Kicker

I scratched my idea of getting 1 W7 to much money be over $1000 i estimated. So im planning on getting 2 12" L7 and a 1000 watt amp (maybe Jl Audio). My ? is i already have 8 guage wiring should i upgrade to 4 or 2 guage wiring. And should i get a battery or anything like that. Thanks

Replies (15)

Buickman94 on 04/20/2003 22:03:22
I would advise upgrading to at least 4 awg. heres a chart i pulled of another forum i post on, im sure they wont mind:
wire: current flow: total amp power: RMS power
0 awg 334 amps 2763 watts
1 awg 265 amps 2193 watts
2 awg 210 amps 1740 watts
3 awg 167 amps 1381 watts
4 awg 132 amps 1096 watts
5 awg 105 amps 870 watts
6 awg 83.4 amps 690 watts
7 awg 66.2 amps 548 watts
8 awg 52.5 amps 435 watts
9 awg 41.7 amps 375 watts
10 awg 33.1 amps 273 watts

as far as upgrading ur electrical system, what how many amps does your alternator put out, and how many CCA is your battery. theres also a few variables that effect it, do u plan on competing and really hammering away on you system, or is this more of a daily driver. and do u have alot of neons and such that will put a strain on it.

ryan on 04/20/2003 22:19:43
just daily driving and nothin specail done to the car to effect the power flow. How do i find how much my alternator puts out cuz its factory and i would have to go look later to get the cca reading on my bat.

Buickman94 on 04/20/2003 22:25:33
can do some digging online...what kind of car is it

ryan on 04/20/2003 22:26:50
97 cavalier

Buickman94 on 04/20/2003 22:42:19
I beleve the alt. is 105amps, not sure about the battery.

compvr15s on 04/21/2003 11:32:18
i would definitly upgrade wiring, i had 2 12L7s and i blew 8 or 9 of them due to the wiring, didnt realize it untill i got new subs. the l7s look cool but are way over priced, im really happy with my 15 comp vrs. also on the power, i think you can goto autozone and they can test your car, it will tell how many amps your car has while its running. good luck. also for sub enclosures, do you have lost of room or is it kinda compact. id highly recommend ported boxes for the l7s.

ryan on 04/21/2003 21:55:10
its a really tight space i just have enough room for my 2 12" WO's with there custom Jl sealed box. Thanks for all the advice everyone

Swez on 04/22/2003 09:39:16
JL does make a pretty fine products. The low end W0's subs are fine for modest bass and low power applications, but if you move up to 1000 watts of amping power, gotta replace these subs and soem power input upgrades as well.

Are we talking 1000 watts peak or RMS power for your new amp? Big difference as peak and RMS are not the same animals at all! RMS or continous music power are about the same critter... but if amp says 1000 watts peak, what you are really getting is ~500 watts RMS of true power.

May I suggest you look at the JBL MONO BLOCK series amps. They have plenty of raw RMS power, very reliable and a lot cheaper per watt than JL amps. The 600.1 is plenty of power for a single 12W7. Your present alt will handle this amp and use #4 power and ground wires. May have to upgrade to a larger CCA rated battery if you get light dimming... but batteries are not too expensive in the 750-850 CCA rating range.

If you elect to run a pair of W7's, then the 1200.1 is a better choice in amps. However, upgrading your alt and battery will be needed if you run a 1200.1... #2 gage wire here.

The JL 12W7 is a massive sub not cheap either:

Dimensions:
Frame Diameter: 12.5 in. (318 mm)
Mounting Hole Diameter: 10.5 in. (267 mm)
Mounting Depth: 9.5 in. (241 mm)
Overall Depth: 11.25 in. (286 mm)
Magnet Diameter: 7.5 in. (191 mm)
Pole Vent Clearance: 0.75 in. (19 mm)
Displacement: 0.14 cu. ft. (3.03 ltrs)

Enclosure Recommendations:
Sealed Range: 1.25 - 1.625 cu. ft. (35.4 - 46.02 ltrs.)
Recommended Sealed Volume: 1.375 cu. ft. (38.94 ltrs.)
Fc: 44.7 Hz
F3: 40.4 Hz
Qtc: 0.792
Ported Range: 1.5 - 2.25 cu. ft. (42.5 - 63.7 ltrs.)
Recommended Ported Volume: 1.75 cu. ft. (49.56 ltrs)
Recommended Tuning: 32 Hz
Port Type: “Slot” ports are recommended. See Data Sheet for detailed info.

Look at the .pdf file for power and box recommendations.

From what I see there, this sub is rated at 750 watts continous power. So, you could actually get more bass with a single 12W7 and a decent amp. More bass, less cost and a major headache/cost avoided by not having to upgrade the Alt.

Swez

ryan on 04/22/2003 21:50:58
Yea im talking about 1000 watt peak amp cuz i dont want to spend over a thousand for the amp. And with the 12W7 and custom ported box it will be around $900. So i was lookin around to see if i could get somethin as good for a lil cheaper cuz $2000 will take me awhile to save up and i dont like waiting long lol. Thanks swez and everyone esle.

ryan on 05/3/2003 22:02:35
Alright i have a couple more questions for you guys. lol. Im goin with the 12" L7 . Either 1 or 2. I will probably get 2 guage wire instead of 4. I kno i dont really need to do that. But i checked the sub out today and a couple of amps. Im wondering about how well the rockfordfosgate amps are. Im thinking about the Power 1051s and 1051bd. Also the Punch 801s which would be if i had 1 sub goin. Since these are a lil cheaper then jl, jbl, kicker etc. i wanna kno if rockford make good amps.

Swez on 05/4/2003 00:35:49
www.ikesound.com and ebay... JBL 1200.1 is about $300.00 plus S/H.

Provides a full (2400 watts Peak) or 1200 + watts RMS @ 1 or 2 ohm loads, Class D Mono amp and will run pretty well at 85-100 amps of current. Max current draw is 114A. Not so bad huh?

What's the price on those RF amps mentioned? My guess, a bunch higher in price.

Also, have a look at the Adire Audio Brahma series subs. They come in 10,12 and 15" models. An 18" version is pending. These subs take loads of power. A single 15" Brahma will take 1600 watts RMS and give both high SPL and above average SQ. Have a look:

http://www.adireaudio.com/mobile_audio/drivers/brahma_series.htm

Swez

ryan on 05/4/2003 01:13:53
My moms not into the whole buying on line thing especially with something like this and i dont have a credit card so around my area, i can get kicker, jl audio, alpine, planet audio, rockfordfosgate and mtx subs i think thats all. And sum of those are out of my way. I think the most expensive of those amps was $699.

ryan on 05/4/2003 01:26:38
Then for amps around here theres kicker, mtx, rockford, alpine, jl audio, then crappie jensen, pioneer, sony

megahurts4 on 05/4/2003 18:47:38
You should really buy online. It is a helluva lot cheaper. There is nothing wrong with buying online. Just don't buy from fly-by-night companies. You can only get scammed if you aren't mildly cautious.

Swez on 05/6/2003 14:15:18
Kicker, Alpine, JL and Rckford are all very solid products, both subs and amps. None of these are cheap when bought at retail prices.

Ingeneral terms, avoid large chain stores like Circuit City and Best Buy. They sell a few good products, and if on sale, not too bad of prices... but the service aspects after the sale, can be a real night- mare. Same with installs... some stores have good techs, many have rookies doing the basic installs. You'd be well served installing the gear yourself. We can help on that subject a bunch!

Swez