Please help with electrical upgrades for my setup

[SPL Blazer 10+ year member]

What type of agm battery would would you recommend for my setup. All together it will probably be around 2000 watts, between the 600 watt speaker amp and 1500 watt sub amp. This is just for daily driving and would need a group 51 battery. Also, how can I determine what is the biggest battery I can fit. Can I measure something or should I bring it up to car audio place and have them make a suggestion. I would rather bring it to car audio place to be on the safe side, but if it is very simple, I can do it.

Just measure the battery thats in there now, and that will give you an idea of how much space you have. You should also look at how much space you have around the current battery and include that extra space in your measurements. Factories won't put the biggest battery in there, just the minimum size needed, but they do leave some space around the battery. I'd do it yourself first, then see what you can fit. Once you find the right sized battery you can head to your local car audio shop and see if they carry it. I always prefer to give my business to a local shop than to some website store.

 

[SPL Blazer 10+ year member]

How are u gonna say there are only a few ppl that no their ****, u haven't even been here that long. And why should he believe u? There are more ppl here that no their **** thAn u can list.

he can believe me if he wants, but I do know a lot. And as I stated, there are more people on here that do know their Sh*t, and there are many many more that don't. And those are the ones that are always handing out advice when they don't know what they're talking about. The length of time on this forum really has nothing to do with how much I may know about car audio, this is a forum for noobs.

 

[hornedfrog1985 5,000+ posts]

Depends what "****" means honestly. There are a lot of people here that have a good basic range of knowledge that can answer most noob questions. Some people here are on another level though, and have a much deeper insight on some specific areas. I would figure out who really knows what, about what, and ask those people any specific questions you may have.

IMO termpro has some of the most credible people to talk to.

 

[smoka 10+ year member]

Depends what "****" means honestly. There are a lot of people here that have a good basic range of knowledge that can answer most noob questions. Some people here are on another level though, and have a much deeper insight on some specific areas. I would figure out who really knows what, about what, and ask those people any specific questions you may have.

Agree, its amazing how many people on here think they are experts because they get ALL their info from the internet (which is usually just someones opinion) and then they decide everything they read is a fact.

Example: How many people in the subwoofer forum can understand the physics of a driver? Prob

But like someone said before, most questions are beginner questions. Best bet is to get several opinions and decide for yourself.

 

[SPL Blazer 10+ year member]

Depends what "****" means honestly. There are a lot of people here that have a good basic range of knowledge that can answer most noob questions. Some people here are on another level though, and have a much deeper insight on some specific areas. I would figure out who really knows what, about what, and ask those people any specific questions you may have.
IMO termpro has some of the most credible people to talk to.

Termpro is where I would get most of my credible info from. My knowledge is mainly in the area of SPL competitions and the 12 volt Street class systems, SPL box building, electrical upgrades for comps etc. Hence why I post on topics like these and not on SQ related topics.

You can see me on Termpro under SPL Creator

 

[old_dude 10+ year member]

As for any advice or opinions I may give, 90% of it comes from past experience, being around car audio folks, learning tricks from sound-offs, reading car audio magazines for the last 20 years, and books like the MECP Study Guide and IASCA Competition Manaul. But almost none of the advice or opinions I post was found on the internet. If it's found there, I simply post a link so others can read stuff for themselves. And I do agree with several of you about how many people claim to know versus those who actually know. With myself, I'm always quick to admit that "I'm not an expert" or "this is just my opinion" because the last thing I want to do is give someone some "advice" that is incorrect or does any damage to their audio system or their vehicle. Sure, I also admit that there are a million different car audio brands out there, and therefore there will always be a million people who don't like one brand but swear by another. Some people have had much better luck and experience with a particular brand than others have, and might know a few more secrets about their brand of choice. Just because I have a brand preference does not make my brand of choice any better or worse than the next brand. Hence I would never deliberately slam another person's brand of choice. The majority of my home audio equipment is either Onkyo or Pioneer, with Denon on the way. My home video stuff is mostly Panasonic. However, this is no indication or assumption that any of these brands are any better than what the next guy likes. It's only an indication of what I have grown to trust and have good luck with. As you can easily figure out, my brand of choice for car audio is Kenwood. NOT because Kenwood is any better than any other brand, or worse. But because I've had good luck with Kenwood, never had Kenwood products go bad, and Kenwood is within my budget. Sure, if I was rich, or even had a job (which I don't right now), I would like to have equipment from Nakamichi, Harmon-Kardon, JL Audio, Precision Power, and others. But still, even then, someone would find something negative to say about my brands of car audio.

So, the moral of this little mini-novel is this: I don't claim to be an expert or know more than the next guy, and I don't claim my car audio stuff is any better or worse than anyone else's. I only speak from experience or what I have read in trusted car audio magazines or books, yet rarely info I found online.

