Trying to upgrade, have a couple of questions…

[linc]

I’m new here so hello👋 Gonna give you guys some background and details to work with. Just have a few questions and looking for some insight.
 

-Current setup-

 

Kenwood DDX73BH HU

Cheap pioneer 6x8 mids from Walmart running off the HU *cringe*

DB Drive WDX 12G2.4

2.6 cu ft box (net) tuned 33hz

Taramps HD3000 @2 ohms currently

Stock 130A alt

95ah AGM second back battery

1/0 OFC power & ground (grounded to the frame)

Voltage is hanging in there sorta, already planning on and most definitely going to be needing a HO alt which is in the works. Second battery is helping me stay alive in the mid 12s voltage for now.

Thinking of getting 2 American Bass XFL1244s and a Taramps Smart 5 as well as building a custom box.  4 channel amp and some proper components are coming in the midst of all of this but that’s easy stuff.

 

-My questions-

 

Amp has dual + and - inputs, going to run another line of 1/0 + to the back battery then to the amp. Will be pulling roughly 550A of current with the Smart 5. Do the double power runs split the load or will it just more efficiently deliver the power? And do I run 300A fuses on each power wire or will I need to run 600A fuses on each? 
 

Are the American Bass XFLs a good buy and/or are there better out there for the same price or similar?

 

Is the Smart 5 a good buy and/or is there better out there for the same price that is recommended? Ik I will be technically overpowering the XFLs, but that’s my goal, will have gain set with the DD-1 so I’ll be at a very good power level without wanting to or even getting close to clipping.

 

Will the second battery and a 320A alt be sufficient?

Where should I run my second ground to? Seat bolt? Stay on the frame? And if I stay on the frame, how far apart do they need to be? Second battery is also grounded to the frame.

DISCLAIMER: setup is NOT pretty, I’m in the works of trial and error, as well as getting my system where I want it so it’s a lot easier to take stuff out. But, here are some vids/pics of what I’m running as of now if anyone was curious as well as the WAL dyno sheet for the amp I’m looking into.

[jgi420]

Well, I don't think that that amp is going to pull anywhere close to 550 amps. But if that's your thinking then yeah you need the proper fusing you don't split the fuse in half or anything. You use the appropriate fuse for the wire size and if you add another wire which is the same size, you need the same size fuse. If you are going to exceed the rating of the wire then you need a thicker wire. You say that you are going to add a second battery in the rear and you want to want to wire to that.

 

So you run the thicker wire all the way from the front to the back battery then If you are only doing a short run from the battery to the amp, you might be able to get away with a smaller wire for a short run. 

 

I run a 1600 watt monoblock and I run a door speaker amp which is about 400 watts RMS the main fuse that I use is 150 amps then I have a distribution block which is fused in the rear which has a couple smaller fuses. I don't seem to have any problems sure  I could put a 250 amp or 300 amp fuse coming from the front of the vehicle but that's unnecessary I do not pull anywhere near that power.  I don't think you're pulling more than 300 amps with that setup.  The sub amp probably pulling 250.  door speaker amp probably pulling 50 at most

[ChevyBoy95]

20 hours ago, linc said:

 

-My questions-

 

Amp has dual + and - inputs, going to run another line of 1/0 + to the back battery then to the amp. Will be pulling roughly 550A of current with the Smart 5. Do the double power runs split the load or will it just more efficiently deliver the power? And do I run 300A fuses on each power wire or will I need to run 600A fuses on each? 
Running another set of 1/0 will essentially divide the current by two if the new run is the same as the existing. So if you have a 1/0 OFC run and have it fused for 300a, the additional run will be 1/0 OFC and fused for 300a as well. You do not put 600a fuses in.

Are the American Bass XFLs a good buy and/or are there better out there for the same price or similar?

Never have ran AB stuff, not sure.

Is the Smart 5 a good buy and/or is there better out there for the same price that is recommended? Ik I will be technically overpowering the XFLs, but that’s my goal, will have gain set with the DD-1 so I’ll be at a very good power level without wanting to or even getting close to clipping.

It is hard to beat taramps for wattage/price. They do the job, ive used them for quite some time with minimal to no issues.

Will the second battery and a 320A alt be sufficient?

Two batteries and a 320a alt will be plenty for running 5kw in a daily set up to play music.
Where should I run my second ground to? Seat bolt? Stay on the frame? And if I stay on the frame, how far apart do they need to be? Second battery is also grounded to the frame.

The frame will be your best bet if its a true frame (not unibody). You can add the new ground to the same bolt that the current ground is at or put it near the current one (literally next to it if you want or find a easy spot with a pre-existing frame hole to throw a bolt through).

 

See my comments in red.

 

In addition, if you cant buy the battery and HO alt at the same time, I would get the HO alt first, HO alts are a huge upgrade to any system.

[Joe X]

On 10/9/2023 at 10:01 PM, linc said:

I’m new here so hello👋 Gonna give you guys some background and details to work with. Just have a few questions and looking for some insight.
 

-Current setup-

 

Kenwood DDX73BH HU

Cheap pioneer 6x8 mids from Walmart running off the HU *cringe*

DB Drive WDX 12G2.4

2.6 cu ft box (net) tuned 33hz

Taramps HD3000 @2 ohms currently

Stock 130A alt

95ah AGM second back battery

1/0 OFC power & ground (grounded to the frame)

Voltage is hanging in there sorta, already planning on and most definitely going to be needing a HO alt which is in the works. Second battery is helping me stay alive in the mid 12s voltage for now.

Thinking of getting 2 American Bass XFL1244s and a Taramps Smart 5 as well as building a custom box.  4 channel amp and some proper components are coming in the midst of all of this but that’s easy stuff.

 

-My questions-

 

Amp has dual + and - inputs, going to run another line of 1/0 + to the back battery then to the amp. Will be pulling roughly 550A of current with the Smart 5. Do the double power runs split the load or will it just more efficiently deliver the power? And do I run 300A fuses on each power wire or will I need to run 600A fuses on each? 
 

Are the American Bass XFLs a good buy and/or are there better out there for the same price or similar?

 

Is the Smart 5 a good buy and/or is there better out there for the same price that is recommended? Ik I will be technically overpowering the XFLs, but that’s my goal, will have gain set with the DD-1 so I’ll be at a very good power level without wanting to or even getting close to clipping.

 

Will the second battery and a 320A alt be sufficient?

Where should I run my second ground to? Seat bolt? Stay on the frame? And if I stay on the frame, how far apart do they need to be? Second battery is also grounded to the frame.

 

 

 

Your enclosure is completely and totally misdesigned and misplaced and likely the reason your system is not performing as it should.

 

 

The best way to get loud is through cone area NOT power, Get 2 15" subs in a correctly designed enclosure instead of 12s and you will see much higher output even if no extra power is added, "Cone area is King" that is no joke.

 

Also the quality of the subs is extremely important, use subs with strong motors, higher Xmax, higher BL not some weak mini motor subs.

 

The amplifier and electrical including wiring are chosen AFTER the subs are chosen not before,

 

The largest amplifier you will need doesn't need to be more than twice the RMS power of your subs, more than that is just wasting money.