Jmw703

My old Mazda 3 got hit and totaled so I just bought a civic sedan. I was previously running an ascendant audio arsenal 12 off 800 watts in a ported box tuned to either 29 or 31hz. I ran that setup for about 4 years and loved it. Now as I am about to graduate college I'm looking for something a little more low profile to save trunk space. Additionally, I would need to upgrade my electrical again to run anything over about 600 watts which I'm not interested in doing. I'm looking at running a small sealed box around .85^3 in the trunk off about 4 or 500 watts. Since AA no longer makes anything this small I have been looking at skar audio, specifically the 10 inch IVX and VD models. I was wondering if anyone has any feedback on either of these and how they would sound in this type of setup. I know it won't be as loud as the ported arsenal off double the power but I just can't stand the stock bass any longer. Need a little bit of punch in my life. If anyone has a recommendation on a different model other than the two I listed I am all ears.. Or eyes in this case. Thanks.

I recently changed my sealed box to a ported box tuned to 31 hz. I will NEVER go sealed again, the difference is night and day. My little arsenal sounds like a whole new sub, louder and imo, much cleaner.

imho if you want to conserve trunk space go with a 10 inch sub ported. Ported, if built properly, can sound just as clean if not cleaner than sealed. Depending on the sub it shouldnt take up much space at all. Not sure what your budget is but look at the SSA Dcon and the Ascendant Audio assassin. Very affordable entry level subs that will kill anything mainstream in the same price range. As for an amp check out an AQ750.

Knuknonceptz wire is excellent. CCA 1.95 a foot and OFC is 3.95 a foot i think. (for 0 gauge)

Im going to check some of the things suggested above, thanks. And the engine heats up even while driving. It doesnt seem to matter if im stopped or not.

Ok, so i have noticed that after installing my new H.O. alt, when playing music on full tilt my engine heat gauge will rise slightly... now this isnt really a problem but when i say, turn the a/c on full blast along with the music it rises to like 3/4 or more which is not good. Also when this happens my a/c is sporadically ice cold then cool or slightly cool. If i turn down the volume the gauge will eventually go back down and things will go back to normal. Also, when im playing music loud for a period of time the fan under the hood near the engine goes into "maximum overdrive" (it sounds louder than usual). The only possibility i can think of is that the belt is slipping which could make sense because itsis operating the water pump. I didnt replace the stock belt when i installed the new H/o alt, so thats a thought. Im not super car savvy or anything so this could sound completely idiotic to you smarter people. I have no idea if there is something wrong with my car or whats going on. Anyone ever heard of this?

i cant seem to find a good place to put it, any ideas?

it does 128 @ low voltage (most likely idle). Thats what the test sheet in the box said. My battery may need an upgrade, all i have is a diehard gold battery. But i mean you would think it would be fine on 800 watts. I mean honestly, dropping to 13 v isnt terrible (i think?), but it isnt great, especially with what im running. And to answer your question kranny, the amp is grounded straight into the sheet metal on the top of my trunk ceiling. I can snap a picture if you would like.

I just upgraded my stock alt to a mechman 220a alt in my mazda 3. I have all 0 gauge wiring done under the hood. This helped my voltage significantly. Previously at idle i was charging at 13.2 or so at the amp, lights dimmed significantly. After the alt upgrade im charging at 14v at the amp and lights dim slightly at full tilt. All i am running is a brz1200.D @ 2 ohms. With the new alt and rmp at idle i tested 14v w/ no music and anywhere from 12.9 to 13.8 on full tilt depending on the song. (tested at the battery) Ok, so heres my question, i dont know much about electrical and stuff, but should i be dropping this much on only 800 watts or so? My lights still dim slightly but if my voltage is where it is supposed to be i could care less.

Set your gain with a DMM , while doing that you'll be able to see if the amp is even putting out enough voltage.

I figured it out. Al is well

Yeah I was wondering how I am supposed to attach a ring terminal on the alt. there is no post on the alt for a negative wire and I can't fit a ring on any of the screws

Big 3: Alt + to Bat + Bat - to chassis Engine - to chassis Alternator uses the engine ground, no? I have the big 3 done correctly, but I don't know what to do about the neg from alt to batterywhen installing this thing. I have seen pics of other mechman alts and some have a ring for the negative on the casing but mine doesn't.

Just got my mechman alt for my mazda 3. Excited to put it in! But first, i was wondering, the tag/sheet that came in the box says i need to add a Negative wire from the alt to my battery negative. Im not really sure how to do this, the alt only has a terminal for the positive and a plug for the OEM harness. The other bolts on the casing of the alt are too small to fit a ring terminal on. Could someone clarify what im supposed to do here.? I already did the Big 3 for my old alt so i currently have 0g from positive alt to battery, 0g from ground to battery and 0g from ground to chassis.