New Stereo layout for the SBC... - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

***Hamsterman*** · 03-03-2005, 04:43 PM

So i am gonna get a new 95 cam hopefully in not too long... i am planning out what i want to do for my trunk stereo set-up and i just wanted to get your opinions and such on troubles you think i will run into and how you think it will look...

please excuse my shxtty drawings in paint (5 min.)

OK so the top pic is how it will look in the blueprints, the bottom pic is what you will see from the open trunk view

the yellow is my yellow top - already trunk mounted
the pink is my solobaric s12l5 sub (600 RMS hold)
the green is my amp kicker kx600.1 (700+ watts rms birth sheet)
the tan is a stinger 1.0 farad cap (blue leds, add a little flava)
the light blue are neon lights, placed throughout the trunk and set up
the dark blue lines is the plexi glass screen over the setup in the wheel well
the red/grey are the power and ground wires (4 gauge)
the maroon are 12V fans, one on each side of the amp in the wheel well to move some air

ok so this is what i want to do, take out the spare wheel and place my amp down there, in a simple open box with my cap, and run all the wires under a wood floor i will lay down in the trunk, or maybe some carpet...
then i will have a plexiglass sheet to see the amp and cap, and then to hide the wires and edges of the amp, it will only show about 90% of the amp

i figure i can just tap the fans into the remote lead of the amp, since they have such small draw they would not hurt anything, and then they are on when the amp is on

in the pic i did not show speaker or RCA wires... those are kinda no duh

my only realy questions are these...
-will the 2 fans in the wheel well give me adaquate venting/airflow
-can i ground the amp and cap to the metal in the wheel well? Where else on the body would be better/worse
-do you like the styles? It is basic, with some flare, the car is my DD so i want to be able to still use my trunk, but look nice and have it for shows also, the spare wheel is not a big issue since i have AAA and buddies around who could help me out in a pinch

thanks!

***cam2Xrunner*** · 03-03-2005, 06:23 PM

I think that setup will look pretty sweet. It is a common setup. You could probably also build a false floor that will sit a little higher than the reg. floor. That way you can still use the spare. Probably weigh more though with all the MDF.

03-03-2005, 10:40 PM

hey if you dont want a spare you can always keep a can of fix a flat and one of those mini compressors to inflate tire in an emergency.

DrtySthV6SE · 03-04-2005, 12:08 AM

i say save your money dont buy a cap

***Hamsterman*** · 03-04-2005, 01:04 AM

yeah, i have a cap in my car now, i am not sure how much it helped since i added it when i upgraded my battery wires... it is something to consider

DrtySthV6SE · 03-04-2005, 02:16 AM

seriously for the money that caps cost and the little they do, you would bew much better off buying another battery even if its not an optima or fosgate

oh i have a 1 farad cap if you wanna buy it

***Hamsterman*** · 03-04-2005, 02:22 AM

i have one also, but thanks

da_horse · 03-06-2005, 09:13 AM

-will the 2 fans in the wheel well give me adaquate venting/airflow

depending on what CFM rate the fans have, you should be fine. generally how hot does the amp get while its in your gen4 (does it have a name?

) if you do find that your amp is getting hot while in the boot and not under any cover, choose a fan that moves a bit of air. else something like a simple 80mm unit will suffice. just remember to have them in a push pull setup.

you may be able to run the fans off the remote wire, but i'd rather not as most remote wires arent meant to run things. what you can do is just use it as a signal wire and run a relay which turns the fan on, with the power wire fused for safety.

fan placement might be an issue too as having the fans on the side of the amp means that there are :
- both blowing across the amp
- one is blowing one is sucking
- both are sucking
i'm not sure which setup you have but either the way you will end up with the air staying stagnant. i'd rather mount the fans horizontally onto the pexiglass (which means you could also get those funky new led lit fans

) this allows the air to actually be drawn in and out, hence getting cooler air. if you are anal about the air flow going across the amp then you could get some ducts. or if you are really anal or feel like it, get four fans, two on each side ( two at the top, two on the bottom) so that you have airflow going across the wider side of the amp.

pick an option

-can i ground the amp and cap to the metal in the wheel well? Where else on the body would be better/worse

this should be fine but some people that have run remote battery setups have actaully tried to ground straight to the chassis rails for better grounding. i'm not familiar with this so i cant provide you much info. if need be run two wires.

-do you like the styles?

Yup, but only if it looks exactly as your MS Paint drawings

sorry for an essay

JohnCWms27 · 03-06-2005, 11:11 AM

a new battery will certainly help just as much as a cap when it comes to fixing the dimming-headlight problem, but the cap will give so much more power to your amp. even a yellowtop will be sending 12V to the amp...a cap will be sending between 14.4V and 14.7V. This gives much more power to the amp...next time you look at the specs for your amp, you will probably notice that it is capable of pushing many more watts when running off of 14.4 Volts

***Silver Streak*** · 03-06-2005, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnCWms27

...but the cap will give so much more power to your amp. even a yellowtop will be sending 12V to the amp...a cap will be sending between 14.4V and 14.7V.

Hmm, I've never heard this theory before...can you point me to some literature if there is any? If a cap shoots outs 14.4, most amps WILL pump out a lot more power at that voltage. (if you read your amp manual, it sometime states output at 12v and at 14.4v)

***cam2Xrunner*** · 03-06-2005, 01:53 PM

The alternator is what gives you the 14.4 volts from 12 volts, not the cap.

***Hamsterman*** · 03-06-2005, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cam2Xrunner

The alternator is what gives you the 14.4 volts from 12 volts, not the cap.

exactly, that is what i thought bumped up the voltage... since where is the cap going to get thsi resting voltage if it takes it from the battery? if you have your car off playing your system... a couple beats and then aren't you going to be back to 12V on the cap???

And horse- don't be sorry for the essay, that is a shxt load of good info

thanks!!!

JohnCWms27 · 03-06-2005, 08:42 PM

I have a stock alternator and battery, and without the cap it runs around 12V...not exactly, but not as high as 14.4....now the cap doesnt keep a constant 14.4V...when those deep bass notes hit it drops the voltage down, sometimes as low as 12-13V during that period when the note hits...if u have a cap with a digital meter then y'all will see what i mean...

now in all fairness i will admit that i think capacitors are overrated. i think it can definitely help, and it has in my case, but its not the save-all solution that people can make it out to be...i probably would re-consider getting my cap if i didnt get it brand new for $25 (retail $150). a new alternator or battery will definitely help out just as much in most cases

da_horse · 03-06-2005, 09:46 PM

i have a stock altenator and battery too. i run two amps, an eclipse 4 channel 4x85WRMS (PA5422) and an Alpine amp 300WRMS (MRD300). my alpine amp has a digital meter and with the car off i have 12.x volts. turn the car on and i will run constant 14.4v. even with the system up past halfway i dont have a problem with lights dimming or anything. i have never had a dimming issue and still dont see the point to adding a cap, if anything i'd get a better battery and re-do my ground wires, then if that wasnt sufficent, get a higher rated alternator.

Cheers