My work vehical upgrade thread.

[coffee]

Yep. I have finished almost all my repairs on my 2008 Buick Lucerne and now its time to continue on with the upgrade to the sound system. Since I do a lot of driving I listen to a lot of music and radio and such on the road. Couple this with the fact that about a year after buying this car used the factory radio developed a short in the front speakers that I traced back to the radio going out. So, Thats what started me on the odessy of upgrading to something decent. Since I would be replacing the radio I would also replace the factory speakers as a first step to upgrading to a really decent sound system I could be proud of. My main goals where to have really nice sound of course and bluetooth for my cell phone so that when I got a call I could answer it without having to have my cell phone in my lap and interfearing with my driving.

I started out with a very decent head unit to replace the radio. I settled on a Kenwood DDX471HD that is a dual din with touch screen and bluetooth capibilities. I also replace my front door and pillar speakers with Kicker 40CSS654 6.5 speakers and the back speakers with 40CS694 3 way 6x9's. Both with a RMS of 100 watts.

After installing and running this setup for about a year or more I found that this was 'ok' but I really needed to round out the sound with better base. Nothing that would bother other cars while playing music. Just something to provide better base. The kickers are great for the mids and high end but I did find them lacking a bit in the base area. So, I started my research into a nice subwoofer and amp to finish things off. I had to wait of course as I didnt have the funds and didnt want to go too cheap and waste money.

Yesterday, I pulled the lever on my choice for a amp and subwoofer for the car. I did a lot of research on the amp as things have changed over the years and I have never owned an amp before. I had a choice - I could just add a powered sub or I could go with a single amp that would power everything. I decided on a 5 channel amp to power all my speakers and subwoofer. My thinking is that the sound upgrade will not only improve by adding a subwoofer but also the quality of the output of the speakers. After a lot of research I decided on a NVX JAD900.5 - 5 Channel that delivers 70 watts x 4 and 220 watts x 1 for the subwoofer.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00852W07G?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00

Now actually the hardest part was finding a decent subwoofer. Since my car is a 4 door full size car I was worried about being able to deliver enough base to the front of the car and also the subwoofer taking up too much room. I didnt need a powered sub as I would be running it off the NVX amp. Therefore, I settled on this subwoofer - The Audiobahn Torq TQ10DF

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZBEDNVI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages01

Some of the things that I have learned along the way :

The advertised power (in watts) of an amp that you see advertised such as peak power or total power means nothing. To get an accurate idea of the power output of a amp is to look at the fuses on the amp and total them up and multiply by your alternator output (14.4 amps seems standard). Therefore, An amp with 2 40 amp fuses actually outputs 1152 watts total ( 80 x 14.4 = 1152). This is broken down into how many channels the amp has and also depends on how you hookup your speakers. What you also have to pay attention to is the impedance of the speakers your using. Typically, 4 ohms is kinda standard but there is also 2 ohms. Keep in mind that depending on how you wire your speakers will change the impedance too. Amps are rated for "running stable" at a particular impedance. Example : Amp 'A' runs stable down to 2 Ohms. Or from 8 to 2 ohms. Its important to know this as you could fry your amp or speakers. The main thing to take away from this is the fact that the advertised power rating means absolutely nothing. I have looked at a lot of amps and some will say they have like a total output of 5000 watts but in all actuality they probably put out about 50 watts per channel and then a bit larger amount for a subwoofer depending again how they are wired.

Now that I have settled on my hardware I did have one thing that I really didnt think a lot about - Where to install my amp and sub. I do not have a heated garage and its winter. Therefore, I have to hit up someone that has that or wait until spring (lol).

Thats my upgrade and I will post more after I eventually get this all installed. I will also be studying a lot on how to tweek all the settings and if anyone is interested I will do a write up on how to setup and tweek amps when I get this all done.

 

[Altster]

If you had the room I would have suggested that you place your sub(s) under the front seat(s). That way....well you can imagine what you would feel as well as hear. I like the sound system in my 2011 Chrysler Towne & Country - even includes Sirius XM at the moment. My youngest son and his wife got us a 6-month subscription for Christmas and it expires in the end of May. It sure is nice to have "commercial-free" radio stations to listen to when we are on the road.

