kroqilitant

I recently purchased a 2001 CL Type-S - Silver w/ Ebony interior (no navigation).

For now, the sound of the Bose system is okay..but I have a mind to upgrade maybe in stages.

The first is the Bass? It lacks a bit. I don't want to violate city noise limits, but I want a little more punch.

Bose claims the speaker array is sonically opmtimized for the cabin. I wonder if its all marketing talk. Would some add on subs hurt the overall sound.

This would be the first time attempting something like this... so any advice offered would be appreciated.



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KGB
2001 CL-TypeS Silver Paint/Ebony Leather

Patryn

That would mean most cars are sonically optimised since they have door speakers, A pillar tweets, and rear 6x9's. It's marketing BULLSHIT! Since Bose has no bass, you can't hurt the overall sound by adding some.

kroqilitant

If I were to undertake a sub/amp add-on project myself, how difficult would the installation be? Since i am a rookie at this, where exactly would I interface the new amp/sub. Does it connect directly behind the stock deck in the dash. Can I feed off the rear speaker signal?

Basically, where exactly do the hookups need to be made - for a safe installation that will not void any of my warranties. What areas would I need to disassemble? Where do I need to run the wires?

Any advice is appreciated!

From what I've seen on this forum, you guys/gals definately know your stuff!



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KGB
2001 CL-TypeS Silver Paint/Ebony Leather

Driven

You would tap into the lines to the rear speakers or near the amp which is all in the trunk. The amplifier is hidden behind the carpeted moulding on the right rear of the trunk...just forward of where the jack is mounted.

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Anthony

'01 CL-S black/parchment
spoiler and NAV.

kroqilitant

Excellent 'Driven!'

That's a big relief. Is it fairly easy to remove that right side panel to expose the existing amplifier? Should I add the sub amp to it, or replace the existing amp?

Would the additional amp cause problems elsewhere in the car? For example, I heard alternators can get ruined when using amps with very high capacities. Should I be concerned? Like I said earlier, I will be putting a modest sub in the trunk, just to get that extra bass.

I'm glad the effort will only effect the trunk itself. I would be nervous messing with anything in the cabin.

For the rear speakers... would I run the lines through the sub amp...and from the sub amp, run the lines to the rear speakers?(much like inserting a subwoofer in a home system).

What connections are necessary to install the amp correctly?

Forgive the rookie questions, I'm just trying to get some insight into the magnitude of effort required after I purchase the parts.

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KGB
2001 CL-TypeS Silver Paint/Ebony Leather

Driven

The side panels come out pretty easily: Remove the cargo net anchors by twisting and unscrewing them off.
Remove the floor board.
Remove the screw holding the coat-hanger in the corner.
Remove the black clip-plug nearby the coat-hanger.
Remove the black clip/plug in the front center of the trunk directly behind the rear seats (right below the pass-through).
Remove the 2 black plugs that anchor down the "tool tray" in the rear corner. Remove the tools and you'll see them at the bottom of the tray. Then pull out the tray. Be careful, all these plastic clips/plugs break kind of easy. I used a special clip remover, but you could just use some wide and flat screwdriver. Pry around it firmly but evenly.
Remove the plastic trim plate that surrounds the trunk latch. Do this by removing the 4 screw-like plugs with a flathead screwdriver.

All this unties the right side carpeted panel so you can pull it out. Work the panel around the jack and the rest just follows.

Now you'll find the stock amp mounted behind a frame, forward of where the jack is mounted.

The rest is up to you.

To answer the rest of your questions:
Keep the existing amp. It powers the stock speakers. You're just splicing into the lines to get a signal to your new sub-amp. Leave the system intact. Of course, you're going to have to run a power wire for you new amp. I bet you could just tap into the stock amp's power wire as well, but I'm just afraid the stock power wire is too wimpy to support the demand from both amps. It just depends on how big your new amp is gonna be. I would run a separate power wire from the battery for the new amp. But this could complicate the ease of installation.

