beewerks Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 Hey everyone! I'm installing a second amp in my '94 850 to power my Focal door speakers. My current setup is a 4 gauge wire running to a 700 watt Pioneer mono amp powering a 12" MTX Thunder 4500. I'm probably going to buy the Alpine MRP-F300 4 channel amp for the door speakers, my question is, how should I power it? Can I just tap into the 4 gauge power cable with a distribution block? If I can, what gauge can I run? Is 8 gauge too small? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyb5 Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 Hey everyone! I'm installing a second amp in my '94 850 to power my Focal door speakers. My current setup is a 4 gauge wire running to a 700 watt Pioneer mono amp powering a 12" MTX Thunder 4500. I'm probably going to buy the Alpine MRP-F300 4 channel amp for the door speakers, my question is, how should I power it? Can I just tap into the 4 gauge power cable with a distribution block? If I can, what gauge can I run? Is 8 gauge too small? Thanks in advance! In my opinion, you should be alright with a distribution block off the 4-gauge. If you keep the 4 gauge from the block to the Pioneer amp, and run 8 gauge to the Alpine amp, you should be good to go. Maybe a capacitor for some insurance, but you should be all set if you keep the run of 8-gauge short. Quick and guide to estimating cable sizes: http://www.crutchfield.com/Learn/learningcenter/car/cable_gauge_chart.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JVC Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 Sounds like your plan is fine, I'd roll with it. Distribution blocks are made to handle that kinda stuff so you'll be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beewerks Posted March 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 Sounds like your plan is fine, I'd roll with it. Distribution blocks are made to handle that kinda stuff so you'll be fine. Sweet, is there a certain brand or type of d-block you guys would recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyb5 Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 Sweet, is there a certain brand or type of d-block you guys would recommend? My local A/V shop carries JL Audio and Rockford Fosgate power/ground wires, RCA patches, etc, and although a bit pricey, they are excellent quality. I'd go with any of their products without a second thought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve s Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 if u don't have any other additions in the future, any two-way distrubtion block will be fine. all you need is something that offers 4 gauge inputs and 4/8 gauge outputs. as always, crutchfield offers excellent resouce and information, whether u want to buy from them is up to u. i think i have something from knu koncepts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beewerks Posted March 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 Okay, so I got a Rockford Fosgate 3-way distribution block and some 18 gauge car audio wire. Now to the newest problem/question. How do I get the wire through the rubber seal on the door?! I took the door panel off and the paneling on the inside of the car to reveal the rubber seal/gasket/o-ring deal between the chassis and the door but can't seem to find an easy way of running the wire through. I want to keep the old speaker wire installed for resale purposes so I can't tie a string to that and pull it through. Can I just connect my 18 gauge speaker wire to the stock brown/black speaker wire on the inside of the car? Or would that burn stuff up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beadgc23 Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 if u don't have any other additions in the future, any two-way distrubtion block will be fine. all you need is something that offers 4 gauge inputs and 4/8 gauge outputs. as always, crutchfield offers excellent resouce and information, whether u want to buy from them is up to u. i think i have something from knu koncepts +1 for knukoncepts - great flexi power cable, nice prices, easy people to deal with. Okay, so I got a Rockford Fosgate 3-way distribution block and some 18 gauge car audio wire. Now to the newest problem/question. How do I get the wire through the rubber seal on the door?! I took the door panel off and the paneling on the inside of the car to reveal the rubber seal/gasket/o-ring deal between the chassis and the door but can't seem to find an easy way of running the wire through. I want to keep the old speaker wire installed for resale purposes so I can't tie a string to that and pull it through. Can I just connect my 18 gauge speaker wire to the stock brown/black speaker wire on the inside of the car? Or would that burn stuff up? According to the laws of physics, 18 ga is fine for your mids/tweets unless you're doing serious competition stuff (and therefore have no hearing left above 4kHz ) In any case, resale value is getting kind of moot for our cars unless you have a yellow with less than 25k on it. Hack away & be happy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beewerks Posted March 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 +1 for knukoncepts - great flexi power cable, nice prices, easy people to deal with. According to the laws of physics, 18 ga is fine for your mids/tweets unless you're doing serious competition stuff (and therefore have no hearing left above 4kHz ) In any case, resale value is getting kind of moot for our cars unless you have a yellow with less than 25k on it. Hack away & be happy! So then would it be okay to tap into the audio wires on the inside of the car instead of going directly to the speaker through the door? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEJinFBK Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 So then would it be okay to tap into the audio wires on the inside of the car instead of going directly to the speaker through the door? Absolutely pickup the speaker leads at the HU. ( And don't hack it. Use a wiring adaper! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beewerks Posted March 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 Absolutely pickup the speaker leads at the HU. ( And don't hack it. Use a wiring adaper! ) Cool, by wiring adapter what do you mean? Any recommendations on where to mount the amp? It fits great under the passenger seat, but I'm not sure if that's as good as sticking it somewhere in the back of the wagon with the other amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve s Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 wiring adapter if ur using aftermarket hu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyb5 Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 Cool, by wiring adapter what do you mean? Any recommendations on where to mount the amp? It fits great under the passenger seat, but I'm not sure if that's as good as sticking it somewhere in the back of the wagon with the other amp. Use this: http://www.crutchfie...ss.html?tp=2977 Connect that to the factory DIN harnesses, then connect your new speaker leads from your amp to the color-coded harness wires, and you're all set You can mount the amp under the seat, just make sure it has a few inches of room above it to allow heat to dissipate properly. Personally, I mounted my amp in the trunk, to give it better airflow and show it off a bit (and its too big to fit under a seat ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianKelsey Posted March 30, 2010 Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 I'm a car audio tech, and answer and agree with many previous questions and answers. With regards to distribution block i would run 4ga nothing smaller than 8ga, but a capacitor would be helpful and eliminate some strain on your battery and alternator best option to prevent strain is yellow top battery or a spiral cell gel battery, and even alternator upgrade but simplicity cap works nicely. Use a wiring harness as well, agreed, very easy to use and tap into wires on the wiring harness adapter not the head units wires. Maybe mount your amps to the back of your rear seats if you dont do much fold down seated hauling. i've seen them well under the seats and under rear seats if you make sure not to ground out any power wires but maybe even mounted adjacent to the side paneling might be suitable, where some netting goes? Just a thought, and no need to do serious sized speaker wire, also, stinger is a great brand with inexpensive items. If not using crutchfiled, www.metraonline.com is a great site Cheers :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beewerks Posted March 30, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 I'm a car audio tech, and answer and agree with many previous questions and answers. With regards to distribution block i would run 4ga nothing smaller than 8ga, but a capacitor would be helpful and eliminate some strain on your battery and alternator best option to prevent strain is yellow top battery or a spiral cell gel battery, and even alternator upgrade but simplicity cap works nicely. Use a wiring harness as well, agreed, very easy to use and tap into wires on the wiring harness adapter not the head units wires. Maybe mount your amps to the back of your rear seats if you dont do much fold down seated hauling. i've seen them well under the seats and under rear seats if you make sure not to ground out any power wires but maybe even mounted adjacent to the side paneling might be suitable, where some netting goes? Just a thought, and no need to do serious sized speaker wire, also, stinger is a great brand with inexpensive items. If not using crutchfiled, www.metraonline.com is a great site Cheers Thanks for the pointers. I got the amp installed yesterday, it sounds pretty good. Since I have a wagon I'm thinking about building a new subwoofer box that will fit in the recess behind the rear wheel well. I can then mount the amp to that. Unfortunately I've never built a sub box so I'm going to have to do some reading up on how to do it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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