eulogious

That's what I would do! Never know when you will need that stuff

There is a micro switch down by the gas pedal that controls when the A/C kicks on and off. It's about a foot from the firewall on the righthand side, down by the gas pedal. You can clearly see it, it's not hidden. It's control by the physical levers moving the vents, so if you just unbolt the switch, you will effectively disable the AC. If you want to re-enable it, just put the switch back. It's a super simple system. I removed the switch, and added in a relay control by another switch on my dash so I can turn the AC on or off on any setting. Much better this way, and I really don't know why Subaru didn't it this way to begin with

I believe they "fit" but they are not the same. Something about the EJ stuff being a little bigger, but not really enough to make THAT much of a difference. But they should swap none-the-less. When I did my paddle shifters and researching for them, one of the things that I read was that presslab had to adjust his shims because the TCU was expecting something different when it came to the AWD, something like that. I haven't had to do anything to mine though, so it can't be too much of a difference between the EA and the EJ stuff. But my TCU is custom, so take that for what it's worth I believe Gloyale has taken both apart, I know he swapped an EA 4EAT for an EJ 4EAT and didn't have any problems, but that was the whole trans...

The XS works!! I haven't really had a change to play with adjusting it too much, so I will tonight in my works parking garage I should be able to make it as loud as I want and not disturb anyone, I will fiddle around with it then. I will say this, wow. I really like this XS. Once I figured out that I was adjusting the bass boost instead of the gains, it sounds much better. Man, it gets LOUD with 75 watts RMS going to the inside speakers and 500 wats RMS going to the sub! It's been so long since I sold by Saturn that had basically this same setup in it. Man, it's good to have good tunes again! Pics (Cell Phone)!!! It needs to be cleaned up, but it all works. I will tidy it up here in the next little bit, but for now, I will enjoy my new amps!

+1 Just saw it 3 days ago in my wagon when I took back the carpet to run some wires. It's right by the pillar. I had my seats out and it was super easy to get to...

Thanks man! If you are really considering getting one of those bad boys, you should look into batcaps. http://www.batcap.net/Products/BatCapProductLine/tabid/58/Default.aspx They are what made me go out and look at SLA batteries. They are smaller and pack quite a punch, so it might work out better. You can find them on the Bay for about $175. For the price though, I am still going to go with a small SLA battery. Should work almost the same and cost only $40, much cheaper. One thing is for sure though, if you get one of those, that should really help your problem out! What do you have planned for you install? I have run the wires for my 6x9's to my amp, so now I need to wire in another small fan that I picked up, and then wire up my new amp! With this setup I will be running 75x4 RMS to each corner of my car, and then 500x1 RMS to my sub I think that should be plenty loud for me! That and I still haven't lost any room in my car!!

So I got the rest of the amp rack made and fitted in, and I mounted the XS2500, but I didn't wire it in, I am too tired right now for that. That will come tonight/tomorrow Pics!! I didn't think I would see this pretty sight for a few months! Thanks craigslist!! I am by no means done with this, this is just the rough test fit before I button it all down, so keep that in mind. But it is starting to come together like I imagined it would, and I like it alot So ya. It's coming together for sure! I got some more silver 4awg, and I still have some blue, so it will match. I also picked up 140 feet of 16awg speaker wire brand new for CHEAP as well!! I am just coming across deals left and right yo! It's friggin' christmas in May for me!! Now it's bedtime...

You do bring up a very good point that wasn't addressed that should prevent fires, FUSES!! I have been up for over 24hrs, the mind isn't quite as sharp as it should be… If you fuse everything correctly, then there should be very minimal risk of fire!! Good call GD

I should add that you should consider the little battery I mentioned earlier. Here is a thread I started at a car audio forum asking about it, and answers some questions about the usage. That little battery and your yellow top might be all you really need for listening to music while camping and stuff. Here's the link, but for $40, it might be a worthy thing to buy to help you out. That and you don't have to buy anything else to wire it in. SLA batteries just need a steady voltage of about 13.8 to stay charged, so you should be good on that front as well... http://phoenixphorum.com/differences-between-batcap-and-a-sealed-lead-acid-battery-vt14145.html Let me know what you thing dude. I think I am going to get one to help my system out...

I just want to state, I am just being the devil advocate. I am also trying to save you from buying things you don't need since money is tight I have asked myself these same questions recently and did lots of research. I am not trying to accuse you of anything, just giving you the other side of the picture. I used the camping example more to point out that you even said you weren't going to be bumping, so why get another battery?, that's all man. I have been up to your place, your a good guy and I know you wouldn't be bumping and all that Not trying to rehash old things, and that wasn't my intention. Sorry. Back to the topic... That would be exactly what I would do. That will give you plenty of juice, and not kill your charging system, but still leave you plenty of power for other things. I know that I found a place that will rewire a maxima alt to 160amp for $245 I believe, so that might be a cheaper route to go...

Give you some more options for sure!

