New to all this, so I came to learn!

Aragorn · Post by **Aragorn** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 1:02 pm

I couldn't be happier that I ended up here. As I've been reading through stuff I'm not only impressed with the wealth of knowledge, but the willingness to share. I don't think I need to compete at this point, although I am going to make it a point to check out a competition if I have a chance. The basic SQ judging criteria would seem like good guidelines for any quality install.

At this point I think I'm looking at sound deadening for the Civic. Then some components in the stock front locations (no rear fill), a 300-400WRMS 4 channel amp, and a 10 or 12 inch sub in a sealed box in my trunk. Budget including all the install goodies and sound deadening will be around $1300-$1400 (or about $900-$1000 in audio equipment).

I can make a box myself and feel very capable of doing all the install. I figure I'll upgrade the big 3 while I'm at it and get a battery in the end (that's not part of the budget). How am I doing so far?

Ryan from Ohio · Post by **Ryan from Ohio** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 1:13 pm

wont really need a battery... If anything you will need a higher output alt first...lol

whats your stock alt?

Aragorn · Post by **Aragorn** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 1:40 pm

75 Amp. I found a Hi-Amps rebuild for $132 on Ebay. It's got 165 amps. If I plan on that upgrade, then I could up the system's power a bit depending on my budget. I could see figuring $1500 with the alternator.

falkenbd · Post by **falkenbd** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 2:20 pm

Upgrading alternators isn't always that cut and dry. I don't think you need to look at the max draw of an amp and determine if your alternator can handle that or not.

I'd start by getting whatever amp or amps you want, getting them installed and set up, and then determine if you need an alternator.

I had about 1600 watts rms in my civic (2006) on the stock alternator. I did experience some dimming of lights, but not a whole lot of voltage drop at the amps (on music anyway).

How often does a 100 watt amp output 100 watts on music???

You could more than likely get away without upgrading your alternator if you only had a 4 x 100 watt amplifier.

falkenbd · Post by **falkenbd** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 2:23 pm

If no one has pointed you here yet, its a great site to read a lot of things in one place.

http://bcae1.com/

I recommend reading it in sections, revisit until you understand. Revisit anytime you need to reference something.

MobileAudio219 · Post by **MobileAudio219** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 2:43 pm

falkenbd wrote:If no one has pointed you here yet, its a great site to read a lot of things in one place.

http://bcae1.com/

I recommend reading it in sections, revisit until you understand. Revisit anytime you need to reference something.

I still find myself going to that site from time to time..

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 3:26 pm

MobileAudio219 wrote:I still find myself going to that site from time to time..

me too. great site with lots of good information.

tim

By the way aragorn you got a great start to a system sounds like to me.

tim

Aragorn · Post by **Aragorn** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 3:38 pm

falkenbd wrote:If no one has pointed you here yet, its a great site to read a lot of things in one place.
http://bcae1.com/
I recommend reading it in sections, revisit until you understand. Revisit anytime you need to reference something.

I found it on my own

I've started working my way through. It may take a day or two. It's kind of funny, here I am tying to learn some of the very stuff I couldn't be bothered with in school.

Ryan from Ohio · Post by **Ryan from Ohio** » Tue Mar 03, 2009 4:58 pm

Agreed.

Its best to see if the alternator is needed before buying.

Jon · Post by **Jon** » Wed Mar 04, 2009 9:54 am

Common guys! You know he needs an HC1400 under the hood

Welcome to the board Chuck. I work for Kinetik. We make batteries for car audio applications. I also have a Civic. Mine is a 97 4DR LX. I have about 950W RMS of amp power in my system and I am still running the stock 70A alt with an HC1400 under the hood. No back battery in my setup.

One bit of advice I can give that is sure to help is that the grounds in your Honda is going to be pretty bad all the way in the trunk. Even after the Big 3, I was seeing almost a full volt drop at the rear amp vs the voltage at the battery under the hood. (I am running 2 awg power wire BTW)

The way I fixed this was to run a dedicated 2 awg ground wire from the front battery all the way to the trunk (to match the power wire). After running the dedicated ground, I gained back all but 0.1v of that drop (a net of 0.7v gain).

There will be plenty of people with the opinion that your ground wires should be as short as possible, but I don't buy that theory, at least not that simple version of it. Looking at the bigger picture, would you say 10 pieces of welded steel are a better conductor than a piece of copper wire? Not me.

Good luck on the build. Make sure you take pics for us to see your progress.