Big 3 and some sound deadening

[threedd97 0]

The Pioneer AVH-P4200 installed:

Positive and Negative upgrades on the battery:

The positive upgrade from alternator:

Close up of the new positive terminal:

Close up of the new negative terminal:

The Second Skin Damplifier Pro. I bought way too much:

The SSA Icon 12"!:

Tools used to remove panels to add the sound damplifier (the mallet was to break a pin holding the airbag panel on the c-pillar):

The sound damplifier added on. It was a pain in the ass because of all of the holes for the rear deck clips and stuff. I had to cut small pieces and put them all over and started to get lazy with it and missed some spots because of it. I was so worn out from spending so much time removing the deck:

In the end it was a waste because I broke a lot of clips for the rear deck when trying to release them. I have to buy new clips so the deck won't vibrate. It seems to only make noise with higher ranged bass notes though. I also noticed my headlights still dim considerably. I guess 1k watts drains more than I thought. Might need a second battery after all.

Edited December 17, 2010 by threedd97

[Shogen 325]

nice pics man.... That Icon looks fat in that skinny box... Was that an old box or something special for the Icon?

Also, what brand are those battery terminals??? I like them.. alot..

Side not, I have the same screw driver which I picked up @ Lowes I believe... lol

[Shogen 325]

Also, I think you should look at getting a better starter battery first before you invest in a second... I still think you might need a second but take a look at this ... Kinetik HC2000

[Elton 2]

and i thought my battery was small... clean install looks nice

Edited December 17, 2010 by Elton

[threedd97 0]

I forgot to mention I was going to upgrade that battery. That's what you get with an over seas car I guess. Which btw, I don't think I will ever buy a Japanese car again. I forgot how TIGHT they cram everything in under the hood. And all of the extra electrical nonsense they put in cars these days makes it so much more difficult to fiddle with electrical upgrades. That alternator terminal was so hard to access without removing it the entire thing.

Also, the black and yellow wire in picture #4 had to be reconnected. I joined it into the same terminal as the white wire, but I had to cut away some of the copper to get it to fit. Those factory wires are the shortest, most inflexible wires to work with. I thought it was just the preexisting power lead from the alt to the batt. Turns out it was for my starter or eeprom or something like that because I couldn't crank the car without it.

The box is some prefabbed thing I bought from a local audio store for my other sub. It's not the most elaborate enclosure, but it gets the job done while I wait for SSA to get their Khaotic enclosures going again. I believe it's 1.1 cubic feet.

The battery terminals and wire are from KnuKonceptz. I didn't want to have to use ring terminals so I purchased those, even though they are pricey.

I plan on cleaning the trunk up and making it more eye appealing sometime in the future. Hiding wires better and displaying the amp more profoundly, probably put it in front of the sub box or something.

Edited December 17, 2010 by threedd97

[Shogen 325]

Not too bad... Yes so I noticed your battery compartment isn't all that great in size.. maybe pick up a Kinetik HC1400 for the front and a Kinetik HC800 for the rear...

I just found these for the same price as the KnuKonceptz you have... Might install it on my rear battery when I get one...

[Shogen 325]

Are you getting alot of dimming on your lights running the amp at such low resistance??

[threedd97 0]

Not really. When the sub hits really low notes I don't notice a lot of dimming if any at all. I see dimming from more midrange bass notes. I don't know the hz these tones are, so I can't get specific for you. I did notice that it all sounds better though. I assume the battery is maintaining voltage better.

[Shogen 325]

YEa, I'm starting to notice even with my Kinetik HC1800 up front issues with interior lights dimming... Not sure the root cause.. only running 500w to my 12" Icon... Could just be that I am running my shitty Kenwood amplifier 4 channel as a 2 channel at 2 ohms per channel. My manual states it can only handle 4ohms.. SO maybe it is just being power hungry and inefficient.. Should get my Boston Acoustics in the mail tomorrow to replace that Kenwood. Hope it fixes the issue and makes my music sound better.. The BA amplifier I purchased is 2 channel and for my front stage.. GT2125 ... We'll see what happens....

Nice setup though... You like your ARC Audio amplifier? Better than other amps you have used? Did you power that Icon with anything else before?

[sefugi 166]

The Pioneer AVH-P4200 installed:

Really like the head unit and it looks great in the dash!!!

Positive and Negative upgrades on the battery:

In this picture I see a the 1/0 wire upgrade to the body of the vehicle, but I do not see an upgraded ground wire for the engine?? Would this be causing your dimming issue, might be something to look into. Yes an upgraded front battery would be my first choice before adding one to the rear.

Looking good!! Keep up the great work!!

[swift 501]

Those batteries are junk, I just replaced one that was only 2 years old on a factory vehicle.

[threedd97 0]

Yeah I haven't gotten around to the engine ground yet. I ran out of ring terminals trying to figure out how to use my crimper. Most likely its the factory battery though.

And to who said they have that screw driver, its a really nice screw driver!

Edited December 19, 2010 by threedd97

[threedd97 0]

Those batteries are junk, I just replaced one that was only 2 years old on a factory vehicle.

The factory battery in my car or those kinetik batteries?

I've only used cadence before arc. I like them both, but I think the arc is better. It's the only amp I've used on the icon.

Edited December 20, 2010 by threedd97

[Shogen 325]

I think he was referring to the factory batteries(not sure since he just rambled without mentioning what he was talking about) ...lol ...

I'm looking into a JBL amp maybe or Boston Acoustics for the Icon I have. Don't know yet.... Again, nice build.