Need Help With Stereo Overhaul

[Rylay]

I've posted this in other forums without much feedback so maybe someone in here could start me off

Alright, lets start off slow now. I recently replaced my shaker 500 head unit in my 06 to a pioneer AVH-p3200DVD that I bought from a guy that totaled his stang. It was all simple plug and play and I'm happy, but that's only the beginning. My uncle decided that he won't be getting a new car any time soon and that I could make much better use out of his old sub-woofers and I agreed so now I've got everything he had. (I'm going out on a limb here and saying most of it's expensive as hell so I NEED to get this right)

That includes:
1) 4 channel amp
1) 2 channel amp
2) 6x9 speakers
2) 5 1/4" speakers
2) 12" JL (Open air?) sub-woofers
2) 1 1/2" (tiny little things) speakers
1) 2 fuse fuse box
1) mercury temperature switch
and a metric butt ton of wires (all "gold", don't know what means. lots of 2 awg and 4 awg) Really beefy feeling.
along with various brackets and clips

I'll post pictures below, But I need to learn a **** ton before doing anything because my knowledge of stereo systems is almost non-existent. Any literature recommendations or websites that would provide knowledge. I would seriously look into taking a class at a community college if you guys think that would benefit. He recommended a shop that he trusted nearby but I only really want this system installed by myself. Partly because of pride but I would like to take it up as a sub hobby and help out some friends. Also I don't like my new neighbors very much .

I'd also share any knowledge I gain in the form of a big ol' write-up if I get requests when I'm done.

I need to know what else I'll need for this. I'm guessing a new alternator (I need to know what kind) and a second battery and/or capacitor. And Which other speakers will I have to replace.

At some point I'll need to make a couple shelves in my trunk as well as a panel to hold the subs. if someone could explain "open air" subs. He said he traded his box subs for these which apparently give less bass(?) and that these face the other way(?)

Anyhoo, heres some pics, there's more stuff but this seems to be the main things


IMG_0836 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0835 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0834 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0833 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0832 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0831 by ylayRay, on Flickr

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IMG_0829 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0828 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0827 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0826 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0825 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0824 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0823 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0822 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0821 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0820 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0819 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0815 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0814 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0813 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0812 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0811 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0810 by ylayRay, on Flickr

IMG_0809 by ylayRay, on Flickr

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IMG_0807 by ylayRay, on Flickr

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IMG_0805 by ylayRay, on Flickr

 

[joe_momma]

Looks like some pretty nice equipment. I wouldn't recommend trying to tackle this yourself if you have no experience. You're basically talking about installing a complete system (door speakers, amps, subs, rear speakers) - which can get very involved, very quickly. There are some really good write-ups over on allfordmustangs about how to get door panels off and things like that if you do want to tackle it though.

Best advice is to find a buddy with some experience, and have him help you along. That's how most of us learned. Also, do some searching on some forums, I'm sure there are plenty of FAQs out there for the basics.

 

[GoneFord]

Okay, I’ll start off slow too.

You have a pretty big mix of equipment. On the amplifier side, you’re going to have to build a mounting solution. This is a creativity exercise in my opinion. I installed my amps in a rack that I staggered and pushed back as far as possible to maximize trunk space. It’s mounted to the bottom of the package tray.

(Sorry about the cluttered picture - and I haven't yet cleaned up the wiring [it'll all be invisible when I finish] but as you can see, my trunk is still useable - and the battery is the the far right. The finish is temporary as I'm going to have the enclosure painted to match the body color [looks green but it's vapor metallic silver])

The subs will be your next exercise in creativity. You can go plain and boring with some pre-fab box or you can make your own fiberglass enclosure. The first is easy, but space inefficient and generally ugly! Of course fiberglass will be a new learning curve (unless you’ve owned boats, go carts or a dune buggy…<G>) but the payoff is pretty cool.

Roughed in design, immediately after removal from the trunk.

Unfinished enclosure.

Next, none of your speakers are going to fit. The S197s use 5x7 speakers in the doors and the package tray. Your 6X9s won’t fit without cutting your car. In the doors, you’ll need to fabricate adapters, like these.

