Make my car go BOOM

[widgit117]

(doughpokeI will start off saying that I like this forum. Most of the advice is good.

Now to the problem/advice needed.
At this moment I have two 12'' Sony Xplods driven by a 1200W Sony amp. I know that this is not the best equipment but it does the job. Anyway, the problem is that my bass hits and my car looks like a strobe light, also my revs match the bass pretty well. With this already happening and that I want to add more speakers(list to follow), where can I get a better alternator?

Plans for the semi future:
Pioneer FH-P8000GT (H.U.)(Bought)
Infinity Reference 6820cs (front comp. speakers)(Got Kappas instead)
Infinity Reference 5020cs (rear comp. speakers)
and maybe two Rockford Fosgate P1s412 (subs)(Got 2 12" RFs in a ported box)

I already have a four channel amp to power the comps.

With so many amps being drawn I need another alternator.
Thanks for the advice in advance.

 

[Bumpin Mazda]

or a power cell. when your amp draws power from the battery your headlights and other lighting is compromized a powercell will basicly just fill in the gaps
say there is a 20amp gap when your subs hit. the power will be drawn from the power cell and recharges from the stock alternator just like your battery.

 

[Bumpin Mazda]

thats what i did and my hid's dont flicker when im beatin down the block

 

[daonly1around]

or get a yellow top and a class D mono block amp for your sub..

 

[widgit117]

Dang, your right. How big do you think I need?

 

[msp5]

http://www.mobilespec.com/c-12-Capacitors.aspx

all you need is a 1 farad capacitor.the amp will draw the power from the capacitor instead of the battery.i think the rule is 1 farad for every 1000w of power.

 

[808MP5]

Optima Yellow Top Battery (echo)
Capacitors... or better yet a BattCap (echo)

 

[la2lvtom]

For the Protege5 you must remember the stock alternator is only 90 amps so after all the factory equipment is added up you only have about 10 amps to spare and the general rule of thumb is for every 10 watts of power (RMS, not peak) you have you are pulling 1 amperage of power so anything more than a 100 watt (RMS) amp will put a strain on your charging system. Before you jump to the conclusion of a new high output altenator you need to beef up your reserve power first, I would highly recomend a better battery. An Optima yellow top will work great and definately help you with your reserve power and with the equipment you have and are planning on getting this should be fine. I wouldn't suggest a capacitor because it really does not hold reserve power, they are designed to instantly charge and discharge at a moments notice but if you play music with continual low notes the cap doesn't have time to charge itself this is where a battery with high reserve comes into play. 808mp5 recomended a Batcap which is a real nice unit, it is basically a hybrid gel cell battery and a muti-farad cap built into one unit. I've heard good things about this product but a little pricey (batcap.net) I personally use Kinetik batteries (kinetikaudio.com) and I built my protege5 for SPL competition. If you feel you really want to go with the high output alternator you can get one built by Ohio Generator (ohiogen.com) or 330-875-6677, they built mine and it puts out 186 amps at 3200 rpm but it is around $500 shipped so there is a bit of an expense there. Good luck in your endeavor and by the way I am running 16 Fosgate P1s810's and for an entry level sub they are fantastic I think you will be happy with the 12" version just be sure you build the proper box. Tom

 

[lanny709]

(doughpokeI will start off saying that I like this forum. Most of the advice is good.

Now to the problem/advice needed.
At this moment I have two 12'' Sony Xplods driven by a 1200W Sony amp. I know that this is not the best equipment but it does the job. Anyway, the problem is that my bass hits and my car looks like a strobe light, also my revs match the bass pretty well. With this already happening and that I want to add more speakers(list to follow), where can I get a better alternator?

Plans for the semi future:
Pioneer FH-P8000GT (H.U.)
Infinity Reference 6820cs (front comp. speakers)
Infinity Reference 5020cs (rear comp. speakers)
and maybe two Rockford Fosgate P1s412 (subs)



I already have a four channel amp to power the comps.

With so many amps being drawn I need another alternator.
Thanks for the advice in advance.

I'm guessing you meant the P8000BT? not GT haha I've heard good things about this double din deck. Looks hot too

One of my friends had the Infinity Reference's and they are great speakers. However, I prefer the sound the sound of the Infinity Kappa's. I find the range of the speaker is much better.

Rockford is the best way to go when it comes to subwoofers. Also, Exile is great too and a little cheaper!

HAVE FUNNN!!

 

[widgit117]

I also have another issue. I am going to need to deaden the car. I am coming across names like Dynamat, Second Skin, and Vibraflex. None of them are exactly cheap. So, if someone has done this before, how much did you use?

