Looks great man. Why not use the rear speakers for the LOC, since it's mounted right there anyway? That was my plan......
Nice. Out of curiosity, could you have done the following?
Install the entire unit, minus the control. Have the gain turn way up on the sub, then just turn the base down on the entire system through the head unit. That way, when you want bass, you could just turn up the head unit a little and avoid installing the sub control by the accelerator pedal? This would also keep most base away from the stock speakers, which could be good or bad.
I did this years ago with a bass tube on an Escort GT. Most of the time, the base on the head until was turned down to about 20%. When I wanted to crank it, I just turned up the bass on the head unit (usually didn't need to go above 1/2 way), and I didn't need to bother with a separate control.
Thoughts, OP? I ask not to criticize, but only to plan out something for my needs later . . .
Mounting an amp upside down is a very poor idea. They are designed to expell heat through the top. Also get some box carpet and super 77 and ditch those red wire ties lol. Nice wire running job though.
The signal for the speakers in the rear deck have the lows cut out of them. I tried a Epicenter to restore the bass, but the LC2 sounded cleaner and tighter.
Do you know this for certain? I have an mtx req, and it would be soooooo much easier to tap the rears.
If I HAVE to use the fronts for the best sound, I will. But in that case, do you think it would be ok to run the wires taps all the way to the trunk, and mount the LOC there, as I've only got a couple meters worth of RCA cable.
Thanks again for the write-ups.
Did your car already have the harness to plug in the sub box? The Shelby/Kicker system is plug and play and uses a harness that is already there. I was thinking that you could probably use that wiring for a sub install, as it might make things a little easier.
How does the stealth box sound at that power level witht he rest of the system?
Talking to AudioControl they told me it would be better to tap into the sub amp with the LC2. This is pulling a signal that is already cleaned up for subs. I actually bought the AudioControl Epicenter Plus and connected it to the rear deck speakers. The Epicenter has a bass restoration feature and this is the best option if you don’t have the Shaker 500 with the door subs. But the LC2 connected to the sub amp sounded better in comparison. Almost all stock systems have the lows blocked to protect the cheap stock speakers.
Honestly, connecting the wires to the sub amp and running the wire was very easy. The amp in the kicker panel is for the 8 inch door subs only, not the 6x8’s. The 6x8’s will have the same mid/high signal the rears do. If you look at my pictures, I did mount the LC in the trunk next to the amp. Then I used a very short RCA.
Alright, last set of questions....
What gauge is the wire that you tap for the 8" doors? I'd like to go ahead and buy the appropriate tap and wires.
Lastly, you have any good suggestions for amp grounds in the trunk? I'll be using the spare tire compartment as I have a brembo car and thus no spare.
Any just for reference, here's a great link on a very thorough write-up for removing interior panels, etc. to supplement this, already superb write-up!
How to disassemble your car for a stereo install (detailed with lots of pics!) - The Mustang Source - Ford Mustang Forums
It is just normal speaker wire that came with the amp kit. The shielding is the important part, more so than the gauge of the wire. Just figure, it is tapping into a very small factory wire and the factory wires on the speakers are small. You just don’t want to pick up noise with thin shielding. I don’t really like those blue wire clip taps, but I didn’t want to cut the harness. They seem to be working.
That's kind of the point I was wondering about with those blue taps. I have used them once in the past and remembered the wires had to be very similar in gauge/diameter to work properly. Did you have any problems with those blue taps using the tiny gusge factory wires on one side, and the heavily wrapped thick speaker wire on the other?
Little trick I used to mount my remote gain, using the random plastic cover in the cubby.
Simply disassembled the remote gain know, removed the bracket, and used the plastic cover in it's place. Remote and hidden, tada:
Also Evil, could you give me some pointers on how to use a ohm meter to hunt for a ground. I'd like to use something under the carper or in the tire well. Or if you're feeling super ambitious maybe you could point me to one so I don't have to buy an ohm meter myself!