Stereo & Electronics - New system install. Do it myself?

lol I just got a quote on an install, while somewhat reasonable. It still makes me want to install the system myself. I've done nearly all the work thus far to my car myself (with a friends help ofcourse.) But the only electrical work I've done is my e-cutout install.

Now would a new system be tough to do? Components up front, multi amp, 2 subs in back, mono amp, and a headunit with humount face plate. How long would this take, does anyone know a good install guide? I know some people who have done their own installs and I know with the right directions, tools, time, and a little help, Im capable of doing nearly anything on my car. But I'd like to know what im getting myself in to first. :)

in a word, if you can work on a car and install an e-cutout, YES!! you can do it yourself. The hardest part honestly is running the wires, and that isnt that hard at all to be flat honest iwth you. If you have ANY questions about installing it, shoot me a PM or post on here, also check out www.FBodyaudio.com as they are VERY helpful over there, its kinda quiet but they know their Fbody stuff. curious, how much did they quote you for all your stuff that you listed? Also, if you take your time and have patience, it is nothing that cannot be done in a weekend and doing the work yourself honestly makes you feel better about it, at least it does for me :)

i have a 99 camaro ls1 that came with the factory monsoon system. im currently running the alpine+ipod headunit, 1500w amp w/ a 1 farad digital capacitor and 2 500w sony xplod 12" subs. like FSUNole17 said, the trouble is running the wires to the back and getting the power wire through the firewall. i just drilled a hole, put a grommet, and sealed it with silicone to keep it weather-tight. my wiring goes under the driver side door sill panel thingy, and up the back interior panels by the seats. another thing you might have to deal with is shit vibrating. i just hate it when you hear those crappy civics with 100000w of bass vibrating the shit out of the entire car. nonetheless, i did this all myself and just turned 17. just take your time, and u will get it done. good luck

nice. thanks guys. yeah ive posted a few times over on fbodyaudio. good site. when the time comes ill definetely post over there. hopefully i can find a write up or something to give me a little more of a step by step feel.

so the majority should be easy, just need to know exactly what to get for the job and just DO IT. Oh and they quoted me about 650 (wires and custom amp rack included). But if I can save myself 600 bucks, then why the hell not? I dont mind working on my car, i prefer getting things done myself. i totally agree, its more gratifying to say i did it myself. just need to be sure im up to the task. :-D Thanks again.

if you look under the pass side under all of the wiring there is a grommet that is big enough to get a 1 ga wire through so you dont have to drill, i installed all of my old system and the hardest part is running all the wires and making sure everything hooks up. I didnt have any electronics experience and i did it easily.

Good to know. So how exactly do you go about wiring it all? What did you need to do to get the wires from the front to the back? Take out any seats? Remove the carpeting in certain areas?

just pulled up the molding, i ran the power down the pass side and the speaker/rca cables along the drivers side, you do not want to cross the power with anyother wires it can blow your system ive heard so keep it seperate. If you go to fbodyaudio.com and check out there tech section they give you all the info you need. Pick up an install kit for cheap off ebay that will come with almost everything you need, also go to a local audio store, pick up a battery terminal, some 4 ga wire and 16 ga speaker wire.

i would def. install it yourself. like they said run the power on the pass side through the grommet used for the pcm. run the speaker wires and rca's along the drivers side all under the carpet. (very easy to do carpet comes up put your stuff under and push it back in place). run your door speaker wires through the rubber elbow that is already in place for power and speaker wires. (coat hanger helps with this. driver side is a bitch) make sure you run your remote wire to the back as well. usually the blue wire or blue with white stripe on the head unit. and at the back ground each amp seperately. dont get a ground block which you connect everything to. I bought one off of ebay before i knew that and got horrible noise in all the speakers. once the wires are ran it is basically just putting them in the right places and mounting everything.

Hmm... well it sounds doable. Can anyone tell me all the things I will need to do this myself? You know, all the little details. Wiring kits (brands?), tools, fuses? And whatever else comes to mind. So I can start parting them out.

Here is my system:
(2) Diamond Audio Component Speakers D661a/s
6.5 Im w/ 1" Tweeter - 100/200 Watts

(2) Alpine Type-R Subwoofers
I'm not sure if I need the 2ohms or 4ohms for the amp below...

Alpine MRD-M1005 Mono Amp
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=14926

Alpine MRV-F345 Multi Channel Amp
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=14928

Subthump T-Top Box

Alpine CDA-9857 Head Unit


Thanks again.

well first off, you obviously need a wiring kit for the amp and subs. MAKE SURE IT IS RATED FOR THE AMOUNT OF POWER YOU WILL BE MAKING!!!... try to buy one that comes with a fuse for surge protection. in total, you need the remote (blue) wire, a ground wire, RCA cable, power wire, speaker wire, and all connections, zip ties, elec tape etc. you dont need much else than that. oh a nice pair of wire strippers always helps! i would also recommend buying a capacitor. this essentially just stores and boosts up power. (sometimes at night, my lights dim when the bass is up. this would help to prevent that) On the head unit, if you plan to use your ipod, you need to buy a seperate cable. it usually doesnt come with it. good luck!

yea what he ^^ said. also you will need speaker wire. and i would get a pack of different connectors. "o" connectors, 't' connectors, the fork looking ones. those always come in handy. also if you are going to invest in this stuff i would invest in the nice strippers to help you out. the red one at radio shack that strips with just a squeeze makes this job much less of a pain. also helps on time

I would do a single ported 12" alpine.. You realy dont need 2 subs with fbody cabin gain.

