Sorry if this is a stupid question, but where did you guys pass your power cable through to get the the battery? Also I was wondering if the car rattles a lot with the more powerful subs and if the headlights or interior lights dim in the car. Thanks in advance.

 

Behind the glove box there are 2 firewall pass-through grommets that you can run it through. I ran 2 gauge under the door sill all the way to the back.

Any car is going to rattle with large subs, its just the nature of the beast. You can control rattle with sound dampening material but its generally expensive. I'm running a 600w classD with no visible dim or flicker.

Keep in mind that it is a hatch back so you'll hear your subs a LOT more than you would in a sedan/coupe. If you're just looking for sound quality and a little more lower end boom, I wouldn't go crazy with a system that will strain your electrical system.

 

if you experience some light dimming with a system that isnt crazy powerful to the point where you need to upgrade charging system, it always helps to upgrade 3 wires under the hood. bigger ground from battery to chassis, generally ground strap from alternator/engine area to chasis (havnt looked where it is in ours yet), and power wire from alternator to pos battery terminal.

your amp is pulling more amps that your cars used to, and those 3 cables are just big enough to cover the amps that your vehicle needs, so upgraded to bigger cables will help some

 

Oh, thats lovely. There are RCA's on the stock Pioneer headunit too?

 

Yes. The stock Pioneer has pre-amps on the back.

 

Cool thanks, I was also wondering how to take the paneling off of the radio to get to the rca's in the back? I don't want to starting pulling on it and break some clips.

 

The radio bezel pulls off like legos. Its easy. You may want to remove the textured strip that goes above the glove box, too. I've heard that you will also need to turn on the sub pre-out on the pioneer unit to the "on" setting. I'm certain there are other threads that detail that process.

Another place to run the power wire for your amp is above the gas pedal. Then snake it around the under dash area to the kick panel, and then under the carpet next to the door sill. I removed the airbox for the under hood work. It makes a more direct path than going to the passenger side, but I'm not asserting that my way is better. Also my car's battery cable was not long enough to cut and install aftermarket terminals on the battery. I had to get a repair extension to properly lenghten the positive wires.

I'm running a very powerful system and when high output alternators become available, I'll be getting one, but I'm not having any problems right now with charging. I really want to add a guage to monitor voltage, but I'm not sure where to put it right now.

My car has a couple of rattles, but for the most part they are minor. The worst one is part of the sunroof. The wire "arm" thing that pops up the deflector when the sunroof is open can rattle rather violently, but my amp does more than 1300w rms and is pushing 3 subs right now. As long as I keep the volume below eye vibrating levels it isn't a problem. I am going to have to put a lot of effort into sound deadening to get the best sound and quiet down the road noise at highway speeds.

 

A cheap fix to stop license plate rattle is to cut a piece of cardboard to the shape of the plate and put that behind....way cheaper but just as good as dynamat

 

2 little pieces of foam tape on the back of the plate works well. i noticed the sunroof too, it was BAD. im running a JL W7 and its about to shake my car to pieces. i made a little makeshift rubber piece that i can stick in between the deflector and sunroof and havent heard a single rattle since. as far as the stock rca's, there are front, rear, and sub. to turn the sub on, go to your menu and under "connections" you will see the on/off for the sub. tap your amp remote wire into the red wire on the harness that plugs into the radio and thats about it. i ran 0 AWG wires and had a heck of a time but its all do-able. oh, and run your RCA's and power wires on seperate sides of the car or youre more likely to hear interferance in the radio.