how do i do this?

[scsi 10+ year member]

i have a 02 subaru wrx stock everything, no option speakers or sub. i wanna get a jl audio 500/5 amp, 10W3 sub, and mb quart discus or reference components. but theres a catch...i cant cut any stock wires . i have to be able to easily put it back to stock if necessary. how can i do this? i think i might have to buy some wiring harnesses or something. what else do i need? i heard i need a power distributor or something...is this true? is there anything else i need? thanks!

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[Fuel37 10+ year member]

all you need is a wiring harness for your deck...... i don't think you should have to cut any other wires ....... well except on the back of the stock speakers most cars have a proprietory wiring harness that attaches to the back and there isn't really much you can do with that i don't think .... you'll just have to cut them but what i always do is cut them back a bit from the connector and then you can easily attach them later ( a little heat shrink and no one will ever know) (i'm assuming the car is leased or you wouldn't be trying to make it so easily reversable) ..... i suppose you could run new lengths of speaker wire and avoid cutting the factory wiring..... buy an amp and run the components off of that..... they shouldn't be run off the deck anyways IMO ... plus they'll be much louder and clearer... you won't need to cut any wires to run the power to the amp..... you might possible have to drill a whole through the firewall for the power wire but you can easily plug it with a plastic cover if you take the stuff out and the dealer would never notice.... anyways hope i helped

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

Pretty much what he said. But you can buy the factory speaker connectors at Best Buy or Circut City. And at all possible look for a factory grommet in the firewall. There's bound to be one some where //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Fuel37 10+ year member]

really?? you can buy the adapters for on the backs of the speakers???? that's great!! are they expensive? and how do they come?? like a 4 pack or seperate or what?? sometimes its easier to just drill a new whole and put a grommet in it than run a 4 guage power wire accross the engine bay and in around stuff

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

I believe they come two in a pack. They are not too expensive. My reasoning is that I know a couple of people that do the inspecting when a lease car is returned. And they would check the fire wall. But if you did a good clean job with the hole. And plugged before you return you should be okay. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Fuel37 10+ year member]

well as long as you get one of the little plastic snappy hole cover thingies it should be noticeable at all unless you scratch the car all to crap with the drill

 

[ted_the_mexican 10+ year member]

well seeing as you do not want to remove or damage any of the stock components, this is the setup i would use

i would run my power line through the firewall using an existing grommet. Just find one that is big enough to fit your wire through and poke through with something like a coat hanger or a long screw driver then feed your wire through or pull it with the coat hanger.

you can use a wiring block or distribution block to divide the power b/w TWO amps. One for your sub(s) and one for the componets. Run new wires to the componets and simply disconnect your factory's and remove. There will be no cutting necessary. Then mount your components. For your HU all you need to do is get a wiring harness. Then you can wire up your HU and remove it when necessary. As for your grounds seeing as a chassis ground uses drillig, find a bolt in the trunk area and remove or loosen it, then slightly sand the paint under it just to make a good connection. This will be hidden or can be touched up, but most likely will be under a panel or carpet anyway.

Everything is removable and able to be put back to stock when the lease is up. No damage is done and your system will sound very good for the time you have it.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

[scsi 10+ year member]

thanks for all the replies guys.

actually its not leased..its ours..my dads just REALLY worried

ted_the_mexican, do i need a distributor if i get the jl audio 500/5 amp (for components AND sub)?

Fuel37, i dont understand the rear speakrs part. btw, in a wrx the rear speakers are in the door.

also, is anyone more familiar with the wrx audio system? my friend told me the components already have an amp (not the one in the HU) but im not sure //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

thanks again!

 

[Fuel37 10+ year member]

well #1 your dad has nothing to worry about. (just go out to the garage and do what needs to be done and when he comes out and hears the stereo he'll be so impressed he wont care how it got there. changing the speakers is a snap. just pop off the panels over them and snap on the new wiring connectors (buy them at circuit city or somewhere according to ramos) screw in the new speakers and your set. the factory speakers might run off an outboard amp. (my factory ones in my sunbird did) but the amp is still probably bad. plus you'll bypass it when your hooking your HU up anyways. as for the distribution block it's a good idea to use one if you are running more than two amps. makes for a cleaner install and safer install. (as opposed to splicing the wire).

fuel37@hotmail.com if you have more questions you think i can answer

 

[scsi 10+ year member]

thanks. lol i think my dad would find out some how

i wasnt actually planning on changing the components. they sound very good for factory speakers.

 

[ted_the_mexican 10+ year member]

you would not have to have a distribution block with the jl 500/5 but it takes some heavy gauge wire so you might have a harder time going throught the wall. but one amp takes care of it all.... really up to your personal preference whether you go one r two amps for your componets and sub....

also running a factory system with your newfound bass is not going to sound nearly as good (no matter how GOOD the factory speakers sound) as if you go for a set of quality components.

 

[scsi 10+ year member]

i see... well, before i heard the stock speakers i was thinking about mb quart discus or reference. will i be able to hear the difference between these two?

 

[Fuel37 10+ year member]

yeah you'll be able to hear the difference for sure i would say. most stock speakers are made out of cheap paper cones and crappy surrounds. (most not all) and the end result is poor sound. a quality set of components will sound 90% better than your factory speakers.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[ted_the_mexican 10+ year member]

the stockers might be quality but most likely they are the cheap paper coned crap like normal. A good set of components would most definately sound better and you would be able to hear a difference!

 

[scsi 10+ year member]

i see...hmmmmm

how do the discus compare to the reference? are the reference worth the extra cash? hows the sound quality of them compare?