hey all ... this has been done, and talked about before but the ones im seeing extensive work done have all been pre- 7th gen stereo work ...

i replaced my stock speakers with Hertz ESK165L components in the front, and ECX690's in the rear, and i knew getting into this that there was the possibility of having to replace the stock bose amp so that all speakers would get there 100 watt rms rating at 4 ohms ... because it looks like the stock fronts are 2 and the stock rears may have been 2/4 ohm but who knows ... effing bose

im going with Hertz's ES300 12 inch sub, because a buddy of mine gave me his old Polk mono block amp and 12" sub box, and it just so happens that the power ratings for that ( 350 watts at 4 ohms ) match the sub's inputs perfectly, and the shop im buying everything from is giving me pretty good deals on everything since i keep paying in cash ... nothing illicit, just i hate credit cards anyways

so has anyone kept the stock head unit, and done a separate 4 channel to power the speakers or if i go tearing at the bose amp should i be thinking about replacing the stock HU, which i dont want to do, because i dont want to have to get all the bypass harness problems, and i like the cd changer/ aux input as is

as far as the 4 channel amp is concerned, hertz makes one that does what i want and is not so expensive, about 70-80% of the cost of the comparable alpine or rockford, so ive got that covered as far as what ill actually be going with ...


heres the rears installed, i dont feel like putting the package tray back in until im sure it doesnt need to be taking out again ... cause that was ten times worse than the door panels

 

run your own wires and unplug the stock harness = done.

 

i guess i wasnt clear enough in my OP, but i was asking for a few more specific things,

never mind though because ive decided to simply rip the stock head unit out and go with a Kenwood Excelon KDC-x794, a hertz 4 channel amp to push the new speakers and everything else is already figured out ...

so my final set-up will be

Kenwood Excelon KDC-x794
Hertz-
Esk165L- front door
- Ecx690 - rear deck
- Es300 - sub
and EP-4 amp for speakers,
and a recycled Polk C500.1 for sub ...

total cost will be right around 1200 bucks for everything, no install cost cause im doing it ... ok maybe a case of Miller High Life for my boy helping with running the wiring ...

thanks for at least reading, but seeing as ive already answered my own problems ... i guess the only thing left is a video after its all hooked up

 

Cant wait for the video/pics. I was going to suggest that you could invest in the JL Audio CleanSweep or the Rockford Fosgate 3sixty.2, as they allow you to connect the stock HU to aftermarket Amps.

But you went for the aftermarket HU so like you said its real easy just install the amp as normal and run RCAs and done.