Car stereo questions...

[Musician78]

...I am upgrading my stereo system in my car. My car has 2 speakers. 2 in the rear, 2 in the front, and two tweeters in the dash. Now things are confusing for me....

Does this mean I need a head unit with 6 channel outputs? Or is 4 sufficient?

If I want to add an amp for the 4 main speakers (front and rear), does this change the number of channel outputs I need from the head unit? Should I amp the tweeters? The tweeters are going to remain stock because currently there are no aftermarket tweeters available for my vehicle.

If I want to add a second amp for subwoofer(s) does this change the number of channel outputs I need from the head unit??

Thanks in advance for any help.

[tomanyjacksons]

I haven't installed for years but not much could have changed. First off make sure the head unit you are installing is the same ohm ratings as you current speakers ( alot of older cars had * ohm rated speakers and the head units where 4 ohms, if not they will sound like ass and if you are putting in a head unit that has alot more power output (watts rating) you will ruin the speakers in a hurry. If you are thinking of hooking amps to the main speakers and a sub make sure and get a unit that has all the rca outs you will need front, rear and sub, they all may come that way nowadays. As for the tweeters in your dash you can run them off of the high level outputs that come out of the head unit itself, but you will be putting a full range signal ( from highs to mids and bass) and you don't want to do that to the tweeters it will ruin them in no time flat, get a crossover to mount inline so that only the highs signal only goes to them. I don't know what stock stereo systems are like nowadays the older stuff I used to work on required replacement of all components to match wattages I always went half again higher wattage for the speakers over what I was pushing through them, aswell as ohms ratings. A well matched system will sound awesome for a long time and if you take your time on the install it will look sweet for a long time aswell. Good luck and if you have any questions feel free to PM me as I used to do alot of this. EDIT: You will want to run a 4 channel amp or 2, 2 channel amps to your 4 speakers. Alot of car stereos have a built in amp but running an add on amp will give you better sound quality, you get better signal definition that way. If you don't go crazy with your power levels you shouldn't have to have a crossover for them, just get a headunit that has a built in EQ. so you can adjust them and adjust your subwoofer outputs.

[OnlineStageGear]

Odds are the tweeters are ran off the 2 front speakers and don't need a seperate output.

[tomanyjacksons]

If replacing the head unit chances are he won't have the same wattage output and ohms rating.

[Musician78]

Sweet, thanks for the info.

[RobRR]

You just need a regular old 4 channel head unit. As OSG said, chances are the tweeters are jumped off the front spkrs with nothing more than a cap to bleed off the low end. Id recommend getting a wiring harness adapter for your car so you dont have to hack off the stock wiring. Makes for a much easier and cleaner install.