Hey everyone,
I'm currently running a JVC LH-2000 deck and I really like it. I'm running 4 Pioneer Coaxials (6.5" up front a 4" in the rear) and they sound good to me. However, I had a sub in my old car(10" sealed box powered by a 150w amp) and while i admit I didn't really need that much bass it was nice. I've been thinking about adding a woofer to my car but I want to mount the amp and sub in a out of sight and out of the way place. I thought about the spare tire option but the cost of building an enclosure to fit on top of the tire was too much.
Anyhow, I got to thinking, perhaps since I'm just looking for a bit of extra bass, the factory sub would suit my needs. It's out of the way and seems easy enough to install. Would i be able to integrate it into my system of an aftermarket headunit and speakers? Any comments on the bass it produces? I don't need a whole lot of bass, just a bit of extra kick. Basically, is it worth my $200 (I can get it from Subaruparts.com) for a subwoofer that is discreetely hidden, consumes no cargo space, and adds a bit of extra bass? I've read about the adjustments that can be made and I think that I'd be able to tweak it to my desires. thanks for any info.

 

Just my 2 cents.

I've got a factory sub from a 2000 OBS in my 04 2.5ts. It plugged in perfect. I've got polks for door speakers. Keep in mind that my sub is an 80watt, the one you are looking at is 120watt.

As for the sound. It does provide a decent kick and it can be played loud enough w/out distortion to give you a headache. But I don't think its the cleanest bass I've heard. I've also noticed that it simply cannot reproduce super low frequencies that I can hear on my home stereo.

As for the room it takes. Its better than a bazooka sub or a woofer in a box. The reason I got a wagon wasn't for speakers in the back, so the Subaru sub fit the bill perfectly for me.

Just as one alternative, I've heard some good things about the infinity basslink. That will take up trunk space, although not much.

 

Kuth,
So do you have an aftermarket headunit or are you running stock? From looking at the install instructions, I can't quite figure out if it'll work with my aftemarket deck or not. If I know it'll work, I think I might bite the bullet and go for it. I won't expect the most amazing bass, but i think if I tune it properly I can get just a bit of extra kick. That is, like I said, assuming it'll work with my aftermarket headunit.

 

I'm using an aftermarket head unit which I bought from Crutchfield. The wiring harness they gave me plugged right into the sub cable.

Other than the fact that its getting a bit cramped with all the wires behind the radio I had no problems installing the whole setup.

 

Thanks for the info. I also got my headunit from crutchfield and used the provided wiring harness so I guess I'm in business. Thanks for the info, I'm thinking I'm gonna go ahead and order it in a few days. It seems like it'll give me a bit of bass, will be easy to install, and will be completely hidden and out of the way which is exactly what I'm looking for.

 

After doing a bit of research, I've found two aftermarket options that will cost about the same or less than the factory sub and will probably sound better. The Kenwood Woox http://www.crutchfield.com/S-62o64W4...sp?i=113WA62RC
and the Clarion SRV 303 http://www.clarion.com/marine/marine14.htm
They both will fit underneath a seat and have preamp level inputs and several options to change the settings of it. I'm thinking one of these may be a better option for me.

 

I have a pioneer HU in my car, and I actually blew out the sub. I have no idea how it happened, but all I know is that it's no longer working. So you might want to be careful with the factory sub if you go that way.

 

I ended up ordering the Kenwood Woox. I haven't installed it yet but it does in fact fit perfectly underneath the passenger seat. Just a little bit bigger and it wouldn't have fit but luckily it does. It came with a cool wire remote to adjust the settings too. Now i just need to sort out some install issues and then pop it in either after work friday(half day for me so I'm out at 11am!!) or Saturday. I'll let you all know how it goes.

 

Yeah, please do. I was going to buy one of those for my old outback sport, but I went with the subaru one instead.

I'd like to know how the kenwood fares.

 

Well I installed it tonight. Wasn't too bad, I found the grommet above the brake pedal and ran the power cable through it. I then ran the power cable around the back of the dash, connected the remote turn on, and used some 6 ft gold plated RCA cables as my preout cables. I then ran the cables under the carpet(the hole in the carpet around the heat duct proved to be a perfect spot to run the cables) and connected the remote and put it underneath my parking brake.
The verdict? I'm impressed. It sounds a bit boomy if you crank the level much above half with the volume on your reciever loud but if you leave it around half it's fine. I set my decks preout at mid with a sub level of 4 and i set the crossover on the sub at the lowest setting, 60hz. It sounds a bit boomier with it at the higher settings. It was really a cinch to install and sounds quite good. It's also totally hidden and takes up no cargo space.
The only problem(and this is quite minimal) is that I'm getting abit of interference. It might be because I had to bundle the power and signal cables together(which I know is a big no no but my cables weren't long enough unless I bundled them). When I change tracks, you can hear a slight barely audible "rumple" through the sub. It's hardly noticeable and with the engine running I didn't hear it at all. If anyone has any easy suggestions on how i might go about eliminating that please let me know. Otherwise it's no big deal. No alternator whine or engine noise either.All i all for me this is a great solution. Taking the job of putting out the bass off of my speakers is great too as I can crank the radio now and they sound much better. If you're like me and don't need a ton of bass and want something concealed and that doesn't take up cargo space, this puppy is for you. About my only complaint is that they didn't include an O ring to connect the power cord to the battery but a quick trip to radio shack fixed that. Anyhow hope this helped. I can take some pictures if you like and post them here. The install is, in my opinion, very clean and barely noticable. I went to radioshack to get some thing(including the ring terminals) and I got some zip ties, velcro, and electrical tape. I ziptied the battery cable to parts inside the engine compartment so it's very clean and unobtrusive in there too.
Edit- I think tomorrow I might try rerouting my power cable closer to the door cill and leaving the other cables close to the console to see if that eliminates the slight noise when changing tracks.

 

Sounds like a bit more work than the subaru oem sub would have been.

But if the sound is better then it was probably worth it.

How is the kenwood sub mounted? What holds it in place so it doesn't slide around?

 

Kuth,
I attached the small metal "wings" to the sides of it. These have holes to screw it down but I ended up just attaching to long strips of heavy duty velcro to each of the brackets(the hook end). It hooks to the carpet like crazy and doesn't move at all between the velcro and its weight. It's mounted directly under my passenger seat going the long way(so the woofers are one in front of the other not beside each other). Fits very well and doesn't interfere with the seat at all. As I said before if you're interested, I can take some pics tomorrow and post them.

 

Here are some pics. Today I went ahead and moved the power and signal cables as far apart as possible just as a precaution and tidied up the cables with some zip ties. Anyhow here are some shots of it
http://homepage.mac.com/dfbennett/PhotoAlbum12.html

 

Wow! I'm impressed. The whole setup looks quite neat and cleanly done.

And your HU looks really nice in that car.

I noticed in one picture that the sub sticks out the back of the seat a bit. My kids would destroy it in a month. As it is I have my subaru sub protected with plastic on the rear facing side.

Nicely done.

 

thanks Kuth. I was friends with a kid in high school who was a car stereo wiz so I learned alot from him. This was the first time I did any sort of amplfied device by myself though and I'm really happy with how clean and unobtrusive it ended up.
Since I'm single I'm cool with a little bit of it sticking out(I'll just give my friends a quick warning when they sit back there to move there feet apart.)
I'm also amazed at how much clearer my speakers sound now that they aren't handling the bass duty anymore. It's literally a night and day difference.