Hey everyone, newbie to the car audio game here and fellow bass enthusiast.
I'm going for bass on a budget, Trying to stay middle of the line between low and high end. Had a Single Skar 10 EVL 4ohm DVC from a previous setup but the amp it was hooked to was pretty crappy, some Absolute Pro 2600w unit. When I bought my new car (2011 Honda Accord EXL with a 2.4l) I decided to finally put my system back in.
I ditched the Absolute and picked up a Skar RP1500.1 based upon the technician's suggestion at Skar Audio since I am only running a single EVL 4ohm DVC with the impedance at 2ohms. He suggested it would give me the best bang for the buck and estimated that the amp would still deliver around 1000w to the sub, which I believe he was right... This amp made it sound like I went from a shitty walmart sub to a true heavy hitter. Definitely turned some heads when I finished it up. The sub has true 4awg cca wire running to it (not the 4awg but is actually 6awg) and same wiring for the ground. My second hand box was built custom and tuned, or so the guy that made it says.
Since I have an 8th Gen Accord I had to disable the ANC Module and had to keep the factory HU so I could retain the info screen for the clock, temp and fan control. Keeping the HU made it so I also have to use an Audio Control LC2i to tap into the rear speakers. From what I can tell the LC2i it works great and delivers some solid bass. I really hadn't had a chance to tune it since my search results really haven't turned up any useful information. I'm not sure if I'm missing out on better power delivery by properly tuning the LC2i then the amp or, tuning the amp then the LC2i? With my current stock electrical system, I really need to look into some upgrades or further tuning since the headlights dim pretty bad when pushing full bass and have to keep the bass knob just a little bit above MIN to prevent dimming at night. My car comes stock with a 130amp alt but has a pretty small battery and no big three yet. I've read about others who can push a 2000w system on the same stock car without any significant power issues at all. Not sure if my case due to an incorrectly tuned amp/LC2i or something else... Kind of lost right now in regards to tuning the LC2i and Skar at the same time and if proper tuning could make a big difference in dimming.
My immediate thoughts are replacing my battery and getting a budget friendly big three kit. For a battery I was looking at the Odyssey Group 24 AGM battery since there is a shop here in Las Vegas that is running a nice "know a guy" discount for the one I need. As for the big three, I'm not really sure what to look at. I've seen so much conflicting information in regards to this and it's made me unsure of what to do, I'm not sure if DIY would be a better route or not or what would work best. The last thing I can consider right now is a HO alt at the current prices even though I'd love to have one someday.
Any pointers you guys have are greatly appreciated whether it's in regards to tuning the LC2i and amp, cheap power upgrades, wiring etc... I no longer want to be embarrassed when pushing some heavy bass at night and the last thing I want to do is make a decision by piecing together information across multiple forums and end up effing everything up. If you need more information, let me know and I'll do my best to explain. Thank you.
I'm going for bass on a budget, Trying to stay middle of the line between low and high end. Had a Single Skar 10 EVL 4ohm DVC from a previous setup but the amp it was hooked to was pretty crappy, some Absolute Pro 2600w unit. When I bought my new car (2011 Honda Accord EXL with a 2.4l) I decided to finally put my system back in.
I ditched the Absolute and picked up a Skar RP1500.1 based upon the technician's suggestion at Skar Audio since I am only running a single EVL 4ohm DVC with the impedance at 2ohms. He suggested it would give me the best bang for the buck and estimated that the amp would still deliver around 1000w to the sub, which I believe he was right... This amp made it sound like I went from a shitty walmart sub to a true heavy hitter. Definitely turned some heads when I finished it up. The sub has true 4awg cca wire running to it (not the 4awg but is actually 6awg) and same wiring for the ground. My second hand box was built custom and tuned, or so the guy that made it says.
Since I have an 8th Gen Accord I had to disable the ANC Module and had to keep the factory HU so I could retain the info screen for the clock, temp and fan control. Keeping the HU made it so I also have to use an Audio Control LC2i to tap into the rear speakers. From what I can tell the LC2i it works great and delivers some solid bass. I really hadn't had a chance to tune it since my search results really haven't turned up any useful information. I'm not sure if I'm missing out on better power delivery by properly tuning the LC2i then the amp or, tuning the amp then the LC2i? With my current stock electrical system, I really need to look into some upgrades or further tuning since the headlights dim pretty bad when pushing full bass and have to keep the bass knob just a little bit above MIN to prevent dimming at night. My car comes stock with a 130amp alt but has a pretty small battery and no big three yet. I've read about others who can push a 2000w system on the same stock car without any significant power issues at all. Not sure if my case due to an incorrectly tuned amp/LC2i or something else... Kind of lost right now in regards to tuning the LC2i and Skar at the same time and if proper tuning could make a big difference in dimming.
My immediate thoughts are replacing my battery and getting a budget friendly big three kit. For a battery I was looking at the Odyssey Group 24 AGM battery since there is a shop here in Las Vegas that is running a nice "know a guy" discount for the one I need. As for the big three, I'm not really sure what to look at. I've seen so much conflicting information in regards to this and it's made me unsure of what to do, I'm not sure if DIY would be a better route or not or what would work best. The last thing I can consider right now is a HO alt at the current prices even though I'd love to have one someday.
Any pointers you guys have are greatly appreciated whether it's in regards to tuning the LC2i and amp, cheap power upgrades, wiring etc... I no longer want to be embarrassed when pushing some heavy bass at night and the last thing I want to do is make a decision by piecing together information across multiple forums and end up effing everything up. If you need more information, let me know and I'll do my best to explain. Thank you.
