start of newbie info thread

[PaulD]

please make comments for additional info, corrections, mistakes, etc ...

This is a thread to look thru before you ask a question. Most of the regulars in here love car stereo and would like to help you but you need to help us out by at least skimming thru the info below.

First and foremost, be sure to mention all of the relevant data, ie amp, speaker, car, etc ..

At the end of the thread is a list of manufacturers and a general ranking, please use it as it is intended - a guide.

To answer the age old question, there is no "best" brand or setup. Everything has compromises, sometimes it's a very high price.

Many things you do in car stereo will be a LOT easier if you buy a Digital multimeter - you can get one at walmart for less then $20



Power Distribution:

Alternators - if you're system draws less than 1000 watts RMS, you probably don't need an uprade; if you are between 1000 and 1500, you may need one - depends on the draw; 1500+ you most likely need another alternator

Batteries - the alternator supplies ALL the power for the car once the car is started, so a bigger battery may not help unless you play the stereo with the car off a lot
Multiple batteries will increase car off listening time but will be an a LOAD on the alternator once the car is started.

Capacitors - They help in some cases and do nothing in others. They are NOT a solution for an underpowered alternator. Do not use ones with voltmeters on the top, their high ESL will render them useless

Big 3 - This entails replacing 3 wires under the hood with bigger ones
Battery ground to chassis
Battery ground to engine block
Battery positive to alternator (careful - often times it is routed thru the under hood fuse block)



What to do when my stuff doesn't work or work properly:

Head unit doesn't turn on - check fuses supplied with unit, check fuses under the dash, check fuses under the hood
Head unit doesn't retain memory - there is a power wire that connects to constant 12 volts and one that connests to a source that only gets 12 volts when the car is on - make sure they are wired properly
Amp red light comes on - 3 things cause an amp to go into protection mode 1) overcurrent - the amps power wire is shorted or the amp is fried 2) thermal - will go off when the amp cools down 3) Short circuit - the load on the output is too (low); see the JL audio tutortial on wiring


General discussion of box types

Sealed (first order)

relatively inefficient
good overall sound
good transient response
no "tuning" necessary (see below)
very easy box to make

Ported (third order)

more efficient than sealed (above it's tuning frequency)
good sound if box designed properly
average transient response
box size and port size/length must be tuned fairly close
requires decent woodworking skills
requires uses of subsonic filter below ported frequncy

bandpass (fifth or seventh order)

very efficient in the bandpass
pretty much requires a midbass driver
poor transient responxe
can be very difficult to build and tune
since the sub(s) do not play into the air at all (only thru ports) they are easier to blow because you cannot hear them stressing.





Below is a suggested list of websites for info

http://www.bcae1.com/
http://www.jlaudio.com/tutorials/


LIST OF BRAND RANKINGS TO GO HERE

[Diceman83]

NOT RECOMMENDED:
-------------------------------------------
Boss
DHD
Dual
Jensen
Legacy
Optimus (Radio Shack)
Lightning Audio (lower end models)
Pyle
Pyramid
Sony
Soundstorm
Thump
Verge
Volfenhag


AVERAGE:
-------------------------------------------
Bazooka
X-site
MA Audio Visonik Cliff Designs (Anaba Group) (Execpt for high end amps)
Low end Alpine
Kenwood
Lightning Audio (high end)
Pioneer (minus high end head units and premier series)
Lanzar
Audiobahn
Crunch
MTX (minus amps)
Panasonic
Rockford Fosgate
Blaupunkt
Kicker (subs)
Alpine (low end subs and speakers)
Polk
Audiopipe
Concept
Cerwin Vega
Infinity
Alphasonik
Digital Audio
JVC


GOOD:
-------------------------------------------
Autotek
Hifonics (for the price)
MTX (amps)
Profile (price is AWESOME)
Pioneer premier and high end HU’s
Ma Audio, Visonik, and Cliff Designs high end amps (especially for SPL applications)
Phoenix Gold
Directed
Orion
PPI
Viper
Alpine (higher end subs and speakers, lower end head units)
Kicker amps
Avionixx
Alumapro
Audiomobile
Boston
Clarion
Crystal
Crossfire
Earthquake
JBL
Memphis
Soundstream
MB Quart


HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:
-------------------------------------------
Alpine (higher model head units)
Cadence
Eclipse
JL Audio
Elemental Designs
Helix
a/d/s
Adire Audio
Arc Audio
Brax
CDT
Diamond
DD
Focal
Image Dynamics
Kove (borderline good/highly recommended)
McIntosh
MMATS
Morel
OZ Audio
PPI (old stuff before they were directed)
RE Audio (resonant engineering)
US Amps
Zapco
Linear Power
Incriminator Audio
Ascendant Audio
Stereo Integrity
Sound Splinter
Audioque
Xtant
Tru Technology
TC Sounds
Rainbow


BOLD means that this is a brand we talk good of frequently on this board and is within most people's price range. A lot of these products will be recommended.

