Hitting a wall with how loud my subs can go any advice?

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

current system is on a 2003 toyota corolla with stock 85 amp alternator, relatively new duralast gold as main battery and 4 gauge wire all around.

with an aftermarket pioneer headunit that has 4 volts preouts.

My subwoofer amp is a 1600 rms amp, its a little bit overrated i think by 100 rms or so from what i've read about the bxi series.

Hifonics BXi1610D 1600W RMS, Brutus BXi Series Class D Monoblock

my subs consist of Pioneer TS-W3002D4 (TSW3002D4) 12" Dual 4 ohm Champion PRO Sub

and an Alpine SWR-12D4 (swr12d4) 12" Dual 4 Ohm Type-R Series Car Subwoofer

Both are in seperate enclosures i've built with mdf to manufacturer specs tuned to 35hz. Wired in parallel

They rattle the trunk but from what i've seen in youtube vids and other setups, they should be able to go waay louder than what they sound like now. In fact, they sound only a little bit louder than my friend's single JL W6. I'm wondering what should i upgrade first for loudness gains? the alternator? a 2nd deep cycle battery? 0 gauge? or a new amp?

As for subs, I'm saving up for SSA Gcons but i'd rather spend money getting my electricals/subwoofer amps to be up to par first. I'm just curious which upgrades should come first and which ones should come right after?

One thing i should mention is that if i havent bumped for a day, the next time i turn up my system, its quite a bit louder than normal but it only lasts for 2 minutes or so. I also have no problems with my headlights dimming at night when long heavy bass notes hit.

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[Milk Mayne 10+ year member]

Not going in to other aspects of your system, but with an amp that power hungry, I'd add a second battery and definitely get some 0 gauge in there along with the big 3.

 

[NIHL8ION]

I would definitely have those subs running on SEPARATE AMPS...

 

[Firebirdguy 10+ year member]

Don't mix the subs, choose one and go with it or sell one and get a matching pair. Both of those subs could handle your amp on their own.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

I have tested each hooking them up individually up on my amp and tested each out at 2 ohms 1100 rms, with individual hz test tones, hz sweeps and music in general. the pioneer pretty much hits only the lows(25-40hz) which is great when i listen to rap and dubstep but when it comes to rock and metal, and electro, progressive house, the alpines did a lot better with the higher bass(40-125hz) frequencies but pales in comparison to the pioneers when it comes to the lows, whereas the pioneers had literally no 70-125hz response. Its wierd but both subs sound different musically but when paired together i get a full range response music sounds really nice with a good punch but just not loud as i would like. but rather than selling one to buy a matching one, i'd rather put that money into buy some good end goal Subs like two SSA Gcons or Zcons or sundown z-12 v.3s. Thats why i'd rather do my electricals and alternator first so my car is ready to handle the future power demands.

I'm also not sure how much of a strain would it put on my alternator if i added another amp rated around 1k rms @ 2ohms to run both seperately.

As for 2nd battery, would i be able to save money and get away with it with this? http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_7324_Kinetik-HC600-KHC600.html

Or do i need something more in the lines of this http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_38721_XS-Power-D925.html

 

[Firebirdguy 10+ year member]

try 0g all around and big three. see where your electrical is from there then look at batteries.

 

[NIHL8ION]

Those subs are VERY different animals and should NEVER be wired Together to the same amp. Enclosures should be totally different, and they should each have their own amp with the crossovers set to match accordingly. Realistically you should get another amp just like the one you are running now and run each one on each sub separately @ 2 ohms. - Those 2 amps running at 2 ohms would probably be less strain on your electrical than 1 of them running @ 1 ohm full tilt! 1 ohm is VERY demanding to ANY electrical system...

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

i see!!! Thanks NIHL8ION for that explanation i learned something new. Hifonics GLX1400.1D, 1400W RMS Class D Monoblock Gladiator Series Amplifier - CLASS D MONO / AMPLIFIERS / HiFonics / SHOP BY BRAND | Ikesound i'll probably nab one of this then.

 

[Milk Mayne 10+ year member]

WTF are you talking about? 100 amps of draw @ 1 ohm is THE EXACT SAME THING as 100 amps of draw @ 2 ohm.

