Advice on complete system for Toyota MR2...

[edouble101 314]

Try to find some shallow mount stereo integrity shallow mounts. You will not find a better shallow mount. It has 50% more excursion than the JL, which is hands down the best big box brand shallow mount on the market

Stereo Integrity and JL Audio are excellent IMO. Don't let anybody talk you out of JL Audio

Sundown is working on a shallow mount with ridiculous 25mm one way excursion with a 500wrms rating. Going to be a top notch contender!

ZED amps are excellent. But, most people do not want to pay top dollar for a four channel. I would have no problem using them. For my install they are too big. I will recommend JL Audio XD or HD again

[edouble101 314]

Oh yeah did I mention JL Audio HD/XD are super efficient and will go easy on your stock alt? Lol /rant.

[steveo50 3]

for the hu are you looking at double din or single?

[MR2 33]

for the hu are you looking at double din or single?

Double:

Found this one. Anyone own a Clarion? I have never. Always ran Pioneer, Alpine, or Kenwood(I bought the very first flip out monitor...cost me $2500 in like late 90's if I recall). Budget is no where near that today unfortunately.

Here is one I'm now looking at:

http://www.clarion.com/us/en/products/2011/multimedia/navigation/NX501/us-en-product-pf_1259464589828.html

Audio Savings has it for a good buy. Anyone have good experience buying from them?

http://www.audiosavings.com/products/In-Dash-CD-Receiver-and-Monitor/CLARION-NX501-6.2-2-DIN-DVD-USB-PLAYER-GPS-BLUETOOTH/NX501.aspx

[MR2 33]

Try to find some shallow mount stereo integrity shallow mounts. You will not find a better shallow mount. It has 50% more excursion than the JL, which is hands down the best big box brand shallow mount on the market

Took at look at the Stereo Integrity site. Yes their subs look sweet...but it looks like they only offer it in a 12". =(

Edited June 5, 2011 by MR2

[MR2 33]

Try to find some shallow mount stereo integrity shallow mounts. You will not find a better shallow mount. It has 50% more excursion than the JL, which is hands down the best big box brand shallow mount on the market

Stereo Integrity and JL Audio are excellent IMO. Don't let anybody talk you out of JL Audio

Sundown is working on a shallow mount with ridiculous 25mm one way excursion with a 500wrms rating. Going to be a top notch contender!

ZED amps are excellent. But, most people do not want to pay top dollar for a four channel. I would have no problem using them. For my install they are too big. I will recommend JL Audio XD or HD again

Well right now with the group buy it's about $80 bucks off. Still leaning towards them but I have a whole system to buy so I'll just have to see how it all adds up once I decide what I'd like to buy and what I can budget.

The JL have a number of 10" subs on their lower end line that will fit. The JL shallow sub is an odd size like 13.5"(I could probably easily open up the box no problem)as well as 3 ohms. Not sure if Zed will run in 3 ohms. JL Amps would probably be all ready to go for 3 ohms though so...

[Ohjay 116]

There aren't many car stereo amplifiers that aren't stable at 3 ohms. You should have no problem at all finding one. The Zed amplifiers will do fine with a 3 ohm load.

[MR2 33]

There aren't many car stereo amplifiers that aren't stable at 3 ohms. You should have no problem at all finding one. The Zed amplifiers will do fine with a 3 ohm load.

Ok cool-good to know thanks..!

Anyone here running Zed amps have any input of their experience..?! Who else has ordered on a Group Buy here..? From reading the thread it sounded like bad timing for some who might be interested? It's perfect timing for me. I'm very interested in taking advantage of it! I haven't done a group buy here yet...how does this work? Do I just place the order and enter code and that's it?

Again thanks everyone for the input. I feel you all are helping me refine my choices.

Hopefully I'll get my car back from my mechanic in the next couple of weeks. It also needs some paint so it might be going straight from the mechanic to my painter. But once all that is taken care of I plan on getting started on the install right away! Someone mentioned they'd like for me to share the progress. I'm sure I'll be taking lots of photos. I'll post some of them here as I go along.

I really can't wait..! Summer is just two weeks away now...just in time to enjoy my new ride and system..! =)

[sefugi 166]

I am interested in the idea of your install in the MR2, it's smaller size presents a great challenge to think outside the box with integrating a system that will give the ouput you are looking for.

I would have to agree with the comments above about the Jensen HU.

