Cheap factory sub woofer replacement

[ctrlraven]

So I finally got fed up with the stock sub which I'm guess the orginal owner himself or had someone else put an a cheap 8" sub. So what I did was went to Wal-Mart purchased one of their Scosche pre-made (put it together yourself) sub boxes. I had already had a pioneer 12" that was 100watts rms and 400watts max. Put the box together slapped the sub in it, cut the wires coming out of the amp going into the stock sub enclosure got about 3-4ft of speaker wire, crimped the wires together and hooked it up. What a difference, even with the trunk being basically seal (no fold down seats) it sounds pretty good....enough to vibrate the mirrors :D . The 12" box from Wal-Mart ran me $34.99 plus tax includeds all the screws (I used some wood glue to get a better seal) and honestly any 12" 4ohm automotive subwoofer will sound better than the stock system. I will post some pics later on but for less than $100 or so you can have a little more thump and we all love saving money to put into our mod pot :banana: .

[bryanthomas]

Does the factory amp have enough power to make effiicient use of the sub?

[jawz101]

Probably enough for one from Walmart. Isn't it a 5-channel? I can't remember anything about the factory amp.

[MENINBLK]

Our subwoofer is powered by its own amplifier.

[ctrlraven]

I think the sub I'm using is being under powered so I might switch it to a 12" sub that I bought from Radio Shack years ago. Any cheap sub from PepBoys or Wal-Mart would work. The lower the power rating the better it will work for the sissy sub amp we have. I noticed after about 30mins or so of 60% vol the sub would cut out on deep bass notes. Might be a good idea to go 10" since it takes less power and is easier for the amp to push. Though it brought a smile to my face and the wifey enjoyed the better sound so all is well.

[DEFYANT]

If my honey-do list wasnt so long, upgrading the sound system in the Defyant Marauder would be a top priority!

Some day damit!

These mods are like asking "What does a Magnaflow exhaust sound like?" You need to hear it for yourself! I plan on reviewing sound systems at Woodward and MV4.

[magindat]

+1 on low power sub.

Use a cheapy with a high sensitivity (89+) and low power handling (100 or less). The factory amp is around 25 watts. It's a one channel, 4ohm. The 4 separates are powered by the in-dash radio.

Dropping to the 10 or an 8 will suck. You need the cone area to effectively use the huge volume in the trunk. A cheap, low power 12 can be had from Parts Express or Radio Shack.

Keep in mind... this project is fun and cheap, but lacks longevity. The amp will be over taxed and a cheap woofer is a cheap woofer.

Have fun!!!!

[ctrlraven]

+1 on low power sub.

Use a cheapy with a high sensitivity (89+) and low power handling (100 or less). The factory amp is around 25 watts. It's a one channel, 4ohm. The 4 separates are powered by the in-dash radio.

Dropping to the 10 or an 8 will suck. You need the cone area to effectively use the huge volume in the trunk. A cheap, low power 12 can be had from Parts Express or Radio Shack.

Keep in mind... this project is fun and cheap, but lacks longevity. The amp will be over taxed and a cheap woofer is a cheap woofer.

Have fun!!!! So everything I've read about the factory sub amp being 100watts is incorrect? The box I got wasn't the greatest until I sealed it up good. For a sealed box it needs more power to move the sub rather than ported and bandpass boxes which the sub moves more freely but doesn't hit every beat as would a sealed box. I'll have to go through my storage unit and see if I can find the sub and try that.

[ctrlraven]

If my honey-do list wasnt so long, upgrading the sound system in the Defyant Marauder would be a top priority!

Some day damit!

These mods are like asking "What does a Magnaflow exhaust sound like?" You need to hear it for yourself! I plan on reviewing sound systems at Woodward and MV4. I totally agree, when I used to sell Ford's people would ask me "Is this vehicle fully loaded" and I would tell them your fully loaded and what I think fully loaded is may be two different things. I agree the only way to go is listen for yourself inside a vehicle with different brands of speakers. Again I only posted this up as a less costly quick fix replacement, I'm not going to keep it forever but it will do fine until I'm ready for a complete custom system.

