Quiet

Lowes or HD won't have welding cable. (that's what you need, not mains cable) You can find a local welding supply store or that link hdorre put up. The big 3 is about the most important electrical upgrade you can do. It alleviates the need for capacitors (capacitors are a band-aid, a dirty, moldy, bacteria ridden band-aid) by allowing your electrical system to supply as much current as it can to your amps. Stock wiring is fine for starting your car and running your headlights, but was never meant to supply peak demand to an audio system. This should be done before adding batts and alts... and in a lot of cases alleviates the need for upgrading those too.

Yeah, you'll do OK with that. Normally I'd say go 2 gauge if >10 feet but then people ask me where the hell to find 2 gauge. So 1/0 it is. But if you run 1/0 now, it makes it easier for you to upgrade your amp later, since the cable is already run Definitely do the big 3.

Well, manufactures put alternators in their cars that can handle the normal load of said car plus about 20-40% overhead. You might be stressing it on 2600 rms. A second battery will help with the extra demand, but it's gotta get charged somehow. Consider an upgrade.

Amp power... HELL NO! 4 gauge minimum and if your run is more than 10 feet 1/0 gauge will minimize voltage drop. Make sure your ground is same gauge! (wish I didn't have to say it but just wanna be sure) Amp-to-subs, overkill. You won't notice any drop using 12 gauge for speaker cable

That totally blows. I figured the cops would pull some kind of shit like that on you... Guilty by association. Not that you actually associate with crack dealer gang bangers, but whenever cops hear a system that's what they automatically think. I mean, who legitimately likes a loud stereo in their car, only scum? It's like this, You got your shit back, and that's fucking awesome, but only so they could close a case.That's it. Cops aren't interested in doing the right thing, only increasing their conviction rate, for which finding your shit doesn't really matter because they figure they're gonna arrest you soon anyway. You're lucky. They say even a broken clock is right twice a day, I guess it was just your time!

IIWU I would definitely carefully inspect all my speaker cable for nicks or abrasions, make sure that all crimps/solder points are not exposed ( I like to use heat shrink tubing... looks clean and profesional) and that there are no loose strands when you connect the wire to your amplifier terminals. If there's any question that it's not perfect, replace the wire. It's worth it to save your amp and subs!

Other than the impedance you measuring being not what you expected, is there anything actually wrong with the setup? Maybe I missed it but I didn't hear about anything "not working" All you will get measuring with a DMM is DC impedance, which is not necessarily what your amp will see, due to rise. I would suspect that it is because you're measuring with the subs on and it is taking into account the impedance of the amp circuit also. If you want to see a true DC impedance measurement I would definitely disconnect your subs before measuring. If you still see weird measurements and you have a real problem with performance, then definitely pull your subs and check out what's in the box.

Go for it.

The only down side is I don't have the room for that big of a box. wenn_du_weinst is right. You should be ok with the power you have, just don't get over zealous with the volume knob. Facing back will give you better low end extension, perfect with the shallow roll off of the large sealed box.

he doesn't want half the power to two subs though, he wants the same power divided between two subs example. an amplifier might do 1000watts @ 1ohm, 700watts at 2ohm. single 1ohm sub, 1000watts two 1ohm subs in series, 2ohm total, 700watts total, means about a 1.5dB gain over the single sub setup. edit: edit your previous post why don't ya So he loses 1.5db over the double setup. I've seen easy 4-5 db in-cabin gains deadening the trunk. re: edit: the point I had was moot.

Do you think I should spend another $200 or so and get another sub and make a new box or just go with the one I have and already have a box for at full power? thing is, that two subs won't be getting half the power each as a single sub if they're all the same impedance. I mean... either you're currently not running the amplifier at its lowest rated impedance, and when running two subs you'll be able to run them in parallel. or with two subs you'd have to run them in series... what amp and subs? I had something to put here, but i just had a major brain fart. Bump anyone?