Just make sure that however you mount this equipment that it is well connected / attached and mounted in anti-vibration mounts if possible. The rolling "boom-boxes" I hear around here have so much rattling going on that it interferes with the audio - at least it does to me.

Have fun.

 

[BlackLabTechs]

Be sure to mount the amp in a way that it has enough cooling! Most likely not upside down in the trunk!

Some amps are underrated as well. I have a couple Rockford Fosgate amps that put out much more power than they are rated for. This was by design to get into lower class competitions.

If you are going to wire more than one sub to a one channel amp, be careful as the completed circuit omh's change depending on if you wire them in series or parallel. Or both (2 subs in series connected parallel to another 2 subs in series). Also to note is some of the better grade amps will let you bridge 2 channels together for use as a single channel down to 1 or 2 ohm.

 

[coffee]

Thanks for all the good comments. I will only be running one sub and I do not want it to bother other cars when on the road. Im just looking to fix my almost non existent base issues

Now, Someone find me a warm place to install this stuff!!! lol, My garage isnt heated and its kinda small with my other toys sitting in it.

I am excited.

 

[BlackLabTechs]

well if you feel like driving to maine i'll even help you put it in!

 

[Moltuae]

Nice upgrade!

I've considered upgrading the double-DIN OEM head unit in my car with something similar. I even contemplated installing some sort of 'car-puter' a few times. Trouble is, while the unit is rather dated now at 14 years old (looks like this), it still works well and the sat-nav integrates with the instrument cluster, providing turn-by-turn graphics, a feature that I would lose by replacing it with something else.

In my younger years, I often modified the sound systems in my cars with high-end head units, powerful amps and huge bass speakers but now I tend not to bother making any audio mods. I used to listen to music in the car a lot back in those days though. These days however, this is my music. I'm addicted to the roar of my V8 so much that I never get the urge to listen to music any more.

 

[shutupdonnie]

You might think about getting a cap/capacitor to keep your electrical system in good health

http://www.crutchfield.com/learn/learningcenter/car/capacitors/faq.html?search=capacitor

 

[TAPtech]

I like it! I'm also looking at a double-DIN android setup once my lease expires on the Focus. I think I'm just going to buy a used Dakota/Ranger/Colorado pickup truck. The double-DIN android would be awesome for me.

 

[coffee]

I received my sub and amp the other day. Wouldnt you know it that right now the temp outside is 21F and this week is looking like continuous snowing.

What I have found is that when you are shopping for a sub woofer the pics do little to show you the size. I was worried that this 10" woofer in the box would not be enough when sitting in the trunk of my car. But after unboxing breifly and looking at it - Yes, This will probably be plenty for my car. As I said earlier, I do not want to annoy other cars next to me. I want to increase my low frequencies. This should do it quite nicely.

I also didnt want to have to run 2 amps. So, I opted for a 5 channel amp.

Now I am scheming for a place to install everything. I hate to ask favors from anyone. Just one of those things. I like to do it on my own. I suppose I could do it in my garage but its going to be awful cold.

Installation tip: When you add an amp your speaker connections have to be re-ran. Instead of having your speaker wires directly in the head unit you have to rerun them to the amp instead. So, At your head unit, Attach your front speakers to the rear speakers line. Then at the rear speakers unhook them and install on the front speakers ports on the amp. Then you just have a short run from your rear speakers to the amp to install instead.

I am very fortunate that I actually have a power line that Buick run to the trunk to provide power for the amp. This will make installation a lot easier for me. All I really have to do is run my RCA jacks and remote on cable to the head unit and amp.

I set a CD on top of the amp to give a size comparison. The remote cable appears to be a RJ11 jack (sitting in amp box in pic)? I will have to investigate that a bit.

coffee

 

[coffee]

This friday its suppose to get up to between 55-60 F here. You know what that means?

INSTALL THE AMP AND SUBWOOFER DAY!!!