[ctrlraven]

Has anyone or does anyone know someone who has got custom fiberglass kick panels for componet 2-way/3-way systems? I'm thinking about making mine and using JL Audio's 3-way system and put the 6.5" bass driver in the kick panel, 4" mid in the door and system flush mounted into the a-pillar.

[magindat]

Might be 100W PEAK. If I remember correctly, the ford radio shop I was working with said 27 RMS. That sounds about right.

[ctrlraven]

Might be 100W PEAK. If I remember correctly, the ford radio shop I was working with said 27 RMS. That sounds about right. Thats what I kinda figured, the level of volume I listen it's probably right around 100 :lol: .

[magindat]

So everything I've read about the factory sub amp being 100watts is incorrect? The box I got wasn't the greatest until I sealed it up good. For a sealed box it needs more power to move the sub rather than ported and bandpass boxes which the sub moves more freely but doesn't hit every beat as would a sealed box. I'll have to go through my storage unit and see if I can find the sub and try that.

Single reflex takes more power than sealed. Dual reflex takes less power than sealed, but more than ported. Don't forget, one side of a single reflex IS sealed.

If you build a reflex bandpass correctly it WILL hit every note. I have the install to prove it. Bandpass requires precise and experienced tuning. It will actually have LESS resonance at peak frequencies and a FLATTER response with a lower -3db point if properly tuned to the vehicle.

When you are ready, grasshopper, I'll send you plans for a single reflex box specifically for Marauder with 1-8" that will outplay 2-10's and keep up with 2-12's. The project will cost you about 600 bucks not counting the amp.

Happy modding!!!!

[magindat]

These mods are like asking "What does a Magnaflow exhaust sound like?" You need to hear it for yourself! I plan on reviewing sound systems at Woodward and MV4.

That's not entirely true. Sound systems are subjective to a degree, but there is a sound system 'dyno'. It's called and RTA or Real-Time-Analyzer. It measures the volumes of all the frequencies in the audible spectrum. Think of measuring the volume of each key on a piano.

There is a mode of sound competition that competes to see who has the 'perfect' system by having a 'flat' RTA or all frequencies played at the same volume. It's not easy, since different materials reflect and absorb sound in a car. The RTA could be perfect in the driver's seat and garbage in the passenger. Even tiny adjustments like how much the seat reclines can throw off your RTA.

Once a perfect (or good) RTA is established, the system is proven to be able to play all music. The rest is then adjusted to personal taste.

I've been doin this so long, I can get a +/-3db RTA by ear. But, I like my music about 6-12 db bass-heavy.

The trick for the MM is to forget the trunk. Don;t even try to put speakers in that trunk and expect decent sound. It just ain't gonna happen. You gotta pump the lows through the factory stock sub hole. There's a way... and it works... but it ain't cheap.

Just having some fun with the blah, blah, blah. Hope the read was entertaining.

[bryanthomas]

Single reflex takes more power than sealed. Dual reflex takes less power than sealed, but more than ported. Don't forget, one side of a single reflex IS sealed.

If you build a reflex bandpass correctly it WILL hit every note. I have the install to prove it. Bandpass requires precise and experienced tuning. It will actually have LESS resonance at peak frequencies and a FLATTER response with a lower -3db point if properly tuned to the vehicle.

When you are ready, grasshopper, I'll send you plans for a single reflex box specifically for Marauder with 1-8" that will outplay 2-10's and keep up with 2-12's. The project will cost you about 600 bucks not counting the amp.

Happy modding!!!!

I'm sold! I know you know your stuff, mind sending me those plans?! :D

[ctrlraven]

Single reflex takes more power than sealed. Dual reflex takes less power than sealed, but more than ported. Don't forget, one side of a single reflex IS sealed.

If you build a reflex bandpass correctly it WILL hit every note. I have the install to prove it. Bandpass requires precise and experienced tuning. It will actually have LESS resonance at peak frequencies and a FLATTER response with a lower -3db point if properly tuned to the vehicle.

When you are ready, grasshopper, I'll send you plans for a single reflex box specifically for Marauder with 1-8" that will outplay 2-10's and keep up with 2-12's. The project will cost you about 600 bucks not counting the amp.