That is true, but IMO it's better to fix flaws within the vehicle. Such as deaden, seal, fiberglass, polyfill, etc. x2 The money you'd spend on the second sub would be better spent on sound deadening. That will do more to increase dee beez

so the sub would mount flush if i did this correct? also what tool would i need to draw the circle on the wood that i would need to cut out anyways? and would i find out the measurements of the hole from the jl site? If you cut the holes separately, and make the hole on the top piece just slightly larger than the diameter of the sub, then you'll get a flush mount. You take away a bit of the strength of the baffle doing this, however. It's kinda detracts from the point of going double baffle. I have always cut my holes with a jigsaw, measuring using the nail/string/pencil method Mr. DD stated, however for those who must have the "right tool" for the job, a plunge router, a jasper jig and upcut bits are popular. If you go to JL's site, on the left, find your sub and there is a link to the owners manual. You will find all the dimensions you need there. Edit: Corrected shitty grammar. Well, the shitty grammar I was able to catch, anyways.

I just remove the screws then putty up the holes. You can reuse screws, but then again, nail guns are fun

For those subs, it wouldn't hurt to do a double baffle. Cut two baffles, spread the wood glue evenly between the two, then either clam them together or put a few cinder blocks on top and let dry for 12 hours or so. I'm not so sure you'd hear a difference, but when you upgrade you can use the same enclosure... The only problem is, the only upgrade you can do would be to other JL subs, W6v3's or w7's.

If you use less than 0db to set your gains, it's kinda pointless to even use the oscope. You may as well set by ear. If you use -15db to set your gains, anytime your music goes over -15db it's clipping. All CD recordings (and most properly mixed and mastered digital media) peak as close to 0db as possible to get the most dynamic range from the medium. This was a direct rip from CD of Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight, notice the peak amplitude at -0.54db If you set your gains with a reference tone -15db, this song will clip well before your knob is cranked far right. EDIT: In other words, if you use 0db reference tone to set your gain, you won't run into a clipped signal. EVER. If you use an attenuated tone, you give yourself the ability to play quieter passages of your tracks louder, but you're at a higher risk of getting a clipped signal to your speakers, which undisputedly burns out coils.

I use cool edit pro to make my tones at 0db. I wouldn't use any MP3 download, only a APE, FLAC or apple lossless but they're hard to find. 0db is the loudest possible before clipping that you can get, but all that does is set the highest gain on your amps before clipping. It doesn't take into account the difference in efficiency between your mids/highs and your subs. After setting all your gains, play some music while your bass/treble at +/- 0 and sub level in the middle, if your HU has one. Then whichever is louder (mids/highs OR subs) turn that one down until it sounds ok. Listen to a track you've heard a million times, I like Michael Jackson tracks for this... you can usually tell exactly how loud each instrument should be.

Power is exponential. You need 10 times the juice to produce twice the volume. It's not out of the relm of possibility to run 2500 on a 250 watt sub. Clipping is surely more dangerous to a voice coil than excessive power. As long as your enclosure is not too small as to limit the excursion of your sub, and you don't run it past it's mechanical limits, any properly rated sub will run with much more than it's rated RMS. Running more power gives you more headroom and the clarity at higher SPL is greater. RMS is more of a guideline, not a strict rule. That is, as long as you know what you're doing.

Aw fuck I retract my whole statement...

Yeah that's the stuff, but take advantage of the free printing... you can brand the wire with whatever you want...

With that head unit, you can hold off on buying an amp for mids/highs since it's got a high pass filter built in. It won't get you far with only 22watts a channel (HUs are usually overrated anyway) but it's a start. What did you have in mind for mids and highs?

I smell a Crutchfield Catalog

I have to agree... I've seen and heard a lot of L7 installs and they like sealed a lot. It's not that ported is all that bad but it's not like you gain anything. I like the simplest answer that yields favorable results. Not every sub in the world likes ported... I remember when the Solobarics came out and people said they sucked because they were putting them in big ported boxes. They were the tightest I ever heard at the time and in a tiny sealed box no less.

Seems like you know what you want already. Why don't you download WinISD? It will help you with simulating the box tuning, dimensions and even the port. It doesn't make much sense having someone else making you a whole cut sheet when you are going to be the one putting it all together... I don't agree with all of this guy's politics, but this is about the best howto video I've seen on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VFx37kz5Ww EDIT: That hexibase guy is super detailed and although his techniques are sound they are not for your first build... Forget that vid... I forgot about this one it is much much better.

to go between - and + it doesn't matter. As far as wire goes... the color on the insulation doesn't mean anything... it's just there to help identify the wire. Copper is copper to your subs.