Running wires in an fbody is about as easy as it gets, Just make sure to separate signal wires from power wires, find a good chassis ground, and you'l be fine.

Killer
Thanks, seems like a pretty basic list. Any specific brand suggestions? I know kicker makes a wiring kit, any comments?

plutonium
Thank you as well. Good idea. A man always needs good strippers! :devil: Even if they did come from a shack of some sort. :jest:


SSaction
I like loud. With the cutouts open and tops off, 2 10's will do the trick. I like how 10's hit quick and clean, and these alpines also pull off anything a good 12 will do. So im pretty set on that. But thanks, lol.

yea nothing like a nice stripper that strips with just a nice squeeze! hehe

Killer


SSaction
I like loud. With the cutouts open and tops off, 2 10's will do the trick. I like how 10's hit quick and clean, and these alpines also pull off anything a good 12 will do. So im pretty set on that. But thanks, lol.


One 12 ported correctly in the back of an fbody will blow your mind honestly. You can tune the R to 31hz and it will sound extremely "tight"

I have a cam, LT ory and cutout, and i have a sealed R 12 and its more than enough to keep up with the engine noise..the hard part is hearing all of the vocals and instuments from the front stage.

Which is why I decided to get the components I've got coming. I wont lie, I know the 2 10's may be a bit much. But I like excessive. :) I am in no way saying you are wrong. I just love the look of the 2 10's in the back there, and how they will make u cough blood. :devil: im all about that.

Another quick question. See if any of you could help me out real fast.

With this amp
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarA...ProductID=14926
and 2 10" Type-R Subs. Which sub do I want, the 2 ohms or the 4?

TTT Grabbing these subs soon. Need a little help. :)

for your power wire pull the PCM out & there is a rubber grommet under there plenty big. Thats where I ran mine through & my tach input wire for the shift light.

Thank you sir.

Anyone help me out with this here:
Another quick question. See if any of you could help me out real fast.

With this amp
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarA...ProductID=14926
and 2 10" Type-R Subs. Which sub do I want, the 2 ohms or the 4?

To make life easier, pull all the seats out of the car. Takes ~15 minutes with basic hand tools.

It would also be helpful to remove the center console, but that involves messing with the parking brake which is a pain. I just loosened mine up and lifted slightly (the 8 ball atop the shifter had to come out).

I couldn't get the carpeting out entirely, but lifted it in most areas. I ran new wires to all the speakers too.

Biggest headaches included getting the amp rack wired up and installed.

Here's a link to some pics. http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3484468&postcount=5

Those are very nice amps too... I question the need for 2 subs for an fbody though. I'm quite happy with the single 10" in the stealth box. In fact, most times it's turned down because the bass is quite plentiful (for my tastes)

For wiring, check out knukonceptz.com.. very good prices. I went with their 17 or 18' 4 channel patch cord.

The following is what I ordered..

KRY4.6M
Krystal Kable 4 Channel 6M Twisted Pair RCA Cable
1
$29.99
$29.99
KOL-AK4
Complete 4 Gauge Amplifier Installation Kit
1
$31.99
$31.99
GMBT
General Motors Side Post Battery Terminal
1
$3.99
$3.99
FB-3438
Three Output AGU Fuse Distribution Block
1
$7.49
$7.49
eKo-4BL
eKo Kable 4AWG Metallic Blue Power/Ground Cable
10
$0.79
$7.90
KOL8RS
Kolossus Kable 8 Gauge Red/Silver Power Wire
10
$0.45
$4.50

There might be some other pieces too, but I can't find the email for those.

Good luck

lol I just got a quote on an install, while somewhat reasonable. It still makes me want to install the system myself. I've done nearly all the work thus far to my car myself (with a friends help ofcourse.) But the only electrical work I've done is my e-cutout install.

Now would a new system be tough to do? Components up front, multi amp, 2 subs in back, mono amp, and a headunit with humount face plate. How long would this take, does anyone know a good install guide? I know some people who have done their own installs and I know with the right directions, tools, time, and a little help, Im capable of doing nearly anything on my car. But I'd like to know what im getting myself in to first. :)


Yes, you can do it yourself. But most of the time they say if its not done by a professional it can void out the warrenty on your audio equipment.But I dont know how they really could tell if it wasent done by a professional. Depends on what all you are installing, the hardest part is gonna be running the wires from the battery to the rear of the car. Other than that you will be fine.

GPZ:
Thanks bud, this should be a huge help! I really appreciate it. :)

CamaroSS615:
Most of my stuff is coming from eBay and the likes anyway, so its no biggie.
Thats what I keep hearing, running the wires. Thats not a problem, just time consuming im sure. Its the wiring of the units that has me a little worried, I mean ill ffigure it out by hook or by crook. But that seems to be the only real "complicated" part of the whole thing. Which wire goes to which plug in series or parallel and all that jazz. Caps, wire types and sizes, and all the little doodads and gadgets that come with the main components. lol Gotta figure all that stuff out.