 

[BlackLabTechs]

Make sure the factory power line to the trunk is large enough wire size, large enough fuse and I'd recommend checking what else is on that fuse. Would suck if the amp tripped the fuse only to find out something else important is on that same circuit, like hmmm, say.... windshield wipers. Even if it's a dedicated circuit for factory optional amp, I'd double check wire an fuse size. Factory usually doesn't plan on installing an amp with any amount of "beef" to it.

 

[coffee]

Make sure the factory power line to the trunk is large enough wire size, large enough fuse and I'd recommend checking what else is on that fuse. Would suck if the amp tripped the fuse only to find out something else important is on that same circuit, like hmmm, say.... windshield wipers. Even if it's a dedicated circuit for factory optional amp, I'd double check wire an fuse size. Factory usually doesn't plan on installing an amp with any amount of "beef" to it.

Good advice. Whats really cool is that my battery is under my back seat No big runs for me!

 

[Porthos]

Looks like your an older guy who likes a little THUMP in your car.

I used to as well but my 10 minute drive to work is on talk shows.

 

[HFultzjr]

Looks like your an older guy who likes a little THUMP in your car.

I used to as well but my 10 minute drive to work is on talk shows.

I would like to get rid of some of the "THUMP" in my work car......LOL

 

[coffee]

Looks like your an older guy who likes a little THUMP in your car.

I used to as well but my 10 minute drive to work is on talk shows.

I listened to talk radio a lot over the years. But I find I am turning back to music. I hate it when you get in the car and the talk radio is playing commercials for most of my drive. I only have about 1 talk radio station in my area really. They play Glenn Beck from 9am to 12noon. I dont care for GB. So, I am transitioning back to music. My music is from the 60s/70s/80s . Its not so much that I want more volume, Its just I have no bass really. Its pretty darn poor. So, I figure augment that with a sub.

I like my kinks, Kings, Ramones, Boston ect...

 

[coffee]

UPDATE ON UPGRADE.

So, I was out working on the install Friday. I ran into issues of course. Nothing can be just straight forward can it? My main problem is that I had bought a wiring install kit.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FKP7TY?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

I learned a lesson today. Avoid these kits like the plague. Lets take a look at what this supposed wiring kit contains:

1. about 18 feet of power cable, raw not terminated.
2. About 2 foot of ground cable, raw
3. Speaker cable - enough to run 2 sets from front to back of car.
4. RCA cable - Just one double wire cable.
5. An assortment of connectors for terminating cables.
6. Fuse.

First off, I created a wire harness by using electrical tape and made a long run with 3 RCA cables, Remote on wire. Running it thru the car was not hard at all. I went down the passenger side of the car back to the trunk. Easy to get thru the back seat as GM has a wire channel on both sides. I fished the cable harness thru with a coat hanger

I took my speaker connections at the radio in the dash and connected the front speakers to the back speakers and then removed the connections from the back speakers and fed them to the amp. That way I didnt have to rewire the doors (front speakers). I then ran short runs from the rear speakers to the amp.

The first thing I noticed was that the speaker wire size and the remote turn on wire are way too small for the hold down screws on the amp. Infact, The size of the wire is very misleading as the insulation on the wire is MUCH thicker than the actual wire inside. After stripping the wires and trying to tighten down the amp speaker connectors - the screws actually cut thru the wire. They would just break off with just a bit of movement on the wires. The remote turn on cable didnt grip at all. It was way too small a size for the hold down screw on the amp. Also, Soldering the speaker wires to the back speakers just turned out to be a big mess. I ended up ripping all the speaker wire out and using some older thicker stuff I had on a spool from some time ago.

The only thing I felt comfortable using out of this kit was the power and ground cables, Fuse. The rest of the kit was junk. That speaker wire and remote turn on wire are not made for solder. The strans are so thin that it easily breaks right after soldering it. Yep - Fool me once....

I ran into remote turn on issues. The amp would not fire up. I am sure that its a Remote cable or connection issue. No big deal but I was running out of time / daylight to complete this project. So, I reset all the speaker wires back to before at the radio and put new leads on the rear speakers - A temporary fix as I have to take off today and drive 2 hours.

