Drawing big power with only 13volts

Discussion in 'Car Stereo Amplifiers' started by 1Bad4Dr, Jul 1, 2008.

  1. 1Bad4Dr

    1Bad4Dr Full Member

    Howdy Folks. Newb here. I was having some problems and wanted some input.

    Starting out with what I have.

    US Acoustic 125 x 4
    running polk components in front and 6x9s rear
    Us Acoustic D-1000
    pushing mtx 9500 15 @ 2ohms



    I've got a car that the charging system runs at 13 volts and is pcm regulated so i cant control it. I've had problems with my door and deck speakers laying down and just not sounding good. I did the major 3 using 4 gauge and those speakers sound alot better. Now my sub is still not hitting hard. I've used this to amp to kill 3 jl w6's before at 1 ohm. The new sub im trying to run at 2 ohms. Im trying to figure out if the sub isnt hitting hard because the amp isnt strong enough or because the voltage is dropping to low. I hear alot of people say no to cap's but no one can tell me why they're so bad.
    Thanks for any input
     
  2. pedro quiroga

    pedro quiroga Well-Known Member

    it could be the enclosure the sub is in.i had one built for some 12's,but it doesnt hit the deeep notes. can you post some pics?we all like pics.

    oh and welcome to the site.
     
  3. 1Bad4Dr

    1Bad4Dr Full Member

    thanks man...I've got a bud with a camera i'll try to get some up. It was a premade internet box. Suppose to be 2cuft. which does seem a little small. i dont know if i could put a bigger box in it unless i build it inside of it.
     
  4. 1Bad4Dr

    1Bad4Dr Full Member

    I've got the same head unit , pedro. I really like it
     
  5. cccullen

    cccullen Full Member

    Welcome!!!

    the only prefab boxes I know that are really worth a crap are probox. pedro has one and he loves it. you should try making your own box. some of the guys here design boxes, you may want to give it a shot?
     
  6. 1Bad4Dr

    1Bad4Dr Full Member

    i've built one before that sounded pretty good but it was just a "this looks like a good size" type a deal. I dont know the specifics of how build one to get the best sound out of it. I tend to listen to alot rock and i dont know how important that is in building a box. Some people say sealed is the only way to get that nice crisp beat.

    But you guys believe my box is just too small then?
     
  7. pedro quiroga

    pedro quiroga Well-Known Member

    it rocks. in comps i can turn all the mids/highs all the way down as not to damage them.
    [​IMG]
     
  8. 1Bad4Dr

    1Bad4Dr Full Member

    could a Autotek SS1900.1D kick the snot out of this at 2ohms?
     
  9. pedro quiroga

    pedro quiroga Well-Known Member

    is that 1900 watts? then hell yes!:cool:
     
  10. electrolytic

    electrolytic Full Member

    Welcome ! Can i ask why your car runs at 13 volts? seems low to me, you should be getting 13.6v to 14.5v with the car idling.
     
  11. jonnyv713

    jonnyv713 The Young Gun of CAT

    my guess is that it is rgulated, like he said, to avoid voltage spikes causing damage to stock components. But, that is just a guess.
     
  12. 1Bad4Dr

    1Bad4Dr Full Member

    yep 13.0 volts. regulated by the pcm...Thats what i believe to be the problem...Drove around alot today and my door speakers started to lay down again...Im thinking its almost undeniably a voltage problem. The question is how to fix it?
     
  13. pedro quiroga

    pedro quiroga Well-Known Member

    what kind of car is it? also what do you mean by lay down?

    maybe its a bad voltage regulator?
     
  14. 1Bad4Dr

    1Bad4Dr Full Member

    Dodge SRT4... The speakers start getting distorted and become quieter. All of these cars run the same voltage so it isnt just my car.
     
  15. electrolytic

    electrolytic Full Member

    13.0 volts is ok was just wondering, might cost you a little power but i wouldn't worry about that. Your probably overdriving your fronts, when they get distorted you won't gain any more bass, there's actually more bass just below distortion. Maybe a high pass crossover will fix it.
     
  16. 1Bad4Dr

    1Bad4Dr Full Member

    Im running a crossover. Does it with and without it. The gain is up maybe a quarter of the way so i couldnt imagine sending them too much power.
     
  17. 1Bad4Dr

    1Bad4Dr Full Member

    back before i rewired the alt. They would lay down with the gain bottomed out at zero.
     
  18. pedro quiroga

    pedro quiroga Well-Known Member

    what is you crossover set to?
     
  19. pedro quiroga

    pedro quiroga Well-Known Member

    you have the same head as mine right. then which crossover are you useing? the amps' or the heads'?

    and how is you eq set?
     
  20. 1Bad4Dr

    1Bad4Dr Full Member

    I've got a seperate crossover inbetween the amp and the head unit..running it at about 50..i've got the high passes set to pass and a small amount of adj in the eq on the headunit... I just built a new box and it hits harder but not what it should. I used one of those calculators that was posted on here. It said it was tuned to 30hz. I just put the demensions i knew would fit in the car. I dont know. I have way to much $$ in this thing to sound like crap.