TtamNedlog

After many (probably annoying) questions in the other thread, I finally quit being indecisive and made all the final decisions and ordered this:



Crutchfield said it should arrive by Friday at the latest, and all I'll need is a box for the sub, which should arrive some time around the 10th. I'll install all but the sub this weekend I guess, and will install it when I get the box. When it's all installed I'll get some pics of it for all to see. I'll later wash my car and make it presentable and put up some pics of it as well. =p

All this leads to some new questions though. Installation questions! So far I only have one (surprisingly): Where does the amp go? I can't just let it slide around the back, so will I need some sort of mounting rack to screw/fasten somewhere? Maybe one of those stealth racks from subthump?

Richiec77

iTrader: (3)

Nice. I'm gald you went the Pioneer route. I almost said to go with the Infinity Perfect 6.1's but I see this is pricy already. ($199 vs $399 I can see why)

I like your choices. I have not heard or Seen the MB quart Amp, but rest assured it will be a good one. R.F (Rockford Fosgate) owns MB quart and have probably lended it's technology for use in the Amplifier. I'm guessing you are going to use the front 2 ch for the Components and then Bridge the other 2 for the Sub. Nice looking Amp. I'm curious how it sounds.

Did you get the Sub enclosure through Crutchfield also or did you go through here?

http://www.subthump.com/acamaro.htm

Richiec77

iTrader: (3)

I'll Hold you too the Pic Promise

I'm glad you are going to install this stuff yourself. You will soon realize this is really not a Hard Hobby to get started in. Especially the Type of install you are going to be doing. Crutchfield is also a Great Beginners place to buy from because they give you everything PLUS info you might happen to need.

I'm beyond the Novice level, but I have always liked this about Crutchfield: They do their Homework so you don't have to. I still use their online Fit guides and also use the Spec pages for Reference material.

BUT, You will soon realize after this initial install, that Better Prices can be had elsewhere. Not to say you got ripped off by crutchfield, but If you come here from here on out, there are plenty of people to help direct you in the Better and Cheaper directions. Don't sweat though. It would take alot of Shopping around to do WAY better than The Above invoice.

Alright. For Install Tips: You need to mount the Amp and the Sub enclosure. Pull Door Panels, Wire up an Amp kit (run Power, GND, RCA's), Run new speaker Wire in each door, and Mount your Componets. Whew. Starting out Running are we!!?? lol

For starters, Have you done any install stuff before (like a radio), or are you mechanically inclined?

List your experience on your own vehicle and either myself or someone else will probably list stuff to help you along.

The install guides Crutchfield is sending you will show how to remove a door panel, How to properly mount a Fuse holder, Wire up a Harness to the Radio, Etc.... After you get the Folders and "How to's" I can see specific questions like; Where to put the Fuse holder, Where to run the Wire throught the Firewall,etc.. Stuff like that.

TtamNedlog

Awesome, thanks. I know Crutchfield wasn't the best pricing option, but I figured with their support, manuals, warranties, and little freebies here and, it was the best option for my first stereo endeavor.

For example the sub and receiver combined would be $548 + $15 shipping from Crutchfield. From CBR Stereo, I could have got the both of them for $$418 + $31 shipping. That's $114 cheaper, AND from CBR it would have been the P8MP, which is the Premier version. That would have been 6.5v preouts compared to the 4v ones on the P80MP from Crutchfield. However, Crutchfield throws in $45 worth of head unit installtion kits, so that narrows the price difference to $69. Crutchfield also has lifetime phone support, warranties, and instruction manuals. CBR stereo doesn't even have a phone number, listed no warranties on either item, and wouldn't have the instrcutions. For $69 more and 2.5v less on preouts, I think Crutchfield was the better option.

And no, I got a JL Vantage Stealthbox from the classifieds over at www.fbodyaudio.com for $95.

As for my experience with this sort of stuff, zero heh. It's not the wiring and hookups that worry me, it's the whole CAR part of it. I don't know how to get my door panels off, or grills off. I tried taking my front left speaker grill off and I think I broke a little plastic nub on the bottom that helped hold the grill on. I didn't see how to pull it off without breaking it. I don't think I've even seen a car firewall before. I don't know how Circuit City put my old Alpine in the dash, I don't see how they got it in there. I guess the dash comes off, but I certainly don't know how to do that either. I don't have a clue how to pull the carpet up, I figured it was glued down.