I also had an issue with my Kenwood head set. When everything was connected the radio complained of a short in one / some of the speaker cables. I also noticed the amp didnt fire up either. So, I think the Kenwood error is because the amp didnt turn on - and the amp didnt turn on because it was not getting the remote turn on signal. As I mentioned, I was running out of time to trouble shoot this and elected to reverse my connections so I could have radio today.

I do have the cables ran though and will have to pick this project up when I get some more time.

 

[coffee]

Almost totally done with tweeking the AMP to the upgraded system. I still have some clean up to do on the cables, Fasten down the amp and Sub to the trunk too.

I had my wife sit in the car and I tweeked the settings on the amp. I had her relay when it sounded good. My gosh, The sub really does kick more than I thought it would! Very good bass now in the car after tweeking Whats nice is that the fabric on the amp totally matches my trunk fabric too. So it looks fantastic.

With the addition of the AMP it really drives my kicker speakers much better. You know you have a good system when you can listen to it loud and it does not hurt your ears

I will say, Tweeking the amp to the speakers is actually 80 percent of the work in my opinion. When I first installed everything and played some music samples I was disappointed in the sound. But you have to tweek everything. Now, I am amazed at the sound quality!

 

[coffee]

Well, Its time to visit the upgrade thread here. Its time to take a look at my car as I have passed the maintenance periods for recommended fluid changes. My car now has 109K miles on it. I have to change the transmission filter and fluid. GM recommends this at the 100k mark but I know of people that change it a lot sooner - every 30k. But I bet they do not own an American made car. You see, If you look at the tranny pan there is no drain plug. You have to drop the pan to change the fluids. However, There is a reusable gasket thats made of rubber with a metal core. One other thing is that part of the tranny will hold some fluid even though the pan has been dropped. This would be the torque converter. So, In order to flush the tranny you have to drop the pan, refill with fluid and then change it again. I have seen where some people have unhooked the tranny cooling line and ran fluid thru the tranny emptying into a bucket. I could have taken it into a shop and have them do it but its expensive to do and to be really honest, I do not trust that the shops would actually drop the pan and replace the filter.

So, I bought my supplies off amazon. I bought :

filter kit that includes a gasket and the rubber seal for the filter neck where it mates to the tranny.
2 Gallons of tranny fluid - the Dextron VI
A new tranny pan with a drain plug in it.

Im thinking of doing this today as the weather will be good. However, I have work to do today for the business so I guess I will have to play it by ear. I also will probably need more tranny fluid. Didnt realize how expensive this stuff is. Of course, I do not want to put in cheap fluid as a tranny repair can cost some big bucks.

My thought right now is to replace filter, pan and then refill with new fluid. Then run the car a bit and drain the fluid and refill. I figure I can get about 75% of the fluid changed. Then repeat the process again about a month later and keep on a tighter schedule of fluid changes to get the rest of the old stuff out. Otherwise my other option is to unhook the return line from the tranny cooler and just keep refilling fluid until it runs clear. Dont know at this point. But in any case I have to drop the pan.

 

[HFultzjr]

Coffee,
This sounds like a solid plan. So many people overlook this maintenance, along with a timing belt change, and coolant flush.
Just drive it and put in gas. Change the oil whenever, and then wonder why their car is not one of the ones running good with high mileage.
I've know many people that have never changed their timing belt or transmission fluid and going on 100K miles. Many of them in trucks pulling boats and campers. Ugh.....just a failure waiting to happen. Pay now or pay later.....I'll take now, as later is much more expensive. A newer vehicle with reg service should have no problems getting 150-200K miles. Some more, some less of course. I remember when I was younger, a car with 70K miles was too high of mileage to buy.

 

[coffee]

Yes, I am going to find the return line and flush thru that in a bucket. I have researched how they are doing it and they determine the return line coming out of the cooler and point it into a bucket. Then they run the car while filling the tranny with new fluid until it runs clean into the bucket. Otherwise, I am going to waste a lot of fluid and thats expensive. Ill be doing this hopefully this afternoon after it warms up. Should only take me a few hours (famous last words).

Thanks for the support