Ludecrew

Im kinda new to the whole stereo installation thing wondering if you guys could help me along with my install. Ive ordered these parts :
Focal 165k2
JL VR650-CSi
JL 300/4 Amp

coming soon :
10w3v2 JL sub
JL 500/1

So far ive taken off all the interior panels on the car needed for the installation, wondering what wires im gonna need for this whole install and how to hook up the amps and such... and any other help / tips would be appreciated.. and HU recco's.

Thanks

onecoolee

My friend...you will need to do some research, or enlist the help of a shop to get your wiring done for you. Its not difficult to hook up amps and components, but you do need to know what you are doing. For example you can't run an 18 gauge wire for the power lead to your amp, and have a 10 gauge ground. THere are alot of things you need to know, and you should not go into it blindly thinking its simple. You paid some good bread for your ride, and the last thing you want to do is screw up the electrical system, void your warranty, and end up putting a huge grey cloud over your Z.

If you know what you are doing, sorry, but it sounds to me like you are a newbie, especially considering you are asking about what type of wires to buy.

I will say this...adding speakers is not difficult, and you can use the factory wiring for this. You will need to know the wire color codes, and this is crucial. You may want to PM me for info concerning a factory service manual. You will need it ! It explains how to take stuff apart like the door panels, locations of wiring harness locations, electrical system components, and expecially schematics and color codes. Without it, you will be in the dark...

As far as your components go, nice choice...I would put the focals up front. You will have to use a trim ring or 1" spacer for the woofer, or your window WILL NOT work properly. The tweets can be installed in the factory location. THe xovers for these speakers can be, although its not recommended, installed in hte doors.

For the VR650's, I htink seperates for the rear locations is a total waste. My amp is almost turned down all the way, and my JL VR650 Cxi's are only providing a little rear fill. You WANT all of your sound up front not drilling you from behind. I prefer very little to no tweet in the back...

For the amps, be careful here. Make sure that you SAFELY run 4 gauge or better power cable, and fuse everything at the battery. Your ground should be short, and the smae size as your power lead. DO NOT SKIMP on a good ground location, or you will be sorry--clean the metal, and find a good spot on the chassis to put a nice heavy duty screw into. The ground wire and connection is critical.

I used a Pioneer Premier head unit in my istall and it looks nice (I htink). See my thread and list of components...

https://my350z.com/forum/audio-and-video/18696-stereo-upgrade-pics-finally.html

Most of all....good luck.

Desmo

You're the guy who got to the factory amp by busting the styofoam into pieces, right? I suggest you pay someone else to do your install.

Ludecrew

haha its only in 3 pieces.. i made it good as newww with a bit of glue. I had no problem taking out all the other interior panels.

LS350Z

Okay here's a basic list of what wires you'll need (assuming new HU).

3 sets of RCAs - Front & Rear Speakers and Sub (I'd recommend 17ft lengths if your amps are going to be in your trunk)
100 feet of 16gauge speaker wire (front and rear speakers)
20 feet of 12 gauge speaker wire (sub)
20 feet 0 or 4 gauge power wire (I'd highly recommend just getting 0 since you are over 600 watts total power although you could get by with 4 gauge probably)
10 feet 0 gauge ground wire
20 feet 4 gauge power wire (you'll have to use a distribution block for both amps)
1 - distribution block (0 gauge in with 2 4 gauge outs)
1 - Fuse Holder
1 - Fuse (add up the requirements of each amp and get that fuse - ie 4 channel needs 80watt and monoblock needs 70 then get a 150amp fuse)
1 - HU adaptor (any 98+ Nissan adapator will work)
20 - 18-22 gauge crimp connectors (available at auto parts store)
4 - 0 gauge connectors (I prefer whole type but some like the fork type)
4 - 4 gauge connectors
20 feet remote wire

Go to www.sounddomain.com and flip through Stinger wires stuff to get an idea of what you are looking for. If you want I'll post my order sheet to help you out.

Without getting too difficult here's some installation tips.
1. Run your power wire down the passanger side of the car. There's a massive wire harness going through the firewall right by the windshield.

