I posted this in the audio forum but got no replies....

My friend is going to be giving me two 12" sony xplods soon. They're already in an enclosure and connected to an amp. Yes I know they such but they're free. I helped him install them in his car a long time ago but we just did it the ghetto way, feeding off one of his door speakers. I currently have the BOSE setup in my 2001 max. I'm going to be taking out the sub to use the hole as a port.
1. Is there a huge sound quality difference between feeding off a speaker and connecting to the HU?
2. If i decide to feed off a speaker, i should be able to do it right off the cables that were plugged into the bose sub right?
3. If i do that, will i need to use a crossover?

thanks for the help

 

bump...


cmon i might be doing this later today and i want to be prepared... nobody knows?

 

Man, u are gonna need the remote wire from the HU for your new amp
anyway- so do it the legit way- get yourself an amplifier kit/
Run your wires-if using stock HU- Get Scosche RCA/Level input adapter
and splice to the rear speakers off the HU- that way ucan fade your subs with your rear doors- I also have a stock HU- Similar set
up on my 2k2 but I have RF Xcomponents in the front/stock rear doors with my Kicker ZR60w/2 MTX 6000A- sound quality
is great- just dont have the built in eq/crossover or other fine tuning devices in astermarket HU - BUT IT BUMPS-believe it

 

get a PAC AOEM-NIS2. It's around $40 at better source audio. It plugs behind your Bose HU. Simple plug and play. It has 2 RCA outputs and a remote wire. very easy. no cutting, no cross overs.

 

You can do it all (minus the constant 12v power, you could but your better off running 8 gauge wire) from the BOSE connector at the amp. I used the rear speaker wires coming from the head unit before they entered the amp. They are thinner than the wires coming from the amp and going to the speakers. It's best to take the signal before the BOSE amp so that it isn't amplified again and further distorted. The attached link was put together by an org member (Studman I think) ( http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/audio.html ). I used it to get my speaker feeds and switched power signals. No $40 adapters, just a box of $2 blue wire splicers from Home Depot. And when I was done it was clean and the wires were tucked up out of the way. Also, doing it this way you don't have to pull the dash apart to get to the head unit and then pull the passenger side trim off.

Rear Driver Side (+) --> Brown
Rear Driver Side (-) --> Black with Red Stripe
Rear Passenger Side (+) --> Blue
Rear Passenger Side (-) --> Black with White Stripe
Amp On/Off --> Green with White Stipe

Don't take your speaker signal from the BOSE sub output, take it from the rear speakers. The BOSE amp "equalizes" the signal and is part of the whole problem with the stock system.

If the amp doesn't have a crossover, you'll need to get one. Otherwise you'll be passing all of the frequencies though the subs, and that will sound like crap (plus it won't hit as hard). This link ( http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...0&I=489QX8++++ ) is a decent sub crossover. It's not the greatest thing in the world, but it ain't bad either. BUt I can't believe your buddy wasn't crossing it over.

One other hint, run through the drivers side fender. You can easily remove the plastic fender well liner from the outside of the car. You'll see how Nissan ran the wires in. Then I sent the power though the firewall with the hood release cable. All in all it was very easy and took about 2hrs to do it and do it right.

Good Luck

 

the amp does have a crossover. You think it will be that bad if i take the signal from the bose sub output? that would be easiest and i dont really want to spend any money for this.

 

Taking the signal after the amp, in my opinion, is the worst place you can take it from. It's not gonna cost you any more money to take the signal just before it enters the amp (well the 2 bucks for the splicers). By taking the signal from the Bose sub output you are taking a signal that has been amplified once and then crossedover by the Bose amp. Have you ever noticed how the Bose sub misses some frequencies but hits others ok? I don't know if it's the sub or the "equalization" by the amp, but by taking the signal before the amp you stop any chance of it happening. My sub is now strong and clear though the entire range of volume.

Trust me dude, take the signal before the amp. All of the wires are in the same place, so it's just which one you select.

