Stock FR-S amp

[onefitz]

Originally Posted by oldpueblo

Can I just piggyback off the power and audio cables going to the stock amp in back or do I need to run the new cables all the way up the length of the car to the head unit/battery?

You'll need to run new power/ground cables and RCA's from the head unit, but that takes all of maybe 30 minutes.

[Bad Habits]

I bought a RF P300 10" to throw in the trunk. Its self powered, takes up the least amount of space that I found (vs other 10" boxed subs/12"/etc) I was like 180$ no sales tax and free shipping with amazon prime. I was looking for a little extra sound/bass and could care less about winning any competitions. Did I mention it was 180$ bucks? vs some of these custom built subs and their ridiculous prices it was totally worth it.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Rockford-Fosgate-P300-10-Subwoofer-Enclosure/dp/B007AQ2W2Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388783203&sr=8-1&keywords=rockford+fosgate+powered+sub"]Amazon.com: Rockford Fosgate P300-10 Punch Powered Loaded 10-Inch Subwoofer Enclosure: Car Electronics[/ame]

If you want I can snap a couple of pics.

[oldpueblo]

Originally Posted by Bad Habits

I bought a RF P300 10" to throw in the trunk. Its self powered, takes up the least amount of space that I found (vs other 10" boxed subs/12"/etc) I was like 180$ no sales tax and free shipping with amazon prime. I was looking for a little extra sound/bass and could care less about winning any competitions. Did I mention it was 180$ bucks? vs some of these custom built subs and their ridiculous prices it was totally worth it.

Amazon.com: Rockford Fosgate P300-10 Punch Powered Loaded 10-Inch Subwoofer Enclosure: Car Electronics

If you want I can snap a couple of pics.

What do you mean by self powered?

Originally Posted by onefitz

You'll need to run new power/ground cables and RCA's from the head unit, but that takes all of maybe 30 minutes.

And if I picked up a powered sub with RCA low level inputs AND high level inputs, do I still need to wire them up to the head unit (that has no RCA) or can I tap the wires on the stock amp in back? It's the same signal right, I'm just adding BASS similar to the stock amp. Turns out the stock FR-S stereo actually covers all the frequencies down to about 25 or so, I just want to supplement those lower frequencies with an additional sub.

[Bad Habits]

Originally Posted by oldpueblo

What do you mean by self powered?

The P300 has a built in amp so its one self contained unit, amp and sub in the same package ie self powered. Just need to tap into power, run the remote sub level control and done.



This is where the inputs go for power, etc. Crutchfield lists it for 280 + s/h but as stated amazon is way cheaper for the same unit. Just an option. If you want me to snap a couple of pics in the trunk of my brz let me know.

[oldpueblo]

Thanks man. What speaker wire did you tap into for your input? The head unit or off of the stock amp?

[oldpueblo]

Okay after finding an incredibly useful post from Spaceywilly I think I have this all figured out. I'm going to type it all out here before I start the work tomorrow, so that I don't forget anything while I sleep. Feel free to correct anything that anyone sees wrong, this will hopefully be useful to other people as well. Bear with me as I muddle through things I have not messed with since I wired up a bass tube as a teenager.


First things first, this is the post that was very helpful (entire thread actually):

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...1&postcount=25



And shoutout to Kuhlka for the helpful video:


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma5s8GLOd7w"]Subaru BRZ Quick Subwoofer Amp Install - YouTube[/ame]


I bought a powered subwoofer that has both low level RCA input and a high level input for speaker wire. My assumption is that I won't have to pull the head unit out at all since it looks like I can tap every wire I need just before it hits the stock amp including the remote turn-on (five total). Except power of course, I'll run that to the battery.


Questions I need to find answers to:


1. Are the FR-S wires the same color as the BRZ?
2. Do I connect to the signal wires or the speaker wires? Low level RCA convertor to the signal wires or high level wire splices to the speaker wires? My powered sub allows either and using high level means I don't need any additional line converter.
3. My powered sub is 400 RMS @ 4 Ohms, since I'm tapping into the wires before they hit the stock amp I guess this doesn't matter since the head unit is also 4 Ohms? I literally don't know what I'm talking about.


Sorry if that post is a mess, tomorrow is fun project day.

[kuhlka]

Originally Posted by oldpueblo

I bought a powered subwoofer that has both low level RCA input and a high level input for speaker wire. My assumption is that I won't have to pull the head unit out at all since it looks like I can tap every wire I need just before it hits the stock amp including the remote turn-on (five total). Except power of course, I'll run that to the battery.


Questions I need to find answers to:


1. Are the FR-S wires the same color as the BRZ?
2. Do I connect to the signal wires or the speaker wires? Low level RCA convertor to the signal wires or high level wire splices to the speaker wires? My powered sub allows either and using high level means I don't need any additional line converter.
3. My powered sub is 400 RMS @ 4 Ohms, since I'm tapping into the wires before they hit the stock amp I guess this doesn't matter since the head unit is also 4 Ohms? I literally don't know what I'm talking about.


Sorry if that post is a mess, tomorrow is fun project day.

Correct, you don't need to touch the head unit.