[mike5721947]

what about koss? and blaupunkt?

[Diceman83]

Here's another little write up I did, I'll edit it as needed, but please tell me what to change in a PM. I think we'd like to keep this thread as comment free as possible.

I would highly recommend this order for buying your system in, if you do it a part at a time:

• Head unit (get the one you want first, so you don't have to upgrade later)
• Good set of components for up front (CDTs, or Focals or something really nice)
• A 4 channel amp, something bridgable to around 500 watts RMS at 2 ohms (1 ohm stable is a bonus), with 75 to 100 watts per channel
• Wiring. You might as well start out with at least 4 gauge or even 1/0 gauge, just so you don't have to worry about replacing it in the future.
• The sub you really want the first time. You've done all your research, you've asked on 5 different forums what people like, and decided. Now shop around and find a good deal on one, and buy it!
• The enclosure... build it yourself! Lots of people on these forums will design one for $10 to $15, and all you need is some MDF, a saw, glue and some carpet to save 50 to 100 bucks.
• Rear fill coaxial speakers (don't have to be the best, just something that sounds decent)
• Sound deaden your doors and trunk. I'm using truck bedliner; spray in the doors, and roll on in the trunk. Dynamat or peel&seal work as well.
• At this point you've got a pretty complete system. The rest is upgrades to existing parts.
• A dedicated D-class amp for your sub. This will power it far more efficiently than the 4 channel, and let you power the rear speakers with the 4 channel. This may require you to upgrade your...
• Car electrical system: Replace the wires that connect the engine block, alternator and chassis to your battery. This is called the Big Three
• Next is the battery. Most people get an Optima Yellow top.
• The alternator is the main source of electricity, and when you start getting up to 1500 watts of power, it starts to strain the stock alternator. Other people know a lot more than I do, so they'll have to contribute.
• Last is a second battery in the trunk. Notice I did not include a capacitor in this list. Caps are only useful for stabalizing a really strong electrical system (for say strong, short higher freqency things like a snare drum hit).
• Last thing to do is get more subs, and build bigger enclosures to house them. There's an effect that boosts SPL when you have multiple subs.

I don't claim to have a complete list here, so feel free to send me a PM add to it. This has been mostly my experience thus far in this art.

Enjoy!

[Diceman83]

This is a write-up I did on SiN for a guy that had a budget of $1000. NG thought it was pretty good, so I thought I'd post it here.

Front: (~ $170 - $250)
You want something really nice, usually a 6.5" component set. If you can fiberglass or build some kick panels, or mount them in the doors on an MDF baffle, it's better than sticking them in the stock mounts. You should also look for a really good crossover (either active or passive --- active gives you much more control, but requires more amps). Brands to look for are CDT (Don at Island Sound (islandsound1@yahoo.com) has some really good deals, look for the EF series), Resonent Engineering (for both components and subs... the XXX line are some of the best out there - you'll have to call for prices), or Focal.

Rear: ($60)
Some inexpensive 6.5" coaxials will do the trick. Pioneer, CDT, whatever. NOT Audiospawn (=audiobaun).

Amp(s): (~ $200 - $400)
You got some choices here. First of all, you really won't be happy with the sound coming from your components unless you amp them. You can either buy seperate amps for sub and speakers, which many people do because of the bling in your trunk (I mean, 2 or 3 amps does look pretty impressive), or a single 5 or 6 channel amp that powers everything. I don't think an active crossover is in your price range just yet, so I won't worry about it for now. I've got a DEI 1100d5 5 channel amp, that puts out around 1100 watts, ~ 75 on 4 channels for the speakers, and 600 at 1 ohm for the sub. I'm not touting Directed, I'm just going to try it out. Hifonics makes some really good amps, PPI is a good brand, Pheonix Gold amps are really good, and Profile makes some nice ones for the money. Depends on how much power you want.

