i recently picked up a 15' p3 rockford sub /w ported box from a friend and it has got me thinking of building a audio/video setup for my car.

in my old celica i was running 2 kicker cvr subs with a 650 watt amp and some sony deck, was good..but obviously was half-ass done.

this time around i am looking for something a little better. heres what i am after

-DVD/LCD style screen, preferably a in-dash, something good for a good price.
-Enclosure of some type, i dont want a big ass box in my trunk, removing the rear seats is a option
-the rattling in the dome light to end
-running it safe, steering wheel controls/xm adaptor i dont need, nor door chimes.

if somone who is expereinced in car audi (empr or others) could guide me and tell me things like "what amp would be good" or so forth, with recomendations and so forth that would be excelent

aswell, for enclosurs what do you material do you recomend? ive seen plexyglass used before....

thanks for helping out a semi-noob in car audio/video

morning bump.

 

OK so before I can tell you what kind of amp to get I need to know what the ohms rating on the sub. The p3 came in dual 2ohm or dual 4ohm versions. It has a 500 watt rms on it but if its a dual 2ohm you will need an amp stable at 1 ohm (at little harder to find plus more $$) if its a dual 4 ohm then all you need is an amp stable up to 2ohm, which most are. (i'm speaking of mono running amps only, you could go with a 2 channel amp but I won't confuse you with the numbers on that just yet)

Sorry now that I think about it this amp will run either setup. It also depends on how much $$ you want to spend
http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/produ...n_US&p_status=

I'm already in the post response section so i can't see any of the details of your profile but if your car is an 05 or 06 than you don't need the expensive harness. If its an 07 or newer, then its a grey area. I have an 07 and have the expensive harness but i have also read its not really needed if you don't care about the chimes.
All the info for that area is in the sticky at the top of the electronics section.

If you want an LCD then IMO go double din, they look much nicer in there than the single dins do. Alpine, Eclipse, and (personally I'm not a fan of these but everyone else seems to be) Pioneer are the top rated . I have a JVC and it gets the job done, the new kenwoods are supposed to be good as well ( I'm trading up for an Eclipse myself but it all depends on how much money you want to spend).
Plexi glass is used sometimes on the top of the boxes, its more of a show thing than anything, MDF wood or fiberglass are the main choices, fiberglass being much more expensive but much better looking again it all boils down to cash. As for size, sealed boxes are smaller but have a different sound, for a 15 I'd say ported but it all depends, Emp has 2 15's in a sealed box but his is a exeption, lots of work and tunning gone into it, plus for 2 RE 15's i think he had to go sealed, no room for ported. Hers a link to the owners manual for the P3 it gives you box sizes
http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/rftec..._P3Sub-MAN.pdf.
If the dome light rattling bothers you than i suggest you go to ebay and pick up a bulk pack of sound deadner (or 2) and do your trunk and both sides of your back deck lid before you do anything. The cobalt is known for its horrible rattling

 

ok thanks for the advice, the sub already came with a ported box.

so your saying a 2 or mono amp will work for this sub?

 

The sub (it was mine) is dual 2 ohm coils wired in parallel so it presents a 1 ohm load...

And I ran it off a precision power 500 watt rms at 1 ohm (stable)...

 

ok thanks for clearing that up mike.

 

So you need a mono running amp thats 1 ohm stable and will put out 500 watts.
If the price is a little steep on the amp I showed you. Thats just the suggested retail on it. here it is for half that price
http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?...roduct_ID=6086

If you want an affordable amp then rockford fosgate, hifonics, JBL, JL Audio are some brands. It depends on what your looking to spend (the amp is a very important part, best not to go cheap on that one)
I gave you the box demensions because you ask about encloser materials, thus suggesting you were going to have another box built????

BTW- You could run it with a 2 channel amp that is able to run 2 ohm stereo as well, then you would need an amp good for 2x250 watts @ 2ohms

 

Here is the same amp for way less $

http://cgi.ebay.com/ROCKFORD-FOSGATE...d=p3286.c0.m14

 

Or buy it used locally...

http://www.usedwinnipeg.com/classified-ad/7203483

Just check out ads like that and phone them for the model number to see the specs etc...

 

if you want a 15 ported then a big ass box is a must. also your probably going to have height issues on any prefab you come across so watch out for that. Putting a box on the seat or where the seat was will cause more cancellation then in the trunk facing back so pick and choose.

are you looking for a double din or single din flip out indash?

 

double din.

for winter and because money is "tight" im just going to do double din and mount the sub in the trunk.

 

look at the pioneer 4000dvd and kenwood ddx512

 

i was talking to my car audio guy and he told me there is a pioneer double din that he can get me for 600 bucks, only thing is it doesnt play dvd's but can play video from my ipod

 

lol and i can get you the pioneer 4000 that does play dvds for 500 instead of the 800bt that he's talking about

 

liar...show me links

its at best buy, and best buy is nice because i can put it on the ol' best buy card.

 

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...s/AVH-P4000DVD

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PU...mier/FH-P800BT

 

500 bucks is a pretty sweet deal.

 

i agree

 

yeah i think that will be the one i will pick up.

for amps, my guy recommened a rockford 1000W mono amp, just to run to the sub itself if i am keeping stock speakers.

the amp is like 300 bucks or sometihng he said. said he can get me a sweet deal on that since they are clearing them out.

 

your p3 is only rated at 500w rms. if you get 1000rms youll probably blow it (unless you wire it at half power)

 

i see, so your recommend a 500 2 ohm amp?

i also plan to paint my dash peices in a "charcoal grey/gunmetal". im not going to color match them because i find that would be to much.

for the hvac/airbag sensor, the black LT ones are completely compatible to swap out correct?

 

correct

 

If its a Mono amp then it should be 500 watts @ 1ohm
If its a stereo amp then it should be 250x2 @ 2ohm
Most (not all) 2 channel amps are bridgable down to one channel but very few are stable at 1 ohm bridged.
I suggest a mono amp thats stable at 1 ohm but the truth is a 2 channel amp that will run 2 ohm stereo will make less of a dent in your wallet.

 

mono amp is the way to go. If you do a 2 chan and run one per coil all the settings on both channels must be exactly the same otherwise u will blow the sub