Amp, headunit, and speaker wiring

[jht3]

I am getting ready to install a headunit, amp, and front components in my 88 m3. my plan is to run 16ga speaker wire from the 4ch amp and crossovers in the trunk to the speakers, running down the drivers side. 16' RCA cable from the HU along the tranny tunnel to the amp.

To wire the amp I'm thinking 8ga power and ground and a 40amp AGU fuse. The amp is spec'd at 160watts, 4ch. What's the best/easiest way to hook up the power to the factory battery? How large of a connector will I need? I haven't looked back there yet, so it may be easier than I'm thinking. In the past I've screwed another terminal into batteries. I'll ground it to a fresh point on the body.

To power the HU, I'll tap into the factory harness for constant, ignition, and dimmer (not sure if my HU supports dimmer yet). ground will be to some body part.

I'm undecided about the rear speakers. I have the stock premium rear enclosures. But how effective are components in the back? I am not going to run a sub, so I'd prefer more lows from the rear speakers. Suggestions?

Also, is it better to mount the components in the trunk or up under the dash? I'd have to run 2 more speaker wires if in the back, but should be a cleaner install. The component tweeters seem to be mostly .75" and 1". Which size fits best in the factory door pods?

am i missing anything?

[KenC]

To hook your power cable to the battery, get a large enough set-screw ring terminal to go around the bolt on the clamp.

My suggestion is to get rid of the rear speakers. And you're not going to get much low frequencies out of a 5.25" speaker. Maybe if you were to find a 6.5" mid-bass driver that fits in the rear and run it at a 150Hz low-pass crossover you can get some decent bass notes...