Hey- I am making the move to the double din metra bezel and adding a 5 channel amp to run the 4 speakers and 1 sub. Does anyone have a checklist of things I’ll need? It’s for a 97 coupe

I have:
- pioneer double din unit
- sub
- Pioneer 5 channel amp and
- 8g wiring kit
- metra dash bezel kit

(I am not using XM or GPS)

do I need other wiring harnesses or anything ? Antenna adapter? I plan to run all 4 new speakers to the amp.

Also any tips or links would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

If you are putting new speakers in the door, you will need some form of adapter plate to mount them.

 

I replaced the door and rear speakers about a year ago so they’re in and done. Polk Audubon. I plan to wire them to the amp with new wiring. Thank you though.

 

You will probably get others to chime in on your list but I didn't see a sub box. You can get sub boxes that are designed to fit in the "bucket" in the back and hold your subwoofer. There are some fine vendors here on the forum that probably offer them. But to see what they look like, you can ask Mr. Google to show you the results of "c5 corvette subwoofer box".

Since you are taking it this far, why not go a little further and go with a 4 channel amp for your mids and mono block (1 channel amp) for your sub?

I have a few recommendations but this can be a very subjective of personal taste:

1) For the sub, I recommend the JL Audio 10w6v3. This is a 10" sub. You could go with a 12 inch but I think the 10 inch does fine.
2) I recommend Class D amps because of their small size. With them, you can do "stealth" installs by mounting them on a glued board to the bulk head (each amp behind each seat)
3) Go with Kenwood double din head units. Kenwood's latest double din is DNX996XR and it is awesome (see below). I had two Pioneer Double din head units and they were horrible.



Good luck... let us know how it turns out!

 

Derp. Misread.

 

Is this adapter needed if I am replacing the head unit too? Thinks something I haven’t really seen in and write ups or videos.

Also- I do have a sub and box already. I didn’t order the head unit and dash yet. I’m contiplating doing a single din unit and get it all set up for a year and if I like it a lot I’ll upgrade to a double din. This shortcut saves me $600 for now. Plus- I have the 97 with the manual temp ***** so it’s dated. I’m worried the nice new screen will look out of place.

 

An 8 gauge wire seems undersized to me. I'd run a 4 gauge. Otherwise sounds like your pretty well set. The interface would be helpful for RAP. But, isn't needed for the sound side of things.

I believe you could also use window valet for RAP if you don't want to mess with the interface.

 

You do not need this unless you use the factory amp/or factory head unit to which you are not. You'll be running RCA cables from the Pioneer head unit to the amp and then new speaker wire to the speakers. This is the best way to do this.

 

Depends on the amp and how much current it pulls, but I'd agree with you that 4 gauge would be what I would run at a minimum in most, if not all, installs.

Handy chart for reference:

 

Forgive me but what do you mean by RAP?

 

Any other helpful tips?

I read something about the remote wire needed to tap into fuse box on passenger side? How exactly is that part done?

Thank you

 

I just finished my full aftermarket stereo, best mod I've done this year.

+1 on the Kenwood unit instead of Pioneer. I have a Pioneer (it came with the car) and sucks. It's selective as far as the iPhones it wants to connect to. I plan to replace my head unit soon.
+1 on the 4 gauge kit. I got a KnuKonceptz 4 gauge amp wiring kit from Amazon and I HIGHLY recommend it. It is the real deal as far as an actual 4 gauge thickness of the core wiring, and the power and ground cables were adequately long. The ground cable might seem short but it's just the right length if you connect the ground cable to the back-left mount of the passenger seat, and install the amp right behind the bulk head centered. I recommend to keep power and ground as separate from all other cables as possible to avoid noise.
+1 on the speaker adapter plates (I used the Metra plates and worked fine).
+1 on getting new speakers and throwing the garbage BOSE speakers in the trash (or sell them cheap thru here). I got Infinity Reference 6.5" speakers, rated for 330W pair.
+1 on the wooden board to screw in the amp to there. I pulled up the carpet and removed insulation material so the piece of wood wouldn't bulge up the carpet too much. I used 3M Plastic Emblem Adhesive and it worked wonderfully (I wanted some level of removeability so I opted for this adhesive).

I recommend an additional roll of 10-12 gauge speaker wire so you don't run out.

I got a C5 specific, carpeted 12" sub box from eBay and I'm happy with it. They also make a 10" sub version. The one I got and recommend is the one that replaces the OEM storage lid (not the smaller one that is supposed to fit inside it and be covered by the lid. I bought that one first and had to return it because just didn't fit as advertised). I also recommend to not fully trust their sealing and give yourself time to apply silicone to all the inside edges to ensure a sealed box. I also sealed with silicone the terminal cup port that came with it. Bass hits super hard if it's properly sealed.

I ran ALL my RCA, speaker cables, sub cables, and amp remote cable, all thru the middle (below the center arm rest). Ground ran separate to the passenger seat post, and Power cable ran through the passenger door frame sill cover. I drilled a small hole below the door accordion to pass the power cable through there and onto the battery bay, so I wouldn't have to mess with passing the wire thru the firewall.

Other recommendation, this one is HUGE: Make sure to guarantee your speaker wiring doesn't slack and have a possibility to get snagged by the window coming down. I had this happened twice and had to get ingenious with keeping those cables pressed against the inside wall of the door as to avoid getting snagged by the window.

Additional recommendation: Get your power from ACCESSORY, not from ON, and get it from underneath the passenger footwell. If you power the radio from the ON position 12V, the radio could reset if you ever bog RPMs and it's annoying.

