Frederic

Omg is that one of those tourist off-road organizations?

I have no experience with these but would refrain from using their own built in amplifier. Just check if they have RCA pre-outputs so you can hookup your own preferred standalone amplifier. Never put your headunit higher than 80% total output volume to make sure that you don’t send a distorted signal to the amp.

Hey Buddy, Your amp has 5 channels in total in one housing, just consider it as three 2 channel amps, of which the last one is connected in mono for your subwoofer. Each 2 channel amp has its own 30 amp protection fuse: - 2 channel amp (front) with 2 x 75 Watts Continuous Power Output (similar to RMS): That would take about 10,4 amps (150 / 14.4 volts) - another 2 channel amp (rear) with 2 x 75 Watts Continuous Power, same as above about 10,4 amps - another 2 channel amp wired in mono that outputs 350 Amps, that makes about 24 amps. Important to note is that your amp is able to run on an impedance of 2 ohms and that pushes the amp much higher towards that 30 amp fuse rating. Check how much it outputs at 2 ohms. Fully loaded at 2 ohms you are close to 1000 amps (that would make 69 amps in total). Running the amp at 2 ohm can be achieved by putting 2 four ohm speakers in parallel. Does this clarify your question ? Also do note that Pioneer states their values at 14.4 volts, so that means engine and alternator must be running. At 12 volts your current in amps shoots up due to the lower voltage.

A very simple rule of finding out the real wattage of an amp or headunit: look at the fuse size that is installed and use the very simple ohms law calculation: Watts (P) = (V) voltage x (A) Amps (A) Amps = Watts(P) / (V) Voltage Small example: a head unit with a built - in 10 amps fuse cannot deliver more than 130 Watts in total ( 10 amps x 13 volts) So most probably it is 4 x 30 W RMS. Most Watt ratings on speakers and amps are massively overrated. Always look for RMS values and never rely on PMPO values (peak music power output). In my first car I had a 2x85 Watts Rockford Fosgate 60x2 Amp that powered a 200 Watts RMS Sub in mono. It blew my socks off and came to know that high end audio underrates their values while the cheapo stuff massively overrates it. So above formula tells us: a 400 watt amplifier can easily draw 30 amps. If you see that it comes with a 15 amps fuse preinstalled than you know you’re being ripped off 😉

Found this one which also clarifies a bit on headunit watt power vs stand-alone amp power: https://www.crutchfield.com/S-dwXRxOwPi1T/learn/reviews/20030722/power-power_comparison.html

Definitely with you on Crutchfield. Fantastic knowledge base !

With regards to the Audio question: your sound will only sound as good as the weakest link. Do not expect any kind of speaker, subwoofer, or amp to do a proper job if wiring is too thin or cheap, or if you skipped on other things. My two cents on this one: 1) Invest in a decent headunit (Sony, Kenwood, Clarion, Pioneer) that has RCA outputs. DO NOT buy these crappy converters that convert speaker output into RCA.... 2) In upgrade phase one, buy some decent stereo speakers for the front and connect them to your head-unit. Your sound will already be 5 times better than the cheap Toyota crap speakers. Make sure all connections are properly soldered and not twisted like most shops in Sharjah will do. 3) Upgrade phase two: Buy a 2 channel amplifier and 2 more speakers for the back, OR buy a 4 Channel amplifier and connect also the front speakers. Install everything the way it should be done with proper grounding, power cables, fuses, and put new speaker cables all the way through if possible. Fine tune your amp and learn to set it correctly. A good rule is setting your headunit to 80%, putting the amp sensitivity to lowest possible and slowly start increasing until you hear some distortion, Then dial it back again a bit. Learn to fine-tune your settings such as Lowpass, Highpass, and EQ which you can set according to the speaker capability (regular speakers can be filtered to everything above 80hz). Give it some time and lots of listening to all preferred genres. 4) Upgrade phase three: Buy yourself an additional amp with sub or active system where sub and amp are in one tube or box. Only buy a sub if you really need it, because it takes up space and after having many subwoofers in the past, i came to realize that you can perfectly go without if you listen on "normal" volumes. If you have space for 10" rear speaker then they can deliver pretty good bass. I have seen so many friends and colleagues in the past that would go through these steps in one weekend and go for a full fledged audio setup in which they have either no clue what was installed and they ended up paying too much, or they blew up their amps or speakers after 3-4 months because they simply do not understand the basic audio rules. Can you blow up a 1000 Watts subwoofer with a 100 Watts amp ? YES you can; when you send a distorted signal from the headunit or amp to the speaker, this alternating sine wave becomes DC voltage that burns your speaker coil in an instant. Can you put a 1000W amp on a 100Watts speaker without issues ? YES you can, it is all a matter of setting the sensitivity setting correctly and learning to listen how your speaker reacts and plays. Beware, Subwoofer distortion is difficult to hear...

