Ok I took first year Electrical Engineering Technology, so I am aware of most of the set up rules. I can understand phase angles, capacitors and inductors and ohm's law and all that good stuff. I know that the thicker and shorter the wire will carry the least resistance. I know to consider dual voice coils, as well as the resistance of the speakers and amp, and the RMS values for everything.
Anyway, I was wondering. I have an Alpine Type X 12" sub and 2 10" kicker comp subs. I also have an Alpine V12 1000W mono amp, a 250W Alpine amp (for the speakers, , a Lightning Audio 700W amp, a Power Acoustik 4.0F Capacitor, all with 0g wiring. And the deck is a Pioneer Premier deck. 50Wx4. Components are 2x 6.5" alpines and 2x 6x9 alpines.
Now.
I have never installed my own car audio before yet (only 18) but I think I have enough knowledge to do it. My question is:
a) Would the trunk of a civic fit an enclosure for 1x 12" and 2x 10"
b) Will the capacitor function for all 3 subs? Or just 1? Do I have to connect everything in series or parallel or how would I go about doing this so that the 4.0F Cap is being used wisely?
c) I am unsure of all of the resistances and exact RMS values, but I am not entering a competition or anything so it should really matter that much.. should it?
d) And what would be better? Getting a seperate Optima battery, or a high output alternator, or a distribution block, etc?

Thanks all. If I forgot something I will edit.

 

IMO capacitors are trash, if relied on too much they do more harm then good. I can only really speak from personal experience from what I once had and what my friends have had. A stock alternator is meant to crank out enough juice to be able to recharge the stock battery (probably around 500-600 amp battery). If you put a bigger battery on there (say a red-top optima which cold cranking amps are I think from 800-1000) you are introducing more strain on that alternator (more wear and tear and less reliable). If you put a capacitor on there (especially a bigger one) you are putting even more strain on that stock alternator. I used to have a decent sized system when I was younger and into that kind of stuff. I had the same kind of mindset as you are heading. I took the wrong route. I put a red-top up front, a yellow in the back (in my trunk (the yellow top is a deep-cycle)) and also had a capacitor. I never understood why I burned through alternators every other month and why my lights dimmed so badly. It just makes sense if you think about it, the alternator can only recharge the extra battery power and capacitor so fast, if you make it work overtime you are just killing it faster. What I would do is get a high output alternator. Another thing to consider is the wattage of the amps... most amps are rated at 14.4 volts. you are rarely going to see that voltage (your accessories eat up power). One think that jl audio does with their amps is they rate their power at 11.99 volts which is way more realistic. A heavy-duty alternator will help correct that issue (my friends truck idles with ~14 volts to his amps (he also has a 250 amp alternator) This kind of set up is expensive, however if you are going to do something, do it right.

As far as wiring I assume you are running the 12 off the 1000w and the 2 10s off the 700. Are the comps single or dvc? Wiring will be different for those.

Another suggestion, I would not run all 3 subs. Would they fit? Yes, however they are different subs, with different wattage. I guess work with what you have but my OCD would kick in and not want 2 different kinds and sizes (I would go for the type x and be done with it). Oh and the alpine imo sounds good in a medium vented (not ported) box. The kickers sound better in a large sealed.

The rms values should not be an issue just as long as the 12" is on a separate amp as the 10's (as it seems you would be doing), I guess just adjust the gain accordingly and you should be ok.

Some of this is opinion, some of this is experience, I am sure you will get many takes on how your configuration should be. I hope this at least helps to get you started in the right direction.

 

Ok you made a valid point. I don't know if the speakers are dvc or single, sadly. I bought them used.
If I were to use just the 12" and only 1 of the 10" would that be beneficial? The 10" for quick, fast bass hits and the 12" for lower hits? Or does it depend on whether or not they are both double voice coil? Also, I think if I hooked up the 4.0F cap to the 12" Type X that would work a lot better.
I bought a distribution block today. I'll try to hook it up tonight. Do you think I will need the high output alternator w/ 1x 12" and 1x10", the 2 amps and the cap?
Thanks

 

With the two amps, if you have a civic, you'll undoubtedly need a new alternator
in fact even with just 1000 rms you will need a new alternator
I agree with just about everything the previous poster said
it actually made me really happy to read someone who seems to really know their stuff
without a high output alt, you're asking for trouble to be pushing that much power
also by mixing subs, many will say it's a stupid idea, it's not, but it won't be the greatest benefit
also the 10s for the hard hit and 12s for deep, doesnt really make a difference so don't bother, not to mention you'd be dealing with phase issues since they are different subs etc, you can do it, you might feel a little more bump, but it will almost definitely be unbalanced and probably have cancellation

 

Alright so point is: Dont bother and I should just stick with the 12" Type X and 1000W amp? Should I throw in the 4.0F Cap in the mix too? Or will that be too much strain on the alt? I know 4.0F is a bit rediculous haha.

 

The cap doesn't really strain the alt. as much as the amp that requires power, the cap charges as quick as the alternator can provide it power. Caps are pretty useless though, batteries do far more than caps ever can.

 

Here is what it looks like so far:

[IMG]local://upfiles/28537/22505AFAAB284D5389C8DA56084B4C2F.jpg[/IMG]

Think the sub box is good enough? I'm not sure if flipping the sub upside down was a good move or not.
*edit* this is going in a hatchback

 

having a sub inverted is perfectly fine.... with a sub it porbally wont matter if its wired out of phase either.... i'd try it both ways and see if you can here a difference... battery is defintley the way to go.... caps are just bandaids