If I think of other things I'll post them.

 

Wow thank you for that write up! You offered so many in sights to my install.

thank you

 

I case you're interested on what I did for my amp setup, I just ran one amp to power my two new front speakers and my 12" sub.

Speakers: Stereo (Front only) Infinity Reference 6522EX 6.5" speakers, (330W Pair)
Amp: 1000W RMS Skar Audio 4 channel: 2 channels for each speaker, other two channels bridged together powering the sub (supposedly capable of 500W RMS with bridged output.)
Sub: 500W RMS rated Skar Audio 12" Sub. Skar VD-12 (Dual 2ohm), I wired coils in series for a 4ohm load for the amp.

 

Here are some pictures of my setup. Keep in mind there are more than one ways to skin a cat. This was just my approach.

 

^cool system man. I always dig other C5s with a nice audio setup

 

I had a VD10 in that same box. It sounded pretty good, but I wanted more... haha

I always want more.

 

For that sub box, do you have it mounted or secured down at all or does it just sit in that cubby? I’m just thinking about driving and hitting some hard bumps with it being lowered. If you secured it, how did you do it?

 

I didn’t find a need to secure it other than just to place it in the cubby. It’s a perfect fit, and it’s quite heavy with the sub that it falls right into place and doesn’t move at all. You have to remove your 10disc CD changer and brackets (if you have it) to put the sub box in.

 

Excellent points from turabo87.

Just a couple additions from my experience in install:
- I like the Kenwood too but any way you go (single or double DIN) you're going to have to figure out where you want your inputs-USB/HDMI/AUX or whatever you have. There are multiple places to put these but there is a forum member Dansavage (hope I remembered the name right) that 3D prints a plate to replace the ashtray. I used a double USB plug to replace the lighter plug and that 3D plate to add the AUX jack and my Corbeau seat heater buttons. Sounds odd to still use the AUX jack but I run carplay on my phone for waze and the wife uses the aux jack for the iTouch with a ton of music to play DJ on road trips. You CAN do both simultaneously regardless of some internet research to the contrary. Others have used the same double usb plug and replaced the lighter plug in the center console or glove box. Your choice there obviously. If you have an hdmi there is a plug with a usb/hdmi to replace a lighter plug too.

-turabo87 used a seat bolt for ground but there is also a ground location available behind the passenger side plastic where the upper seatbelt mount is. I used that ground point. THis keeps the gruond short also which is good. One other note- make sure your ground is the same size as the power wire.

- I didn't find running the power wire for the amp too difficult. the grommet is right behind the battery. I ran the power wire and the front camera RCA wire through there. For the record I've used that front camera about 5 times ever.....I wouldn't wast the time if I were doing it again. The car was new to me and I was terrified about smacking the nose on parking curbs..... wasn't an issue in a short time.

-What the others said about the power wire. Also, be sure to put a fuse in line between the battery and the amp.

-Others can chime in if this was overly paranoid but..... I ran all speaker and RCA wires (there's a lot of them!) physically separated from the power wire to avoid any sort of noise.

-Does the 97' have the accessory/12V/ground wires in the footwell? If it does those are the only three wires you need for the head unit. You won't use anything else except the antenna connector from the wires in the dash. You'll just run the RCAs from the HU to the amp and the blue wire for the remote turn on. If you decide to use the orange (orange/white?? can't remember) wire for the dimmer I can't help there. I didn't use it.

-if you want the rear camera I do find that a cool feature and it was super easy to run. The RCA passes through the rear tub with a small hole. I used plumber's putty to seal around the wire. Power and ground just came from the reverse light. When you put it in reverse that wire is powered and the camera turns on. When you take it out of reverse it turns off. Simple.

-sound deadening is up to you of course but I did stick on a bunch of deadening material in the rear tub and inside of the doors.

-Running the speaker wires (not using the car's exisisting wiring) into the doors through the accordians is very simple. those things are HUGE with tons of room. As mentioned pay attention to the window movement. Careful on removing the door panels. Since you already replaced those speakers you already know that

-If you go double DIN I can't give an opinion on the metra bezel. I had mine custom reformed by an ex-forum vendor. You will have to cut the center metal bracket out. There are lots of opinions on how to do this but I used a sawzall....yes I stuck a sawzall in my dash. It's not as scary as it sounds. The side brackets guide the blade straight down and it cut through the rivits perfectly. Don't forget to bend those two metal tabs at the top back or they will stop the HU from going in far enough. Not sure what's available on brackets but I found the metal ones to work well with tons of adjustment. Don't be afraid to mount and remount multiple times to get the fit perfect.

-as noted above I used the board method too. I permanently mounted a piece of MDF to the back wall behind the passenger seat with construction adhesive. When the carpet went back on, I made a slight cut with a knife before drilling to avoid a bit pulling a thread. again, maybe overkil but that's a trick from home theater installs I guess. A bit that grabs a thread and creates a run in the carpet would be a pain. the wires also poked through a couple cuts on either side of the amp- RCSs on one side and power/gruond/remote turn on 12V on the other. I used a relatively small class D 5-channel amp and it does reduce the seat back recline by about 1 1/2". Not much of a problem since the wife if only 5'7" but I sit there sometimes on trips to road trips with my buddy and there's still a ton of legroom for a passenger. I'm 6'1".

I spent a lot of time reading in the audio forum before I ripped the interior out of my car and there are a lot of helpful people there. I've done a few installs over the years mostly in S-10s and some cars and the C5 was the easiest thing to work on and run wires of anything I've ever done.
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