Fresh Stereo Install

[Sycobob]

Hey guys. I finally pulled the trigger and snagged myself a '14 base model 370Z. And as much as I love her already, right off the bat I knew the stock audio just wasn't going to do. So I gathered up everything I needed, moved my previous setup to the new Z, and made a couple upgrades along the way. I figured I'd say hello and share some pics.

Album linkage

Parts list:
Hybrid Audio Imagine 6.5" components
ZEnclosures door speaker adapters (5.5" hole)
Car-Speaker-Adapters Nissan tweeter adapter (2" hole)
Alpine SWR-12D4 12" 1000 watt subwoofer
ZEnclosures 370Z 12" sealed enclosure
Kenwood Excelon X700-5 amplifier
Kenwood KDC-X997 head unit
KnuKonceptz OFC 4 gauge amplifier kit
2x KnuKoncepts RCA cables
Metra 40-NI12 antenna cable adapter
Metra 70-7552 Nissan radio harness adapter
Scosche dash kit
iDatalink Maestro ADS-MSW steering wheel control adapter

Regarding the parts, I can easily recommended everything on the list. I did a bunch of research before picking each item, and I couldn't be happier. The only thing that required some tweaking was the Metra radio harness adapter. The wire layout is not even remotely close to correct. But I just used a flat dental tool to pop all the wires loose from the connector and ordered them the correct way. The steering wheel control adapter was simple to set up and didn't introduce any lag to the buttons. It lets you setup the buttons to do whatever you want on press and on long press, so you have twice as many functions. Long pressing isn't very convenient, but it's ok for rare enough things like pausing or changing playlist. The sub enclosure isn't quite perfect, the curves aren't exactly the same as the interior trim, and it has enough room to move slightly. I don't like that it can move, but it's heavy enough with the sub that I don't see it sliding around much. I haven't gotten her sideways since the install though, so we'll see.

I wish I had taken more pictures of the wiring for you guys, but learning to take apart the Z for the first time and taking the time to do it all very cleanly and without making any irreversible changes ended up taking far longer than I expected. From popping the first panel off to clicking the last one back on took 12 hours (don't you judge me, I roll my face on a keyboard for a living), so I didn't take a lot of extra time to document. Sorry.

On a side note, I'm selling the stormtrooper, so if anyone is looking for a '91 240sx fastback in fairly good condition, let me know 240sx - Album on Imgur She's be great to me, and I'm sad to see her go but I got a slammin' deal on the Z and I just couldn't pass it up. (NOTE: she got hit in a parking lot, so there's a good size dent behind the drivers door now )

Next up: a good replacement rearview mirror with dash cam (suggestions welcome, no clip-ons).

[RonRizz]

Nice...

[Sycobob]

I do have one question, if any of you more knowledgeable fellows can help. The amp specs are listed as

40 W x 4 / 300W x 1 (4Ω)
50 W x 4 / 500W x 1 (2Ω)
100 W x 2 / 300W x 1 Bridged (4Ω)

and I'm not sure what impedance values are supported for the subwoofer when the other channels are bridged. 300 W is the 4Ω power, and it just has a blanket (4Ω), which I assume means all speakers. However, Crutchfield has
100 watts RMS x 2 bridged at 4 ohms + 500 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms listed as a supported mode. When I chatted with some there they said the sub impedance is independent of whether the other channels were bridged. I can't find anything definitive to back this up though. In the manual, it does have this bit

5SPEAKER OUTPUT terminals

:Stereo connections
When you wish to use the unit as a stereo amplifier, stereo connections are used. The speakers to be connected should have an impedance of 2Ω or greater. When multiple speakers are to be connected, ensure that the combined impedance is 2Ω or greater for each channel.

:Bridged connections
When you wish to use the unit as a high-output amplifier, bridged connections are used. The speakers to be connected should have an impedance of 4Ω or greater. When multiple speakers are to be connected, ensure that the combined impedance is 4Ω or greater.

SPEAKER OUTPUT terminals (SUB)
As this unit accepts speakers with a minimum impedance of 2 ohms, connect speakers with 2-ohm or higher impedance to these terminals.

This does kind of sounds like the sub is indeed independent of the everything else, I'm just not sure. I have the sub running at 2Ω right now. I had it blasting recently and I started to smell electronics and the amp was nearly too hot to touch so I immediately turned it off and have been running it much lower since then. That seems fairly conclusive that 2Ω isn't supported, right?

How does this normally work for amps?