Hi All,

Have recently bought a 2001 TJ Advance Wagon and thinking of installing the following:

Headunit - Kenwood KDC-XBT8013U (3x 4 volt pre-outs)
Splits - JL Audio VR600-CSi (6" woofer, .75" tweeters)
Speaker Amp - Blaupunkt Velocity VR-504 (4x 75w RMS, will run all four speakers, already owned)
Sub - JL Audio HO112RDGW3V3 (JL high output box with 1x 500W 12" W3V3 sub)
Sub Amp - JL Audio Slash 500/1v2 (500w monoblock amp)

1./ Is it fair to assume the factory battery and alternator can handle this gear without requiring any upgrades?

The JL speakers are fairly cheap as they're older models (about $280) so I was thinking of buying 2 sets, and installing one set in the back of the wagon as well the front. I will use the wagon while camping so will have the stereo playing with the tailgate / doors open a bit, and may even sleep in the back on occasion, so I'm thinking the better sound quality may be worth it. As I'd otherwise spend around $180 on 6x9's I'd imagine the splits in the rear may be worth it, since the JL's are in runout pricing.

2./ Has anyone put splits in the rear of the wagon? Are they are waste of money compared to 6x9's? I'm thinking of mouting them on some MDF then putting them in the 6x9 space; anyone done this or is there a better location?

3./ Does anyone know where I can get a replacement wagon cargo blind as this car doesn't have one (perhaps as it has a cargo barrier instead, which I will probably leave out most of the time) and I'm not particularly keen on having my new subwoofer on display for any window shopping thieves...

4./ Those that have used sound damping material in the rear of their wagon, does it go onto the metal of the car, then the original MDF that forms the base of the wagon floor gets screwed on top of the damping material and into the metal again? I ask because I have to replace the MDF floor anyway due to some water / oil damage so may do the dampening at the same time.

5./ Does anyone know where to get new rear carpet from, or how much a wrecker would sell it for, as the existing one has dog hair that CANNOT be removed so I'm thinking it may be easier to replace it, or even just re-trim the whole rear with new carpet (including the side section, like in Verada's I think). Where do most of you guys get the carpet for your custom installs? Spotlight or something?

Thanks in advance for any help or ideas!!

1. Your not drawing too much power so it "should" be okay but upgrading the battery is always a good idea.

2. Rear speakers are a total waste of money, they reduce the sound quality of the system overall. If your going to sleep in the back, if the fronts are good enough quality you should still be able to hear them from the front.

4. Its designed to stop panels resonating so the metal bits should suffice.

5. I could get you carpet myself but the shipping cost for the amount you need will probably make it too expensive.

If you are actually thinking about getting another set of splits I can help you with a different model for around the same price and I'm sure they will become the new fronts ;)

Good luck with your install!

For what you have the stock alternator is plenty. The battery is worth upgrading, especially if you are running it camping with the motor off.

Rear speakers are frowned on for sound quality, but if you are camping etc and want a bit more volume, then they won't hurt. A pair of Jaycar Response Kevlar Coaxials would do the job and make fitting easier as you don't have to worry about seperate mounting of the tweeters.

Cheers,
Pete

Yeah nothing wrong with back speakers. Little 4incher should do the trick, just make sure you have total fade control or if you amp them, put a switch on the remote wire on the amp so you can turn them off all together :D

Put the gear in first with at least an upgrade battery strap from the negative terminal and see how your charging system goes, if not upgrade some of the components as mentioned.

Hehehe, sorry if I come accross super anti-rear speakers, in your case I guess there is some merit to installing them :P

Don'y worry mate I have never upgraded any of my rear speakers except where a sub was not present.

We take a commo wagon out sometimes and it needs little rear speakers so we can just open the rear hatch instead of having it all open.

Thanks for the help everyone, some fantastic advice that has really helped me!! :-) Particularly regarding the battery / alternator as I've never owned a Magna before so wasn't sure what kind of load the system can take - all I know is I hate having to change the complete electrical system when stock isn't up to it. Would seem I'll be OK, or at most perhaps a larger battery which is fine; will report back after the install.

I agree with the comments on rear speakers, and normally leave them out / get cheap ones in other vehicles, but considering camping etc with the rear door open I think I'll get something, though maybe not the VR600s - will just get some 6x9s that match with the splits I get (they will be amped from the 4 x 75wrms amp, so will have full fade control and the switch on the amp itself would allow me to turn off the rear speakers if desired).

So Joe, without going into a full "what speaker" thread, which splits were you referring to? Hopefully something that JB HiFi carry as I can get some gear at cost price from them and am interested in your opinion (especially some feedback on the JL's if you've heard them).

Again, thanks everyone for the detailed and very helpful input!!

Oh and forgot to mention, regarding carpet and cargo blind-

Cargo blinds are proving near impossible to source, and the genuine part is $260 - I confirmed he meant the blind and wasn't talking about a cargo barrier or something. So yeah, I don't think it's quite worth that much to me (that's a few years of home insurance premium increases for adding the sub to my policy, or half the cost of the sub just to hide it from view) so will be hooking up a picnic rug looking thing to hide the sub.

Carpet I'm undecided upon, but don't think I'll trim the sides now and will probably leave it as is. For those interested, a genuine new carpet is around $90.