Touring speaker upgrade question

[tibimakai]

I'm planning on upgrading my car's speakers.
I have purchased two sets of Infinity component speakers for the front and rear doors. They are on sale right now at Bestbuy.com. Primus PR6500cs $64.99/a pair.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/primus-6-1-2-2-way-component-speakers-with-plus-one-woofer-cones-pair/7977103.p?id=1218863185893&skuId=7977103&st=categoryid$abcat0302005&cp=1&lp=7
They don't look component, but they are. I have picked up these from the store.
I'm wondering, what should I do with the dash speakers, do I still need them? I should upgrade those too?
Not sure where to install the tweeters, the easiest would be to install them in the doors.
My plan is to replace the radio with a Kenwood nav unit, install a (small)powered subwoofer under the seat. I'm considering an amp for these speakers also. What kind of power should have? 4 x 80W= 320W?
Any input would be appreciated.

Tibor

 

[Rob Ciniello]

I'm in the same situation. I hate my touring audio system. It's terrible. Let me know what you end up doing

 

[tibimakai]

I have also picked up some Polk Audio DXI350 3.5" speakers from crtchfield for $24.99 w/free shipping last week when they were on sale.
I'm just worried that I will have to many tweeters in the car.
It will take some time to buy everything, but for now I will install the speakers.
I'm planning to get a four channel amp and a powered subwoofer, the one that can be installed under a seat.
I'm also planning to install an inverter. I will have space issues installing all these under the seats.

 

[tibimakai]

I have installed the dash speakers and they increased the volume and the highs. The highs are way better then before.
I'm not sure if I should install the door tweeters. I may try them and only after that I will install them in the door.
I had to cut off the connector and extend the wires.
This bass suppressor I had to put it together, since they give you the bare capacitors only.
I have used the wires with connectors from the component speakers that I have purchased. Those won't used connectors, they will be soldered to the factory connector's female plug.

 

[tibimakai]

I try to do the best job as possible on the budget, so I have picked up a broken amplifier from Ebay which I will repair. It's a Polk Audio PA660 and it was a whopping $39.99 shipped. It is $199 + tax at Best Buy.
My hobby is to repair electronic devices and re-sell them, so it's not a problem for me to repair it. Though mainly I'm repairing LCD TVs.
Next, I need to find a small powered subwoofer.

 

[dreadly]

I try to do the best job as possible on the budget, so I have picked up a broken amplifier from Ebay which I will repair. It's a Polk Audio PA660 and it was a whopping $39.99 shipped. It is $199 + tax at Best Buy.
My hobby is to repair electronic devices and re-sell them, so it's not a problem for me to repair it. Though mainly I'm repairing LCD TVs.
Next, I need to find a small powered subwoofer.

I picked up three LCD TV's at the local dump and each one had the same fault! Power supply caps.

 

[tibimakai]

I picked up three LCD TV's at the local dump and each one had the same fault! Power supply caps.

Samsungs are famous for bad caps.
Try badcapsforum.com for help.
I'm paying my car payments, from these repairs.
I have repaired a couple of home theater receivers as well. Also a couple of 22" and up monitors and a couple of laptops as well.

 

[tibimakai]

Any good ideas for a out of the way subwoofer? I need my trunk and the room under the seats are reserved already. (Amp + Inverter)
I have found some spare tire Bose subwoofer for Mazdas and Nissans. Any input about these units?
I'm reading that they don't have much lows and it's normal to be that way because the speaker is tiny.
I'm looking for a bit of lows, I don't need 15"-ers in my car.

 

[tibimakai]

Picked up two broken Polk Audio amps from the bay and I'm repairing them as we speak. One is the PA660($39.99 shipped, $220 w/tax at Best Buy) and the other one, will be for the sub, which is a Polk Audio PA880($39.99 from the bay).
I'm considering a small 8" Pioneer shallow sub with it's own factory enclosure. I'm not interested in huge boxes in the trunk area. I need that space to carry TVs, plus I have a car seat in the back for my 5 year old.

 

[tibimakai]

Anybody has experience in installing amps and inverter in a car?
I will have two Polk Audio ams, one PA660 and one PA880 and a 1000W inverter.
http://www.polkaudio.com/products/pa660_4
http://www.polkaudio.com/products/pa880
https://www.amazon.com (commissions earned)
What kind of wiring and fuse should I use?
I'm thinking, that I should use 0 gauge wire, which goes into a distributor and from there I should split it in two 4 gauge wires for the two amps. What size fuse should I use next to the battery?
How should I hook up the inverter?
Can I use the same 0 Gauge wire or should I run a separate wire for it? What size of fuse should I use for this inverter?
Any help would be appreciated.

