Subwoofer upgrade

[Junosi]

I'll say from the start that this upgrade wouldn't be for everyone :D I'm not into that *doof doof* music, but I do like good quality sound and lots of it (Vangelis 1492 with a good sub makes you see angels)

Decided on a whim today (had a day to kill) to replace the standard sub-woofer unit with something a bit beefier, been thinking about doing it for a while. So bought a 30cm 1400watt(350w rms) Slim-line Pioneer sub-woofer, chosen for its extremely small installation space requirements - a mere 83mm deep which lets you put it where normal subs won't fit - like the exact spot the normal P38 sub/cd sits. I'd already removed the cd-player as I'll never use it.

Bought a sheet of 18mm MDF and cut out the pieces to make up a box with a corner missing that worked out to be 25litres volume on the inside - perfect for that sub and for the space I had in mind. Screwed and glued it altogether, then covered in speaker felt. Had to cut a small amount of panel around where the standard sub sits - mostly around where the normal sub exhaust sticks up to give a bit more vertical space, hardly noticeable with the cover off - and not at all with the cover on. Looks pretty good in place without the cover off - without looking carefully it could pass as genuine. With the cover on its invisible as the original. Haven't decided whether to go cover on or off yet - if I go cover on I'll probably butcher the cover a bit and make a 30cm hole and cover it with some sort of grey spandex to make it all look nearly factory.

Forgot to hide the exposed relay and wires for the photo, they're normally hidden behind that little covered hatch.
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As for the amp, its a 424w(rms) JBL mono-block - overkill but it was a good price ;) Had a little trouble finding a good spot for it so in the end opted for the bay directly opposite the sub, which means loseing a very small amount of cargo area. At full power the amp draws 70amps .... so had to use a fairly big power wire on a relay directly to the battery. Doubt I'll ever have it on full volume though, I'd like to keep my ears into my old age. In hindsight a smaller physically sized amp of around 350w(rms) would of been more practical.

Amp located in opposite niche to sub.
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The result sounds fantastic compared to the anemic standard P38 sub, especially a 15 year old one. It's a little less practical than the standard sub in terms of cargo space as the sub now faces sideways not up, but 99% of the time my boot is empty anyways... on long trips sub will probably be off (wife in car :() and spare wheel covering it.

[wayneg]

This is on my list of might get round to it one day jobs. My car had no head unit let alone a Sub when I acquired it. I have a decent amp all I need is a suitable Sub. Like you I don't want the car to bounce along however a nice level of base is always good especially as my music of choice includes 60`s / 70s Ska

[Kalincho]

I installed a powered downward firing JBL sub that fitted into the same space as the other one.

The previous owner had installed a new Clarion head unit and the original sub was made passive, with the JBL in there it brought the audio to life.. have no idea what it sounded like with the original sub, but I was blown away with the enhanced sound.

I do love the fact that I can have the music up loud with the windows up and very little sound escapes out. Acoustically the cabin space reproduces an amazing sound.

Love it.

Great work Junosi.

One quick question, originally where where the speakers powered from? from the original head unit? or with mini amps for all the speakers... I have a big mono block power amp on the drivers side.. I presume this was put in with the new head unit?

Sorry to Hijack..

Kalincho.

[Junosi]

I do love the fact that I can have the music up loud with the windows up and very little sound escapes out. Acoustically the cabin space reproduces an amazing sound.


Agreed, its surprising how loud it can be inside yet so quiet on the outside.

Not sure what year model yours is (different audio on different models) mines a '95 HSE with the 11? speaker Harmon Kardon system.

I've replaced the original headunit with a Alpine digital only unit (mp3, ipod and radio etc) - but I'm still using all the original Harman Kardon speakers/amps that came with the 4.6 HSE - which still sound great so no need to replace. So in answer to your question my speakesr are powered from their own original door amps, they expect a fairly low level input but they're working perfectly with my Alpine hu - the original sub also had its own little amp with low level feed from original headunit. Subwoofer upgrade would work regardless of headunit as modern amps are pretty clever with their inputs, gain and boost.

Not sure what your mono block was/is for - best guess would be previous owner had a sub box type unit in there that they removed ?

I'd be curious to see a photo of your JBL downward firing sub if you could find one :) Only sub I could find that would fit was the pioneer range of shallow mount ones. Would've liked the 15" one but very happy with the 12" one, and it fits

[Kalincho]

I'll get some photos up over the weekend, I should take a few snapshots to post too, mine's a White HSE 95. Ive kept all the Harmon Kardon speakers except the sub- definitively no need to replace.

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Here is the sub from the web. Its a all in one unit. Ive had it for a while and it just went from one car to the next.

Its a bit bulkier than your mod though.

[Kalincho]

Here are a few snap shots of the sub amp and my girl.

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I put the arty shot of the coil conversion for all you non believers! ;)

There is a 75lt donut tank where the spare was kept, so the spare wheel currently sits on top of the cargo tray which was 'modified' to hold it in place. When we go away the spare can ride in a basket on the roof. Notice the spare handset batteries! ;)

The spotlights were attached with one of those mini bars you can buy from the auto stores, saw a lot of cop cars with the same thing. As you know until recently bars for our ladies are like hens teeth. Bless you HRA mk II.:D

The GPS was a simple mod that I did, I cut a piece of acrylic to match the size and wedged and secured it with silicone, the suction holder for the GPS was then attached to the acrylic. The GPS still received a strong signal and is out of the direct sun and prying eyes.:twisted:

The deck and amp i believe came from the previous owner, nice Clarion deck with a slotted CD player, the Sub is the JBL mention in the above posts.

Even though I'm 33, I am not a hardcore 4x4 driver, the car has been set up for cruising and comfort. A job it does well indeed. Recent additions where newish front seats (thanks Jezzol) and a spare second hand MAF.

Kalincho.