Sub(s) ($200 - $400)
Again, you've got more options, depending on the kind of output you want. I'm not the expert on this, but I'll do my best. I'll save the enclosure suggestions for the next topic. If you want SPL (just getting loud), go for some Audiobauns... they're gonna sound like crap, but definately be loud. If you want SQ, You can do multiple smaller subs, or a good large sub. Brands to go for are RE (the SE and SX series are good for SQ, the XXX is good for SQL, and the MTs are SPL), Ascendant Audio (Atlas = $150ish, Avalanche = ~$350 both mostly SQ, with the Ava being more SQL), Incriminator Audio (get very loud, ask NGSM13 for a dealer's contact info), and Adire Audio (Brahmas are reputed to be some of the best SQ subs out there, and their other lines are very good as well). Sorry if I missed any, or got info wrong, but I'm pretty sure it's right.

Enclosure: (~$50)
You're probably best off to build it yourself. Most people on the forum here can design one for you for 10 bucks, or you can get a program like BassBox 6 Pro and come up with a design yourself. Buy the 3/4" MDF at Home Depot (or where ever), some wood glue, some silicone or thicker consistancy glue for sealing it (and the carpet), carpetting (walmart - $7 a roll, in the auto section, near floor mats), and a plate connector (for getting wires into the enclosure).
There's always been debates about whether to go sealed or ported, and most decide to go ported, because they like the extra output in the lower frequencies. I'm sure you can find all sorts of debates on this forum and others on the net about this issue. Sealed is probably a good one to start with, because it's easier to do, and harder to fry your sub with. For a 15 inch sub, you'll probably need around 2.5 cubes - 3.5 cubes (cube = cubic foot, aka ft^3). For ported you'll need around 4 cubes to 6 cubes. A 12" sub needs around 3 cubes ported, and a 10 can live with 2.5 cubes.

Wiring: ($30 to $50)
You don't have to do anything fancy here. If you're under 1000 watts, you'll probably just need 4 gauge wire for power, and 12-14 gauge wire for the speakers. Knu Konceptz has some really good deals on twisted pair RCA cables that work wonderfully, and are really fairly cheap. Ebay is a good place to get wire kits as well.

Electrical Upgrades: (~$250)
I don't have much experience here, because my car came with a pretty decent setup. Ok, what I've learned so far is that most people upgrade the big three wires first (the power and ground wires between the alternator and the battery, and the ground to the chassis and the ground to the engine block), then replace the battery (usually with an Optima Yellow Top or a deepcycle of some sort), and finally a new high output alternator. Like I said in the previous post, I don't know too much about it, but this is what people usually do.

OK, I'm sure I missed some stuff, but those are the basics. Good luck!

[skeavs]

"You got some choices here. First of all, you really won't be happy with the sound coming from your components unless you amp them. You can either buy seperate amps for sub and speakers, which many people do because of the bling in your trunk (I mean, 2 or 3 amps does look pretty impressive), or a single 5 or 6 channel amp that powers everything. I don't think an active crossover is in your price range just yet, so I won't worry about it for now. I've got a DEI 1100d5 5 channel amp, that puts out around 1100 watts, ~ 75 on 4 channels for the speakers, and 600 at 1 ohm for the sub. I'm not touting Directed, I'm just going to try it out. Hifonics makes some really good amps, PPI is a good brand, Pheonix Gold amps are really good, and Profile makes some nice ones for the money. Depends on how much power you want. "


I just bought components and your saying if i want better sound i should amp them?

[vinnym86]

BOX BUILDING

I thought i'd post this site on the forum opener:
http://www.audiogrid.com/audio/

It has some simple java calculators and such, but a nice list of freeware programs that you could use for DIY projects.

[IcESouL]

Info on Capacitors
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=501886
What I gather from this thread don't get one, but if you want read on and decide for yourself

[CBFryman]

Well im bored so i decided to do a write up.

Makeing A Professional Enclosure With Professional Results

If you want professional results but dont have the money to have a profesional build your enclosure or you dont want to hand your outcome to some half asses local dealer there are a few things you can do about it.

Assuming you have basic motor skills and some sort of wood working skills it is quite easy to come out with profesional results but there are a few things you will need.

