Ok, so i've never done any of this car audio stuff before, but i have taken electrical engineering classes and I know Ohms law and all that stuff, but some of it confuses me. I want to be sure to get it right.BTW, this isn't just subwoofers, i didn't really see a general section and I figured most people would be viewing this section so i posted here, move me if i'm in the wrong =P
I also have a 6 gauge wiring kit.
First question, My kickers are 400w RMS a piece (2 Ohms) and the amp is 600w RMS at 1 Ohm stable. Should i run that at 1 ohm? How do i accomplish that? if i don't run it at 1 ohm i don't think it will be enough power. I heard people say most amps shouldn't be run at 1 ohm but i've also read this amp handles it fine.
Second question, Should i get an amp for those speakers? If so, what size amp? I also have two tweeters in my car I plan on upgrading at one point when I get more money. How do you set up an amp to your speakers anyways? All this confuses me a little mainly because i've never done it.
Third question, is 6 gauge wire good enough for what I have? I just want to make sure i'm doing everything right because if I mess something up I will be a very very sad person.
Thanks for the help guys!
Dear Sir, I am in an Electrical Engineering Program, so I know FOR SURE that within the second semester, unless you're absolutely bat-shiz retarded, know that you cannot wire two 2-Ohm DVC into a 1-ohm equivalent circuit.
Now, if they are both 2-ohm SVC (Single Voice Coil) then, by all means, throw them into parallel (+ with + and - with -) and call it a day, sir.
But if it's 2-ohm DVC (Dual Voice Coil), then I honestly need to question your school's integrity.
At any rate, I'm just going to assume you AREN'T an electrical engineering major, nor taken any classes and I'm also going to assume that you have a mental defect and continue on:
Your 400W RMS speakers will take an average (not what RMS really means, but for arguments sake, it's what it means.) of 400 Watts a piece. Given that your amp is either 600W RMS or 450W, it will of course run the speakers. But not at their maximum power level. In essense, you'd be exposing these speakers to roughly 3/4 of their maximum power handling. With that said, you're only going to be getting about half the volume (Theoretically, at least).
Now, should you buy a NEW amp? My first reaction is yes. Because what will probably happen is you will be dumb, set your gain really high and overexert your amplifier. What amp?
If you have two 2-ohm DVC subs, then you want a 600W @ 2-ohm amplifier, if they are two 2-ohm SVC subs, you want either a 600W @ 1-ohm (which will be hard to find / expensive) or a 600W @ 4-ohm (which will be hard to find / expensive).
You can get a higher RMS power rating in terms of the subs, as long as you set the gain properly you'll be fine.
Third question: Yes. This is all assuming that you aren't being dumb and you don't have 50 feet of wire coiled up in your car. 6-AWG will be good for up to about 1200 watts. Now, that's pushing it. Everyone here will tell you, "GET 0 AWG IT'LL SOUND BETTER", but that's not true at all. It will be less of a bottle neck, but currently your biggest bottleneck is your amplifier. As long as you have anything bigger than 6-AWG, you should be fine. But, with that said: It is always better to go too big rather than too small when it comes to wiring.
