Amp Install Guidance

Hi all. I recently did the 250 Kicker swap which I absolutely love. Hell of a difference. I had an old amp and kicker sub lying around from my old car but had it installed for me. I was hoping someone could lend some guidance on adding this to my system in my 2018 Sport with the factory entune unit.
I’ve got a decent ability to put stuff together but a lot of the electrical is new to me. Thank you all in advance!
Here’s a link to the Amp https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Car/Amplifiers/GM+Series/GM-5300T and the sub is a kicker comp.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eidK7FNI0GA

 

Yeah those steps in the video sum up the basic process. Pretty simple in our trucks. I highly recommend the AudioControl lc2i shown in that video.

There is an empty hole in the firewall on the drivers side that easily fit 4awg wire. Your amp only needs 8 so should be fine there


I would grab your signal from the front speakers, either behind the radio or in the front kick panel (driver or passenger side) and NOT the rear speakers as so many people do in most vehicles. Our radios put out a drastically reduced signal to the rears (verified with multimeter)

I believe this is a pic I had of the plug that the front passenger speaker wires are in


I want to say colors are grey + and blue - but I’d have to double check that.

If you opt for the lc2i (or anything with a bass knob) I picked a spot under the e-brake for mine. Tons of space under this panel, very concealed while remaining easily reachable, and very easily repaired/hidden if the knob is removed.

If you get your audio signal in the kick panel, you’ll need to get an accy 12v+ for your remote turn on. Both cig lighters are good options as they are hot with key only.

Use good quality COPPER wire (OFC) and not cheap aluminum crap (CCA)

Also use a good fuse holder. Ideally one that uses AFS fuses
And save yourself the trouble and don’t use AGU fuses

Make sure you sand down the paint where you choose to ground your amp.

If I think of more tips, I’ll add them

 

Right on! Thank you both

 

Has anyone verified that the grey wire is (+) and the blue wire is (-)?

 

Bro he has a Pioneer amp; don't make such a big deal about this.

Use whatever is the cheapest per thickness. One AWG higher of CCA is =to or better than OFC, and generally cheaper.

 

Well that's absolutely not true but ok, you keep thinking that, and I'll keep being a good MECP certified installer and recommending proper wiring to do the job correctly.

Cheers

 

The whole idea behind using better power wire is to reduce voltage drop and heat losses through the power wire. What kind of amplifier you are using is irrelevant. You always want to try and do what you can to aid in the system running more easily and cooler.

If we all put amps up by the battery we could use smaller lower quality wire but because of the length of the run, higher quality wire is recommended.

Also consider that amps get replaced but power wiring is rarely upgraded. Using the bare minimum necessary is going to limit your options in the future.

 

Alright, and I'll keep being an electrical engineer.

Do you guys really need a physics lesson? I'm happy to give one if you're open minded

 

oh yeah, well, you know the hadron collider? yeah, thats all me buddy.

i keed.

 

When I quit having to pull previously-installed CCA because it has corroded and oxidized so much it’s giving me a 50+ % voltage drop at the amp, I’ll quit bashing it.
Until then, OFC is all I’m using in my shop, whether it’s some shit BOSS amp or a high dollar JL or AudioControl

I don’t care what the physics say if it’s wasting my time and making clients pay for work they’ve already payed other shops for.

 

You can't just flex in lieu of articulating an opposing narrative and expect that anyone will take you seriously. You should also try to figure out if you're an electrical engineer or a physicist.

There are applications for CCA for sure, but you have to keep in mind aluminum is more brittle so it doesn't respond well to being worked a lot, and it's recommended you use NO-OX at the connectors and heat shrink them to protect the joint.

I just don't see the point in running oversize wire and taking strong precautions to achieve the same traits as a smaller gauge OFC wire, especially since we're talking about DC current at low voltage. CCA performs well at lower current and higher voltage, epecially in AC circuits, but there's a reason we don't wire houses in aluminum anymore (heat), and we're not talking about houses, we are talking about low voltage high current systems in vehicles.

 

At least I'm willing to back up my claim. The other dude is just flexing with hearsay.
I'm going to try to ignore the stupidity of that second statement.

You ever heard of a ferrule?

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OP, if you care, see my attachment for wire size/type comparison with a brief cost analysis. I tried to use low-average values from Amazon for prices.

 

SPEEDWIRE ?????

 

9 in 1 or 5 in 1 wire, its about the size of 4gauge wire.

 

9IN1

 

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-rstMK...MIwp3XrY2d4wIVEfDACh2YmwHcEAQYASABEgLs0PD_BwE

 

That’s it

 

Can someone please tell me the correct speaker wire colors, + & - for left & right front doors? Thx!

 

Head here

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2020-tacoma-sr5-non-jbl-wiring-diagram.656554/