[97LOWNOMA]

my current setup is a 2-JL 10" w3's (4 ohm dvc) and the older fosgate 500*2 channel amp (rated at 766watts). my truck is setup with the amp in the middle and the subs to the sides of the amp. imo my truck sounds great (excellent quality) inside the vechicle but when u get outside the vechicle it's not as loud as i'd like it to be. i am planning on building another box and this time i want the amp to mount to either the floor or the wall (more air space). i am hoping with the extra air space that i can get more sound outta it. i am also considering upgrading some of my components. i was thinking maybe a the kicker 800*2 or a hifonics amp and i am undecided on the subs. i would like to keep my current 8 gague power wire (but will upgrade if nessesary), and i would like to find a excellent sub with around a 6" mounting depth or less. i am also undecided if i should go with 2 10's or 2 12's.

 

[adam728]

my current setup is a 2-JL 10" w3's (4 ohm dvc) and the older fosgate 500*2 channel amp (rated at 766watts). my truck is setup with the amp in the middle and the subs to the sides of the amp. imo my truck sounds great (excellent quality) inside the vechicle but when u get outside the vechicle it's not as loud as i'd like it to be.

You should want to minimize the amount of sound outside. Driving around bumping for all to hear only gives stereo enthusiests a bad name and gives lawmakers more ammo against us. Many towns have distance rules in effect as is. Sorry, it's a big pet pev of mine when someone talks about how they want to be heard from blocks away.

i am planning on building another box and this time i want the amp to mount to either the floor or the wall (more air space). i am hoping with the extra air space that i can get more sound outta it.

The amount of airspace you need will depend entirely on the subs you chose and what kind of sound you are going for. If you get 1.25ft^3 sealed each that may work great for company A, but make company B's subs sound horrible.

i am also considering upgrading some of my components. i was thinking maybe a the kicker 800*2 or a hifonics amp and i am undecided on the subs.

Depending on what ohms the amp can handle and what power it will put out will help decide what subs you can use. I'd say keep the W-3's, but that's just me. L7's would be real nice as well, but I believe they are over your 6" mounting depth limit you specified below.

i would like to keep my current 8 gague power wire (but will upgrade if nessesary), and i would like to find a excellent sub with around a 6" mounting depth or less. i am also undecided if i should go with 2 10's or 2 12's.

NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You should not be running 8 gauge to begin with!!!! That amp should be drawing 80+ amps at full tilt, and that's WAY too much for 8 gauge to handle for a full distance run. You should'nt exceed 60 amps on 8 gauge. You should be running 4 gauge from the battery back. I would suggest upgrading wire when you re-install. Right now you are losing close to a volt by the amp just because of the resistance in the wire trying to pass that much current. What that means is you are really losing power from your amp, because even when your alternator is spitting out 14.4 volts, you amp is only living off about 13.5 volts. I can't stress enough how much you need to upgrade that wiring!!!

And like I said above, tens, not 12's. Very difficult to get the proper airspace, and mounting depth kills. Most 12's are deeper than tens from the same company, plus the center of the sub mounts higher, meaning even more leg room killed.

 

[MuddyS10]

it all depends on how much you want to spend. im getting 2 10" Resonant Engineering subs, and a BX1500D Hifonics Brutus amp here soon. the amp has to be run on 2 gauge wire, tho. im not too sure how well they would fit in your standard cab.

 

[97LOWNOMA]

were do u guys run your power wire? i had enough trouble running my 8 gauge wire i couldnt imagine running 4 gauge wire. i have been running my amp this way for 2-3 years i am definetely ordering up some 4 gauge wire tho, thanks.

 

[MuddyS10]

do you mean from the battery? most people use the antenna grommet hole in the passenger side footwell. then, just run it under the door sill trim.

 

[97LOWNOMA]

thats what i did with my 8 gauge but i would think 4 guage would be too thick. how would i get 4 gauge wire to plug into my amp? the 8 gauge was even too thick.

 

[adam728]

That amp has 8 gauge power/ground connections. You have to be careful when stripping the wire ends, if you get them too twisted or frayed out at all it will be a pain to hook up. But do it carefully and 8 gauge will slip in just right, then tighten down the allen screw to secure them.

I ran my 4 guage underneat the antenna hole. I drilled a new hole and inserted a grommet, then ran through that. It took only a few minutes, and I'm much more comfortable with that than just jamming wire through the antenna grommet (many people say 4 gauge will fit through there, but I don't trust it). Then you run that back to a distribution block very near the amplifier and run a minimal amount of 8 guage to the amp. The ground should be a very short run of 8 gauge as well. If it must be longer then run it to a very close distribution block and then use 4 gauge to reach the grounding point.

 

[MuddyS10]

did you drill the hole form inside the cab? and where did you get the grommet at? thats what im going to have to do when i run my 2 gauge wire, so im in the same boat.

 

[adam728]

I beleive the grommet was in my wiring kit, but you can get them at hardware stores in all sorts of sizes. There are now specific ones that thread into place, but I think they are a waste of money (a rubber one is like 50 cents, these other ones are like $5-8).

Cheapo Rubber

Fancy, overpriced, who's gonna see it anyway