So that should give you an idea. =p

02Z28LS1

iTrader: (2)

i have yet to pull out the stereo in my car either, so i'm not quite sure myself how to go about doing that exactly.....but i will be doing so very soon

as for how to pull up the carpet, the easiest way to do this is to take all the seats out, and pull up all the plastic trim panels along each side. this will allow you to pull back the carpet as far as you want, up to the middle area where the console is located, which makes it about 1000 times easier to keep your power/signal/speaker wires seperated from each other to avoid the dreaded "alternator whine" or other introduced noises.

personally, i will be running my 12v power for the amp down one side of the middle "hump", and my signal cables on the other side. then the speaker wires for the front door speakers will run along the right side (passenger side) of the car, to the glove box, where my passive crossovers will be mounted. then from there, they will split off to each door (2 wires to each door, one for the woofer and one for the tweeter).

the great thing about doing it right, is that you should never have to do it again. the only thing you may have to do at a later time is either run an extra 4ga power wire, or take it out and run a single 2ga or 1/0ga power wire, if the amp(s) you purchase require it. other than that, if you ever upgrade speakers, the wires are already ran, as well as the signal cables if you change amps or add an external crossover or some other signal processor, etc.

i've even taken the same approach when designing the speaker box that i'm in the process of building. right now, i can only afford a cheap subwoofer, but i selected a cheap one that has roughly the same airspace requirements as a JL Audio 10w3v2, so that when i do have the money for the JL, it will just drop right in. of course, this is a sealed box, as a ported enclosure would need to be rebuilt for the exact sub being used in it.

Richiec77

iTrader: (3)

I see.

For the Doors Speakers: the Whole panel comes off. The grill doesn't "pop" off like you would think. There are Plastic tabs that hold the Grill in place. Just get some Super Glue or Plastic Glue and it's an easy fix.

For the Radio trim: the face piece does "Pop" off. get your finger nails back in the cracks and pull all the way around. It will come off easily.

For the Amp stuff it's a bit more involved. I have to get Going back to San Antonio again, but I'll fill in the Blanks as best I can.

ZBrewha863

You'll love the sub, I had two in my trunk and they were amazing, the cleanest bass you'll ever hear~

If you want to buy one more, I've got a modded subthump box that I'll sell ya for cheap.

TtamNedlog

Does anybody have one of those amp racks frmo subthump? I can't really figure out how they work from the limited info on their website. It says "effective mounting area is approx 12"x 36"." Does that mean it will mount anything smaller than that? Like my amp is 11.5" x 16.75." How does the amp attach to the rack? Screws? How does the rack attach to the car? Screws? Are there other amp mounting alternatives that would be cheaper/easier/better?


Heh, thanks for the offer. But I won't be planning on it any time soon that's for sure. My initial budget was roughly $1k, but with the box plus Crutchfield I'm already pushin $1300, and I think I need to order an amp rack from subthump or something and that'll break $1300 for sure.

02Z28LS1

iTrader: (2)

you could probably just email subthump and ask them how it mounts to the car, just tell them you want to know before you buy it so you will know whether or not you have to drill into your car or not.

but yes, the amp(s) just mount to the amp rack using regular wood screws.

BTLFEDLS1

I purchased the amprack from subthump for the install i will be doing . they do give you a link on how to mount it. you can either hard mount it to the car or they show you how to mount it so you could remove it without putting holes in your car. i think it will work good and can't wait to put my system in. mario

TtamNedlog

I doubt the amp would fit under the passenger seat would it? Seems kinda cramped in a camaro. =p

02Z28LS1

iTrader: (2)

yeah, there's zero chance for that to happen....i was thinking about doing that in mine, until i looked at the available space.....

2MuchRiceMakesMeSick

Yeah there is almost no room under camaros/firebirds.
A subthump amp rack seems to be a real nice solution

TtamNedlog

I'm at work reading some of the manuals I can grab off Crutchfield from my order. Trying to be ready as I can come tomorrow heh. After replacing each thing it says to "test the operation" or whatever. Things will work with the negative battery cable disconnected? Or I'm supposed to reconnect that and test, then disconnect again?

TtamNedlog

Oh boy! It came in! The only problem is that UPS says it's been signed by "Alley" in the "Office." Sadly I don't know an Alley and I don't work in an office. Great job UPS. UPS said I have to wait a couple of hours for the address to populate on the website so I can find out where it went. Amazing that they don't even know where they delivered it to.

02Z28LS1

iTrader: (2)

man, you don't EVEN know how much i despise UPS.....

they're a bunch of freakin retards that destroy/lose packages, then go on strike when they feel they don't make enough money, when a lot of them are getting paid >$20/hr for driving a fookin truck around.....

i much prefer FedEx, they usually get my stuff here earlier in the day, and i have yet to have any of my packages delivered to the wrong place.

2MuchRiceMakesMeSick

If you live in an appartment they drop it off at the main office.
They do this to my freind all the time if hes not at home when they try to deliver.

TtamNedlog

When I've ordered from UPS before they sent it to the mailroom downstairs. Maybe it went to the main CAMPUS mailroom or something, but I don't know if that even exists. I'll find out Monday I guess.

TtamNedlog

In the mean time, I decided to try and polish up my head lights since they were foggy looking, and while under the hood I became pretty intimidated at the prospect of running a power cable from my battery to an amp through the firewall. Because I couldn't really see how I could get to the firewall. Any suggestions? I don't have to drill a hole do I?

02Z28LS1

iTrader: (2)

nope, no drilling should be needed, i just got done yesterday installing my system, and there is a grommet on the passenger's side, right underneath/behind the PCM. you only need to remove the two bolts that hold the plastic housing to the metal, then move the PCM out of the way in order to get to it. i took some photos during my installation:

this photo shows the location that you should look (this is after i had already moved the PCM out of the way):



and this one shows a close-up of the grommet itself, behind where the PCM was: