Anyone with car knowledge here?

I ran the car audio in Circuit city for 8 years so if u have any questions ask. but DO NOT i repeat DO not use anything sony for your car. Also do not buy anything from box stores such as best buy or walmart or any large chains bc what u buy is not what you thing.

For example a kicker amp is not really a kicker amp. Best buy pays kicker to use the shell for its amp and inside is not an acutally kicker amp but a cheap knock off....


And patrick installing an amp is very easy lol its power ground report and rcas, if you have any common know all you will be fine. the report wire is the blue wire on the back of the cd players, ground can go any where thats a ground and power is well power lol from the battery.

Do not install the RCAs on the same side of the car as the power wire, this gives interferance(not so bad for subamps but its bad for 4 channel amps) also make sure you do not door jam the power wire!

 

definitly want a CAP for high watt systems. help my system from lights dimming etc..

 

well yeah thats true, maybe you tended to install on very basic cars? i have yet to encounter the blue wire on any of the HUs and install in camaros, mustangs, high end stuff where its a bit more difficult. you can run into issues with lag depending on which speakers you tap. ground cant just go anywhere... if the ground terminal that you want to attach to has paint on it you need to sand it off for proper grounding. with a 2002 you will need a PAC unit (hi-lo converter) and those tend to be a pain in the @$$ sometimes, but most of the time they are pretty straight forward. depending on your alt. and the wattage of your amp, a capacitor osnt necessary IMO... ive installed 2000 watt systems into cars with no dimming/ straining of any sort. one thing i will suggest is running 4awg or 1/0awg wire if your system will be 1000w+... you can definitely tell the difference. look for a PAC unit made for your car sometimes they have them and it makes life much easier. good luck to you and feel free to ask any questions. i have done over 100 installs out of the back of my garage and never had any problems/ complaints since i started a couple years ago.

 

listen i worked in the car business for over 13 yrs. i know about cars and i will tell you leave it alone. if it runs well then don't mess it up. the vehicle has some age on it, and if you go changing the factory settings by running it rich and raising the temp you could potentially due more harm. cars are kinda funny they get used to running a certain way and after running that way for awhile. well lets just say that old dog might not learn new tricks. look its as simple as this, some cars are made for mods some not. i don't want to sound rough i just know what can happen some times to new vehicles that are made for such things. if it looks good and runs good just enjoy it as long as you can.

 

oh and btw ocean i wasnt trying to attack you in any way. im just trying to get at the point that sometimes it isnt as simple as everyone makes it out to be

 

in a car of this age id say the stereo is a good start, stay away from sony there are mony other brands that are much better for the money kicker is a great company they would have my vote. i wouldnt mess with the chip just yet get yourself a cheap ebay intake for starters they are inexpensive and although they dont show the same gains as higher price tag pieces your saving money and at your age youll need it to take out that hot girl that sits infront of you in math class lol... id start with the intake untill you start getting bored with it, if you start getting into the exhaust wich would be my next mod plan on the entire exhaust system becuase they rust like its their job. taking an exhaust system apart after afew years is a bitoch.stay away from the chip they arent worth risking your engine over. as some1 mentioned before if you start playing with air fuel ratios after a car has been driven a certin way it wont take kindly to changes like that. you may want to look into some parts out of the SHO Taurus.my first car was an 89 toyota supra and i loved it but i always had money for stuff when it broke, my thing was when something broke i upgraded it and after about a year it was at 937whp.i work in a high performance car shop as a tuner and engine builder and i see cars ranging from people like you with beginner cars looking to start off all the way upto semi pro drag cars. my biggest thing i tell new people is to go slow much like reefing. you will eventually get use to the power of the car and youll want more. at that time look into another small upgrade.start small and slowly build on that. get use to it and get another mod, get use to it ect.if your planning to build a crazy fast car you may want to consider saving for a more "modable" car and using this car as a daily driver. a civic would be a good choice because parts are mega easy to get and pretty cheap.i have a 98 accord as my daily driver and im building up my 06 lancer evolution as we speak and as of now the sky is the limit, although im hoping to hit record number above 1400awhp with it.if you want more advice please feel free to pm me if i dont see your post

 

thats a lot of horsepower. what you got? twin supercharged turbines with full exhaust and 500 shot of No2?

lol

 

That cougar was a nice sporty car. I would leave it to stock, unless you want to spend alot of $$ to gte minimal gains.
A cat back on that car won't add 20 hp. And most of those mods listed won't produce the gains that were mentioned.

 

my car was a 3.3L custom built block 45r turbo i used a 100shot nitrous to spool the turbo...as for the exhaust there wasnt much to it straight pipe down ... that car was uber fun i agree bolt on power gains to the car will be minimal but ebay intake are cheap and it will give you some power but more then anything you will "hear" the power and it seems like you got an up....to get much power outt of that car your gonna need to shell out.. thats y i suggest another car... civic ,240sx,300zx,toyota cressida,paseo....

 

Wow. Once again, lots of replies. Thanks guys. I guess sweet cars and reefing go hand in hand. Haha. I would love another car. Not going to happen though. I am a metal head so the Sony Xplode always sounded good to me. What would anyone else recommend? I was not a fan of Kickers when my friend had them. It didnt sound good for extended double bass to me. But for rap they were awesome. Too bad I pretty much hate most rap. I can already bump pretty hard with just my Bose system. I plan on adding another battery to make it easier on the alternator.

The sound system will probably be going in first. Either that or a new intake. Not totally sure yet. There is still alot of studying up that I need to do. On a first glance how does this sound?
AEM Short Ram Intake Mercury Cougar V6 2000-2002 22-454

Ill take some pictures of the car to post today too.