Questioni have the stock Mach sound system, is there any way that i could keep that stereo and hook up a pair of subs? i have everything and have attempted but i just cant seem to be hitting the right cables...
AnswerWell, you didn't give me much to go on. When you say you have everything it is not clear what that is! But YES: you can always hook up subs to any system.
You have two choices: ONE: Bring line level rca type outputs to the line inputs of the sub amp or TWO: make connections to the existing speaker lines and feed them into the speaker input on the amp (or through an adapter box if the amp does not have speaker level inputs).
If you go to crutchfield.com and put in all the information on their car site for your make, model, year, etc., they can give you the specified kits to hook it up - with instructions, wiring, colors, etc.
NOW: If you are technical, it is very simple. The outputs must be identified and you must trace down the wiring channels. Decide where you are going to mount the amp and the subs. Run wires from battery and ignition (with proper inline fuses, etc.) to the amp. Run wires from the outputs of the amps to the speakers (making sure the impedances are properly matched and that you aren't going to blow the amps or speakers from a mismatch).
In some cases you may need a crossover or low pass filter to keep the high frequencies out of the subs, but most sub amps have a filter switch on them that is probably adequate - in most cases.
Lastly, I have mounted subs in Mustangs and Firebirds which are similar in nature. Both of these cars are really good when the subs are small enough to mount down inside the small trunk area. The amp can fit on the shelf or down under or under the passenger seating. One power wire must come directly from the battery through an inline fuse. The other power wire comes from the ignition for turn-on.
The output wires just go to the sub speakers. Once you have learned where you are going to get the inputs from you can decide on which adapter you need or whether you are going to make your own by splicing wires.
http://www.installer.com/hilo/
has all kinds of hilo adapters that you may use. If you look around that site there are other adapter kits that might be for you. Scoshe, Peripheral and others as well as crutchfield already mentioned have various adapter kits as well.
Good Luck.
PS: Final sound performance will depend very greatly on the subs you use, the enclosure you have them mounted in and how they are positioned in the car. So, you may have to experiment around to get what you are expecting. If it were me in a Mustang I would concentrate on good 8" woofers. The internal space of the car is small and if you get woofers that are too big they don't match acoustically with the space of the car.