-A Good Design

Design is first on the list. If the design is horrible the sound will be horrible and you will be dissatisfied. Great you can cut the wood and glue it. But all that doesnt matter if you arent even doing 135 on the AC with a single 15 in a hatch. Every joe shmo on the internet thinks he can design an enclosure for you, 3 out of 5 times he cant. a few things to look for are
-Bracing, if the design doesnt include bracing or doesnt include exctra gross space for bracing he/she doesnt know WTF they are doing. Bracing is important if the enclosure is of any decent size, even with small/weak drivers.
-Use of 3/4" MDF, this should be a given.
-Proper port area or Transmission Line crossectional area. Port area rule of thumb is 10sqin per cuft with round ports and 12-16 for slot ports. flared round ports have a little gimme space. Transmission line (aka Snail shell and 1/4 wave length enclosres) cross sectional area whould taper down to a final area equal or with in 10% of driver Sd. Sd can be found in the drivers T/S parameters.
-Length of ports is important. i know its sort of a given but download WinISD and see how long a port should be.
-Make sure they arent drawn in paint. a simple cad program at LEAST.

-Wood Skills
(you know how to handle your wood)

A problem i see with newbies including myself when i was a newbie was not accounting for blade with when cutting the wood.
Other than that not cutting straight is usually the culprit for bad outcome, lay off the coffe or meth or w/e you are doing and concentrate. Invest in a 4ft level and a good sized square, you'll thank yourself later. Drill and countersink your screw heads, even if you are carpeting.

Remember to glue and screw, if you have acess to lots of clamps of all shapes and sizes screws arent needed if you know what you are doing. I still reccomend them though, Go ahead and leave them in, they arent hurting anything. Rule of thumb is no closer than 4" from any corner unless you must and a screw every 2-5" apart, closer and more consistant being better of course.

-Bondo

I reccomend you bondo even if you plan on carpeting. Smooth every seam and fill every screw hole. I reccomend you round corners and edges and make it a paintable surface. clean it well with acetone even if carpeting, the carpet will adhear better.

-Finishing

I highly reccomend that unless you are an experenced painter you do NOT paint your boxes. Spray paint, unless done properly and with lots of care usually looks tackey and out of place. If you must paint your boxes a good wood primer is a must with MDF or else count on doing about 30 coats to get a decent solid color.

I also advise agianst carpeting. If you want carpet learn on a shitty test box that you built. Practice makes perfect. Use the good carpet, though it may not seem like its worth it a carpet with no backing and lots of strech will make carpeting easier, and often will make it look better. Parts Express sells some decent carpet for like $3-$4 a linear yard. Also, use a good adheasive, ive heard no complaints about 3M spray adheasive.

So if im not sapposed to carpet or paint what am i ever to do? well my reccomendation is truck bed liner. Duplicolor sells a semi-gloss black for like $8 a can and works GREAT. i reccomend that your prime the box, do one light coat, one normal coat, and then, another normal coat if there are a few thin spots, then a mist to add texture. The stuf will cover any mistakes you made (well most) and 2-3 cans will do almost any enclosure you can throw at them. Also it protects the box from abuse and stiffens the wood even more.

-Polyester Resin

If you are anal or want to grab a few tenths on the mic painting the inside with polyester resin stiffens the MDF raising its point of resonance and dampening vibrations by adding mass (though normally adding mass lowers resonance point, the resin soaks into the pores and makes the MDF stiffer, raising the point of resonance). Less box flexing = louder. You can generally mix it pretty hot and between you and a friend you can mix up a half a quart to a whole quart at a time or so depending on your speed of work. Ive dont a whole quart at a time by myself but i was busting my ass to get a good even coat and not waste any.

-A Few Other Things To Note

If you have a good design, good wood working skills, resin it and make it look good the only thing that can go wrong now is placement, there are guidlines for trunked cars and hatches and SUV's butno one place is universal so try a few different places. Once you find the best place screw your enclsoure down with L brackets or internal bolts, not only does this help slightly with SPL but it makes dirty bastards work harder to jack your hard work and $400 speakers.

[PaulD]

Another installment

Installing a Head Unit:

Power - there are 3 wires that must be connected

1) Constant power - connect to a power source that has 12 volts on it even when the car is off, this is the connection that keeps your memory settings. It is usually yellow.

2) Switched power - connect to a power source that has 12 volts ONLY when the car is turned on, this wire is usually red. You can connect this wire to constant 12 volts as well but you must make sure you turn the headunit off when you leave the car.

