Help Desigining my new system

exalted512

Hey guys. Im finally starting to get the cash flow going to where i have enough left for audio after paying for my school and insurance, so its time to start designing.

The amps I'm going to have are the usamps de-3000 and the helix a6.

de-3k dimensions
2.44in High
9.0in Wide
24 in Long

helix a6 dimensions
1.38in High
9.45in Wide
19.69in Long

I'll be competing in USACi so install has to look great and be creative. The truck also has to stay basically stock...ie i cant take out the backseat.

This is all going to be kind of random, so if you have any ideas...help out where you can...youve been warned...lol.

I'm going to have a screen in the dash. Not a radio, just the screen itself. I want to build a carputer and thatll be the screen ill use. Im going to move the radio, but not sure where. The ac controls have a lever in the center, so im not sure...and highly doubt ill be able to move it, but im not sure. I want to put the radio right under the ac controls using fiberglass and making it look all nice and pretty. any ideas?

Im going to have an active crossover. It would be cool to put in the center console. The center console is the kind that folds down and opens up. The carputer will be in the glove box. Again, this is all just ideas and subject to change.

I'm going to be running 2 oribtal batteries and 2 batcaps. Im limited to 1 space for the extra battery under the hood, the batcaps have to go somewhere else. This is where having a tool box comes in...i think that would be a great place. But I'm wondering if i should put the extra battery in the tool box as well...which i think i will because that means the battery will be closer to the amp.

For my sub box:
The back seat will be lifted a couple inches for more air space. I also plan on having the box go behind the backseat for more airspace. The box will be painted the same color as the interior of my truck...Another option for the crossover is on the box. Same goes for one of the amps.

Amps will be mounted on the back wall, enclosed in a fiberglass pod. All the amps have to be easily accessible...hence the reason why mounting one in front of the sub box. Also, since theyre different amps, itd look better in 2 different locations.

I also figure out a way to make all the wiring nice and pretty and think of creative ways to do everything. So if you guys have any ideas, let me know
-Cody

MacLeod

Why not use the same amps all the way around? I think it looks better when the amps match.

I like the idea of putting the batteries in the toolbox. Keeps them out of the elements but are still easily accessible for maintenance.

Any way you could mount the amps in the middle of the sub box? What I was thinking is recessing the middle of the box several inches between the subs and stick the amps there. You could use several layers of Dynamat for padding so the vibrations from the box wouldnt reach your amps. I really like installs that show off the amps and hiding one behind the seat would be a shame.

As for wiring, the less you see the better I think. Run it nice and neat and tie it off to the body every 6" or so and be sure to take pictures of it to show the judges. The only wiring you should see is where it terminates into the amps or x-overs.

exalted512

Well I like the idea of having 1 big amp all of my highs instead a 4 channel and another 2 channel. Besides, the helix a6 is just so damn sexy. The amp is so big everyone will probably think its for my subs...lol.

And yea, i like the idea of mounting the amps on the boxes. I like it. Maybe instead of having one behind the back seat i can put it under it mounted on top of the box...i hadnt thought of that but like it much more than behind the seat...if i did it behind the seat id have to rig the back seat to fold down. It also leaves me able to get more airspace behind the seat for the sub box and not have any weird shapes...save me some fiberglass work. Id love to see someone try to get this box out...lol. I could also put something on the back wall, some kind of emblem or something. A GMC grill (yes, the whole part that covers the radiator) would look friggin sweet right there, espeically if there was some way i could make it to where it actually does something for the audio...I want something that would look cool as hell and still somehow function to get some creative points...

hmm...
-Cody

exalted512

as far as running wire, i was also thinking that when i put the second skin liquid stuff down, i could run loom at the same time so where the loom is essentially glued into the floorboard. have the loom different color for speaker wire, power wire, and rcas. That would solve the problem of having to tie it down somehow. hmm...
-Cody

MacLeod

That would work too but that would also be a ton of work. All you have to do to get all the stupid points is have the wire secured every 6". Hell, slap some wire ties around it and fasten it to the floor and it will pass.

exalted512

yea, but itll help get more points for "creativity." You have to remember we have full size trucks so we have to make up the points loss for imaging with whatever else we can get:D
-Cody

hellohello

for that grill idea, put some leds behind the "bars" of the grill and have a white plastic piece behind it so it glows, there is a way u can tie it to the music, i.e. to the pulses of the sound, but im not sure how...

MacLeod

hellohello wrote:

for that grill idea, put some leds behind the "bars" of the grill and have a white plastic piece behind it so it glows, there is a way u can tie it to the music, i.e. to the pulses of the sound, but im not sure how...

Yeah, and then you can get some neon and put that......NO!

Youll not use any flashy lights or youll be stripped of your DLS's and be forced to use Audiobahn! Thats actually a rule somewhere.

hellohello

geez... i was just trying to be helpless, i mean helpful... he did say "A GMC grill (yes, the whole part that covers the radiator) would look friggin sweet right there, espeically if there was some way i could make it to where it actually does something for the audio" It was either light it up or use it as a wire management thing... what else can a grill do for audio? Put amps behind it and use it as its protective self?

exalted512

Well, I'm getting the rest of my sound deadener in today, so what do you guys think about just making the loom as part of the sound deadening?

Ill have 1 layer of damplifier pro, then 1 layer of the liquid stuff, then 1 layer of the paste-type stuff. I'm thinking of just red for the power wire, black for RCAs, and blue for speaker wire.

One thing I need to do is decide on what I'm going to do with the power wire.
I'm going to have 2 batteries and 2 batcaps.
Should I run one 1/0 awg from the main battery to the batteries in the tool box? Should I run it in the cab or down the frame?

Josh or Thom: Does USACi frown upon running power wire down the frame? Especially if its to another set of batteries. Then run the power wire from the batcaps though the bed underneathe the cab and come up through the floor. It will be a 1/0awg for the de3000 and 1 4awg for the helix a6. I wonder how much feet it would be to run from the battery to the tool box...
any ideas?
btw, ive spent 10 bucks shy of $900 on sound deadening...this **** is going to be quiet...
-Cody

exalted512

on a side note, I got my 4 mini Piezo sirens today*evil laugh*
-Cody

MacLeod

IASCi?

Pain generators are cool! Its not a true alarm system without em.

Jesus! $900 on sound deadening? Thats gonna be a chore puttin it in.

I vote running it thru the cab. Never been a fan of running power wire down the frame. To vulnerable out there.

exalted512

IASCi? what are you talking about:D

so you think i should have only 1 battery in the engine compartment and the rest in the toolbox or?
-Cody

neomagus00

he's asking why the little i... and why not put all the batteries in the same spot in the rear, you don't need one in the front...

exalted512

because I'd have to make all the factory wires longer too.
-Cody

audiobliss

Wow. That is going to be one awesome setup. :eek: And I can only imagine how quiet your truck is going to be, lol!

What are 'looms'?

hellohello

theyre plastic tubes i hide wires in, like reallly thin pipes that have a slice down the side

MacLeod

I was asking what is IASCI? Its IASCA and USACI! Get it right foo'!

exalted512

who said iasci?

MacLeod

I mustve been imagning things. I was partaking of the ginage last night.

Which reminds me, I found a great way to drink gin. I usually do shots and chase with Mnt Dew but last night I tried chasing with Smirnoff Twisted Black Cherry. Oh yeah! Way potent!

audiobliss

Looms sound pretty cool. I say go for it!!