the door speakers and rear shelf speakers require new wiring?...I think this is an obvious yes since they have to go to the amp and not to the head unit and the factory wire is super small (like 22 or 24 ga). I would have to run new wire from the doors to the dash area and then to the trunk where the amp is located? The rear shelf is already right near the amp's [future] location. If so, what gauge should I get here?
3. If each amp will require a signal wire from the head unit, am I able to splice 2 wires together (i.e. a "Y") from each amp together into 1 wire to the head unit for the signal/remote? What gauge wire should I use here?
4. This is a multi-part question. I want to get maybe 10-15 ft. of both red and black 1/0 gauge OFC cable for my trunk battery setup. I can re-do the ground cable in 1/0 and that should leave enough length for both amps' ground cables. (A) Can the amp ground cables go to the same chassis ground location as the battery?. I also want to run the 1/0 power cable from the battery to the fused switch, and then 1/0 to some sort of a power distribution block. The 4ga from the front of the car can go to the power block and both amps can run 1/0 power cables to the distribution block. (B) Do I need an inline fuse for each 1/0 power cable going from an amp to the distribution block? (this is in addition to the fused switch feeding the power distribution block)
So my shopping list should be....
3x RCA cable pairs? 1 for sub amp, 2 for 4 channel amp?
1x 100 ft. ...14ga red/black speaker wire?
~15 ft. 1/0 cable
1x 50 ft 14ga single wire for remote/signal
Various terminal ends, heat shrink, etc.
So that's all that I can think of now. Thank you for making it to the end and any advice you can offer!