wcbjr Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Since I am too lazy right now to jack up the car and look, is it possible to snake power cable through the frame of the car to avoid having a large bulge in the interior carpet? I forgot what I was supposed to remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest *Jedimaster* Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 No frame. Unibody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 there is plenty of room in the cable channels along each door sill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwiener2 Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Bad idea. You should never run power cables exposed under the car. Basicly asking for a car fire. If you take your time and don't mind pulling off some trim....you could easily hide 4gauge wire if you need anything larger than 4gauge, you're putting in a pretty serious system and you should now what you are doing...one would hope My Mods List (Updated 8/22/17) 2005 Outback FMT Running on Electrons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rao Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 As long as it is fused close to the battery it could be done. Rob IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Bad idea. You should never run power cables exposed under the car. Basicly asking for a car fire. If you take your time and don't mind pulling off some trim....you could easily hide 4gauge wire if you need anything larger than 4gauge, you're putting in a pretty serious system and you should now what you are doing...one would hope never? Umm.....welcome to hi-end 12V. I've run cable under the car more times than I can count. See Rao's comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcbjr Posted January 17, 2006 Author Share Posted January 17, 2006 Bad idea. You should never run power cables exposed under the car. Basicly asking for a car fire. If you take your time and don't mind pulling off some trim....you could easily hide 4gauge wire if you need anything larger than 4gauge, you're putting in a pretty serious system and you should now what you are doing...one would hope I'm not talking about running it exposed, I am talking about running it through the "unibody". I am going with 0/1 awg, so yes, it will bulge if running under the carpet. And yes, as previously stated, if it is fused by the battery then no harm can be done. I've installed about 4-5 systems, so I am familiar with how to do things, I just had a question about running through the unibody, if it could be done. The main thing is looking for any openings in the unibody to snake the cable through. I forgot what I was supposed to remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I ran 2awg down the channels and there was plenty of room. That's your best shot, as it won't bulge the carpet. And, something to remember, if you are running amps that need 0/1, you will be exceeding the stock charging system. Best plan for a rewound alternator or upgraded one and subsequent noise issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcbjr Posted January 17, 2006 Author Share Posted January 17, 2006 I ran 2awg down the channels and there was plenty of room. That's your best shot, as it won't bulge the carpet. And, something to remember, if you are running amps that need 0/1, you will be exceeding the stock charging system. Best plan for a rewound alternator or upgraded one and subsequent noise issues. I am going with 0/1 because I always end up wanting more. I will be running 300W up front with 500W in the rear, for now. Yes, in the future I may want to think about upgrading the battery/alt and adding a cap or two. But I'll be damned if I am going to rewire everything if and when my preferences change. I forgot what I was supposed to remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 FWIW, I added an Optima red top and left the cap out of the system (no room) and I have no issues. 100x4 + 500x1 of real amplifier power. What amps are you planning to use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcbjr Posted January 17, 2006 Author Share Posted January 17, 2006 As of now, still on the fence though, a JL 300/4 and a 500/1. Depends on what pricing I can get. I forgot what I was supposed to remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 oh, 2awg is plenty. I have an amp comparable to the 300/4 and am using the 500/1. Where do you live? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcbjr Posted January 17, 2006 Author Share Posted January 17, 2006 Yeah, I saw you have an MBQuart amp for the front. Never seen one in person. I live in the Dallas / Fort Worth area. Cabling/fans/fan controller have already been ordered and will be here in a couple days. Front stage has been ordered and will be here in a week. Polk db6500 and db650. I will most likely go with the JL PowerWedge 10"x2 2 ohm for the sub. I forgot what I was supposed to remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwiener2 Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 For the level of power you are talking about....you're looking at a 100+ amp fuse. That's still high enough to cause electrical fires, even though it's fused. By the time the fuse blows, the damage is done. I still wouldn't run it under the car....even snaked in the frame. My Mods List (Updated 8/22/17) 2005 Outback FMT Running on Electrons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 no need for a fan and mine's under the floor in the wagon. After an hour of pounding on things, it barely gets warm under there. I have two squirrel fans and a Stinger fan controller sitting in my garage (plus the capacitor) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rao Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 If it can catch fire routed under the car it can catch fire inside of the car. Rob IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiDaddy Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 Since we're sorta on the subject, what is the best cable routing scheme? Power down the drivers side & RCA cables & speaker wires down the passenger side? If I run the RCAs and speaker wires together in the channel will "ordinary" 12 gauge wires pick up crosstalk/interference? Do I really need twisted pairs for the speaker wire? I ask as I'm ordering the JLe6450, 10W1v2 sub/enclosure & Focal 165CV1s today! Need to order wires/dynamat/etc. as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcbjr Posted January 17, 2006 Author Share Posted January 17, 2006 For me it sounds like power under the car by drivers side frame rail, speaker wire down the inside driver's side, rca's down the inside passenger's side. Power for CleanSweep and fan controller run on driver's side alongside the speaker wires. I forgot what I was supposed to remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcbjr Posted January 17, 2006 Author Share Posted January 17, 2006 no need for a fan and mine's under the floor in the wagon. After an hour of pounding on things, it barely gets warm under there. I have two squirrel fans and a Stinger fan controller sitting in my garage (plus the capacitor) I might leave the fans out until it overheats for the first time. It gets really hot here in Texas in the summertime. 110+ deg. I forgot what I was supposed to remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boulderguy Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I scoped out the possibility of running the cable under the car once, it can be done if you punch a hole into the square rail tube for entry & exit. I'm saying this from memory, but I think the rail was 2 inch square, you'll see it if you duck under the car. I don't know the consequences of drilling into it tho. If it were my car, I'd do the 2 awg inside. Either way, with a functioning fuse or breaker, there's no real danger of fire or damage - not sure why that came up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacket4256 Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 I have a question on the same thing. Actually a couple of them. Would I or wouldnt I need to run cap? Where did you guys run the power through the firewall at??? Me and one of my friends were looking today and couldnt really see nething. So if you guys know of a good one please share the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 info is out there for a spot to run the power cable if you go looking for it. Hint: pull the TMIC off and there's a grommet behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcbjr Posted January 17, 2006 Author Share Posted January 17, 2006 Is there still the spot like the Imprezas behind the clutch / brake pedal? I forgot what I was supposed to remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacket4256 Posted January 17, 2006 Share Posted January 17, 2006 is that one of the better spots and cant really look right now its raining hard core up here. I remember the one that was by the brake on my wrx. Just didnt know if the leg was the same . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcbjr Posted January 18, 2006 Author Share Posted January 18, 2006 Ok, for your CleanSweep installs, did you run both F and R speaker level inputs to it? And did you run both RCAs to the amps? I am thinking I could just run the front speaker level input to the CleanSweep, then run the single RCA to the sub amp (JL 500/1), and finally run a pass-through RCA from the sub amp to the main stage amp (300/4). The 300/4 has an option to split the single input to the F and R. I lose fading this way. Or another option is to run all 4 speaker level inputs to the CleanSweep, then run both RCAs to the amps. The front RCA would pass through the sub amp and go in the front RCA on the main stage amp. The rear RCA from the CleanSweep would go directly to the rear of the main stage amp. This would give limited fading capability. Since the front speakers in the main stage will always have the most gain/bias, I would lose no bass when fading. I forgot what I was supposed to remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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