Am installing amp into my escort gti, few questions please

1) i know about removing wheel and carpet behind this, but someone mentioned the carpet is held in by "star shaped screws" what size are they?

2) where do i ground the amp (its going into the boot)?

3) can i mount amp on top of sub box?

4) Any advice on running cables to boot ( i know to go power one side etc), do i need to remove panels or is there an easy way through?

thank you

 

1 They most likely mean TORX screws, think they will be T30 or T35.
2 Best place to ground amp is at battery, less chance of picking up unwanted noise through wire this way, but any secure point will do, so long as good connection, ie under seat base to rear belt anchors ?
3 Yes
4 Best run is jusyt remove screws holding the side trim on above the sills, then tuck behind the carpet etc, replace trim.
tabetha

 

just to pick up on the amp mounting, if the box is carpeted the amp may get abit hotter than it would normally as there won't be airflow underneath.
on some this is not a big issues, but if it has a fan inbuilt, then this is a major problem.

 

wiring,run the thick live and remote wire down one side of the car,run the rca's down the other side of the car .Don't run all of them together as you can pick up interference from the live wires if you do

 

thanks for advice guys, will follow it all carefully.
Still bit worried on grounding the amp, where near the battery do you do it? or i have noticed in the boot what looks like a ground to the front of the boot with some wires going, can i use this??
soz for asking same questions but dont wanna get electrocuted if i can help it!

 

just ground it in the boot, boot catch, seat belt anchor point or strut tops is another good place.
the best is the battery, but that means another big cable for very little gain.

 

Got it, hopefully have it all done by tommorrow evening! cheers

 

best place to ground and amp is as close as possible, so any part of the chassis will do. drill a hole (not through the petrol tank) key the area around the hole to bare metal and use a self tapping screew. running a wire back to the battery will cause resistance and heat through the wire

 

this is why when you buy an amp wiring kit the ground cable is 1m long and the power is 3/4m long

 

yep, shorter the better generally, however Tabetha is right, in an ideal world earthing to the battery is perfect for less interference, just not really practical.

Running the wires on seperate sides of the car is not totally necessary, running them together is fine if they are good quality, but its good practice to try and keep them apart.
And always make sure the main power lead is as big as you can get it, amps not getting enough power is the biggest killer of them.

 

Cheers all. In and working, grounded to boot, power one side, phonos and speaker wire the other. Have amped the rear speakers and sub, thinking I may change it and amp front speakers instead of rears, what u all reckon?

 

Your best audio will come from the fronts, leave the rear filling in with base.
tabetha

 

Tabetha, you are the man! So are you saying to amp the front or rears??? Soz for being stoopid!

 

i have a 4 channel amp running my door speakers,and a 2 channel amp briged running my sub the sound is excellent

 

at a consent the sounds comes from the front, thats what i got told about audio.

so amp your fronts and just have bass coming from the rear

 

Sounds good but I only have a 4 channel amp and don't wanna add another at the mo! (maybe when I get some more cash)

 

Think I will try that, seems to be what most people are saying. More wiring work to be done! Lucky I got you lot to help me out! Lol

 

should be worth it though

id upgrade the speakers you have at the front next instead of another amp though mate

 

These are my back speakers (currently amped) which I will move and amp to the front. Unless you lot tell me that's not a good idea!

http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/pro...s_id/4661.html

 

yeah, amp the front's, you'll be amazed, i fooking hate the sound of cars with amped rears and nothing up front.
The mounting of the speakers will make all the difference in the world too.
You could have the best speakers in the world, but if they where badly installed they'd sound shit.
Try and get a nice pod mad for them, if thats not doable, make sure they are mounted really well, a wooden baffle (3/4" MDF is good) works wonders.

 

Okay. Defo gonna amp front. Will have 6.5 in the auto lead adaptors. What you mean by baffle, I've got Mdf but don't know what u mean. I presume this is to build some sort of fixing?? Will it fit in the door without adjustment?? Diagram anyone! Hellllp (again)

 

a baffle is basically a piece of materiel (generally mdf) that you can screw to the door (int he standard speaker position) then cut a hole in it for the speaker, just gives it a nice solid mount..............









like so.
Here's a few pods i've done...........

 

Mate, you got skills! Not that confident with it all yet but will have a go at making the holder in the first pic. It looks like the plastic auto leader holder I got so I will use that as a template. The saga continues...

 

yeah, just get stuck in!
Your only going to muck up a bit of wood if you get it wrong!