Pontiac Grand Prix Forums : Grandprix

specs:
Amp: Hifonics 1606D amp 1100rms @ 2ohm
Subs(2): 07 Kicker CVR 1000max, 500rms @2ohm dual voice coils
Wires 5g power, 6g(battery terminal from autozone) RCA, remote 14g wires to each voice coil

Sites:
Hifonics BXi 1606D Mono Subwoofer Amps Car Amplifiers Car Audio and Video - Sonic Electronix
Kicker 07CVR152 15" Component Subwoofers Car Subwoofers Car Audio and Video - Sonic Electronix

problem(s): lights dimm, and wanting to build a box so i have some space in my trunk, also am i under powering the subs?

pics of current(pre advice)
Amp: http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/2589/myamps.jpg
Subs: http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/2310/1000353t.jpg
batt/alt: http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/7179/1000352wge.jpg


(post advice)
pending

I'd run 4ga. for battery and ground. Your probably fine with the 5 ga. at the battery right now but it wouldn't be a bad idea to do 4ga. ground. While your at it you may want to do the big 3 to help with the dimming lights.

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2001 GTP PT61 Turbo, IC, #65 Inj. E85

what about getting a cap to fix the lights?

a cap is not that bad, there not that great either. It may keep your headlights at a stable shine. Best suggestion, Big 3, can't go wrong with it

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'06 GP GT S/C - ALL visual, WizAired!
'00 T/A WS6 M6 - Almost FULL Bolt-on's!
'08 Raptor 700R - STOCK
'92 Suzuki GSXR 600 - Yoshimura Header & Exhaust

ugh caps suck big time. all they do is store energy, they are nice to help keep the batt charged when playin around with the car off. other than that with the car on ur amp will try to drain the cap first cause its the path of least resistance to a supply source. but with it draining your alt will have to try to charge the cap and keep up with the amp resulting in frying the alt and wearing it our faster.

just do the big 3 and if there is still problem install a second batt or bigger alt.

what gauge is it stock
also how much out put dose the stock alt putout (wouldn't you think that the current g wire is made for the max output of the alt?)

dose anyone know of a good design for a box (current one not going to last long)

thanks for helping

What all do u mean by the big 3

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ZZP 10.4mm's, ZZP S2 IC, XPZ, 3.4, 3.0, Ported Gen V, ZZP Headers, Rollmaster Double, ZZP CNC Heads 105s/130s, ZZP 78mm TB, AL103's, ZZP Aluminum Valve Covers, Meziere Electric WP, ZZP Fuel Pump, ZZP Fuel Logs, 65 Mototrons, 3.29's, 2500 Stall.

the big 3 the wires that go as so
alt-> power on bat
alt-> negative on bat
alt-> ground on chassis

that is not new info i just didn't know if i needed to do that
GeddyLee seems to know when you have to add stuff but he has yet to read this
i have looked at other threads but none are 15s thus why i made this

I will snap some shots of my big three setup tomorrow. As for your setup.........

15"s are just a tad bit over kill. That is just my opinion. That sub box is HUGE, I dont see an ounce of trunk space left in that poor thing. Also did you cut that sub box in half? It looks like it on the right hand side of the port split it was cut through? I am guessing that is cause it was the only way, outside of maybe fitting that beast of a box through the back seat?

As far as power goes, you definitely need the Big 3 setup on your car running that stuff. Your amp is good, I actually had the 600+watt HiPonics one, it was a good amp. But I am getting another Kenwood Excelon X1-R to mate up with my X4-C amp. As far as a cap goes? That is something you may want to consider, but I would do the Big 3 wiring first. Caps serve a very limited purpose. You are best off doing the Big Three and then if that doesnt help, up your alternator next. Cause for the price of a good high end Cap, you are gonna pay the same for a 220amp Alt.

Myself, I am kind of conservative when it comes to my subs, I went only with 10's instead of my old 12" Punch I use to have, I wanted a cleaner sound over being just plain loud. But everyone has their tastes, I will never argue that.

Also what kind or gauge power wiring are you using to your amp in the trunk? It is recommended for an amp of your size to have at least 4ga power and ground wiring. My current wiring is setup on a 4ga design, but I have my new 1/0ga wiring for my new setup once I have the bass amp to put it all together. I am also going to be running Knutzconcepts 1/0ga 3 mini fuse block off the battery and a SoundStream Power Plant 1 to run all my power through in the trunk.

I will have 1/0ga wiring from the battery to the Power Plant and the ground will also be 1/0ga. The lines from the Power Plant will be 4ga to the amps, both Pos and Neg. It might be a tad overkill, but I would rather have a tad over kill over melting my amps cause they were under powered.

I know that might not answer all your questions, but if you have more, please post them. Sorry for the delay in replying back, was working on the car today and got tied up into that. I am sure you understand

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~EDIT~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After looking at your pictures again, it appears you are running 4ga already? It looks pretty beefy, but looks can be deceiving. Also where are you running the ground off the amp? I am guessing from the looks of it, off the Strut Tower? That is usually a good location, plenty of good solid steel there. I actually redid my grounds, I use to have mine connected to the strut towers too, but it was a hassle if I ever had to work on the struts or anything. So I removed the backseat, both top and bottom sections and drilled a hole right above the center bolt that bolts the upper backseat down. I also sanded away all paint and primer to expose a good shiney metal surface to get the most optimal ground. The only small danger of where I drilled was the fact that is sits right in front of the gas tank. So I had to use an adjustable drill bit to go only a certain set depth to avoid any tank punctures.

