03 vibe sound system question/discussion

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Mon May 23, 2022 3:48 pm

hello, brand new user here, 03 vibe awd base trim
working on a sound system (nothing competition, i just love music, and playing it loud

)
currently i have a 10"woofer in the rear, 800w amplifier, and 5 3/4 coaxial door speakers (i plan on replacing with 6.5 soon)

anyways main topic, I am doing a tweeter replacement with a 1in 80w tweeter w crossover.
i've removed tweeter cover, and tweeter mount. the main question is, where should i mount the new tweeter? its a flush mount tweeter so i figure if i get a new tweeter cover (seen here https://www.ebay.com/itm/133884053365?h ... SwqylhSvaR) would it be OK to flush mount to the cover, instead of using the mount? (new tweeter is not compatible with it)

Those who have done tweeter replacements i'd love to see how others installed theirs.

once this system is "complete" i'd hope to have 6 channel stereo + 6 tweeters & 6 mids

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Thu May 26, 2022 11:52 am

is it possible to add speakers to kick panel? is there enough space behind it to fit a woofer? i have not removed it entirely yet.

Bookworm · Post by **Bookworm** » Thu Jun 09, 2022 11:42 pm

So you don't feel like you've been completely ignored - I don't know.

I haven't tried to put in aftermarket speakers into any of my three Vibe/Matrix. (two vibe, one matrix).

However, there should be a good amount of information in the archives from 07-11, when there was a lot of heavy modding going on.

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Wed Jun 15, 2022 12:43 pm

thanks for the reply

yeah im in abit of a pickle with this one. ill just do the do and whatever fails ill use that as experience

i guess with this vibe im going for an audio build considering thats the only decent "modification" i could make.
basically ill use this thread and just go over what i experience so if anyone else ever comes across this could maybe benefit from this thread.

once im finished with the aftermarket midrange speakers, ill begin to attempt to fab holes and mounting brackets etc,, i'd like to install additional speakers to the kick panel, and the rear hatch area. wont be easy to do but it'll keep me busy

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Wed Jun 15, 2022 12:46 pm

just to update, the 1in dome tweeters have been replaced from factory.
i had to remove factory tweeter bracket, purchase a flush tweeter cover (i think they're from the matrix) drilled a 2in hole and flush mounted the tweeter to the plastic cover. i then wired the tweeter using the existing harness & clip. crossover installed as well.

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Wed Jun 15, 2022 12:48 pm

: Capture.JPG (47.89 KiB) Viewed 1243 times

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Sat Jul 16, 2022 5:08 pm

quick update fellas, amp has fell into protect mode , diagnosing i have found voltage drop down to 7 volts (at the amp) while idling battery was sitting at 12 volts. vehicle off 11v
plan is to add auxiliary battery and new 250A alternator.
will update then,

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Tue Aug 09, 2022 5:50 am

voltage drop fixed, loose connection on amplifier power terminal. alpine s65c components installed w/o having to remove factory speaker spacer. however, door speaker grill had is removed to compensate for space.

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Fri Oct 14, 2022 1:10 am

Kilmat 80mil sound deadener installed. Pretty big difference.

before, just had to remove factory plastic , installed foam gasket to make a seal to the door card. deadened inside of the door as well.

tpollauf · Post by **tpollauf** » Sat Oct 15, 2022 7:30 am

Nice work so far. Too bad you couldn't have taken a dBa reading before & after to actually see the noise difference. I'll be doing this similar improvement to my 2004 Vibe GT hopefully over the winter. My first priorities once I retire will be to fix the rust/leaky windshield (top passenger side) and an oil leak. I'll have a lot of free time this upcoming winter and looking forward to tearing into MANY overdue projects

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Sat Oct 15, 2022 8:26 am

tpollauf wrote: ↑Sat Oct 15, 2022 7:30 am Nice work so far. Too bad you couldn't have taken a dBa reading before & after to actually see the noise difference. I'll be doing this similar improvement to my 2004 Vibe GT hopefully over the winter. My first priorities once I retire will be to fix the rust/leaky windshield (top passenger side) and an oil leak. I'll have a lot of free time this upcoming winter and looking forward to tearing into MANY overdue projects

yeah thats true, one of these days im going to get a spl db meter to see how loud my system is. im not really after numbers, but anything in the 120db+ i would be happy. but yet again , i've never measured, so i have 0 reference on decibels, its just a wild guess.

the deadener did improve road noise slightly , (so far i only did doors , and rear access panel area, pretty much spots in the rear side) so rattles is pretty much little to none. i plan on sound proofing the floors and roof , as well as the hatch door in the future. All in all my car feels alot more solid now and maybe i got a decibel at most quieter, who knows, never metered

15$ for rollers and 68$ for the 80mil 32sq ft Kilmat , fun little weekend project.