Tibor

 

[tibimakai]

I would like to add a subwoofer, but there is not much room in this car for one.
I don't want to lose any space in the trunk area.
It would be nice, if somebody would sell an enclosure which would fit at the side of the trunk area.
Anybody have removed the rear seats, to see how much room is underneath them?
Under the front seats I'm planning to install two amps, so those spots are taken.
I still have to install an inverter somewhere in the front.
There is a lot of room under the dash at the driver's side, but there is not much to mount too.

 

[tibimakai]

Anybody else is thinking about doing something like this?
http://www.i-club.com/forums/ongoin...retains-spare-tire-its-stock-location-198934/
I'm thinking seriously about doing something very similar.
I'm wondering if the fiberglass is really needed. Our wheels are covered, no holes except the mounting holes. I'm thinking of putting a rubber washer which would cover the holes and a big washer on top bolted down to the car. This way the spare wheel is sealed. I have put water in it and it didn't leak at all. I have filled up with water all the way up to the edge of the steel wheel. It was 15L.
I'm thinking of just putting a MDF board on top of the tire with the cut out for the speaker. The volume would increase even more, I'm thinking that is safe to say that it would be at least 0.65sq/ft, whch is good for a shallow 10" or even 12" Pioneer shallow subwoofer.
The only problem I'm facing, is how to mount the MDF board to the wheel itself, to be airtight?
I could even drill and tap four holes in to the spare wheel and bolt them together, using a threaded rod with some wing nuts.
I'm trying to do my audio upgrade on the budget and I don't want to compromise my trunk space.
Picking up LCD/LED TVs for repair and resale, so I need the space. Since I'm repairing electronics as a hobby, I have picked up broken amps, double din and I will repair them.

 

[V8toilet]

Listen to this (CP108LG-W3v3: Single 8W3v3 MicroSub, Ported, 4) or the 6.5" version and you will never want another subwoofer again. Its small and powerful and so clean and accurate. I've listened to many subwoofers and nothing sounds as good as a JL Audio subwoofer. They are pricey but you get what you pay for.

 

[tibimakai]

The problem is that I want to keep the spare wheel and I need the trunk area. This way I don't have to many options. Amps/inverter will be installed most likely under the seats(no more room for an amplified sub either).
I have a question about the wiring. I have never installed anything like this before.
I wil have two amps and an inverter in my car. One Polk Audio PA660 which is a 4 channel amp for the door speakers, which I have already repaired(total cost $50) and a PA880 for the sub, which I'm repairing right now, 14 transistors are blown. The inverter is a 1000W, which will be used to power LCD/LED TVs up to 52", just for testing them when I will pick them up.
The amps require 4 gauge wire, on the inverter I'm not sure what size I should use yet, but I will check the original cable's size.
My question is, what size wire should I use from the battery to all these devices?

 

[V8toilet]

A 1000 watt inverter (uses 83.3 amps on full load) would require 6 AWG copper wire if you run it 15' from the battery to the trunk. I'm assuming you know Ohms law since you repair electronics. Its best to just get an inverter with battery clamps attached to it so you just pop the hood, connect the inverter, and your ready to rock. That Polk amplifier is a class AB type amplifier which is about 60% efficient, class D are about 80% efficient. Take the total amperage of the fuses on the amp and plug them into this calculator to size the wire properly so that the amp doesn't starve of power and overheat. Use the 2% voltage drop in the menu. the link is http://gtsparkplugs.com/WireSizeCalc.html . Typically an amp this large will require 4 AWG wire if the amp is located in the truck. To get a wire sized to handle all of these you add up the total amperage from the fuses on your amps + the inverter. figure out the length of wire you'll need and use the calculator in the link to size the wire with a 2% voltage drop. What I did with mine was run 4 AWG through the firewall to a fused splitter on the firewall. I then ran 8 AWG from there to my amplifiers and I have very little voltage drop this way. Make sure you fuse these wires coming off the battery as close to the battery as possible and so that the fuse handles the combined load on the wire. You'll also need a good grommet for the firewall and some silicone to seal around it. Beware of the Chinese aluminum clad wires sold on Amazon that claim to be the right AWG wire for very little money. Copper is through the roof right now so its going to be expensive. Crutchfield has some good stuff and I was in Best Buy the other day and they have some decent wire in their car stereo section at good prices too.

 

[tibimakai]

Thank you. I will make some calculations and see with what I'm coming up.
I will consider the inverter idea, to not mount it permanently.
How many amps do you have in your installation?