New stereo components for my 94 RT/TT

[Omega-Tron]

I bought this car 2 months ago from GZP.

The audio that came with it:
Head Unit: Alpine 7995
Front Speakers: Infinity Kappa Perfect 6.1s (100w RMS each)
Rear Speakers: Infinity Kappa 693.5 (I'm guessing 100w RMS each)
4-channel amp: Phoenix Gold Titanium 500.4 (75w RMS x 4 @ 4 ohms)
Sub/Amp combo: Infinity Basslink
Capacitor: Rockford Fosgate Prime...something rather.
Current Wire: 4 Gauge from the battery to the Cap, 4 ga from the cap to the PG amp, 8 ga from the cap to the Basslink.

Currently I have pulled the Infinity Basslink because it doesn't allow the glass roof to stow and I didn't like the looks of how it was installed. I also bought a Pioneer DEH-80PRS headunit that should arrive this week.

Since the false floor in the back is destroyed from the Infinity Basslink install and because the car didn't come with a spare tire I figure I might as well mount the amps beneath the floor and flush mount the subwoofer in one of the rear corners.

Now I'm trying to figure out what combo of amplifiers and subwoofer I want.
The amplifiers that I have laying around are:
1) Phoenix Gold Ti 500.4 - 75w RMS x 4 @ 4 ohms
2) Rockford Fosgate 451S - 450w RMS x 1 (bridged) @ 4 ohms
3) HiFonics Zeus 4-channel - 85w RMS x 4 @ 4 ohms
4) HiFonics Brutus - 500w RMS x 1 @ 4 ohms OR 1000w RMS x 1 @ 2 ohms OR 1500w RMS @ 1 ohm.

For the sub I'm thinking of going with one of these:
1) Memphis 15-MR12S4 - 3" mounting depth, 500w RMS
2) 2012 model Rockford Fosgate P3S - 3.65" mounting depth, 400w RMS

The way I see it I have two options (since I don't want to split up the matching HiFonics amps):
Option 1: Use the Phoenix Gold and RF amps which I believe will work with either subwoofer.

Option 2: Use the HiFonics amps and buy the Memphis sub since it will handle more watts. Run the Brutus amp at 4 ohms to get 500w RMS for the sub. This provides 10 more watts to each speaker and 50 more watts to the subwoofer. But these amps are pretty big so fitting them in may be an issue.

Does anyone have any opinions on which amp/sub combo might sound better with the existing speakers?

As far as wiring goes. I'm not sure if 4 gauge wiring for 900-1000w RMS (100 or so amps) is enough. From the bit of research I've done it sounds like 4 gauge will handle it but I've always been a 1/0 gauge guy. I'm not sure if I can afford to be lazy and leave the current 4 gauge in there or should I suck it up and run 1/0?

Any suggestions are welcome as long as they don't involve rebuying things I already have.

[nodoze]

i used to run two kicker comp cvr's in a smokin vr4 box with a 1k watt rockford amp , sounded bad ass bus i had it tuned to be complimentary and not overpowering bass.

[2fnloud]

Follow chart, you should be fine:


Also if you added up the fuses in your equipment, I can promise you that under music, not bass tones or sine waves, the total amperage load will never be that high. it will be about a 3rd of that.
great read explaining why. It is hosted by Monster Cable but the tech article was written by a Guru in the 12V electronic field.

[2fnloud]

Another thought, why one sub? why not four? drop that HiFonics Brutus down to 1 Ohm and enter sub-frequency nirvana.

Then use the HiFonics Zues for the rest and have matching amplifiers.

I also would of stuck wit the Alpine H/U

[Omega-Tron]

Thanks for the input on the wire size. It's certainly easier to leave the current wire alone.

The Alpine head unit just lacked a lot of features that I wanted.

The reason for just one sub is to keep as much cargo space as possible and to keep weight down. I've done audio builds in my other 2 cars that have killed cargo room and I regret it. Actually, the HiFonics amps along with two 12" L7s came out of my Chevy Impala because I wanted/needed the trunk back.

[2fnloud]

I understand about weight, took me months to find the perfect 8's, 200 WRMS 12mm xmax and only 4.8LBS, thanks to neodymium magnets. Using up the hatch was no issue for me, weekend warrior type car. Rear folded down seats gives me all the cargo space I will ever need.

[nodoze]

knows who i will be talking to next audio build , i have always been an alpine fan and love CDA-9886 best reciever they ever made imo . the jeep will be getting a system soon

[95 RT/TT]

Follow chart, you should be fine:


Also if you added up the fuses in your equipment, I can promise you that under music, not bass tones or sine waves, the total amperage load will never be that high. it will be about a 3rd of that.
great read explaining why. It is hosted by Monster Cable but the tech article was written by a Guru in the 12V electronic field.

Excellent audio site Basic Car Audio Electronics Side note on the wire. A lot of wire for sale on ebay and elseware is not up to spec. Meaning of smaller diameter. Here's an amp wire calculator. http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/sys...nassistant.swf

[Omega-Tron]

Thanks for the link, I found that site at one point but forgot about it. I found a lot of these wire guides during my initial search and all the numbers I ran looked like 4 gauge would be adequate. I just typically like to run 1/0 since usually I'm going from OEM to aftermarket (not aftermarket to aftermarket) so I have to tear the interior apart anyway.

Now my big struggle with this build is figuring out how to arrange the amps and sub to keep cargo space at a maximum. I'm thinking about maybe switching to a small footprint amp or two depending on what I can get them for. I need to call some local audio shops and get some prices. I also made up some cardboard cutouts last night to mimic the size of my current amps so I can easily play around with spacing now.

Last weekend I got the new H/U installed and ran through the auto-EQ and time alignment setup. After a few additional tweaks I'm pretty happy with it. I'll continue to research and tune it. I really like how easy all of the settings are to navigate through and the display is easy to read.

[95 RT/TT]

Thanks for the link, I found that site at one point but forgot about it. I found a lot of these wire guides during my initial search and all the numbers I ran looked like 4 gauge would be adequate. I just typically like to run 1/0 since usually I'm going from OEM to aftermarket (not aftermarket to aftermarket) so I have to tear the interior apart anyway.

Now my big struggle with this build is figuring out how to arrange the amps and sub to keep cargo space at a maximum. I'm thinking about maybe switching to a small footprint amp or two depending on what I can get them for. I need to call some local audio shops and get some prices. I also made up some cardboard cutouts last night to mimic the size of my current amps so I can easily play around with spacing now.

Last weekend I got the new H/U installed and ran through the auto-EQ and time alignment setup. After a few additional tweaks I'm pretty happy with it. I'll continue to research and tune it. I really like how easy all of the settings are to navigate through and the display is easy to read.

Here's an oversized 4G