I just had to get my audio right.

Its time to start taking care of servicing the vehicle

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Sat Oct 15, 2022 2:33 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olYEoYam_t8
heres a video of the midrange in action
finished the last bit of doing sound deadening, whenever I find the motivation I'll redo the factory firewall insulation. For now all doors, and rear hatch is deadened up. Not very much rattling left other then the plastic panels.

treesleavedents · Post by **treesleavedents** » Mon Oct 17, 2022 8:17 pm

I've used killmat and mounted new tweeters in all 4 doors. Sorry I didn't see this post sooner!!! Your tweeter install in the front door looks nice, does it have a crossover?

As for the sound deadening, I noticed the biggest difference from doing the entire floor. Gravel roads, debris, mud, dirt, leaves, none of it makes more than a muted dull thud if it's a really strong hit. I'm in the process of finishing my car and will be doing the firewall, roof, and rest of the interior as well. I'll let you know how it goes!

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Tue Oct 18, 2022 3:01 pm

treesleavedents wrote: ↑Mon Oct 17, 2022 8:17 pm I've used killmat and mounted new tweeters in all 4 doors. Sorry I didn't see this post sooner!!! Your tweeter install in the front door looks nice, does it have a crossover?

As for the sound deadening, I noticed the biggest difference from doing the entire floor. Gravel roads, debris, mud, dirt, leaves, none of it makes more than a muted dull thud if it's a really strong hit. I'm in the process of finishing my car and will be doing the firewall, roof, and rest of the interior as well. I'll let you know how it goes!

Thank you so much for the support!! This is my first full fledged audio build and so far I've came across a lot of hurdles!
I do plan on redoing factory firewall deadening, and whenever I have good freetime I'll go about removing carpet and applying deadener to the floor. I should also consider doing my roof as well if I'm going to be running 3k watt rms worth of power or even more in the future

Utilizing Crutchfield for door speakers, the 2 way midrange has a crossover built into the driver, to prevent low hz from passing through the midrange tweeter. The skar SPXT tweeter on the A-pillars are using the same wiring from the stock ones, however I added the crossover , even though there is a capacitor for the stock tweeters. I couldn't be bothered to look for it to i decided to just throw the crossover with it, I didn't suffer from any SQ loss or nothing drastic, so I figured it'll be fine for now. The skar SPX tweets included "bass" blockers or crossover as we can call it, which is set to 1.3khz - 20k hz. If you are looking to run these tweeters please make sure you have high pass and low pass crossover capability on your headunit, or midrange amplifier (if you have one installed) or your ears will bleed (not literally) from how high these things get without tuning.

This project will be "complete" when I am running 1kW rms midrange amplifier (4ch), 5kW RMS sub amplifier (monoblock class d),
8in deafbonce around the doors, triple 10in woofers @1.33ohm final load. It will be slamology.

How do your 2 way components sound in the rear? I was thinking about adding tweeters to the rear but unsure because my sound stage is already pretty damn good.

treesleavedents · Post by **treesleavedents** » Tue Oct 18, 2022 8:29 pm

I think you might be on a whole separate audiophile level of planet from me haha. I take a ton of road trips in mine and wanted better sound all around so I went with a budget 5 channel amp and the best speakers I could to keep the whole package around $700 with wiring. Honestly anything would've been an upgrade over the stock speakers, but with the sound deadening in and the mid level setup I have, It's great for road trips, and even to sleep in occasionally.

edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGuwKpUkkOg&t=5s Here's episode 2 with the interior mostly stripped if you wanna see what I've got done.

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Wed Oct 19, 2022 9:53 am

treesleavedents wrote: ↑Tue Oct 18, 2022 8:29 pm I think you might be on a whole separate audiophile level of planet from me haha. I take a ton of road trips in mine and wanted better sound all around so I went with a budget 5 channel amp and the best speakers I could to keep the whole package around $700 with wiring. Honestly anything would've been an upgrade over the stock speakers, but with the sound deadening in and the mid level setup I have, It's great for road trips, and even to sleep in occasionally.

edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGuwKpUkkOg&t=5s Here's episode 2 with the interior mostly stripped if you wanna see what I've got done.