The stock alternator should be sufficient unless you're planning to install a pretty big amplifer for that new sub of yours. The alternator gets into trouble when it can't keep up with the drain from your car accesories. It just gets burned out from trying to replace the current that your electrical system drains from the battery. But this shouldn't be a problem unless the new amplifier's AMP rating combined with the rest of your electrical system's AMP draw exceeds the alternator's AMP rating. I haven't checked, but the AMP rating is usually on the alternator.

Again, I have yet to install the stuff I'm getting myself. I'll post what I know as I go. Please keep in mind that Every Car Mfr. states that their warranty is void if you "tap" into or modify, in this case, the electrical system. But the law says that they have to prove it. What that means is, if you modify your stereo system and scew up any part of it, you're on your own! But if your sunroof doesn't open, they have to fix it because it has nothing to do with your stereo. Get it? Good. Just be careful.



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Anthony

'01 CL-S black/parchment
spoiler and NAV.

kroqilitant

Thanks 'Driven'!

I appreciate the guidance. It sounds like a straightforward installation.

Has anyone found the best path to run the amp power cable through the cabin ..and through firewall to the battery?

Is it easy to get under the cabin's carpet.


Secondly, I'm thinking of purchasing a premade box maybe from MTX, or Rockford Fosgate (maybe 10" bandpass or dual 10" bandpass). I saw them in Crutchfield and I like the look (also the economic price!! I'll be on a budget)

Any recommendations on amps? I figure I'll get one no more than 200W.

Should I get one Mono 200W amp (2 ohm) for a 100-300Wrms Subwoofer with 4 ohm impedence.

Help me out here.

Thanks

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KGB
2001 CL-TypeS Silver Paint/Ebony Leather

Stuck'N'SS

Running the powercable is cakewalk. I say 30 - 60 minutes depending how good you are with things like this.

1. There is a rubber gromet on the drivers side near the top of the parking break. It is right under a little flap of insulation. If you look inside the engine compartment on the drivers side near the firewall you will see all the wires going into the cockpit. This is were you will want to put the wire through.

2. I ran 4 gauge and this is how I did it. I took a bic pen( Anything that starts at a point and gets larger will do) and used 3M 33+ electrical tape to attach the 4 Gauge cable to the end of the pen. I think that the 3M 33+ is the stickest and also holds the best. So it is pen-4gauges. This way the hole will slowly get larger to accomodate the wire.

3. Next go from the inside of the car and push the pen through the rubber gromet, push till you can't push anymore. When it is through you should see the pen in the engine compartment.

4. Take a pair of pliers go to the engine area and pull the pen slowly till you pull the amount of wire you want in the enigine area.

5. After you do this you can remove the plastic door sill piece, which just pulls up and then also remove the plastic piece which surrounds the hood lever, there are 2 clips that hold this piece in.

6. After that you can run the wire under the carpet to the rear of the car but there is more to take apart.

7. Remove the rear bottom part of the back seat by just pulling up on it. Becareful not to rip the seat. There are 2 clips holding the seat in one on the left and another on the right. After you pop both sides out the seat can be removed.

8. I removed the 2 screws in the side rear panel. One is under the little plastic piece near the rear handle and the other is just under that area.

9. After I removed those screws I slowly fished the 4 gauge from the door sill through the side panel and then to were the rear seat bottom was. This was a little tedious and you may have to pop one of the clips holding the side panel but that is all.

10. After you get all the wire tucked and taught you will be abe to feed the wire to the trunk near the ski hole. This is the quickest and easiest way to get it to the rear. I used about 21' of wire but have enough left in the truck to place my amps anywhere I want.

11. You can then put your car back together.

Pretty simple if you ask me but then again I used to do this for a living. If you are not keen/don't want to break something, i suggest you have a professional do it.

Driven

StuckNSS, great info. man. This will come in handy when I go to install my amp soon.
BTW, did you run new speaker wire for your system? If so, how hard/easy was that?

kroqilitant, If you're getting a single sub, I'd get a 2ohm sub to squeeze the wattage out of the amp you're using. A bandpass enclosure is the way to go if you're wanting the most boom for the buck.

