Streetslappah

Hi guys, i've searched in the FAQ's in the audio section but the LOC is confusing me. I'm installing an aftermarket system in my car which is an 04 rx8 with the bose system. I do have an aftermarket stereo i will be puting and as well as a subwoofer amp on a 10" woofer. What is confusing me is the rca to speaker wire on the stereo? Do i have to do this and if so there is the rca from front and rear left and right but on the speaker harness there is two pairs of front and two rear pairs which creates 8 wires how do i connect 8 wires to 4 wires from the spliced rca's? Also i read that the bose has a pink and white wire which is hot while on so i dont have to run a remote wire from the frot to the back and could connect a short piece from the bose amp to the sub amp?

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

If you are installing an aftermarket headunit (CD player, MP3 player, etc), then you do not need to worry about the LOC. If you've purchased any headunit worth a damn, it should provide you with an RCA output or two. Run the RCAs to the rear of the car and connect them to your amp. And since you'll already be running RCAs, there's no reason not to run the real remote turn-on wire along with them.

Streetslappah

Yea it is a double din jvc so i will run a remote wire along with it. So as for the wires behind the stereo it will pretty much all be plug and play? No rca's to the door speakers? Getting through the firewall is going to be tough two runs of 0 gauge knu koncepts wiring, 10" dc lvl4 M2, and a jl 1000/1v2 is going in

Streetslappah

Also i understand that i need to run a set of rca's to the back but im confused in the part of buying the rca to speaker wite adapter and the whole process of connceting that, or is it just for the LOC?

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

Ahhh your asking about the RCA-speaker wire adapters. Not a LOC. First, you don't need a LOC, so forget they even exist.

As for wiring in your headunit to the Bose system, several people have reported (and I've experienced similar results in similar situations) extremely high volume outputs with the headunit volume level set very low. Your factory headunit has a VERY weak amplifier in it. Maybe only a couple watts. The signal is then sent to the Bose amp to be amplified and sent out to the speakers. But when you install an aftermarket headunit that outputs ~22WRMS, the Bose amp amplifies it yet again which leads to very high volumes/speaker distortion. To counter this, we use the low-level RCA outputs from the aftermarket headunit. You can buy the ready-made adapter wires if you want/can find them. But you can also buy the shortest set of RCAs you can find, then cut it directly in half. Each RCA plug is one channel. Strip the insulation back and you'll have adapters for all 4 speaker inputs. Wire this to the speaker wire inputs on the Metra kit. No RCAs need to be run to the front door speakers. Pretty sure this is all discussed in the FAQ.

On that note, the Metra kit is very much NOT plug and play. There's a decent amount of soldering that needs to be done. If you want to go ghetto, you can crimp or twist the wires together. But this isn't a 10 year old Honda Civic. This is your baby. Do it some justice and do the work right the first time.

And why on god's green earth would you need two runs of 1/0awg through the firewall? Surely not for a single 1000/1...

Atilla

iTrader: (1)

^+1 on the bolded. I learned my lesson about ghetto rigs - all it takes is one loose or exposed wire to touch ground n' poof! you lose all of your audio n' then you gotta pull out that spaghetti factory of wires behind the metra kit n' start testing every...single...one.

also, +1 on not running a zero gauge. That's overkill. I'm running an 8 gauge n' even that was a bit much to get through the firewall.

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

Actually he said two runs of 0awg.

Atilla

iTrader: (1)

yikes...

Streetslappah

Thanks guys i understand now. Since the metra kit requires alot of soldering which i have no expierence in i will most likely take it to a shop so it can be done right. Reason i have to runs of 0 gauge was because i is eto run a power and ground of 0gauge fon frint to back in my celica i use to run a sundown 3500 and had 2 dc 12" XLs i metered 147.2 db's sealed at a comp but this car has such a tiny trunk i couldnt go bigger but thanks for all the input but if i were to take it to best buy or another shop would they know about the howthe rca and the bose amp work?

firebirdude

iTrader: (3)

Yes they should. If they don't, then don't take your car there. They're not competent enough/don't have the experience you want. I'd even ask them if they've done a headunit install in an RX8 before. As far as headunit installs go, it doesn't get much worse than an RX8.