Holy, your getting real gritty with it! If only you were in AZ i would've had you do my deadening

. your setup is looks really clean and im sure it out performs stock systems. i haven't started road tripping the vibe because im trying to do some servicing and performance upgrades because it's slower then a turtle, damn base awd...
What im doing for my audio system will be full fledge audio build, at first i wasnt after numbers, but my first goal is to achieve 120db @~35hz , then we'll go from there. yeah it's crazy but i have nothing better to do with the car

high output alternator, big three wiring , and AGM battery ~750cca is planned to be installed soon. once i throw more power at it, switching out to 35a lithium cells.

treesleavedents · Post by **treesleavedents** » Wed Oct 19, 2022 6:28 pm

I used to be in west valley phoenix lol. But that was back in 2018... As for performance upgrades for a base AWD, don't bother haha. maybe a ram air intake if you wanna make fun intake sounds but there isn't much performance for you to gain without massive modifications and money...

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Thu Oct 20, 2022 3:50 am

treesleavedents wrote: ↑Wed Oct 19, 2022 6:28 pm I used to be in west valley phoenix lol. But that was back in 2018... As for performance upgrades for a base AWD, don't bother haha. maybe a ram air intake if you wanna make fun intake sounds but there isn't much performance for you to gain without massive modifications and money...

yeah i don't disagree, I'm sure I'll be spending 1k+ for only 20hp gain, but its less about speed or going "fast" more or less just want to get that 1zzfe less restrictive and I'd assume doing some modifications would increase fuel eco as there would be less "strain" on the engine if this makes sense. lightweight pulleys, headers, etc,, but this could be a topic for a new thread

treesleavedents · Post by **treesleavedents** » Wed Oct 26, 2022 2:03 pm

chromelampshade wrote: ↑Thu Oct 20, 2022 3:50 am
treesleavedents wrote: ↑Wed Oct 19, 2022 6:28 pm I used to be in west valley phoenix lol. But that was back in 2018... As for performance upgrades for a base AWD, don't bother haha. maybe a ram air intake if you wanna make fun intake sounds but there isn't much performance for you to gain without massive modifications and money...
yeah i don't disagree, I'm sure I'll be spending 1k+ for only 20hp gain, but its less about speed or going "fast" more or less just want to get that 1zzfe less restrictive and I'd assume doing some modifications would increase fuel eco as there would be less "strain" on the engine if this makes sense. lightweight pulleys, headers, etc,, but this could be a topic for a new thread

Unless you go forced induction, I doubt you'll be able to get 20 HP out of the AWD. I think the ecu on the AWD is much more conservative as the AWD system isn't designed for a lot of power. I wonder if the TRD supercharger kit would fit? That would be a perfect bolt on addition for some HP!

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Thu Oct 27, 2022 7:35 am

treesleavedents wrote: ↑Wed Oct 26, 2022 2:03 pm
chromelampshade wrote: ↑Thu Oct 20, 2022 3:50 am
treesleavedents wrote: ↑Wed Oct 19, 2022 6:28 pm I used to be in west valley phoenix lol. But that was back in 2018... As for performance upgrades for a base AWD, don't bother haha. maybe a ram air intake if you wanna make fun intake sounds but there isn't much performance for you to gain without massive modifications and money...
yeah i don't disagree, I'm sure I'll be spending 1k+ for only 20hp gain, but its less about speed or going "fast" more or less just want to get that 1zzfe less restrictive and I'd assume doing some modifications would increase fuel eco as there would be less "strain" on the engine if this makes sense. lightweight pulleys, headers, etc,, but this could be a topic for a new thread

Unless you go forced induction, I doubt you'll be able to get 20 HP out of the AWD. I think the ecu on the AWD is much more conservative as the AWD system isn't designed for a lot of power. I wonder if the TRD supercharger kit would fit? That would be a perfect bolt on addition for some HP!

if i could find one, trd sc, cai, standalone ecu, i would def see power gains. but i havnt found any for sale

. its okay ive went through all the stages of greif. i am now at acceptance that my vibe will be slow, atleast i have audio. like i said if i want to focus on fast i should probably look into another project car.

SLOW N LOUD

anyways, I'm thinking about buying new amp for my mids n highs

treesleavedents · Post by **treesleavedents** » Wed Nov 02, 2022 9:25 am

I'll tell you the same life advice my dad gave me that has served me REALLY well with vehicles. It's 1000% more fun to drive a slow car near the limit of it's performance and still be under the speed limit than it is to have to constantly suppress any urge to have fun lest you immediately reach felony levels of speed...

