Thanks for the info, BrightLight! I too, followed a writeup for removing the sub panel in the trunk and discovered a bolt that was not listed that I had failed to remove. Glad I discovered it before I got cranking on the panel too hard! It did take me a while to get it all ripped out, so I've left it that way until I do the swap. I needed to disconnect the sub because the noise it made when playing music was just damn annoying.
Yeah, When I make my thread later, you'll see that my ring around the sub that should be connected by glue or something to the sub was just flapping around. 360 degrees. lol no wonder it sounded like garbage.
I'm only swapping the sub/amp for now. Later on, I will probably run another 4 channel amp for the speakers, but that's for another discussion.
I'm using the JL 250W mono amp
JL Audio JX250/1 (JX2501) 2 Channel Amplifiers at Onlinecarstereo.com
and the JL 8W1v2-4 sub for replacing, the same on ARK used on his writeup.
JL Audio 8W1v2-4 Component Car Subwoofers at Onlinecarstereo.com
I'll be here when you are ready for that other discussion. :clap2:
That combo will work fine as I'm sure you've already read and did your research.
I'm going with the RF 4 ga wiring kit, which may be a bit overkill for wire size, but I figure it's better to have "too big" a wire than too small and it doesn't cost that much more anyway than say a 6 or 8 ga. wire kit. I've been waiting to hear feedback from everyone before I pull the trigger and order all parts at once from online car stereo.
It's not overkill don't worry.
It seems more of a pain to run the RCAs, but in the end, I think it will provide better sound quality and I'll be happier to do it right the first time and not have to deal with it later.
Trust me, it's not that big of a pain at all. Yes, better sound quality and more reliable. When running speaker wire unless 12-14 gauge, it's easy to accidentally cut the speaker wire somewhere along the run.
I'm only going to worry about the wiring for this amp/sub combo for now, but most certainly when I upgrade to a 4channel amp, I'll run ZERO ga. wire to the back, a distribution block, then run separate power wires for each respective amp.
Depending on your overall wattage, I say that 4 gauge should be fine even then. That's what I'm using with my two amps at the moment. Just make sure using the right fuse.
Would you mind linking me up to the right terminals for the battery and chassis? I looked online at radio shack, but they didn't have anything near the right size. I'm particularly anal about my engine bay staying clean and looking good, especially when I run the power wire through the bay to the battery.
When it comes to this part there is a few ways to go about this. You can just use the stock cable and terminal that comes with it and place the terminal between the battery terminal side and the locking nut as usually done. You can get a designated new terminal adapter
XB-BTU - Marine Audio - Connection Systems - Power Connections - JL Audio (more work but cleaner). There are others but that's probably your best bet.
For the master fuse block, I'm a fan of blade fuses myself, so I ditched the one that comes with the RF amp kit and used this bad boy.
XB-MFBU-ANL - Marine Audio - Connection Systems - Power Connections - JL Audio which looks very clean and modern. I'm sporting a 150 fuse, but there are different amps avail of course.
Car Audio - Connection Systems - Power Connections - Blade Fuses - ANL Fuses and no in case you were wondering, I'm not a JL fan boy, I just happen to really like their design, efficiency, reputation, quality, and warranty. All positive experiences and I've done the dance with many audio manufacturer car audio, home theater, and computers. lol
As far as the ground goes, it depends where you plan on grounding your amp/placing your amp. I put my 4 channel under my passenger seat and grounded it to the front left bolt holding down my seat but that required cutting the grounding terminal ring because that's for like an 8mm or 10mm sized bolt, whereas the seat bolt is 14mm. I'm looking for for the right ring terminal but hard to find. I'll look more into it and get back to you. Most ring terminals you can buy separately are either 12mm or 16mm (5/8 & 1/2) I just took the one that came with the RF amp kit and cut the ring into 3/4 circle, so it's like a fork.
Any links/writeups for ripping my dash out to gain access to the HU and hooking up the RCAs for a 2005 Limited?
How to Remove the Navigation Head Unit from a 2003 Toyota 4Runner
That's what I used and that was actually the only write-up that was 100% accurate.
