Accessories For My Car :)

[Terinox]

Alright, like I said in my other thread, I did get the Talon, but now there needs to be some work done. Now as much as I love cars, I don't know JACK about them or details and such.

First off, I will install an MP3 player (or take out the one in my previous car and put that one in). The MP3 player is no real problem I'll just get that installed someplace.

Next to the MP3 player, I was thinking of buying some speakers, but I'm not too sure if I will or not. I don't like the original, because they aren't loud enough, and when you go too loud, the sound gets distorted and you can hear rattling/shaking, which annoys me very much. Now, they have a bunch of different sizes, and how do I know which size I need? Like they have 3 1/4" speaker, and 4 1/2", etc... How are they measuring this? Do I just measure AROUND the speaker for the circumfrence? Or is it diaganol ACROSS the speaker, from it's farthest points?

Also, alot of these speakers I see, they say "2-Way" and what does that mean exactly?

Also, do they always sell these speakers in sets of two? I have two speakers in the front (on each door), and two in the back. When you buy new speakers, don't you replace all of them? Or do people just buy two and that's enuff? ANY info on this would help, cuz I dunno nuttin.

Lastly, I might also install an alarm + keyless entry. Now I remember hearing that you have to have auto lock to get alarm/keyless entry. Now my car DOES have auto door locks, but there is no button to press to unlock or lock the doors. When you use the key to open the door from outside, BOTH doors open. And when you turn the lock inside by hand (actual lock on handle), it will lock or unlock BOTH doors. So is this the same as having "auto door lock"? And therefore, can I still get keyless entry alarm installed?

Thanks a ton boyz,
T.

[someday]

Go to a car stereo place ask them what size, then go on ebay and buy em for half the price.

[abstrack]

Alright, like I said in my other thread, I did get the Talon, but now there needs to be some work done. Now as much as I love cars, I don't know JACK about them or details and such.

First off, I will install an MP3 player (or take out the one in my previous car and put that one in). The MP3 player is no real problem I'll just get that installed someplace.

---THIS IS EASY BRO, IF YOU CAN FOLLOW CLOROCODED DIRECTIONS . yOU CAN INSTALL IT YOURSELF

Next to the MP3 player, I was thinking of buying some speakers, but I'm not too sure if I will or not. I don't like the original, because they aren't loud enough, and when you go too loud, the sound gets distorted and you can hear rattling/shaking, which annoys me very much. Now, they have a bunch of different sizes, and how do I know which size I need? Like they have 3 1/4" speaker, and 4 1/2", etc... How are they measuring this? Do I just measure AROUND the speaker for the circumfrence? Or is it diaganol ACROSS the speaker, from it's farthest points?

--IF YOU LOOK UP YOUR CAR ON CRUTCHFIELD OR ANY OTHER CAR STEREO SHOP. yOU CAN FIND OUT WHAT THE MANUFACTURE PUTS IN THE CAR OR WHAT SIZES WILL FIT IN THE SPEAKER MOUNTS FOR YOUR CAR

Also, alot of these speakers I see, they say "2-Way" and what does that mean exactly?

--2 DIFFERENT FREQUENCY RESPONSES. USUALLY HIGH AND MID FOR 2 WAY

Also, do they always sell these speakers in sets of two? I have two speakers in the front (on each door), and two in the back. When you buy new speakers, don't you replace all of them? Or do people just buy two and that's enuff? ANY info on this would help, cuz I dunno nuttin.

--MOST OF THE TIME THE SPEAKERS IN THE FRONT ARE SMALLER THAN THE REAR OR THE DOOR PANELS. THE HIGHS WILL BE SMALLER AND YOUR REAR SPEAKERS WIULL BE MORE LIKE YOUR BASS AND MID-RANGE

Lastly, I might also install an alarm + keyless entry. Now I remember hearing that you have to have auto lock to get alarm/keyless entry. Now my car DOES have auto door locks, but there is no button to press to unlock or lock the doors. When you use the key to open the door from outside, BOTH doors open. And when you turn the lock inside by hand (actual lock on handle), it will lock or unlock BOTH doors. So is this the same as having "auto door lock"? And therefore, can I still get keyless entry alarm installed?

YES, THEY WILL GIVE YOUA REMOTE WITH YOUR NEW ALARM. IT WILL CONTROL YOUR DOOR LOCKS AS LONG AS THEY ARE POWERED. IF NOT YOU CAN ORDER THE MOTOR AND THEY CAN DO IT FOR YOU.

Thanks a ton boyz,
T.

SORRY ABOUT THE CAPS BUT IT WAS JUST EASIER TO REPLY THIS WAY

[LORDBLiTZ]

Yes you can put keyless in. But you should get the Timing belt done as soon as you can! If it snaps the motor will blow up to fuck! Make sure they have done a talon before because most don't have timing marks on the block/head to line the belt back up. Most poeple don't know that until they take the belt off, by that time ur fucked.

[Terinox]

Thanks for all the replies guyz,

someday - I live in Canada, E-Bay sometimes fucks me by charging insane "customs" fee or other "border" fees, and it's not worth the risk, cuz they tax you like crazy on anything you can buy in Canada from the U.S.

abstrack - Hell man, I LOVE CAPS Thanks for the info, it helps with the lack of knowledge I posses

LORD - I forgot all about that shit man, I'm gonna ask the pops what's up with that, and if the mechanic took a good look at the engine. I'm guessing it already has been changed, cuz it is a 1993, and it's in good condition though.

hercules88 - Bro, if you have the time and the patience, you can tell me ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING you want bro. If it's a lot of info, probably best for PM, or you could just post it in the thread in case others are also interested in info such as this. The more you write, the better, so take your time, no rush, i'll take all the info you can give

[Tock]

Alright, like I said in my other thread, I did get the Talon, but now there needs to be some work done. Now as much as I love cars, I don't know JACK about them or details and such.

First off, I will install an MP3 player (or take out the one in my previous car and put that one in). The MP3 player is no real problem I'll just get that installed someplace.
========================


Yah, that's what I'd do . . . too much hassle to tear the dashboard apart and do the job right . . . I've done it before, twice I think, and that was two times too many.



================================

Next to the MP3 player, I was thinking of buying some speakers, but I'm not too sure if I will or not. I don't like the original, because they aren't loud enough, and when you go too loud, the sound gets distorted and you can hear rattling/shaking, which annoys me very much.

============================


The distortion might be from the current amplifier . . . (long technical explanation deleted) can't really tell without seeing what you have, but if it won't cost you any extra $$$, I'd wait and see how your current speakers get along with the new system. If you need to replace 'em, you can always do it later . . .
==================================



Now, they have a bunch of different sizes, and how do I know which size I need? Like they have 3 1/4" speaker, and 4 1/2", etc... How are they measuring this? Do I just measure AROUND the speaker for the circumfrence? Or is it diaganol ACROSS the speaker, from it's farthest points?
======================================


The measurement is the diameter of the speaker. Sometimes it's the diameter of the paper cone (the better quality manufacturers), and sometimes it's the whole dang thing--from the edges of the metal frame (the cheap stuff). If you're gonna replace your current speakers, the folks at the shop can tell you what size you're gonna need (I think they have a book that tell's 'em).
====================================


Also, alot of these speakers I see, they say "2-Way" and what does that mean exactly?
===================================

Usually it means the manufacturer has added a smaller cone on the center of the speaker, right on top of the voice coils. It doesn't really do all that much, it's just there as a marketing gizmo.
=================================


Also, do they always sell these speakers in sets of two? I have two speakers in the front (on each door), and two in the back. When you buy new speakers, don't you replace all of them? Or do people just buy two and that's enuff? ANY info on this would help, cuz I dunno nuttin.
======================================

The last stereo I installed had four outputs. I had the option of installing both fronts, both backs, or all four. I put in all four 'cause I was a masochist for stereo installation hassle . . . Gotta use both fronts and/or both backs and not one front and one back for technical reasons (screws up the circuitry). You'll have your choice.
=====================================