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Sat Nov 05, 2022 8:33 pm

treesleavedents wrote: ↑Wed Nov 02, 2022 9:25 am I'll tell you the same life advice my dad gave me that has served me REALLY well with vehicles. It's 1000% more fun to drive a slow car near the limit of it's performance and still be under the speed limit than it is to have to constantly suppress any urge to have fun lest you immediately reach felony levels of speed...

You are absolutely right, nothing is more nice then riding around going the speed limit rolling around with my audio, sunroof open! As I said, I'll keep my car as-is (except for audio LOL) just to ride around the city, and I plan to look into another vehicle to ride around long distances where I can have power when I want, and be extremely comfortable lol (im 20 coming on 21, going to start a new job soon, trying to keep my life simplified haha)

Heres where we're standing at the audio build right now. [youtube]https://youtube.com/shorts/Hw0ZAtENjvo?feature=share[/youtube]

I just purchased a 320A output alternator, going to take up to 2 weeks to be built, then it'll be shipped to me. From there I will begin the lithium swap (linglong 35ah 1bank, maybe two for headroom) diode or two to get idle voltage to ~15 volts (whats the max voltage with vibes?) .

6th order bandpass designed for the hatch, to run Skar DDX-10in (1kw rms)

I'll let you folks know how it goes. Appreciate the support!!

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Sat Nov 05, 2022 8:34 pm

Mind you I did clamp my sub system, It did 600w RMS before clipping (Im on stock electrical!!) Mids/highs are wired to 4ohm, could be seeing less then 30w rms (stock factory amp, going to be swapped soon!)

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Fri Nov 11, 2022 6:09 pm

going in the vibe, along with big 4 upgrade. 320amp output
certified, 179A @650RPM, 339A @1800RPM

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Sun Nov 13, 2022 7:34 am

oscope ordered, i've checked my audio signal going from amp > subs and signal going from midamp > midranges.
I did not check to see how clean signal is from headunit, however after amplification the signal is very dirty, even at 22/40
Plan is to replace headunit with clean signal 40/40 and replace factory amplifier, and add a dedicated ground, to fix any ground loops or hissing

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Thu Dec 08, 2022 5:56 pm

HO alternator & oversize cable almost installed.
Does anyone know of top of their head what the max charging voltage is on the vibes before things go crazy? Going for ling long 40Ah, dual bank =80Ah, best bang for the buck.
16.5 idle voltage im going for, any rebuttles?

on stock alt and battery I currently charge at 14.35 at idle, drop down to low 13s on full tilt, high 12s. 800W rms amplifier.

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Sun Dec 11, 2022 4:14 pm

Today I have installed the HO alt (320A), done big 3, and upgraded battery to a deep cycle optima yellow top 55aH (just temporary until i do lithium)
Charging voltage is 14.9 and resting voltage is 12.9. Optima yellow top battery are 15.2 max for anyone wondering. The vibe so far handles the 14.9 just fine no issues. Had some belt slipping issues but after realigning the alternator and adding a spacer it made all the difference. I was able to retain factory harness(s) in a event I'd sell the car (god forbid i'd never) and also was able to retain the factory serpentine belt, the smaller pulley + the piston tensioner didn't cause any trouble. Belt still looks like it's in good shape, no cracks or tears.

spoke too soon

my belt is slipping, going to be hunting for a smaller belt. Full tilt on the RP800.1D doesnt affect my voltage at all when im at 1400RPM (alternator peak output speed). solid 14.89 even when the bass hits. I dont quite reccomend the optima battery, but it gets the job done.

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Fri Dec 16, 2022 10:50 pm

replaced with oem 72.5in gates micro v belt. 14.4 idle 14.9 peak alternator output. going to bump up idle speed a hair to get more output to achieve 14.9 idle.
autotechengineeringusa.com for anybody wondering. running 320A alternator and 55aH yellowtop. Big 3 1/0 oversize upgrade.

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:05 pm

I am ready to replace with lithium cells, capable of producing up to 12kW of clean power. (well thats the plan

)
has anyone else done pro audio in a 1st generation vibe?

I do not like how the wiring setup came out, I am going to redo it, with dedicated fuse mount. Bare in mind factory battery connectors has been retained, via side post.

treesleavedents · Post by **treesleavedents** » Sun Jan 01, 2023 9:50 am

Damn you're going all out! TBH your build would be better off in an audio forum with the level you're working at haha. How much was the HO alternator? Also why not run a supercap? Buddy of mine just gave me a few of em, I just need to get the bus bars and all the other stuff to install em.