Happy modding!!!! Grasshopper? :lol: Yes you are correct it does require precise and experienced tuning to make a reflex bandpass. I'm not grasshopper though, I've been around car audio/video since I was 12 when I worked during the summers with my cousin in his custom mobile electronics shop. I used to work for Tweeter and Sound Advice (during the summer) and I am still a member of Team Zapco and helped with the design and building of Jason King's 2000 Nissan Maxima which is a an IASCA 600+ world champion :D . Man I miss installing car audio/video gear, especially replacing motorcycles mirrors with 4" screens with rear view cameras, always loved to see the smile and amaze on the customers face. Now I run my own shop installing Ignition Interlock breathalyzers and get to see the faces of DUI drivers everyday.........:mad2:

I would be interested in seeing those plans because current I'm designing a slot loaded box for 2 12W7's and when it's down I'll put it in my friends GM and test the db level increase from his JL pre-fabbed box that he got with his 2 12W7's.

[ctrlraven]

That's not entirely true. Sound systems are subjective to a degree, but there is a sound system 'dyno'. It's called and RTA or Real-Time-Analyzer. It measures the volumes of all the frequencies in the audible spectrum. Think of measuring the volume of each key on a piano.

There is a mode of sound competition that competes to see who has the 'perfect' system by having a 'flat' RTA or all frequencies played at the same volume. It's not easy, since different materials reflect and absorb sound in a car. The RTA could be perfect in the driver's seat and garbage in the passenger. Even tiny adjustments like how much the seat reclines can throw off your RTA.

Once a perfect (or good) RTA is established, the system is proven to be able to play all music. The rest is then adjusted to personal taste.

I've been doin this so long, I can get a +/-3db RTA by ear. But, I like my music about 6-12 db bass-heavy.

The trick for the MM is to forget the trunk. Don;t even try to put speakers in that trunk and expect decent sound. It just ain't gonna happen. You gotta pump the lows through the factory stock sub hole. There's a way... and it works... but it ain't cheap.

Just having some fun with the blah, blah, blah. Hope the read was entertaining. Factory sub hole? I hear exactly what your say but now correct me if I'm wrong, in the case with our MM already having a non pass-thru trunk, wouldn't a fiberglass subwoofer enclosure in the well work better because it becomes part of the body and the sound vibrations would resonate throughout the car body giving a total bass surround? Granted this is the most costly way to go but I sat down with one of my master installers that trained me and said he would kick my azz if I didn't pass the MECP test lol, we thought up of removing the rear deck speakers because their are only 1-2 people in my car at any given time and the rear spks are used as fill in. Thus allowing MORE sound to travel into the cabin which is what your saying about porting the air from the trunk through the oem sub hole. All the major custom installs I've done have been fiberglassed trunks and it always made a complete system sound better comparing it to another vehicle of same make, model with some gear but with MDF custom boxes. Man I need to get off this thread, I could talk about I.C.E all day long......no wonder the wife doesn't like to go to car meets or listen to me talk about anything that has to do with automobiles:depress:

[magindat]

Yeah, me too. I started at 14. Can't believe it's been 20 years. I've mostly managed to keep it a hobby, but I have done time as installer and salesman. I built a car for AudioControl in 92. I was on Memphis Force for a while and still own a Memphis sponsored van with 8-10" and a Belle. I was putting in LCD's when you couldn't even buy one in a bezel. They were raw screen and circuit board!!!

I just completed an all acrylic and mirrored monster for 4 800 series AlphaSonik 12's and and Autotek 5KW amp. I'm gessing 164ish, but my ears quit at about 152-153.

Basic plan is .75 sealed and .80 ported with 3" round x 7" long flared port through the stock woofer hole. It uses a kicker solo dual VC 2ohm 8 and a REAL 18 year-old LINEAR POWER 500.2. Kicker called for a 4x10, but the flare was too big for the stock hole. Blaubox to the rescue! The flared port is an ABSOLUTE MUST. You'll hear port mach and no music if you don't!

I have the marauder specific plans, of course, but I'm holdin out. It took too long to experiment getting the fit and tuning right.

