Speaker Upgrade! Need a few simple questions answered please!

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Originally Posted by Gm Man

then I would go with 4 gauge. how many watts is the amp?

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400-500 tops

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Originally Posted by mofford12

what car?

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2005 grand prix base model

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Originally Posted by 2dee11

2005 grand prix base model

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oh him not me my fault

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Originally Posted by 2dee11

400-500 tops

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8 gauge is good up to 500 watts and if you add the 10% for give or take your in the clear for sure

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Originally Posted by 2dee11

do you know of any cheap but good 8 gauge 4 channel amp kits? i found this one on sonic electronics because thats where ive found my stuff at the cheapests (between there and amazon) and this is a 4 gauge kit for $30 but its not very high quality so its probably like 8 gauge actually

Raptor Amp Kit ISPKBL4-4CH Complete 4 Gauge Amplifier Install Kit

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if you have a local audio shop in town go there for the wiring I pay about $1 a foot for 4 gauge and $ .75 cents a foot for 8 gauge and $2.50 a foot for 0 gauge.

1. Go with 4ch. 2. dont go with pioneer amps. 3. forget the cap. 4. Run 4 gauge. (so if you upgrade later, you won't need to do a pull and rerun) 5. You're going to have to run the same amount of speaker wire whether you go with 4ch or 2ch. 6. That's as far as I've gotten so far

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Originally Posted by mofford12

what car?

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2000 Grand Prix

i went ahead and just ordered
Pioneer TS-A1674R (TS A1674R) 6-1/2" 3-Way A-Series Car Speakers
Pioneer TS-A6964R (TSA6964R) 400W 6" x 9" 3-Way Car Speaker
Kenwood X450-4 (X450-4) 4-Channel eXcelon Full Range Power Car Amp
Raptor Amp Kit ISPKBL4-4CH Complete 4 Gauge Amplifier Install Kit

pretty excited to see it all get here! ..a little worried about my headlights dimming though because ive already had some issues with it with just the one amp but i fixed it pretty easily.. also hope there is enough speaker wire with the kit lol

I had a 1000 watt amp with the stock bose amp dimming my lights then I bought capacitor and It still dimmed but a lot less then I did the big 3 upgrade with 4 gauge wire (cause I didn't have the money at the time for 0 gauge).

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Originally Posted by Gm Man

2000 Grand Prix

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weird.. got the same car and i ran 2 kicker l7 12s ported with a kicker zx1500.1 and a mtx tn400/4 for my highs and i didnt dim at all

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Originally Posted by mofford12

weird.. got the same car and i ran 2 kicker l7 12s ported with a kicker zx1500.1 and a mtx tn400/4 for my highs and i didnt dim at all

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I've been thinking the alternator could be bad but with the car running my capacitor was saying 14.9 volts and I turned the the high beams, slappin the radio, A/C, heated seat, all on and it only went down to 14.5 so that sounds good to me.

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Originally Posted by Gm Man

I had a 1000 watt amp with the stock bose amp dimming my lights then I bought capacitor and It still dimmed but a lot less then I did the big 3 upgrade with 4 gauge wire (cause I didn't have the money at the time for 0 gauge).

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Im gonna guess a shotty ground. A capacitor is just a bandaid for a crappy electrical system. Get a good dry cell battery and upgrade the wires if necessary after that.

Sounds like u need to have your alternator checked.

http://www.knukonceptz.com/ for wiring use 4 gauge do it right the first and avoid the hassle down the road.

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Originally Posted by KeithGTP03

Im gonna guess a shotty ground. A capacitor is just a bandaid for a crappy electrical system. Get a good dry cell battery and upgrade the wires if necessary after that.

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after I did the big 3 upgrade it doesn't dim no more. but I plan on getting a high output alternator soon just can't seem to find one.

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Originally Posted by REDCOMPG

Sounds like u need to have your alternator checked.

Amp Installation Kits, HDMI Cables

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thanks for the link it's the highest alternator I've seen.

They're pretty easy to find. Amazon.com: GRAND PRIX 200 AMP HIGH OUTPUT ALTERNATOR 99 0 01 02 03: Automotive
https://www.dcpowerinc.com/fit/2003~...3-220-spx.html
220A High Output Alternator for Pontiac Grand Prix, 1999 - 2003 3.1L V6 (189c.i.) - 8243-5-220 | PowerBastards.com

Thats just the first 3 from a quick google search.

But I would start with your power source (battery). It will make your alt not have to work so hard.

Isn't an 05 Grand Prix a lot harder and different than most cars for the big 3? I tried just looking at how to do it one day and it looked a lot more complex than most how to videos showed

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Originally Posted by 2dee11

Isn't an 05 Grand Prix a lot harder and different than most cars for the big 3? I tried just looking at how to do it one day and it looked a lot more complex than most how to videos showed

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Nope pretty simple don't focus so much on videos go outside and find your ground and power wires and follow them you'll c how simple it really is.

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Originally Posted by REDCOMPG

Nope pretty simple don't focus so much on videos go outside and find your ground and power wires and follow them you'll c
how simple it really is.

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ive done that but i i swear there is like 2 or 3 cables that start goin place and i got lost lol

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Originally Posted by KeithGTP03

1. Go with 4ch. 2. dont go with pioneer amps. 3. forget the cap. 4. Run 4 gauge. (so if you upgrade later, you won't need to do a pull and rerun) 5. You're going to have to run the same amount of speaker wire whether you go with 4ch or 2ch. 6. That's as far as I've gotten so far

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Late response but for #5 the plan was put the amp under pass seat for 2ch run two sets of wires from one ch to left n right fronts then run one wire to back left then from out of back left speaker connect it to back right speaker it irrelevant now but that was my speaker wire saving plan