Lastly, I might also install an alarm + keyless entry. Now I remember hearing that you have to have auto lock to get alarm/keyless entry. Now my car DOES have auto door locks, but there is no button to press to unlock or lock the doors. When you use the key to open the door from outside, BOTH doors open. And when you turn the lock inside by hand (actual lock on handle), it will lock or unlock BOTH doors. So is this the same as having "auto door lock"? And therefore, can I still get keyless entry alarm installed?
===================================

I dunno nothin' 'bout alarms. My truck came with some sort of wireless chip gizmo in the key that the ignition switch looks for everytime ya go to start it. Between that and my insurance, personally, I don't think I need no stinkin' alarm. Everyone ignores 'em, anyway, least they do here in Texas.
=====================


Thanks a ton boyz,
T.

===============================

Ok, here's what ya need to look for when comparing stereo stuff . . .
1) THD -- Total Harmonic Distortion . . . it'll be in the spec sheet for the stereo/amp and it'll be some number like .05% or .005%. Smaller is better.
2) Output wattage . . . should be something like 20 watts per channel, or 50 watts per channel, or 100 or 200 or whatever. Up to a point, more is better, as you'll tend to hear less distortion when you crank a 200 watt amp halfway than when you crank a 50 watt amp up halfway. Of course, it's a moot point if your car is noisy to begin with.
Sure, you can pop in a 1000 watt amp with matching speakers, but the first time you crank that monster up, you'll be deaf for life. It'll sound great, but you won't be able to tell.
----One thing about the term "Watt." When I took my electronics classes, we used "root mean square" which had something to do with the sin of 2. Since then, marketers stumbled on other ways engineers measure power, and since the digits are usually larger, nowadays they sometimes use these bogus watt numbers. I've seen computer speakers rated at 185 watts, and I'll be boogered with George Bush's strap-on dildo if it's any louder than the 6 watt (RMS) speakers I have now. So, make sure you compare apples-to-apples and oranges-to-oranges. Ask for RMS watts, or else ask the salespeople to explain how they measure their system's wattage.
3) Speaker wattage . . . Make sure it's rated to withstand more power than the stereo can deliver, or else you'll have fried speakers. If you get 100 watt per channel stereo, I'd get 200 watt speakers. Double what the stereo can send.
4) Speaker frequency response . . . with the speakers should be a graph of the frequency response. What you want is something like this:
(I hope this comes out ok)
|
|.....______________________________________
|..../
|.../
|../
|./
|/
-----------------------------------------------------

. . . where the horizontal line is the frequency in Hertz (or cycles per second) and the vertical axis is the response (ignore the periods in front of the virgules / --I put 'em there to keep the graph from collapsing in the transmission).
Ok, what would be perfect would be a barely perceptable initial climb and a perfectly even line going all the way across, with the range going from 0 to 20,000. But since we're dealing with solid cones here, the response ain't gonna be perfect, and the low frequencies (around 10 to 20 Hz) won't get reproduced very well, and the higher frequencies will start to degrade somewhere above 15,000 or so. The better speaker's graphs will have (a) steeper climbs (b) smoother lines (3) wider range of frequencies, like a response from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz or 20 to 18,000.
There's some other technical stuff you could get into, but it's a bit esoteric and won't really make that much difference. What you really want is a speaker with at least twice the rated power as the amplifier, good THD, an amplifier with enough "oomph" so it'll be loud enough to suit your purposes when it's cranked up halfway (so the amp won't be getting into the range where it starts dealing with distortion), and speakers with a very good (broad and even) frequency response.
For a ballpark figure on what wattage per channel you should be looking at . . . look at the back side of your living room stereo, it should have a sticker that tells how many watts of power it uses. Let's say it's rated at 100, and that stereo is about as loud as you think you want in your car. Ok, your home stereo is two channels, divide 100 total watts by 2, you get 50 watts per channel. I'd bump that number up a bit, maybe double it, because listening to music in a living room is a bit different than listening to music in a car (smaller speakers, lousy acoustics). So . . . if you're happy with your 100 watt home stereo, I'd get something with 100 watts per channel, with speakers rated at 200 watts (remember, this is RMS watts).