3) Ground - do NOT connect this to a black wire in a harness somewhere. It is black and comes with a spade connector crimped on to it, connect this to a bolt or screw behind the radio opening that screws into a solid piece of metal.

additional:

Lighting - connects to a source that has 12 volts when the lights are on, it dims the lighting on headunit a good bit when the lights are on. It is typically orange and not all headunits have this.

Power Antenna - raises the antenna when the radio is turned on, do NOT use this to your amp on because the amp will turn off when you try and play a CD. Usually blue or blue with a white stripe

auto turn on - supplies 12 volts when the headnit is turned on to switch on your other stereo components (amps, eq's, crossovers, etc ..), it's usually blue or blue with a white stripe.

Antenna - the antenna wire from the car will plug in here, atfermarket headunits typically have a 4-5" wire that the antenna wire connects into.

Audio:

Speaker outputs - refer to your owners manual for color codes

RCA outputs - these are what are used to connect to external amps, eq's, etc .. Most head units have 2 or 3 sets of these, the ones with 2 sets are labeled F(ront) and R(ear). Ones with 3 sets also have a subwoofer output as well. Some headunits with 3 sets of outputs also have a builtin crossover and can be configured so that the front output is for tweeters, rear output is for mids and subs are for the subwoofer amp. You would need to consult the owners manual to see if you're headunit is capable of this and how you
would do it.


Installing an EQ:

power:

1) Constant power

2) Ground

3) auto turn on - this comes from the headunit as described above


Signal:

The RCA signal outputs from the headunit will go into the EQ signal inputs

The EQ signal outputs go into either the crossover or amp signal inputs



Installing an amp:

Power: the power and ground wire will typically be large wires

1) Constant - run a large guage cable (see owners manual for their recommendation) directly from the battery to the amp. Remember to fuse this cable in the engine compartment as close to the battery as is feasible. If you compete, it must be 18" or less from the battery (Some SPL orgs have different rules, consult them for details BEFORE you start building.

2) Ground - Typically use same size wire as constant power wire. Make this run as SHORT as possible, typically less than a foot. Find a spot on the frame and drill a small hole, sand the area until it's just bare metal about the size of a quarter or so, attach a ring terminal to the ground wire and screw it down tightly. You may also want to use a star washer to get a good connection. Alternatively, you can find a bolt, remove it, sand down the paint underneath and attach the ring terminal to that. These two
connections are CRITICAL to getting the most out of your amp.

3) auto turn on - turns the amplifier on from the headunit

Signal:

There will be an RCA jack for each of the channels, make sure you put the right rca cable into the correct jack.

Output:

The outputs connect directly to the speakers. Be careful not to load the amp down too low. Low impedances cause the amp to work harder, it will try to put out more power if it can ... or die trying. Don't skimp on speaker wire size, try and match the wire size to the amps power output.

[PlayStation3]

here is a guide for setting your gains and xovers.

http://www.icixsound.com/vb/showthread.php?t=27819

[vanilla gorilla]

I have a few disagreements with the categories that some namebrands were placed under in one of the previous posts.

Alpine:
Alpine should be placed under highly recommended. Its good, quality equipment that is resonably priced, and incredible sound quality. They also dont slap big numbers on their boxes to sell products, they arent overated at all. Great products.

Kenwood:
Placed as average?
I would place their headunits and speakers as highly recommended. As far as their amps and subs...not sure, never used them. But their headunits and speakers are top notch and great sound quality. In the past I have had problems with the motorized faceplates on older Excelon model units, but the newer stuff seems to be better. I would still higly recommend kenwood products.

Pioneer/premier:
I don't see how pioneer was placed as good when kenwood was placed as average. You can take the most expensive head unit pioneer/premier makes and the cheapest headunit kenwood makes and the kenwood will sound better...., I promise. Also pioneer/premier headunit have sorry pre-outs. They are super low voltage and often fail.

JL audio:
Highly recommended? What about highly overpriced? You can get soo much better for soo much cheaper. I would never buy JL. I don't see how the people that sell it can sleep at night.

[Krazy Jeff]

Thank you for this great starter thread. I have learned so much by just reading this great thread!

[PaulD]

Originally Posted by PaintBallerCali

Here is my little add to this little about wire gages and stuff.

Rules of the thumb for Amps.