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Mon Jan 02, 2023 8:33 am

treesleavedents wrote: ↑Sun Jan 01, 2023 9:50 am Damn you're going all out! TBH your build would be better off in an audio forum with the level you're working at haha. How much was the HO alternator? Also why not run a supercap? Buddy of mine just gave me a few of em, I just need to get the bus bars and all the other stuff to install em.

320A alternator was 350$ i had mine chrome powder coated so total came to 400$. The LTO bank yinlongs will be "supercaps" with busbars from probably jimsmachineworkz, haven't decided yet lol . Of course lithium cannot be ran under the hood, so it will be in the trunk. Battery delete upfront.
I'm not much of a fan of audio forums, not after competition, this is just a hobby of mine

however I am in a audio discord server.

I wanted to share my build here considering I learned a bit about vibe audio , and I can help others if needed.
Thanks for the positivity

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Sun Jan 22, 2023 7:06 am

6th order bandpass for single 10in rated @1kW rms going in the hatch

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Sun Jan 22, 2023 4:08 pm

{THIS ISNT MY NOMINAL VOLTAGE, I WAS FULL TILT AT IDLE}

installed voltmeter to replace the cig lighter. the cig lighter never worked but it illuminated. Tor off the a/c panel and guess what. Ciggerette lighter harness never was plugged in

i guess someone before me must've had done something behind there. Also the a/c panel light sometimes goes out caused by a faulty wire, no big deal though, smack the panel and it turns on

next up is double din headunit!

tpollauf · Post by **tpollauf** » Mon Jan 23, 2023 9:47 am

chromelampshade wrote: ↑Sun Jan 22, 2023 4:08 pm next up is double din headunit!

Nice work so far. I did a similar mod with the factory cig lighter!

When you get to the audio unit, get one with a backup camera. I'll be doing this to my 2004 Vibe GT real soon and will get input from you and others who have already done this mod!

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Mon Jan 23, 2023 12:48 pm

doood looks sick! It was funny when I popped the panel and I see the cig lighter not even plugged in

eff it we tap in voltmeter

gonna get a alpine ILX w650 or ILX 407 or 507, we'll see how my pockets are looking when I'm ready. They have front/rear camera compatibility, 6ch preamp output. The 507 series has abit more features such as a built in voltmeter, and some other things, however most of the features wouldn't work as it's made for newer tech. So im probably gonna stick with the choice of ILX w650. Clean sine signal 38/38 volume, dont wanna send amplifiers a dirty signal

edit: you can also find voltmeters with built in USB3.0, if that helps

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Sun Feb 05, 2023 3:48 pm

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xb0kqN4QuoU[/youtube]
6th order bandpass box running, need headunit and bigger sub amp lol. 20,22hz gets the doors slapping

tpollauf · Post by **tpollauf** » Mon Feb 06, 2023 7:48 am

dammm .... sounds good despite the fact that it may vibrate every nut & bolt loose on the car eventually !!!

Looks like there's a Demon inside that can't wait to get out!

If my hearing wasn't already damaged (40+ years of commercial/industiral work) then a short ride around the block with you in this Vibe would do me in for good. Nice work

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Wed Feb 15, 2023 6:01 pm

tpollauf wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 7:48 am dammm .... sounds good despite the fact that it may vibrate every nut & bolt loose on the car eventually !!! Looks like there's a Demon inside that can't wait to get out! If my hearing wasn't already damaged (40+ years of commercial/industiral work) then a short ride around the block with you in this Vibe would do me in for good. Nice work

ayyy appreciate the love! If it loosen every bolt on here, I think I'll be happy, changing out the alternator was a PITA, lower bolt was seized on and surprisingly its a common issue when I peeked on the forums. bolt breaker and a 2ft cheater bar got the job done, replaced bolt. Im going to be redoing the mids and highs because right now, you WILL get hearing damage, I've noticed a little bit of ringing in my ear because these skar tweeters are WAY TOO BRIGHT! I need to replace headunit, and set a HPF, and a LPF filter and get rid of the high 20kHz frequencies the tweeters are playing. Looks like I'll be focusing on playing lows on this vehicle, which if anything pushing air, rather then rattling like the higher ~60hz frequencies. ~18,20,22hz seems to get the doors slapping and clapping

I found 3 access holes in the spare tire area, it will be extremely useful when I do 0ga power wire runs to the hatch. Since the plastic panels barley fit 4ga, they certainly will not fit 0ga. So it will have to be ran under the chassis.

