Nothing can match cruising the expressway with your favorite song playing on your car stereo. But what can even make this whole experience better is a car stereo set-up that delivers much more bass and oomph than the one preinstalled in your vehicle.

It doesn’t take a lot of money and effort to set up your own sound system to beef up your car’s audio. All you need is diligence, the patience to do research and a couple of tools to install your new car stereo. The first thing you have to do, of course, is to look for a good head unit–the device mounted on the center console of your car. Below are some great tips that you can use when looking for a head unit.

1. Look for the right size that can fit your center console. Different cars have different sizes of head units. Look for one that can fit your vehicle perfectly. Head units usually come in single DIN sizes (7″ x 2″). If your factory head unit is not in this size, you might have to spend more for an adaptor.

2. Check the functions and features of the head unit. Check if the CD player of the head unit plays MP3s and try using the head unit first before buying it. See if you can go through CD tracks easily and check if flipping through radio stations does not pose a problem. See how many preset stations you can save and whether you can modify equalizers and settings.

The next thing you have to do is to research on car speakers and purchase a set. Remember that most head units do not have enough power for bass-driven speakers, so you might have to buy an amplifier to be able to have a clearer sound. Below are simple instructions on how to set up your speakers.

1. Remove the factory head unit and speakers from your car. To avoid mishaps and electrocution, you have to remove the car’s battery from the negative cable. Take out the center console panel or dashboard panel and remove the head unit (you can check your car’s manual for specific instructions). You can take out the speakers by removing the hidden screws that hold them in place.

2. Attach your new head unit. There will be a plug with wires inside your center console that were attached to your old head unit. Check with your manual and see how to match the different wires to your new head unit. If you bought an additional power amplifier, now is the time to connect this to your head unit, as well, via RCA cables. Don’t bolt in your new head unit just yet, though.

3. Connect your speakers. Positive wires should be attached to positive connectors and negative wires should be attached to the negative ones. Remember to connect the grounding wires of your speakers as well.

4. Test everything to make sure your set-up works. Now is the time to connect your battery back, fire up your head unit and see if everything works. Flip through radio stations to check on the antennae and play a CD to see if your player works fine. Mess around with the equalizer and isolate left, right, front and rear speakers to check that each one works. After you’re sure that everything is in place, bolt in your head unit and screw on your speakers.

Now, enjoy breezing through the roads and taking a long road trip while playing your favorite song at a high volume. Hearing crystal-clear sound and a booming bass is definitely worth the effort you put into setting up your new car stereo.

Author Bio: Check out our site for more tips on setting up car stereos or for reviews of the best brands of car stereo

Category: Automotive
Keywords: car stereo, car stereos