I have an '08 GT w/the Shaker 500 audio system in it. Lfast night I installed the following:
2 Hi-Fonics 12's, a 2000 and 1000 watt Power Acoustic amp, American International line converter. The smaller amp is for the 6x8's and 8's in the doors AFTER I replace them with better speakers so for now it's not hooked up.
The problem I have is the system doesn't hit like it did in my Cougar with a Sony HU. I tapped the rear speakers for the LOC. I noticed that my amp won't run past 50% gain. I've checked all my wiring from front to back and double checked my grounds for the amp and the LOC.
So my question: Is my system not hitting like it should due to not getting a good signal? Should I have ran my LOC from the head unit or tapped the speaker wires between the head unit and Shaker amp?
I'm not against running an aftermarket head unit and PAC interface, but I don't have the funds right now for double DIN unit and don't like the looks of a single DIN in the factory opening.
Any and all input and advice welcom.
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Christopher J "The breeze you felt going by...that may have been me" '08 Red Fire GT, Polished 18's, Roush Axlebacks, Spoiler Delete, FRPP CAI & Tuner.....more to come
Christopher J "The breeze you felt going by...that may have been me" '08 Red Fire GT, Polished 18's, Roush Axlebacks, Spoiler Delete, FRPP CAI & Tuner.....more to come
The best thing to do is cut out the 8" subs and bring the signal wires from them back to the subs in your trunk. You can do this by getting an RCA cable and splicing it into the wires from the back of your Shaker unit and then plugging your RCA's for your subs into the ones you've spliced in. You could also just splice the wires straight together, eliminating the RCA's altogether.
Another thing you could do is just splice in your RCA's or wires to the door sub wires without disconnecting them. This would be if you insist on keeping door subs (which make the system sound like mud to me).
It's better to get your signal from the door subs than the speakers for two reasons; the first of which is because you'll get a more subwoofer oriented signal and the second is so you won't don't lose any power to the rear speakers.
And you probably won't get the subwoofer to hit at its full potential off the Shaker head unit. It doesn't have any kind of subwoofer control to speak of so even if you get close, the rest of the sound will be too bassy to sound good.
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Black 2005 Mustang v6, 5 speed, IUP, EUP and Leather.
Razzi 1/4 window scoops, Mustang GT Sway Bars, Flowmaster American Thunder Single Exhaust, Clear Front Turn Signal Lenses, Demolet CAI, X-cal2 91 tune, Hurst Comp/Plus Shifter, FRPP T-Lock, Ford 3.73 gears
Interesting thought, I had not thought about tapping the front subs in the doors.
At this point though since I have the matching smaller amp installed as well I'll just save my pennies and get a double din head unit and replacement speakers for the doors and rear.
Agreed on the "overbassing" While I like a lot of bass, I'm looking for clarity and good sound. Nothing annoys me more then cars that pull up and all you hear is the car rattling and bass with no music. To me that's a sad attempt at a system.
Not sure on the head unit yet but I think I will go with JL Audio 8's and Hi Fonics 6x8's.
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Christopher J "The breeze you felt going by...that may have been me" '08 Red Fire GT, Polished 18's, Roush Axlebacks, Spoiler Delete, FRPP CAI & Tuner.....more to come
Still don't have new mids and highs purchased yet (newborn son= lo $'s) but today while off work I pulled my system and rewired the voice coils on my subs to parallel dropping to a 2ohm load per channel. After doing this I found that I some how ran my RCA's wrong, fixed that and now I find that will need A LOT of dynamat for sound deadening. I've turned the amp down to half, retuned some of the parameters on it and the bass is now kick a**!
Now to check out some mids and highs at onlinecarstereo.com
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Christopher J "The breeze you felt going by...that may have been me" '08 Red Fire GT, Polished 18's, Roush Axlebacks, Spoiler Delete, FRPP CAI & Tuner.....more to come
I can do that. Let me get them uploaded from my camera and I'll post them.
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Christopher J "The breeze you felt going by...that may have been me" '08 Red Fire GT, Polished 18's, Roush Axlebacks, Spoiler Delete, FRPP CAI & Tuner.....more to come
Here are some pics of the freshly polished Hi-Fonics subs and Power Acoustic amps.
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Christopher J "The breeze you felt going by...that may have been me" '08 Red Fire GT, Polished 18's, Roush Axlebacks, Spoiler Delete, FRPP CAI & Tuner.....more to come
Gotta keep the gain at a reasonable level or the car sounds like it's coming apart.
One thing I've never cared for is the car body vibrating so loud/hard you can't hear the subs or music clearly. I really like clarity, not so much bass it drowns out the music and lyrics.
Gain is a little above half. Bass on the stereo is at half to two bars past depending on the CD I'm listening to.
This isn't the best box for a "closed trunk". It was originally in my hatchback 99 Cougar. I like it though as it has chrome ports and shows off the chrome subs. Flows well with the amps and they have chrome accents as well. Once I free up some funds I'll get my mids and high and run the wires for the smaller amp and then get the bored they're mounted to painted or wrapped.
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Christopher J "The breeze you felt going by...that may have been me" '08 Red Fire GT, Polished 18's, Roush Axlebacks, Spoiler Delete, FRPP CAI & Tuner.....more to come
Advice much appreciated, but if you check my post marked "update" I found the problem. Crazy thing is it was so obvious I kept overlooking it. Anyway...hittin' hard now. When I install and run wiring for the mids and highs I'm going to have to pull everything and put some Dynamat in the truck, fenders, and decklid.
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Christopher J "The breeze you felt going by...that may have been me" '08 Red Fire GT, Polished 18's, Roush Axlebacks, Spoiler Delete, FRPP CAI & Tuner.....more to come
Not hitting strong 
but today while off work I pulled my system and rewired the voice coils on my subs to parallel dropping to a 2ohm load per channel. After doing this I found that I some how ran my RCA's wrong, fixed that and now I find that will need A LOT of dynamat for sound deadening. I've turned the amp down to half, retuned some of the parameters on it and the bass is now kick a**! 
I really like clarity, not so much bass it drowns out the music and lyrics.