I went through 8 different configs 'till I stopped on the box above. It's no SPL monster, but it plays really well. Everyone is impressed, especially with the low end response. Also, it's light and fits entirely on the package shelf. therefore I have no loss to weight hanging past the rear axle. Further, it's totally clean, no rattle, no gorilla in the trunk, no losses, no dealing with our enourmous trunk volume!

[magindat]

Factory sub hole? I hear exactly what your say but now correct me if I'm wrong, in the case with our MM already having a non pass-thru trunk, wouldn't a fiberglass subwoofer enclosure in the well work better because it becomes part of the body and the sound vibrations would resonate throughout the car body giving a total bass surround? Granted this is the most costly way to go but I sat down with one of my master installers that trained me and said he would kick my azz if I didn't pass the MECP test lol, we thought up of removing the rear deck speakers because their are only 1-2 people in my car at any given time and the rear spks are used as fill in. Thus allowing MORE sound to travel into the cabin which is what your saying about porting the air from the trunk through the oem sub hole. All the major custom installs I've done have been fiberglassed trunks and it always made a complete system sound better comparing it to another vehicle of same make, model with some gear but with MDF custom boxes. Man I need to get off this thread, I could talk about I.C.E all day long......no wonder the wife doesn't like to go to car meets or listen to me talk about anything that has to do with automobiles:depress:

Fiberglassing to the car is about using the entire car's mass to hold the speaker still. As the cone goes to excursion, inertia wants the basket to go the opposite way. The more mass you add to the mounting structure, the more solid the sound. You don't have to glass to the car, you just have to make the speaker enclosure PART of the car. This can be done by bolting an MDF box to the car, liquid nailing it down, wedging it in, etc. In the case of this box, it is screwed down to batten which were liquid nailed to the shelf and then lag bolted through the metal supports from behind the rear seat.

If you are an SPL guy, lose tha back speakers. I like imaging and staging, myself, so there's no way I'm giving up the rears. Besides, it's a luxury car. It should have luxury sound.

The problem with our trunk is the same as a non-braced box. There's too much surface area of (audibly) flexible metal to hold the sound in. All you losses will be to the trunk lid and rear quarters. Dynamat all you want. They'll still flex. So, in your design, the trunk is one giant single relex bandpass. You got flexible sides and top and various size holes (ports) inthe rear deck and all that is coupled to a massive passive radiator (back seat) that you don't know the Qms for. How you gonna tune that? You runnin dual Rane 30 bands?! He-he! Sure, you are coupled with the car, but now you can't tune your box. You got a ton of weight behind your axle, and your gas tank is no longer crash safe. Hmm, what to do.

Yep, I'm diggin this thread. Haven't had a good stereo debate in a LOOOOOOONG time!

[magindat]

I'm working on a design to fir 4-10's on the rear deck (above the tank) and port them through where the armrest folds down in the back seat. A box like that should quake it's a$$ off while being crash safe and stealthy. The box has about 10,000 joints, though!

[magindat]

The actual port itself comes through the rear deck. I built a small plate to make it sit flush and the flare has srew holes and is screwed through the custom plate and into the rear deck metal.
A port does not have to be entirely in a box. You just have to account for the displacement of the part that IS in the box.

[ctrlraven]

Yeah I know that's why I can't stop "debating" on here because it's just been way to long. My very first radio I put in was one of the old school Alpine pull-out tape deck. I stopped off to talk to one of my friend's that I trained when he first started working at Tweeter and I can not believe all the crap that has gone down. Kenwood bought out Eclipse???? I was very sad to hear that and Tweeter stopped selling Xtant awhile ago because of the parent company of MTX, Acoustic X and Xtant said sell all three brands or none at all. I still want to get an Xtant X1001 mono block amp and Eclipse Titainum DVC 12's with the monster size magnet. My last install I did at Tweeter was for a kid that bought a JL100/1 amp and an Eclipse Titainum 12 to put in his early 90's Integra......needless to say after proper tunning when he was out in the parking lot ready to leave he cranked it shattered his rear hatch window. I've never laugh so hard in my life at the look on the face of the kid when he came back in and said he broke his window....needless to say the store manager came over and was like "UH YEAH, we heard it all the way back of the store, here is a broom, thanks for shopping at Tweeter". Hands down the sickest daily driven car system I've seen has been the JL Audio Rep I knew, he has a late 90's 4-door Lexus with THREE JL 18's, all custom fiberglassed and had a fiberglass rear deck with a hole big enough for a basketball as a port. Doors wide open,system cranked up, feeling like about to have a heart attack and then the sunroof popped and made its way back onto the trunk.....needless to say I couldn't hear for about 15-20mins after the system was turn off.

