How to: Replacing OEM Subwoofer in 3rd Row (2 Viewers)

[MuseChaser]

I forgot to add I did change the speaker from 2 ohm to 4 ohm by running a wire between the positive and negative terminals on the speaker. This kept the speaker running within it's rated power window that matches amp output.

I'm hoping that you either misspoke, were unclear, or that I'm misinterpreting what you did. If you truly ran a wire between the positive and negative terminals of a standard subwoofer, you are in effect presenting a fully shorted condition to your amp, and it will have pretty....umm... dramatic results to say the least.

If you have a dual voice coil subwoofer with two sets of input terminals, then yes, you can wire the two voice coils in series to double the impedance from 2ohms to 4ohms by connecting the positive of one voice coil to the negative of the other, and then connecting the remaining appropriate terminals to an amp designed to drive 4 ohm loads. Is this what you meant, and is this the diagram you were refering to?

 

[fooldall1]

Whew. I thought I was just being dense. My voice coil is SINGLE. Thanks @MuseChaser

 

[WickedPickle]

That's exactly correct. Sorry I didn't have pics. I just cut a wire and ran it on the opposite terminals I connected the amp powered positive and negative.
What I described is what I did and I'm only using two wires from the amp vs four on the stock set up. Hope that helps.

Your more likely to damage the speaker by connecting positive and negative incorrectly or running too much power. The kicker speaker is rated for continuous at 150 and max of 300.

Look at this on eBay
KICKER 40CWRT671 CAR AUDIO 6.75"1 OHM COMPRT SHALLOW SUBWOOFER SUB WOOFER 6-3 /4

 

[WickedPickle]

Sorry guys. Muse nailed what I clearly didn't explain well enough.

 

[fooldall1]

That's exactly correct. Sorry I didn't have pics. I just cut a wire and ran it on the opposite terminals I connected the amp powered positive and negative.
What I described is what I did and I'm only using two wires from the amp vs four on the stock set up. Hope that helps.

Your more likely to damage the speaker by connecting positive and negative incorrectly or running too much power. The kicker speaker is rated for continuous at 150 and max of 300.

Look at this on eBay
KICKER 40CWRT671 CAR AUDIO 6.75"1 OHM COMPRT SHALLOW SUBWOOFER SUB WOOFER 6-3 /4

No worries man!~ I appreciate any advice (I am not anywhere near good at this stuff).

 

[MuseChaser]

...
Your more likely to damage the speaker by connecting positive and negative incorrectly or running too much power. The kicker speaker is rated for continuous at 150 and max of 300.

It's actually pretty rare to damage a speaker by connecting it incorrectly; if you reverse the positive and negative connections of a single voice coil speaker, it'll just be out of phase with the other speakers in the system and you'll, most likely, hear a reduction in the bass response. If you mess up the connections in a DVC (dual voice coil), the two coils will be out of phase with each other and kind of cancel each other out. What damages speakers the most is trying to reproduce highly distorted signals coming from incorrectly loaded amps. Yes, putting a lot more power through a speaker than it's rated for isn't good for it if it forces the speaker to continually bang at xmax (maximum excursion). Unless you're engaged in some form of maximum decibel car audio competition (which, frankly, I just don't get the appeal), but instead are listening to your car audio at less-than-ear/life-threatening levels, chances of delivering enough power to a speaker to damage it are pretty minimal, as long as it's properly loaded clean power. If an amp is rated at 4ohms, don't load it w/ a 2 ohm speaker, or two 4 ohms speakers in parallel (or any other way of loading the amp with less than 4 ohms). If you hear obvious distortion, you're either sending too hot a signal to the preamp portion of your rig (which can be, and usually is, integrated into your head unit) and it's running out of headroom, placing too much demand on your amp (improper speaker loads/power demand too high for desired decibels), you've incorrectly wired the amplification side of your rig (sending a power amp's output to another line-level input in another power amp), or, least likely, your speakers aren't up to the task.

Good audio starts with good source material, continues with clean properly loaded power, and ends with speakers designed with smooth frequency, impedance, and phase characteristics carefully housed, aligned, and crossed over properly. It is NOT a bad idea to have an amp with rated output higher than a speaker's power rating. A 100w/4ohm amp won't see any difference, all else being equal (impedance curves, efficiency), between a speaker with a power handling rating of 50w vs 500w. On the other hand, a speaker rated for 50w max input will be much happier and sound better with the 50w coming from a 150w amp (it'll have less distortion) than it will a 50w amp driven to it's max capability (and distorting). This is a key concept that some folks miss... speakers don't "output" watts.... a 50w-rated speaker isn't any "louder" or better than a 200w-rated speaker, it just can accept more power before hitting xmax and/or being damaged. Your amp outputs watts... your speakers receive them and output mechanical energy.

 

[fooldall1]

My subs seem perfectly intact, oddly. I wonder if it's the Panel that's buzzing.

 

[jerryb]

I knew someone was going to say that, after you worded it like that. haha. You're fine.

that kicker speaker is a lot better than what I thought it would be. For someone not wanting to carry around a ten or twelve in the back, this kind of thing is the answer. It sounded bigger than a 6.5 it sounded like one of those slim powered 8 inchers.