You can mount your tweeters (the tiny speakers) in the 5x7 location in the doors using adapters like the top and mount your crossovers (should be boxes with 6 screw connectors for frequency management for your component speakers) on the back side of the top adapter. Then you can put the 5.25 speakers in the shaker 8” woofer location using an adapter like the round ones in the bottom of the picture above (I installed 6.5" mid-range speakers in the 8" location and retained the stock grilles - stealth).

Your 4 channel amp looks like a 60wX4 @ 4 ohms, while the other looks like a 100wX2 @ 4 ohms so the wiring you have should be adequate. I always go larger since I’ve seen too many car fires from overheated and improperly protected power wiring. I’d still go new as what I found indicates your Alpine amps have a few years of use (made in the ‘90s) and the wiring may or may not have had a hard life.

Getting wiring through the door jamb rubber hoses was terribly painful. It’s going to cost you sweat and blood.

To Cap (capacitors) or not is like Mac vs PC. It's like a religious argument for some folks. I’ve built systems with them and without them. Frankly you don’t need one. The system you have won’t require it. Additionally, you shouldn’t need a bigger alternator (there’s some math you can do to determine for sure, but I’ve pushed a lot more than you plan to push and did fine with a stock alternator in a ricer with a good deep cycle battery) – but I would recommend a better battery. An Optima Yellow top should serve you well - a deep cycle battery with better capacity and discharge rate. In way of a very simple explanation, your alternator just needs to feed your battery and prevent a condition in which you drain it faster than your alternator can charge it.

Right now that’s all I have time for. If you have questions, let me know.

 

[Rylay]

Thanks! That actually helps quite a bit, and after talking to some auto audio guys I've been leaning towards just using one of the 12" (I'd still like to use both but apparently free-air is outdated and 2 in boxes would be inefficient) in a box and wiring the 2 channel into it. Then wiring the 4 channel into either the 4 door speakers or the 2 8" and the two 5x7, what would you do? I work in plastic fab and have open access to a lot of fun , so the creative potential is there, but I might wimp out and go with a pre-fabbed box to avoid rattling and just make a clear acrylic shelf for the amps.

The wiring has a little less than 4 years of use so I'm going to try it for a while before tossing it out. And I'm not sure how much the stock stuff can take but I'm willing to replace/upgrade them.

 

[GoneFord]

I'd replace the stock wiring - your 4 year old stuff is still far better. How old are the speakers? There's a fantastic selection of reasonably priced speakers - from $69 for something quite nice like Polk DB 5X7 you could replace the rears with and I'd put those 5.25 drivers and tweeters in the doors. The 5.25 in place of the factory 8" (just fab up a plastic adapter plate) and the tweets in the door 5X7 location (on another plastic adapter plate). I didn't have access to any cool plastics so I just used a pair of old Rubbermaid storage container lids - worked quite well.

I'd dive into the fiberglass and make an enclosure for a 12". Pretty simple process;
- Cover the selected car space with blue painters tape (make sure everything is well taped up - resin doesn't come out of material and is a bear to free from plastic and metal panels)
- Brush "paint" the painters tape with fiberglass resin
- Lay in fiberglass
- Cover with more resin
- Repeat until you achieve the the thickness you want
- Carefully pry the "enclosure" from the interior - this is why you use painters tape; it comes free pretty easy

Once the unit is free from the car, trim edges to desired size, fab a ring for mounting your sub supporting it with a dowel structure forming the angle and position you want the sub to face.

Apply adhesive to edges of your "enclosure" and over the ring you fabbed, stretch felt or fleece (fleece is pretty thick while felt is easier to overstretch) over the face of the enclosure. Cut out the hole for the sub, then brush on more resin. Repeat the process of resin and fiberglass until the structure is sound.

Then the finishing work begins - sanding, bondo for smoothing and glaze/putty for minor imperfections. Like body work, tedious and it sucks but the results are rewarding.

You'll want a bunch of cheap brushes, an inexpensive respirator and stir sticks.

Anyway, that's it in a nutshell.

A clear acrylic amp rack would be very nice - accessorized with some nice aluminum hardware.'

Just my thoughts.