Help Greatly Needed And Appreciated!

[crownshaker]

Hey all!

Sorry for what turned out to be such a long post but I wanted to get everything I could think of out of the way. Well, I've looked and listened on the RoE, The 12 volt, and Steve Meade forums for a while and now I'm proud to say that I'm about to have all the components I need for my install. So here I am, head bowed and humbled, to ask for everyones opinion, guidance, assistance. I just want to say that I really appreciate ANY help thats tossed out as I am a total n00b to installs and have NEVER done it before. But to continue, I have a 2000 Ford Explorer XLS. Installed so far; (by firedog )

H/U - Alpine CDE 9870

Front Door Speakers – Kicker DS680.2 (6x8 + 3/4” Tweets)

Amp Install – Power Acoustik PS1-4000D (Monoblock Class D)

at my house waiting I have;

4x Kicker CVR15-4

In a week or two most Ill be ordering;

2x Dual 15 Slot Vented Enclosures

A Set of Kicker DS680's for the rear doors

Plus the wiring necessary to do the job

(Ill also be having the windows tinted)

I originally intended on doing this install as an “all out balls to the walls” design with all four subs in a custom fitted enclosure forward facing, vented, and taking up the entire cargo section of the truck, but my paycheck limits me from doing that lol. So instead, tired and disgusted of my subs and amp sitting in the closet not getting used, Im settling for two dual chamber, slot vented, premades with 2.25 cubes per chamber. But this is where I need the help though, The subs will be wired in series for a total load of 2ohms. The amp is one ohm stable so Im good there. But when I go to install the subs in these premade enclosures what size wiring do I run from the amp to the speakers? And from speaker to speaker? And how do I go from speaker to speaker with 2 boxes? Any suggestions or known workarounds? This has to work and I want it to flex... well.... At least as best as it currently can.

Amp and Sub Specs

Total Package

@ Min - 1000

@ RMS - 2000

@ Peak - 4000

Per Sub

@ Min - 250

@ RMS - 500

@ Peak – 1000

Amp

@4Ohm - 1200rms

@2Ohm - 1700rms

@1 Ohm - 2200rms

@ Peak – 4000

And Finally; could someone walk me though the door speaker install? All that I really need to do is take off the door panel, take out the factory speaker, then swap that out with the new set of kickers right? I won't have to use new wiring in there will I? And how do I remove the door panel without causing damage? I'm really hoping to avoid having to buy anymore special tools or anything like that as of right now. And lastly how do I remove the panel without causing damage to my suv?

Once again, sorry about the long post but I just wanted to get it all out that I could think of. I really appreciate everyones help in advance. Thanks a lot,

Josh C.

[Team_DC-Derrick]

i would suggest either attempting to make a box or having a box built for you instead of 2 prefab boxes but thats just me, Good luck with this tho man !

[Guest Powered By Hate]

i would suggest either attempting to make a box or having a box built for you instead of 2 prefab boxes but thats just me, Good luck with this tho man !

Yeah man.. make it and fuck it up the first time on purpose so you can get it out of the way. Then you'll have like no fear holding you back.. and some wasted wood. Buying a box is weak. I'm sure someone on here would be happy to help you with your box. Sealed or ported whatever you wanna do. That way you can tune it out..

[Neo_frog]

Honestly, you would most likely save money by making your own box. And with everyone's help on here, we can help you tune it however you want rather than be limited to whatever the prefab is built to.

And you can wire everything in one box. Why not look through the Members Builds/Show Off section and pay attention to how the boxes are built step by step. Or even look at Steve's builds, they are very descriptive.

DON'T be in a rush for bass. You'll mess things up. Just take it slow and learn as you go while making a kick ass build. It will be more gratifying.

You're best bet is to build over and over until you're good at it and everything is how you like it.

[HHR Ed]

in your vehicle the best setup would be subs up, ports back.

2nd best is subs up, ports up.

3rd best is subs back, ports back.

Dont fire the subs forward.

also, I usually use 8 awg wire for subs, but you dont have much power so you can get away with 12 awg.

and what ohm are the subs and how many coils per sub?

[crownshaker]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

Army guy, powered by hate, and neo frog;

Guys I'm pretty apprehensive about doing a build myself. I lack both the tools and knowledge to do something like that. My uncles both said they'd give me a hand and they got the tools if I wanted to try the build... but about what would be the cost and the product list for something like that be and how or where would I even begin. Ha! I don't even know how long a build will take! But mostly I'm really on a limited budget. I know mistakes are gonna happen, its just a part of life and I'm cool with that but, if it'd cost me more than 250 to make the box then I really couldn't afford to do it anytime soon. And that's the catch the I can get both boxes for right at 250 with free shipping and at least there's 2.5 cubes per chamber (well 2.45 but that's the highest I've seen so far in dual prefabs online) But I do understand what you guys are saying. I know that is what would be best. The best possible thing I could do is learn to make the custom make the box specifically for my speakers and setup.

And Neo frog I understand what you mean by "DON'T be in a rush for bass. You'll mess things up. Just take it slow and learn as you go while making a kick ass build. " I can't even lie man, lol, I'm dying to get my system in but I feel what you're saying. I don't want to make a bad move and mess something up.

Lastly HHR Ed, yeah I was thinking about a couple of different ways with the enclosures. If it was custom I was going to either wall it in or get a giant box in the back with subs up ports back. And thanks for that list of best setups in order. But since I really cant afford to take it to the shop and have them make me a box I was gonna grab the prefabs. The box is the groundshaker sqp215 with subs and ports forward but I can set them where they would be facing up in the cargo area. And for the wires I was already planning on using 10 ga so that falls in but if 8 ga is better then I'll run with it. The speakers are Kicker CVR15-4. They are 4ohm DVC.

By the way heres the specs on the prefabs:

3/4" MDF Construction

Volume: 2.90 cu. ft. per chamber

Width: 40 1/4"

Depth: 20 1/4"

Height: 16 1/4"

Mounting Depth: 17"

Port Length: 26 1/2"

Port Width: 1 1/4"

Port Height: 14 3/4"

Thank for your helps so far. I'm learning.

Edited January 24, 2009 by crownshaker

[Boon]

250 would build you one HELL of a box...

How much space do you have in the back?

[Neo_frog]

Seriously, I'm worried you're going to be disappointed with the sound you get from the prefabs...I'm not against buying prefabs if that's what needs to happen, but you are LIMITED to the tuning of that box. You can't change it! Then you'd have a hell of a time selling the boxes or be disappointed and yada yada...

I'm currently building a wall for four 15s in my car all double thick 3/4" MDF all around, tons of bracing, massive port, 24 cu. etc... and I managed to get away with four sheets of MDF. That's a little over $100 for a massive wall meant to withstand 8000W. I also braced a bunch with 2x4s and I glued everything together gratuitously, so I probably came out to about 150 after the build for the box alone.

If you give me dimensions and what kind of box you want (tuning, size, orientation...), I'll make you a cut sheet and ppl here will guide you through it. You could probably get away with two sheets of wood, some glue, and a few screws. And with that extra cash, you could go buy a router and a jasper jig or a table saw. I'd really hate to see a system and money go to waste. (i.e. since you're on a budget.)

You will still save money even if you ruined three whole sheets!!

Edited January 24, 2009 by Neo_frog