As of this audio build seems like I'll build a single 15 ported enclosure for it, take up whole trunk space, buy a meter see what dB i'm doing. I understand this is far advanced then what this thread was for, but hey, atleast I'll have the knowledge for you folks whether its a factory upgrade, or as far as trying to achieve 140db+ in the vibe/matrix

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Wed Feb 15, 2023 6:06 pm

For context im only 21, right now its a daily driver however once I get a new car, I'll keep the pontiac forever and strictly use it for audio purposes only, maybe after the 15 ill do a full wall haha

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Wed Mar 08, 2023 5:51 pm

currently going to be installing double din, alpine W650. dont feel like wiring parking brake etc.. so im using a brake bypass.
I need to wire reverse wire, might add a backup camera if i ever build a wall in the car.
Main question is, where is closest reverse signal? I dont want to run a wire all the way to the tail lamp, I figure there would be a signal wire near the gear selector when you put it in reverse, any ideas?

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Fri Mar 10, 2023 8:18 am

tpollauf · Post by **tpollauf** » Fri Mar 10, 2023 2:59 pm

Nice !! I like the clean look of the display. Someday soon I'll upgrade my 2004 Vibe Gt to one of these (or similar) with hopefully a backup camera option. I'll be removing my headliner real soon for a windshield leak repair, and will need to know what wires to run to the back of the car and do this while the headliner is out.

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Sat Mar 11, 2023 11:46 am

Thanks! While you have the headliner out, I'd highly recommend adding sound treatment (butyl) and rollers, makes a big difference and the roof resonates very easily on the vibes. Heres what I used, no smell or anything. https://tinyurl.com/2d68c5pk Could also add closed cell foam for added sound treatment.

For wire runs, 4ga wire is the biggest wire you can run through the door floor trims, quickest, and easiest way to run the wire, only took me around a hour or so to remove the plastic bits on the floor such as the kick panel, etc, and put it back together. Power run is on the driver side to the rear. signal wires are on the passenger side.

I wouldn't recommend running wire behind the headliner as if you want to make upgrades or anything it could be a hassle, you best bet is doing it along the floor boards, which comes off with tabs.

0ga wire runs will have to be ran underneath the vehicle, away from heat or moving components, with conduit over the cable to protect it. There is 3 access holes in the rear spare tire well where you can run the wire through the inside. (NOTE: the 3 access holes are above the exhaust heatshield. You'll have to use some sort of heat resistant in that area)

This unit is a Alpine ILX W650, 400$ with the kit and harness and antenna adapter. Has reverse camera compatibility and android auto and apple carplay. 6ch preamp output 4v dc
If you ever do this upgrade, do note, if you are using factory harness and 4ch amplifier, the power antenna wire is not needed to be wired. The remote wire will be connected to blue wire with the metra harness, this wire powers up the factory amp and also powers the antenna (for FM)

Im going to be getting rid of the factory 4ch and only use low level inputs for amplifiers and rerun wires to the speakers. Most of the issues are from the factory amp (hissing, whine, etc) I've done a dedicated ground for the headunit inline with the harness ground, and it solved the turn off pop.

chromelampshade · Post by **chromelampshade** » Sat Mar 11, 2023 6:18 pm

Also if you plan on upgrading to a double din unit, reccomend unplugging the factory 4ch amp and wiring up a aftermarket 4ch amplifier, rerun speaker wires (shielded OFC 16ga is fine) to each speaker. Utilize low level RCAs from headunit to amplifier (s) instead of hi level lines.

The factory amp is way too over complicated and seems to be outdated. these things are rated at a 2ohm load and most aftermarket speakers are 4ohm final. so, factory amplifier is not pushing much power. Seems like the THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) of these amplifiers are high, degrading output sound quality. The factory wires are poor quality and seems to carry too much noise. Hence why rewiring the whole sound system is a better approach.

Power antenna and factory 4ch amp remote turn on is on the same lead, just overcomplicated. Its better to wire the power antenna to the antenna power wire. Use new headunit remote 12v source to power on new amplifiers.
Make sure everything has a clean dedicated ground, check resistance.

4ch amplifier aftermarket should be around 100wrms @4ohm x 4 for headroom and quality. going to run this for 4ch https://www.down4soundshop.com/down4sou ... amplifier/
RMS POWER: 234W x 4 @ 14.4v - 4 ohms (worst case scenario ratings)
4 ohms at 14.4v : 334W RMS - CERTIFIED (dyno test)