One last note before the opinions and slams fly my way: this forum, from what I understand, is meant to help users learn tips and tricks and opinions and get advice. Am I wrong? Okay, then to ridicule them for getting their info and advice online or for sharing what they have learned online is contradictory to the whole idea of using this forum.

Just more of my honest but worthless opinions.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

What type of agm battery would would you recommend for my setup. All together it will probably be around 2000 watts, between the 600 watt speaker amp and 1500 watt sub amp. This is just for daily driving and would need a group 51 battery. Also, how can I determine what is the biggest battery I can fit. Can I measure something or should I bring it up to car audio place and have them make a suggestion. I would rather bring it to car audio place to be on the safe side, but if it is very simple, I can do it.

Pete, I would stick with the G51 units, unless you are able to remove the stock battery tray, possibly extend the factory wiring, and fabricate your own battery hold down. The stock size replacement is an easy drop in replacement. That is why I recommended the G51 batteries.

Now the HC1800 is a G24 battery. It is a little bigger like you said. It would give you the ability to power 400W RMS more audio. Like I said above, you may have to modify the vehicle to get it to fit. I like to try keeping my car as stock as possible in case I want to sell it. That way I can simply put the stock stuff back and keep my gear.

Some of the audio places have very good techs working there, but others are not much more experienced that you are. You would not believe some of the horror stories I have heard. Make sure you get a solid reference for any shop you work with. All of the good shops should have pictures of their installs and many happy customers for you to talk to. If they resist or rush you, they might be hiding something. It might be worth paying a few extra bucks to have it done by a better shop.

 

[SPL Blazer 10+ year member]

As you can easily figure out, my brand of choice for car audio is Kenwood. NOT because Kenwood is any better than any other brand, or worse. But because I've had good luck with Kenwood, never had Kenwood products go bad, and Kenwood is within my budget. Sure, if I was rich, or even had a job (which I don't right now), I would like to have equipment from Nakamichi, Harmon-Kardon, JL Audio, Precision Power, and others. But still, even then, someone would find something negative to say about my brands of car audio.

I've had several Kenwood headunit's, have one now, and never had an issue with them. Like you said, some people might hate them, some will like them. I had a lot of problems with a Rockford in dash dvd, like a lot of others, so that was pretty much a fact they were crap. But for the most part it's all a matter of personal preference.

 

[SPL Blazer 10+ year member]

Termpro is where I would get most of my credible info from. My knowledge is mainly in the area of SPL competitions and the 12 volt Street class systems, SPL box building, electrical upgrades for comps etc. Hence why I post on topics like these and not on SQ related topics.
You can see me on Termpro under SPL Creator

Just something to add. While I don't know much about areas like SQ systems and SQ settings it is something I read into when I have time in an attempt to learn more about it. I still won't try giving anyone advice on the topic, since I really don't know enough about it. But my goal is to learn more on that area of car audio so I can add a SQ format to my competition organization in the near future. There are very few actual SQ competitors around New England to try and learn things from, so for something like this it comes down to trying to learn from forums like this.

 

[GMCJimmyslt2000 10+ year member]

kenwoods amps, subs, and speakers **** IMO

 

[McIntosh 10+ year member]

Just something to add. While I don't know much about areas like SQ systems and SQ settings it is something I read into when I have time in an attempt to learn more about it. I still won't try giving anyone advice on the topic, since I really don't know enough about it. But my goal is to learn more on that area of car audio so I can add a SQ format to my competition organization in the near future. There are very few actual SQ competitors around New England to try and learn things from, so for something like this it comes down to trying to learn from forums like this.

LOL. You know a lot but nothing about quality. Enough said.

 

[McIntosh 10+ year member]

Make sure u run 0/1 gauge.

Not too familiar with that wire size. The rare 0/1 is hard to find. I'm so glad you're one of those who knows what you're doing. I wouldn't want to depend on an amateur. Thankfully there are those like you to depend upon.

 

[pr-festiva 10+ year member]

**** steve,making friends every where lol

 

[SPL Blazer 10+ year member]

LOL. You know a lot but nothing about quality. Enough said.

Not enough about Sound Quality, not Quality SPL installs and enclosures. I wanted to get into SQ competitions when I first got into car audio comps, but was talked out of it by several people. It's a dead sport around the NorthEast because it was too judge dependent, one judge might want more bass, another one less bass. Then another judge that might give a "bonus" points to one guy cause he has his install installed by the judge or a friend of the judge. At least with SPL it's up to the meter who wins, not whether or not a judge likes you or how your car sounds. If SQ was less judge dependent it might be worth it to learn more about that area of car audio. Hopefully the new Psychlone format from Db Drags will take care of this part of SQ comps.

 

[SPL Blazer 10+ year member]

**** steve,making friends every where lol

lol, yup. I'm good like that.

You hitting the June dB Drags/TNESPL show in Auburn? We're planning to come out for that one.