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New Prius Owner, ? about adding amplifier

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by JordanC, May 12, 2014.

  1. JordanC

    JordanC Junior Member

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    2013 Prius
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    I just joined the Prius club last week as I bought a new 2013 Prius 3 and I am looking to upgrade my audio system. I have read through most of the posts in this forum over the last few days and my only concern is the ability of the stock battery/charging system to keep up with the amp I am looking to install. I used to work in the 12v industry for over a decade but have been out of the game for a number of years. While I have done a number of custom systems in Toyota's I have not done one in a Prius. I am looking to keep my factory HU and will be installing the following components in my car; Kicker SS56.2 6" components in Doors & Dash, Kicker 10" CompRT sub with a Kicker SX900.4 amplifier and SXRC (Amp Remote) powering the front components and sub. The factory rear speakers will be powered by the head unit for fill. I have a 1/0 Power kit and 5 farad capacitor to supply power to the amp which has a fuse rating of 120 amps. It seems that all pictures or descriptions of custom installs on this board have been without a capacitor or upgraded battery installed. I am concerned most with damaging the Hybrid/Charging system. For those with large single or multiple amp installations, Have you installed a Capacitor or upgraded the battery and if you haven't, Have you noticed any issues with headlights dimming, electrical issues or the battery system losing its charge?
    Thanks,
    Jordan
     
  2. JGI

    JGI Member

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    Jordan, I've ditched the cap 10 yrs ago since it doesn't seem to be making any audible differences even when I used to compete. HO Alt and an Optima YT were the biggest noticeable upgrades then. Personally I would steer clear of using any CAP in the Prius, for no reason other than it could just add load to the charging system, and a potential to damage something. I have never seen my headlights dim on the prius unlike in my other 'regular' cars.

    Just stay on the safe side and don't use big amps that drain a lot of power with the Prius and you should be okay. Those days of bumping are over for me anyways.
     
    Montgomery likes this.
  3. Radiospank

    Radiospank Member

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    I use a 2k watt amp and no issues and no dim
     
  4. tach18k

    tach18k Member

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    Dont think you need more than 100rms to power the six speakers, and done right really wont need a sub. I have a 40rms amp in my Camry and it is way more than enough, and the gains are down to nothing.
     
    Montgomery likes this.
  5. Grren4ever

    Grren4ever Active Member

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    I have an alpine PDX-V9 digital amp going into the Prius next month and my installer says that with these efficient class D amps, I don't have to worry about excess power consumption. Not sure if your amp is class D but perhaps you can do more research in that realm if you haven't bought your system yet?

    Good luck.
     
  6. Chris S

    Chris S Active Member

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    I use a 1 Farad cap with my Eclipse XA1000 class D monoblock but I'm also not so sure it's necessary. I originally skipped the cap on the install and saw no issues with the electrical. After a few months I did put it in though, just for a little insurance. I learned the hard way about caps when I replaced an alternator but that was with an old A/B 2-channel amp. Since then I always had the cap and just feel better with it.


    iPhone ?
     
  7. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    Make sure your SX900.4 is compatible with the other components first. If it's a "D" amp, no cap is required, A, B or A/B...cap it. The charging system can handle it just fine, but use good grounds and fuse it as close to the 12 vdc battery as possible.
     
  8. JordanC

    JordanC Junior Member

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    After doing some research on how the Prius charging system works I have decided to go with a different setup. If you guys are not familiar with the Kicker line of SX (2006-era) amps they were absolute beasts. They are Class A/B amps with 32-bit DSP Processing on-board that are Current hogs. The Sx900.4 that I own poses too much of a risk to the stock charging system so I decided to go with an Alpine PDX-V9. I am going to power my Kicker SS 56.2 Components with the front channels, Factory stock speakers are remaining on factory head unit and I an going to use the Sub Channel on the PDXV-9 to go to a JL Audio Dual 8W3 Micro Sub box. I am gong to only use 3 channel's on the PDXV-9 so I should be good to go with minimal current draw.
     
