VN Alpine stereo - serious upgrade - I need feedback please!!

[Brycestro]

if you hear your speakers starting to become audibly distorted past a certain volume level, that's a good indication not to turn it up any further. Just thought i'd point out the obvious .

 

[savage1987]

It just occurred to me - with a couple of thousand watts of subwoofer power, will I need a capacitor to stop my headlights from dimming? What are the other benefits of a capacitor, and how big should I go if I do need one?

 

[brohawk]

im running a mix of stuff atm but im putting in 2 12" kenwood subs i have pioneer 6x9's focal splits going in and a pioneer hed and 4" in the dash. i run all speakers from the hu and i get great sq and i use my amp only for my sub soon to be subs, in my opion if u want 2 12s get them i like the look of 2 12s rather than just 1 but thats just me, i like running 6x9's in the shelf for a lil bit of bass, coz i have a kill switch on my amp to turn my subs off, for when i get home i dnt need my neighbourhood to know i have good equipment so it gives them more incentive to steal it. in my opinion if u like a brand go with it if you have an idea like you do run with it unless someone has the same set up in the same car no1 knows how good it will sound.

as for sounddeadening if you intend to put false walls in your boot or carpet etc, considder what i did and get underboday sounddeadener its alot cheaper and gives great results. then where ever you can see the soundeadening pannels pay a bit more to get the matting. why fork out $$$$$ if your just going to hide it behind wood or carpet.

hope i could help

 

[garfa]

im running a mix of stuff atm but im putting in 2 12" kenwood subs i have pioneer 6x9's focal splits going in and a pioneer hed and 4" in the dash. i run all speakers from the hu and i get great sq and i use my amp only for my sub soon to be subs, in my opion if u want 2 12s get them i like the look of 2 12s rather than just 1 but thats just me, i like running 6x9's in the shelf for a lil bit of bass, coz i have a kill switch on my amp to turn my subs off, for when i get home i dnt need my neighbourhood to know i have good equipment so it gives them more incentive to steal it. in my opinion if u like a brand go with it if you have an idea like you do run with it unless someone has the same set up in the same car no1 knows how good it will sound.

as for sounddeadening if you intend to put false walls in your boot or carpet etc, considder what i did and get underboday sounddeadener its alot cheaper and gives great results. then where ever you can see the soundeadening pannels pay a bit more to get the matting. why fork out $$$$$ if your just going to hide it behind wood or carpet.

hope i could help

because the tar based EXTERNAL sound deadener you are talking about runs and on a hot day melts and will go into the carpet. thats why its for external surfaces such as under the body! :bang: the other reason to fork out the$$$ for the proper stuff is because it does a better job.
the difference between running speakers off the h/u and off an amp is heaps. i used to think ( a very long time ago) there was no difference but i had not heard the speakers amped before.
remove the tar stuff before it does any damage to your carpet!

 

[Brycestro]

Capacitors have a reputation with most people for doing nothing noteworthy (unless you want one to look pretty). Install all your equipment and if you start to get dimming headlights then concentrate on power. The simplest and cheapest step towards improving grounding is to simply run an additional 4 or 0 gauge run of cable from your battery negative to chassis ground ($10-20 for half a metre of 4 gauge plus two ring terminals). Also make sure your amps are ground well (adequate thickness cable and you've sanded back paint wherever the ground point is being made so you have a solid connection).

After that, you can upgrade your battery to something more powerful such as an optima red, yellow or blue top. (can be had for as little as $300 + $20 postage if you know where to go). These are just starters, let us know how it goes and if necessary we can give more advice.

 

[savage1987]

as for sounddeadening if you intend to put false walls in your boot or carpet etc, considder what i did and get underbody sounddeadener its alot cheaper and gives great results. then where ever you can see the soundeadening panels pay a bit more to get the matting. why fork out $$$$$ if you're just going to hide it behind wood or carpet.

hope i could help

You certainly did help mate - I hadn't even thought of that!
Cheers for the encouragement too

 

[savage1987]

because the tar based EXTERNAL sound deadener you are talking about runs and on a hot day melts and will go into the carpet. thats why its for external surfaces such as under the body!

Ah. I hadn't read that one yet . . .
Perhaps I'll stay on the expensive road . . .

And as for capacitors - fair enough: I won't worry about them at this stage, just further down the track if I have dramas . . .

Thanks guys

 

[brohawk]

well ive done other cars the same way and none of them have melted so i dnt no what hes talking about the stuff i used was a good brand from supercheap and the come in ltr tins and it did my boot floor walls and boot lid. i dnt car what my boot lid looks like as i cant see it when im in the car and i dnt car as long as it sounds killer in the cabin, and it does the same job if not better than the expencive stuff, they just charge more because there a big name company with advertising money.

personally i think your set up will kick ass and you shouldnt change anything and if u want to spend the money on dynamat etc then go for it but my budget is a bit more modest than urs but it will thump when im done and thats all i care bout.

have a look at my boot i did it in steps might help.

http://forums.justcommodores.com.au/showthread.php?t=33446

have fun dude and enjoy urself thats what car modding is all about

 

[Brycestro]

a bulk pack of dynamat extreme (36sq.ft) can be for a total of $235 (that includes postage) on ebay from a seller i can verify as worthy (have purchased a bulk pack off him myself).

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/DYNAMAT-EXTR...QQihZ018QQcategoryZ102568QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[brohawk]

for a ltr of the stuff i used it was $30