Please, jeffdachef, if you're open to purchasing equipment, sell your setup to some sucker on CL and start over. Adding an extra amp but running them both at half the power will make absolutely nil difference. Before buying a second amp I'd scrap one of the two subs you have, and buy another of the SAME KIND and put the TWO in a proper enclosure on the amp you have.

EDIT: I see you're in the second biggest metro area in the country, should take you all of an hour to hock something on CL and have cash in hand.

 

[NIHL8ION]

WTF are you talking about? 100 amps of draw @ 1 ohm is THE EXACT SAME THING as 100 amps of draw @ 2 ohm.
Please, jeffdachef, if you're open to purchasing equipment, sell your setup to some sucker on CL and start over. Adding an extra amp but running them both at half the power will make absolutely nil difference. Before buying a second amp I'd scrap one of the two subs you have, and buy another of the SAME KIND and put the TWO in a proper enclosure on the amp you have.

EDIT: I see you're in the second biggest metro area in the country, should take you all of an hour to hock something on CL and have cash in hand.

Did you look at the specs of his subs? He is totally underpowering them, each sub can take his amp ALONE... & Um yeah... last I checked ANY amp you are going to run does NOT run as efficient @ 1 ohm = MORE Distortion = MORE Heat = MORE Strain! That and last I also checked those amps dish out more power @ 1 ohm than they do @ 2... ALL of these factors make for a LOT more draw off of your electrical running them @ 1 ohm maxxed the heck out because his subs still want more than it can give them!

Either way regardless of whether or not he sells one and finds another to get a matching set I would either A - Get a bigger amp to give those subs what they need, or B - Get another amp and run each sub to it's own amp - ESPECIALLY in this case of you decided you are sticking with two totally different subs - They should be on different amps

 

[dbjunior 10+ year member]

First get a bigger alt and 1/0. Then have someone on here design a shared space enclosure for the subs you plan to get. Then get your new subs and enjoy.

 

[WhyUmad 10+ year member]

Did you look at the specs of his subs? He is totally underpowering them, each sub can take his amp ALONE... & Um yeah... last I checked ANY amp you are going to run does NOT run as efficient @ 1 ohm = MORE Distortion = MORE Heat = MORE Strain! That and last I also checked those amps dish out more power @ 1 ohm than they do @ 2... ALL of these factors make for a LOT more draw off of your electrical running them @ 1 ohm maxxed the heck out because his subs still want more than it can give them!

So you are saying if I have an amp pushing 500rms at 4ohm and than swap it for another amp doing 500rms at 1ohm there is going to be a different current draw at the battery?

 

[NIHL8ION]

So you are saying if I have an amp pushing 500rms at 4ohm and than swap it for another amp doing 500rms at 1ohm there is going to be a different current draw at the battery?

NO! - HOW are you NOT understanding this?! If you have almost **** near ANY mono amp out there (with the exception of a few that make the same power at any given impedance) that is 1 ohm stable and you run it @ 1 ohm, Vs. 2, or 4 ohm = It is making MORE POWER @ 1 OHM than it is @ 2 or 4, but with that MORE power comes MORE distortion, LESS efficiency, & MORE heat !!! You can NOT tell me that that amp does not put way more demand on the vehicles electrical system running it @ 1 ohm, Vs. running that SAME AMP @ 2 or 4 !!!

 

[05trailblazer 10+ year member]

nope. plus more power more distortion? wtf ? it would only distort only if 1. they are getting too much power(*losecone control, or bottom out the sub)

2. if you have your gains set wrrong. ^^ other than that i could drop down to 0.5 and have NO DISTORTION AT ALL!

 

[NIHL8ION]

nope. plus more power more distortion? wtf ? it would only distort only if 1. they are getting too much power(*losecone control, or bottom out the sub)2. if you have your gains set wrrong. ^^ other than that i could drop down to 0.5 and have NO DISTORTION AT ALL!

Go look at an amp spec sheet! Total Harmonic Distortion INCREASES as Impedance is LOWERED! It's NOT rocket science