 

[la2lvtom]

Dynamat is the best deadening material out but as you noticed not exactly on the inexpensive side (unless you were lucky and picked some up at the Cicuit City liquidation at 30% off). I used a product called Fatmat in my Pro5, it works really good and at a fraction of the cost. You can pick up a 100 sq.ft. pack on E-Bay for $89 plus around $40 for shipping (it weighs around 30lbs) but you also get a roller and cutting knife with it. I got 2 packs and did 5 layers on the roof, 3 layers in each door (2 on the skin and 1 on the metal bracing), 3 layers on the hatch and 1 layer on the floor. 1 pack of 100 sq. ft. should work just fine for you, that should include the roof (front to back), all 4 doors (do the doorskin not the metal bracing) the hatch (just the area behind the removable plastic panel) and the floor (to attenuate road noise and loud exhaust if you have one). Congratulations on thinking of the most important item when dealing with car audio, no one ever considers the sound deadening but its the most important step to a great sounding stereo

 

[widgit117]

I have seen Fatmat on ebay and it seemed too good to be true. All that material at such a cheap price. I used to have only two 10''s in the trunk but now since I got two 12''s every thing rattles now. It used to be livable but... oh well... gotta fix the problem so I don't sound like a baby rattle going down the street or a noob. Heck even my exhaust rattles. *sigh* That will be replaced later. Thanks for all the help. btw you don't know anyone with a silver mazdaspeed3 in Dallas, Texas do you. Saw one on the back of a flat bed tow truck. Sad day.

 

[la2lvtom]

Yea, not too good to be true but a reliable product without all that "name brand" mark-up. My first set-up in my '03 Pro5 was 2 Pioneer 12's in a downfire ported enclosure and that started things coming loose, lol, so be prepared for the inevitable. I've only been to Texas once in '03 for the Texas Heatwave show in Fort Worth but that was the only time in Texas.

 

[thefrog1394]

.

 

[la2lvtom]

Trust me, I've been dealing with the horrible charging system in the Pro5 for a while now. First off it's not the ECU you need to worry about it's the PCM that is the biggest culprit with the charging issues. When I first contacted Ohio Generator about getting the high output alternator built I got the "oh no" gasp when I told them it was a Mazda (ironicaly every electrical shop I go to gives me the same gasp when I mention Mazda) the alternator they built me has a chip they added to trick the PCM into "thinking" the factory alternator is still on the car that way I get high amperage which maintains a steady voltage to the batteries evnen when I am playing the stereo. I have just added a Missing Link Audio module http://www.missinglinkaudio.com which keeps a constant 14.7 volts to the batteries. the PCM only allows about 70% of the alternators output reach the battery so it does not work as hard and the vehicle gets a better mpg rating but the MLA module works in conjunction with the regulater to keep the alternator puting out the voltage you want and not interfering with the computer. its actually a lot more complex than that but I get a headache when they try to explain it to me, haha. Actually, in the new issue of mini trucking magazine there is an article which explains how it works better. So far it is working pretty good.

 

[lanny709]

I also have another issue. I am going to need to deaden the car. I am coming across names like Dynamat, Second Skin, and Vibraflex. None of them are exactly cheap. So, if someone has done this before, how much did you use?

Dynamat IS a VERY good product. You don't require much of it to deaden a door or trunk. It's quite pricey but it sure does work!

 

[widgit117]

While Dynamat is the best sound deadener out there, I am looking to add several layers of the stuff to dampen my speakers and the road noise. On all four doors, the floor, and the hatch I would be looking at about 100 sq. ft. and that cost too much for Dynamat. I looked up sound deadener showdown and it list the most common types and brands. I think I will go with RAAMmat because it is a butyl based and has a decent temperature tolerence.

 

[bonesmp5]

I did mine with Dynamat-- but I had not done any research on the stuff before hand.. Dont get me wrong, it did a better job than I had imagined.. but next time I will use Raamatt for cost effectiveness..

I used about 110sq all one layer and on the floor I added a mat to help with noise. I Dynamated the Floor, Roof, Hatch, Wing, and Both inner and outer skins of the doors..

Road noise was cut in half-- before it seemed hard to talk to a passenger and after it was a piece of cake.. No rattles at all,, not even the liscence plate. The roof had a lot of flex when the bass hit, but never rattled, even with the sunroof open..

Have fun,
Billy

 

[widgit117]

Just wanted to update: I have installed the Pioneer FH-P8000BT. It was a simple install, nothing went wrong. (except I should have bought proper wire strippers) My front door speakers: Infinity Kappa (68.2cs?) have been shipped. These won't be installed til May '09 because I think it best to install the front, rear, and sound deaden the car all at once. Oh and re-wire the system to run two amps.

 

[widgit117]

Ok, another update. I just replaced my sony bandpass with a ported box with 2 12' RF P2s. Now my watch even rattles.