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Anthony

'01 CL-S black/parchment
spoiler and NAV.

Stuck'N'SS

I just ran the power cable for now. I have 2 McIntosh amps I want to put into the car that are 100X2 each. I have Diamond Audio 6.5 coming to place in the doors and then I don't know what I am going to do for a sub. All the Subs i want demand power, Boston pro's or Diamond Mac Daddy's. As you can tell I'm more about quality then boom.

kroqilitant

Great info guys, Thanks!!!!

Do you think I can run this power cable without causing any future rattles...if I take the time to disassemble and reassemble everything carefully?

It seems that whenever mechanics need to remove paneling, it's never put together tight as it once was.

That's what makes me nervous about having a sub/amp installed by myself or a professional... Am I worrying to much?

As far as subs go, I'm on a budget. What do you think of the premade bandpass boxes by MTX and Rockford Fosgate (probably get dual 10"'s) and the corresponding amps? How are Profile amplifiers?

Or I was thinking of getting a Q-Logic box and putting in 2 Infinity Kappas...

Are their wiring kits on the market that would include everything I need to hook this up?

Thanks!


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KGB
2001 CL-TypeS Silver Paint/Ebony Leather

Stuck'N'SS

The way that I explained it didn't cause anymore rattles in my car. I would say that you only pop about 1 side panel clip. The door sill molding and the piece of plastic by the hood pop went back on nice and snug. The 1 side panel clip that I am talking about is at the bottom of the rear panel. I am sure that you can snake the cable through without popping the clip or unscrewing the rear panel screws but it does make it easier.

SilverKnight

I think Driven is right ... unless you put in 10 amps and 50 subs, then you'll need some performance aftermarket alternator. However, I wouldnt recommend tapping into the speakers signal for the sub. I did it an experience some static from the speakers on big notes of bass. I rebuilt the system using 5 channel amp to add power to existing factory amp and it sounds decent. Check out the template in Car Talk if you wanna see it in details.
Good luck.



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'01 Silver CL-S
Painted Mud Guard
Silver Aluminum Pedals
Customed self-installed sound system with 5-channel Kenwood Amp and 10in. Pioneer sub. in Customed box shined on by Polard M-16 and M-4.
(modified) CAI.
Meshed grill.
My Pride

kroqilitant

When you spliced into your rear speaker signal, did you connect:

stock amp rear signal -to- sub amp- to subwoofer?

Both channels? or just one?

Should I get a 2 channel amp for L & R and feed it to 2 subwoofers in one enclosure?

Did you mate the L & R signals into one mono signal, then feed it into a single channel amp and sub?

Just trying to keep my installation as simple as possible and have the optimal hookup.

Much appreciated!


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KGB
2001 CL-TypeS Silver Paint/Ebony Leather

Stuck'N'SS

I was wondering if anyone knows what the volts are that come off the head-unit? I am sure that there aren't 4 volt preamps but I am at least hoping that they are 2.2 volts. Broke my meter a while ago and never saw the point in getting a new one.

1997Acura30CL

the volts comming out of the stock decks are nothing to brag about... probably lower than a 1/3rd or a volt or so... I am a stereo installer myself, so if anyone has any questions I can probably help out, i've put stereos in everything from brand new CL-S/Tl-s's to ford pick-ups. E-mail me with questions and I will respond as best I can.

kroqilitant, as far as your sub/amp choices go... and judging by what you say you want, just a little extra kick, your not going to need 2 subs... just get one of those Kappa's in a sealed box, a 10" will do just fine with a decent amp... pushing about 400 to 500 watts to it and that is all you will need, the Kappa's are extremely loud and acurate sounding, plus they handle a shit load of power. There is no need to worry about the alternator, i've done much worse in much smaller cars and the alt's hold up just fine. Whatever you do, DO NOT tap off the power line for the stock amp, you'll blow fuses and your amp will not get anywhere near enough power to do anything at all. That maybe understandable if you are just running a very small 4 channel amp for the mids and highs, but never think of doing that with a sub amp.