There's ZERO reason to run your ground all the way back up to the battery. We've had a small amount of talk on here about people doing it to help prevent ground loops/noise in their systems. But not only have we had 100's of people on here ground in the trunk with zero ill-effects (myself included), you're not even installing a 4-channel amp for your cabin speakers. It's just a sub amp. If on the off chance you were to get some induced whining noise, the LP crossover would cut it out. I can't tell you how many systems I've installed and grounded the amp in the trunk. Well into 4-figures. It's your car, but you're wasting your time, effort and money.

Atilla

iTrader: (1)

imo, i've heard too many horror stories about botched audio installs in my area (Socal). Even tho it's not very complicated, people are lazy n' sometimes neglect small things that can turn into big problems. I just read Firebird's audio write up like 5 billion times n' finally gave it a shot w/my zero experience n' it turned out pretty well (even tho i had to eff up something in order to fix it all over again )

Your call though...you might get lucky w/an audio shop n' have somebody that's actually certified.

Streetslappah

Yea i understand firebirdude ill just run one wire and keep a short piece for a good ground or i might sell it and buy a 4 gauge kit but with the 0 it gives me room for upgrades but ill think about it. I'd say you are definatley right ive done a couple of installs and this one is kind of mind blowing lol it seems mazda did mot want people to upgrade their audioz ha atilla i know right i kept re-reading it and i lm still nervous about doing it myself. Ill call around and see how much if its too mch to get it professional installed ill just have to do it carefully myself thanks alot guys!

Atilla

iTrader: (1)

wait...all you're doing is running a sub amp n' installing a metra kit? and you're on the west coast? If you're local i might be able to help a lil or give some insight if you'd like.

Streetslappah

Atilla. Yes thats all im doing metra kit and after market stereo with amp and sub. Im located in Reno, NV not sure what state your in?

Atilla

iTrader: (1)

oh snap! that's only like..............................8 hours away...





i'm out in socal

Streetslappah

Ha itll be a bit far lol its fine thanks for the info bro ill be calling up shops tomorrow and ill go from there

Junirol

iTrader: (24)

Holla if you need advice, I'm MECP certified, and I've gutted our car before and changed out my whole system. Many shop turn away rx8, because of damage claims and fear of "I've never done one before," I understand the rx8 isn't the easiest car to work on. Not like a ford ranger, where literally take like 10 secs to pull out the stock radio.

4 gauge should suffice, 0 gauge is overkill. If you are running a 4 channel amp, make sure you don't run power wire with the RCA, it will induce power through them and you will hear alternator wine. Also its good to ground the radio on the same ground as the amp, also helps with the wine/noise. If your just running an mono amp, you can run rca with power shouldn't matter. I recommend getting best buy to do it, they have insurance and they provide lifetime warranty on installs, if **** goes wrong they pay for it and can diagnose and put stock radio back in later down the road.

Streetslappah

Thanks alot man i will be calling best buy tomorrow there is like 3 best buys around here hopefully one can get the job done right

Warrior777

iTrader: (11)

Hello just finished installing the AVH-P4400BH and i used the RCA to connect the metra to the rca inputs of the stereo and im getting some weird stuff. My volume shuts off when i drive and comes back one when i stop. I want to make sure i wired my rca's correctly. What i did was connect the pistive to the center wire in the rca plug and the negative to the wired wraped around the center wire of the rca plug. So i had a total of four plugs, two for the left and two for the right, front and rear respectively. Is that correct? I also grouned my gronds to the chasis under the ash tray. Do i need to run RCA's to the amp? Has anyone ever experienced the same problem that im having with volume cutting off during driving and returning when stopped?