Help needed on upgrading my system!

[Zagnotoft]

Greetings!

So, Friday night I graduated high school, and what happens after that is a lot of cash flow from family. Instead of being responsible, I want to use a lot of it on my car. I don't really know where to go and I need some advice/opinions.

Right now I have two RE SXX v2 15's on a Cobalt CB3200.1 (got it for free, don't judge!). My budget is roughly ~$1,100 and I'm not sure what to do. Things I'm doing no matter what are 1/0 big 3 upgrade, 1/0 amp wiring, and building a new box.

Here's where I need your help. Do I sell my subs to get one bigger/more powerful one or do I keep the SXX's? Should I try to sell my amp and find something a little nicer? Do I get a second battery or a high output alternator? Do I upgrade the battery upfront? I'm really lost as to what I should do. I really want to do this one time and have it done right so I can never worry about my system until I get really serious and wall my vehicle off or something lol.

I know this is a lot of questions, but the only way to get them answered is on here. I live in a town with less than 500 people and they're all a bunch of hillbilly rednecks that don't know what subwoofers are, so I can't really ask local people.

Any advice/comments/opinions/questions are greatly appreciated and I truly thank you for your time.

-Scott

[firebirdude]

What are your goals? Just trying to be louder? Don't care about dem mids and highs? Are you currently having any voltage issues? Need more info honestly. Some of us could blow $1,100 on wiring and box alone. LOL

The subs are decent. Simply switching them out for something better and running the same amp ain't going to get you much. Yeah, the amp isn't anything special, but sliding in something more powerful will only net you a couple db. Honestly, don't expect anything huge without a complete redo. We don't know anything about your current box design, but you'll probably gain the most from that.

You could always sell everything, combine that money with yours, buy two 18" DC level 4's and a true 2kWRMS amp. That'll get er shakin.

[Zagnotoft]

I want to be louder and I want to be able to hit more frequencies. Like, I want go be able to go lower than 38hz which is as low as I can go now. That's more box stuff tho, I think? I'm pretty new to this as you can tell lol. I don't really care about mids and highs but I have some pretty decent Infinity door speakers that I'm happy with, I'm just upgrading sub stuff. I'm having incredible voltage issues lol.. Low notes at 4k rpms my voltage drops to 11.8 is as low as I've seen it and on higher frequencies it drops to upper 12's and low 13's.

Not wanting huge numbers, just a little improvement and to impress people. I'd give you specs on the current box but I'm scrapping that POS anyway so it doesn't matter.

Thanks for your comment and sorry for lack of info haha. I'm too new at this, but I gotta start somewhere!

[RainStryke]

I would start with a nice AGM battery. XS Power and Northstar are going to be the better companies to look into. The wires under the hood are more like the big 4 or big 5, make sure to ground your alternator to your battery, ground your engine block to your battery and ground your strut tower to your battery. Then run your regular power to your amp and alternator.

A new box is going to help a lot, looks like those subs require 3 cubes per which I'm guessing you don't have cause that's going to be a huge box. What kind of vehicle is this going into?

[Zagnotoft]

Sorry for the late response.

Thanks for the suggestion for batteries! Everything is going into a 2002 Ford Explorer, so space isn't really that big of an issue.

[TaylorFade]

Hold on to the subs. They're ok (for now).

Ditch the amp. Look for a solid 2-3k. Options are plentiful, but Korean is a good idea. Ampere, AudioQue, DD, DC, Sundown, etc. Expect to pay $400-500 for one of these unless you don't mind a used one. Then it's more like $300-400 depending.

Get a solid AGM batt under the hood. XS Power d6500 will drop right in. $320sih.

Spend the rest on upgrading wire if you need it. Get enough to do the "Big 3" and upgrade your run to support the extra power. You'll need fuse holders and such too.

How's your box? You could spend the rest on a rebuild if you need it.

[Zagnotoft]

Thanks for the comment!

Box is pretty garbage. Super super tiny and tuned very high.

Looks like I'm going to do big 3, amp wiring, battery, box, and if I can find a decent used amp I'll try to fit that into my budget.

Thank you everyone that took the time to comment. A lot of people don't take time to help people that are just starting but you guys did, so thanks!

[Zagnotoft]

One last thing, just to make sure I don't buy the wrong thing. Is this right?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/XS-Power-D6500-Deep-Cycle-12-Volt-12V-AGM-Power-Cell-Battery-3900-amps-75-AH-/291415230743?hash=item43d9b38917&vxp=mtr

[afrakes]

That's the one

[Jeff4661]

As others have said keep the sub's

Get a true 2-3k RMS amp

Good battery northstar deka etc..

In my opinion a good box could make all the difference on how much band with a substage has... Make sure u have one of the meny good box builders help you

Oh an congrats to the grad