Forester GT 2001 Stereo upgrade

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blueman
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Forester GT 2001 Stereo upgrade

Post by blueman » Mon Nov 04, 2013 5:05 pm

Hey all,

I'm looking to upgrade the stereo on my 2001 GT and just wanted some advice, specifically on the sub install. I'm mostly just looking at replacing the head unti and adding an underseat sub at the moment, and will probably replace the front speakers when the wallet recovers :P

I'm looking to install one of these subs - http://www.fusionelectronics.com/car/pr ... -Subwoofer - under the passenger seat, it will be my first sub install and wanted to know of any hints or things to look for when installing? I guess the main things I'm concerned with are the grounding wire under the seat (was going to just try to use a seat bolt?) and breaking through the firewall to get to the battery for the power/fuse etc.

As for the headunit I'm trying to shop around for the best price on one of these - http://www.parrot.com/au/products/aster ... roid-smart - which seems to be on Amazon from the US at the moment ranging from $500-650 delivered.

Lastly, the speakers in the front, do they use a crossover or are they just separate speakers wired together?

Any suggestions on the upgrade or alternatives to what I've chosen would be much appreciated!

Thanks

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niterida
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Post by niterida » Mon Nov 04, 2013 5:34 pm

On the Liberty there is a wiring access port under the front left hand guard/a pillar where the main wiring harness passes through - I assume the Forester will have something similar for the power wire.

You can get excellent JVC and Sony Bluetooth head units for around $200 - is there any particular reason you are looking at Parrots ?

Subwoofer should be a good choice as long as you realise it will only enhance the bass and won't rattle the car to death :)
Ground wire will only be about 2mm thick and will only need a small screw to gorund it - there will probably be an existing ground screw under the seat somewhere or at least a captive nut you could use - just make sure you clean off the paint and use a star washer to get a good contact

Factory 'splits' do not use a crossover - they simply have a resistor in the wiring to the tweeters to reduce the power going to them.

Have a read here for some excellent info : http://www.bcae1.com/
Its a lot to get through but you can just skip to the relevant sections.
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blueman
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Post by blueman » Mon Nov 04, 2013 6:34 pm

niterida wrote:On the Liberty there is a wiring access port under the front left hand guard/a pillar where the main wiring harness passes through - I assume the Forester will have something similar for the power wire.

You can get excellent JVC and Sony Bluetooth head units for around $200 - is there any particular reason you are looking at Parrots ?

Subwoofer should be a good choice as long as you realise it will only enhance the bass and won't rattle the car to death :)
Ground wire will only be about 2mm thick and will only need a small screw to gorund it - there will probably be an existing ground screw under the seat somewhere or at least a captive nut you could use - just make sure you clean off the paint and use a star washer to get a good contact

Factory 'splits' do not use a crossover - they simply have a resistor in the wiring to the tweeters to reduce the power going to them.

Have a read here for some excellent info : http://www.bcae1.com/
Its a lot to get through but you can just skip to the relevant sections.
Thanks for all the great info!

So the wiring access point can be accessed by removing the a pillar and foot guard, then I can run the sub power straight to the battery?

I'm choosing the parrot for the internet and android features, I want to be able to stream music via 3G and have built in navigation. The parrot smart seems to tick all the boxes :)

If I was to replace the front speakers with a crossover pair then I could use the existing wiring from deck to existing woofer and connect it to the crossover then discard the existing wiring from woofer to tweeter along with the speakers and use new wire from crossover to the new speakers and tweeters?

Are there any 6" splits known to fit the existing speaker and tweeter mounts of the forester without modification?

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niterida
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Post by niterida » Mon Nov 04, 2013 7:01 pm

blueman wrote:So the wiring access point can be accessed by removing the a pillar and foot guard, then I can run the sub power straight to the battery?
yes - remove the footwell panel and the inner plastic liner under the mudguard to get access.
blueman wrote:I'm choosing the parrot for the internet and android features, I want to be able to stream music via 3G and have built in navigation. The parrot smart seems to tick all the boxes :)
Can't you just use your phone and bluetooth it and get all that ?
these young kids of today with all their fancy gadgetry ........
blueman wrote:If I was to replace the front speakers with a crossover pair then I could use the existing wiring from deck to existing woofer and connect it to the crossover then discard the existing wiring from woofer to tweeter along with the speakers and use new wire from crossover to the new speakers and tweeters?
yes - but no need to discard the wiring to the tweeter - just make sure you remove the resistor first.
blueman wrote:Are there any 6" splits known to fit the existing speaker and tweeter mounts of the forester without modification?
Not 100% sure as I have never worked on a Forester but judging by all the Liberty and Impreza stuff then just about all 6" will fit - may just need a spacer if they are real deep. Best to go 6.5" though as you will get a much better speaker and will probably still fit but will definitely require a spacer.
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idw
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Post by idw » Tue Nov 05, 2013 1:22 pm

You shouldn't have a problem fitting 6" as long as they aren't high powered speaker with large magnets (so like 80w rms or more). I've some response 5.25 kevlars in the front doors of my foz and had to cut the original speaker cradle to fit them in. Can always just use 2 way 6" speakers as well.

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neo__04
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Post by neo__04 » Tue Nov 05, 2013 2:48 pm

Im in the process of working out my stereo for my brumby.
I saw the parrots, but ended up buying a new google nexus 7.
Generally much more powerful than the parrots, much better screen, native google maps and the luxury of any other app you see fit to use. Also wireless, can get 3g model, has bluetooth, can run your phone through it etc etc. It seemed a better option to me.
And depending on how you mount it, it can be removable if you require.

Worth a thought

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