DamonZ28

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I have a couple of questions about the sound system I'm building in my 94 Camaro:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-el...lots-pics.html

I have Rockford Fosgate 3-way P1675's in the sail panels, coaxial P165's in the doors, and in a month or two, I'll have a 10" sub in the driver's side hatch. The P1675's have much better highs & lows, and I much prefer their overall sound. Should I just switch them around, or should I bite the bullet & just get another set of P1675's for the doors?

Also, when I install the sub, I'll have 2 amps - a Hifonics GLX60.4 (240watt) for the speakers, and a Hifonics ZRX1000.1D monoblock amp for the sub. I just have a standard battery & stock alternator. I can upgrade the battery if necessary, but would it be recommended to get a farad capacitor as well?

dckmn52

have you installed this amp in something before? you're going to be hurting for voltage running 1k RMS. I have one of the most "efficient" DSP amps from back in the day and it sucks current like nobody's business. We're talking 60-70amps just to the monoblock.

I personally would get a better battery (Optima/Kinetic) and do the "Big 3 Upgrade" and see how everything plays out from there.


As far as the speaker upgrades go, its all subjective. Some guys prefer a clear front soundstage, others prefer having sound from everywhere. That choice is all up to you.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

personally I wouldn't even run the 3-ways in the sail panel locations. you don't want highs from that location. Caps are CRAP don't waste your money, put it toward a bigger alt and 1/0 gauge big 3 upgrade and all the other stuff you need to go dual amp, like additional RCA's larger power wire distribution blocks and all that type of stuff.

DamonZ28

iTrader: (1)

Sounds good, thanks for the suggestions. I thought the big 3 upgrade was a lot more involved, but it looks pretty simple. I'll definitely do that. I think I'll move my P1675's to the doors, try it, add the P165's later, & see what I like better.

When I mount the 2nd amp, where does the power wire distribution block go? Does that go under the hood, or can it mount to my amp rack in the back?

Daniel Richards

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^^^^^ you'll need to run a bigger power cable (most likely, probably 1/0 gauge) to support the 2 amps then that cheap DBlink kit you bought. run the new power cable to the back then mount the distribution block to the amp rack and it splits it to the 2 outputs you need for the amps. with the combined power draw of those 2 amps at 20' of wire length you would be right about the limit of PURE COPPER 4 gauge wire and IIRC that DBLink kit was the copper clad aluminum, either way you would be right at the edge of safe operation and so I would suggest the upgrade of the main power and ground cables, this is an ABSOLUTE MUST if the DBlink is indeed the copper clad aluminum.

this is sorta what I'm prepping for now, I got the 4-channel I wanted for christmas but I need to up my wiring to handle the extra current draw before I can install it.


And this is post 1,000 for me!!

DamonZ28

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Kit description says it's oxygen-free cooper.

My head is starting to spin, with all this wiring required - for the amps, the big 3 kit, etc etc etc...

So I'll need a different fuse for the 1/0 wire, correct?

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

OK, so being OFC you might be able to get by with it, but personally I wouldn't, because both those amps take a 4 gauge input and I just wouldn't feel comfortable splitting a 4 gauge to 2 4 gauges.

unless your fuse holder (at the battery) has a removable piece to allow for 1/0 (mine does but its way bigger then yours) then you'll probably need to change the fuse holder too and you'll need atleast a 130 amp fuse (80 amps for the future amp + 50 for your current amp) to go in it. I would also look at a better battery atleast.

DamonZ28

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Thanks again Daniel. I'll take your suggestion & go with the 1/0 to avoid problems down the road.

I was looking at the instructions for the Big 3 upgrade, & have a few questions.

1. What size fuse should I use?
2. Where is the ground bolt on the engine? I see the pic on shbox.com but it's a zoomed-in pic & doesn't really give an exact location. Looks like it's on the motor mount, do you access it from under the car?
3. What kind of battery should I be looking at? I'm looking at the Optima's I guess, does it matter if it's the red-top or yellow-top? Amazon looks like the cheapest place to order. I like the batteries with both the side & top terminals, so I can attach the amp & Big 3 power wires to the terminals with a battery terminal clamp.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

1. Personally, I haven't put a fuse between my alternator and battery, I know it is recommended and I made add one when I do the alt upgrade. fuse should be just above the max output of the alternator in that case
2. depends on the motor (LT1, 3.4 v6, 3.8 v6 or LS1), just follow the cable best you can to see where it goes.
3. I have a Redtop myself, they aren't as good as they where when they first came out, do some searches on here or look into car audio batteries with the same dimensions (or close enough to fit) with higher ratings. I know there is a thread here titles something like "biggest battery in an f-body" or something like that.
Thats what I did with the knukonceptz terminals on my optima, I'll get a picture later, thought I had one but can't find it.

DamonZ28

iTrader: (1)

Okay, I got out a notebook and wrote down everything I'll need. I'm looking at the Radaflex 1/0 welding cable from Cable Yard, I saw it recommended on either the Steve Meade forums or diyaudio. They're selling it for $2.48/ft, cheapest I've been able to find.

Daniel Richards

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these are the terminals I got from Knukonceptz they allow for either 3 1/0 connections or 2 1/0 and 1 4 gauge. also is a picture of my fuse holder, it takes full size ANL fuses (instead of the tube style fuse like yours) and the ends are fitted for 4 gauge but if you take the set screw out the covers slide off and fit 1/0 wire.

DamonZ28

iTrader: (1)

For the fused distribution block, does it have one, or multiple, fuses? And what size(s) does it need?

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

the one I sent you the link to has multiple fuse options and you would want the fuse #1 option to be the combined fuse rating of your 4-channel (25+25=50) but they don't have a 50 so go with the 60 and for fuse #2 option the amp your looking at getting has an 80 amp fuse so no smaller then that but it couldn't hurt to go higher incase you decide you want a bigger amp later.

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

While this is correct information, it doesn't make clear that fuses are not designed to protect electronic equipment - they're used to protect the wiring from overheating and possibly causing a fire (which I suppose does protect the equipment in a way).

So, the fuse sizing suggested is good for the current amp and a future amp if and only if the wire is upgraded to something larger than 4-gauge. 4-gauge wire should not be used for more than 125 amps and even that only for relatively short distances (10 feet or less). If you were to use a 130 amp fuse on a long 4-gauge wire, it is quite possible that enough current could flow to melt the wire and cause a fire without blowing the fuse. You could come out to find a charred car still with a good fuse.

Always size your fuses by the wire size they are connected to and not by the devices. And always use the smallest fuse that will support the current draw of the attached devices.

DamonZ28

iTrader: (1)

I'm planning to use 1/0 wiring from the battery (with a 150A fuse there?) back to the distribution block which will be mounted on the amp rack. So I'll only have about a foot of 4-guage wiring to the amps.