Really suprised that the Sundown Audio E8v2 was not suggested. With only 4.25" mounting depth it seems it would make it a possibility and with 2 of them it would have you in the power range of what the Draconia 4 channel could supply when the 2 rear channels are bridged.

As far as the 4 channel amp, I would love to try one of the Zed amps. They have awesome looks and most of what I have heard sound promising. If you are tring to save a few bucks the SAX-100.4 would probly work for what you are trying to accomplish. Watts09 just put together a system on a 100.4 and he seems very happy with the results.

Nice thing about using a 4 channel for your amp you should be able to get away with using stock alt., just upgrade bat and do the Big3 and you should be golden.

Will be watching to see were your install goes! GL

[MR2 33]

I am interested in the idea of your install in the MR2, it's smaller size presents a great challenge to think outside the box with integrating a system that will give the ouput you are looking for.

I would have to agree with the comments above about the Jensen HU.

Really suprised that the Sundown Audio E8v2 was not suggested. With only 4.25" mounting depth it seems it would make it a possibility and with 2 of them it would have you in the power range of what the Draconia 4 channel could supply when the 2 rear channels are bridged.

As far as the 4 channel amp, I would love to try one of the Zed amps. They have awesome looks and most of what I have heard sound promising. If you are tring to save a few bucks the SAX-100.4 would probly work for what you are trying to accomplish. Watts09 just put together a system on a 100.4 and he seems very happy with the results.

Nice thing about using a 4 channel for your amp you should be able to get away with using stock alt., just upgrade bat and do the Big3 and you should be golden.

Will be watching to see were your install goes! GL

Hey GL~

Totally decided against the Jensen. I found a better looking HU the Clarion NX501. Of course it's more but it has all the features I want! I've never owned a Clarion deck but I can't think of anyone saying they were not good?!

You've made some really great suggestions! I thought about the two sub setup. I really want to keep the setup pretty compact so that is why I'm planning on putting one 10". This way I have a lil' bit of room behind my seat for storage.

The SAX-100.4 looks like a great amp. With the current Group Buy on Zed amps the difference for the Draconia II to the SAX-100.4 is only $36.52. I think I may just go that route. It should have plenty of power to run my system?! It's also part of his latest amp models which is cool. Like you said it will not require me to do any major changes to the stock electrical which is good for me because the engine sits in the rear. The battery is under the hood. So the amp will sit only about a foot away from the battery(the lead will probably be slightly longer so I can move the amp panel if need be). That brings up a good question. Is there some sort of quick disconnect ends I can run so I don't have to unscrew everything? If not it's not a big deal. The amp board will be mounted over the spare tire. Like I said everything is real compact...but I think it will look cool when I open my hood and you see a nice amp and everything wired up neatly.

Appreciate the input...! I'm really excited to start building the system..!

Btw what battery upgrade are you running or can you recommend one for my(MR2)application? I looked in the store and there were so many options. Wasn't sure which one. I also looked on ebay too. I saw a lot of Stinger ones. I've always ran an Optima Red Top...so all these new battery options are new to me. The optima always seemed to work ok(I'm not saying the are the best just what I've ran in the past). Can anyone explain to me the difference with the more expensive ones and what is there advantage over the Optima Red Top?

Thx!

[The enD 467]

I would suggest for you to look for used equipment. Sundown amps and speakers can be found with some searching around for cheaper than new. Just invest some time in the background of the guy selling the stuff.

You can also get on a pre-order from Sundown.

Or b-stock sa-8's for 85 each.

I say leave the Optima you have now and see how your voltage is hanging. It depends on you listening habits, if you like to bang it for longer periods and the voltage gets pretty low you will obviously need to invest in a better, larger battery.

Check this thread out, because I saw you were wondering what battery to get for the according wattage. Make sure it fits too.

http://www.soundsolu...tery-do-i-need/

and this http://www.soundsolu...ries-different/

[MR2 33]

I would suggest for you to look for used equipment. Sundown amps and speakers can be found with some searching around for cheaper than new. Just invest some time in the background of the guy selling the stuff.

You can also get on a pre-order from Sundown.

Or b-stock sa-8's for 85 each.

I say leave the Optima you have now and see how your voltage is hanging. It depends on you listening habits, if you like to bang it for longer periods and the voltage gets pretty low you will obviously need to invest in a better, larger battery.

Check this thread out, because I saw you were wondering what battery to get for the according wattage. Make sure it fits too.

http://www.soundsolu...tery-do-i-need/

and this http://www.soundsolu...ries-different/

Cool Thanks for the links...I'm checking out their Youtube now...!

