Another noob with noob issues.

[Gears 0]

Hey guys, new guy here from Mid MO.  I have always enjoyed car audio, and look forward to learning more.  

I have a 03 Lexus GS300, I am about halfway through a budget build.  I use my car for long trips for work and having good overall sound and being able to go loud and with not terrible quality is my goal.  I am not a SQ guy but I do appreciate quality and balance, but don't mind a good bass thump too time to time.  I am on a hard budget and i will let you know what i have set aside for which part of the upgrade, for the next series of upgrades.  My current setup is as follows.

Kenwood Excelon DDX775BH H/U

Front doors: NVX VSP65KIT (Component w/crossovers, tweeters in the the front door pillar where factory tweeters were)

Rear Speakers:  Nothing, factory mini boxes are there not used, will be removed and replaced with adaptors for 6.5s.  (Looking for recomendations on 6.5's) 

Trunk:  1 JL 12W03-4 in a sealed box.   I have another one of these subs to make a pair in a new box when upgrade happens, wired at 2ohm when time comes.  

AMP: Pioneer GM-D8604 4 channel  It currently is wired as follows.  100w@4ohm to each door component, and 300w@4ohm (bridged) to the JL sub.  

So I am looking to add:

6.5 Speakers for rear doors,  I have looked at things like midbass/midrange.   Mounting depth is a concern I don't want MASSIVE speakers in the doors as I have to add adapter rings.  So a depth of say 2.5" give or take is best.   Also they'll get 100w@4 ohm.  I do listen to everything from rap to metal, and something that may give more crunch to guitars and hi-hats isn't a terrible idea.  Budget here is no more than 100$ for the pair.   I was looking to some JBL's or even maybe a SKAR coaxial set.   I would like to stay away from components sets as I don't want to find another place to hide the tweeter, and the tweeters up front have been tuned down some to make the overall sound warmer (yeah i realize coaxial sets have them, that's fine, I just don't want to find a spot for more tweeters).

Amp:  NVX BDA7501 (750W RMS @ 2Ohm) or Precision Power PPI i650.1 (650 RMS @ 2ohm)  I am trying to stay under 175$ for the amp, it is for the 2 JL 12W03-4's (which are 300W RMS)  I am still debating personally at going with a custom box to fit the area between strut towers or what I want to do there.  Not sure if i want to go ported or sealed on that box.  (That's a personal preference for me I guess and will make my mind up soon).  Any input is good here, I do lean towards the NVX amp, as I think having some headroom is always a good idea, but the footprint of the PPI amp is amazing, super small and would make it easy to hide.

So, onto amp wiring.  I am looking about 1150W RMS total (please correct me if im wrong). Would I be able to get away with a 4gauge setup or should I just go to say 1/0?  I do want to go OFC if possible.  I was looking at ebay and saw a Sky High Car Audio 1/0 OFC Dual amp kit for like 115$ which seems like a screaming deal and would allow me to easily upgrade down the road. 

Is a 1/0 Setup for this overkill? I get mixed answers depending on where I look.

Is welding wire an option, if so, what is good source of it (i have google boxed and found 1/0 for about 2.37/ft)  Thats cheaper but not by much and when you add distribution blocks, lugs, etc it really doesn't seem like i'd be saving much.

Do I need to do the big 3 upgrade for this if I do go 1/0 Gauge?

Also, finally, lol.  Looking for recommendations for sound deadening, I do want to avoid crazy smells if possible, but would like to start that process when I get time.  What do you budget minded guys use?

 

 

[Tirefryr 1,742]

Forget the rear speakers.  You're not sitting in the rear and you don't want to pull the image back, so don't even bother.

I'll start with where I would start.  I would upgrade my wire to the best I could afford.  That would be my first upgrade.  DO the 1/0, and yes, you can and should be using welding cable.  It's just the same, if not better, than car audio cable, but no fancy jacket.  In fact, I'd say it's more durable.  The insulator on welding cable is made to stand up to being constantly dragged across a floor, run over by machinery, and to live in a nasty chemical environment.  It's almost always cheaper, and you'll get a true AWG cable as well. 

As far as the subs, personally, I would keep the one JL and build a vented enclosure for it.  Follow the JL spec box and tweak from there if you want.  If you find that's not enough, then go ahead and add another.  You can tackle the amp conflict at that time.  I will say, the NVX amps are pretty good for their price point.

When it comes to sound deadening, well, that's not something you want to spend your money on in a budget capacity.   There are too many "cheap" alternatives these days, and many of the companies are just buying copies of what has been done right, but they are not the best copy.   Once upon a time, the best course of action was to just cover your vehicle in as much dampener as possible and that was it.  SDS came along and revolutionized the game, and many have copied him, and it has really helped, but you still have "cheap" brands that will stick with the marketing standpoint that they are cheaper so you can use more and more is better.  This just simply is not the case.  I suggest heading over to the Sound Deadener Showdown website while it's still up and getting some knowledge. 

Lexus is very good from a NVH perspective, so you should not need much in the way of noise control.

 

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Welcome to SSA.

[nigel 148]

I would go with the nvx amp over the ppi amp.  The current offerings from ppi aren't overly up to snuff imo.  Nvx would be the better quality option.  And if i remember correctly ssa carries nvx i believe.

 Same as everyone else on the ditch the idea of rears and concentrate up front.  Trust them.  Use your 4 channel all on your front stage.  Should give you lots of overhead.

If you already have the second sub, then build to suit should be nice.