How to: Replacing OEM Subwoofer in 3rd Row

[KY Tundra]

Did you wire the 4 ohm sub in series or parallel? Thanks.

The sub is a dual voice coil and the wiring for the factory sub has 2 pairs of wires. So I put it back as it was, but did have to flip polarity after the first try. Series vs parallel isn’t a factor. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.
I see in the next post someone mentioned it again, but that is with a single pair of wires coming in.

 

[udubfl]

Following up. Got my replacement Kickers. Got it installed. All good to go.

Here’s how I wired it.

Here’s how it sits in the plastic sub OE box.

Had to do little trimming of black plastic inside the speaker cover as the Kicker speaker sticks out a little more than stock:

 

[krom]

Following up. Got my replacement Kickers. Got it installed. All good to go.

Here’s how I wired it.
View attachment 3198884

Here’s how it sits in the plastic sub OE box.
View attachment 3198886

Had to do little trimming of black plastic inside the speaker cover as the Kicker speaker sticks out a little more than stock:

View attachment 3198888

View attachment 3198885

How is the sound from the new sub? Does the factory amp have enough power to drive it and make a difference? I’d prefer this vs a powered sub since I’d be able to reuse the hidden factory location. I am not looking for window rattling bass. Just an improvement.

 

[udubfl]

How is the sound from the new sub? Does the factory amp have enough power to drive it and make a difference? I’d prefer this vs a powered sub since I’d be able to reuse the hidden factory location. I am not looking for window rattling bass. Just an improvement.

There was nothing wrong with my OE sub....so, the new Kickers works well and sounds well but I would say it's hard to notice any major/significant difference. Maybe little improvement.

Factory amp works well but not sure how it impacts it overall.

I think if you have undamaged OE subs, I would wait until it gets damaged or if you want to modify the sub set-up. The front mids and tweeter made the most difference vs. OE speakers. For me, I got decent deals on the speakers with Crutchfield during Thanksgiving so I figured why not give it a try. I wasn't looking for anything big or thumping system...just wanted to get more clarity/crisp in different ranges with little bit more bass..with plug & play system...I think it worked out good.

 

[krom]

There was nothing wrong with my OE sub....so, the new Kickers works well and sounds well but I would say it's hard to notice any major/significant difference. Maybe little improvement.

Factory amp works well but not sure how it impacts it overall.

I think if you have undamaged OE subs, I would wait until it gets damaged or if you want to modify the sub set-up. The front mids and tweeter made the most difference vs. OE speakers. For me, I got decent deals on the speakers with Crutchfield during Thanksgiving so I figured why not give it a try. I wasn't looking for anything big or thumping system...just wanted to get more clarity/crisp in different ranges with little bit more bass..with plug & play system...I think it worked out good.

How did you wire the 4 factory wires from the harness? Did you only use one pair of +/- leads and leave the other alone? Or did your factory harness only have 2 wires?

Edit: Nevermind, I see an earlier post with a picture of 2 factory wire set up (red/black). Thank you.

 

[ScotyDosentKnow]

I have read through most of this thread and it seems most posting have an LX with the ML system…..

I have an 05’ LC with the JBL. Want to replace the factory sub with the Skar EVL-65 but am unsure if I need the dual 2ohm or 4ohm. Seems like the factory sub in the JBL is different ohm rating than the ML? Just want to make sure I don’t purchase the wrong thing

 

[krom]

I have read through most of this thread and it seems most posting have an LX with the ML system…..

I have an 05’ LC with the JBL. Want to replace the factory sub with the Skar EVL-65 but am unsure if I need the dual 2ohm or 4ohm. Seems like the factory sub in the JBL is different ohm rating than the ML? Just want to make sure I don’t purchase the wrong thing

I have an 05 LC with JBL and just updated the factory sub with the same 6.5” Skar. Look at @KY Tundra most recent posts in this thread jus a few posts back. I bought the 4ohm model and wired it up exactly as the factory sub was wired with 2 voice coils and 2 pairs of wires. The factory sub I pulled measured 4.5ohm on each voice coil with my multimeter. So far the Skar sounds fine. Much better than the factory sub but it’s not gonna rattle the mirrors. As others have stated the enclosure juat doesn’t have much volume to make a difference. So far no issues for me with the way it’s wired.

