Recently bought a used 07 Civic Hybrid and while the car is great, I am rather disappointed with the sound produced by the speakers.

I have been reading a lot about how the hybrid might not be able to sustain a big sound system should it be installed. Therefore, I am wondering whether the following would be OK? And if not, what could (perhaps) be done to make it possible (i.e would a bigger battery help?)

Thinking of replacing the front two speakers with JL Audio C3-650's and installing an amp+subwoofer combined system (Focal Solution 25a1). This has a 10" Access Subwoofer with the power for the subwoofer provided by a 300 watt mono amplifier and an additional 2-channel amplifier (100 watts per channel) which offers the ability to power the front two JL Audio speakers.

Would the above be alright for a Civic Hybrid or too much to handle?

 

Bump...

 

The stock 6 1/2" speakers in the front (and back) of the Civic hybrid's are super light and cheap.

I just replaced all 4 with Sony 3 way speakers, and its like a whole new system now with awesome sound. (using the factory radio/amp).

as for your power requirements I don't see why it wouldn't work. I had a 1986 Nissan Sentra with tiny battery and alternator, and I remember running a dual 12" setup with large amp and EQ and another amp for the smaller speakers. I had had it for at least 100k miles with no issues.

 

Thanks for your input. So you believe replacing the speakers and installing a sub (with an amp for the front two speakers) would suffice anyone's general music needs while not placing a strain on the IMA battery?

Really wouldn't want to replace the stereo as this would result in losing the factory dashboard look...

 

I am sure that they de-rated the system to have a spare few hundred watts. The 12V battery is pretty tiny though. You may want to get a better / slightly bigger battery. I do have the electrical service manual, maybe I can figure out how much overhead the system has.

I don't believe you'd stress the IMA battery much, but the regen may run slightly more frequently to top off the IMA battery as it provides 12V power to your equipment.

 

Hi, once again thanks for replying. I really do appreciate it.

With regards to the battery, I believe it'd be a bit difficult to replace the battery with a bigger size as there is hardly any space to fit a bigger one.

In the last paragraph, you mention that the IMA battery supplies the 12V accessories. How would a bigger standard battery make any difference?

P.S - If you could figure how much overhead the system has, that'd be bliss!

 

The stock system is garbage--so much so that the front speakers and front tweeters quit working, I think I read moisture gets in there. Wish I had purchased the extended warranty from Honda instead of at the stealership as it was past the 6yrs on stealership warranty.

I replaced them with Alpine SPR-60Cs.

Speakers: $148.50
Wiring Harness: $9.99
Speaker Boom Mats: $17.98
Mounting Brackets: $11.99
Install: $84.99

For $273.45 all in.

Sounds great now.

 

I'm thinking on put a Focal 3way system , and a subwoofer in the back I can't be without Sound system but I'm worried about stress the new IMA battery recentrly installed.... I put a need tiny optima yellow top but I don't know if is enough to run the system

 

The new IMA battery + new software should fix any IMA issues. The 12V load from a stereo is only a tiny % of the load from using 'Assist', so I don't think you will have any issues. Also, if you really wanted to, you could put a bigger 12V battery in the trunk, and use Diodes so that it is isolated from the other battery. You can connect your subwoofer amp and any other stuff to this battery. This has been done a million times in car audio applications