what parts do i need to put a system in my car?

[KaylCody0918]

i love rock so i know i need at least a 10 inch...but what else do i need? a box?an amp? and what else?.. what do each of these things do???

please help the noob lol

 

[JamesWTaylorII]

The speakers (obviously).

Speakerbox - you have to have this for the physics of the speaker to work, otherwise its just a vibrating piece of rubber. Generally with bass, the bigger the box, the more deep and vibrant the sound. There is also a lot that goes into the type of wood that is used. Some people disagree with this and claim the box doesn't make a difference. This is an ignorant comment. There is a practical point though that you wont be able to tell. Just don't get a wedge (tiny speakerbox) unless you don't have another choice based on the size of your car.

Amp - this "cranks up" the power coming out of the head unit to make the speaker vibrate. WIthout the crank up in power, your speakers will sound very bad, if they work at all. The amp is connected directly to your battery, which is where it gets the power to crank up the juice.

Head Unit - The head unit is the common name for your radio/CD player. Most stocks work, but they aren't necessarily built for subs and therefore don't control your amp. Its not a bad idea to upgrade to an aftermarket headunit. If you don't want to invest in an aftermarket head unit, you will have to tweak the factory one (generally you just need to slpit one of the incoming wires that tells the head unit when the car is on) or put in a switch to turn your amp off.

Filter - If you have an aftermarket radio, then generally the HPF and LPF (low- and high-pass frequency) act as your filter. Otherwise, you will need to get a filter so your "main" speakers don't play base. If they do play base when you crank up your system, they will still be trying to play all the base, and then will crack and sound like crap. You can turn down the base, but this will cut down the sound to the amp too... so you have to have something inline between the radio and "main" speakers to tell them not to play base, hence a filter is needed.

Capacitor - If you get a really powerful system, you need a cap. Caps keep the power draw constant. Without one, whenever the speakers hit hard, your lights will dim, so they will be flashing when you pass a cop, and hence you'll get a ticket. Normally, you'll only need a cap with a 1000 W system or more. If you are just using a 10", you're fine. However, if you decide to go nuts and get two 12"s and a 15", then go ahead and get a cap too.

Wires/fuse/etc. - Make sure the power wires you use are rated for the power of your amp. Also, someone people don't use a fuse when they install. That's just stupid. If you don't have a fuse and a power cable gets cut in a wreck, it can start a fire.

Good luck.