1 - No idea. If you take a photo, I'll post up the same to compare.
2 - 4 signal wires if you use the Rockford Fosgate adapter I went with. I think if you do the speaker wires you might end up with only half of the signal because there are four separate pairs of wires. That's also a lot of extra wires to tap.
3 - The Ohms for the sub is purely related to how you match up your amp to the sub. Fewer Ohms means less resistance, which means more powah!

My little 300x1 amp is 300Wx1 @ 1-Ohm, 150 Wattsx1 @ 2-Ohms, 75 Wattsx1 @ 4-Ohms. I'm getting a PBR500X1 for my STI because it has a lot more room in the trunk and cabin. The 10" RF sub and PBR300x1 seems like plenty for my BRZ, and I'm a wub wub bass head. I've actually been pleasantly surprised by the stock speakers with that sub/amp combo. It has some weak points (might need another 10" or an 8" to balance out the full LFO), but it's great when listening to stuff like this.

[ame]http://youtu.be/pjUPoMXGdWw[/ame]

[kuhlka]

I got the PBR500x1 installed in my STI with my old 12" Rockford Fosgate Punch P2. I'm not sure how it'd sound in the BRZ, but it's about perfect for the STI. Might try it later, but the enclosure is a lot bigger than the 10" I've got in the BRZ.

[oldpueblo]

Okay I have succeeded. For some reason I couldn't for the life of me get it working with high level inputs, so I bought a low level converter and tapped the signal wires instead of the speaker wires. Works great, I might do a consolidated write-up for people looking to just add cheap powered subwoofers with as little effort as possible. You can't get any more low effort than what I did.





$100 powered subwoofer at Walmart. 10", 300 peak, 100 RMS. I tried an 8" 400 RMS one first, but realized I wanted something larger for more SPL. I felt a single 8" was too close to the dual 6.5 bass-wise. I just slapped it onto a board with velcro ties because I know I'm going to upgrade to something else later. For right now though, it adds an extra punch just beyond where the stock 6.5 subs leave off. Whatever I end up with permanently I'll make look nice, etc.

[DC2R]

I'm coming from a type r 12 with 3000 watt peak. Was overkill in my GS-R so will probably ditch the setup and go for a powered subwoofer given the space concerns. Like the idea

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

[the new guy]

So did you just plug the metra harness in, tap the signal wires after the lci, and then run power from the battery to the back? @oldpueblo

That's what I'm thinking of doing except replacing the stock amp, and having an additional amp to the power a sub.

[oldpueblo]

Originally Posted by the new guy

So did you just plug the metra harness in, tap the signal wires after the lci, and then run power from the battery to the back? @oldpueblo

That's what I'm thinking of doing except replacing the stock amp, and having an additional amp to the power a sub.

I had actually already started before I realized the harnesses were available and would be a much better option. I'm actually tempted to undo my taps, repair the wires with solder, then redo it all with the harnesses just to give more length and make it nicer. Wiring all that up while crouched in the back of the car was a total bitch to do, because of the length of the stock wires. Otherwise yes that's what I did. The only cable I ran from the front was the battery cable, and I ran a 6 gauge so that I'd have plenty of juice for a future upgrade. I watched and adapted the OEM Audio Plus video that covers how to run cables from the front. I just didn't run anything on the other side like they do and I grounded it to the bolt right next to the stock amp. Also when they say to remove the weather stripping, do it. You don't need to take it off all the way, leave the top half of the door part on but remove it from the bottom part of the door. I was afraid to pull it off but it turns out the carpet can't be pulled up because it hooks underneath the weather stripping.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LytAyXbgS5w"]Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ | System 400+ Installation - YouTube[/ame]


This is actually what I have my eye on, either the 1000 watt one or the 500 watt one. Both look reasonably priced, it's a name-brand, has a quick release for removal, and most importantly it matches my colors.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0063FV5K0"]Amazon.com: Blaupunkt Blue Magic Xlb 300 A - 1000 Watt 12-Inch Active Subwoofer System: Car Electronics[/ame]


With the way I set up the wiring I'd be able to just swap that in and be done. I also like how it'd fit perfectly against the sloped back of the seat and fire towards the back of the car, which is what I think is best for our design.


Also this is the amp kit I bought, I went all over town looking for something that had big enough cable without spending over $100 bucks on just cables. That's crazy.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Scosche-KP...l-Kit/10629475
And line out converter http://www.walmart.com/ip/Scosche-Li...ntrol/31954500


I should also add that now that I have a powered sub I backed my bass setting down a notch or two from the stock subs and am able to turn it up even louder without distortion. So overall it sounds better, cleaner, etc. I typically listen at 30 and any higher I would hit distortion. Now I can go higher and it sounds clean still because the powered sub is doing the extra work instead of the poor 6.5 subs.

[the new guy]

Thanks for all the info, I may finally go ahead and do my sound upgrade now. What did you use to control the sub output?

[oldpueblo]

Originally Posted by the new guy

Thanks for all the info, I may finally go ahead and do my sound upgrade now. What did you use to control the sub output?

I could have run a control knob cable alongside the power cable, up to the front, but I didn't want to have to remove it when I sold the cheap powered subwoofer and upgraded. I don't see myself adjusting it up and down at all, especially since the head unit bass control does affect the subwoofer since it's tapped off of those wires. I'd just set it where I like it, in the trunk, then leave it. If you know you want a permanent control knob up front, just run it and attach it wherever you like. Someone put one in the little cubby at the bottom of the center console.