 

[ScotyDosentKnow]

I have an 05 LC with JBL and just updated the factory sub with the same 6.5” Skar. Look at @KY Tundra most recent posts in this thread jus a few posts back. I bought the 4ohm model and wired it up exactly as the factory sub was wired with 2 voice coils and 2 pairs of wires. The factory sub I pulled measured 4.5ohm on each voice coil with my multimeter. So far the Skar sounds fine. Much better than the factory sub but it’s not gonna rattle the mirrors. As others have stated the enclosure juat doesn’t have much volume to make a difference. So far no issues for me with the way it’s wired.

Thank you I really appreciate the response! I will likely go with that as well. The stock sub hardly has anything coming out of it and definitely needs to be replaced. Anything would be an improvement. I went out tonight and played around with fade/balance and drivers front sounds blown, passenger front only played out of the tweeter lol. Rears are “okay”

Planning on:
Front - Rockford Fosgate R165-S

Rockford Fosgate R165-S

Prime Series 6-1/2" component speaker system

www.crutchfield.com

Rear - Rockford Fosgate R165X3

Rockford Fosgate R165X3

Prime Series 6-1/2" 3-way car speakers

www.crutchfield.com

Sub - Skar EVL-65

EVL-65 | 6.5" 400 Watt Max Power Car Subwoofer | Skar Audio

Skar Audio designed the EVL-65 subwoofer to redefine what versatility means. At 6.5" in size, and rated at 400 watts max power, this subwoofer allows you to add aftermarket bass in nearly any application.

www.skaraudio.com

Hopefully all this will play nice with the factory nav head unit/amp and will sound much better

 

[Mtard]

From what I understand, the ML amp is set up for 8ohms, at least to the sub. My only sources for this is my buddy that works for a toyota subsidiary and my own limited personal experience. I put in the JL 6W3v3-4, which is a 4ohm sub and 1. Sounds like garbage (distortion, weird response), 2. Is heating the hell out of the stock amp.

I measured continuity on the stock sub and it measured about 12-13 ohms. This is "free impedance" which usually runs lower than nominal (i think?). The full ML system therefore is either a ~12 ohm system or ~8ohms, with a 12ohm sub.

Current plan is to run two 8ohmx25W resistors in parallel, and then run that in series w the 6w3v3 sub.

I cant find any specs on the ML amp other than an LTC post about it either being 300W or 240W. No indication which, and no indication on Watts/channel. This would be nice to know so I could predict if Im about to burn up my resistors and sub.

Curious to know whether @Patassa and @arkmm are running the 4ohm JL, and how it sounds. The 6w3v3 used to come in an 8ohm version but has been discontinued (iirc).

Late update -
After putting 2x 8ohmx25W resistors in parallel, and then that configuration in series with the sub, the amplifier was still overheating. Sound response was better, but still off. Maybe it's a 12ohm system?

Again - 2006 LX470 with Mark Levinson sound system.

For clarification: JL Audio 6w3v3-4 Specs
Driver:
150W, 4 Ohm

Continuous Power (RMS)	150 W
Recommended Amp Power (RMS)	50-150 W
Nominal Impedance	4 Ohms

Amplifier:

Suspected Resistance Rating	8 or 12 ohms
Suspected Power Output	240 or 300 W

Set up:

Please excuse my crude drawerings and possibly idiotic logic (username checks out).
Next idea was replace the 8ohm parallel section with a more complicated set up of resistors in series+parallel.
Starting to think this is really dumb and I should not be treating a driver like a resistor, should be treating it like an inductor...because it is one.
Starting to think this is really dumb and I should have just replaced the driver with a newer stock ML one - but hubris is a sonofabich.

Anyway - any insight into this is welcome.

 

[Gnarwgn]

Following up. Got my replacement Kickers. Got it installed. All good to go.

