94' Acura Integra RS

[gene]

Hello everyone, I am new to this website and to the whole having "Baddass" Sound system. Im looking to upgrade my car and finally have something to look forward to listening to while driving. Although, being the newbie I am, I have NO idea where to start. Any comments or help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[OrionStang]

Start with a new H/U and mids highs. Good place to start.

[AI James]

i wouldnt start up front myself, id start with all new wiring and electrical/deadening the car ...then id get some listening in to stuff to figure out what you like and whats in your budget, then id buy what I want rather then what people tell me is good

[Team_DC-Derrick]

yeah, we need to know your budget, but if your going all out. You can fit 2 15s in a sealed box in the trunk, under the back flap that comes up, and have enough room for 2 60lb batts under the box, and ALOT of sound deadening

[OrionStang]

True ^^^^ 94 Integra prolly does need some wiring upgrades and hatch silenced.

[gene]

Thats the bad thing, Im just recently out of highschool, so Im on a tight budget, Im trying to keep it under a thousand.

[OrionStang]

Just do it a little at a time. And look for good deals on this forum.

[bumpnthump]

Depending on what you want to do, $1000 would be plenty for all of this.

First rule, don't buy cheap wires/cables. Your system is only as good as your wiring. Streetwires, tsunami, kicker and Stinger make GREAT cables. A 0 gauge kit will be around $90-120 depending on what you get.

First, I would go to your local car audio store and buy ~5 feet of 0 gauge power wire and battery terminals that accept 0 gauge cable. Once you have this, youtube "the big 3 upgrade" and watch one of the videos. This is basically grounding your alternator and battery. It will give you like 20-25% more power.

Now depending on what subs you get, a true 4 gauge amplifier kit will be enough. Anything over 1000 watts and you should get 0 gauge cables, anything less and 4 will be fine.

Now comes the enclosure. Its recommended that you build your own, if you have the tools. You would only need 1 4x8 sheet of 3/4 MDF which costs ~$30 at home depot. I just recently built my own box and it cost me $40 for the wood, screws and glue. I'm going to be vague here, but if you want tight accurate bass, go with a sealed enclosure. If you want louder, but less accurate bass, go with a ported box. Bandpass boxes are garbage.

Amps. When looking for an amp (and subs) all you need to know is RMS power. Max power means nothing. This seems to be the hardest thing for people to understand for some reason. Get a Mono class D amp for subs. Multi channel amps will be for your mids/highs. Anyways lets say you have 2 12's that are 500 watts RMS each. An amp that can push 800-1000 watts RMS will be perfect, but not necessary. You could power a 500 watt sub with a 3000 watt amp, you wont damage anything, just watch the gain setting.

I'd go into headunits and mids/highs but I think this will be enough for you to take in for now. Hope it helped.

[MrSkippyJ]

Bandpass boxes are garbage.

Explain this for me, I am very much a box newb, but I thought bandpass boxes could be very nice.

[bumpnthump]

Bandpass boxes usually only sound decent if they are built for a specific sub. They are mainly used because they look cool, but doesn't usually sound as good as a sealed or ported box.