I've spent waaay too much time researching, installing, reinstalling, modifying, changing components and generally tweak'n on my 03 Coupe since I bought it in 04... no real satisfaction. Would like a little before it goes (or I go).

INFO:
03 Coupe bose, navigation
Pioneer AVH-X2700BS
Mod. Oem faceplate with metra 70-7550
Hertz High Energy HSK 165 components
+-5 yr old kicker solobaric 10 l7 dual 4 ohm vc wired parallel, approx 1 ft3 sealed enclosure
Kicker ix1000.5 (65 x4 4ohm or 250 x2 4ohm rms plus 500 x1, 2ohms rms
Goals: Hear Metallica like it sounded in my 86 325es with Kenwood removable fp cd hu, Punch 150, Alpine components and 2 10" jl w?? in probably a 3.5+ cf ported enclosure and still have some trunk space.

Questions:
1. To bridge or not to bridge: Hertz components rated 125ws rms, 250 peak. Should I bridge run 250 to them (via the hertz passives) or the 65watts, possibly add some rear fill with the open two channels or ??
2. Trying tweets in different locations, anyone found sweet spot?
3. Got deal on the 10l7, not satisfied - will different enclosure, position, power source, settings or a known reproducable miracle help?
4. Replacing factory wiring to components make any sign. difference?
5. HU fits well in modded faceplate, but still need climate controls. I Don't want to spend $300 plus for cc's, any doable way to mod board so can use original buttons? If not,
any more reasonable alternatives?
6. Wrathernaut's info was helpful, thank you for your time and effort. Tried suggested wiring for ant, but still have reception issue, any additional suggestions?

Get this done once and for all and I can get back to the window motors, door lock actuators, ripping seats, front suspension (crazy uneven tire wear from worn bushings, etc etc oh and paint.

Thank you very for your help.

John

 

If those are the xl version u should be pushing 150 rms to them with a good amp. If it's the regular hsk 125 rms. They are worthless at 65. They will sound 10x better

 

Are you using factory wiring?
Your using a radio without the climate control?

I'm running hertz mpk in the front and tweeters , with a cheap dd radio and Metra kit. Jl audio 450/4 amp with a mini dsp..... Repainted my trim and Metra kit the right way and it looks and works great. Every song sounds good.

You have good speakers u need a good amp and a good install, that includes wiring.

 

Thanks for your input. Yes, no climate control, but it's locked at 75° so not bad until get new cc's. Was able to keep the factory nav and dvd fits good.

My amp is 250 × 2 at 4ohms bridged. Is that too much power?

The components are not xl's. Almost got them. How much better do the xl's sound?

Thanks again.

 

1) Yes, bridge. Headroom is always good, just be sure you set the gain on the amp appropriately so that you're not overpowering them.
2) Factory location is OK, but best is custom a-pillar mounts.
3) Enclosures have a huge influence on a subwoofer. If that sub isn't enough for you in a ported box, you need to have your pulse checked.
4) Nope. Waste of time unless you're running an active setup and need additional wiring for the separate components.
5) You can purchase just the climate control board, it mounts in the original trim just fine. If you're really, really feeling crazy, you can rewire a metra board to the factory board and do the frankenboard that I did. Details start in the middle of this thread: https://g35driver.com/forums/audio-v...-dd-kit-2.html I don't recommend doing it, not worth the headache you get for all the time you spend on it. The only reason to do it would be if the JDM climate controls are no longer available.
6) I'm not sure if there's any other solution for the radio reception, so long as it's powered as in the guide. If you can hook up an aftermarket antenna to just test things, you can try and eliminate the factory antenna or antenna amp as the problem.

 

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond to all of my questions. I really appreciate your advice.

When I tried the tweeters in the factory location they seemed too bright even will the adjustment on the x-over. I would have like to have seen a few more available adjustments on on the x-over. Perhaps I was not aiming them properly. Will try again.

My sub is in a smallish (.9 cuft) seeled enclosure. I'll build a larger ported box to try. Maybe there is a way to get creative with the shape of the enclosure or routing of the port(s) so I don't lose such a large chunk of my trunk.

I checked out the post you referenced re the climate controls. Interesting. It's been pretty warm here in San Diego this week so I'm more motivated to get full ac control back.

Thank you again for your response and for all the time you obviously invested in the double din posts.