The shorter your wires the better.
Run the power straight of the batter most stock wire can not just be taped into for power they do not have the power handling and you will burn wires. (These are not fun to replace).
The ground wire can be attached to any metal surface and the shorter the better. (I use ring terminals and a bolt that’s already there just make sure you sand the paint off.)
If you do not clean off all the paint the amp may still ground but the amp will be getting more power in than it can send out kind of like a filling up a water balloon if it has a whole in it you can run water in and out all day but if there is no whole you can over fill it tell it pops.

ELECTRICITY DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT, WHAT GOES IN MUST COME OUT. IF THE OUT PART - THE GROUND WIRE - HAS POOR CONNECTION TO THE CHASSIS, IT WILL LIMIT THE TOTAL POWER. IT CAUSES A VOLTAGE DROP, WHICH CAUSES AN INCREASE IN CURRENT DEMAND TO KEEP THE POWER UP. SOONER OR LATER, THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE MORE CURRENT.

Here is a reference for the gage of wire you will need for proper power handling.
The longer the cable the heavier gage is needed.

Power/Ground Wires
35W
Up to 12’ 16 Gage
Up to 18’ 14 Gage
Up to 30’ 12 Gage
50W
Up to 13’ 14 Gage
Up to 21’ 12 Gage
Up to 33’ 10 Gage
75W
Up to 14’ 12 Gage
Up to 22’ 10 Gage
Up to 35’ 8 Gage
100W
Up to 17’ 10 Gage
Up to 26’ 8 Gage
150W
Up to 17’ 8 Gage
Up to 28’ 6 Gage
200W
Up to 21’ 6 Gage
Up to 33’ 4 Gage
350W
Up to 19’ 4 Gage
Up to 30’ 2 Gage
500W
Up to 21’ 2 Gage
Up to 26’ 1/0 Gage

THERE ARE PLENTY OF CHARTS AVAILABLE FOR THIS

Now you can’t really over do wires but you can blow your budget on wires alone.

Do not mount amps on the speaker box mount them some where else solid vibrations are car electronics enemy number two number one is an uninformed installer.

THIS IS AN OLD WIVES TALE, THE BOX WILL VIBRATE JUST AS MUCH AS AND OTHER PART ON THE CAR IF IT'S BUILT SOLID.

Also heat is not good for electronics. So place your amps in a well ventilated area.

When it comes to speaker wires don’t go with any thing less that 14 Gage (I like 12) 14 gage is ezer to find can be picked up at like Wal-Mart.

Here is a table for Minimum Speaker Wire Gages

Up to 12’ Minimum Gage is 16.
Up to 20’ Minimum Gage is 14.
Up to 30’ Minimum Gage is 12.

I will not bore you with ohm law and go in to wiring configurations just email me if you need any help with that and I can give you the most power efficient way to wire your speakers. You can cut the load down by wiring speakers right and make your system run better.

When it comes to RCA cables RCA cables are RCA cables if you want to get the best sound go with gold or platinum plated ends any thing else they put on the box is just a sells gimmick like sound canceling intertwined wire wrapping they like to make fancy stuff up so that you will by there product over some one else’s.

THE "INTERTWINED" WIRES, COMMONLY KNOWN AS UTP OR UNSHIELDED TWISTED PAIR ARE THE ONLY RCAS THAT REJECT NOISE IN THE AUDIO FREUENCY BAND. USING INTERCONNECTS WITH A DIFFERENT METAL ON THE TIPS THAN THE AMPS FEMALE RCA CONNECTION CAN CAUSE CORROSION.

And it is always best to solder on your terminals over time crimped terminals corrode and you lose some power handling the more power you have going threw the wire the faster it corrodes solder resists corrosion.

A PROPERLY CRIMPED WIRE IS IN FACT A COLD SOLDER JOINT


If I missed anything important let me know if I said something stupid let me know if you have any questions let me know. I have installed countless stereo systems and have built custom boxes from a carpeted box for a 1988 Delta 88 with 4 12’s to a spray on dyno matted ford ranger box with 4 12’s (spray on dyno mat is stupid waste of money). I even work with fiber glass just asks me if you have any questions.

SPRAY IS NOT AS GOOD AS BUTYL MAT, BUT BETTER THAN NOTHING IF YOU CAN'T GET THE MAT ON IT VERY WELL.

You're misspelling and poor grammar make some of this post very difficult to follow

[coh33yl]

hey i just bought a 2006 chevy silverado, and the radio is locked. its a rds radio with the rocker button. How do i retrieve the code. The press 2 & 3 am/fm button for 10 sec. did not work any other ideas.