  9. Grren4ever

    Grren4ever Active Member

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    Yay! another PDX-V9 buddy. I got mine from amazon.com for about $405 shipped from retailer named "WoofersETC." Local stores in my city sell them for at least $659. Good luck
     
  10. AKWSF

    AKWSF Junior Member

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    Going to take pics on installation process?
     
    Montgomery likes this.
  11. JordanC

    JordanC Junior Member

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    I completed my pre wiring yesterday and didn't think to do so. I removed the head unit and wired in the 2 Soundgate LocB.2's & rem turn on lead, ran the 4ch RCA's, new speaker leads and modified a Kicker sub control knob to fit into the dummy panel below the start button to control the sub output on the P9. I'll try to take some pics of the SS components, amp and sub box once it's complete.
     
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  12. pbandnv

    pbandnv New Member

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    I'm getting ready to add a subwoofer and amp-- unfortunately, I don't have a lot of experience. My question is should I tap into the head unit to instal the RCA line-level out like you did, or should I just tap into the rear door speakers? I'm planning on putting my amp in the hidden cargo box in the back. Thanks for any input on this.
     
  13. Gas Mizer

    Gas Mizer Member

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    Are you using a line level adapter and keeping the stock head unit? Did they improve those over the years? They used to be garbage in the 90's.
     
  14. pbandnv

    pbandnv New Member

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    I have the 2012 prius model III non-JBL touch-screen nav HD radio. I actually think the stock system sounds pretty good but has almost no bottom end. Only has a 3 band eq and limited controls for sound. I'm pretty sure that adding a sub will be good enough for me though.
     
  15. JordanC

    JordanC Junior Member

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    If you are going to keep the stock head unit your only choice is using a quality line output converter. I chose to go with a tried and true high quality loc from Soundgate that I used for multiple customers and my own cars in the past. There are many different varieties out there, you just need to decide which one would be best to suit your needs. I chose the LOCB.2 because it has a flat frequency response with a broad range of voltage adjustment and it is built for optimal sound quality. You should always install the LOC closest to the source unit. If you have a NON-JBL system that would be at the back of the head unit, if you have a JBL system it would be at the amplifiers output. And yes, LOC's have improved substantially since the 90's. :) Check out Soundgate, JL Audio and AudioControl. They all make high quality LOC's.
     
  16. AKWSF

    AKWSF Junior Member

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    the '12+ Prius 3 non-JBL navi doesnt have the same wire harness like the JBL navi? (From HU to under front passenger seat.) Kind of miss having amp powered audio.
     
  17. Radiospank

    Radiospank Member

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    I'm successfully running my amp at 1200 watts @ 2ohm and the prius charging system has not given me any problems. Even when I was running my amp at .5 ohm 2200 watts the prius would volt drop at 13.4 at its heaviest load. I love prius for its ability to run this amount of amps with no extra batteries.
     
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  18. Chris S

    Chris S Active Member

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    That's awesome to hear. I suppose the nature of the car demands a stabile electrical system.

    I was amazed a few years ago when I started my setup without using a cap, that it was my first car to have rock-steady headlights! To me, the electrical combined with the big hatchback cabin just scream for a couple amps and a woofer ;-)


    iPhone ?
     
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  19. skorpyo33

    skorpyo33 Junior Member

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    ----USA----
    Would love to know more about your setup , cause i want to put my 1200watt sony amp in 2010 prius to power 2x12" rf p2's
     
    #19 skorpyo33, May 1, 2018
    Last edited by a moderator: May 1, 2018
  20. Radiospank

    Radiospank Member

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    hey sorry so late lol I never come in here.
    I want to update that i’m still running my Morel Ultimo at 2 ohms on a 1000 watts with no problems. Car has 105k miles and i’ve only changed the stock battery once to an ultimo yellow top after my original battery died. The electrical system is so good and the headlights never dim or voltage drops. I highly recommend running at least 1000 watts for the woofer if your a bass head like me. Next i’m going to finally replace my front speakers and tweeters and add a 4 channel amp to power them. Will post about it when I do.