 

Ok, I finally got around to doing this but it turned out to be harder than i thought. Here were some of my problems...

Finding a hole into the engine bay for the power cord was near impossible... i ended up doing it extremely ghetto just for now.
Swallac, do you have pics or can you give a better description from this pic?

Here's some pics of what it looks like right now.



Getting a signal from one of the other speakers was a little difficult too. I used that link to get the rear passenger side wires (blue and black w/ white stripe) and the amp on/off wire (green w/ white stripe) I tapped these wires right off the plug going into the BOSE amp. Now that i think about it... I didnt see another set of wires coming from the amp... shouldnt there be some going in and some going out? I tapped the signal before it got equalized by the amp right? Here's a pic. Dont laugh at how ghetto it is.

It sounds like the subs are playing all frequencies, not just the bass...although i think it's crossed over on the amp... I'll have a pic of the back of the amp tomorrow so you can see how it's wired.

One last question.. do you think the box will move around at all?


Thank you very much for all the help.

 

bump :attention

 

YOU KNOW, IF THE INSULATION OF THE POWER WIRE GETS CUT AND IT GROUNDS TO THE CAR YOU WILL BE SPARKING. WHAT I DID I USED A UNI-BIT TO MAKE A HOLE ON THE FIREWALL. ITS A PAIN BUT A LOT SAFER AND BETTER LOOKING.

 

Wow dude, thats freakin dangerous!!! Maxy03 is right, if that sucker grounds your F'd. First thing's first, go get a barrel fuse holder and put it between the battery and the amp (the closer to the battery the better, somewhere in the engine bay).

Secondly, I don't have any pics but it's easy to route the wire. In the driver's side wheel well (outside of the car) you will find fasteners that keep the inner fender attached to the car. Those fasteners have a center that pops out and the loosens the fastener. When you see it, it will make sense. You will also have to remove the mudflap because it holds one of the tapes. There are like 8 fasteners and two or three screws. You don't have to take the inner fender completely out, you only have to be able to move it down. Once you have it down you will see flexloom (black tube). If you look to your left you will see a port hole into the engine bay. This is where you want to route the wire. To get it through the firewall look right at the rubber booty thagt is about 1 1/2 inch around. You will also want to look at it from the inside of the car. You will need to remove the plastic interior trim that is to the left of your left foot while you are driving. It will make it easier to see. Follow the hood release cable to the rubber booty at the firewall. It will take a little bit of work to force your cable through that booty. I used a screw driver to open it up a bit.

ALSO...DISCONNECT THAT POWER WIRE BEFOREDOING ANYTHING!!!

As for the crossover, did you enable it? They usually have switches and adjustments that you may have to work with.

Good luck
Steve

 

Take your car to Best Buy RIGHT NOW!! You can short out your entire car if that wire gets cut. No offense, but you clearly have absolutely no idea what you are doing.

The fender is in the wheel well. You need to remove it in order to run the wire. Even if you do manage to remove it, you still have to poke it through where the rest of the wires are. Use a straightened coat hanger to poke through and duct tape the wire to the hanger.

Seriously though, shell out the $40 for an amp install before you kill your car. You have managed to do everything wrong thus far.

 

Just drill a hole in the firewall, its not too hard.

 

Like i said, the setup was temporary. Anyway today i fixed almost everything. The only problems now are the sound quality and the insane rattle.

here are the updated pics:




And here's the back of the amp... sorry for the bad pic.. but if you see something that might be causing the bad quality let me know.

 

i ran my wire throught the hole that is already in the passanger side fire wall, the wire will fit!

 

Wow dude. After hearing some of your install stories I'd think you might have some compassion for a guy trying something for the first time. He didn't almost cut his finger off cleaning his wheels or almost decapitate a significant other with a nitrous bottle in a bathtub of ice. Give the guy a break.

 

lol... this thread is 2 months old. Anyway my wiring is much cleaner now. Thanks though zogg