That's enough for now . . . whew . . .
--Tock

[Terinox]

Wow, that was a lot of info Hehe!

Thanks Tock, appreciate it, will keep that all in mind. I gotta find my own MP3 players manual so I can see the info, I'll post it up, maybe you can help out some more

Hahaha, I just found it in my closet, here it is:

AIWA CDC-MP3

Radio Section:

Frequency Range 87.5 MHz - 108 MHz
Usable Sensitivity 12.7 dBf

CD Section:

Frequency Response 17 Hz-20kHz +0/-3 dB
Dynamic Range More than 80 dB
Channel Seperation More than 65 dB
S/N Ratio More than 85 dB

Audio Section:

Max. Power Output: 45W x 4 Channels

General Specs:

Power Supply: 14.4 V
Load Impedence: 4 Ohms
Tone Control Bass +-10 dB at 100Hz

There is more info, but I can't type it all out Is any of that important? Does that help in determining wuts best for me?

Thnx,
T.

[Tock]

Wow, that was a lot of info Hehe!

Frequency Range 87.5 MHz - 108 MHz
-----------this is just the range of FM frequencies the radio can get
-----------pretty standard in all radios

CD Section:
Frequency Response 17 Hz-20kHz +0/-3 dB

-----------Pretty good range, it's fairly standard. Consider that the
-----------lowest note on a piano is 24.5 Hz and the average person
-----------can't hear much above 15,000 Hz. But it's good for the
-----------sound system to be able to deal with frequencies outside
-----------of this range because (1) you tend to 'feel' these sounds
-----------and (2) if the sound system response drops off right at
-----------your ear's limits, then in all probability those sounds aren't
-----------going to sound all that satisfying . . .



Audio Section:
Max. Power Output: 45W x 4 Channels
------------this is what you'll be most concerned with
------------if this system is loud enough for you when you crank up
------------the volume halfway, then get another one
------------with 45 or 50 watts per channel with 4 channels
------------if it needs a bit more "oomph," go with a 100 watt
------------per channel system & speakers rated at 200 watts each



General Specs:

Load Impedence: 4 Ohms
------------oh yeah, I forgot about this . . . make sure the speakers
------------impedence matches the amplifier. If the salesguy has any
------------idea of what he's doing, he'll make sure of this, 'cause he'll
------------have to deal with a return if he doesn't, and the installers
------------won't be happy if they have to re-install the right speakers
------------for no extra charge . . .



There is more info, but I can't type it all out Is any of that important? Does that help in determining wuts best for me?
-----------Can't tell without seeing the info, but the big decisions will be the (1) power (wattage) of your system, and the (2) frequency response of the speakers. Compare the graphs of some obviously cheap speakers to some that are really good, and you'll figure out what significance the curves on the lines have . . .
The good stuff will cost ya, so be prepared for a shock. If it was me, I'd pay to have the thing installed, mostly because I can't be bothered. But if you get the extra warranty and you have them install the system, you won't have to mess with it if anything goes wrong, or if you can't get it to work right . . .
One other thing, if you want to really FEEL the bass, get a subwoofer, as has been mentioned. It's essential, I guess, for some music, like rap or orchestral or pipe organ, but I'd consider it more of a nusiance for country or vocal. I don't know much about the technical side of subwoofers, never bothered with 'em.

Thnx,
T.

----------------------------

As they say in Antarctica, "No sweat."
--Tock
ps--check out this site for some more technical info:
http://www.audiovideo101.com/diction...ctionaryid=223

[Terinox]

Thanks again Tock. I'm gonna take your advice on first testing out the speakers with my current MP3 player (once I get it installed) to test it out and see if it's good enough. But if I feel I need more power/volume, i'll get new speakers. I'll keep ya posted bro.

Thanks again,
T.