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My 87 TC stereo/ Anyone add a powered subwoofer to Premium Sound?

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    #31
    I'm probably less down on Bose than many. Yeah they have a lot of marketing bullshit but they do manage to make things pleasing to listen to if you aren't critically listening or demanding accurate 20-20k reproduction.


    and the amp on speaker design is just stupid even if it may have sounded good when new.
    86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
    5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

    91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

    1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

    Originally posted by phayzer5
    I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

    Comment


      #32
      Nah, Bose only sounds good if you compare it to nothing else. The instant you put it up against something at the same price point or even slightly less? You'll wonder why you ever bought Bose. F that shitty company and their shitty, over-hyped products. If they made refrigerators, they'd have Sub-Zero snob appeal with Kenmore or Magic Chef quality

      Maybe their headphones are OK, I'ver never heard them. I've never been satisfied with any of the speakers though.
      1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
      1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

      Comment


        #33
        Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
        thing about people as they age, their hearing goes to shit. Possible many of them would have never noticed the better sound, which is why it was an option. Factory sound that didn't suck was sort of a new concept in the 80s. Even the "good" stock stuff wasn't very good unless you opted for the (often very expensive) super duper whatever option.


        funky sound might be caps, its a pretty safe bet. I just rebuilt a 90s one and one channel totally died. It had horrible screeching noises before. Now one channel is perfect, the other is silent. Not sure why but I suspect a rotted out trace on the board. This one had really bad capacitor problems. Goo running out of most of them, noticeable corrosion on the board. I've had things with similar caps fail with corroded traces before, the trick is finding it. The 80s radios are mostly single side boards, not as likely to rot out from leaky cap goo.
        LOL. Yup. But with that in mind, i'd think that the older people would need more powerful systems- just so they could hear them...

        That sucks about your rebuild... Ooh- that sounds like i should pull mine apart sooner than later with leaky caps being likely.


        Originally posted by DerekTheGreat View Post
        Well, they did get the "premium" sound from the factory which was optional on the lowly Ford and Mercury models lol. JBL wasn't available on those rebel rouser and peasant mobiles..
        Ha. Makes me wonder how the plain Jane systems sounded. The ones that didn't have a trunk amp. Probably not any worse other than lower audio output. I think my opinion of my system is skewed though because it's not quite right.

        I do wish that they had at least offered a higher output engine on them though. Like the 302 or 351 truck engine but with an intake which fit under the hood type of deal. I'm sure that would have sold. Old people loved their power. When Cadillac offered the 350TBI on the Fleetwood Brougham starting in 1990, they sold lots of them..
        I'm kind of surprised of how many different variations of the 302 ford had at the time. At least 3 for 87. Is that why they didn't use the truck version? Because of that funky 2 hole throttle body/intake set up being too tall? That would have been a fine engine for these cars, with the high low end torque. Didn't they use a different cam and heads too? Or were they the same. Yea, the 351 with a fi set up should have been optional for these Lincolns.

        I couldn't tell ya about aftermarket speakers of today. The JBL Power Series stuff I bought for my Town Car were impressive, but that was something like five or six years ago now. I put Infinity Kappa Series in my truck last year, those are pretty damn decent for 4x6's. I'd start there if I had to buy speakers again.
        oh. Well, that's ok. I'll just have to do some research on my part, but for now I'm actually pretty happy with my set up.


        3G swap the M'er F'er and never look back. One of the best things I did to my car, that and upgrade the ground wire going from the core support to the battery. I can run every damn thing and the turn signals never slow down nor does anything dim like it used to. Signals are also faster when just driving around. Watched Lincoln Lawyer with the Mrs yesterday and that scene where the bikers make them pull over? Oh yeah, stock 2G right there, can tell by the slow TS.
        haha. Totally read my mind. I want to do that swap. I want to get rid of that funky plug in power output and get a solid connection on there. As usual, I need to do some more research on it. I want to get a new alt rather than a junkyard special, and don't know what to get. Also need to research more on the location and bracketry as I have seen some mods have to be made.
        I upgraded my Jeep and that was easy. Just a pully change, then a bolt in swap. -On this car... I read that ya gotta grind this, cut that, change these nuts and/or bolts, rewire this- blablabla. Whole list of stuff to do just to swap it out with something better...

        Ya know what really drags it down the most? The blower motor! I wouldn't have thought that but playin around and checking voltages, that's what drags the electrical system down the most. Everything added up though...(a/c + blower on high, radio on, all lights on- including interior, wipers on, rear window defrost and turn signals_which are blinking super slow) the voltage at the battery is around 12.1v at idle in park. It needs an upgrade. My Jeep used to be about the same, now with it's 105 amp CS130 alt it keeps voltage up around 13 at idle with all loads on. I need that in the car now too.
        1987 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series-102k miles- LOPO 302, AOD, open 3.27, Dual exhaust w/ Thrush Turbo mufflers

        Comment


          #34
          Originally posted by ZackN920 View Post
          ...Ha. Makes me wonder how the plain Jane systems sounded. The ones that didn't have a trunk amp. Probably not any worse other than lower audio output. I think my opinion of my system is skewed though because it's not quite right.
          My '85 had the plain Jane. Also had the radio with push button presets and common ground speakers or whatever. It was junk. The premium stock stuff in my '88 was junk to my ears too though.

          Originally posted by ZackN920 View Post
          ...I'm kind of surprised of how many different variations of the 302 ford had at the time. At least 3 for 87. Is that why they didn't use the truck version? Because of that funky 2 hole throttle body/intake set up being too tall? That would have been a fine engine for these cars, with the high low end torque. Didn't they use a different cam and heads too? Or were they the same. Yea, the 351 with a fi set up should have been optional for these Lincolns.
          I'm guessing they didn't want to spend the money engineering a new intake and then the testing that would go along with putting the engine in, like a new tune and all that. It's really just how tall the truck intake is. A 351 can be made to fit, the clearance is a bit dicy, Lincoln's are among the easiest to swap over since the hood is a bit taller. Most use the Lightning intake to do it if I remember right. LoPo stuff got different cam than trucks. Heads? NFC, I'm going to say those were different too between trucks and LoPo. But a truck 302 was rated at 175 HP or something like that. With dual exhaust, maybe looking at 185, would have been much better over the 150/160 we got with the LoPo.

          Originally posted by ZackN920 View Post
          ...haha. Totally read my mind. I want to do that swap. I want to get rid of that funky plug in power output and get a solid connection on there. As usual, I need to do some more research on it. I want to get a new alt rather than a junkyard special, and don't know what to get. Also need to research more on the location and bracketry as I have seen some mods have to be made.
          I upgraded my Jeep and that was easy. Just a pully change, then a bolt in swap. -On this car... I read that ya gotta grind this, cut that, change these nuts and/or bolts, rewire this- blablabla. Whole list of stuff to do just to swap it out with something better...

          Ya know what really drags it down the most? The blower motor! I wouldn't have thought that but playin around and checking voltages, that's what drags the electrical system down the most. Everything added up though...(a/c + blower on high, radio on, all lights on- including interior, wipers on, rear window defrost and turn signals_which are blinking super slow) the voltage at the battery is around 12.1v at idle in park. It needs an upgrade. My Jeep used to be about the same, now with it's 105 amp CS130 alt it keeps voltage up around 13 at idle with all loads on. I need that in the car now too.
          If I can do the swap, you can do it. I didn't grind anything. I used a 3G harness from a mid 90's Continental and I bought a new alternator from the Irish parts store IIRC. I forget what for. VCV knows which one is a direct fit, the one I bought had some other lobe on it which caused me to need a shorter belt as I couldn't use the full travel on the tension adjustment thing. That was like over four years ago so I can't really remember. I think my car's thread has that info. I still used the old 2G's charge wires in conjunction with the one for the 3G, it all looks factory. No issues and no worries of the car burning down. You might want to look at cleaning up the connections on your starter solenoid. The blower motor does indeed chew a lot of current. It's up there right behind your starter and horn. OH, with the upgrade, I noticed better output from my audio system too. Sub hit harder and tighter. I also wired up 2farrod or whatever cap back there too, that helped make the headlight wince almost non existent.
          1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
          1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

