wthalliii

Nice writeup. What speakers did you use and how did you mount them? Somebody already asked, but how do they sound?

Aziraphale

You'll find out when you get the mustang that the gromet that I used is the main firewall gromet. There is not one in the engine bay. As long as you properly protect the wire with a wire loom as seen with mine, you should not have any problems. The wheel well cover does protect that area of the firewall remarkably well. I have also had to drill firewall holes when I did a buddies installation and you're right, leave it to the pro's unless you really know what you are doing. I do feel this is a safe way of doing it and is where most people run the power wires from.


I think the system does sound quite a bit better than stock in terms of bass. It is not going to make the regular speakers sound any better but it definitely solves the 'not enough bass for me' issue. I did also install a cut off switch so that I can still listen to the radio without the trunk subs if I so choose (ie. talkshows in the morning or something).

As for the speakers and how did I mount them, I'm going to assume you mean my subs as I did not replace the factory speakers. I have 2 12w0 JL subs in a box. Right now they are just sitting in the trunk as I'm trying to devise a way to hold them down how I want (upside down and leaning against the seat incline).

07SCGT

I had my stereo professionally done and they used 00 guage which is the size of your thumb. They too did exactly what this tutorial said (which is go through the whell well behind the cover and punch through the main gromet. Yes they too used a wire loom to house the power cable.

Nice write up BTW. If I had more time and energy after working the 60Hours + a week I would have done it myself, I used to love doing this as a kid. Thank god for sabbaticals, mine coming up this year.....

Aziraphale

It is starting to get a bit old, this is the 3rd car I've done it to but I'm still young

157dB

Scotchlocks? Shame on you. And that ground connection
leaves something to be desired. A wood screw into wood?

Aziraphale

I used what screws I had ... and how does the ground leave something to be desired? It is a metal screw holding two metal tabs together that is screwed into wood. When you ground the ground wire to sheetmetal, how is that any different than using a metal tab? The only difference is that I have a wood backing so it holds the screw tighter and the connection tighter than not having anything behind it when you use sheet metal.

For the record, I also used a multimeter to verify that the tab was properly grounded.

It's easy to bash but explain why what I did was wrong. If you have a legit point, I'd love to improve my knowledge and help out the next person.

TacoBill

Excellent write-up my young Apprentice! [8D]

It wasvery well written and all the stepsin logical order. What I try to accomplish in my write-ups is for anyone to view the steps and perform the mod or install. No matter how simple or obvious a step is, I still spell it out, just like what you did on disconnecting the battery.

Again, good job!

157dB

And just how did you use that multimeter to check the ground connection?
With the Ohms setting? Or did you do a voltage drop test from the amp
ground input to the negative post on the battery? I need more info on this
correct way you did things. And using scotchlocks? I am not into bashing.
I recently installed fogs and got it all hooked up OEM. I paid premium
for a "custom harness". It was full of scotchlocks. What a waste of $80.
You can bet there were no scotchlocks when I was done. And I have
the logic like I want it. OEM switch and all. Invest in a good soldering iron
and some heatshrink.
Tape is a no-no in my book.

Stormbringer

I can see where youre coming from on the scotch locks... I dont think it will be a problem on the inside of the car... Ive used them before without any issues. Its when people use them to do things like wiring trailers that they almost always end in a catestrophic failure. Soldering is best, but a good crimped on butt spice usually works pretty well too.

07SCGT

The easiest way beside a multimeter to tell if you have a bad ground is to start the car and drive it around with the speaker volume set to minimum 2-3 on the volume. If you here alternator whine and or your amp constantly cuts out or shuts off, then you have a bad ground. No alternator whine, or cutting outmeans you "most likely" don't have a ground loop failure.