2. Run your RCAs, speaker wires, & remote wire down the driver side.

3. Mount your power fuse within 18 inches of the battery (the closer the better).

4. Mount your ground wires as closely as possible to the amps and make damn sure it's a good ground to the vehicle.

5. Your ground wire must be equal to or bigger then your power wire in. Don't run a smaller wire. 4 gauge minimum for ground.

6. For your speakers just run the speaker wire from the amp to the back of the HU and wire into stock wiring.

7. Make sure whereever the wires are run through the car there's no rough edges to fray the wire.

8. Mark your speaker wires at both ends for left and right. Do the same for all your RCAs (I use colored electrical tape)

Let us know what other questions you might have. I can promise I'll do my best to help you out. The biggest thing to remember is don't half *** your install. It's not hard but it's easy to skimp in just one place and have problems later. Be damn sure you know all your amp specs and you'll do yourself a world of good down the road.

I'm sure I missed stuff but these all came off the top of my head.

Ludecrew

Thanks, this is perfect!

LS350Z

Okay I just remembered something. Most amps won't allow for 0 gauge wire to be run to them so for your ground you might have to go to 4 gauge only (meaning get 20 feet of 4 gauge ground wire instead of the 0 gauge). Check your amps first but I'll bet they will only accept 4 gauge.

Make sure your HU has 3 RCA outputs (Front/Rear/Sub).

As far as what HU to go with that will depend on what features you want (video, DVD player, MP3 player, etc....). I personally like only a few HUs anymore but I'm a SQ Audio person and could give 2 ***** less about video, DVD, MP3 etc...

CD Player only:
Nakamichi
Eclispe
Clarion Pro

DVD & Video options (either flip out screen or video ready with sperate monitor):
Eclipse
Clarion Pro

I also like Alpine slightly (they still don't have the sound quality I like). Panisonic, Kenwood, & Pioneer all have great video monitors.

It's mostly going to come down to what you want and how much you want to spend. My current HU is a Nakamichi CD45Z that runs around $320-$350 (CD Player/Reciever only). I'm probably going to upgrade it to a Nakamichi CD700 which retails for around $1399 (CD Player/Reciever no internal amp). big price difference for CD player/Reciever but the differences to me are worth it. If I were going to build a video setup I'd go no farther then Eclipse (and I'm thinking of building a small video setup in my Honda just for ***** and grins). I do like the Clarion Pro HUs (they sound great) but I'd still go to Nak for SQ and Eclipse for video first.

Honestly choosing a HU is really up to you and what you can justify spending. To me looks mean nothing assuming the performance is there. To others looks mean almost everything. Start roaming the internet and your local stores and just start looking at them. Find something with at least 4V pre-outs for the RCAs and find something that has the options you want and go with it. The important thing to remember is your HU is the incoming source of your sound and to reproduce it correctly you've got to have a good HU. All your other components (Amp, sub & speakers) are good choices so make your HU one as well.

Ludecrew

I purchased a pioneer DEC-9400MP and i upgraded the sub to a 10w6v2.

Ludecrew

Anyone have wiring schematics for the stock harness?

LS350Z

First of all, your HU has some good specs on it. 3 - Gold plated RCA outs @ 4V. XM Radio controls (nice). Great looks (should match the Z well). MP3 and all the fun stuff that's over my head.

As far as the wiring diagram goes the best thing to do is just buy a wiring harness and you'll never need to know what the stock wiring is. You wire the harness to your radio harness and it's plug-and-play from there. If you are going to jumper your speakers at the HU then just jump them off the new wiring harness so you don't have to cut up the factory harness . Not once in my install did I cut a single stock wire.

onecoolee

The factory service manual has all the wiring schematics...if you are going to upgrade your car, get the fsm, it will save you alot of headaches.

