I need some advice. I'm replacing my stock 08 350z Bose system with new component speakers and 2 Rockford fosgate amps (P400-4 and P400-2)

My question is should I run 2 separate power lines from the batter to each amp individually or should I feed power from the first amp into the 2nd amp?

Run one big power cable and split it into two near the amps

Run one big power cable and split it into two near the amps

I agree.

Here is a sample of how to split the power to the amps. The single feed from the battery and ground coming in is at the top of the pic on the right side. They split at the blocks (red leads). The fused block handles the power and splits to the capacitors then back out to the amps (notice the two leads going out at the upper left. I have the amps grounded seperately.

This photo is the finished product in my wifes 02 Camaro. Older amps but the logic for connecting is the same. Using Capacitors is up to you but recommended to keep your power clean and limit surges and diming of lights. The two amps shown are a 500-4 and 800-4. The 500 drives the cabin speakers and the 800 is set up as a 2 channel driving the subs.

Hope this help out a little.

wow thanks guys! Snakeyes, that's a beautiful install!!

Are those cross-overs on both sides? If so, is it necessary/recommended to keep them close to the speakers/tweeters that they drive or can i mount them a little further to ease mounting restraints?

Another question, since I will completely bypass the stock Bose system (headunit, amp, wires..etc)...do I need a harness to wire in my aftermarket Pioneer headunit to get power?

I'm thinking I can just tap into the harness on the car to get switched power, ground to the chasis, antenna cable, and remote wire for my amp turn-on. Is that a sound logic or am I missing something?

Thanks 2fasst, really appreciate the compliment.

I did the install when we had contacts at Fosgate so we went all out on the equipment . Even Strike (Lightning Audio) is owned by Fosgate.

Yep, the 4 blocks you see are crossovers and I really didn't worry much about the distance to the speakers or tweets. I just made sure to use good speaker wire and paid attention to the connections so I wouldn't be faced with ripping anything apart afterwards. I am a solder freak so everything that needed it got a butt joint, solder and shrink.

For the harness, it would be vehicle specific and you are on the right track for getting the power to the head unit. Much easier to just use the adapter. Since you are using amps for the system just omit wiring the speakers connection from the head unit to the harness. Insulate the seperate leads with heat shrink and wire the speakers directly to your amps as needed. In theory you could tap in to the vehicle harness for your speaker connections from the amp but if you have tweets and crossovers it becomes a bit more complicated to pull that off and the tweets would likely need seperate wiring anyway. It also would depend on how the factory amp is phased in with the speakers. Safest bet is seperate wiring for the new speakers (just my opinion). For triggering power to the amps I just "t'd" off of the blue trigger wire to both amps and it worked fine.

Good luck and I hope some of the infomation will be useful. I took a lot of shots putting her system in and it took about 4 days since I pretty much gutted the interior while doing the install. So take your time and check connections and remember to test before finalizing the installation.

I just completed the install of my F150 and BT90 last week but no amps or subs (yet). I set up everything so I could easily add it later though

snakeyes; nice install, but lose the caps

snakeyes; nice install, but lose the caps

Thanks for the compliment terron. My wife loves to hear compliments on her toy. Keeping the Caps though. 1st reason, the subs are a bitch to remove and they are under them. 2nd they have worked for 4 years without a single issue so no point in fixing whats not broke.

I am curious why you say loose the caps though.

Always welcome opinions though and anxious to hear your logic. I am no expert for sure, just a weekend hacker.

Thanks.

With the amps you are running, you could run a single 2awg wire from the batt to a splitter and run 4awg to each of the amps. From what I see, those amps do not draw that much power. If money is not a concern, run a single 0awg and split into two 4awg (max that the amp can take, plus you can upgrade the amps in the future without tearing out wire) what this will accomplish is less resistance to the splitter. Also, not sure why the person above said not to use a cap, I have been running one in my car for a couple years with no problems. If you lights dim, I would put one in, it is easier on your batt, but I am guessing with the amps your installing, you shouldn't have any issues. If you are doing the install yourself, make sure that you do not run the power wire near any other power wires in the car, I did that and I was getting interference. Good luck, hope this help some!

snakeyes; nice install, but lose the caps

 

Thanks for the compliment terron. My wife loves to hear compliments on her toy. Keeping the Caps though. 1st reason, the subs are a bitch to remove and they are under them. 2nd they have worked for 4 years without a single issue so no point in fixing whats not broke.

 

I am curious why you say loose the caps though.

 

Always welcome opinions though and anxious to hear your logic. I am no expert for sure, just a weekend hacker.

 

 

Thanks.

Caps are a hold-over for an inadequate electrical system and usually if you need those, you would be better served by a second battery. Nothing personal, on a mission to rid the world of caps

snakeyes; nice install, but lose the caps

 

 

Caps are a hold-over for an inadequate electrical system and usually if you need those, you would be better served by a second battery. Nothing personal, on a mission to rid the world of caps

Ok.. makes sense. We do have an Optima Red top up front that helps out a lot along with the two caps. Figured I would give the car every chance to "not" have issues since I was dimming the lights when the system hit hard and living in Arizona a battery has an expected life of 2 years and we got 4 out of the fist Optima.

I see your point though. The newer amps typically are more efficent than the older versions like we have and the Camaro has a great electrical system. Still got one new "old" 1501 bd in the closet that I am saving for a project some day and a couple extra caps. Yeah .. I know but employee sales were great back in the day