Here’s how I wired it.
View attachment 3198884

Here’s how it sits in the plastic sub OE box.
View attachment 3198886

Had to do little trimming of black plastic inside the speaker cover as the Kicker speaker sticks out a little more than stock:

View attachment 3198888

View attachment 3198885

Did the same as you, and have experienced the same results/outcome. Improved clarity, a bit more crisp bass, but not a hugely noticeable difference and no power behind the bass, which leads me to a couple follow up questions (and I apologize in advance, I don't know alot about car audio):

1. would changing out the factory amp provide more power to the kicker (I assume so, and I believe a 5 channel amp does this)? If so - is there general consensus on an amp that has been proven to work well for this upgrade?

2. Is there any opportunity to add another sub to the other side of the cargo area to add additional bass? Maybe this is overkill and the amp upgrade would be my first step (and solve the problem), but if that still didn't get the job done wondering if anyone has attempted this with any level of success.

These questions all come from comparing my land cruiser setup to my 2007 4runner. The 4 runner has stock JBL with a stock 10" sub in the back. Its too much bass for the 4 runner, while the land cruiser seems to have too little, and I think the difference may be the difference between the factory amps. Trying to find the happy medium.

 

[latetotheparty]

Did the same as you, and have experienced the same results/outcome. Improved clarity, a bit more crisp bass, but not a hugely noticeable difference and no power behind the bass, which leads me to a couple follow up questions (and I apologize in advance, I don't know alot about car audio):

1. would changing out the factory amp provide more power to the kicker (I assume so, and I believe a 5 channel amp does this)? If so - is there general consensus on an amp that has been proven to work well for this upgrade?

2. Is there any opportunity to add another sub to the other side of the cargo area to add additional bass? Maybe this is overkill and the amp upgrade would be my first step (and solve the problem), but if that still didn't get the job done wondering if anyone has attempted this with any level of success.

These questions all come from comparing my land cruiser setup to my 2007 4runner. The 4 runner has stock JBL with a stock 10" sub in the back. Its too much bass for the 4 runner, while the land cruiser seems to have too little, and I think the difference may be the difference between the factory amps. Trying to find the happy medium.

I have done what you are considering with my LX470 ML. You can look at my prior posts with pics in this thread to see if it’s something you’re interested in tackling and maybe get some ideas if you are.

 

[latetotheparty]

Late update -
After putting 2x 8ohmx25W resistors in parallel, and then that configuration in series with the sub, the amplifier was still overheating. Sound response was better, but still off. Maybe it's a 12ohm system?

Again - 2006 LX470 with Mark Levinson sound system.

For clarification: JL Audio 6w3v3-4 Specs
Driver:
150W, 4 Ohm

Continuous Power (RMS)	150 W
Recommended Amp Power (RMS)	50-150 W
Nominal Impedance	4 Ohms

Amplifier:

Suspected Resistance Rating	8 or 12 ohms
Suspected Power Output	240 or 300 W

Set up:
View attachment 3228423

Please excuse my crude drawerings and possibly idiotic logic (username checks out).
Next idea was replace the 8ohm parallel section with a more complicated set up of resistors in series+parallel.
Starting to think this is really dumb and I should not be treating a driver like a resistor, should be treating it like an inductor...because it is one.
Starting to think this is really dumb and I should have just replaced the driver with a newer stock ML one - but hubris is a sonofabich.

Anyway - any insight into this is welcome.

It’s my understanding that the ML wants to see 8ihms at the doors and 12 at the sub, if I remember correctly from my discussion with a tech at Crutchfield. Yiu could get a sub with dual 4ohm voice coils and wire them together in series to get the sub to 8 ohm impedance. According to the tech, that would work with the ML amp. I chose to go a different route.

 

[Mtard]

It’s my understanding that the ML wants to see 8ihms at the doors and 12 at the sub, if I remember correctly from my discussion with a tech at Crutchfield. Yiu could get a sub with dual 4ohm voice coils and wire them together in series to get the sub to 8 ohm impedance. According to the tech, that would work with the ML amp. I chose to go a different route.