          Comment


            #35
            I eventually found the problem with that f'd up radio. The chip that handles volume/balance/tone/source switching had an internal failure. Replaced that and found it was low on the other side. That was a problem with the FM MPX decoder. Didn't have one. gave up on it. Moved the caps and the blue light gels and VFD filter to the radio that was working without any leaky caps and board damage and now I have a rebuilt radio with the correct color lights. It still doesn't kick into FM stereo. I don't know why. its been aligned, just something isn't right with it. Swapped the whole tuner board, no change. Tuner works fine in mono and whenever I get around to making the aux input cable that will be in stereo. At this point I'm calling it good enough.

            Thats my Florida car. It suffered badly in the heat. The radio with the fatal corrosion was the third OE radio in it. All of the other electronics have been rebuilt or replaced over the years. I'm kind of concerned about the ECM, and on my short list of things to do is pull that to re-cap. On the plus side it has NO RUST so I'll put up with old electronics that need help if I do not have to do body repairs.
            86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
            5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

            91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

            1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

            Originally posted by phayzer5
            I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

            Comment


              #36
              Sell that F'n Mark VII to Ashley! She wants that car, like wants it. We could sweeten the deal with a 1979 G10 Sport Van...
              1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
              1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

              Comment


                #37
                Originally posted by DerekTheGreat View Post
                My '85 had the plain Jane. Also had the radio with push button presets and common ground speakers or whatever. It was junk. The premium stock stuff in my '88 was junk to my ears too though.
                oh. I was hoping they were decent, just low on power.


                I'm guessing they didn't want to spend the money engineering a new intake and then the testing that would go along with putting the engine in, like a new tune and all that. It's really just how tall the truck intake is. A 351 can be made to fit, the clearance is a bit dicy, Lincoln's are among the easiest to swap over since the hood is a bit taller. Most use the Lightning intake to do it if I remember right. LoPo stuff got different cam than trucks. Heads? NFC, I'm going to say those were different too between trucks and LoPo. But a truck 302 was rated at 175 HP or something like that. With dual exhaust, maybe looking at 185, would have been much better over the 150/160 we got with the LoPo.
                I don't know if that'd be much better, but it would be better than what they got. Only about 25hp more. Now, what's the torque difference between the low po's and the trucks?
                Ya know what though, my car has dual exhaust with a bit higher flowing mufflers than stock. Should be pushing a solid 160hp/280lb and has 3.27 gears in the back. When it comes to low speed driving, it's fast. Has great torque down low- I can roast the tires. It lacks higher end power though. This is one of those vehicles where you have to plan how your going to pass on the highway because it can't get going very fast once your cruising 55+. That is where it needs more- but would the truck engines actually have it or would they have the same problem- despite the higher peak power numbers?
                When it comes to the lack of highway power, this is where the HO swap sounds like it'd be a good idea, but what I don't like about that is the loss in low speed power you'd get. I hear they don't have much below 2500rpm. And with how the stock aod trans is set up, they won't utilise a HO very well because I'm sure they shift up around 4k or so.

                ... And while on this subject.... I Still haven't found an HO upper yet. I don't think the local yard has any mustangs in. And I need to reseal my intake so it's got to come apart anyways. If I can find the stuff and get it swapped when I reseal things I should get another little improvement in power. From research it looks like that should give me about 15 more hp, maybe a little bump in torque too. Thatd be nice.



                If I can do the swap, you can do it. I didn't grind anything. I used a 3G harness from a mid 90's Continental and I bought a new alternator from the Irish parts store IIRC. I forget what for. VCV knows which one is a direct fit, the one I bought had some other lobe on it which caused me to need a shorter belt as I couldn't use the full travel on the tension adjustment thing. That was like over four years ago so I can't really remember. I think my car's thread has that info. I still used the old 2G's charge wires in conjunction with the one for the 3G, it all looks factory. No issues and no worries of the car burning down. You might want to look at cleaning up the connections on your starter solenoid. The blower motor does indeed chew a lot of current. It's up there right behind your starter and horn. OH, with the upgrade, I noticed better output from my audio system too. Sub hit harder and tighter. I also wired up 2farrod or whatever cap back there too, that helped make the headlight wince almost non existent.
                Oh, I'm sure I can do it. Just everything I was reading made it sound like a pita. You make it sound a little more easy. I like that. I'll have to find and check out your thread. In regards to the connection at the solenoid- that's all ready done. I took care of that when I replaced the under sized battery cable that a po's mechanic put on. That was also the same time I added some more grounds to the car.

                Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                I eventually found the problem with that f'd up radio. The chip that handles volume/balance/tone/source switching had an internal failure. Replaced that and found it was low on the other side. That was a problem with the FM MPX decoder. Didn't have one. gave up on it. Moved the caps and the blue light gels and VFD filter to the radio that was working without any leaky caps and board damage and now I have a rebuilt radio with the correct color lights. It still doesn't kick into FM stereo. I don't know why. its been aligned, just something isn't right with it. Swapped the whole tuner board, no change. Tuner works fine in mono and whenever I get around to making the aux input cable that will be in stereo. At this point I'm calling it good enough.

                Thats my Florida car. It suffered badly in the heat. The radio with the fatal corrosion was the third OE radio in it. All of the other electronics have been rebuilt or replaced over the years. I'm kind of concerned about the ECM, and on my short list of things to do is pull that to re-cap. On the plus side it has NO RUST so I'll put up with old electronics that need help if I do not have to do body repairs.
                If you do the ECM, post it up. I don't think I've seen that before.

                Wow, that radio was royally f'd up.


                I think I need to start an individual build thread for my car. This one was supposed to be about improving the stock stereo and adding a little sub, yet here we are talking about engines, electrical systems and other misc stuff. LOL. No big deal though.


                Oh- I should say that I'm still impressed with the sound this little sub puts out. You don't really sound like a thumper on the outside of the vehicle. No annoying rattles either. For the most part it sounds the same, maybe just a bit more rumble, but you get inside and you have full range sound since the sub is under the seat. For the most part, it's what I needed and I'm happy with how the system sounds.
                Since all is well- here's a link to the sub I picked out just in case anyone else wants a cheaper little boost for the stock system.

                https://www.amazon.com/Rockville-SS8.../dp/B079PRCP9W

                Just get it wired up, dialed in and forget about it. I don't even use that little volume control that came with. I just adjust the bass setting on my factory stereo if I want more or less bass. The automatic function also works pretty well- no thump and no delay when it comes on like some other sub amps have. I'm thinking about picking up a few more of this one or it's bigger brother too, for the other vehicles in the fleet that are lacking.
                Last edited by ZackN920; 08-02-2020, 11:10 AM.
                1987 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series-102k miles- LOPO 302, AOD, open 3.27, Dual exhaust w/ Thrush Turbo mufflers

                Comment


                  #38
                  It depends on what your ears like. To me, it was like listening to speakers through couch cushions- just no sparkle, life or detail/definition to what I was listening to. The main limiting factor there is the factory deck. Replace that and even the premium speakers will sound OK. I never tried running the premium amp with an aftermarket deck, only the JBL amp.

                  Well, between '93 and '96 the 302 was rated at 205HP/275ft-lbs with a manual trans. '85 to '93 it was supposedly 185HP/270ft-lbs regardless of trans. Throw in duals and that's maybe 195, which is about a 22% increase in power. I'd call that noticeable. Enough to the point you'd have more passing power on the expressway and such. That is exactly why once upon a time I wanted to put an HO under my hood. A lot of people say it isn't a good combo as you lose that low end grunt but let me tell you, it's perfect for it. I've driven plenty of HO equipped Mark VII's and they're only about 300lbs lighter. They go pretty damn good from a stop. While a LoPo will push you into the seat a bit more, an HO will be blowing by it. And lets face it, you're only stopped so often. On road trips, before I settled into 60 to 65mph, I found myself stomping it all the time to pass people- I needed power in the mid to upper RPM band the most. Will also allow one to keep a gear a bit easier rather than always downshifting that AOD..

                  That reminds me, I have both an Exploader GT40 intake and an HO intake. I have all the stuff to do the swap on my car, just never did it. Doubt I will now..
                  1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                  1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

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