One question though. If I were to replace my current starter battery with one of these where are the battery post? Is that something extra you need to add?

[The enD 467]

Check out their site, Accessories.

I don't know if the battery comes with terminals, but you can just use a bolt and a ring terminal.

[MR2 33]

Check out their site, Accessories.

I don't know if the battery comes with terminals, but you can just use a bolt and a ring terminal.

Ok I'll take a look. I appreciate the reply..!

[The enD 467]

No problem, you seem like a cool lad. Good way to start/explain what you want, so I decided to share the little information I know.

Hope to see your build log sooner or later. I still have a place in my heart for a MR2... tho I am riding a different Toyota now.

[MR2 33]

No problem, you seem like a cool lad. Good way to start/explain what you want, so I decided to share the little information I know.

Hope to see your build log sooner or later. I still have a place in my heart for a MR2... tho I am riding a different Toyota now.

For sure..! I've had a number of imports over the years and I have to say I like Toyotas. The MR2 in particular I really like. I had one before and had to sell it so it's a real joy to find one again. I really can't wait to start building my stereo. My funds are not unlimited so that is why I'm doing so much research. I'd really rather not buy stuff twice. I have a lot to learn...it's been years since I was dumping a lot of money into my car. Been hit with a few tough years...but I'm glad to be back in a position I can at least build a descent one and have a fun car to enjoy again!

[MR2 33]

Ok so I've started ordering up some of the parts for my new system.

For the HU I decided to go with the:

Clarion NX501 - It had the three main features I wanted. Nav, Bluetooth, and DVD Player. It is also a Double Din which I guess was also one of the main things I wanted.

The Amp:

Draconia-II - After looking over my whole budget and deciding to ditch the idea of a rear stage I choose one of the smaller Zed amps. I'm sure it will still have plenty of power!

The Front Stage:

MBQuart 218.03 SX(these are speakers I had left over from a previous system)

Power:

Kinetik HC 1400R Power Cell - Others recommended XS. Just to let you all know I contacted XS and got 0 reply so I decided to go with KINETIK instead. I've heard they also have some pretty good stuff.

Sub:

This is probably going to sound like a strange choice but I ended up going with the:

Kenwood Excelon XR-W10F Shallow Sub. It's a brand new sub that came out this year. I mainly went with this sub one because it's a shallow and two it required less CF, doesn't require a ton of power to push it, and I was also intrigued by it's features.

Box:

I found a nice lil' 10" Pre Fab Box that had the perfect specs to fit right behind my passengers seat. It's an angled box so it should allow the passenger to be able to run the seat all the way back and even recline it!

So that's basically it for now. I talked to Stephen at Zed Audio today and my Amp is already on it's way!

I also ordered up some non car audio related stuff for the car like some Eibach lowering springs(1.6 drop), shocks and what not. I'm also looking at various staggered wheel sets for it. So once it's all repaired and painted it should look pretty good on the ext. too..! =)

[edouble101 314]

Sounds great MR2. Have fun with your build and start a build log

[MR2 33]

Sounds great MR2. Have fun with your build and start a build log

Cool thx man..! Yes I will...still gotta wait for my car to get out of the shop(s)but meantime I can start laying out the install...and run to the door when UPS comes... =)

I can't hardly believe Summer is almost here...year just flew by..!

[MR2 33]

It's going to be a busy week next week with UPS and FEDEX coming and going. I already got my Sub Box and it looks like it's going to fit in perfectly..!

I stopped my mechanic to find my engine removed and everything in like a million pieces...kinda exciting and kinda...well let's just say I'm going to be really stoked when it's done! =)

Keep ya'll posted on the progress...

[The enD 467]

You never actually posted pictures of the car.

[MR2 33]

You never actually posted pictures of the car.

Here's a shot of it when I got it.

[swagger_wagon468 53]

Wow man. She's a beauty.

[MR2 33]

Wow man. She's a beauty.

Thanks Man..! I see you got a Toyota too...that Rocks..!

Ya I just got a text from my mechanic with a photo of the engine. He's painted the lower block Red. It looks sweet. Sounds like it will be done end of next week. Most if not all of my Stereo should arrive next week. Hopefully I can get started on the build next weekend..!

I'm pretty stoked..!

[swagger_wagon468 53]

Sweet man! Can't wait to see the install come together.

And yes... Toyota FTMFW!

My Camry wagon has 378,000mi ans still kickin.

Dream car in a 97Supra T-top. Oooo man.