chillin 12345

Hey guys.

I am new to this forum. Hope to gain some knowledge, as well as pass it on. I have a 98' ford contour v6 that is loaded with power locks,windows ect. and comes with a stock 130 amp alternator from the factory.
My question is this..... I want to do the "big 3 upgrade". Does anyone outhere have a 95-2000 contour/mystique that came with the v6, 130 amp alternator??Have you done the "big 3 upgrade" to your car? The reason i ask is because i need to know what size gauge of cable is stock on this car for the "alternator positive to battery positive". To me it looks like 4 gauge, straight from the factory. I am "only" going to be running 870 watts total continious-rms(not peak), drawing about 80-90 amps of currant(amp fuses),and wonder if i need to go bigger if the cable is indeed 4 gauge?
I know one thing. I will beef up my battery and engine grounds. Years ago when i had a killer rockford-jbl set up in a camaro, i just beefed up the battery ground to 4 gauge, and it made a very noticable boost in audio performance!Hope to hear from you!
Chillin 12345.................-

danyman

iTrader: (1)

any car varies from 10gauge to 8gauge to 4gauge. since its a car and not a fairly small one its prob an 8gauge wire. but might be lucky and have a 4 tho. put in 2gauge if you do you big 3. even if its 4gauge allready

Sikk Nation

iTrader: (1)

If the wire from the alternato is allready 4 guage it should suffice. Usually the factory grounds are the weakest link anyways. If it is 4 guage..just do the "Big 2" Engone to battery ground, battery to chassis Ground

chillin 12345

SiKK Nation,
Do you mean "engine to chassis ground And battery to chassis ground"?. Since you are an installer, can i ask you a question. My battery is new and car is charging fine. Has always started first try no matter how cold it is. If i hit my brakes hard, my head and tail lights will dim until i let off the brakes.If i brake in a normal fashion,this does not happen. Today i was foolin around and was going too fast down my driveway. I hit some ice and hit my brakes hard and the car actually stalled. Any ideas???

danyman

iTrader: (1)

wow. thats a ford for ya. lmao just kidding. thats some sirious issues man get the car checked lol

Sikk Nation

iTrader: (1)

Could be a low idle issue, which being a ford can be cause by a number of sensors.. most likely the problem is the IAC (Idle Air Control valve) they tend to get gummed up over the years. This little valve/solenoid it what lets air past the throttle plate to control the idle speed of the vehicle.

Does the problem only happen under braking..or it you put the the car in "N" does the same issue occur?

chillin 12345

SiKK Nation
If i put the car in neutral and slam on the brakes,yes it still does it. It is a 98 v6 automatic with abs. If my drive belt needed to be tightened, could this be my problem???

Sikk Nation

iTrader: (1)

Doubtfull since the brakes in neutral don't slow down the engine in any way. Sounds liek your ABS module might have a short, or it scould be a fuel delivery issue. Go get it checked out by a good mechanic.

chillin 12345

Yup,
Got back from the mechanic about an hour ago.Took out the "abs" fuse and everything is fine! Since you have installed car stereos, i have a question.
Years ago i had a camaro with a jbl 15" sub powered by a 200 watt rockford fosgate amp. The sub had a sensitivity of 97db.,with only 8.5mm of x-max.Yet with this simple set up i was able to hit 133db.
Now days the subs are low sensitivity(eg. 87db), yet can have an x-max of 18-30mm. I currently have a 12" infinity with a sensitivity of 93db. I may be looking to upgrade to a 15".Just wodering what would be best for "spl" and "bass output", A sub with an average x-max rating, but with a high sensitivity, or a sub with a huge x-max rating with a low sensitivity??? I know that 1 15" jbl sub i had in my camaro,in a ported box, with only 200 watts going to it was insane!
Chillin 12345

Sikk Nation

iTrader: (1)

That's a whole philosopohica discussion right there. Subs with lower sensitivity ratings and high XMAX have very high potential to get insanely loud in the right box with gobs of power. a Higher efficiency subwoofer with lower XMAX can still get plenty loud in the right box as well, and get louder with less power, but ultimately not hae the same potential.

Also a note on sensitivity ratings, specially with JBL/Infinity. They rat everything at 2.83Vrms. 2.83Vrms is 1 watt of power into an 8hm load. 2 watts of power into a 4ohm load and 4 watts of power into a 2ohm load.

Every time you double the power into a speaker it gets 3dB's louder. so the Dual 4 ohm ininfity sub's 93Db sensitivy rating is actually 87dB at 1Watt 1Meter which for many many eons was the accepted standard for testing.

Dual 4phm sub in paralell=2ohm load. 4W power=93dB..2W=90dB..1W=87dB. Not as efficient as it seems now it?.