__________________

James Shafer
2003 GP GTX SLP P/N 50066
St. Louis MO
1.9 Modified Rockers, TOGs, 180 Tstat, PRJ 10.4 Wires, P/P Gen 3, SLP Ram Air Hood/Wizaired CAI, Gen 1 Spoiler, 3.4 ZZP Pulley, Desert Fox Tranny Cooler, Thrasher Shift Kit, 18" TSW Mondellos w/ AGX Struts, SSC Gen II Springs

the gauge wires are in the original post lol
no its 5p/6g that will be changed soon
i know the 15s are overkill but thats how i like my stereos(have 5 8in subs in room)

on the box yes it was cut in half just to fit, in the processes one of the ports had to be sacrificed, i also want some trunk space (could be done easily but i need help with the design for the good sound)

oh and with the back seat out it would only be 12in of space and that box was 16*40*17
and what size of wire should i use for the big 3?

Sorry I missed that in the first thread. You know by hacking up the box like that, you lose almost ALL porting in that sub box If I was you? I would look for another sub box with better dimensions to fit your trunk, though with 15"s that might hard to do, but it is not impossible. Running it like, it will actually be worse for Subs to perform to their peak cause of the jacked up nature of the hacked sub box

As for my Big 3, I use all 1/0ga wiring. I will run down and get those pictures. It will be a little bit before I post them, I gotta run to Costco for gas and hotdog stuff for grilling out later tonight

__________________

James Shafer
2003 GP GTX SLP P/N 50066
St. Louis MO
1.9 Modified Rockers, TOGs, 180 Tstat, PRJ 10.4 Wires, P/P Gen 3, SLP Ram Air Hood/Wizaired CAI, Gen 1 Spoiler, 3.4 ZZP Pulley, Desert Fox Tranny Cooler, Thrasher Shift Kit, 18" TSW Mondellos w/ AGX Struts, SSC Gen II Springs

i was actually looking to build one
i have some ideas but i don't know if they will hit the low notes like i want them too
and as for the current box the left speaker in the pic has the normal port its the right sub that has no port anymore lol
they hit good just not what i was expecting and a friend said i need to make a diff box
i'm going to attempt at a design but really want a pro to look it over

Here are the pictures of my current Big 3 wiring setup. Keep in mind the power wire from the Alt to the Post Post on the fuse box will be replaced by a 1/0ga wire with a Maxi fuse added to it to prevent any short circuiting.

First is the negative post to the chassis. I choose the same location that factory uses to ground their connection. I just sanded off the paint to make a better connection.



Second is the one from the Alternator post connected to the strut tower brace to provide the 2nd grounding.



Third is the black wire coming from the Alternator to the Fuse Box post to provide the direct power link. That is the one I will be eventually changing out.



I hope this helps you to better understand the Big Three wiring for our cars

__________________

James Shafer
2003 GP GTX SLP P/N 50066
St. Louis MO
1.9 Modified Rockers, TOGs, 180 Tstat, PRJ 10.4 Wires, P/P Gen 3, SLP Ram Air Hood/Wizaired CAI, Gen 1 Spoiler, 3.4 ZZP Pulley, Desert Fox Tranny Cooler, Thrasher Shift Kit, 18" TSW Mondellos w/ AGX Struts, SSC Gen II Springs

Caps are good for maintaining steady voltage and low ripple. If you're using them like a battery then you're wrong.

Your box: Download some free modeling software and put in the specifications of your speaker. If you want accurate then go sealed. It also gives you a much smaller footprint. If you want to accentuate certain frequencies either to help roll off at the bottom end or to hit up some SPL competitions then you can use band pass and ported.

The software should tell you the dimensions and size of ports/slots necessary for your audio goals.

I just took a look at the fuse rating for your amp. 80amps x 2. That's 160amps total. If I were you I'd lose one sub and run the remaining with 500watts @ 4ohms. Otherwise I don't see how a big three or cap is really gonna help your situation.

You're pulling too much power. Reset your gains too. You don't need that much power going to your speakers at all times. It can't sound good. Especially since I'm sure you have stock mids and tweets which are over-powered by your kickers.

Just to give you a heads up, lots of power means nothing if it's dirty. People use to win competitions with 25watt amps. Technically, that Hifonics could be rated at 5 watts if you change the testing variables. I bet it only pushes 200watts if you lower the THD requirement to .05%


EDIT: sorry if I sound like an ass. I'm not saying you have a bad amplifier at all. It's actually very good for being a sub amp. But it sounds like you'll end up spending quite a bit of money for "boom" if that's what you want to maintain.

the subs are made for 2ohm
i will have some 0/1 gauge wire here soon to do the big 3(thanks a bunch to GeddyLee for the pics)
I800- i know your not trying to be that, i had 2 12s @ 550W(4ohm) before the 15s
i know its a crazy amount of bass but i can accually hear the words in the songs (others complain but the bass isn't that loud to me anymore)
as for the box i have a friend that said he would help be design and build a box(currently working out a day to build as i post this)
i picked more of the non-performance side of customizing(stock is enough to get me enough tickets if i wasn't so lucky) so yes its meant to be insane on stereo side.
i think the only performance related mod i want to do is lower the car.

only question i have left is for GeddyLee: how much cable did you use and what size of fuse?

Since you're keeping all of that my vote is new alternator and I guess you could do Big 3...it can't hurt.

This might help too. Ohm's Law Calculators This site maintains lots of information you might want to browse through as well.

If you do the math for all of your wires you can potentially increase the output from your subwoofers through efficiency. I think 4 guage is the minimum from battery positive but I think you're drawing too many amps for 4 guage.

update: new wires on way due to this(getting sooner then planed)

update: new wires on way due to this(getting sooner then planed)
http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/3057/1000370.jpg
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/3659/1000372c.jpg