If anyone has any questions about stereos email me anytime and I can get right back to you with the best advice or help I can give.




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1997 ACURA 3.0 CL PREMIUM

Apex-i cat-back Exhaust, AEM Intake, Clear Bumper Lenses, 18" ADR Cyrax rims, Ground Control Coilovers, Wings West Chin Spoiler, Acura Rear spoiler, Piaa Fog Lights, Tinted Windows, Boston Acoustics tweets, mids and subs.

icy CL

i got a question for you. i will be connecting a sub this week. do i tap into the rear speakers before or after the stock amp.....i mean, do i splice at the inputs to the stock amp or at the outputs...or will it make a difference?

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CL-P....icy white!
moon roof visor
mud guards
genuine acura nose mask
genuine acura burlwood shift knob
polarg m-12 on blinkers
m-4s on internal lamps
m-4 on rear plate lamp
piaa bulbs on road lamps
K&N drop in filter
Catz XLO Driving lights
zaino polish
"i drive it like my grandma....j/k"

Driven

I think what 1997Acura30CL and most others agree on is to tap the factory preamp signal. Despite the signal's very low output this is suppose to ensure the cleanest signal going to your new amp. My question is how do you make RCA connections out of the factory's preamp wires to hook up to any aftermarket amp??

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Anthony

'01 CL-S black/parchment
spoiler and NAV.

Stuck'N'SS

I know that Phoenix Gold use to sell gold plated RCA ends for the do it yourselfer. The stereo shop that I use to go to never used premade RCA's. They found that beldin made real good twisted pair RCA cable. Very flat and they didn't get noise into the wire. The RCA ends were something like $1.50 each and the cable was, I think, $2.00 a foot. Not that cheap but it worked awesome. If you don't want to go that route you can always buy a pair of RCA's thne cut them in half. That way you will have cables for both the front and the back if you want.

After you cut the cable you will notice that another wire is inside the cable. That is usually your positive side or the tip of the RCA and the wire that is surrounding that inside wire is the negative wire or the outer ring on the RCA.

I hope that this helps you out. I have also taken pictures of my door panel removed with pictures of the speaker and iside baskets. I also placed a measure tape to it to show size. If anyone wants them please let me know.

icy CL

can you post them here! i plan on upgrading the entire system, hopefully this week and i'd like to see them. also, how difficult is it to remove the door panels. i guess just remove all the screws and lift up, right? thanks!


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CL-P....icy white!
moon roof visor
mud guards
genuine acura nose mask
genuine acura burlwood shift knob
polarg m-12 on blinkers
m-4s on internal lamps
m-4 on rear plate lamp
piaa bulbs on road lamps
K&N drop in filter
Catz XLO Driving lights
zaino polish
"i drive it like my grandma....j/k"

Stuck'N'SS

Here are a few pictures that I took from when I removed my door panel. I haven't replaced my factory speakers yet because I needed to get the spec first.


This is the speaker height.


This is the width of the basket.


Room left in the basket with factory speaker.


Where the clips are for the door panel. There are also 2 screws that need to be removed.


Tweeter housing.


[This message has been edited by Stuck'N'SS (edited 06-04-2001).]

icy CL

thanks!!!

g

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CL-P....icy white!
moon roof visor
mud guards
genuine acura nose mask
genuine acura burlwood shift knob
polarg m-12 on blinkers
m-4s on internal lamps
m-4 on rear plate lamp
piaa bulbs on road lamps
K&N drop in filter
Catz XLO Driving lights
zaino polish
"i drive it like my grandma....j/k"

kroqilitant

When tapping the rear speakers -

should I tap one channel and link it through the mono amp & sub?

or should I take advantage of both rear channels?