 

[MuddSlideSlim]

Just bought an 04 LX and the subwoofer was not there, so I purchased an OEM replacement. The problem is that it doesn't come with any bolts or mounting hardware. Does anyone know what size bolts I need to use to mount it? Thanks in advance!

 

[greasem0nkey86]

I did this to my LX but I used resistors. My sound is ok, at best. It tends to distort with any bass. I may try to rewrire it tomorrow with the resistors

This is a long shot since the reply is two years old. But did you ever add the resistors?

 

[baltik]

Is there any way to bypass the amp to the speakers (use my 18w RMS Alpine headunit) but keep the factory amp functional for the subwoofer? this is on the stock JBL system?

much appreciated!

 

[implayaz9]

Sorry to revive this post again, but to the people who have replaced their speakers, Are you guys replacing your oem amp as well for better sound?

My goal is to replace all speakers as well as the sub. I am down to replace the amp as well if it comes down to it.

 

[kemperflow]

I did pro car stereo comps for years (101-250 watts). The stock system sounds pretty good, but it isn't very musically accurate, the components are cheap. It is engineered and tuned very well for the space, which is why it gets raves from the casual listener. But if you have the $$, replace amp and speakers. If you are making things look stock, sell the factory amp and speakers, you'll make a couple bucks. Get some separates for the Front (Focal?), match the series for the rear passenger depending on your config, get a 5 channel Kicker amp with the wireless remote and either use the existing sub enclosure with an aftermarket close to the same specs or get one custom-made/tuned for the cabin. I think you could do speakers/amp only for under $1K, or go all out for $1500-2000 (custom & tuned).

 

[Sargy]

06 LX



-Tang Band W6-1139SIF 6-1/2" Paper Cone Subwoofer. Keep in mind that I had to widen the diameter on the box to make it fit
Parts Express

MDF 3/4 thick spacer ring. That Tang Band is too tall. Ran out of subwoofer options that clear the box. They all didnt work to my liking.
Ebay link

I believe I am Running 2x of the 8ohm 20W resistor inside the box wiring to prevent drawing too much power from the amp
Amazon

Sounded extremely great and responsive but the box started to suffocate BIG time with more volume. Started drilling holes and that solved it 100% but the boom effect started to reveal itself. took some tuning but those are the amount of holes I drilled, covered it with a micro fiber and its secured with rubber strap holding the spare tire tools. The chuffing I created is now gone . Now its at a happy medium with a touch of boom which I like. Makes it more theater like. Seat vibrates now on the road if needed. Custom panel is required as the stock one wont fit. Working with @BenCC On a 3D printed one.

Previous sub replacements included stock sub twice, CDT Audio & Audiopipe. Sounded great but could not survive my needs unfortunatley. suffocating the box made the aftermarket units fail early

 

[BenCC]

06 LX



-Tang Band W6-1139SIF 6-1/2" Paper Cone Subwoofer. Keep in mind that I had to widen the diameter on the box to make it fit
Parts Express

MDF 3/4 thick spacer ring. That Tang Band is too tall. Ran out of subwoofer options that clear the box. They all didnt work to my liking.
Ebay link

I believe I am Running 2x of the 8ohm 20W resistor inside the box wiring to prevent drawing too much power from the amp
Amazon

Sounded extremely great and responsive but the box started to suffocate BIG time with more volume. Started drilling holes and that solved it 100% but the boom effect started to reveal itself. took some tuning but those are the amount of holes I drilled, covered it with a micro fiber and its secured with rubber strap holding the spare tire tools. The chuffing I created is now gone . Now its at a happy medium with a touch of boom which I like. Makes it more theater like. Seat vibrates now on the road if needed. Custom panel is required as the stock one wont fit. Working with @BenCC On a 3D printed one.

Previous sub replacements included CDT Audio & Audiopipe. Sounded great but could not survive my needs unfortunatley and suffocating the box made them fail early

Nice work. Very clean installation.

Where are you located?
I am in Columbus OH.

I wish I could take some measurements.

 

[Sargy]

Nice work. Very clean installation.

Where are you located?
I am in Columbus OH.

I wish I could take some measurements.

A little over 6 hrs. Im in Fairfax, VA near DC. I could make this a weekend trip sometime in January

 

[BenCC]

A little over 6 hrs. Im in Fairfax, VA near DC. I could make this a weekend trip sometime in January

Or simply send me the panel lol.
What is the largest dimension of the cover panel? The maximum I can print is 500mm, about 20 inches.

 

[Sargy]

Or simply send me the panel lol.
What is the largest dimension of the cover panel? The maximum I can print is 500mm, about 20 inches.

Haha I hear ya. I should be able to get that measurement in the next hour and share it here.

 

[Sargy]

Or simply send me the panel lol.
What is the largest dimension of the cover panel? The maximum I can print is 500mm, about 20 inches.

Small delay but here is full length! I will PM the remaining photos

 

[sandslx]

I would be interested in a panel cover @BenCC on gray. I have w similar project too.

If anyone is looking for a ML sub enclosure let me know. I have a spare.