Hey everyone. Im super new to the car audio world. I have no idea what's what when it comes to compatibility or anything.

I have the capacity to understand. I want to hook it all up myself as a learning experience so any helpful info is appreciated. I have read articles and stuff online about it to get general knowledge.

Anyways to the request. I bought the car used for $400. It runs great. Has no issues mechanical or electrical. I got it for a steal. The issue I have with it is the sound system is about half blown out. The head unit is stock from 98 and has issues itself.

1998 pontiac grand prix 2 door.

Im looking for a setup to replace all speakers inside. Doors and rear. Plus I want to add 2 12" subs in the trunk. The trunk is really large and can hold whatever I want in it. Deep perfect for bass.

My budget right now is around $600.

You can do 2 setups. One for subs and one for internal speakers. Or even one for everything.

Let me know what you think jsp. Thank you.

2 x http://www.soundqubed.com/HDS2.112?redirect=1 (get the dual 1 ohms or else they will only be .5 and 2 ohm stable.)
https://www.amazon.com/AudioPipe-APCL15001D-Power-Class-Amplifier/dp/B00BW54418/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495073247&sr=8-1&keywords=audiopipe%201500
https://www.amazon.com/Rockford-Fosgate-R1525X2-5-25-Inch-Coaxial/dp/B00BF6HX9E/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1495073328&sr=1-1&keywords=Rockford%20fosgate%205.25
https://www.amazon.com/Rockford-Fosgate-R169X3-Full-Range-Coaxial/dp/B00BF6HVG4/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1495073374&sr=1-1&keywords=Rockford%20fosgate%206x9
http://www.knukonceptz.com/mobile-audio/amp-installation-kits/sp/kca-complete-4-gauge-amplifier-installation-kit-/
https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-DEH-X6800BS-Receiver-Bluetooth-SiriusXM/dp/B01HDSWKUO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1495073737&sr=8-2&keywords=DEH-X6800BS

It slightly over budget but all high end components and all sound great... You will get a solid 1200RMS to those subwoofers which will be loud in the right box (i owned a grand prix with similar setup and it banged.) the door speakers should be plenty loud off the headunit and sound good. The headunit has everything you need and then some. The wiring kit comes with everything and is high quality. Only thing you will need is a wiring harness and dash install kit from walmart for an extra $30. As far as a sub box I highly recommend getting a cut sheet drawn out and making your own its quite easy, you'll be hard pressed to find a premade that can fit in the back of your grand prix.

600 is a good budget but to get 2 12's, headunit and door speakers, box, wiring, install kits and any type of quality from them you'll need to up your budget slightly. I'd try to aim for $700-800 all said and done. If you wanted to go a single 15 on less power I could probably fit it in your 600 budget.

This post was edited by Crescendo on May 17 2017 08:23pm

Rather then the knu wire, I found a company that sells 1/0 excellene welding cable, I paid like 1.70 a ft for black and 1.85 for red, I like welding cable better because theres actually a standardized rating, if it says it handles x power it will (federally mandated and most of it is also usa manufactured)

wire and supply on google, u can also get ti on ebay for a cunt hair cheaper if you search 1/0 excellene welding cable.


I'm wouldn't mind plotting a box if you decide to go that route, but maybe a few fg for my time

and yes... a custom box is going to be a big improvement over a prefab enclosure assuming you have the abilities and the tools to build lol

you seem to push that hds line pretty hard, you ever ran them?

and on the 15 id imagine the 12s would get louder cone area and they probably have the same motor, that being said id run the 12s personally but the 15 would be happier in the lower range (assuming I haven't crossed t-s sheets)


and while I don't really care for coaxils it seems like crescendo definitely built you a good little list, there really isn't many if any other options for door speakers at that price point


and for the record ive heard really good things about the apcl line, never ran them but it damn near did rated on the amp dyno (think it did over rated in dynamic)

This post was edited by TanKiE on May 18 2017 01:40pm

You don't need 1/0 and you will be hard off getting that stuff to fit in any of the smaller amps without cutting off some of the excess anyways, also the Knu wire comes with RCA's, Terminals, Remote Wire, Ground Wire, Positive Wire and Fuse Holder/Fuse so you won't beat it for the price imho. Plus welding cable does not like to bend so is usually a PITA to run through the car. You might make 0/1 fit in the Audiopipe 1500 but its gonna be a TIGHT fit. I've ran 4 gauge to a 2300RMS amp before (was stupid I know.) and it never burned up or caused any output issues, so 4 gauge so be more than enough for 1200-1500rms, will be easier to run than welding cable and you wont have to cut any of it off the end to make it fit.

I will also design a box for fg payments, let me know I did a 145 on 2 15's @ 1.2K, 146 with 1 18 on 2300 @ 30hz etc. etc.

I wouldn't mind suggesting a prefab for a basic setup as its easier for beginners but its REALLY HARD to find a good one to fit in some car trunks.

I ran HDC's before and they take a lot more than they say and get stupid loud for the power/price, very stiff suspension so its hard to over drive them. for $120 I can't really recommend anything better except used.

