Build Me a Budget Car Stereo System

Yeah, I think it's just the power, ground, signal and two RCA cables.

Okay then it’s pretty simple still.

Power to the battery.
Signal to the head unit.
Ground to a good grounding point (depends where you’re installing it)(make sure there isn’t paint where you ground it to)
And the RCA’s go to the head unit too.


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Got one more door to do and then the head unit and sub. The sound mat takes a good bit of time. On my front door I had to fab the stock tweeter bracket to hold my new one. I also had to cut and splice wires for the crossover block, tweeter and woofer. Maybe I'll get it finished tomorrow?IMG_20200222_133830320.jpg
 
Nicely done so far. Not as difficult as it seems right? More time consuming than anything.


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It's not too bad. It's a good thing I don't do this for a living because I would starve! I've got 11 hours in it and only have three doors done!
 
We ended up installing the sub and amp in my sons 4Runner yesterday as he was out of school because of the weather. Next thing for him is going back in and installing sound deadening. There are rattles everywhere.
 
We ended up installing the sub and amp in my sons 4Runner yesterday as he was out of school because of the weather. Next thing for him is going back in and installing sound deadening. There are rattles everywhere.

I figured while I had everything apart I'd go ahead and do the sound deadening. I paid $35 for 18 sq ft. I'll have a good bit left over after doing 4 doors. Installing it is time consuming.
 
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Well, I finally got it done. Got home yesterday around 3 and figured I'd start on the head unit and powered sub. Finished it all up around 1am! Now I just have to learn how to use the damn thing.
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I'm getting some crackling and popping out of both front tweeters when the volume goes above 24-28. Seems to be worse on radio than on streaming. I'm going to have to go back into both front doors to check connections and wiring!
 
Which sub did you go with? How’s it sound?
 
I'm getting some crackling and popping out of both front tweeters when the volume goes above 24-28. Seems to be worse on radio than on streaming. I'm going to have to go back into both front doors to check connections and wiring!

I'd check the connections...but to be honest if I turned my stereo in my car up to 24 we'd be deaf in about half a second. It may just be too loud for those drivers, especially with them being new and not broken in. Every system is different though. My old one 30 was a pretty good volume, 5 was barely loud enough to hear even idling. Just something to think about.
 
I'd check the connections...but to be honest if I turned my stereo in my car up to 24 we'd be deaf in about half a second. It may just be too loud for those drivers, especially with them being new and not broken in. Every system is different though. My old one 30 was a pretty good volume, 5 was barely loud enough to hear even idling. Just something to think about.
I may wait a little while then to see if they get better. I'm pretty sure all my connections are tight. And it does seem like it has gotten a little better since I installed it. So maybe it just needs to break in a little more.
 
Which sub did you go with? How’s it sound?

I got the Sound Ordnance B-8PTD. I just now have gotten around to messing with the settings. I don't think it's going to vibrate the windows or anything but it sounds pretty good.
 
I may wait a little while then to see if they get better. I'm pretty sure all my connections are tight. And it does seem like it has gotten a little better since I installed it. So maybe it just needs to break in a little more.

It's best to go easy on the volume for a little bit, depending on what the speaker cones are made out of and the materials used for the drivers. Especially with the weather and humidity being like a yo-yo lately. When they are given a chance to break in a bit the cones become more flexible and can go louder. I would double check the connections to be safe, and if everything looks good, give it some time and see if it goes away.
 
Well, I got around to all the equalizer and sound settings on the head unit and powered sub. What a difference! The sound is so much better than what I had. I also figured out how to get my Apple work phone to do the Apple Carplay thing and my personal Droid to connect to the Android Auto. The head unit has wireless Android Auto but my phone is a cheapo that doesn't support it. Oh well, it works just fine connected to the USB.
Thanks for all the encouragement to do this myself. I'm really pleased with the results.
 
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