Prem0

Well I havent posted in a bit, been busy getting this system going. I just finished intalling my 4ch amp today and am setting my system up for SQ competition. I have the following setup:

Eclipse CD3422 HU
Eclipse 36401 4x50 (mids/highs)
Eclipse 36201 2x50 (bridged mono for subs)
Memphis studio 6.5 coax in doors
Memphis Power Reference tweeters in A-frame
Memphis Power Reference 6x9 3way in rear deck
2 JL 10W0 8ohm in trunk

I will be putting it on the analyzer next week to see what type of EQ I will need to run but that is about it. I am in talks with a carpenter about building the face to the sub box and an amp rack in the trunk. I think I may need a capacitor because when the bass hits my cars Idle goes down .

BTW, I have a '95 pro LX..

What do you think, I will have pics soon as I just got my digicam yesterday

Huey

blue LEDz's right. Unless your amps are severely underrated, a 4x50 & 2x50 should not cause your idle to drop. If it does, get your alternator rewound instead, that usually helps more than a cap which is more of a band-aid fix than anything. I'm running 4x105 & have no problems in my P5, although I'm pretty sure the P5 alternator is rated as putting out more current than yours. Aside from that, good luck in the competition. I'm hoping to build my system up for some local SQ competitions as well.

Maz94Protege

yo go with eh 4 ohm. not the 8's! the 10w08 suck. 04 are better!! way better.


8's cant handle that much power, they sound like dog **** too!

jus a tip

onehawaiian

if he's bridging the 36201 amp into mono he'll get more than what he stated (50 x 2) i don't know off hand what his max power is on that amp, but i do know he's not feeding his subs 50 watts! (i would guess about 200x1 @4ohms?)

eclipse is one of those companys who underrate their amps so he should be getting lots of clean power...

of course i could be wrong.

onehawaiian

sorry for the second post, but i was wondering why you chose the w0's in a sq system? with eclipse amps, and memphis mids, why go with jl's entry level line? it looks like you put some money into the rest of your system, i would suggest upgrading the subs.

just my $0.02

Prem0

I dont know where you are getting your info but 8ohms aound the same as 4ohm if you put 2 8ohm speakers in parallel. It makes the 2 8ohm 4ohm so as to be stable while bridged.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I am going to go get my alternator checked out (engine idles down when I roll up the windows too). I went with the w0 due to the fact that that is what I started with and subs will be the last upgrade I do if it is needed. I will be hooking it up to the RTA next week and will see if the subs are a problem. Keep it comming, I learned a few things I needed to look at..

Edit: I went and talked to my dealer and found out the difference between the w0 and the w3, the only difference is the power handling ability. Now when the 10w6.1 come out I may get a pair of those. I tend to believe him because he could have had a sale and didnt based on what he told me, that says something IMO..

onehawaiian

dude, you are running the ****, aren't you! i like autotek and nichole...er, ma audio. yeah, it's probably his alternator. in this instance, i believe a cap might help. there are a lot who think caps are useless, but in certain applications it might be a more cost-effective solution.

Prem0

here are 4 pics Ive taken so far, I will be adding more soon.
http://prem0.no-ip.com:88/my%20linked%20page.html

BTW I have the cd3421 not the 22, its last years model

Prem0

yes I was concerned about the rca's being so close but I am building an amp rack soon so it will not be an issue. I did get most of my stuff on sale and also got discounts due to being a good customer, so I didnt pay retail per se

mazdaspeedwest

It's not necessarily the wattage rating, but the amperage draw of an amp. Even a 50x2 and 50x4 could draw enough amps to stress the alternator. Are they A/B class amps? If so, it's possible as they aren't as efficient. I'm not familiar with the specs of these particular amps, but just pointing out a possible cause.

If seen system designers go as far as building a tube and running the RCAs under the car along the frame.

Although (in most cases) the RCAs will crossover some sort of factory wire loom, as they often run along the sill plates. If you are able to find a clean spot (usually up the center) run them there, you may only have to contend with the fuel pump loom and thats only a few wires, so it's easy to get around.

Prem0

Well I had the electrical system tested today. There was nothing wrong with the alternator, battery or starter everything tested OK. So I need to track down why my idle goes down when I roll up the windows or the bass hits strong. Does anybody have anymore ideas?? let me know..

hihoslva

Umm....coaxial speakers and 3-way 6x9's in SQ competition?

I haven't been to any competitions myself, but I do a TON of reading at Sounddomain, Termpro, and Car Sound - and coaxial speakers (and ESPECIALLY 6x9's) are not very well respected or received in the SQ competition community.

I'm going to say that you surely have a great sounding system, and without hearing it or being more experienced myself - I may be wrong, but I don't know if coaxials, 6x9's, and 300 watts total power is going to win you many trophys.

SQ judges don't seem to give lots of points to systems that are realy nothing more than beefed up stock stereos with a couple of subs.

No disrespect meant - I hope none is taken. Just giving my $.02 on your competition goals.

~HH

Huey

hihoslva,

You should check out elitecaraudio . They're a little more mature their & a lot of the guys are pretty "hardcore" over there.

PremO,

hihoslva is right, coaxes & rear fill do not go hand in hand with SQ competition. I think you're fine with subs for now as long as the enclosure is built solid & it's tuned properly but the coaxes & rear fill has got to go. Also, power handling is not the only difference between the W0 & the W3 from JL. They share pretty similar technology but the W3 will not only get louder & take more power but have better SQ. As for the amps, they are rated as 4x40 & 2x40 at 13.8v & I don't care how underrated they are, they should still not cause your lights to dim & your idle to drop. It's not like we are talking about 2x40 for a true class a amp here. Do you know how much current your alternator is rated at? You may want to get it rewound just for the heck of it in case you decide to upgrade later. Personally I like the eclipse speakers myself. Quite smooth, decent midbass. I've listened to their point source series & component series as well. Maybe you can pick up a set of 5.25" eclipse components, build some kicks & that should pick you up a few more points in competitions. Don't mean to discourage you in any way, just giving you my $0.02. Good luck.

Prem0

You must remember that there are watt classes, not everything is a 1000+ watts, I fall into the 1 to 300 class. Now about coaxial speakers, these are not your dads coax speakers. Coaxial speakers have changed over the years, these use the same crossover that components use only the speakers are attached to one another, also these coaxials are bi amped which means the tweeter and mids are connected seperate from each other to the amp. Now you may still be asking why I used coaxials the reason is phasing, the farther the tweeter is from the midrange the more out of phase the sound will become, with a coaxial this does not happen. I also use a second set of tweeters (the main set if you will) so if you think about it I am really using a component set up but I eliminate phasing problems by having coaxials as the midrange. The 6x9 issue, I am using these for the fact that they sounded incredable, the mids and tweets are 180 degree rotatable and are in the rear deck. When you go to a concert do turn around to listen to the music? The rear speakers are really for fill, you want most of your sound to be in front of you, just like at a concert or performance.

Here is a great article on SQ and will clear up the coaxial myths for you. http://www.elitecaraudio.com/article.php?sid=21

I am glad that you brought this up because I used to think the same way then had my eyes opened up

onehawaiian

eca is a good forum. they praise adire there (like car audio forum). sounddomain is a strong kicker board. eca and termpro are the more hardcore forums in car audio, and that's where i go when i need some good, honest advise. sd is good too, but there are too many ppl asking "what would be better..." or "what subs would..." or "L7 vs brahma vs alumapro..."

i plan to compete within a year or so, but not b4 i get an entire system upgrade. or maybe a new car. then i can put a new system in that and keep my 5 as a daily.