Help With My Car Audio In My Car?

[caseyhafeman]

As of right now, I have 12" Phoenix Gold R1's In A Box, a Tsunami 1.2 Farad-20VDC Capacitor, and a Exile s500.1 amp. I would like to upgrade my wiring I have in the car, and possibly my capacitor and my amp to get the most power out of my system. As of right now, I have 8 Gage wire running from my positive battery terminal back to the positive of my amp, and 8 Gage running from the negative on my amp to my frame. From my capacitor I have 4 Gage wiring from the negative down to the frame.

So given all this, I was wondering what kind of wiring, amp, and capacitor you would suggest (with keeping just the Phoenix Gold R1s)?

SPECIFICATIONS

AMP

* Mono Block - 2 ohm Stable

* 1000 Watts Peak Power

* 500 Watts RMS Power

* High Level Inputs

* Brand Name: EXILE AUDIO

* Model: S500.1

SPEAKERS

R1 SERIES

* POWER RATING

400w Peak - 200w RMS

* FREQ RESPONSE

25 to 300Hz

* SENSITIVITY

91dB

* IMPEDENCE

Single 4 voice coil

CAPACITOR

1.2 Farad, 24 Volt surge Blue LCD Digital Meter Volt Activated Flashing Blue LEDs Blue Neon Accent Ring Audible Hi/Lo Voltage Warning +/-10% Tolerance E.S.R.

Click to read more...

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

oh my......//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/hide.gif.2d479cfd917eedfe201353b91522ceab.gif

 

[caseyhafeman]

lol?

 

[KyleBechtold 5,000+ posts]

before buying any more equipment I would invest in a flame retardant suit cause you are going to get rocked.. your question, your equipment.. everything.. did you search at all? doubtful.. you are claiming amps at their max power and using a cap so you have some learning to do.. take a search around and use rms for all wattage purposes..

 

[caseyhafeman]

thanks for the help man, really appreciate it. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wow.gif.23d729408e9177caa2a0ed6a2ba6588e.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/*******.gif.a649d21efc0d1fd4890a6428166586c1.gif Ill keep that in mind

 

[KyleBechtold 5,000+ posts]

alright so being nice I took a glance.. if that amp does rated it will overpower that sub..

 

[caseyhafeman]

i don't completely understand what your saying here by saying rated it will overpower the sub...that makes no sense man..what do you mean, that given what I said about the wattage, it would overpower the subs? Or do you mean something else?

 

[KyleBechtold 5,000+ posts]

ok I thought you had 1

that amp does 500watts if it does what its rated at.. meaning if it does the power it claims.. some cheaper quality amps don't you will learn as you read on those..

those subs only need/take 200watts each 400watts total.. Idk those subs or if they can take more than rated but even if they can I wouldn't put more than an extra 100 to each and its not real cost efficient to buy a new amp for 200 more watts.. what you have now is a good combo.. I am not even going to ask what you have the amp set to cause I can only imagine the bass boost is cranked and the gain is not set properly but instead at a % of turn like most new people say

 

[Germ305 10+ year member]

What do you have your amp settings set to?

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

Well the subs are rated for 200w a pair, so that gives them a combined 400w of power handling capabilities. And your amp is rated for 500w @ 2ohm, which is just perfect for your speakers. As for the capacitor I'd suggest throwing it away... why? Because it's useless, especially in your low power application. And here's a good thread to read about it if you wanna know more. Read the 10th post:

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/general-discussion/494901-capacitors-wheres-proof.html

Your 8 gauge wire is probably fine for that amp, assuming it's quality wire, but I'd measure the voltage with a DMM just in case. Preferably after a good drive when everything is warmed up. Otherwise just look to Amp Installation Kits, HDMI Cables for some quality, yet cheap, 4 gauge wire.

What else are you looking for?

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

And yes, taking a peak at that gain and bass boost knob will be required.

 

[tommelleo22 10+ year member]

sell everything. then post a new thread and then we will help you....

 

[VWBobby 10+ year member]

For those who don't know, Exile amps are made by the guys who left Phoenix Gold. They are pretty decent amps, although cheaply priced and not very widely known.

For an entry/beginner system, those subs are fine. If you have a decent box, they should sound pretty decent. Not everyone needs 1500+ watts and matching sub(s) to be happy. No need for the capacitor, ditch it. I would recommend upgrading your power wires to at least 4 gauge, preferable 2 or 0. This will keep your amp happy and give you room to upgrade in the future (0 gauge).

 

[caseyhafeman]

thank you all for your help, I also have another question regarding the system I have, what kind of battery would you suggest I put into my car, I am having problems with my lights dimming, and my battery sensor going off even while the car is running.

To reiterate what you said about the capacitor, do you suggest I just get rid of it? I know a couple people said to, but is that the wisest idea on my part? Please tell me your thoughts.

Thanks once again all of you

 

[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

Read the link he posted above about caps and google search big 3 should help your dimming problem if u do it properly. I'd upgrade your wire to 4 gauge and if you want more room for later 1/0 gauge. Check you grounds make sure they are sanded to bare metal and connected to a common Piece of metal (vehicle frame usually works fine) do this at the battery as well. A good AGM battery can help with the dimming (if you go optima don't go red top go yellow) a small batt like the kinetic h600, shurikin bt20, or the xs power d680 are a nice addition as well but shouldn't be needed if u upgrade to a bigger batt under the hood