Will I notice much difference in the rear speakers after a sub is installed? Some say the rear's may be a bit strained, but in many instances negligible.

What do you think. I like that the Infinity Perfects can reach bass down to 18Hz. I think I'll stick with that.

What do you think about a Clarus Profile Amp (nice gold & silver to go with that silverish white woofer). Would be a nice sophisticated look.

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KGB
2001 CL-TypeS Silver Paint/Ebony Leather

SilverKnight

IMO, after the stock amp unless you have a powerful amp.
there are pros and cons. before stock amp give you cleaner sound with less noise but you'll have less power.
after stock amp, reverse the above.



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'01 Silver CL-S
Painted Mud Guard
Silver Aluminum Pedals
Customed self-installed sound system with 5-channel Kenwood Amp and 10in. Pioneer sub. in Customized box.
(modified) CAI.
Meshed grill.
My Pride

icy CL

i plan on replacing my front speakers. if the woofers i purchase....most likely with the Infinity Kappa 60.2cs, if these are to deep for the plastic basket, i can go ahead and not install the plastic basket, right. then just get some kind of baffle to protect the speaker from moisture? unless someone can recommend a good set of components that will drop perfectly into the plastic basket and also not interfere with the windows. thanks, again!!

------------------
CL-P....icy white!
moon roof visor
mud guards
genuine acura nose mask
genuine acura burlwood shift knob
polarg m-12 on blinkers
m-4s on internal lamps
m-4 on rear plate lamp
piaa bulbs on road lamps
K&N drop in filter
Catz XLO Driving lights
zaino polish
"i drive it like my grandma....j/k"

Stuck'N'SS

I don't see why not but you will have to make a spacer for the speaker to rest on and also to give you a little more room behind the speaker. I did a measurement of the hole in the door to the window, it is only about 2 1/8" deep so that plastic ring helps move the speaker off the glass a little. Also, from speaking with someone else he stated that he had to make a baffel for behind the speaker so the water doesn't run into the car.

Driven

By keeping the factory bracket, you'll have the spacer that you need. All you have to do is cut out the backing of the bracket to accomodate the Kappa's about a 1/4" extra depth. Installing one of those baffles to protect against weather would help as well, although I haven't tried it with the factory bracket yet. It looks like one of the other guys on another post combined a spacer with the factory bracket (no cutting) to install his. This keeps the backing of the bracket which would protect the speaker.

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Anthony

'01 CL-S black/parchment
spoiler and NAV.

PureSilver

I had my car apart this weekend intending to install new speakers, speaker wires, amps, deck, cd changer, the whole nine.
Problems:

Couldn't find a pass through the fire wall for the power cable.

My 5 1/4" door speakers have a four hole configuration and the stock had three. Plus the magnet may be too deep and could interfere with the window slide. So a mounting piece will need to be made. Any suggestions.

As for running the speaker wire throught the doors I have no clue. I really don't want to have to remove the dashboard. There are way too many bolts.


The 6x9 replacements for the rear cannot be mounted directly to the old mount or the magnet will interfere with the trunk assembly when closing.

As for the speaker covers I had to cut off the excess plastic underneath the grill in order for it to lay flat. Without the stock speaker cover I would lose the stock look and the damn child seat anchors would show.

As for an aftermarket din replacement nothing is available and I went to the trouble to fashion it from wood and will cover with a plastic plate. Way too much trouble. That will have to do until a company gets a clue and manufactures a din replacement. They may as well design it for a double single din to make room for cd and dvd players or use of a digital equalizer, or whatever.

Any suggestions plus pics are a greatly apprectiated.

icy CL

http://www.acura-cl.com/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000094.html



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CL-P....icy white!
moon roof visor: mud guards: genuine acura nose mask: genuine acura burlwood shift knob: polarg m-12 on blinkers: m-4s on internal lamps: m-4 on rear plate lamp: piaa bulbs on road lamps: K&N drop in filter: Catz XLO Driving lights: zaino polish
"i drive it like my grandma....j/k"