Car Stereos: Car Amp And Sub, pdf spec sheet, inline fuse

Question
i have determined that the box i am planning on making is approx 2.3 CU.FT which i read that it was just a little to small for 2 12's? should i just get two 10's? with this (http://www.allaudioexpo.com/nav/details.asp?itemid=2304&catid=68) or (http://www.allaudioexpo.com/nav/details.asp?itemid=2025&catid=68) that amp (http://www.allaudioexpo.com/nav/details.asp?itemid=2277&catid=174) or (http://www.allaudioexpo.com/nav/details.asp?itemid=1993&catid=174) or (http://www.allaudioexpo.com/nav/details.asp?itemid=628&catid=174) would either of those work with the amp im planning on getting? which ones would you recomend? also i was looking at capacitors, and i found one thats 1.5 farads (http://www.allaudioexpo.com/nav/details.asp?itemid=2001&catid=105) would that be suffiecient enough to keep my headlights from dimming? also im gonna buy a pair of 6x9's to put in place of the two rear speakers that are hooked up to just the head unit (http://www.allaudioexpo.com/nav/details.asp?itemid=1188&catid=93) or (http://www.allaudioexpo.com/nav/details.asp?itemid=170&catid=93) which would you recomend? also 4AWG wire for my amp should be big enough right? and how big of a inline fuse should i get?

Answer
Hey Cory

I'm afraid you might not like my answer too much here.

First of all, the most important problem here is the brands you're looking through.  Pyramid MASSIVELY lies about their power outputs.  The first item you showed me, model number PB2600 is rated at 1300 x 2 or 2600 x 1.  If you download their PDF spec sheet, you'll see that actual RMS power of the amp at 4 ohms is 90 watts x 2 (or 180 x 1).  And that's at 14.4 volts!  That means at 12 volts (which your car system is) the amp is probably pushing a good 65 watts by 2 or 130 watts x 1.  That is hardly enough to run a sub, let alone two subs.  If you get that amp, you don't need 4 gauge wire, you don't need an inline fuse, you don't need a capacitor and you can expect your speakers to blow out within a few months from distortion.

Sometimes the truth hurts.  Pyramid, Legacy, Pyle, Royal Red..  all these brands that make false claims will burn you in the end.  

Think about it.  You'd pay almost 100 bucks for a pyramid amp because it says 2600 watts on it, when in reality it's only about 130 watts. You could buy a kenwood or pioneer or sony amp for about 100 bucks that has more power, cleaner sound and doesn't lie about the numbers (so much, they all lie a little).

If you're on a tight budget, I'd save a little and buy one thing at a time.  I know it's nice to build a whole system and get the results quick, but this stuff you're looking at is honest to God garbage.  In car audio, you really get what you pay for a lot of times.  

If you give me a dollar amount you're willing to spend i can come up with something for you that will sound better and last a lot longer than getting the swapmeet stuff.  

Also, don't think I'm trying to smash you or make you feel bad.  I'm trying to save you from making the same mistakes I did so many years ago when I first started out in the biz.  

Let me know if you want my help designing something on a budget, I'd be more than happy to help you out.

Thanks!

Dave