Well you are correct about the yellow top, and that is not what you want for loads the pull alot off the battery ... The red top has better specs, CCA, discharge, ect, it will deliver it power better than the yellow top and quicker, but that's besides the point, you have the yellow top so this argument really is a moot point Double batteries won't help you, only your alt... see my previous post. This is a fact. Research it if you don't believe me. Dual batteries will not help you will heavy draws on your system, they only help when your car is off, so you don't drain your starter battery. That's the only thing they do. You install a battery isolator that switches to the non-starter battery when the car is off, and run the stereo off the non-starter battery instead of the starter batter. You will not utilize both batteries all the time, in fact NEVER!!! That's why they call it a battery isolator. It isolates the batteries from each other. A fully charged yellow top should do you just fine. If you drain a fully charged yellow top, you are not doing enough activities while you are camping (I kid of course) And if you are running 200amps with your car off, you got issue man! If you were to use anywhere near all your power near my camping site, I think you would have a BIG problem, so again, why the double batteries? You also said that you weren't going to be blasting it at the campsite, so why the double batteries again? Just tyring to save you money man. You don't need 2 batteries!!! It's a myth!! Oh, and just to quote you from another thread Voltage is misleading. It's the amp draw you need to worry about(CCA really), and you can't really measure that with a DMM. Trust me man, you will want to charge it to be on the safe side. Better safe than sorry VR went out on your alt. When the VR goes out, the alt can't decided what voltage the system needs and just gives it what ever. The VR is what tells the alt to apply more amps when the system dips to compensate for the voltage/amp drop. Same symptoms on any thing that has a VR in it. 24v generators are no different. Military stuff is probably a little higher grade then consumer stuff, so that's most likely why they didn't fail on you in the military. Good luck with that dude! Tell us how it goes!

Totally understand that for sure. The red top is just the "upgrade" to the yellow top. It's got better specs, that's all. I wouldn't run double yellowtops, overkill for sure. The only reason you would run a second yellow top is if you are going to be running your system with the car off a bunch, for competitions and what not. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking double batteries is going to help your car run better and save your electrical system from your car stereo. It won't. That's just the NAPA salesman trying to get another $150 from you The only reason I suggested the little battery is because it would help your system out SOME (like a cap) temporarily until you get a new/bigger alt, and it doesn't cost alot to add and you don't need an isolator for it to work. Your alt is going to be the biggie for you. Your single yellow top should be fine, but I would let it sit on a charger for a while before throwing it back in your car. If you put a battery that is low on charge back into the car, you can fry a new alt because it will run 100% all the time trying to charge the dead battery that it can't charge. Ask me how I know this Get it back up to speed and then throw it back in. 320amps is a little overkill for sure, but you get the idea I think you would probably be fine around the 200amp mark. But then if the price is right, buy BIG!! Obviously if your car doesn't run/move then you should fix that first, then worry about the alt

You need to upgrade the your charging system man! Your JL amp fused for 100 amps by itself. The little alt can only do so much, that's almost twice what the alt is rated for. I would look into getting another little battery as well. Something like this... http://www.ragebattery.com/batterystore/SLA-17-12.html Wire that in and it will help, it has low internal resistance and will act as a cap, kinda. But it will help, because when your amplifiers draw more than 55amps, the power draw comes from your battery, and since you are drawing the maximum off your alt, your alt can't charge the battery and you continue to drain the battery. Then even when you are not bumping the music super loud, your alt is still working 100% to charge the battery that it really never gets a chance to do, since you are always drawing from it. So adding in another battery will help save the 55amper from having to stress so much charging your battery(s). I would also go with a red top optima as well. It will last a little longer... Of course adding another battery in will add more to the charging system since it has to charge it, but with a SLA battery, it doesn't really take much to charge them, but it is something to think about as well. After your EJ swap, you need to upgrade to alt to alteast a 90amp, if not a 160amp for your system. Even with a 160amp, you would probably still be pulling more than that with your setup. I would go look at all your fuses on your amplifiers and add them up. That's how many amps you need your alt to be at a MINIMUM to run your setup. And that doesn't even include the load of the car itself... But you need to fix this, your you will be blowing your alts all the time, even after the swap!! I am going to be getting the maxima alt here soon, my charging system is going to need upgraded soon as well.

So the craigslists gods have shined down on me, and I picked up these beauties today for CHEAP!!! I couldn't resist pickin'em up! I got a Phoenix Gold XS2500 that looks like new! It's used but it works!! This is probably going to be my wifes eventually, but for now it's going to power my 8" solobaric! Then I got a Phoenix Gold Tantrum 400.4 that works as well! This will be going into the wife's car for sure. So I was able to run up to Seattle and pick both of these amps up tonight, and I still made it back in time to go to work. Gotta love craigslist! I got them from two different sellers, but got'em both for super cheap! I can't wait to install the XS2500 into my subie!

