New member with a few questions :)

[chacenbra]

Okay guys I'm a brand new member and im fairly new to the whole car audio game in general so I'm in need of some help.

Basicaly I'm looking for some opinions on 2 subs that I have sitting in my closet that I got for free a few months ago.

They are Lightning Audio P2.12.4's

On the magnet of the subs it says....

- 500 watts maximum power handling

- 4 OHMS

Like I said I would like some opinions

- good or bad subs?

- what size, brand, etc. amp?

- I would like to have a total of 3 subs so what would be a nice sub to compliment the 2 I have already?

- what other things am I gonna need as far as a copasitor (sorry about the spelling) etc.

- what is the difference in mounting the subs with the faces pointing out of the box or into the box?

- also my buddy has a seprate base control knob up front that control just his subs. I would also like this option, how is it done?

I'm just looking for practical bumb. I'm not looking to spend INSANE amounts of money on a setup but I would like to have a respectable system.

All this will be going into a 1999 Cadillac DeVille so I have PLENTY of trunk space.. also I will be building my own box as I build furniture as a hobbie, what kind of material should be used?

Sorry for such a long post and thank you all in advanced for your input

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[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

free subs that work are good subs

 

[iknownothin2006 10+ year member]

dont get a Cap its a waste just save money and upgrade electrical and dont mix subs

 

[jon_k 10+ year member]

First off, sell your car. You're going to need a new set of wheels to install this system in as your car won't handle it. Then buy this new set of wheels (pictured below) and install your new subs in the sides.

Lightning Audio speakers are on sale at walmart for $20 a peice. I bought one once just to see what it was like, blew it at 1/4 power with gains all the way down, voicecoil started rubbing immediately.

 

[chacenbra]

Okay so no cap, upgrade the electrical meaning what? Thicker gauge wire?

Sorry for my ignorance.. and thank you for the quick replys //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/veryhappy.gif.fec4fed33b4a1279cf10bdd45a039dae.gif

 

[chacenbra]

First off, sell your car. You're going to need a new set of wheels to install this system in as your car won't handle it. Then buy this new set of wheels and install these speakers in there.
Lightning Audio speakers are on sale at walmart for $20 a peice. I bought one once just to see what it was like, blew it at 1/4 power with gains all the way down, voicecoil started rubbing immediately.

Sell my car? yeah not gonna happen... I'm gonna need new wheels? what are you talking about?

 

[hockeytoker 10+ year member]

pm me ill help u out.

 

[jon_k 10+ year member]

Sell my car? yeah not gonna happen... I'm gonna need new wheels? what are you talking about?

Basically with Lightning Audio your sound won't end well.

 

[thericanballer 10+ year member]

First off, sell your car. You're going to need a new set of wheels to install this system in as your car won't handle it. Then buy this new set of wheels (pictured below) and install your new subs in the sides.

Lightning Audio speakers are on sale at walmart for $20 a peice. I bought one once just to see what it was like, blew it at 1/4 power with gains all the way down, voicecoil started rubbing immediately.

your an idiot:wow:

 

[thericanballer 10+ year member]

now my opinion on the setup:

i think its a good thing they were free. like said above free subs are good subs. try to find specs on them to see the size of the box and make one along the lines of its specs. amps wise, they wont take alot of power. the only lightning audios that were good were the one based on tc sounds. so, get some thing not too big. you wont have to upgrade electrical on the car bc its not a big setup so the douche above doesnt no what hes talking bout. and dont get a cap as said above as well. they stress alternators. so good luck. any more ?s just pm me or any other guy that isnt a *** on this forum //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[chacenbra]

Thanks to everyone who is giving actual advice and not just saying "the subs are garbage" I understand that they arent gonna be the most amazing thing on the block but I do think that they could be a nice starting point.

Im at work at the moment so PM's will be sent as soon as I have a free moment

Thank You for your time //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[plugitin 5,000+ posts]

some of my first subs in a car were two 10 LA...i thought i was so cool back then.

Any free sub, is a good sub...

Dont mix and match subs either...id build a nice box that you could use for better quality subs in the future

 

[chacenbra]

First, I am not trying to be "cool" I'm trying to make something out of nothing. I am not expeirenced with car audio there for I come to an audio forum seeking advise.

I got these subs for FREE thats the only reason they are being used in fact its the only reason why my trunk is going to be housing subs at all!

I have planned for a much nicer and MUCH more respectable system further down the road for at this very moment I am in the process of making my vehicle completely mechanicaly sound and even though I am doing all the work myself, rebuilding a motor from the ground up is VERY cost intensive. When the car runs perfect then I will go into getting the system up to par.

Its not as if I am so neive as to think that if walked up on these same speakers in walmart for 30 bucks a hit I would say to myself "holy subs batman lets snatch these up RIGHT NOW"

they where free.. thats it...

 

[scottyk 10+ year member]

First, I am not trying to be "cool" I'm trying to make something out of nothing. I am not expeirenced with car audio there for I come to an audio forum seeking advise.
I got these subs for FREE thats the only reason they are being used in fact its the only reason why my trunk is going to be housing subs at all!

I have planned for a much nicer and MUCH more respectable system further down the road for at this very moment I am in the process of making my vehicle completely mechanicaly sound and even though I am doing all the work myself, rebuilding a motor from the ground up is VERY cost intensive. When the car runs perfect then I will go into getting the system up to par.

Its not as if I am so neive as to think that if walked up on these same speakers in walmart for 30 bucks a hit I would say to myself "holy subs batman lets snatch these up RIGHT NOW"

they where free.. thats it...

You're absolutely right bro. Everyone starts with lower-end systems. Nothing wrong with that. Hell, my first set-up was an impulse buy. Single 10" Visonik woofer from Walmart. Came with a little pre-fab box and the smallest amp I've ever seen for $40 bucks. Just having a little bass was fun. Soon enough you'll get a little itch to be louder. Happens to pretty much everyone.

Since the subs are free, go for it. You should build your box out of MDF (Medium density fiberboard. If you build furniture and are into wood, you should know what this is). Find the specific size requirements for a box online for your model sub and build it to that specification. if you want louder, boomier bass, build a ported box. For more tight, accurate bass build a sealed box. For your amp, you'll need the amp to match the rms wattage of your subs. If you find the specs online for your woofers, included in those specs will be the rms wattage. This is what you need. Do not pay attention to 'peak' or 'max' wattage, only rms. Judging by the bottom of the magnets saying they take 500 watts peak, they're probably in the range of 150-250 watts rms. So look online for an amplifier that puts out around 500 watts rms or so.

And as the guys on here said, feel free to pm any of them with questions