Also, metra and scosche make wiring harness adapters for the Z...

lopchild

No it was me who "busted them up". Instead of "busting them", I used a sawzall. You can't "bust them up". reinforced styrofoam. And yes, I did. cut it up in pieces. Many pieces. Removed spare too....am I scaring you yet? Can ya handle it?!?

then I tried to fit them in a spot to support my bass enclosure. They kept collapsing. So, in a rage... I threw them, burnt them, pissed on the smoldering remains, and performed a curse on the pissy, burnt, smoldering remains. Then I discarded the ashes with that weeks garbage like it was a banana peel.

Yet, I still love my install, looks and sounds unreal(!) and smile at the 4000.00 I saved by not paying someone to NOT cut up my cheap-*** styrofoam.

Yeah, you're the pro....wink wink....What a dumbass.

tractng

iTrader: (9)

LS350Z,

You seem to know a lot about audio. I have on order a 4 gauge amp kit. It has a fuse holder of 80 amp.

I will have a PG amp with 2-20 amps connected to a distribution block. I am looking at an Alpine 9833 which reguires a connection to the battery because of its large power need. Can I still connected to the distribution block and use a fuse holder (20-30 amp is recommended) in between the distribution block and receiver? Remember this is just a fuse holder for the Alpine HU.


Side note: Do you recommend changing out the stock HU? I am looking at the cost of that unit @320shipped. If I get two converters, they would cost me $40bucks.

Tony

lopchild

get this thing. It'll solve all your issues. I have it in my system. Works great, gives you protection you need. Any size fuse can be obtained for this. (along with two other dist. blocks - one for power uninterrupted, one for power only when key in).


Plus, it is one of the only distribution blocks that have a corresponding hookup for graound as well for each component.

I like that. You can be SURE that it is hooked up correctly this way. No hums/whines/buzzing noises from the cars other electrical items.

As for head unit requiring large power draw? Not really anything more than any other unit. The only reason they say that is because otherwise, the unit would not remember anything.(time, presets, nav menus/directions, etc Needs steady power stream, not large power stream.

If it drew large amounts of power while just sitting idle....your battery would be dead in a half day.... or less.

But i am sure it could sit weeks without battery in car dying...


here is photo.




I can get this to you for $65.50.

let me know what price you see/get it for.

lopchild

then send one lead to a smaller fuseblock in front, under dash. (i use fromt one to run stereo, cb, radar detector, laser jammer. )

gixxer1970

I have a quick question, I also want to replace the stock stereo. I plan on putting an Alpine CVA-1004 (single DIN) and I wanted to add a DVD player, the only problem I have is finding a DIN adapter for both units. Any ideas where to find it, I'm sure you guys already have one. Also where can I get the factory service manual? Thank you guys!

lopchild

You mean the plate to close up the remainder of the hole (second din) unit? Metra, dude. Do a web search, you'll find a place. Let me suggest this, though.... then you're not wasting space.... also can try Scosche. They make same type of install krap.



http://www.autotoys.com/x/cust/produ...id=988&cat=640

there is also the plain coverplate for it, pm me if you need part no., but the above llink is much better option. I'd have to look for wrapper for the one I bought. I needed the exact thing you are looking for, but I had to cut the bar that seperates the Din's for my double din. It was only thing that fit the head unit I bought.

lopchild

oops forgot to explain it. its a little cd pock

stu46

what's up tony. i would install an aftermarket HU. i really like Clarion. check out ther dxz745mp. it has a 24bit dac. when playing mp3s, it makes a big difference.

Subvet

Recommend you visit 12volt.com I'm a retired submarine veteran..electronics tech, as well as a journeyman electro-mechanic and I frequent it regularly. The size of the recommended power and ground wiring is depended upon current draw and length you need to run..personally I'm running 1/0 guage but I ran a wire all the way to the trunk and have a system that can draw over 160 amps if driven that hard..(the factory altenator only puts out 110 but you can have it rewound for up to 180 amps. I think you'll be ok with 4guage however..generally 500 watt amps average about 50 amps draw..discounting class"D" amps (more efficient) A 1 farad electrolytic capacitor (check to see if it's rated for 24vdc) would also remedy things like dimming headlights. However, If you're that much in the dark though I must agree with a previous posting from another member and you should have someone knowledgeable about electricity do it for you.