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#21
Not sure I would consider that "on a budget", but for sure it sounds awesome (get it?
Sweet head's up on that FORSCAN hack (I had missed [MENTION=7548]chicagoslick[/MENTION] 's thread previously)
Sweet head's up on that FORSCAN hack (I had missed [MENTION=7548]chicagoslick[/MENTION] 's thread previously)
Yeah, "budget" is totally subjective and relative from person to person, for sure. Hey, I was broke as hell and I proved that you could get serious bumps for under $100 in my original sub upgrade thread. Antarctica24 has built systems for people that cost $35k. Everyone's got their own threshold for pain.
I think less than $500 total for a complete system replacement ($300 for the front stage, amp upgrade and EQ) is definitely "budget" by almost any car audio upgrade standards, especially when you consider the brands being used - Alpine, Rockford Fosgate, Soundstream, PPI, plus a custom box and tweeter pods. Yes, you can get a "1000" watt amp and some speakers and a sub for under $200 but at the end of the day the results will barely be better than stock and something will probably die on you in short order. I know from experience.
The real savings comes with the DIY aspect. Labor, especially good labor and custom work, is crazy expensive and hardware costs more at brick and mortar stores (for good reason). My Alpine components were around $80 on Amazon. If you got them plus installation at Car Toys or Best Buy it would cost $300. Add the same amp, EQ, sub, custom box, custom tweeter pods, wiring, and labor and it would probably run you another $1000-1200. Plus, I have less than $100 in sound deadening material. Car Toys quoted me $400-600 to do the same job with lesser materials. If you include my sub and sound deadening I'm basically getting a $1500-2000 system for $400-500. If you have the money to spend on parts and labor, do it. I'm going to have a loooot of hours into this project. LOL But I'll also have a lot of money left over and a better understanding of my car.