I will have to check it out. Fiberglass is on my list of things to try/do We shall see how that goes. Thanks for the link to the site, I will check it out in a bit. I made some more progress I got one of the pieces of wood put down, and the amp screwed to it. I also installed a relay and a fan as well Here's some pics… Here's the wood I found for $0.51 Here's it installed for now. Here's a pic of the fan and the relay. Here is my sub fitting in there all nice and neat. So I used butt connectors for now just to make sure that it all works, and when I button it all up with two amps and paint it and all that jazz I will solder all the connections. But for now, it's looking cleaner and better every day! I might be getting some new toys here tonight… we shall see

You are correct This was my first attempt at wrapping a box, so I am really not to sad about it. In my MR2 you couldn't see it so I didn't care But next time I will take my time and try to do it better. This install I am doing now is kinda a trial run for when I do the MR2. I am going to completely rewire it and make it better, so I am practicing on my subie. That way in case I mess it up, it's not a big deal

I guess I should add that this sub is only temporary as well. It was sitting around not getting used, so I decided to use it, instead of having it collect dust like it has for the last year or so

Well, it's not a cheap box. I built myself. It's made out of 3/4" MDF and it's screwed and glued, and the woofer still takes about 7 seconds to come to rest after being fully pushed in so it's still very much sealed. It's designed for the minimum cf for that sub, as per the manual to fit behind the passenger seat in my MR2. I just didn't use good glue for the carpet I just really don't care right now to fix it. I will probably reglue the carpet and do it nicer and take my time at some point in time. I also didn't really sand the edges of the box or anything I was just in a hurry to get it done, then it sat in my MR2 for about 5 years, so ya. Either way the sub and the box are staying together because it will go back into my MR2 when I rebuild it. This car is going to getting a Phoenix Gold 12" rdsc sub, and a new box, when I can afford it I just ain't got no moneys!

Nice, you had some bumps for sure in there! You lost some of your storage though, but that ok. It's all in what you want. I got the pull curtain and I always have that over my stuff. I do not want people to see what I have, unless I show them it I was truly surprised on how much I don't miss that compartment! I got rid of a few things that I found out I didn't really need, after not touching them in my car for 6 months, and that ended up clearing up all the space I needed. Also I was surprise that my sub fit PERFECTLY in the back. I couldn't believe it. It's seriously like I made it to fit in there, right next to my rubbermaid container. I will take pics of the back all put back together to show what I mean. I also went out and adjusted the amp, and all I can say is, WOW. What a difference it makes after you adjust the amp and get it tuned in. It sounds really good for just one amp! Once everything was adjusted the alt whine almost went away. It's there, but hardly noticeable. I am going to try to get rid of it, but for now its totally tolerable. So far I really like it. Now I just have to pretty the compartment, and the amp install will be complete!

Ok, so here are the pics! It's not completely done at all, but it works and I lost no room in my car! I had to consolidate, but everything that was in my car before I started is still in there. I also had to clean up my parents garage before they got home and get out, so I will have to pretty up the install later becuase I ran out of time, but that will be a slow process anyways since I am trying to do it nice for the first time I ran the power through the fender so I didn't have to punch through the firewall and what not. This was way easier for sure... This is the factory grommet for the engine wiring harness, so I have lots of extra room to poke through Feeding it through and running it back Where I installed my cap. Still don't have a ground for it :-\ Connecting it to the battery It's all wired up and ready to go! Testing it... My car will probably never be this clean again. That and it's so empty... My LPL (remote bass control) All back together again. Here's an idea of what it will look like with th top removed. Needs to be prettied up, but you get the idea. I ran into some other issues was well. One pair of my RCA's is broke. The end has a bad connection on it :-\ At least that's better than my rear inputs not working on the amp which was what I originally thought it was. So I will get some new end for RCA and see if that fixes it. I have the dreaded alt whine as well, but I am going to look at that soon. I am going to be ordering up some more install pretty stuff soon as well. I am going to replace a bunch of my older stuff with new, but I just want to get something in there for now. I also need to adjust the amp as well. I haven't had time to fiddle with the sound, so that will be happening soon as well. Other than that it sounds great (minus the alt whine)! I am happy I can finally hear the bass again. What a difference a sub makes for sure!

Not really. The SVX's aren't lifted either. Turning 31's is going to be tough on any tranny, especially a 4EAT with 230 HP going to it already. Still probably going to break parts. 31's are tough on trannys. Weight is only a small part of your equation IMO...

Thanks! The box was one I did about 4 years ago, and it didn't last That is on the list. Now time to make it all look pretty, that's going to be the hard part :-\ but also the fun part I have pics of my progress, but I left the camera card in the camera, so I don't have access to the pics right now, oh well. I will post pics when I get it almort done.

It works! I got it going today. Man 0 gauge wire is a pain. Luckily I had 17', because I used all 17', and I still can't hook up my cap. I can't find any 0 gauge wire I can buy locally :-\ Oh, well. But it sounds WAY better. No more distortion when I crank it! I will post pics tonight, I am to tired to get them ready, so I will get to that tonight. My car is still torn apart, I ran into a few issues, fixed them, but it works and I tested it and it didn't break on me! Tomorrow I will put my car back together and really see what it sounds like! It will take some more time to make it pretty, but once it works, I can gussy it up later. I am stoked to finally have bass again!