I ran an older version of the Audiopipe 1500 and it did about rated but got pretty hot. That's why I suggest the 1500 for 1200RMS so you can tune the amp down a little and get rated while keeping things cool and safe. For a budget build Audiopipe is a great amp if you know what you're doing and dont drive it too hard.

I appreciate the props and criticism always good to have other suggestions.

This post was edited by Crescendo on May 19 2017 10:33am

This guy seriously knows what he's talking about and I agree with everything he picked out for you, but if you have room for a double din check out this stereo https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-AVH4200NEX-Receiver-Motorized-Bluetooth/dp/B01D6HPMZQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495254385&sr=8-1&keywords=pioneer%204200nex

I ordered the 4100nex from https://www.soundoftristate.com/pioneer-avh-4100nex (cheaper than amazon and got here in 2 days) and they sent me a 4200nex (an extra 100-150 dollar stereo maybe they made a mistake). The 4100/4200nex has apple car play and android auto as well so you can hook up your phone via the usb and get navigation and all that fun stuff.

Edit: didn't read your budget disregard my stereo recommendation

My current setup is 4 6x8 rockford fosgate p1683
2 alpine type R 12s (dual 4 at 1 ohm wired)
audiopipe 1500.d1 pushing the 2 12s
pioneer 4200nex receiver

total for my setup came in around $1000 and installed it myself (probably would have been at least double to pay someone)

Another edit. If you decide to grab the audiopipe 1500.d1 amp, it only has 4 gauge power/ground in so you will need to grab some gauge converters if you decide to go with 1/0 gauge. I got the converters from knukonceptz and had to grind and polish them so they would fit in the power/ground inputs on the audiopipe amp. The amp is an absolute beast for it's price I recommend it. Doesn't run hot at all after playing for several hours continuously with the gain at 40%. If you haven't already, go check out a video on how to set your gains using a multimeter based off the RMS/Ohm configuration of your subs it will keep you from clipping.

This post was edited by dezzle_mane on May 19 2017 10:37pm

This is why I told him in my second post not to go with 0/1 after it was recommended, the ampliifer install kit I picked out was 4 gauge. also they must have done some major adjusting to the AP series because my 1500D got hot as hell D:

I appreciate the input fellas.

It probably would have been better for me to give a little more information on the car's set-up as it is.

I will probably give this kit a try, the only thing is the head unit in the car right now is a double din which isn't a big deal since I can just cap the excess off.

Also Inside the car, the doors each have a standard speaker on the bottom, the also have a small tweeter speaker near the window corners on them, and in the back it has 4 speakers that come up behind the back seat. I believe they are 6" x 9" with a 5.25" beside them.

Assuming that I an correct on those measurements, i can probably just buy an additional pair of the 5.25" speakers you already posted up to replace the 2 current 5.25" in the back.

I will need a box for sure for the subs. I would rather build it myself then buy something premade that will disappoint me.

I have plenty of tools from my job to build a box with no issues at all. I build stuff all the time.

I figured the budget would be tight on this but it's fine, I don't mind spending a few hundred extra if I need to so that I can get everything I need. Like the box for the subs, that can be extra on the budget, as well as maybe a double din head , and those other 5.25" speakers.

MY brother told me that he is going to throw me about $400 towards the system to help me out so If it ends up being closer to the $800 - $1000 range , I'm fine with that.


I appreciate all the information and the positive reinforcement to this kit as it is.


** Edit, Also those subs you linked in options only have a selection for 2 ohm and 4 ohm , i don't see an option for dual 1 ohm

This post was edited by Forbid on May 21 2017 02:23pm

If you are going for 2 12s you can get dual 4 ohm and wire them down to 1 ohm. I did this on my audiopipe APCL-1500D with 2 alpine type R 12s and they work just fine.

Homie has 2/0 on two nendo 5500s, doin work on 4 contralto 15s he's the one that put me on it

Was more a shout to I then to him but they sell 2gauge and 1gauge too I'm sure that would be comparable to car audio 4gauge and still probably much cheaper

I'm a pretty big fan of this stuff, and I run it to distribution, I assumed most people did that, I run 4ga to my 800.4 and 1/0 to my zx1500(because it takes it)

I'd rather have more wire then I need to carry my workload then not enough, and most people aren't even fused right for what they are doing, under wired and over fused Is a fire hazard and I see more settups like that then not

But again im not sure what the knu kits go for but wire is expensive, like I probably saved 100$ over a stinger kit and I can do the same amount of work more then likely, wire isn't tinned but I'm not driving a boat either so..I think it should be just fine I've got like 35 ft in the work truck

http://imgur.com/a/6KX49
http://imgur.com/a/x6U2h

This post was edited by TanKiE on May 22 2017 07:45am

The kits I linked for Knu had prices. By the time you buy wire, fuse holder, rca's, connectors etc. you'll be at more money going with the welding wire vs knu konceptz. Also like I stated before the Audiopipe won't accept 0/1 so you'll end up cutting it down to size which is pointless. Also working with welding cable can a complete PITA since it doesn't flex as easy as regular wire. It's upto TC but I'd suggest just sticking to KnuKonceptz kits, if you want 0 gauge they have a 0 gauge option as well, but it won't fit in that amp.