My fav gear to use is Icon screens, JL amps/spks, MB Quart spks, Alpine/Eclipse/Nakimici decks,, Viper/DEI alarms/remote starters, and whatever I can use to make things motorized. I'm half way tempeted to do a motorized pop-up screen in the dash for that super stealth look :D

[Sully008]

Has anyone or does anyone know someone who has got custom fiberglass kick panels for componet 2-way/3-way systems? I'm thinking about making mine and using JL Audio's 3-way system and put the 6.5" bass driver in the kick panel, 4" mid in the door and system flush mounted into the a-pillar.

I built Kick panel pods for my car. Pics are in my gallery. I wouldn't put the 4s in the doors, build the kicks to hold a 4" mid/1" tweeter, and put the 6.5" midbass in the doors. Proper staging/imaging is all about equalizing pathlengths from speaker to ear. The critical imaging cues come from about 300hz-up. Locating the midrange is key. Tweeters can go in the a-pillar, but the further away from the mid, your staging will smear. Midbass is not as critical because it is harder to localize sound from 300hz down.

It's nice to see some die hard SQ guys here. I used to compete in IASCA in '96/'97. Two time world finalist, top 10 my Novice year, top 20 my Pro year.

[ctrlraven]

I built Kick panel pods for my car. Pics are in my gallery. I wouldn't put the 4s in the doors, build the kicks to hold a 4" mid/1" tweeter, and put the 6.5" midbass in the doors. Proper staging/imaging is all about equalizing pathlengths from speaker to ear. The critical imaging cues come from about 300hz-up. Locating the midrange is key. Tweeters can go in the a-pillar, but the further away from the mid, your staging will smear. Midbass is not as critical because it is harder to localize sound from 300hz down.

It's nice to see some die hard SQ guys here. I used to compete in IASCA in '96/'97. Two time world finalist, top 10 my Novice year, top 20 my Pro year. I would just build the pod, I'm not going to do the install or anything. In the short time I have made installing a career I've done probably a little over 2000 installs with I'd say 1200 being just basic OEM replacement stuff and I'm just worn out especially with my current field, I'm putting in 3-4 interlock units in per day and I THANK GOD! Ford, Honda, etc etc haven't gone the stupid azz 9 way that chevy has with their single pulse signal wires. No it can't be as simple as just droping the driver's side dash, gotta tap two wires on driver's side, two on passenger side and two in the engine comparment. I hate the 2003 and up Pontiac Grand Prix, Colorado/Cayon, Cobalt, Ion, LS (Saturn), IMPALA, Malibu, etc etc. The only ones that are simple are the full-size trucks and Hummer's. Now I feel better that I vented :lol:. I am a diehard music fan through and throughout. I don't want to seem like an azz and tell someone hey your system sounds like total garbage but then I think hey they don't speak english so no biggie haha. I've always lived by this rule and told people it, you get what you pay for, sometimes along the road you can find a really good deal and you can also find things that will sound good to you but in the end are you really happy and will continue to be happy with what your purchased.

[Sully008]

Heh, that's why I didn't accept the job offer my friend gave me to work at his shop years ago. The last thing I would want to do after hours in customer's cars is to work on my own car. Car audio is my serious hobby. One of these days I'll finish the stereo in the Marauder. As long as I stop changing my ideas!!

[magindat]

Heh, that's why I didn't accept the job offer my friend gave me to work at his shop years ago. The last thing I would want to do after hours in customer's cars is to work on my own car. Car audio is my serious hobby. One of these days I'll finish the stereo in the Marauder. As long as I stop changing my ideas!!

Same here. A hobby gets ruined when you do it for a living. It's helped pay bills here and there, but not a career!

Good suggestion on the pods. I thought about 'em. But I rathered the dead pedal for driving....