1) The dramatic soundtrack was basically asking for dramatic results (just kidding). 2) I feel he went pretty far up the ridge and completely turned his wheel at the last minute, which created the roll-over. If i am not mistaken you should avoid turning the wheel completely and suddenly in the desert and especially on slopes. He then put on full throttle expecting he could push himself out but made it worse by doing so. 3) The backside of dune was very soft and it looked like a LWB Land Cruiser or at least a heavy long car but i could be wrong.

Happy birthday @Barry, you’re the Matrix’ Morpheus of Carnity 😉

Legend says that the Batmobile was just a RAV4 with a body kit.

My rebuild is almost done. Hope I can make it

Namibia: where you can off-road all day and drive up to the beach to relax and refresh....

Coming out of a bowl for off-road beginners... B5AAA712-ACD0-4F98-BE01-FC8B9AED6ADB.mov

https://wheels.ae/reviews/first-drives/article/5150/borgward-bx7-review-comeback-kid

Yes. Bought it for 250 euros but the engine was shot. Loved that folding roof.

RIP John Haynes. I still remember getting the Haynes Manual for my ‘89 Range Rover that i wanted to get back to pristine condition. Good days and that manual really was useful.

Waauw indeed congrats @Gaurav what a milestone ! I’ve only became a member a year ago but have seen lots of new member activity, and the amount of interesting posts growing every day. Carnity is on its way to serious growth and the contributions of Gaurav have been a big reason for that.

Thanks Guys ! Will consider both options and take it from there.

I am currently thinking about going for a budget lease instead of racking up too many miles on my 1999 Pajero. I do about 110kms every day and taking into account the fact that a 20 year old truck slurps up petrol at a rate of 14-15 l/100km, there are some savings to be made when going for a cheap budget lease. Going for a smaller 1.5 liter engine would basically half my consumption to +/-300 dhs per month, while you can get a lease for about 1200-1300 dhs per month that includes maintenance and insurance. At the same time my Pajero can be kept for offroading and camping trips and gracefully go on for another couple of years as weekend warrior. Instead of going for a lease, i could buy a 10,000dhs semi reliable budget car but that scares me a bit because again it will come with its own costs like maintenance and insurance and possibly breakdowns along the E611 Would a basic Civic or Corolla of max purchase price of 10k really cost less than 1200dhs per month in cost of ownership on a yearly basis ? Appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Thanks !

Agree with @Rahimdad on this one. If you're planning to sell the car in 2-3 years, then you should look at a car with the best resale value or you will lose too much money. But then we are talking Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Nissan. With regards to Korean cars such as Hyundai and Kia, have friends who drive Korean cars and they are very satisfied: * One friend drove an old Kia Opirus in KSA. He literally drove it into the ground. It has 680,000kms and was still going strong, apart from the regular maintenance. * Another friend drove a Hyundai Veracruz 3.6. Was a great, fully equipped SUV, and last time i checked on him he was way above 280kms and without any big issues. This all depends of course on the maintenance and care you take of your vehicle, and a bit of luck. If you buy new, the Korean always have great extras and good warranty schemes. * The very cheap Koreans such as Accent and Rio are nippy and reliable but i heard they suffer a bit from under-powered AC units. In some cases such as yours when racking up high mileage in short time, leasing a budget model might come in handy. You don't have to worry about a thing, and pay a fixed amount that includes maintenance, insurance, etc.. After 2-3 years you give them back the keys and choose another model. No questions asked, no discussions about resale value, and so on. 100% hassle free. But i advise to steer away from leasing above 2500dhs per month. In that price region you might be better off buying something and paying off the loan.

Hahahaha I feel the same, but be aware that lots of things are “set up” for the show, and is not always fully realistic. But I love Fred his approach to cheap cars and especially their budget fixes and road trips.

Anyone using Tapatalk on Carnity ? Several years back when I was on multiple message boards it was a good way of posting messages and getting quick updates. It seems to work for Carnity too, but I find myself using the Carnity website directly on my phone.

Funny that GAC was called Trumpchi before but they decided to change that name when they entered US markets Do you want to go for the 2WD or the 4WD version ? There is a definite price difference according to Drivearabia website. Considering that you are in the same price region of the base Pajero, or a Korean SUV like Hyundai or Kia, i'd be a bit more inclined to stick with the more well known brands, but that is just me. They won't come with all the bells and whistles of this Chinese SUV. The 2.0 Turbocharged 4 cylinder will be more economical than a 6 cylinder, so that is a good thing to have on your commute. On the other hand, having a 4 cylinder in such a big SUV might mean that the Turbo will have to work hard, and in this climate this might not be the best thing. It's definitely worth a try, and it is a fact that the Chinese are coming up strong. Have you checked the HAVAL H9 ?