I have 8ohm at the amp right now (if we assume impedance is the same as resistance.): 4 ohms at my parallel resistors, and 4 ohms at the JL.
Sounds like I should try just a simple 8ohm resistor in series with the 4ohm JL and see what happens. That'd put me at 12 ohms and is really easy to do.

I have a feeling this won't result in an acceptable solution because 1. inductors =/= resistors in AC and/or 2. the amp is overpowering the sub (2 much PWR).

Cheers - MTARD

 

[latetotheparty]

I have 8ohm at the amp right now (if we assume impedance is the same as resistance.): 4 ohms at my parallel resistors, and 4 ohms at the JL.
Sounds like I should try just a simple 8ohm resistor in series with the 4ohm JL and see what happens. That'd put me at 12 ohms and is really easy to do.

I have a feeling this won't result in an acceptable solution because 1. inductors =/= resistors in AC and/or 2. the amp is overpowering the sub (2 much PWR).

Cheers - MTARD

Getting a speaker to 8ohms with voice coil windings and getting there by adding resistors may not be same thing, due to interplay between amp and speaker, but I'm not an expert. Good luck.

 

[divejoe]

I have an 05 LC with JBL and just updated the factory sub with the same 6.5” Skar. Look at @KY Tundra most recent posts in this thread jus a few posts back. I bought the 4ohm model and wired it up exactly as the factory sub was wired with 2 voice coils and 2 pairs of wires. The factory sub I pulled measured 4.5ohm on each voice coil with my multimeter. So far the Skar sounds fine. Much better than the factory sub but it’s not gonna rattle the mirrors. As others have stated the enclosure juat doesn’t have much volume to make a difference. So far no issues for me with the way it’s wired.

Were you getting any rattling rom the old one? Mine every time there is any bass in any song just rattles. Is that an indication of a blown sub or do I need just more foam to isolate it? Thanks!

 

[krom]

Were you getting any rattling rom the old one? Mine every time there is any bass in any song just rattles. Is that an indication of a blown sub or do I need just more foam to isolate it? Thanks!

May be just ripped foam. My door speakers were rattling from bad foam. Pulling the panel to inspect would confirm.

 

[Yeti80]

I bought the Skar 6.5 inch subwoofer with 4ohms for my 04 LC with JBL system. Does anyone have any photos of the woofer wire layout instead of schematics for 8ohm? I've tried a few schematics and read this whole thread in the past few days but only getting a small amount of vibrations from the Skar woofer and not much bass. I am really ignorant with speakers so a visual representation of the 8ohm set up would be great! TIA

 

[divejoe]

I bought the Skar 6.5 inch subwoofer with 4ohms. Does anyone have any photos of the woofer wire layout instead of schematics for 8ohm? I've tried a few schematics and read this whole thread in the past few days but only getting a small amount of vibrations from the Skar woofer. I am really ignorant with speakers so a visual representation of the 8ohm set up would be great! TIA

I just finished this and there are only four wires and it was just like the other threads listed out. I’m not getting too much vibration either so not sure if that’s the way they work for our setup. Sorry I can’t be of much help.

 

[Yeti80]

I just finished this and there are only four wires and it was just like the other threads listed out. I’m not getting too much vibration either so not sure if that’s the way they work for our setup. Sorry I can’t be of much help.

Mine has the 4 wires as well. I just need to see visually how everyone else is bridging for the 8ohm configuration and where the other wires are connected. I am not getting bass like everyone else but just vibration. But thanks anyways!

 

[latetotheparty]

Mine has the 4 wires as well. I just need to see visually how everyone else is bridging for the 8ohm configuration and where the other wires are connected. I am not getting bass like everyone else but just vibration. But thanks anyways!

Check out posts 381 and 387. If you have a dual voice coil sub (two pairs of + and - connectors), and connected one pair of wires to one voice coil and the other pair to the other voice coil, and you still aren’t getting much sound, try reversing the wires to one of the voice coils.

With factory wiring, red isn’t always positive and black isn’t always negative. If one voice coil is in-phase and the other is out of phase, they could be cancelling each other out. I’m just guessing because I don’t have the same setup as you. Wish I could be more help.